With three of the generals gone, the others only hesitated a little longer before they followed one after the other as well. Even though not everyone had truly made up their mind about the situation, they all understood that this wasn’t something that could be solved right this instant. Plus, this was the Nine Heavens. The matters of their dragon realm, how could they be discussed here? No, this would have to wait until tomorrow at the very least when everyone was back in the dragon realm and the celebration was over.

The last person to remain was General Min Jun. He stood in front of the gate even when the trueborn gods and ascended deities from the capital city dispersed and the Heavenly Guards went back to their usual positions, marking the end of the festivities over in the Nine Heavens. His expression was grave as he looked in the direction of his homeland.

Min Jun was the oldest among the generals of the dragon realm and the only one apart from Fu Heng and Fu Min who had been alive during the war that marked the change of their realm’s sovereign. Contrary to them who had only been children, he had been a young adult, barely old enough to pick up a weapon or change his form and keep it throughout the fight. Those days, he remembered them very well and he also remembered what he had lost.

His parents had perished in those battles as had his older brother. What remained were only he and his younger sister whom he had to care for from that day forward. To say that he hated the demons was an understatement. Hate. That word couldn’t accurately describe the depths of his feelings. In fact, when he heard that their king wanted to help the half-bloods in their realm gain recognition and that he didn’t intend to distinguish between them based on which race their blood came from, he had been dissatisfied. Now, having seen their king’s dragon form, he couldn’t hold back those doubts.

Min Jun lowered his head, unwilling to move. He didn’t know what to think and compared to the others, he couldn’t brush this off until later as easily.

These years, he had been stationed in the northeast, at the border to the Nine Heavens. Still, whenever a battle happened, he’d rush over to the west, involving himself in the fights. He just … couldn’t allow for such tragedies to happen again. It was impossible. And yes, this also meant not trusting the demons a single bit. This also went for those with only a single drop of demon blood. At the very least, that was what he had always thought. But then, he had also always admired their king.

He still remembered the day he appeared in full clarity: It had been a month since he bid farewell to his brother, leaving only the two youngest members of the family alive. Facing yet another battle, he had thought to himself that it might even be impossible to hold the city that time. If that happened … don’t mention himself who was in the thick of the battle, not even his sister might make it. He truly was on the verge of giving up hope.

He had long since taken on his dragon form but despite the natural defenses, there were already large cracks in the scales, blood dripping to the ground when he moved too much. Looking around, he saw that many others weren’t doing better. It truly looked as if the end of the dragon race would be ushered in that day.

He also … felt reluctant to accept it but he didn’t have the strength to change the course of fate. He could only do his best, kill one more enemy to try and even the odds a little more but … he knew it was likely futile. Some things couldn’t be overcome simply by the strength of one’s will. At least, that was what he thought.

As that day taught him, maybe he had been wrong in that belief.

When that person appeared, sword in hand, there was no hesitation at all. He rushed through the battlefield with strength and speed Min Jun wouldn’t have thought possible. He didn’t rely on the natural defenses of a dragon’s body and simply wielded that sword so masterfully that even the demons with their damned dark energy and ability to teleport to another spot couldn’t win against him. Sure, he was injured as well but he harvested lives at the same time as if this was what he was born for. The whole time, until he had killed demon king Huo Yan, he didn’t show any mercy at all.

Admittedly, it was this merciless slaughter that made Min Jun look up to him. He thought and truly believed all these years that their king shared his hatred for the demons. That belief was only deepened when he saw him rush out every time there was a new battle, fighting personally when he could have simply commanded the soldiers. Surely, if he didn’t abhor them as much as he did, he wouldn’t bother to do this, would he?

Now, it seemed that this person might not actually be exactly who he thought. Yes, maybe that part of his mixed blood came from the side of the gods. It was possible. But … if it was this, then … why had he never shown his dragon form? Why had there never been a single word about this?

It just seemed like he had done everything in his power to hide this and he certainly wouldn’t bother with this if it wasn’t for a significant amount of demon blood in his veins, would he? After all, he had always thought their king was a person who was very down-to-earth. He wouldn’t do anything unnecessary, especially something so cumbersome. That simply wasn’t his style.

So in the end … the person he had looked up to might be related to those people he hated the most. How was he supposed to reconcile these two ideas? He genuinely didn’t know.