novelHome Chapter 498: The Human Alliance
Chapter 498: The Human Alliance
In the southern region of the Demon Realm, Tianfeng City.After more than half a year of bitter, unrelenting fighting, this city that had once belonged to the demon races had, from this day forward, passed entirely into human hands.
And not long after Tianfeng City fell, word came from four other demon cities in the southern region in quick succession.
Lanchen City, Chuncha City, Butterfly City, and Gouge City, all important strongholds, had fallen one after another.
The five-pronged attack launched by the Human Alliance had achieved complete success across every front.
In the history of the Demon Realm, this was the first time the human race had taken five demon cities in the span of a single half-year.
Inside Tianfeng City, after the great army of the Human Alliance marched through the gates in a sweeping advance, the households throughout the city hastily bolted their doors and shuttered their windows, trembling with fear of human reprisals but it did no good.
The Alliance army first sealed the city gates and laid down formations, allowing not a single demon to escape then the Alliance army swept through the city with lethal intent, crashing into demon household after demon household.
Many of the enslaved humans did not understand what was happening, their eyes blank with bewilderment.
Others grasped it quickly and declared on the spot that they wished to join the Alliance army but not everyone could join the Alliance.
Alliance cultivators produced spirit-testing stones, and only those with spiritual roots who were capable of cultivation were allowed to join and take part in the looting of their former masters.
As for the remaining humans, the Alliance paid them no attention at all.
Those with good fortune crouched on the ground without moving, and the Alliance passed them by as though they were nothing but those with worse luck, any human slave who caught an unfavorable eye, were knocked to the ground by the Alliance army then and there.
The worst fate fell to those women who had any degree of beauty.
Whether demon or human slave, any woman with looks was forced down onto the stones of the courtyard, pinned to the tables indoors, with no ability to resist.
In a short time, fires blazed across Tianfeng City, thick smoke rolled upward, and cries and screams poured out from courtyard after courtyard.
The Alliance army carried off every piece of silver and gold, every spirit pill and medicine in the city, and subjected both demons and humans alike to killing, burning, looting, and violation without any restraint. The whole of Tianfeng City had become a living hell, chaos reigning in every direction.
Meanwhile, in the city lord's manor of Tianfeng City, the various human factions were seated at a grand banquet table holding a celebration feast.
They raised cups and exchanged toasts, watching as demon women dressed in thin, light garments danced before them, and were entirely at ease.
Some Alliance commanders, carried away in the moment, simply pulled the dancers beside them into their embrace and did as they pleased.
That exhilarating feeling of turning the tables, of standing above those who had once stood over them, left every face flushed and full of self-congratulation.
In the past, they would never even have dared to imagine it but now, as these demon women became their playthings, they suddenly realized that the demon race was nothing so extraordinary after all.
"Come, I raise a cup to everyone here!"
The sect master of Jinshan Sect rose to his feet, held up his cup, and swept the room with a voice that rang like a bell.
"Today we have taken one demon city. Tomorrow we can topple a demon kingdom! The human race will no longer be the slaves of the demons. We will be the masters of the Demon Realm!"
"That is right!" Another man slapped the table and rose, his voice fierce and passionate. "The momentum of our human race has never been stronger. The demons have oppressed us for too many years. This time we will make them pay for every drop of blood with blood!"
"For the human race!"
"For the human race!"
One by one, sect masters and wandering cultivators rose to their feet, lifting cups to one another, their eyes bright with excitement and longing for what lay ahead. The smell of wine and the presence of women filled the city lord's manor, which had once belonged to the demons.
"However, everyone," Lei Peng, sect master of the Feibird Sect, rose and looked around the room, shifting the mood slightly. "I have a proposal I think this is a fitting moment to raise."
"Oh? And what might Sect Master Lei wish to say? We are all ears." A Nascent Soul cultivator drank down a cup with good cheer and spoke in a satisfied tone.
Lei Peng smiled and surveyed the company. "Our Alliance is sending troops in every direction, striking at demon kingdoms from all sides. Though we are already allied and are all of one family, even a family needs someone to head the household. Is that not so?"
"It is. I think Sect Master Lei makes a fair point." A wandering cultivator rose and voiced his agreement, then asked, "Sect Master Lei raises this now. What is his meaning exactly?"
"My meaning is simple." Lei Peng's gaze moved slowly across every face at the table. "I feel that our Alliance needs to elect a chief. Otherwise, when something important arises, there will be no one with the authority to make decisions."
"But who would be a suitable choice for this position?" The sect master of the Quicksand Sect stroked his beard in thought. "Whoever holds this position must have a cultivation level high enough to command respect, as well as a reputation and standing that can bring everyone together."
"I believe the Daoist master Yun Xi of the Seeking Immortals Temple would be an excellent fit." A cultivator named Li Jian rose and spoke in a carrying voice.
"Indeed. Among us all, Daoist Master Yun Xi holds the highest cultivation, and her virtue and renown are well-established. She could certainly command the respect of all."
"I also agree that Daoist Master Yun Xi should become the chief of our Alliance."
"Most certainly."
In a short time, heads were nodding and voices of agreement were raised on all sides. Though Daoist Master Yun Xi was not in attendance, she had gathered no small degree of support.
Just as the calls for Yun Xi were growing louder and the matter appeared on the verge of being settled, Lei Peng gave an unobtrusive glance to one side.
Several sect masters and wandering cultivators immediately understood, and a quiet exchange of looks passed between them.
"Ahem, everyone, if I may say a word."
A cultivator of the Jade Simplicity realm named Li Jingshuo cleared his throat and rose slowly, clasping his hands toward the assembly.
"In my own mind, Daoist Master Yun Xi's cultivation is of the very highest order, and her renown throughout the Demon Realm is great indeed. However, I had occasion some time ago to speak with the Daoist Master..."
He paused, looked around the room, and let his voice settle slightly.
"Though Daoist Master Yun Xi is currently serving as our Alliance's rear pillar of support and presence of prestige, she has no wish in truth to take on the position of chief."
"That is the way of it," another sect master chimed in, picking up the thread. "The work of an alliance is a matter of fighting and marching, of charging the front lines. A person of Daoist Master Yun Xi's transcendent nature is genuinely not suited to managing an alliance of this scale."
"More than that," Wang Kui leapt to his feet, drained a large cup of wine, wiped his mouth, and spoke in a booming voice, "Daoist Master Yun Xi is far too compassionate and kind-hearted. She has been consistently arguing that once we have fought to a certain point, we should enter negotiations with the demons and find a normal way of coexisting with the Demon Realm."
He set down his cup with a heavy thud, and swept the room with a burning gaze.
"But everyone here knows perfectly well what the demon race is like! They have enslaved our people for so long, and now we are supposed to coexist peacefully with them? Then what has all our fighting been for? Was it all for nothing?"
"My view is this!" Wang Kui's voice rose sharply. "Sect Master Lei is the most suitable person to lead our Alliance!"
"I agree!"
"So do I!"
With Wang Kui's forthright declaration as the opening, more and more sect masters and wandering cultivators rose to their feet, voicing agreement in a chorus, the great hall filling with fervor.
"This simply will not do at all." Lei Peng seemed startled, an expression of flattered shock spreading across his face, waving his hands repeatedly. "Daoist Master Yun Xi is the one who commands the trust of all. How could I possibly presume to be chief?"
"Sect Master Lei speaks wrongly."
An elder rose to his feet, stroked his beard, and smiled with an unhurried manner.
"Setting aside Daoist Master Yun Xi, it is you who holds the next highest cultivation level, and whether in leading armies in battle or in managing the various sects and factions, your judgment commands the respect of all. In my view, if anyone is to serve as our Alliance's chief and truly carry the confidence of all, it can only be you."
"We beseech Sect Master Lei not to decline!"
"We beseech Sect Master Lei not to decline!"
A unified cry rose from everyone present, one wave of voices following on the last, the atmosphere reaching a pitch of fervor.
"Everyone, you are really..." Lei Peng looked out at the stirred-up faces filling the hall and put on an expression of great reluctance, as though he had been backed into a corner from which there was no retreat.
"Very well, very well. Since all of you put it this way, then I will... give it a try." Lei Peng let out a sigh, his tone carrying just the right note of resignation. "When the next Alliance assembly convenes, I will formally raise the matter of the chief position and allow the heroes of the world to choose together who their heart's choice for chief may be. Until then, I will rely greatly on all of you."
"Sect Master Lei is too modest!"
"Having Sect Master Lei lead our Alliance, that is the Alliance's great fortune!"
"Besides Brother Lei, anyone else who tries to take this position as Alliance chief, Wang Kui will be the first to refuse it!" The dark-faced Wang Kui bellowed at the top of his lungs, every bit of sincerity plain on his face.
"Ha ha ha, drink, drink! We do not leave until we are drunk tonight!" Lei Peng raised his cup high and laughed freely. "The first cup is mine to the lot of you!"
"To Sect Master Lei!"
Everyone raised their cups in response, wine splashing, laughter filling the hall.
At the same time, in Chuncha City of the Demon Realm.
Chuncha City was an important stronghold belonging to the Heavenly Demon Kingdom in the Demon Realm, and its strategic position was considerable.
Taking Chuncha City gave the human army a stable foothold from which they could advance when the moment came and hold their ground when they needed to fall back.
After the human army under the leadership of the Moonwatch Sect's sect master Xu Donghui captured Chuncha City, orders were issued without delay. Any human slave in any household who wished to leave could freely choose whether or not to join the human army.
Beyond that, the buying and selling of humans within the city was strictly prohibited from that point onward.
As for the demon households of substance, with the exception of a small number who had committed grave wrongs and had earned the bitter hatred of the people, most ordinary demon families who lived quietly and kept to their place would generally be left undisturbed.
Beyond all of this, the gates of Chuncha City stood open, and anyone who wished to leave could do so at any time without the Alliance offering a single word of obstruction.
And on this very day, Liu Shui, who was on her way back to the Hanshan Academy, passed through Chuncha City.
Originally, when Liu Shui heard that Chuncha City had just come through a great battle, she had intended to take a detour and avoid it. But her mother had been traveling hard for many days and was not well, and was genuinely not up to the extra distance of a longer route.
Beyond that, Liu Shui had heard that it was a human army that had taken Chuncha City, and reasoned in her heart that with all of them being human, there should be nothing to worry about and no one would give them trouble.
So Liu Shui brought her mother into the city.
Once inside, Liu Shui took in the scene before her. Humans and demons moved through the streets in orderly fashion, each party conducting themselves properly without friction, and she felt a faint sense of unreality.
In particular, the attendants at the demon restaurants were respectful and polite toward herself, a human, in a way that struck her as difficult to believe.
"Mother, let us rest here for a couple of days. Once you are feeling better, we can continue on the road. It will not take much longer before we are home."
After securing a room at an inn, Liu Shui carefully arranged the bedding and helped her mother sit down at the edge of the bed with gentle hands.
"Mm, good. There is no rush." Her mother looked at her daughter with a warm expression.
Thinking back to just a year ago, she had still been dragging her daughter from one meeting to another, only to discover afterward that her daughter had set out on the cultivation path, entered Foundation Building, and become one of the immortals of the mountains. She felt a helpless kind of amusement at herself.
In her view, had she known earlier that her daughter was one of those immortal people, why would she have pushed her to meet marriage prospects?
As for the concern her daughter had raised about the distance that might grow between a cultivator and an ordinary person, her mother felt that her daughter had simply been thinking too much.
Being able to cultivate was such a wonderful thing. She was glad for her daughter and could not have felt otherwise. How could she possibly have grown distant from her?
In the end, mother and daughter had spoken everything out openly, and her mother had come to fully understand her daughter's heart.
She also knew that the person her daughter was drawn to was not any of the young men from noble families at the Hanshan Academy, but an attendant at the side of the Young Miss of Tushan.
As it happened, that attendant was also human, and also a cultivator.
Her mother felt that in terms of standing, the two of them were on equal footing.
And beyond that, the name of the Tushan household was one she had heard spoken of with respect. If her daughter were to be with that young man in the future and live quietly and well, there did not seem to be anything that would stand in the way of that.
"Shui'er, from now on, whatever the matter, you come and talk to your mother about it directly. No more keeping things from me, do you understand?" Her mother took her daughter's hand and held it gently, her tone full of earnest feeling.
"I understand, Mother. You rest first. I am going to call for the attendant to bring some food, and then go to a medicine shop to get you what you need." Liu Shui replied softly, a gentle obedience in her voice.
"Mm. Be careful out there on your own." Her mother urged with care.
"Do not worry, Mother. I am going now."
Liu Shui helped her mother lie down properly, tucked the bedding in at the corners, and then turned and walked out of the room.
After leaving the inn, Liu Shui went to the nearest medicine shop to collect the medicine. Once everything was wrapped and in hand, she made her way back along the same road but halfway back, she suddenly noticed that every person on the street, man, woman, young or old, demon or human, had turned without any prior arrangement to look in the same direction, every eye falling in the same place.
Liu Shui too found herself following the line of everyone's gaze.
Two young women were walking along the street.
When Liu Shui caught sight of the countenance of one of those women, incomparably beautiful, her expression gave a faint, involuntary pause.
"Is that...?"
"Miss Tushan?"