Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 359: Chapter 359. The Pocket World’s True Purpose

Wong Cou and Amon took out Bright Flare Stones from their space rings. After activating the stones, the two entered the room. But once they did, the light from the stone vanished. They couldn’t see anything.

They instinctively backed away. When they were back in the hallway again, the bright light from the stones returned.

”What is this? Another test?” Wong Cou asked.

”... Probably,” Amon replied. He extended his hand that was holding the bright flare stone into the dark room. The light from the stone vanished in the dark. It was as if the darkness swallowed his hand.

”This darkness is unnatural. It eats light,” Amon said.

”What should we do?” Wong Cou asked.

Amon thought for a second. Should he wait for the others? He didn’t like venturing into the unknown. He took a handful of pebbles from his space ring and threw them using Hundred Shooting Stars. This art normally made the flying projectiles look like starlight, but they were not visible inside the engulfing darkness.

The sounds of the thrown pebbles hitting something were heard.

”This hall is around the same size as the others,” Amon said. ”It is also seemingly empty.”

”Do you think this hall will also turn into a maze?” Wong Cou asked. The prospect of walking inside a maze in absolute darkness was not encouraging.

After thinking a bit longer, Amon said, ”Let’s head in and find out.”

”Are you sure?” Wong Cou asked.

”We won’t know if we just stay here. Our options are to continue ahead or turn back. Even if the others arrive, the options are still the same.”

Amon used the body-strengthening meridian point technique and activated the Great Virulent Serpent for safety measures. He then took a step forward.

”Wait!” Wong Cou called.

Amon turned to him.

”We can’t see anything inside. We should hold hands so we don’t get separated,” Wong Cou suggested.

”... I would rather die,” Amon replied and walked forward. He disappeared into the darkness.

Wong Cou was taken aback by Amon’s decisiveness. He hesitated for a few seconds before he decided to follow. He activated his Rock Suit and entered the darkness.

As expected, the inside was completely devoid of light. Amon couldn’t see anything at all. He grabbed his Improved Swan Dagger and pointed it to his front. He used it to detect if anything was before him.

He heard Wong Cou call out his name. Judging from the voice, Wong Cou also entered the darkness. He was slightly behind and on his left.

”I’m over here,” Amon informed him. ”Keep going forward and keep speaking. Let me know if you bump into something.”

”All right... Do you think this is a good idea? Perhaps we should wait for the others,” Wong Cou said.

”Too late for that now,” Amon replied. ”We proceed. The faster we find the defunct high-tier runic battle puppet, the earlier we leave this place.”

”What if we encounter a working high-tier runic battle puppet?” Wong Cou asked. ”Come to think of it, we truly should wait. Sima Fang has the safety device to stop the battle puppet.”

”Don’t worry. As Shi Zi said, a battle puppet of that grade will most likely run out of juice already,” Amon said. Although he was not an expert in battle puppets, he had studied the basics and read several books about it. He agreed with Shi Zi’s assessment that all the high-grade battle puppets inside this dimension are likely shut down already. That was, of course, unless Shi Zi made a wrong estimation of this world’s age.

”I don’t like this,” Wong Cou’s voice was heard again.

Amon started to regret asking Wong Cou to continue speaking. He said, ”Look, if you can’t...”

He stopped speaking because he sensed something. Something that made the hairs on his entire body stand straight.

”RUN...!!” He shouted. He turned around and dashed at high speed.

”What?! What happened...?” Wong Cou asked.

”Run! If you want to live...!!!” Amon yelled.

Wong Cou heard Amon’s voice getting further as he spoke, indicating he was running to where they came from. From that fact and the urgency in Amon’s tone, Wong Cou decided not to waste time asking more questions. He also turned around and ran.

However, in his hastiness, he forgot to deactivate his Rock Suit. The suit gave him excellent protection but reduced his speed. With that suit, he could not move quickly. When he was about to cancel his art, he heard a shrill female voice from behind him.

”A prey enters my cage. Do you think I will let it go?”

Wong Cou felt something coiled around his body. He was then yanked.

”What...? Wait! Wait...! Stop! Lin Mo, help me...! Help me! Aaahhhh...!!!”

The sound of crunching and liquid splashing onto the floor was heard. Wong Cou stopped screaming then.

Amon never stopped running. If anything, he was glad Wong Cou was there to delay whatever was inside this darkness. However, his danger sense flared again when he sensed something approaching from behind.

He didn’t have the time to hesitate. He drew the merged aether from inside his mixed space. The fused energy of the divine and infernal aether gathered in his hands. They formed a series of water rings. He jumped forward while spinning. He threw the Water Slicing Rings at whatever was approaching him.

The five water rings flew in the darkness. They relied solely on Amon’s danger instinct to pinpoint their targets. The sounds of clanging sounds were heard as these rings collided with something.

”A demon cultivator in this surface world? How fascinating,” the shrill voice spoke. ”Sadly, you will just be my other prey.”

The danger Amon sensed multiplied. He could feel whatever was inside this darkness coming at him at a breakneck speed. This speed didn’t give him a chance to react.

Before his obvious demise occurred, he felt a burst of wind from his side, followed by a loud impact sound.

”Rarrgghhh...!!! You again!” The shrill voice reverberated.

At the same time, the darkness around the room receded. Amon could see again. He turned and saw the one who almost got him.

It was an abomination in the form of a giant human and butterfly hybrid. The human part was shaped like an oversized woman, but her skin was extremely white and porous, like chalk. The eyes on its human head were closed, and so was the mouth. In its belly was another mouth, a gigantic mouth that opened vertically. This mouth was filled with sharp teeth. Partially devoured Wong Cou was hanging from this mouth.

Spread along its sides were large butterfly wings. The wings seemed to be made of overlapping soft white fabric. In the upper parts of the wings were two large eyeballs. The pupils of these eyeballs moved around, registering their surroundings. These eyeballs were the true eyes of this white creature.

The creature’s bottom part ended not with legs but with several long tentacles. These tentacles were the ones that snatched Wong Cou and almost got Amon, too.

The reason this creature no longer came after Amon was because it was being assaulted by another being. This other being was a mechanical creature with metal skins. It was a battle puppet with a size similar to the half-built battle puppet Shi Zi was working on.

This battle puppet fought the white butterfly creature ferociously. It pummeled the creature and forced it back.

”Rarrhh...! Despicable puppet! I will turn you into scraps!” The butterfly creature roared.

Its body exploded with dark fog that attempted to engulf the battle puppet. The battle puppet possessed something resembling a pair of bags on its waist. These bags opened and released bright flashes, countering the darkness.

Amon understood then the darkness that robbed him of his vision when he entered this room was produced by the butterfly creature. It must have released the darkness when it sensed Wong Cou and he approached this room.

With the darkness repelled, the hulking battle puppet resumed its punches.

”Curse you! You, soulless dummy!” The butterfly creature spat. It retreated because it couldn’t contest the battle puppet in strength. The battle puppet stopped moving after the butterfly creature retreated to a point.

After the battle puppet stopped assaulting it, the butterfly creature landed and resumed consuming Wong Cou. Its tentacles wrapped around his remaining body and tore it apart. It then chomped at the parts one by one.

Amon studied the surroundings while the creature and the battle puppet were ignoring him. He noticed a gigantic diagram inscribed on the floor at the center of the room. This diagram was filled with words of power. The battle puppet was standing outside the outer line of this diagram. The butterfly creature was inside.

A glowing rope extended from the center of the diagram. This glowing rope was attached to the back of the butterfly creature.

Studying the scene, Amon understood the setup. Without understanding the true purpose of the box left behind by the master puppet maker, Shi Zi had sent them to a place meant for confinement. This pocket world was actually a prison for this butterfly creature. This hall was its prison cell. The diagram was its cage. The glowing rope was its chain, and the battle puppet was its warden.