Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 332: Chapter 332. Golden Stone City

Like Ha Gild said, their journey took two days before they arrived at their destination. When they did, Amon witnessed the majesty of Golden Stone City for the first time.

The capital was almost twice the size of Qishurg City. It had two layers of defensive walls surrounding its perimeter. Li Shi explained that the inner wall was the original wall when the capital was first built. The second layer was much further out. It was built when the capital expanded beyond the original wall. The outer defensive wall was taller and thicker, allowing more defenders to stand atop the wall.

There was a protective dome preventing flyers from entering the capital without permission. Ha Gild’s great eagle hovered above this energy dome. A necklace on its neck, which Amon originally thought was a simple ornament, started glowing. The glow enveloped the great eagle. It then passed through the dome.

The Royal Academy was part of the kingdom, so it made sense for Ha Gild’s great eagle to possess the permit to enter. Amon looked around and saw many other fliers going in and out of the capital from the sky.

The sky traffic here was completely different from Qishurg City. In Qishurg City, when a flyer entered the city without landing on the sky stable, a Martial Realm officer of Spirit Stage or above would engage the flyer to determine the identity and purpose for entering the city. Considering the number of fliers Amon saw in this capital, it was impossible to employ the same method here. The Spirit Stage officers required just for traffic control would be enormous. That was probably why this protective dome was erected.

After passing the dome, their great eagle continued to fly to the center of the capital. Amon looked below and saw that the population in this city was also much larger than that of Qishurg City.

”That is the branch of the Temple of Divinity in this city,” Li Shi said, pointing at a resplendent building with an incredibly tall tower. The top of the tower emitted flashes at regular intervals, and at night, this light would look like a beacon. A chant was heard from the tower.

”The chant is the temple’s prayer,” Li Shi informed. ”It is broadcast every three hours. The prayer can be heard half across the city. The prayer is to remind all the devotees to perform their prayers.”

”Every three hours? Even at night?” Amon asked.

Li Shi nodded.

”No one has a problem with that?” Amon asked.

”It has been a standard practice for a long time. People have gotten used to it,” Li Shi answered. ”But if you asked me, I say it is more because no one dares to complain.”

As they continued, an even more majestic building came into view. It was the largest building in this city, and it was fully covered in golden color. It was the palace. Li Shi informed Amon that the official story was that the palace was completely gilded in pure gold.

The palace was enormous. It could probably fit thousands of people. Next to it was another massive building, except less extravagant. Li Shi told Amon that the building was the grand barrack. It housed all the high military officials of the kingdom and was the center of military administration.

The great eagle landed in a large square outside the palace’s main gate. No one was allowed to fly into the palace. A squad of kingdom soldiers was waiting on the square.

”Welcome back, Chief Archeologist Li Shi,” the leader of the waiting squad, an armored female, greeted when Li Shi and Amon jumped down from the great eagle.

Instead of flying away and hiding in the clouds like at Midnight Autumn Village, the great eagle was led away by someone. It didn’t resist. It appeared used to this.

”Thank you for the welcome, Senior Colonel Hua Ling,” Li Shi replied. ”Is Princess Huang Er available?”

”She is waiting for you inside... And this is?” Hua Ling asked. She was referring to Amon.

”This is Lin Mo. He is our top student in the junior class. He is also the one who first discovered the mural. Has the mural been moved into the palace?”

”Yes, it is placed inside the guest hall. That is where Princess Huang Er is waiting.”

”Very well. Please take us there,” Li Shi said.

Hua Ling led them into the palace. The squad rearranged their formation and followed behind them. Entering the courtyard, Amon saw rows of elite-looking soldiers lined up along the courtyard. The room inside was similarly grandeur to the outside. All surfaces were gilded with gold, including the furniture.

Each room was exceptionally large, which was a great waste of space, in Amon’s opinion. Each passage was guarded by at least two kingdom soldiers. The number of soldiers Amon had seen as he walked through the place might fill a battalion already.

After a long walk, Hua Ling finally stopped in front of a large double door. Six soldiers with Transformation Stage power guarded that door. Seeing it was Hua Ling, one of these six opened the door and ushered them to enter.

Inside was an incredibly large hall. Its walls were filled with ornate decorations. Ten giant chandeliers hung from the hall’s massive ceiling. At the center was the mural from the excavation mission. A glass box encased the mural. As Amon approached, he noticed it was not a glass box. It was an energy field around the mural. On the floor under it were flashing words of power.

More soldiers lined up at the opposing side of the hall. Standing near the mural were three people, two women and one man. Both women appeared middle-aged. One wore a regal uniform like the one worn by Pu Zhang. The other wore a lavish gold dress matching the color of the hall. The man was a youngster in his mid-twenties, like Amon.

Hua Ling and Li Shi bowed to them. Amon imitated their gesture.

”Your Royal Highness, I’ve brought Chief Archeologist Li Shi,” Hua Ling reported to the woman in the gold dress. She was Huang Er, the princess of Echos and the second child of the king.

Despite appearing middle-aged, she had clean skin and a lovely countenance. She also moved elegantly. Most men who laid eyes on her would likely have the desire to protect her. Amon wasn’t one, though. Instead of a comforting feeling, his instinct warned her of the woman. Not simply because the woman had a higher cultivation but because he knew the woman was wearing a mask.

”Thank you, Hua Ling,” Huang Er replied to Hua Ling with a gentle smile. She turned to Li Shi and asked, ”You must be tired from traveling. Maybe you should rest first.”

”That’s okay,” Li Shi replied. ”I prefer to check the mural and make sure everything is all right before our guests arrive tomorrow.”

”In that case, thank you for your hard work,” Huang Er said. She then turned to Amon. ”I see you bring someone?”

”Forgive me. Let me introduce,” Li Shi said. ”This is Lin Mo. He is a student of the Royal Academy.”

”A student? You’ve never brought one here. He must be special,” Huang Er remarked.

”I’ve heard about the Royal Academy a lot. I wonder if the students are anything special,” the young man beside Princess Huang Er uttered. ”Hey, Lin Mo. How about we have a little spar? Let me see if the Royal Academy deserved our kingdom’s funding.”

”Huang Zen, behave yourself,” Huang Er reprimanded. She then said to Amon, ”Forgive him, student Lin Mo. My nephew can be rather brash.”

”This is Prince Huang Zen,” Li Shi introduced. ”He is the son of the late first prince.”

”And I am Senior Minister Hua Rong,” said the woman in the regal uniform. ”Li Shi, tell us the reason why you invite a student here. Considering the circumstances, I assume you plan to include him in the meeting tomorrow?”

”I do,” Li Shi nodded. ”He was the one who discovered the mural. He was also the first to decipher it. It was thanks to his input I didn’t need to spend too long deciphering the mural. I believe his presence will help when we talk with our guests tomorrow.”

”Hm... I see. So, he has a talent in archeology like you,” Hua Rong uttered.

”Not only that, but he is also our Royal Academy’s current generation first-ranking student in the junior class. He held the same position when he was a freshman. I do believe he will be the first-rank student again when he enters the senior class.”

”That’s impressive,” Huang Er praised.

”First rank student? Then it is even more the reason for our spar!” Huang Zen exclaimed. ”Come, Lin Mo! I want to see how good is the best student of the Royal Academy compared to us, who receive the best tutelage in the palace.”

”Huang Zen!” Huang Er scolded him with a stern tone.

”Auntie, it’s not every day I get the chance to spar. The sparring partners the tutors provided are all lame and weak,” Huang Zen complained.

”Lin Mo is our guest,” Huang Er said. ”Unless he is willing, it is impolite to ask him to.”

”Well then. What do you say, Lin Mo?” Huang Zen asked Amon. ”Do you want to compare notes with a prince?”

”Not interested,” Amon answered flatly.