After the sloth demon lord was taken care of, Song Jia once again heard the bland voice of the Great Demon King above her.
"All of you here are important ministers, and I approve of you fighting with each other in order for your talents and skills to not become stagnant. However, don't take it too far and put the whole world in chaos. I don't want another repetition of the ninth court to happen to any of you."
In that moment, Song Jia chose to look up and finally saw the appearance of the Great Demon King. Lazily leaning back in his throne, not wearing any crown or cape, even from far away, Song Jia could tell that the Great Demon King was monstrous in size.
Standing close to seven or eight feet tall, he was huge with muscles that looked as though they were hewn of steel from years of hard labor. But instead of making him look brutish, it made his body appear sleek, like a well-oiled machine with all of its gears working in perfect harmony.
Long and thick horns that curved downwards protruded from his jet-black hair, framing a ridiculously handsome face that was almost inhuman. His eyes were a lighter shade of blue, similar to the color of glaciers. Although it couldn't be seen clearly, Song Jia caught glimpses of a long tail behind him.
Suddenly, the Demon King's expression changed, his eyebrows furrowed, and his ice-like eyes glanced sharply at Song Jia's direction. Song Jia hurriedly bowed her head, letting her hair cover her face.
Wuwu, that was too spooky! Too scary, just thinking of meeting his gaze was too scary, ah~
Fortunately, she looked down just in time. It was a great crime for a servant of low status to look at a monarch directly, and in some cases, such crime could even warrant a death penalty.
He was the king of the demon world, a place where even without doing anything wrong, a stronger demon could kill you just because he could. In this vast territory where the strong dominated the weak, all life and death belong to him.
"Now that the minor issues have been addressed, let's go to the main topic I've called you here for. Everyone, please sit down. I've arranged some refreshments for all of us, so relax and enjoy yourselves. What I'm going to announce next is good news for everyone present."
The demon lords murmured to each other. Obviously, his reminder about the ninth court that had now been eradicated and annexed under his territory was a threat. Who would still be able to relax? Everyone shook their heads, but none of them dared to say a word of complaint, and silently headed down to their respective seats.
Song Jia followed Yanluo, observing the demon lords at the corner of her eyes. She still hadn't forgotten her original intention for attending this annual meeting, which was to find Nova.
As soon as all of the demon lords have taken a seat, several gui chai [1] came forward with trays filled with food and drinks. The Great Demon King himself took a cup of wine and lazily swayed it in his hand. When he saw that everyone had eaten and drank, he raised his cup and toasted them.
"My beloved demon lords, since time immemorial, we have always indulged in sin and depravity. By doing so, not only did we enjoy ourselves, we also amassed power. But for us who have long since drowned in carnal pleasure, an exotic taste of purity and virtue now and then...could also be said to be a feast for the senses."
He paused for a moment, as his indifferent gaze swept over everyone present. He continued, "An annual meeting like this is boring without any entertainment. How about each of you try to present a performance? Whichever pleases me, I will declare as the winner. Of course, there is already a prize that I have prepared in advance."
He waved his hand, and in the middle of the room, a golden cage suddenly appeared. All of the demon lords gasped when they saw the person inside the cage.
"What...?"
"Hk!"
"Is that...?"
Iridescent white wings, a pair of soulful eyes misty with tears, and unblemished, porcelain skin. The girl stared at them with undisguised distress, like a peach blossom drenched under spring rain.
Her eyelashes trembled as she received the greedy gazes of the various demon lords, appearing very pitiful.
Song Jia stared.
It was an...angel.
Song Jia pursed her lips. Alright, since she had already treated demons as some kind of alien species, then she'll just think of angels as another alien species cohabiting the same world. After all, anything was possible.
She patted her little heart. This grandma's ability to adapt to any situation was definitely top-notch~
"Your Majesty, you said that you would give this angel to the winner, right?"
Dushi licked his lips as he spoke. It had been a very long time since he last tasted such a rare delicacy.
It wasn't only the demon lord of gluttony that wanted the angel. Pure souls like angels give more power when corrupted, and if the angel got tainted by a deadly sin, the sin they absorbed would be greater than the sins of a thousand human souls.
"Xu Jinhai!" The angel bit her lips and glared angrily at the Great Demon King. "You will definitely receive divine retribution!"
"You dare!" Despite sitting far away, a whip of flames struck the angel, leaving a throbbing, red welt across her cheek. Chuljang's expression was filled with fury. "A lowly being like you has no right to speak His Majesty's name!"
"Leave it, Chuljang." The Demon King's expression didn't change. "It's been several millennia since someone called me by my name. It's a bit refreshing."
The angel became desperate, and she crawled forward to grip the bars closest to the Great Demon King.
"Kill me then! I would rather be killed here than to become a prize for them!"
Slowly, the Great Demon King moved his gaze towards her. The angel's eyes were bright and lustrous, as if reflecting the purity of her soul. Despite her trembling hands, she gazed at him with strong determination.
"Xu Jinhai, kill me!"
"Kill you?" The corners of his lips curved upwards. "Wouldn't that be a waste?"
Chuljang stood up and went forward, giving a deep bow to the Great Demon King.
"Your Majesty, please allow me to go first."
Chuljang's eyes had turned into a deeper shade of red, which meant that her temper was about to explode. The demon lord of wrath, more than anything, couldn't tolerate anyone disrespecting the Great Demon King. As the strongest demon ever known, she had long since treated him as her god and master.
"Alright then." The Great Demon King took a sip of his wine and gestured for Chuljang to start.
Song Jia thought that although they were demon lords, there would still be a limit as to how much their performance would stretch the imagination.
In the end, she could only hide behind Yanluo as an explosion the size of a small bomb rocked the conference room, burning off the hem of her dress. The angel had been hidden away, and only Chuljang alone danced in the center of room, surrounded by dancing flames that echoed her movement. Every once in a while, she would create explosions of fire that nearly burned the room to the ground.
Song Jia was stunned. What the hell, this was still called entertainment?
[1] Gui Chai: A generic term for officers and agents of the Ch. underworld. Usually portrayed as ogre-like and monstrous in pop entertainment.