Somewhere in the Western Country lay a secluded canyon. It looked ordinary, but that was only a facade.
A powerful barrier enveloped the canyon, and farther inside stretched a sprawling encampment.
The demonic aura within was unimaginably dense. Members of the Leopard Cat, Flame Demon, Earth Dragon, Evil Spirit, Leopard, and other demon tribes occupied the encampment.
Of course, the largest contingent belonged to the Leopard Cat Tribe.
This canyon was the Leopard Cat Tribe's base. The assembled tribes followed its lead, while their kin outside continued fighting the Dog Tribe and its allied tribes.
As mentioned before, this was not merely a conflict between two great tribes. The tribes under their command were also slaughtering one another.
Deep within the canyon, an enormous being devoured the human souls his subordinates had collected.
He stood hundreds of feet tall, as massive as a small mountain. Sharp horns crowned his head, and horns also protruded on either side of his feline ears!
His golden eyes gleamed with ferocity, and his terrifying fangs were more than ten feet long.
Clad in ancient battle armor, he opened his cavernous, blood-red maw and drew in the human offerings below.
As he absorbed more soul power, his aura actually grew a little stronger!
Once those humans lost their souls, their bodies withered like dying flowers, decaying into dust.
"These offerings taste quite good!"
The enormous being spoke with satisfaction. He thoroughly enjoyed his meal, and his mood brightened.
"We're glad you're pleased, my lord!"
Below him, a young woman dressed in blue bowed deeply, delight on her face and fanatical reverence for the enormous being in her eyes.
Just then, following a series of announcements, the leader of the Leopard Tribe arrived.
"Your subordinate pays his respects to Lord Michinaga!"
The Leopard Tribe's leader prostrated himself reverently before the enormous being, his face filled with awe.
This enormous being was none other than Michinaga, leader of the Leopard Cat Tribe, a true great demon and the former overlord of the Western Country.
"Leopard King? What brings you here?"
Michinaga inclined his head slightly and asked.
"Lord Michinaga, all the tribesmen I dispatched under your orders to attack the Demon Wolf Tribe on Bluestone Mountain have fallen at the hands of the demon wolf Mingye.
Please allow me to go to Bluestone Mountain myself and slay Demon Wolf Mingye, to avenge my people!"
News that the Leopard troops sent against the Demon Wolf Tribe on Bluestone Mountain had been wiped out soon spread.
In an age of war like this, information traveled fast.
The Demon Wolf Tribe had risen forcefully, slaughtering members of both the Evil Spirit Tribe and the Leopard Tribe in succession. Its fearsome reputation had already spread!
Moreover, Mingye had slain many demons on his earlier travels, and his own reputation had resounded far and wide during this time.
Most demon tribes now knew that a powerful demon named Mingye had emerged from the Demon Wolf Tribe on Bluestone Mountain.
Now he had even slaughtered members of a tribe serving the Panther Tribe Leader, making his name by trampling on the Leopard Cat Tribe's prestige!
"Mingye of the Demon Wolf Tribe..."
Michinaga rolled the name over his tongue, seemingly trying to recall something.
At that moment, the young woman in blue offered a reminder. "My lord, a number of demons in the Demon World died at the hands of a demon wolf recently. Rumor has it that he was Mingye, the leader of Bluestone Mountain!"
"Also, some members of the Evil Spirit Tribe met gruesome deaths on Bluestone Mountain not long ago."
It could be said that the Leopard Cat Tribe's plan to intimidate the other tribes had stalled at Bluestone Mountain. Everywhere else, its forces had won victory after victory, yet nearly all the troops sent against the Demon Wolf Tribe on Bluestone Mountain had been annihilated.
"Mingye of the Demon Wolf Tribe! A mere youngster dares obstruct my conquest of the Western Country? What insolence!"
Michinaga grew angry at those words. How could he allow a mere youngster to stand in the way of his conquest?
"Leopard King, heed my command. Mobilize the entire Leopard Tribe and wipe out the Demon Wolf Tribe on Bluestone Mountain, along with that brat Mingye!"
Michinaga spoke coldly. He had seen plenty of youngsters like this, all hotheaded and impetuous. The Demon World had never lacked geniuses!
But only those who truly matured could become genuine powerhouses.
Demons never remembered those who died young. They all vanished into the river of time.
"As you command!"
The Leopard King answered forcefully. Three thousand of his tribesmen had died at Mingye's hands, and the hatred seething in his heart desperately needed an outlet!
He respectfully took his leave and moved swiftly, his eyes filled with vicious bloodlust as he headed toward the Leopard Tribe's camp to muster his troops.
"Mingye of the Demon Wolf Tribe... why do I feel this faint unease...? Could it be..."
The young woman in blue furrowed her brows slightly. She kept feeling that Mingye's strength was far from ordinary, but unfortunately, everyone who had actually encountered him was already dead.
There was no way to determine his exact strength.
Still, the Leopard Tribe was not weak. Aside from the troops fighting the Dog Tribe elsewhere, it had nearly eight thousand tribesmen remaining.
Compared with the Demon Wolf Tribe members on Bluestone Mountain, those numbers represented an overwhelming advantage.
After all, the Demon Wolf Tribe was scattered throughout the Demon World. The Bluestone Mountain branch had, at most, around a thousand members of the Nether Demon Wolf Tribe.
Yet even with such a disparity in fighting strength, the young woman in blue still felt a trace of unease.
As the foremost of the Leopard Cat Tribe's Four Heavenly Kings, her strength was naturally second only to Michinaga's. Premonitions like this had often helped her defeat her opponents.
"Donglan, I need more offerings. That old dog's strength keeps growing, and I must grow stronger as well!"
Michinaga's voice interrupted Donglan's thoughts, and she stopped pondering the matter.
"Yes, my lord!"
Donglan respectfully accepted the order. In the course of conquering the Western Country, they would naturally destroy human villages and capture humans to nourish the Panther Tribe Leader's strength.
Nothing could have been more normal.
Such was the law of this world: the weak were prey to the strong, and only the strong could control their own fate.
Faced with such horrors, frail humans could only flee for their lives.
Fortunately, humans also had many gifted individuals among them. Demon slayers, monks, priestesses, and others wielding powerful spiritual energy and weapons could fend off demonic attacks.
That was why so many humans still existed in this world teeming with demons.
Donglan withdrew, leaving the place silent!
"That old dog really is getting stronger and stronger. He even defeated Kir inmaru a few days ago..."
Michinaga mulled over the intelligence he had received recently. While he and Flying Moth had joined forces to attack the Western Country, Kir inmaru, who controlled the other half of the Eastern Country, had also come to the Western Country.
Kir inmaru had fought Tōga, and Tōga had defeated him head-on. When the news broke, both Michinaga and Flying Moth were shocked.
After all, Kir inmaru was far from weak, and Michinaga knew his strength quite well.
He knew that, with his own strength, he could never defeat Kir inmaru.
In years past, he had fought Kir inmaru several times in the Eastern Country, and every battle had ended in a draw.
Yet now Tōga had defeated Kir inmaru. That was ample proof that Tōga's strength had advanced again!
This was also why Michinaga had needed so many souls lately. His opponent was growing stronger; how could he allow himself to fall behind?
Only by devouring human souls could he force his strength, which had stagnated for years, to advance!
"The day my strength reaches the next level will be the day that old dog dies!"
Before you continue