Night fell.
Scarlet Thunder City.
Scarlet Thunder Hall.
The lamps blazed brightly.
Xin Liang and the senior officials.
Had all gathered together.
Their brows were knotted with worry.
The demons were encamped outside the city.
Though they had yet to move.
They could launch an attack at any moment.
With Scarlet Thunder City's strength.
It could not hold out for long.
"Any word on reinforcements?"
"City Lord, the dynasty has replied. Demon Tides have erupted everywhere these past few days, and wars rage constantly. The dynasty can no longer send aid. We must fend off this Blood Sacrifice ourselves!"
A senior official spoke.
"Hmph! Fend them off ourselves? Scarlet Thunder City has only this much strength to its name. What are we supposed to use against the Demon Saint Race?" Xin Liang flew into a rage.
Though he had known hope was slim.
He had never expected the dynasty to refuse so bluntly!
Just one sentence.
Fend them off yourselves.
A perfunctory dismissal.
"What about the nearby cities? Can they come to our aid?" asked an old man brimming with vitality, his hair white as a crane's feathers but his face youthful.
"All nine surrounding cities are besieged. Though battle has yet to begin, they have no mind to rescue us. Several city lords have sent messages asking us to fight to the death and never let the Fire Demon Saint Race break through our defenses!"
A formidable, heavily bearded middle-aged man in blood-red armor spoke.
"Fight to the death? Ha, easy for them to say! Scarlet Thunder City has already lost a hundred Martial Kings. No fewer than sixty detonated themselves. Haven't we fought hard enough?"
"The other city lords must have heard by now that the Fire Demon Saint Race will follow a certain sequence for this Blood