# Chapter 1: Schemes from All Sides
In the lair of the Evil Merman.
Sprawled on a lavish bed and fully embracing two enchanting Fox Demonesses, the Evil Merman savored every droplet of fresh juice his maid had brought, glancing down at the two exquisite beauties nestled in his arms.
He thought to himself, “Ah, there’s no greater joy in this world! Except for the occasionally annoying White Feather City, life doesn’t get any better than this.”
But even the most delicious dishes can become tiresome, he mused, feeling the soft curve of a Fox Demoness’s rear end. While it still felt delightful, the initial thrill seemed to fade away.
Suddenly, he remembered the task assigned by White Feather City, something about capturing the Cold Moon Witch. Up till now, not a peep from any of the caves—perhaps this witch just wasn’t in his territory. Overthinking it wouldn’t do him any good.
“Report! Urgent order from White Feather City!”
A loud announcement erupted from outside his bedroom.
The Evil Merman frowned. “What more could they possibly want? Do they really think they’re the boss of me?”
“Read it,” he said begrudgingly.
“Yes. White Feather City decree: henceforth, all caves must intensify the hunt for the Cold Moon Witch. Upon discovering her whereabouts, report directly to White Feather City without delay! Any failure to comply will result in severe punishment!”
The Evil Merman shot upright in sudden interest. How strange, he thought. When did White Feather City ever use such harsh language? Did that Cold Moon Witch do something truly earth-shattering, causing the Great King of Split Land to want her head on a platter?
Intriguing indeed.
If that witch was within his domain, he’d be sure to keep her hidden in his cave until he was tired of the game.
With that thought, a surge of excitement rushed through him.
He clapped his hands, and the Fox Demonesses immediately sprang to their feet, dashing out of the bedroom without a moment’s hesitation.
Once, a female demon thought she could win him over with her charm. After he issued a command, she refused to leave his side, whining and pouting. But in the blink of an eye, her head was bitten off, leaving just a bl**d-splattered body draped across the bed.
Since then, not a single demon dared challenge the Evil Merman.
“Pass my command, summon all cave masters! No absentees! Violators will be executed!”
“Yes, Great King.”
Two hours later, amidst hurried footsteps, the various cave masters arrived one after another.
Upon sitting, they quickly noticed the vacant spot for the master of Cold Wind Cave, along with the conspicuous absence of the master of Tiger Wolf Cave.
The Evil Merman’s expression was so dark he could probably drain the oceans.
The cave masters stared at the floor, not daring to breathe.
At that moment, a Little Demon from Tiger Wolf Cave stepped forward to report.
“Great King, Tiger Wolf Cave is deserted, and everyone has vanished without a trace.”
“Oh? What’s this now?”
The Evil Merman cocked his head in curiosity.
“Tiger Wolf Cave went to fight Cold Wind Cave on my orders, yet here we are, and no one is left in sight. Explain this!”
The cave masters exchanged glances, but the silence was deafening.
The Evil Merman was just too imposing.
Fearful of saying the wrong thing, they kept their mouths shut.
Impatient, he pointed to the cave master sitting in the front. “Pangolin, you speak.”
Seeing someone finally stepping up, the other demons collectively sighed in relief.
The Pangolin Demon, looking very much like a demon-shaped Pangolin, clasped his hands together and spoke, “Great King, I believe it’s not that Tiger Wolf Cave disobeyed orders. It’s more likely that while attacking Cold Wind Cave, they fell into a trap, and now their cave has been conquered, all the little demons captured.”
“In the Demon Race, caves are crucial for survival. With Tiger Wolf Cave’s loyalty to you, Great King, they would never abandon their little demons. Fleeing a cave is akin to committing s*icide; no one with half a brain would do that!”
Leaning his chin on his hand, the Evil Merman pondered, “So you’re saying Tiger Wolf Cave attempted to attack Cold Wind Cave and ended up getting swallowed whole?”
“There’s a possibility.”
“Heh, what a bunch of useless fools!”
“Pangolin Cave master, you’re in charge!”
“Yes, at your service,” the Pangolin replied promptly.
“Since Tiger Wolf Cave couldn’t handle Cold Wind Cave on their own, we’ll have Pangolin Cave lead the charge! Assemble all forces from Thunder Mountain Cave and Seven Feather Cave to attack Cold Wind Cave together! As for Spirit Tooth Cave, Poison Butterfly Cave, and Fierce Spirit Cave, you will provide full support, obeying my commands without fail! In five days, I want to see the head of Cold Wind Cave’s master! Is that clear?!”
“Yes, Great King!”
The Pangolin Demon bowed without showing any emotion.
The masters of Thunder Mountain Cave and Seven Feather Cave, ranked second and third in strength, also stood up, affirming their commitment to his orders.
However, the masters from Spirit Tooth Cave, Poison Butterfly Cave, and Fierce Spirit Cave were visibly shaken, hurriedly rising to acknowledge their orders.
Their faces were a sight to behold.
Others thought they were concerned about being exploited during the joint attack. But little did anyone know, these three had recently defected to Cold Wind City.
Now, they’ve come to this meeting to avoid angering the Evil Merman, but they were sweating bullets.
Soon, after all this time being enemies, the Evil Merman had the gall to assign them to participate in the attack on Cold Wind City. What a pickle!
Though they returned to their seats, they were still in a frenzy.
“Alright, let’s settle this. Anyone have any news on the hunt for the Cold Moon Witch?” the Evil Merman inquired.
Everyone shook their heads in unison.
The masters of Spirit Tooth Cave and the others understood all too well—the master of Cold Wind City had already turned into the Cold Moon Witch.
The art of being a fence-sitter means not offending either side,
So, they certainly wouldn’t give away their new boss’s identity.
“Gentlemen, we must pay serious attention to the repeated urgings from White Feather City. Any clues must be reported to me immediately! Just a demoness who knows a bit of magic, not particularly powerful. She should excel at hiding and escaping—make sure to instruct your subordinates to thoroughly interrogate everyone to avoid any miss-outs.”
“Yes, Great King.”
“Very well, that’s settled. Dismissed.”
As the Evil Merman staggered out of the meeting hall, the suppressed tension among cave leaders erupted, and they scattered.
Outside, the Pangolin, along with the Thunder Mountain and Seven Feather Cave leaders, huddled together, while the leaders from Spirit Tooth, Poison Butterfly, and Fierce Spirit Caves stood at a distance, awaiting instructions from the Pangolin.
The Master of Thunder Mountain Cave, the Black Fish Monster, and the Master of Seven Feather Cave, Seven Feathers, furrowed their brows.
They weren’t afraid of Cold Wind Cave, but the whole situation was becoming more troublesome by the minute.
“Before we march our armies, we need provisions,” grumbled Seven Feathers. “We’re only two or three days away from Cold Wind Cave, but we have to consider everything along the way—food, drink, essentials. And here the Evil Merman is just delegating orders, without so much as a mention of supplies or rewards, as if war was just a child’s game!”
“Brother Pangolin, since you’re leading, let’s clarify one thing: if my Thunder Mountain Cave sends out 800 troops, upon cleanup and spoils, we’d better get at least 40%!”
Seven Feathers frowned. “That depends on how much effort each cave puts in during the attack on Cold Wind Cave, not just on numbers.”
“Does a mere Cold Wind Cave even need reconnaissance? You’re killing me!”
“Ha! If that’s the case, if we find any ambushes on the way, we simply won’t tell you. How about that?”
Just as it seemed both sides were about to clash, the Pangolin interjected, “Alright, stop! Since the Great King assigned me to lead, hear my thoughts, alright? Discussing spoils before the battle even starts seems a bit premature. Cold Wind Cave may not seem like a big deal, but still, they wiped out Tiger Wolf Cave, after all. We should certainly take them seriously.
As far as spoils go, I know everyone wants to earn something and I assure you that even if Pangolin Cave gets less, I will make sure you all leave happy.”
With that, Thunder Mountain and Seven Feather Cave finally calmed down and bowed. “We’ll defer to you, brother.”
The Pangolin chuckled. “Furthermore, with our three cave masters helping with logistics, bridging rivers and breaking through mountains, how can we possibly lose?”
The master of Spirit Tooth Cave, the Hedgehog Monster, eagerly declared, “Just command us, big brothers! Whatever the little ones can do, we’ll give our all!”
“Yes, yes! Same here!” chimed in the masters of Poison Butterfly Cave and Fierce Spirit Cave.
“Great! Then we’ll move out tomorrow. Prepare enough provisions, and once our six forces converge, we’ll strike Cold Wind Cave in one go. When that happens, rewards from the Evil Merman will surely be plentiful!”
After the Pangolin finished rallying the spirits, everyone went their separate ways to prepare for battle.
A few thousand meters away from the Evil Merman’s lair,
the Hedgehog Monster, Flower Butterfly, and Bat Monster gathered again.
Flower Butterfly, a female demon adorned with a dazzling layer of black, still had two long antennae sticking out from her forehead since she hadn’t fully transformed.
“What shall we do? Once those three caves come, whoever wins or loses will definitely drain us dry!”
The Bat Monster, looking scraggly and wearing a worried frown, replied, “Exactly! What if they decide to wipe us out while leaving? What then?”
The Hedgehog Monster, with his sizable pig head perched atop his neck, unintentionally became the emotional support for the other two.
“I say we can’t play along with the Evil Merman. After all, the three of us have already defected to Cold Wind City. While we may appear to obey the Pangolin’s orders on the surface, we can sabotage them behind the scenes. If they leave early, we might just score some nice rewards!”
“Brother Hedgehog, you have a point.” Flower Butterfly smiled seductively.
The Bat Monster appeared thoughtful. “No wonder the other day, someone from Cold Wind City sent word to pause our communication. Were they worried we’d get discovered by the enemy? Could it be… Cold Wind City has foreseen that the Evil Merman is plotting against them?”
The Hedgehog Monster replied, “That’s certainly plausible. With the Cold Moon Great King’s formidable strength, there’s no way he’d fear them. He’s simply worried we’d get caught in the crossfire. Truly, the Great King has our best interests at heart.”
Flower Butterfly and Bat Monster nodded in agreement, deeply convinced.
“So what should we do next?” Flower Butterfly asked.
“We need to plot this out carefully when we get back. We can’t let chaos rule. After all, we’ve just switched sides and haven’t made any significant contributions yet. I have a feeling that following the Cold Moon Great King, our future will be limitless!”
The Hedgehog Monster’s gaze grew unwaveringly determined.
