Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 228: Chapter 228. Midnight Autumn Village

True to Ha Gild’s estimation, they arrived at their destination after two days of travel. The students saw the new settlement from high up as the great eagle descended. The new settlement was surrounded by woods, with only one paved road as an entry path. Not far ahead, in the opposite region from where this road entered the settlement, was a lush jungle.

Yong Ling explained that despite the look, this area was considered peaceful. There were not many spirit beasts, and certainly no insanely powerful spirit beasts, in the vicinity. This was the reason the kingdom built a new settlement here.

As for the region beyond the lush jungle, it was mostly uncharted areas. The kingdom hoped this new settlement could serve as a hub for cultivators to explore new areas and perhaps discover resources that could enrich the kingdom.

From above, the students could see the settlement was still small. It was just a village, but many construction activities were under process. At one corner of the village was a tall fort. This was the base for a small detachment of the kingdom’s soldiers who oversaw the construction and protected the workers.

”How many soldiers are stationed there?” Amon asked Yong Ling.

”Ten,” Yong Ling answered. ”They are all Intermediate to Peak Transformation Stages, except for their captain, who had the cultivation of the Intermediate Mystic Stage.”

”Only ten?” Tuang Yin asked.

”They are mostly there to keep the villagers in line. The surrounding spirit beasts are mostly inferior beasts. These ten, including a few cultivators among the villagers, are enough to drive the spirit beasts back if they cause trouble. The captain is on standby in case a stronger spirit beast appears, but there have never been such instances since they started building the settlement.”

”With only ten soldiers, I can understand why they can’t go and check out the Jue Apes rumor themselves,” Wu Di remarked.

”That’s right. The kingdom is unwilling to send more soldiers here unless the cause is justified,” Yong Ling said. ”That’s where we come in. The area where the Jue Monkeys are spotted is near the border of that jungle. Many caves are also sighted there. That’s where we will conduct our survey. As long as none of you slack off, we should cover the area in less than two weeks.”

”What if we do discover the Jue Apes?” Tuang Yin asked. ”We just leave them be and report back?”

”Yes,” Yong Ling nodded. ”We will assess the situation based on your findings. If there are Jue Apes, and the number isn’t many, we will exterminate them ourselves. No need to bother the army. If there are more than we can handle, we will report our findings and let the army send the extermination squad.”

”Once we touch down, I will divide our group into several teams,” Gao Xi said. He was annoyed that Yong Ling was the one explaining things. He was supposed to be the one in charge of this mission. ”You all have to follow my instructions.”

”Why don’t we just split into two teams like we are now?” Wu Di asked.

”Don’t be ridiculous!” Gao Xi scolded. ”You are all freshman students. If you find a Jue Ape and are not careful, you can be killed. You are all just strength stage cultivators. I don’t want to be reprimanded by the principal for your deaths on my watch!”

”I am a Beginning Transformation Stage cultivator,” Wu Di said.

”Me and Xa Jien as well. We just broke through a few days ago,” Zhuan San said.

Gao Xi showed a surprised expression. As a Martial realm cultivator, he could sense others’ cultivation. But since he was still at the Mystic stage, his sensing ability was not yet advanced. He needed to consciously do it. He never paid attention to the freshman students, so he wasn’t aware. Now that he used his senses, he knew the three were telling the truth.

”Damn! Only Lin Mo and I are still at the Peak Strength Stage?” Tuang Yin lamented.

”Haha. Number one, I will overtake your place if you are slacking like this,” Wu Di slapped Amon’s arm.

Amon had already broken through to the Beginning Transformation Stage two and a half years ago. He was just concealing his cultivation using the Concealed Ghost Body. His mastery of this art had improved again to the Master level. At this mastery, he could conceal his cultivation even from a cultivator who was one stage above.

Since Gao Xi and Yong Ling didn’t say anything in response to Tuang Yin’s statement, Amon concluded the teachers were at Mystic Stage. Currently, only Spirit Stage cultivators or above could discern his true cultivation.

Yong Ling said, ”Even if you three are at the Beginning Transformation Stage, you just broke through not long ago. You also lack experience. It is safer if you are accompanied by senior students...”

”Let me be clear. I will be the one assigning the teams,” Gao Xi stated before Yong Ling said anything further. ”This mission is my responsibility. If any of you refuse to follow my instructions, I have the authority to deduct the academic points you receive from this mission.”

”Relax, Sir. No one is here to steal your thunder,” Zhuan San said.

Gao Xi was fuming. The way this student spoke to him showed no respect at all.

”We are about to land. Let’s continue this discussion later,” Yong Ling said.

There weren’t many empty fields for the great eagle to land due to the wooded terrain around the village. The only available spot was the field at the center of the village. The villagers, who happened to be on that field, hurriedly moved away when they saw the giant bird descend.

Everyone climbed down from the great eagle as the villagers gathered to see the newcomers. The ten kingdom soldiers came to keep everyone in order. Once everyone climbed down, the great eagle rose into the air and flew away. It would stay in the area until Gao Xi called it using the bone whistle.

One of the ten soldiers came forward and greeted the newcomers, ”Welcome to Midnight Autumn Village. Are you from the Royal Academy?”

”We are,” Gao Xi replied to the greeting. ”Are you Captain Lian Wui? I believe you have been briefed about our purpose here?”

”I am, and I have,” Lian Wui answered. ”Please come with me. We will talk at the fort.”

To the villagers, Lian Wui said, ”The show is over. Get back to work!”

His soldiers shooed the villagers to return to their activities while he led Gao Xi and the others toward the fort. Arriving at the fort, he invited Gao Xi and Yong Ling to enter his office while telling the students to remain in the courtyard.

The two teachers spent around an hour inside. Amon used the time to walk around the fort’s wall and study the surroundings. The village was small, and there were not many defensive structures. It wouldn’t survive an attack. If there were truly Jue Apes in the vicinity, the village was in grave danger. The Jue Apes could breach the villagers’ homes before anyone was aware.

Amon wasn’t concerned about the well-being of these villagers. The Jue Apes could come and wipe them all out for all he cared. He had only one concern in this mission, which was to complete it without falling to the senior students’ ploy. He knew those seniors were up to something. If he was not careful, he might not survive this mission.

Now that he was a Transformation Stage cultivator, he stood a chance against those seniors, even when they were half a stage stronger. Those seniors still considered him a Strength Stage cultivator. This should let him get a jump on them. The problem was their number. He had confidence if he fought them one-on-one. But if they ganged up on him, it was unlikely for him to survive.

Amon was still deeply in thought when Gao Xi and Yong Ling came out with Captain Lian Wui. Gao Xi was holding a large roll of paper. They went to a table on one side of the courtyard. Gao Xi called everyone to gather.

Gao Xi spread the paper on the table. When the others approached, they saw the paper was a map. Gao Xi told everyone this map showed the surrounding area.

”This is where Midnight Autumn Village is,” Gao Xi pointed at the map. The map didn’t show the village. It must have been made before the settlement was built.

”Beyond the Northern border of this map is the uncharted area. Make sure no one goes past this border. As for our mission, this is the area where the Jue Monkeys were spotted,” Gao Xi made a circle on the map. ”And these red marks showed the known cave entrances in the area.”

Everyone studied the map. There were a lot of red marks on the map. After a quick count, they learned the number of red marks was eighty-seven.