Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 395: Chapter 395. Turning Tide

The bandit leader made two mistakes when he advanced to face Amon.

His first mistake was underestimating Amon’s cultivation level. Amon’s Concealed Ghost Body made the bandit leader think he was still at the Transformation Stage when he already had the same cultivation level as the bandit leader, which was the Beginning Mystic Stage.

The bandit leader’s second mistake was misgauging Amon’s weapon. The ceremonial dagger was a high-tier runic weapon. His longsword was only a mid-tier engraved weapon. Without using any art to give his sword an enhancement, it was not the ceremonial dagger’s equal.

These two mistakes cost him his life. He didn’t even realize what had happened when his head separated from his body. It was the same with the other bandits. They couldn’t believe their leader had met his demise in such a swift fashion. They were gawking at the sight, thinking that what happened was probably an illusion.

While everyone paused due to the unexpected occurrence, Amon did not. He grabbed the bandit leader’s head, still in mid-air. He then used it as a bludgeon to bash the bandits in melee range. His ceremonial dagger whirled around him under the control of the Xian Cloth. With his Mystic Stage power, his control over the Xian Cloth was better. The Xian Cloth was like a living snake, waving around and striking from unexpected angles. At the same time, his alpha flying knives flew in a circle around him, assaulting the bandits outside the range of his Xian Cloth.

Amon was like a hurricane. No bandit within his scope was safe. They had more numbers but felt like they were fighting multiple enemies instead of just Amon.

Just from those short exchanges, the two Mystic Stage bandit lieutenants understood how dangerous Amon was. They were already winning against Qiang Dan and Lu Fei but decided to leave the two to deal with Amon. Other bandits took over to fight Qiang Dan and Lu Fei, who were already wounded.

Amon didn’t avoid the two bandit lieutenants. He advanced toward them. He sent his alpha flying knives as an initial assault.

The lieutenant whose Amon’s flying knives were targeting ducked into the ground. He blended with the shadows. Amon’s Mystic sense failed to detect this lieutenant’s whereabouts, so he redirected his flying knives to the other lieutenant.

The other lieutenant was an axe-user. Despite the heavy-looking axe, he handled the weapon skillfully. It was swift enough to keep up with the flying knives’ speed. The knives collided with the heavy axe.

This time, the match between weapons went unfavorably for Amon. His alpha flying knives broke into pieces after clashing with the enemy’s axe. The knives were already defective from the start. The weapons could finally not withstand any further punishment and broke apart.

Amon didn’t feel grief losing his alpha flying knives. It was a matter of time, considering the knives’ condition. Even if he gave them to a smith to be repaired, it was unlikely the weapons could return to their prime condition. It was better to craft new knives to replace those defective ones.

While the bandit lieutenant destroyed Amon’s alpha flying knives, his partner sneaked behind Amon using his shadow melt. He was also using concealment art, clouding his aura so those at the same cultivation level or below could not detect him. He threw a deadly punch using martial arts the second he came out of the shadow.

Unfortunately for him, Amon didn’t rely only on his Mystic sense to detect one’s presence. Amon’s danger instinct warned him about an enemy behind him. He swiveled back while throwing the bandit leader’s head at a nearby enemy. That empty hand then caught the sneaky punch just as it arrived.

The sneaky bandit lieutenant was surprised when his fist slammed into Amon’s hand. He felt like his punch had smashed into a thick steel wall. His fist refused to advance despite the enormous power produced by his martial arts. The enemy didn’t appear to be using any art. Why did his art-powered fist fail to break through this simple defense?

While he was still bewildered by the failure of both his ambush and punch, he was given another shock. Amon’s hand, which was grabbing his fist, made a violent twist. This sudden twist caused his arm to rotate uncontrollably and dislocated his wrist and elbow.

”Arggghhh...!!!” He screamed out of sheer pain.

The pain made his movement pause and gave Amon an opening. Amon’s ceremonial dagger swiftly swooped in and detached his head.

The bandit lieutenant with the axe stopped on his track after witnessing the scene. It was clear from the exchange just now that Amon’s physical strength far surpassed his partner. He had roughly the same strength as his partner. This meant he would also lose if it were he who clashed with Amon.

This discouraged him from engaging Amon. He turned around and decided to flee instead.

”Not so fast!” Amon exclaimed. He activated the Great Virulent Serpent. His already superior physical prowess became even greater. He used Invisible Sky Steps again. His body zoomed forward.

The bandit lieutenant with the axe kept looking back as he ran, so he saw Amon’s approach. He swung his axe in a panic, but Amon dodged the swing by shooting into the sky. As if there was an invisible ceiling up there for him to bounce, he abruptly shot back down with blinding speed.

Amon’s rapid movements caught the bandit lieutenant off guard. His feet slammed into the lieutenant’s shoulders, breaking them and forcing the lieutenant into the ground. At the same time, his ceremonial dagger sliced through the lieutenant’s hands, still in mid-swing. The lieutenant dropped to the ground, screaming in pain from his broken shoulders and amputated arms.

Amon pulled out an engraved rope and started tying the bandit lieutenant.

Most of the bandits were still in fierce battle with the defenders. Some, who saw what happened to their three leaders, chose to flee. Some of these fleeing ones happened to run close to Amon. They saw him using ropes to tie their remaining leader. Out of loyalty, bravery, or simple stupidity, some decided to come to the rescue.

Amon sensed these bandits coming but didn’t stop tying the bandit lieutenant. He acted as if these bandits didn’t exist. When they were closed, ten long vines sprouted from his body. These vines slapped or entangled the bandits. Those who received only slaps were the fortunate ones. The entangled ones got squeezed and choked to death. A few who got entangled in two vines received a more violent death by having their bodies ripped apart. Amon continued his task like nothing was bothering him.

When he was done, the bandits who tried to come at him had either died or fled. He lifted the bound lieutenant with one arm and put him on his shoulder. He looked at the battle. Xin Wuming was back in the fray. His broken arm had healed. The moon wolf was fighting by his side.

Qiang Dan and Lu Fei were not in good condition because they were wounded. Amon threw his flying knives using Hundred Shooting Stars at the bandits who ganged up on the two. The knives punctured the bandits’ fatal parts from unexpected angles.

The tide now turned in favor of the defenders.

*

Up on a distant hill overseeing the valley, a group of people was observing the battle. Gao Xi, an ex-Royal Academy teacher, was among this group.

”Who is that person?” One of the people asked.

”That guy is Lin Mo... No, he goes by the name Amon now,” Gao Xi answered.

”Lin Mo...? Why does it feel like I have heard that name before?” The first speaker asked.

”Sir Gao Zhong and Sir Gao Tien mentioned him before, Master Gao Feng. He was a Royal Academy student like Sir Gao Tien, and he was the original reason we had a conflict with San Guo and the Demon Gang,” a short man beside the first speaker answered.

”Ah! I remember now that you mentioned it,” Gao Feng uttered with a laugh. ”You always have a good memory, Liu Xin. What will I do without you?”

”Your words are too kind, Master Gao Feng,” Liu Xin replied with a grateful bow.

”Brother, should we join the attack?” A woman in the group asked. ”It looks like the bandits will lose if we leave them be.”

”They already lost, Yimin,” Gao Feng replied.

”Then shouldn’t we lend a hand?” Gao Yimin asked.

Gao Feng shook his head. He said, ”Too risky. That Amon fellow slays two Beginning Mystic Stage cultivators in such a short time. He also overpowers a third one easily. I can’t sense his cultivation level from here, but judging from his feat, he must be an Intermediate or Peak Mystic Stage cultivator. Even if I can fight him to a standstill, it is not guaranteed we can kill them all. We can’t allow eyewitnesses to survive if we involve ourselves. That’s why we use those bandits in the first place.”

He turned to Gao Xi and said, ”I didn’t expect the Royal Academy to have a student with such a high cultivation. His cultivation is even higher than you.”

Gao Xi displayed an uneasy expression. He said, ”Five years ago when he was still a student, his cultivation was only at the Peak Transformation Stage.”