Claws and teeth collided with swords and sabers. Daoist spells clashed with demonic abilities. It was an all-out fight, a battle for survival. The beasts on the mountain could only rely on themselves, as the shipment of resources had not yet arrived, and the contract could not be finalized. This was their final stand.

Even the weakest beasts took part in this struggle. The humans reaped them like wheat on harvest day, but it wasn't without impact. One by one they piled onto the cultivators, slowing down their blades and delivering potent poisons. They were glad to sacrifice their lives for their sovereigns. Such was the nature of beasts.

The geomantic boa helmed the beast forces, using its superior intelligence and terrain manipulation abilities to trap, surround, and stall enemies where required. Its children assisted on a smaller scale, using their weaker geomantic skills and their poisons to cripple mighty foes. Meanwhile, seven sovereigns were fighting tooth and nail. They held back nothing, and neither did Zhou Li's forces.

Zhou Li stood at the back and threw curses down on the beasts like they were nothing. Some were blinding curses, while others cursed their luck. Others still cursed the durability of their claws and hides, revealing fatal weaknesses for the humans to take advantage of.

Then there were the tamed beasts. Guo Jia, Xiao Heilong, and various others participated in the battle. Guo Jia controlled his tamed minions to take the Silverwing beasts by surprise. The humans rejoiced, but the beasts wept. They were losing.

But they were buying important time for the eighth sovereign, Sovereign Two Tails. His seclusion was set to end soon, and when he exited, he would martial them and turn the tides in their favor.

"Loose!" a cultivator yelled. His group unleashed Daoist spells in groups, pelting the massive army of beasts with deadly flaming dragons and earthen spikes.

"Hold!" the geomantic boa slithered. A giant earthen shield flew up, blocking over half of the incoming projectiles. Many kings of the forest used their massive bodies and innate abilities to tank the spells, freeing up the lesser creatures, which charged to the front lines.

"Collapse!" the geomantic boa roared. An entire ridge crumbled, a gravity trap dragging hundreds of cultivators down. Beasts jumped down as well, using their massive frames to their advantage as they dropped down to crush those cultivators.

"Flames!" Another squad of humans blew fire into the pit the beasts had dropped into.

"Wind!" A massive flock of birds flapped their wings in unison, blowing the flames back into the human cultivators, who used earthen shields to block this counter in turn.

Things changed fast on the battlefield, but the beasts were still getting pushed back little by little. Before long, their eastern flank collapsed, resulting in the rout of their sturdy ferret battalion, and the beasts were forced into disarray. In the middle of the chaotic group, thirty-six blue formation flags pressed down. The surrounding area was covered in a blooming lotus composed of thousands of icicles. They were bloody due to the thousands of beasts they crushed.

"It's over," the geomantic boa said, sighing. She was exhausted, and she had done all she could. If their sovereign didn't come out soon, their forces would collapse within the hour.

"Who said it's over?" a loud voice said. It projected across the whole battlefield, causing the humans to shudder and the beasts to tremble in excitement.

"Sovereign Two Tails!" the beasts roared in unison. They fought with renewed fervor, ignoring their fatal wounds to deliver one last blow for their sovereign. In the distance, a giant fox with two tails appeared. He was only one hundred feet long, but the mountain trembled as he ran.

***

"Slay the humans!" Huxian shouted, his eyes bloodshot. A white healing light shot out around him. It suppressed his enemies but healed and invigorated his own forces. Many beasts, who had been on their last legs, took comfort in that healing light. They managed to kill a few more humans before falling.

Meanwhile, a black clone shot out from Huxian's figure. It dove into the ground, merging with the countless beast shadows that littered the bloody forest floor. Whenever a beast approached a human, its shadow would also attack. Each blow it landed damaged the humans directly.

Huxian wasn't satisfied with these meager results, however. He looked toward Guo Jia and Xiao Heilong and charged at them with his white clone.

"You're courting death," Guo Jia snarled. He pulled back his ice formation and laid down thirty-six green flags in addition to thirty-six green sigils. Hundreds of lines spread throughout the area.

Huxian didn't care. Even if it was a high-grade formation, he would still tear it apart with impunity. He was a noble half-step core-formation Godbeast. Even initial core-formation experts would be hard-pressed to resist him.

"Xiao Heilong, head back here this instant," Guo Jia shouted. Xiao Heilong, who had been fighting a sovereign earlier, retreated toward the pale, black-robed man. In addition, a purple blur of lightning shot in front of Huxian.

"Lei Jiang!" Huxian shouted. He was infuriated. He tried to sidestep Lei Jiang, but the small critter was much faster than he was. He couldn't avoid its attacks. Purple lightning rained down from the skies. Lei Jiang, his former subordinate, hissed wildly as he attacked his former master with wild abandon.

It's all that Guo Jia's fault, Huxian thought. If I don't kill him, I don't deserve to be called a Godbeast. Huxian recalled his purifying aura from the battlefield and directed it to the much smaller space in front of him, which was covered with a formation. Massive vines flew out toward Huxian, who was forced to bite and claw them away. Meanwhile, Xiao Heilong arrived.

He and Lei Jiang attacked in tandem, forcing Huxian to defend himself and take significant blows from both parties.

Didn't Cha Ming say he'd run away from that guy? How did he get so strong and so fast? That's when he noticed an additional mental attack from Guo Jia's direction. In his peak condition, it would have been like scratching an itch. However, in this heated battle, it forced him to make mistake after mistake. Cuts began to accumulate on his body, poisonous cuts that sapped away at his strength.

I can only buy time, Huxian thought. Perhaps an opportunity will come.

***

Meanwhile, the tides of battle had shifted in favor of the beasts. The fast infusion of energy and their soaring morale caused them to unleash far more of their potential than they thought possible. The geomantic boa, in turn, used this to her full advantage. She exhausted herself, abusing every opportunity, every crack in her opponent's strategy.

It was only a matter of time before they won the battle and the humans were forced to retreat.

***

If looks could kill, Zhou Li's would slaughter. He was so close to securing a victory. Unfortunately, he knew the trade goods would arrive today, and there was nothing he could do about it.

If only I hadn't gotten greedy, Zhou Li thought. If only I'd given them a larger piece of the pie.

It wasn't that he was incapable of mounting a larger force; it was that he had taken a calculated risk by bringing the right amount of forces. His calculations had shown that they had an eighty-percent chance of success. But to boost their chances by an additional ten percent, he would have needed to spend 100,000 high-grade spirit stones on additional forces.

Now he would have to spend 300,000 additional spirit stones to capture the mine. Not to mention all the forces he'd already lost in the struggle thus far. But on the bright side, they could extract the ore very quickly, and illegally. They wouldn't need to pay taxes. It just wouldn't count as merit for the crown prince, which was a shame but still a tolerable outcome.

Wars are fought with money, Zhou Li thought. Money, money, always money. If I had as much wealth as the Wang family, this war would already be over. Money bought weapons, medicines, and fighters. It bought political influence. Which was why he was hesitant to spend the extra 100,000 high-grade spirit stones in the first place.

He used his core-transmission jade to connect to a contact in another country.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Young Master Zhou, I'm so pleased to hear back from you, a voice transmitted from the other side. What can I do for you today?

I need those forces we spoke of, Zhou Li transmitted. I need them here as soon as possible.

A pause ensued before the voice replied. They can be there in three days, and not a moment sooner. I trust you'll have our payment delivered before the forces arrive?

I will, Zhou Li said. I always do.

Zhou Li finally turned his attention back to the battlefield. They were losing, and it was time to cut his losses.

"Retreat!" he yelled. Failure had a bitter taste. Fortunately, the bitterness would soon be soothed by the sweetness of success.

***

Huxian was struggling. He was at the end of his rope, despite having retrieved his second clone. Both were fiercely struggling against the vines, against Xiao Heilong, and against Lei Jiang. It came as a huge relief when he suddenly heard the call for retreat from the human encampment.

We made it, he thought. The vines continued entangling him, but the three figures he had been fighting with previously began running away.

"Not so fast!" he yelled. He gathered the power of light to flash through the formation with ease. His target was Guo Jia. If he could kill him, Lei Jiang would be set free.

Unfortunately, a purple flash appeared in front of him, blocking off his approach to the dreadful sigil master. The very creature he was trying to save was giving his all to fight him.

Very well, Huxian thought. If I can't kill him, I'll collect a consolation prize. His jaws snapped on Lei Jiang's struggling body as Guo Jia and Xiao Heilong escaped. He used his powers of light and shadow to restrain the small creature.

First, I'll free you, he said. Then we'll get your revenge.

***

"Second Young Master," said voices from above. Two blond-haired men, core-formation experts, landed inside Wang Jun's encampment.

"Uncles," Wang Jun replied while traveling from his tent. "I trust everything is in order?"

"Of course," one of the two said. "We wouldn't dare neglect our duties. The funds have already been transferred from your account in Songjing." The other threw out a ring, which Wang Jun caught and placed on his finger.

"Everything is in order," Wang Jun said. "You may leave." Then he sped off toward the minister's tent.

"The goods have arrived," he yelled. Soon, Prime Minister Rong sped out and joined him. They went out to the battlefield, where only beasts remained.

"Huxian!" Wang Jun yelled out. A black-and-white fox immediately descended from the mountain. "We've come with the trade goods and the contract."

"About time," the fox grunted. "Sovereigns, to me!" he yelled. The mountain trembled as the seven sovereigns that had participated in the battle arrived.

"Here is the contract and peace treaty," Wang Jun said. "Pre-signed by myself, the third prince, and the prime minister." He then emptied out the storage ring. "The first delivery of goods, as promised."

Huxian looked them over before declaring that everything was in order. Then, a drop of his blood shot out from his glabella and imprinted itself onto the contract. The other seven sovereigns followed suit. Shortly after, the geomantic boa arrived, dragging a pile of glittering jade. She then spat out a tiny drop of blood, imprinting it on the contract.

"Silverwing!" Huxian bellowed. An incense time passed before a tiny drop of blood flew from the mountain, ratifying the contract.

"On behalf of the Song Kingdom, I welcome an era of peace between the beasts of Silverwing and our kingdom," the prime minister said joyfully.

"I also look forward to five hundred years of peace," Huxian said. However, it was evident that he was less than pleased by the carnage that had ravaged his people.

"Prime Minister," Wang Jun said, "please excuse me while I discuss with Sovereign Two Tails. Meanwhile, can you please order the soldiers away? We have a peace treaty now, and it's important to show our good faith."

"They'll be gone by the end of the day," the prime minister promised.

***

Wang Jun followed Huxian's gloomy figure to the peak of the mountain.

"Speak. What is it you want?" Huxian asked. He was tired of this war, tired of all the death and carnage. When he was younger, he thought little of death and destruction. Now he was filled with regret. He could have simply excavated the jade and dumped it beside the mountain. Maybe that would have spared them much heartache.

"Two things," Wang Jun said. "First, I'd like to warn you. Don't let your guard down. I have a hunch that Zhou Li won't let this defeat lie, so I invited Cha Ming and some of his associates to come. They'll be here in three days.

"Second, I'd like to complete our private deal."

"Inside my cave," Huxian said dismissively. "That can wait, though. I won't give it to you unless you help me with something." He spat out a small, unconscious ball of fur. "I need your help breaking his slave sigil."

Wang Jun raised his eyebrow. "And what makes you think I'm capable of that?"

"My intuition," Huxian said. "Besides, I don't need you to break it. I can take care of that myself. What I need you to do is reveal the flaws in the sigil to me."

Wang Jun rubbed his chin. "Let me give it a try." He flicked his sleeve, revealing a large mural of shadowy text. Then he pulled out a particular piece of text. It closely resembled the sigil on the small mouse's forehead.

"This is the 'subject' portion of the monarch/subject sigil," Wang Jun said. "You have two options. You can either destroy it by attacking its weaknesses here, here, and here.. Or I could obscure the formation, transforming it into something else."

"Transforming it into something else?" Huxian said. "What would it transform into?"

"It wouldn't be a big change," Wang Jun answered. "I know nothing of sigil arts, but I am confident I could obscure the perception of who the monarch is. If I make you the monarch, Lei Jiang would serve you as his monarch, a very normal behavior for a beast. It will be like nothing happened to him."

"Absolutely not," Huxian said without hesitation. "I'll take my chances on breaking the sigil."

"But you'll be risking his life," Wang Jun said. "Sure, it will influence his way of thinking, but it won't be that different from the normal beast hierarchy."

Huxian closed his eyes. "He's my friend. I saw him when I removed his soul seal. I saw the fear in his eyes. I can't let him remain a slave. He doesn't want such a fate."

When Huxian's eyes opened, a majestic aura burst out from him. Eight trigrams spread out from his fur, surrounding the small purple mouse. His fur lost its color and faded to gray. But he didn't care.

Bagua Fox Technique—Eight Trigrams Rune Extraction!

The eight trigrams spun around the small creature's forehead, peeling the sigil from it. Eight Trigrams Rune Extraction was a powerful formation-breaking technique developed by his ancestor. At its peak, it could pull millions of runes from their origin for him to devour.

Unfortunately, he was still weak. With his half-step core-formation cultivation, he could barely execute the technique. All he could do now was peel it off, but he couldn't eliminate the connection to Lei Jiang.

"The flaws," Huxian said in a weak voice.

"Here, here, then here," Wang Jun said confidently.

Huxian nodded and summoned three sharp gray needles. He coughed up blood as he summoned them, overdrawing his strength. This was the second part of the technique, Rune-Breaking Needles. Extracted runes could not be eaten directly. They often needed to be broken before consumption, like chewing food. Unfortunately, summoning these rune-breaking needles exceeded the limits of his purification-realm body.

"Break!" Huxian yelled. The runes pierced the sigil in these three locations in order, and the sigil crumbled. Huxian lost consciousness soon after.

***

"Boss, boss!" a high-pitched voice yelled. "Wake up, boss!"

"Who's your boss?" Huxian said groggily.

"Boss is boss of course," the high-pitched voice yelled.

"Lei Jiang?" Huxian muttered, opening his eyes. He was exhausted. His eyesight was blurry, but soon he was able to make out the small shape of a purple mouse.

"Of course it's me," the mouse said.

"Don't call me boss," Huxian said. "I'm not your boss."

The mouse looked hurt. "You're my boss if I say you are."

Huxian sighed. "How could I possibly be my friend's boss?" he said, smiling with his foxy muzzle.

The mouse looked at a loss. "Why can't you be both?" the mouse asked, confused.

"This.." Huxian wasn't sure how to answer that. He'd always taken their boss-minion relationship as a one-way street. But then he thought more about it and realized that he was slightly subservient to Cha Ming. Cha Ming and he were brothers, but Cha Ming was the elder brother.

"I suppose you're right," Huxian said. "You admit that I'm your friend, even if a bad one?"

"You're the best of friends," Lei Jiang said. "When you took away my soul seal, I was scared. My thoughts became confused. I had a lot of time to think before they finally caught me. That second time, I thought I would never escape." The little mouse sniffed. "But who would have thought that when I woke up, I would see the boss? Not only that, you were wounded. Your blond-haired friend said you spent a lot of strength to save me. How could anyone but the best of friends do that?"

"I guess we're friends," Huxian muttered. "Well, as the older brother in this relationship, you need to listen to what I say." The mouse nodded. "However, I promise to always protect you. I should protect my friends. You'll support me, and I'll protect you. Deal?"

"Deal!" Lei Jiang said.

Suddenly, the trigram on Huxian's tail lit up. It was the same lightning trigram as before, and a character appeared on it. On Lei Jiang, a symbol appeared on his forehead. It wasn't the character for "general." Rather, it was the character for "friend."

And to Huxian's surprise, they had the same abilities as when Lei Jiang was his thunder general. Except now, he had an obligation. But he also had a friend.

To Huxian, that made a world of difference.