Chapter 1081: Cannot be Changed

Everywhere around them were the Demon Emperor’s eyes, or rather, the entire royal city was filled with the Demon Emperor’s eyes.

If they wanted the Demon Emperor to remain unaware of what was happening here for the time being, then several people would have to die.

Several pairs of eyes had to die.

“The time it takes for a stick of incense to burn finish.”

Demon Lord Redsleeve did not know where she produced an incense burner from. She placed a stick of incense into it, then turned to look at Autumn.

Although she was a Demon Lord and had spent many years in the royal city, and also possessed some unknown methods, it was not easy to keep hiding things from the Demon Emperor’s eyes. They only had the time it took for this stick of incense to burn.

Demon Lord Redsleeve stared at Autumn and asked seriously, “Will you kill him?”

The emotions in her eyes were extremely complicated. There was anticipation, worry, and even some faintly discernible admiration...

Autumn did not answer the question directly. She merely said, “With Royal Father’s cultivation, how could I possibly kill him?”

This sentence did not answer whether she would or would not, but by putting it this way, she had actually already given her answer.

Demon Lord Redsleeve said, “You are young, and you are a genius. Everything he has, you have; what he does not have, you have as well. If he does nothing, then one day, you will certainly surpass him.”

Autumn looked at Demon Lord Redsleeve. “Will Royal Father do nothing?”

Demon Lord Redsleeve smiled. “That depends on when you intend to surpass him. It cannot be too soon.”

There was a deeper meaning in these words as well. No matter how high the Demon Emperor’s cultivation realm was, sooner or later, he would leave this world. When he left this world, the throne would need an heir to take his place. At that time, Autumn could surpass the Demon Emperor. But if he still had many years before he died of old age, and Autumn was already in a position where she might sit on that throne, then it would be difficult for Autumn to remain alive.

Power was the sharpest sword in this world. It could sever so many things, whether familial affection or friendship.

In front of this sword, none of them could put up the slightest resistance.

Autumn remained silent for a long time, until a bit of ash from the incense fell into the burner.

“The present demon race needs Royal Father now.”

Autumn looked at Demon Lord Redsleeve and said, “It seems you and I are the same kind of person.”

Demon Lord Redsleeve naturally knew what Autumn meant. She smiled. “There are very few people like that anymore.”

Autumn said nothing.

Demon Lord Redsleeve looked at Autumn again, her eyes filled with admiration and affection. “Someone like you is destined to have a very difficult life, to suffer quite a few grievances. But it seems there is no way around it.”

Autumn shook her head and said, “Once we head south and everything has been settled, I will do that thing.”

Demon Lord Redsleeve looked at this junior of hers and tapped the table with her hand. “Before then, you need to slow down.”

Autumn said, “But he has already come this far.”

Demon Lord Redsleeve said, “Your Royal Father will naturally deal with him.”

Autumn said nothing more.

Demon Lord Redsleeve said, “You want to take two steps forward, to do something while these matters are still being carried out, but he won’t think that way. So if you move forward, it will actually be bad for him. If it’s bad for him, then it will be bad for the demon race as well. So there’s nothing that can be done about it.”

Autumn nodded. She understood the reasoning behind this clearly.

Demon Lord Redsleeve glanced at the incense burning over there. By now, only a little remained.

“Actually, I really want to see you sit on that throne. Probably... only once you sit up there will those things not be false. Unfortunately... I probably won’t have the chance anymore.”

Demon Lord Redsleeve smiled bitterly. “That Royal Father of yours is too powerful.”

No matter how much one disliked the Demon Emperor, one had to admit his strength.

Whether it was his talent or his cunning, he was unquestionably one of the outstanding figures among all the demon emperors throughout history. There was no one else who could compare with him.

Autumn said, “A long time ago, I admired him greatly too.”

Demon Lord Redsleeve smiled and said nothing more.

At that moment, the incense happened to burn out completely, and the last bit of ash fell into the incense burner.

Demon Lord Redsleeve took a deep breath, then picked up her bowl of wine and took a sip. She smiled and said, “The alcohol over at the humans there becomes more flavorful the longer it is aged, but this jar of wine, after being stored for thirty years, actually doesn’t taste as good as it did when it was freshly brewed.”

Hearing this, Autumn also picked up her bowl and took a sip. She did not like drinking and had hardly ever drunk alcohol before, so she could not tell whether it was good or bad. She only felt a slight burning in her throat, which then turned into a chill, as though ice had formed in her throat.

"Not bad."

It was rare for Autumn to offer a word of praise.

“I’m about to leave the royal city and return to the desolate north. The second great battle will not be like the previous one.”

Demon Lord Redsleeve narrowed her eyes, “From what we learned before, the Great Liang has indeed grown stronger and stronger over these years. They have not stood still. That is very rare. But when you think about it, it also makes perfect sense. After all, they have always been the weaker side. To them, we are like a sword hanging above their heads.”

Autumn said, “I’ll go to the battlefield and follow your orders.”

Demon Lord Redsleeve ignored Autumn and continued speaking to herself, “Do you know that the young martial artist is no longer in the Northern Frontier? The things Jing Zhu arranged among the human race all those years ago can probably be destroyed by half this time.”

Jing Zhu was the name of the High Priest.

Autumn looked at Demon Lord Redsleeve before her with some surprise.

Demon Lord Redsleeve said, “Here in the demon race, there is probably no one who worried about this sooner than he did. He began making preparations long ago, but at that time he was merely preparing for a rainy day. Those people had always been useful for something. During the previous great battle, I used some of them to learn about their movements. You can understand what happened next. That young martial artist and that young woman were both no fools.”

At this point, Demon Lord Redsleeve sighed. “Really, if the human race didn’t have these two people now, I wouldn’t be worried about the southern campaign at all.”

“He and she are indeed both extraordinary.”

One was a martial artist who had supported an entire Great Liang Dynasty through his own strength, while the other seemed as though she had been born to become a Great General.

People of such outstanding caliber often appeared only once in many years, yet there were two of them now, and they were standing together.

“Actually, the one I’m most worried about is still that woman. That young martial artist is merely somewhat higher in cultivation realm, but he can’t really be called invincible under heaven. And as far as the entire battle situation is concerned, he can only influence it; he cannot truly bring about a huge change. That woman, on the other hand, is extremely troublesome when it comes to deploying troops and commanding generals.”

If Chen Chao was strength, then Xie Nandu was wisdom.

Autumn asked, “Is there any way to enter the Northern Frontier Great Wall and kill her?”

Demon Lord Redsleeve glanced at Autumn, shook her head, and smiled. “A Demon Lord would die upon entering. As for those great demons of the Fuyun Realm, none of them would do such a thing.”

Autumn raised her eyes slightly.

“It’s still a matter of understanding.”

Demon Lord Redsleeve exhaled a breath of stale air, “Even achieving the situation we have now took quite a lot of effort, and this is already the limit. Trying to do anything more is almost impossible.”

This has been a long-standing affliction of the demon race, one that cannot be eradicated and will only continue to exist.

“Don’t think about trying it. Your life is more important. Besides, they are constantly on guard over there now. You won’t be able to accomplish this.”

Demon Lord Redsleeve saw what Autumn was thinking and spoke first.

Autumn nodded. She was not an irrational person either.

Demon Lord Redsleeve smiled and said, “If you really want to kill her, it’s not as though there’s no opportunity. Once the second great battle begins, the human race will be hard-pressed to deal with everything, and they will make mistakes. Once they make a mistake, I can find a way to have her killed.”

“I’ve lived so many more years than her after all, I should still be able to manage this much.”

Demon Lord Redsleeve had governed the Southern Frontier for so many years, so she still had confidence in herself when it came to certain things.

After saying this, Demon Lord Redsleeve reached for the wine jar and poured herself a bowl of wine.

Then she poured a bowl for Autumn across from her.

Afterward, she raised her bowl of wine and said with a smile, “Little Autumn, after I finish this bowl of wine, I will never come back again.”

She was smiling as she spoke, but Autumn could not see any trace of a smile in her eyes.

Autumn sensed a hint of sorrow. She could not say anything and merely raised her bowl of wine.

Demon Lord Redsleeve smiled, drained the wine in her bowl in one gulp, then stood up, kicked the head beneath her feet away, and walked out of the tavern.

Wind and snow blew in the instant Demon Lord Redsleeve stepped out of the tavern.

It was not yet winter in the Demon Domain, but it had already become very cold, and there would be a bout of wind and snow from time to time.

Demon Lord Redsleeve simply walked through the wind and snow, kicking the head beneath her feet as though she were kicking a ball.

At this moment, she seemed to have become a teenager again. Back then, she did not need to consider so many things. No matter how difficult the affairs of the world were, her father would support her, and all she needed to do was be that young girl, kicking a ball without having to think about so much.

But now, times had changed, and everything was different.

Autumn walked out of the tavern and looked ahead.

Demon Lord Redsleeve's figure in the distance had long since disappeared. The only thing she could see clearly now was a trail of blood remaining on the street.

The demon race had blood too.

A head was never a ball.

So some things, once changed, could never be returned to how they were.

Autumn glanced toward the royal palace. The wind and snow were too heavy. Even at her level, if she did not circulate her demonic qi, she could not see that far.

But Autumn knew very well that over there, there must certainly be someone watching her.

So she looked a little longer.

But no matter how beautiful something was, one could not keep looking at it forever. One's gaze always had to be withdrawn eventually.

So Autumn quickly withdrew her gaze, reached out and caught a snowflake, then looked at it. In her palm, the snowflake gradually became the shape of a parasol leaf.

Then it slowly melted, turning into a drop of water that fell.

Autumn raised her head. Her eyes had become a sheet of pure white, and she turned toward the south.

......

......

The royal palace in the wind and snow looked somewhat gray and drab.

For some reason, when the snow fell upon the royal palace, it was no longer quite so white.

That figure stood on a gray platform, simply looking toward the south.