Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 411: Chapter 411. The Dejected Prince

Only after hearing Amon’s voice did the prince turn back. Amon was quietly surprised to see the prince’s appearance. His hair was unkempt. His eyes seemed drowsy. His clothes were rather messy. He no longer exuded the vibrant and confident temperament Amon remembered.

Huang San smiled the way a drunken man smiled. ”Lin Mo...!” He called. ”When did you return from the graves? Hey, Xa Jien! Look! Lin Mo’s ghost comes to haunt us!”

Amon turned to Xa Jien. Xa Jien shook his head and approached the prince. ”Your Highness, you are drunk. You should stop drinking,” he said.

Huang San laughed. He yelled, ”Nonsense! Maid...! Come and bring wine for my friends here!”

The maid came in. She picked up a tray from a corner of the pavilion, placed two cups and a bottle of wine on it, and came to the table.

”Can I have a cup of cold water?” Amon asked when the maid served him the wine.

”Uh... We don’t serve cold water for guests,” the maid answered. She was confused because this was the first time someone made such a request.

”That’s okay,” Amon told her.

”How are you, Lin Mo? What does it feel like being a ghost?” Huang San asked when Amon sat beside him.

Xa Jien told him, ”Your Highness, he is not a ghost. He is alive. Also, his name now is Amon, remember?”

”Amon...? Who is he? Never heard of him,” Huang San said. ”Come, Lin Mo. Though you are a ghost, you can still drink, can’t you? Drink with...”

Huang San was about to drink the wine in his cup, but Amon snatched the cup away.

”Hey, that’s mine! Take your own goddamned cup!” Huang San protested.

The two soldiers stationed outside were about to enter when Amon took the prince’s cup, but Xa Jien signaled them to stay back.

”You have enough wine, Your Highness,” Amon said. ”You need to clear your mind. There is much we need to talk about.”

”Even as a ghost, you are no fun, Lin Mo. You are always so serious. Lighten up a bit, will you? You will dampen the mood of the people around you with that attitude.”

Huang San stood up and kept talking.

”Look at this lake. It is so beautiful. Look at everything around us. Everything is so beautiful and peaceful. What more can a man ask for? I have been bestowed all these blessings. The correct way to honor them is to enjoy it to the fullest!”

”Is that what you believe?” Amon asked.

”Why, of course! Why would I not? Drinking, eating, whoring. I am given all the pleasures one can ask for. I have everything most people in this world will die for. It will be ungrateful of me not to enjoy it. All I need to do is relax and go with the flow. It is the easiest way to live. What more can a man–Woahh...!”

Huang San screamed because he was kicked from behind. He was standing at the edge of the pavilion, which had no fence. He fell into the cold water of the lake.

”How dare you...!!” The two soldiers rushed forward after seeing Amon assault the prince.

They failed to reach Amon, though, because a powerful aura assailed them. This aura forced them to stop in their tracks.

”You... You are already a Martial Realm cultivator?” Xa Jien uttered with surprise.

The two guards were Peak Transformation Stage cultivators. Amon released his aura to intimidate them. His aura was heavier than a normal Beginning Mystic Stage cultivator due to his abnormal blood and constitution.

”Gahh...!” Huang San’s head popped out of the lake. He looked at Amon with a mixed expression. His eyes were no longer drowsy like before.

”Are you sober now?” Amon asked the prince.

Huang San didn’t answer. He swam to the pavilion and climbed back up. The maid quickly came over with a blanket and helped dry the prince.

”Go away. I’m okay,” Huang San told the two soldiers, who still eyed Amon with hostility. They reluctantly exited the pavilion after the prince’s order.

Wrapped in the blanket, Huang San sat back in his spot. He told the maid, ”Bring me tea.”

Xa Jien and Amon sat back beside him.

”Where were you all this time?” Huang San asked.

”I was chased out of Qishurg City during the spirit beast swarm and was stuck somewhere I couldn’t get out,” Amon lied. ”So, I cultivated until I am strong enough to get out.”

”Hm...,” Huang San glanced at Amon. He also felt the Mystic Stage aura Amon projected. Even for the royal family, it was unheard of to reach the Mystic Stage at Amon’s age. He assumed Amon must have encountered a fortune that helped him enter the Mystic Stage when he was trapped.

”What do you want?” Huang San asked.

”I’m here to honor my promise,” Amon answered. ”I will help you sit on this kingdom’s throne.”

”Hahaha!” Huang San laughed uncontrollably. He laughed for a long time. Amon and Huang San remained quiet. ”Haha... oh... Haha. That was something. All the time we spent at the Royal Academy, never once did you crack a joke. The first time you do, you almost kill me with it. Haha... Truly a nice one.”

After Huang San stopped laughing, Amon said, ”How much longer do you wish to feel sorry about yourself?”

”Feel sorry? What do you know about me? Do you know how much I have lost?” Huang San asked. His laughing face turned into an angry one.

”Everyone experiences losses. Are you going to let it beat you? Or are you going to stand back up?”

”Stand back up? There is no standing back up from this. I have lost EVERYTHING!! There is nothing left! Do you know how long I have worked toward my goal? Decades...!!! I build up my force, build up my connection. With everything I have built in Qishurg City, I thought maybe, just maybe, I have a shot. Before you know it, poof! Everything went up in smoke in less than a week! A week! All my hard work, gone! Just like that! There is nothing left for me...!”

Huang San was panting after he finished speaking. He himself was surprised by this outburst. He had drowned himself with wine for so long, all to forget his failure. He just realized he had bottled everything up inside his heart. His hand went to take the wine bottle, but the bottle broke into pieces before his hand touched it. The wine inside splashed on the table.

The wine bottle broke because of a pebble Amon threw.

”You haven’t lost anything. You still have Xa Jien by your side,” Amon uttered.

The word made Huang San turn to Xa Jien. Huang San could see the concerned look on Xa Jien’s face. He turned away from it.

”And you also still got me,” Amon added.

Huang San laughed again. This time, it was not a deranged laugh like before. It was more like a self-pity laugh. ”So what? What can the three of us do?”

”We can get the throne,” Amon said.

Huang San turned to Amon. He wanted to say something sarcastic, but his words stuck in his throat when he saw Amon’s serious face. He could see from Amon’s expression the guy truly meant it. He wanted to believe Amon was simply being overconfident, that Amon didn’t know what he was talking about. Instead, he felt something inside. It was as if a tiny cinder in his heart had just received a fresh dose of heat, and it started burning again.

He looked down. ’No,’ he thought to himself. He couldn’t experience the loss like before again. He knew he wouldn’t survive it.

”I... I can’t... What I have lost... It was more than material loss... Even my mother’s legacy is gone. Her proud achievement, the Royal Academy, her city. All are burned to the ground... It is too much.”

”Once you are king, you can rebuild the city and the Royal Academy,” Amon said.

Huang San turned to Amon. Again, the confidence in his eyes. It was unmistakable. How could this man be so confident? Was he being delusional? Half of Huang San’s mind wanted to believe that. This was the half that urged him to forget everything. To drown his pain in wine and let the world turn on its own. The other half, however, the half that came back to life due to the burning within his heart, urged him to listen to Amon.

Amon could see Huang San’s internal struggle from his mixed expression. He gave the prince a mental push.

”Your mother built Qishurg City and the Royal Academy. They were destroyed now, but her achievements were real. Her success would forever be recorded in this kingdom’s history. You are her son! You have the same fight within you. You can’t quit before you achieve something. You can’t let her down! I know you can win the throne. I know I can help you achieve that. That is why I chose you over your sister. She invited me to her camp. Everyone would agree she has a better chance of seizing the throne, but I didn’t join her. I chose you! Are you going to prove me and your mother wrong?”

Amon saw Huang San’s expression change then. It was no longer the face of someone who pitied himself. It was the face of someone who had come to a resolution.