Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 349: Chapter 349. Taming a Higher Superior Beast

Ha Gild returned not long after. He asked Amon to follow him. He led Amon to one of the buildings at the periphery of the ranch. His assistant was waiting in front of the building’s entrance.

”Is it ready?” Ha Gild asked his assistant.

”Yes, master. The staff inside has made the preparation,” the assistant replied.

They entered the building. Inside, there were several huge cages. One was opened. Amon saw a huge, purple-feathered bird inside the open cage. It was held down by several people using long sticks. Multiple engraved chains bound its body. Even then, it made regular twitches that shook the people who held it down. From the expressions of these people, they were not having it easy.

Another emotion expressed by their faces was disbelief. Were they truly doing this for an Intermediate Transformation Stage student to try taming this higher superior beast? They all thought this was a complete waste of time.

Ha Gild jumped over and put a hand on the bird’s neck. Its movement stopped then.

”As before, you need not worry about this beast fighting back. It won’t be free from our confinement,” Ha Gild told Amon. ”However, you are on your own for the mental link process. The backlash you suffered from trying to link with this beast will be many times what you experienced from taming the Marsh Howling Hound. It has the potential to shatter your energy cord. If that happens, you fail. This beast will be untamable for a while, and you will also need time before you can reform your energy cord. Do you still wish to go through with the taming process?”

”I do,” Amon answered.

”In that case, let me subtract your academic points.”

The assistant presented Amon with a formal paper to sign for the transaction. After going through the formal procedure, Amon approached the captive beast.

Like with the Marsh Howling Hound, he needed to synchronize his aether with the Thunder Roc. The Thunder Roc’s eyes stared menacingly at Amon. It knew what was going on. Sparks of electricity coursed through the beast’s large body when Amon’s hand approached its head. The engraved chains flared when this happened. The sparks receded.

”Don’t worry. You are safe,” Ha Gild assured.

Amon’s hand touched the Thunder Roc. The beast growled and shook, but it was futile. Amon proceeded to feel the bird’s aether and started the synchronization process. With his expertise, it didn’t take long. He proceeded to delve into his inner consciousness and started forming the energy cord from his energy core.

When he and his energy cord crossed into the Thunder Roc’s energy space, he immediately understood it was not as easy. When he tamed the Marsh Howling Hound, he had a higher cultivation than the tamed beast. It was the other way around this time.

He had difficulty moving inside the Thunder Roc’s energy space. He felt like he was swimming inside a dense liquid. Every movement required effort and was painstakingly slow. Thankfully, the beast was restrained. Hence, he could take his time.

It was also harder to perceive through the energy space. Thick red fog was all around him. He had trouble pinpointing the energy core’s location. He moved around while trying to sense his target, but he was like a blind person trying to feel his way through a new neighborhood.

He realized it was no use moving around the place blindly to find the energy core. This energy space was not a physical construct. Even if he spent an eternity moving around, he would not stumble upon the energy core. He needed to use the same trick as before. He went into a meditative state to fuse with his surroundings. The red fog started clearing up little by little.

He spent almost an hour doing that. Ha Gild remarked, ”Boy, I said take your time, but not this long...”

By then, the red fog was almost gone. He could see the Thunder Roc’s red energy core. It was much larger than the Marsh Howling Hound. It also emitted repeated pulse waves that caused discomfort to Amon’s phantom projection. His translucent body flickered a little whenever these pulse waves hit him. Only by exerting his willpower could Amon keep his phantom projection together.

Amon knew then that after reaching this stage, he no longer had a time advantage. His mental power might be top-class, but it was not without limit. Being constantly bombarded by the energy waves would chip his mental power until he could no longer stay within this energy space.

Thankfully, he had learned the trick when he tamed the Marsh Howling Hound. He now used the same trick. His energy cord split into countless tiny threads that enfold the energy core. He carefully arranged them so they were evenly spaced. Unlike with the hound, he had a hunch he wouldn’t have the chance for a second try.

Once he was confident with the arrangement, he sent the attack command. At the same time, he prepared a mental shield. All the threads pierced into the energy core at the same time. When these threads touched the surface, the energy core trembled. There was a ripple in each contact point. These ripples pulsated around the surface before they merged with the next pulsing wave radiated from the core.

When this augmented pulse wave hit his mental shield, it shattered. The wave then swept his phantom projection. Three-quarters of his projection disintegrated. Amon was ready, though. His projection quickly reformed, and he urged his energy threads to push deeper into the red energy core.

He was lucky he learned this trick. If he tried the normal way of forming the mental link by inserting his energy cord into the red energy core, the backlash would be so astronomical that he was blown out of the Thunder Roc’s energy space. His trick severely reduced the backlash power.

He repeated this process several times. Each time, his energy threads went in deeper than before. Each time, his phantom projection was blasted almost to oblivion. He could feel his mental energy weakened each time he reformed his projection. Yet, he persevered.

On the twelfth time, a shrill shriek of a bird sounded from inside the red energy core. Amon knew then the Thunder Roc’s subconsciousness was mounting a final struggle. He channeled all his willpower into forming a mental shield. He was gambling with this move. He was exhausting his mental power. The mental shield he formed was three times the normal size, but after this, he wouldn’t be able to form another one again.

A silhouette of a bird was seen inside the red energy core as it pulsed. The energy wave radiated from the core this time was a thick red fog. When it washed over Amon’s mental shield, the shield dissipated rapidly. The red fog hit his phantom projection next. He felt as if he was swept by a tidal wave. His phantom projection tumbled inside the red fog while, at the same time, it got scraped bit by bit.

When the red fog finally blew past, only a tiny part of Amon was left. If it was anyone else, they would have lost consciousness already, but Amon held on to that tiny part. He stubbornly clung his thoughts to it, but he didn’t spend the last of his willpower to reform his phantom projection. Instead, he focused on his energy threads.

The energy threads pushed, following his will. This time, there was no resistance. It was as if the last pulse wave had used up the red energy core’s power. His energy threads sunk in deep and became one with the red energy core. The Thunder Roc’s core was now linked with his.

Amon opened his eyes and collapsed. Ha Gild let go of the Thunder Roc and rushed to him.

”Are you all right?” Ha Gild asked.

Amon’s breath was short. He was gasping. He felt weak throughout his body. He never felt so deprived of strength like this. He didn’t even have enough energy to reply to Ha Gild’s question. However, he could smile.

He smiled because he saw the way the Thunder Roc was looking at him. Its menacing stare was completely gone. What Amon saw from its eyes was compliance.

”Incredible,” Ha Gild remarked. He knew Amon had succeeded. He signaled for the people holding the long sticks to let go. The people looked at one another before they did. The Thunder Roc remained still.

”Release the chains,” Ha Gild commanded.

The people carried out his order. They still had expressions of disbelief, except it was for a completely different reason than before. They couldn’t believe the Intermediate Transformation Stage student truly managed to pull this off.

The engraved chains were removed from the Thunder Roc’s body. It rose to its feet. It wiggled its body, which was sore from being bound for so long. Electric sparks crackled along its body as it wiggled. It then took one step toward Amon before bowing its head submissively.

”I... I don’t know what to say...,” Ha Gild’s assistant said.

”You can record this down,” Ha Gild told him. ”This is sure to be remembered in the history of our Royal Academy.”