Chapter 28: The Mechanical Armor

Eagle Sorrow Gorge was, in fact, a city—one that rested in the midst of marshes and waters. Its vast surrounding wetlands served as its finest fortifications: embankments built from silt, reed-thatched eaves, and countless dwellings. A great multitude of snake demons made their home here, relying on this environment to survive.

To the north of the city, stretching along a river for dozens of miles, lay a vast, shimmering lake so deep its bottom was unseen. This enormous lake was the true Eagle Sorrow Gorge. Yet, as the city gradually took shape, it adopted the name itself, becoming known as Eagle Sorrow Gorge in its own right by the myriad demons residing there.

Now, this city had become a sea of flames.

Everywhere within the city, fires raged—some dying down, others still fiercely burning. Amid the flames, countless faces of snake demons and humans were locked in agonizing struggle. Tall pavilions and towers had been charred and broken, collapsing to the ground while continuing to burn fiercely.

Corpses lay scattered across the land—mostly snake beasts and demons, but many humans as well—each clutching various weapons. Even the young snake beasts and demons were not spared.

To the east stood several colossal mechanical beasts shaped like crouching golden toads. Their fiery mouths had been extinguished, and the soldiers guarding them were busy with repairs. Meanwhile, more troops had already surged into the city, engaging in fierce combat at street corners and alleys, besieging the remaining snake demons who continued to fight in smaller skirmishes.

At the city’s center stood the ancestral temple—one of the few majestic structures in the city. But it, too, had been reduced to a scorched and shattered ruin. The soldiers commanded smaller crouching fire beasts in their assault, while inside, resistance was rare and faltering, the defense near collapse.

Elsewhere, others hurriedly assembled two enormous mechanical beasts never before seen by Liu Chou. From their rough outlines, these machines were even larger and more imposing than the tortoise-like beasts called Bixi, carrying greater strategic significance.

Liu Chou surmised that the humans had baited numerous snake beasts from the outskirts of Eagle Sorrow Gorge with several small teams, then launched a main assault to encircle the city now stripped of tens of thousands of lower-tier snake beasts. This forced the snake demons into direct confrontation, after which the humans deployed their overwhelming mechanical beasts as their primary weapon to annihilate them in one fell swoop.

Following the river, the battle grew fiercer. From afar, Liu Chou could see many powerful snake demons fighting humans: Qi cultivators and various mechanical beasts were stationed here. Among the snake demon tribes, the mightiest were the flood dragon demons and serpent demons, who unleashed their sorceries in chaotic mêlée with the humans.

The distance was too great to discern details. Liu Chou and Er Yao lay low on the ground, silently watching the scene before them. Only one thought churned repeatedly in their minds: to enter the fray or not.

Entering the battlefield promised great peril, yet Liu Chou was well aware of the immense potential gains. Besides the tens of thousands of demon cores to be collected on the battlefield, there was something else he desired here.

The Fengshen Record!

During the original War of the Gods, Zhao Gongming had emerged to aid the Yin Shang dynasty. While pursuing the Burning Lamp deity, he encountered two wandering immortals from Mount Wuyi, who used the Precious Money to seize the Twenty-Four Stabilizing Pearls and the Dragon Binding Rope. Unwilling to concede, Zhao Gongming borrowed the Golden Dragon Scissors from his sister, the Goddess Yunxiao, to confront Burning Lamp and reclaim the treasures.

These scissors contained the essence of two ancient Yin-Yang dragons, later refined by the Heavenly Leader and imbued with a spirit, making them extraordinarily powerful—so much so that even the Twelve Golden Immortals dared not face them. In their second encounter, Burning Lamp fled in haste upon seeing Zhao Gongming wield the scissors; his mount, a spotted deer, was sliced in two.

Within the carcass of that deer lay a universe pouch, inside which was the treasured book.

This tome recorded the entire War of the Gods—the treasures, artifacts, and magical techniques wielded by Qi cultivators, demon immortals, wandering cultivators, and golden immortals alike. Though a simple volume, it was a tactical guide of immense value for the impending second war, offering insight into potential adversaries.

How this book came to rest in Eagle Sorrow Gorge, becoming one of the snake demons’ prized possessions, was a mystery lost to time. But its existence was certain, and Liu Chou’s decision to remain rather than return was driven by his desire to obtain it.

War was undoubtedly the greatest opportunity for gain—this Liu Chou understood well. After some calculation, he decided to infiltrate the city with Er Yao.

Eagle Sorrow Gorge was vast. Though humans had deployed their forces heavily in the east, defenses on the other three sides were less robust. Having surveyed the entire situation from above, Liu Chou and the others slipped in smoothly, using the cover of smoke and fire to approach the ancestral temple.

The human assault was sudden and ferocious. The snake demons had little time once the main force descended upon the city. After repeated simulations and calculations, human preparations, weapons, and strategies had become highly efficient. They systematically dismantled the snake demons’ defenses. Though the demons’ innate geographical advantage and the marshlands inflicted heavy casualties on their foes, this only delayed the humans’ advance, incapable of altering the overall outcome.

Fire was the snake demons’ greatest enemy. With the humans exploiting fire attacks to the utmost, the snake demons were forced into retreat.

After only two hours of battle, the snake demons ordered a withdrawal. Some were commanded to remain and mount a last stand, while many snake demons and python demons began moving toward the lake, submerging themselves and surrendering the surface city to human control.

Though adjacent to the lake, the escape route still stretched several dozen miles—a considerable distance. Human forces had also stationed troops to intercept the fleeing demons, making their flight perilous. As the battle’s focus shifted, this area became an even more fierce battleground.

Adult flood dragon demons and serpent demons were formidable fighters, matching Qi cultivators blow for blow. Yet the remaining demons here were newly formed and few in number. Burdened with protecting their young and female snakes, they soon became entangled by humans, plunging into desperate combat.

Their fate was grim: either flee abandoning their kin or perish in battle.

Within Eagle Sorrow Gorge city, Jin Jing and Mo Yun swiftly passed through an alley, pursuing Liu Chou’s figure. After turning a dirt wall, they entered a small courtyard where Liu Chou squatted, examining two corpses. He had yet to extract the demon cores from them.

Mo Yun strode over and crouched beside Liu Chou. The long pursuit had been a great ordeal for him. His massive frame and strength suited frontal assault and breaking enemy lines rather than the comprehensive vigilance Liu Chou displayed.

Jin Jing casually shook his head and tossed a cloth bag—nearly full of freshly extracted demon cores—into Liu Chou’s hands.

"What of this snake demon?" Mo Yun asked in a low voice, wiping sweat from his brow, breathing heavily.

A female snake demon lay on the ground beside a young beast. Her features were alluring and beautiful, her figure exquisitely curved. Though her serpentine tail was only just emerging, her human legs were remarkably fair and graceful—a rare beauty.

She had died within the last half-hour, a fatal wound to her chest causing heavy bleeding; her serpent gall bladder was ruptured—the primary cause of death.

A beautiful snake demon who had gone so far as to fully transform into human form, slain here along with her young—this was Mo Yun’s conclusion. He wondered what Liu Chou perceived from this.

"This snake demon is stunning, yet the human soldiers did not molest her—they simply killed her brutally. That is truly odd," Liu Chou remarked in a tone devoid of emotion, describing a common wartime occurrence.

Mo Yun hesitated, having heard rumors of human conduct but uncertain: "Perhaps military law is strict, forbidding any foul play?"

Liu Chou shook his head, gently tracing the snake demon’s face, then said, "Fully transforming into human form consumes vast demonic energy. This beauty was not a strong fighter; killing her was wasteful. Capturing her alive would not be difficult. Even if military law forbids immediate indulgence, they could capture and sell her for profit. To gain nothing from this battle—not even spoils—is strange indeed!"

Mo Yun instantly grasped the situation. Capturing demons for sale was a major source of income for the Western human armies, with beautiful female demons commanding the highest prices. To discard such valuable prizes lightly indicated this battle’s purpose went far beyond mere conflict—it was a war of extermination.

"The war has begun; this is a battlefield cleanup," Mo Yun asserted.

Liu Chou nodded silently. Having just learned from Mo Yun that war was imminent, now witnessing a living battlefield unsettled him. Even those accustomed to life and death cherish the peace and calm they possess.

He quickly began extracting demon cores, following the sword wound to retrieve the core. Mo Yun broke the young beast’s corpse with a snap and extracted its core as well.

Liu Chou stood and gestured toward a somewhat spacious building nearby. Beyond it lay the snake demons’ ancestral temple. The roars of the crouching fire beasts had ceased; the killing sounds faded.

"Let’s go up and take a look."

Without delay, Liu Chou crossed the courtyard and swiftly climbed up, vanishing atop the roof in mere moments with nimble silence.

Mo Yun shook his head heavily and gave a wry smile. He strapped his iron rod to his belt and followed. Unlike Liu Chou’s effortless ascent, Mo Yun sprinted, leapt, grabbed the edge of the roof with both hands, dug in, and pulled himself up—a far more strenuous effort.

Jin Jing opted for a careful step-by-step climb along the wall. His iron-forged feet bore protruding spikes, allowing him to scale vertical surfaces with ease.

The three demons crawled along the rooftop to the opposite edge and peered toward the ancestral temple.

At a glance, Mo Yun’s face changed drastically; he whispered, "What is that?"

"I don’t know either," Liu Chou replied softly, though his voice carried a hint of unease. The source of this discomfort was two strange mechanisms surrounded by elite warriors inside the temple.

Neither beast nor human—but something in between!