Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 396: Chapter 396. Getting a Grasp on the Situation

Everyone’s face turned grim upon hearing Gao Xi’s statement.

”Peak Transformation Stage? Five years ago? That’s impossible!” Gao Yimin exclaimed.

Gao Feng agreed. ”That’s right... It’s impossible to jump from the Peak Transformation Stage to the Intermediate Mystic Stage in five years, much less the Peak Mystic Stage. Hell, even getting to the Beginning Mystic Stage within that time frame is unheard of... Gao Xi, you must have remembered wrong.”

”If there were any Royal Student who reached the Mystic Stage during their study, it would have caused a national sensation. Do you not know the average age of a Royal Academy Student?” Gao Xi asked in return.

Both Gao Feng and Gao Yimin indeed didn’t know. They turned to Liu Xin.

Seeing the cue, Liu Xin explained, ”The Royal Academy only accepted students aged fifteen to twenty. They never accepted older students. Their full study required fifteen years. So, the oldest students would be thirty-five years old.”

”Amon entered the Royal Academy when he was fifteen,” Gao Xi informed.

”Which meant he was thirty years old when the Royal Academy was destroyed and thirty-five years old at this moment,” Liu Xin said.

”We can count his current age ourselves, Liu Xin,” Gao Yimin rebuked.

”Sister, be nice. Liu Xin here is my helpful assistant. Do not patronize him,” Gao Feng admonished.

”You are too kind, Master Gao Feng. I do not mind Lady Yimin’s words,” Liu Xin said.

”Whatever,” Gao Yimin said. ”If that Amon is truly thirty-five years old, then it is impossible for him to be a Mystic Stage cultivator. There has never been a record of that happening in our nation’s history, even for the Royal Family. There must be a mistake.”

”We can’t know for sure unless we approach and sense his cultivation,” Gao Feng said. ”Nevertheless, he did defeat three Beginning Mystic Stage cultivators in such a short time. Whatever his cultivation level is, his battle prowess is unnatural. Let’s report this back to the clan before we do anything.”

”I agree,” Gao Xi said. After the Royal Academy was disbanded, Gao Xi chose to return to the Gao Clan instead of devoting himself to the Kingdom. Even though he rejoined the clan only a few years ago, he was still considered a senior, so his words were valued.

”What about those bandits?” Gao Yimin asked.

”What about them? They are nobody,” Gao Feng replied. ”Many other bandit groups are lining up to work with Gao Clan. Furthermore, their leaders were all defeated. They will most likely disband if they are not all killed here. We have no more use of them.”

Gao Yimin was the one who negotiated with the bandits fighting down there. She even promised to help if things went South, so she felt slightly guilty about what was happening. However, after listening to his brother, she thought those bandits were indeed expendable. She didn’t bother with them anymore.

The Gao group left the hill and returned to the capital.

*

Down in the valley, the battle was over. More than half the bandits were killed, and the rest fled. The defenders were not without loss, though. Out of the fifteen people Xin Wuming brought, only four were still alive, but they were full of wounds. All the surviving ones were ex-Royal Academy students. They were now sitting on the ground, meditating after consuming recovery pills.

Qiang Dan and Lu Fei were also wounded, but they greeted Amon before recovering themselves.

”Boss!” Qiang Dan called.

”We thought you were dead. I’m so glad you are still alive, boss,” Lu Fei said.

”We can reminisce later. Heal yourselves first,” Amon replied.

The two obeyed. They sat and meditated next to the caravan. The caravan itself was filled with scars from stray attacks during the battle. They were lucky the battle didn’t last too long. If the caravan suffered more damage, it might break, and all its content poured into the open. It would be a trouble to carry all the goods then.

Xin Wuming and the Moon Wolf came to Amon. He didn’t need to meditate like the others. His wounds were already healed. He made a habit of always wearing a long-sleeved coat so his body was mostly covered. Even if there were tears in his coat, it was not easy to see the wounds in his body. Underneath that coat, all his wounds were already gone due to his Undying body.

”Big brother, I always believe you are alive!” Xin Wuming stated. When he noticed Amon’s black eyes, he said, ”Brother, your eyes...”

”Don’t worry about it,” Amon answered without explaining. He sent the Moon Wolf to scout the surroundings, making sure all the bandits had left and no other suspicious people were in the vicinity.

Since Amon wasn’t willing to explain, Xin Wuming didn’t pry. He pointed at the bound bandit lieutenant on the ground. The bandit was also gagged, so he could only let out muffled voices. ”What are we going to do with him?” He asked.

”I want to interrogate him. From the look of it, this assault is planned,” Amon answered. ”But first, tell me everything that has happened these five years.”

”Yes, we expected an assault. Sadly, we still come underprepared,” Xin Wuming lamented. He then started narrating the events that led to today.

After the Royal Academy and Qishurg City’s destruction, they came to the capital to rebuild their footing. Thankfully, San Guo already laid out the groundwork, so they didn’t have much trouble. Most of the Demon Gang blended with Qishurg City refugees to enter the capital. Because of the special circumstances, the capital’s entry checkpoints were not too strict.

Although they had no problem planting their feet in the capital, they faced difficulty. They lost their most powerful backing. The thirteenth prince stopped supporting them.

”Why?” Amon asked.

Xin Wuming shrugged. ”Rather than saying he stops supporting us, I think it is more apt to say he stops putting in the effort. After Qishurg City’s destruction, he sort of went off the grid. None of us can get in contact with him. All we got were rumors of him visiting entertainment places, either for drinks or women. When we sent a message requesting to meet, he refused.”

Amon contemplated this information. It seemed that Huang San took the blow harder than he expected. This was not unreasonable. Seeing your life work and future hope squashed like that, even the spirit of the most optimistic people could be broken.

He could say he brought this difficulty upon his own people. He would fix this later.

”Tell me more,” Amon said. ”I assume our force must be in conflict with one of the powers in the capital. These bandits couldn’t have acted on their own.”

”We did have some enemies since our force is growing after everyone immigrated to the capital,” Xin Wuming said. ”The most prominent of our enemies is the Gao Clan. It would not be surprising if this attack were ordered by them.”

Amon expected that. The Gao Clan was among the top clans in the capital. Considering he was always at odds with this clan in the Royal Academy, it was not surprising to have this clan cause trouble to a force connected to him. The Gao Clan knew the Thousand Dream Powder came from him. Since San Guo distributed this drug, it was easy for the Gao Clan to connect the dots. They might have been restraining themselves when Huang San was backing San Guo. Now that he didn’t, Gao Clan no longer had reservations.

”Gao Clan is considered a respectable clan in the capital, so they can’t do anything to us directly,” Xin Wuming continued. ”They mostly sent their underworld goons to trouble us. Thankfully, the Demon Gang had migrated to the capital by then, so we can still fight back. Still, I must say, our situation is not good. The Demon Gang could only secure a tiny insignificant territory, and San Guo could only safely conduct his business within that tiny territory. Most of the profits we make are from exporting our drugs to sell in other cities. That’s why this delivery is important to us.”

”And that’s why they want to intercept this delivery. I roughly understand the situation now,” Amon said. ”By the way, Yang Li is not here for this important delivery. Is she on another assignment?”

Xin Wuming displayed an uncomfortable expression. He said, ”Sorry, brother. Yang Li chose to join the military with many other ex-Royal Academy students. She was off somewhere doing the kingdom’s bidding, probably fighting the rebels.”

”Why didn’t you do the same?” Amon asked.

”How could I? I know big brother is still alive. Without your approval, I must stay in Golden Stone City until your return!”

Amon chuckled. He gave Xin Wuming a gentle pat on his shoulder. ”I am grateful for your loyalty. But even if you join the military, I will not blame you as long as you are still willing to follow my orders and come back when I call.”

”Do you wish to call Yang Li from the military?” Xin Wuming asked.

”Not now. I will contact her later and see how things go,” Amon replied. ”I will interrogate this bandit now. You keep watch on the others while I do this.”

Amon lifted the bound bandit and walked a distance away. Xin Wuming followed his order and stood guard beside the caravan while the Moon Wolf continued to scout the perimeter.

Not long after, they heard a wailing scream in the direction Amon went towards.