Chapter 11: Trouble Approaches, Surrounded

After a moment of shock, Mofan’s eyes glinted with a murderous intent. Judging by the direction the monster fled, it was likely one of the lesser demons from Black Wind Mountain.

Now that enmity had been established, if it returned to the mountain to spread rumors, it could bring disaster.

With this in mind, he nocked another arrow and aimed his great bow directly at the bird demon.

But after a moment, Mofan lowered the bow.

“Forget it. That bird demon has already flown far away. With the power of this great bow, it would be difficult to kill it. Shooting now would only confirm the intent to kill and bring about my own destruction…”

Mofan murmured to himself, his gaze flickering. Finally, he invoked the Devouring Heaven technique, drawing the bow and arrow into his internal space.

“Toad Master, shall we flee? That bird demon is clearly going to fetch reinforcements. What do we do?” The rabbit demon, now anxious, spoke up. Though simple-minded and cute, it was not truly foolish and understood that the bird demon was likely from Black Wind Mountain.

“What else can we do but play it cool!” Mofan rolled his eyes and swung himself onto the back of the husky tiger. Calmly, he said, “We came here to seek refuge with Black Wind Mountain. What just happened was a misunderstanding. If the leading demon here is reasonable, they won’t harm us.”

“But what if the chief demon isn’t reasonable?” asked the rabbit demon.

Mofan hesitated briefly, then waved dismissively. “We’ll deal with that if it happens.”

Having finally caught this chance, he was unwilling to give up so easily.

He had already decided that if they pursued the matter, he would compensate them with that milky-white stone. According to the old hunter, it was a celestial artifact of considerable value—though he wasn’t sure if the mountain demons would recognize its worth.

Danger and opportunity coexisted. Mofan was ready to gamble. Having barely transformed from a toad into a demon and found this mountain of monsters, he was determined not to let it go so easily.

Besides, if a formidable demon from Black Wind Mountain wanted to come after him, could he really run away now?

Knowing the mountain hides tigers, he chose to face the tiger’s den, all for a chance at a future!

If he won the gamble, he could live comfortably among demons, perhaps even rise to demon king someday. Wouldn’t that be splendid?

Whether he lost or won didn’t matter to Mofan—he could always start over if needed.

With this resolve, he boldly set off toward Black Wind Mountain.

“Rabbit, if you’re afraid of dying, leave now. Don’t slow us down later,” Mofan warned.

“Toad Master isn’t afraid, so neither am I!” The rabbit demon replied.

“Toad Master saved me before. How could I abandon you now?” The rabbit’s face showed sincere loyalty.

“Well done!” Mofan felt somewhat pleased; he hadn’t expected the rabbit demon to be so loyal.

“Besides, that bird demon was shot by you, Toad Master. What does that have to do with me?” the rabbit added.

“You damn—!” Mofan was instantly annoyed. So much for loyalty—it seemed the rabbit was just carefree and thoughtless!

“What do you mean by that?” the rabbit asked in confusion.

“It means... well, it means your... your... never mind!” Mofan muttered helplessly, growing weary of the rabbit’s endless chatter and simple-mindedness.

“Oh, so ‘your damn’ means ‘hello’?” the rabbit said innocently with a harmless smile.

“Might as well...” Mofan was speechless. He hadn’t realized his casual words would backfire on him.

Just as the two demons and the tiger reached the foot of Black Wind Mountain, the white bird demon returned.

Knowing Mofan had a bow and arrow, it dared not approach and instead circled overhead, speaking in human language, shouting, “You wild demon, not only did you cowardly shoot me, but now you dare come to Black Wind Mountain? You’re courting death!”

“Brothers, seize that toad demon!”

“That tiger and rabbit are accomplices. Don’t let any escape. Bring them to Lord Demon for judgment—this will be a great achievement!”

At the bird’s command, several figures emerged from Black Wind Mountain, charging toward Mofan and his companions.

Mofan was taken aback. Looking closely, he saw these were lesser demons who had already manifested many human features.

Leading the charge was a sinister-eyed youth, with narrow eyes and blue markings like tattoos on his cheeks.

His head was human, but below it was no beast’s body—still human, muscular and well-defined, covered in blue fur. His large, powerful hands contrasted with his legs, which remained beast-like, slightly bent backward, resembling a werewolf in mid-transformation.

Beside the wolf demon was a sly, beady-eyed rat demon, who had also taken on a human head and hands. The prominent whiskers and a long tail betrayed his true form.

Next to the rat demon was a slender figure with triangular eyes.

Unlike the wolf and rat demons, this creature had only a human head; below it were no limbs, but a thick snake’s body—the largest of the group, stretching nearly thirty feet, moving with an eerie, bone-chilling hiss.

“Roar!”

Seeing these hostile demons, the husky tiger let out a fierce roar, causing the others’ ears to ring.

“How dare a mere tiger beast act arrogant before us. Perfect! We’ll capture it for the feast!” snarled the wolf demon, his already large frame swelling even bigger.

In an instant, his towering form grew to nearly ten feet, like a small giant.

Even Mofan was stunned. He hadn’t expected the wolf demon to be so fearsome. Slapping the tiger’s head, he shouted angrily, “What are you waiting for? Run! You want to be the feast?”

The tiger turned and fled immediately.

“Damn toad, where do you think you’re going?” The wolf demon roared, chasing after them with a sudden burst of speed.

“Heh, try running from my mountain rat!” sneered the rat demon. “Rattle, attack!”

The snake demon shrank, coiling its long body around the rat demon’s arm.

In the next moment, the rat demon dove into the ground, sending a spray of sand and stones flying. Both demons vanished without a trace, leaving behind a large hole.

The earth bulged and then, at a visible speed, surged after the fleeing tiger.

Bang!

The ground exploded as a massive tail whipped out of the pit, slamming the tiger like a giant whip.

“Howl—”

The tiger staggered from the pain, nearly falling.

“We’re surrounded! We’re done for!” the rabbit demon cried in terror as it bounced on the tiger’s back.

Mofan’s heart sank.

Behind them was the wolf demon, ahead the snake demon, above the bird demon, and even below lurked the rat demon. They were completely trapped.

After witnessing these demons’ abilities, Mofan had no desire to fight desperately.

Because this wasn’t fighting for survival—it was suicide!

So he immediately chose to yield and awkwardly smiled at the demons, saying, “Brothers, this is a misunderstanding, an absolute misunderstanding!”

“We came to pledge allegiance to the Demon King of Black Wind Mountain. Perhaps in the future, we’ll be comrades under the same banner. There’s no need for bloodshed, right?”