Head still lowered, the man replied, “My lady, these two humans trespassed into Blackshade Demon Palace and killed our kind. I merely wished to teach them a lesson-”

“A lesson?” Ice crept into the woman’s tone. “Had I come a moment later, you would have killed them outright, wouldn’t you?”

A sheen of sweat broke across the demon general’s brow, he dared not utter another word.

Ignoring him, the woman turned toward Jared and Flaxseed, scrutinizing them for a moment before her gaze lingered on Flaxseed. “You claim this was once the Flaxseed clan’s territory?”

Clutching his bruised chest, Flaxseed rasped, “Exactly! Nine Serpent Mountain has been our home for generations Since when did you demons stake claim to it?”

The woman furrowed her brow in contemplation, then shook her head. “Blackshade Demon Palace has held this land for several centuries. I have never heard of a Flaxseed clan. If this were truly your ancestral land, where are your kin?”

Flaxseed’s face tightened. “Don’t tell me… we were wiped out long ago?”