Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 272: Chapter 272. Talisman Assault

Yon Niang herself was bewildered when she heard Amon’s yell. She didn’t understand half the things that were going on here. All she knew was these young outsiders just kept popping up one by one. Such disrespect! Whose territory did they think this village was? To make matters worse, one of these outsiders sent his tamed beast in her direction.

Yon Niang pointed at the incoming Swift Spirit Sparrow that was flying over. The Pledge Demon uttered another shrill cry. The Swift Spirit Sparrow faltered from the cry, but it was only momentary.

A spirit beast’s defensive mechanism against mental assaults was the same as cultivators. Some had strong innate defenses, some were weaker. The Swift Spirit Sparrow’s mental defense was roughly the same as the average cultivator’s. The difference was that a spirit beast didn’t require much thought process to act. They relied mainly on instinct. Thus, even after having its mind derailed by the mental attack, the Swift Spirit Sparrow could act soon as if nothing had happened.

It shot up into the sky before making another diving attack. The Pledge Demon’s hair spread. The hair attempted to capture the incoming Swift Spirit Sparrow, but the bird made a sharp turn at high speed. It made two more sharp turns and was already behind the Pledge Demon in an instant. It was heading right to Yon Niang.

As a beast tamer, Xian Yang understood the best way to deal with one was to go for the beast tamer rather than the beast. If the beast tamer was defeated, the tamed beast would flee most of the time. Unless the beast had a very strong bond with the beast tamer, then the beast might avenge its defeated master.

However, increasing the bond between a beast tamer and its beast was not easy. It was the same as cultivators training to upgrade the grades of their arts. It required much time and effort, and sometimes, resources as well. Xian Yang didn’t believe a beast tamer from a small village possessed a strong bond with her spirit beast. Thus, he marked Yon Niang as the main target for his Swift Spirit Sparrow.

Yon Niang didn’t appear perturbed. She just held her daughter close to her. When the Swift Spirit Sparrow’s beak was about to tear into her, the Pledge Demon suddenly appeared in its way.

The Pledge Demon’s appearance was too sudden. The Swift Spirit Sparrow was unable to change direction and dodge. Its sharp beak pierced into the Pledge Demon.

The Pledge Demon uttered no voice. It didn’t even act like it was wounded. Its four arms lunged forward and grabbed the Swift Spirit Sparrow at multiple parts of its body. The giant bird flapped its wings and kicked its claws ferociously.

With the augmentation of the talisman, the Swift Spirit Sparrow’s power was almost equal to a Higher Superior beast. It managed to use sheer force to break the Pledge Demon’s clutches. Its feathers were torn, though. In each of the Pledge Demon’s hands was a handful of feathers. The Swift Spirit Sparrow cried from pain.

*

Tuang Yin watched from a distance. She was undecided whether to resume going for Yon Niang or help Amon fight Xian Yang. With the Pledge Demon occupied by the Swift Spirit Sparrow, it looked like a golden opportunity to deal with Yon Niang.

However, she remembered the Pledge Demon could teleport instantly to protect its master. To land a hit, she needed to coordinate with someone else to attack Yon Niang simultaneously. She obviously could not coordinate with the Swift Spirit Sparrow.

She also heard Amon’s yell. She understood Amon’s intention of pitting Yon Niang against Xian Yang. If she attacked Yon Niang now, she would foil Amon’s plan. Xian Yang would know then that Yon Niang was not Amon’s ally. Hence, she moved away. She decided to help Amon and leave Yon Niang for later.

*

Amon repeatedly stepped back as Xian Yang continued to advance. His martial art made use of his flexible sword extremely well. His sword could coil and turn, striking from unexpected angles. If Amon was an average combatant, he would have been stabbed multiple times already.

Even with his expertise, Amon still received a few stabs. If not for his Jue Body Suit, his body would be full of holes by now.

”Where did you get that armor?” Xian Yang asked. He didn’t believe someone from a small clan like Amon could possess such formidable body armor. His sword was unable to penetrate it.

He needed to use stronger arts or hit Amon’s head to wound him. He had tried doing the latter, but Amon knew his weak points, too. Amon focused his attention on defending his unprotected head.

”Hey, asshole!”

Xian Yang turned to the voice, not because of the insult but because he felt intense heat from that direction. His sword flashed and struck a burning metal. The metal turned out to be a steel claw attached to a steel chain. The steel claw recoiled from the impact and returned to its owner, Tuang Yin.

Xian Yang stopped after repelling Tuang Yin’s ambush. He observed his two opponents, who had also stopped.

”Hmph! You two are at the Beginning Transformation Stage. Do you think you can defeat me just by working together?” Xian Yang asked contemptuously.

”You know the saying, we will never know before we try it,” Tuang Yin replied.

”Fool! I already know!” Xian Yang exclaimed.

He stomped one foot onto the ground. His action didn’t seem to have any effect, but Amon’s keen senses felt something radiated following that stomp.

Tuang Yin decided they should take the initiative if they wanted to win this battle. The flames on her two arms blazed fiercer. The steel claws on his two hands were bright red. She charged forward, turning into an image of a fire eagle.

”Yin, wait!” Amon called.

Tuang Yin was already on the move. It was too late to stop. Suddenly, the ground she was running on collapsed. She lost footing. Her charge abruptly stopped and she lost balance. As she fell, she caught a coiling flash of light from the corner of her eyes. She instinctively put her steel claws in a defensive posture over her head and felt a strong impact hitting her claws.

Before she could react, two more coiling lights flashed. She felt something pricking her side and her left thigh. The pain came soon.

”Ahh...!” She screamed from the pain. Blood spurted from the spots where she was pricked. She saw another coiling flash of light. This time, it was coming for her face. Her arms were open due to her pain. Nothing was protecting her head.

Suddenly, she felt her body getting yanked. At the same time, a dagger swept past her face and collided with the flashing light.

The dagger was Amon’s Swan Dagger. She stopped Xian Yang’s fatal strike while pulling Tuang Yin away using the Corporeal Shifting Branches.

Amon moved Tuang Yin to his back while retracting his Swan Dagger using Xian Cloth. The vine that wrapped around Tuang Yin detached from her. It moved like a living snake.

Amon had practiced the Corporeal Shifting Branches to expert mastery. At this mastery, the vine he created was thirty meters long. It could also move around following his will.

”Thank you...,” Tuang Yin expressed her gratitude for Amon saving her life.

”Can you move?” Amon asked.

Tuang Yin tried standing up. Her left leg hurt. Blood still flowed out, but she could move.

”Yes,” She answered.

”Do not attack blindly,” Amon told her. ”He has some kind of earth-element defensive art placed around him. Follow my instruction for attacking.”

”Hahaha!” Xian Yang laughed. ”I applaud you for identifying my arcane art. Is that why you use ranged means to save her instead of coming near me?”

Amon didn’t answer. He was weighing his options. He almost ran out of his regular flying knives. The flying knives he used yesterday were still on the roof of Yon Niang’s house. He didn’t dare go back there to retrieve them. He took out his crossbow. If Xian Yang used a defensive art that prevented him from approaching. He would just attack from afar.

”You want to play long-range? Do you think I fear that?” Xian Yang laughed. Another talisman appeared in his hand. The talisman flared brightly. When he threw it forward, the talisman flashed and turned into blue lightning.

Thanks to the killing intent Amon sensed, he placed his Swan Dagger before his face just as the lightning came. The lightning was so fast it would have struck his head if he was a fraction of a second late.

Though he parried the lightning, he was not unscathed. The lightning energy that hit his Swan Dagger traveled throughout his body. He was electrocuted.

”Gghh...!!” The electrocution lasted only an instant, but he felt his strength seeping. His knees buckled.

”Lin Mo...!” Tuang Yin called. She came over and grabbed Amon to help him stand.

”I’m okay,” Amon said. His strength returned. That lightning paralyzed him for a short instant. He looked at Xian Yang, who was staring back with a mocking grin.

In Xian Yang’s hand was another talisman.

”Have you tasted enough? Or do you want to compete again in long-range?” He asked.