Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 225: Chapter 225. The Mission Offer

Amon just returned after completing another 5-star mission. He was now resting while attending the theory class. He didn’t have much time to spend on cultivation this year. He was busy completing missions. Yet, the gap between his academic points and Sima Fang’s didn’t shrink. It appeared Sima Fang had the same thought as him. She also pulled out all the stops to gain as many academic points as possible.

If things went on like this, he wouldn’t be able to catch up. He needed a breakthrough.

Even though Amon was pondering the problem, it didn’t affect his concentration listening to the lecture. He couldn’t think of a solution yet, but it didn’t make him anxious. Others who looked his way would see an obedient student intensely absorbing the information from the lecture, not someone burdened by an insoluble problem.

He contemplated if he should set his people to disrupt Sima Fang from completing more missions. He never liked the tactic of disrupting an opponent in a race. It was not a matter of principle. It was a matter of pride. Doing that would show that he was incapable of winning the race on his own. But at this point, he might need to resort to such a despicable tactic.

The lecture ended without him coming up with another solution. He rose from his seat and was about to leave when someone approached him. When he turned to the person, he learned that the person was a tutor. It was the tutor who usually delivered the lectures on spirit beasts, Ha Gild.

”Student Lin Mo, may I have a bit of your time? I have a proposition for you,” Ha Gild said.

”What proposition?” Amon asked.

”Follow me, please.”

Ha Gild led Amon to a waiting room for tutors. The room was empty. The two sat before they talked.

”How are you doing with your study?” Ha Gild asked.

”Can we cut to the chase?” Amon returned.

”Li Shi told me you are very direct. I can see that now. All right, I won’t beat around the bush. You see, I have a special mission that will commence two weeks from now. It is a team mission. I originally only offered this mission to the senior class, but there have been discussions to bring along exceptional junior and freshman students so they can get some experience. This suggestion has just been approved by the principal recently, and one of my colleagues suggested the slot for the freshman student be offered to you. Li Shi also spoke highly of you, so I don’t see why not. Hence, our chat here.”

”What is the mission about?” Amon asked.

”Ah, I’m sorry. Your directness has prompted me to throw you the offer without explaining the mission,” Ha Gild chuckled. ”The mission is simply to survey a newly emerged spirit beast habitat. By newly emerged, I think it is more apt to call it newly noticed. This habitat is located close to a new settlement the kingdom is building. The settlers there reported to have noticed monkeys with very similar characteristics to the Jue Monkey.”

”I see...,” Amon said. ”The Jue Monkey is a lower inferior beast. It is practically harmless. But with the right environment and if it lives long enough, it has a potential to grow into a Jue Ape, which is a lower superior beast.”

”I see you pay attention to my class. I am very pleased. I can see why you always scored full marks in the yearly theory tests. Since that is the case, you should know why I propose this mission. If there are Jue Apes there, they will pose a threat to the new settlement. Jue Apes are known to kidnap humans, particularly women, for breeding purposes. Our job is to head there and investigate.

”Jue apes is a lower superior beast. Normally, junior students should be enough to deal with this beast, but they tend to exist in a group. Facing a pack of this beast would be too much unless it was a group of Intermediate Transformation cultivators. That’s why the core members of the team were senior students. I only allocated one junior and one freshman student to observe. As long as you stay with the group, you will be fine.

”That said, the main purpose of the mission is to assess the situation. You are not required to exterminate the Jue Apes if you find them. You only need to report them. Based on your assessment, the kingdom will send an extermination force. The kingdom army is busy. They can’t freely deploy to the middle of nowhere simply because of a rumor. That’s why it’s our task to ensure whether there is indeed a real danger. It is for the sake of the new settlement.”

Amon didn’t give a shit about the new settlement. His concern was only one thing. He asked, ”How many academic points will be awarded if I join this mission, and how long will it take?”

”Every participant will receive double the academic points of a 5-star mission. That will be 6,000 academic points,” Ha Gild answered. ”As for the time needed for the mission, I estimate it will not be longer than two weeks. The area we suspect to be the habitat of the Jue Apes is not that large. It should take less than two weeks to cover.”

”Are you sure? Jue Monkeys live on trees like regular monkeys. But after they turn into Jue Apes, they live underground.”

”I am truly happy for a student such as you!” Ha Gild exclaimed while clapping Amon’s back. Amon almost instinctively stopped that hand from touching him. ”It is true the Jue Apes changed their habitat to live underground. There are a number of caves near the forest where the Jue Monkeys were spotted, but not too many. Two weeks should be enough to explore them all.”

”What about the time we need to get to the site?” Amon asked.

”The site is rather far, but I have something that can bring you there in two days. It will take the same time for you to return.”

The mission required less than three weeks, but the reward was twice the number of completing a 5-star mission. He spent four and a half months completing three 5-star missions. That put an average of one and a half months for one 5-star mission. This was already because he picked the mission he thought could be completed as fast as possible. Such a mission was not always available. Hence, no matter how he looked at this offer, it was an extremely good deal.

”So, what do you say, student Lin Mo?” Ha Gild asked. ”I originally disagreed with including a freshman student on the team. But after speaking with you, I want to see you grow. Going into the field and watching how your seniors work will be a great experience to help your growth.”

”Before I give my decision, I would like to know the seniors who will be joining the group. Since it is two weeks left, you should have a fixed roster already, shouldn’t you?”

”Certainly, I have their names written in the paper here,” Ha Gild said. He pulled a parchment from his space ring and gave it to Amon.

Amon read the names recorded on that parchment. None of the names in the parchment had the surnames of Gao, Yan, Wu, Xian, An, Lin, Ming, Zong, Yong, Lei, and Wei. These were the surnames of the prominent clans in the five old factions. Of course, those clans had members from other clans as well, but their most prominent members were the ones with those surnames.

’This should be all right,’ Amon thought.

”Okay, I’m in,” Amon said.

”Great!” Ha Gild again clapped Amon’s back. This time, Amon gave him a hostile glare. Ha Gild didn’t seem to notice it.

”Come to the center of the main plaza in the morning two weeks from now. You will gather with the team there before you depart,” Ha Gild informed.

”You are not coming with us?” Amon asked.

”I can’t. I have many other tasks,” Ha Gild answered. ”Don’t worry, there will be a teacher accompanying you on the mission. He will make sure you all return safely.”

”Very well. If there are no more matters, I’ll take my leave,” Amon said.

”Study hard, student Lin Mo. I will be rooting for you,” Ha Gild said. ”I can’t wait for you to enter the senior class. I hope you will take the beast taming specialization then. I will make sure to train you into a great beast tamer.”

Amon nodded in response. He left without saying another word.

*

Since he was not taking another mission, he spent the remaining two weeks cultivating and practicing his arts. He also had a meeting with Xin Wuming and his other lieutenants to get a bearing on matters regarding the Vicious and Demon Gang. Everything was running within acceptable margins.

On the morning of the day of the mission, Amon went to the center of the main plaza. Once he arrived, he creased his forehead. Everyone gathered there had the surnames of the clans that formed three out of the five old factions.