Chapter 143: The Nine Earthly Heavens Hidden
After a round of persuasion from the surrounding demonic beasts, the two Earth-Rank superior beasts finally ceased their quarrel.
Instead, it was Mo Lin, who had first been provoked, that was left standing awkwardly to the side, feeling somewhat speechless.
At that moment, an ant slowly crawled over to Mo Lin’s side and said with a smile:
“Forgive us for letting the newcomer witness such a scene.”
Mo Lin glanced at this ant, whose body was only slightly smaller than the Spirit Monkey, and was a little surprised.
Not because its strength surpassed that of the Iron-Armored Rock Rhino, Silver-Winged Eagle King, or the Spirit Monkey—quite the opposite, it was the weakest among all the demonic beasts present, merely an Earth-Rank inferior.
Yet Mo Lin had noticed quite clearly that among all the beasts conversing earlier, not a single one had shown contempt toward this ant.
Even the Silver-Winged Eagle King, who had been ready to mock Mo Lin for only being at the middle Earth Rank, did not display the slightest disrespect toward it.
The ant clearly perceived Mo Lin’s confusion and cheerfully said:
“By fortune, these fellow demons regard me well and call me the Corrosive-Gold Ant Queen. Beneath me are three thousand little ants waiting for me to forage food for them.”
With just that one sentence, Mo Lin immediately understood.
He certainly did not believe that those under the Corrosive-Gold Ant Queen were truly mere “little ants.”
Those three thousand ants were likely all ant demons.
As the saying went, “A host of three thousand forms a brigade; three brigades form an army.”
In the Great Qian Dynasty, three thousand soldiers already made up a structured force—one that could easily dominate a small region.
And demonic beasts were far more powerful than ordinary human soldiers.
Even if the majority of those three thousand ants were only Yellow-Rank demonic beasts, they still constituted an extraordinarily terrifying force.
Wherever such an army of ants passed, even a ten-thousand-strong army of the Great Qian Dynasty might not withstand their assault.
Mo Lin couldn’t help but feel respect toward the Corrosive-Gold Ant Queen before him.
If the Iron-Armored Rock Rhino, with his superior middle Earth Rank, possessed unrivaled strength and impact—making him the best choice for siege and assault—then the three thousand ant demons under the Ant Queen would undoubtedly serve as the main force in this operation.
No wonder that despite being merely an Earth-Rank inferior, she was still allowed to attend this gathering.
No wonder that despite being an Earth-Rank inferior, she earned the respect of beasts such as the Silver-Winged Eagle King.
After introducing herself, the Corrosive-Gold Ant Queen kindly went on to introduce the other demonic beasts:
“This is Mister Ghost Toad. He can read signs of fortune and calamity, foresee disaster and blessing, and perceive the unseen—none can surpass him in such arts.”
A strange-looking, cold-auraed toad nodded slightly at Mo Lin.
“This one is the Mist-Hidden Spider, an Earth-Rank superior.”
Mo Lin couldn’t see the spider’s form clearly—only a shroud of white mist and strands of web.
“This fellow’s always like that, don’t mind it. Still, it can cloud the mind with mist and bind the soul with silk—quite reliable as a companion, haha.”
Mo Lin offered a polite nod but didn’t truly believe the spider was trustworthy.
He could tell that this Mist-Hidden Spider was of the same kind as Jingyue; having just suffered a sneak attack from Jingyue, he wasn’t about to trust another of its type.
Otherwise, being stabbed in the back later would be quite the joke.
“This is the Crystal-Scaled Venomous Python, Earth-Rank superior. Its scales gleam like glass and hold within them the world’s rarest poisons. Its breath can wither all life—its power and venom alike are unmatched.”
Mo Lin looked in astonishment at the Crystal-Scaled Venomous Python, not expecting to meet such a similar kin even here within ‘Falcon Beak.’
What surprised him more was that, according to the Ant Queen, this serpent’s greatest strength was its poison?
For demonic beasts, releasing toxins was an exhausting and inefficient method of attack.
Even Mo Lin himself, after acquiring other, more effective abilities, had long ceased to rely on venom. Yet this Crystal-Scaled Python had mastered that art to perfection?
The python coiled up and nodded to Mo Lin just like the Ghost Toad, clearly not intending to engage in further conversation with its kin.
After the introductions ended, Mo Lin scanned the gathering and realized that counting himself and the Mountain Lord, there were nine Earth-Rank demonic beasts present.
Except for the Ant Queen, every one of them was at least of middle Earth Rank or higher.
It seemed that apart from the Ant Queen—who commanded an army of three thousand ants—no lesser Earth-Rank demons were qualified to join this meeting.
If not for the Iron-Armored Rock Rhino’s immense size and obvious usefulness in the upcoming operation, even he might have been excluded.
Though none of the beasts said it outright, Mo Lin could now understand why the Silver-Winged Eagle King had immediately tried to push him aside.
Both the Ant Queen and the Rock Rhino had their distinct roles to play, and thus their spots were secure.
The original Mountain Lord, though of middle Earth Rank, was a seasoned and battle-hardened beast—its combat strength rivaled the superiors.
Now that it too had advanced to the superior rank, its standing was undeniable.
As for Mo Lin—a anaconda demon of only middle rank and a complete stranger—who else would they single out if not him?
Even the seemingly friendly Iron-Armored Rock Rhino and the Corrosive-Gold Ant Queen, whose strength resembled his own, probably didn’t harbor much goodwill toward him.
Still, judging by the atmosphere, though there was rivalry among them, open conflict seemed unlikely.
Since that was the case, Mo Lin decided to save his words—he would crush such idle disdain during the operation itself. What concerned him more was another matter.
According to the Mountain Lord, the demonic beasts had divided Yongzhou into four regions for their assaults on the humans.
That meant in the other three areas of Yongzhou, there were at least dozens of other Earth-Rank demonic beasts preparing similar attacks.
Though some would no doubt choose to stay neutral—not every beast cared for vengeance against humanity—this still amounted to a tremendous force, enough to make the humans tremble.
For ‘Falcon Beak’ to gather so many Earth-Rank demons together was, in itself, a remarkable feat.
But what puzzled Mo Lin was—why were there so many Earth-Rank superiors, yet not a single Heaven-Rank beast among them?
Mo Lin raised his body slightly and bowed to the assembly of demons:
“From what I’ve seen today, every one of you possesses the might to claim your own dominion—Rock Rhino to guard the mountains, Eagle King to rule the skies, Ant Queen to lead her legions, Ghost Toad to divine the unseen—such is a grand gathering of myriad demons. I, Mo Lin, am honored indeed.”
His words of praise won him faint smiles from the gathered beasts.
“However,”
Mo Lin’s tone shifted,
“Why is it that within ‘Falcon Beak,’ there are no Heaven-Rank demonic beasts?”
“I do not mean to belittle anyone here, but as far as I know, Yongzhou’s Bureau of Heaven Monitoring has no shortage of experts comparable to Heaven-Rank demons.”
“If we Earth-Rank beasts were to strike against the humans and happen to encounter one of their Heaven-Rank powerhouses—what then?”
Mo Lin did not believe that such a vast Yongzhou lacked a few Heaven-Rank humans.
They might rarely show themselves, but once the demons launched such a large-scale attack, those beings would surely respond.
If ‘Falcon Beak’ had no Heaven-Rank beast to anchor them, then even though Mo Lin had promised the Mountain Lord to participate, he would be ready to retreat at the first sign of danger.
The Iron-Armored Rock Rhino, though simple-looking, clearly saw Mo Lin’s concern.
With a hearty chuckle, it said:
“Brother Mo Lin, did the Mountain Lord not tell you about our ‘Falcon Beak’s’ plan of action in Yongzhou?”