Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 432: Chapter 432. Heading to Farghous

Amon was on his way to Farghous. He rode atop the Swift-wing Eagle. It was an exclusive transport beast available inside Golden Stone City’s Sky Stable. He could get the service to use this eagle due to his kingdom badge and Colonel rank.

The Swift-wing Eagle was the same grade as the Long-tailed Azure Eagle, a higher superior beast. It was faster than the Long-tailed Azure Eagle but smaller in size, even smaller than the Great Eagle. Hence, it was not preferred when transporting a group of people. Amon was alone, though, so it was not a problem.

Amon was reading the reports inside the howdah atop the Swift-wing Eagle. According to Zong Hua’s intel, the rumor regarding the Longevity Tree was no longer new. It started seven years ago in a Farghous settlement named Changxiu City.

Not far from this city was a huge forest called Basou Forest. Despite this forest being inside Farghous, it could be considered a no man’s land. The authorities advised people not to wander in, because it was dominated by strong spirit beasts.

The rumor began due to a survivor who returned after exploring the forest. He brought back a fruit that he claimed could prolong one’s life. He said he picked the fruit from deep inside Basou Forest. He was with a group of cultivators when he found the tree, but the rest were killed by a spirit beast guarding the tree. The beast chased him for days, but he managed to flee the forest.

He intended to sell the fruit but couldn’t prove it truly possessed the effects he claimed unless someone ate it, and he wouldn’t part with the fruit until he received the payment. Since the price he set for the fruit was exorbitant and there was no guarantee it was not fraud, no one bought it.

The survivor returned to his home with the fruit. Alas, he was killed that night. His house was broken into, and the fruit taken.

Many thought that because someone was willing to kill a person to steal the fruit, then it should be genuine. The following years saw an uptick in cultivators entering the Basou Forest. Many didn’t return. Those who came out alive from the forest were because they gave up before venturing too deep. Yet, this fueled even more cultivators to try their luck in exploring the forest.

Due to the constant loss of cultivators who entered the forest, the Nation of Farghous could finally ignore it no longer. They sent an army with the intention of cleaning out the forest of spirit beasts, and maybe, if the Longevity Tree truly existed inside, they would claim it for their nation.

They did slay a great number of spirit beasts in the forest, but the end result was a total disaster. It turned out a higher mythical beast was residing inside the forest. The army lost their commander and two-thirds of their force from this encounter. They were forced to flee in disgrace.

They would need a Lord-stage cultivator to accomplish their objective, but there was only one known Lord-stage cultivator in Farghous. Furthermore, even with the army storming the forest, they still hadn’t confirmed the existence of the Longevity Tree. It was not wise to risk that cultivator when the benefit was uncertain.

Hence, Basou Forest was classified as a forbidden zone after the incident. Citizens were instructed not to go into the forest. Otherwise, they might lure the higher mythical beast out and harm the nearby Changxiu City.

”Higher mythical beast...,” Amon muttered.

”Are you sure you want to risk it?” Lin Li asked. Since there was no one, she came outside to play.

Lin Li had also improved during Amon’s five years of isolation. Amon created a small pond beside her hut and filled it with the Spring of Life. She submerged herself inside the pond daily like Amon. Combined with the nectar from the Blue Primordial Lotus, she underwent another evolution.

She was now a seven-tailed fox, a higher superior beast.

”A higher mythical beast is no joke,” Lin Li said.

”I know,” Amon said. He had met Yuka, Huang Ti, and Xei Nuli. He knew that with his current cultivation level, he was nothing but an ant to a being of their power level. ”Even so, one must embrace risk once in a while to achieve great things. We are on the back foot in the bid for power for the throne of Echos. We won’t succeed if we play it safe. I found a slim path to victory, but we need those bloody fruits for it.”

Seeing Amon’s determination, Lin Li didn’t try to persuade him anymore. She said, ”I am with you. If there is danger, we will face it together.”

Amon smiled warmly at her. She smiled back at the affection.

She didn’t know that in his mind, he had a contingency plan. If they ever encountered the higher mythical beast and had no way of escaping, throwing her out to distract the beast was an option. A multi-tailed fox was highly sought prey by many spirit beasts, after all. Of course, it would be a pity if it happened. He truly wished to groom her to be his top aide. He wished it didn’t have to come to that.

*

After several days of high-speed flight, they finally reached the border of Echos. While most of the six countries were separated by no-man-lands, there were small areas where they bordered directly. Usually, in these areas, massive walls were erected to prevent unauthorized crossing between the countries. Forts with stationed armies were usually also nearby to watch the border.

Without a proper reason, Amon couldn’t enter Farghous. Huang San had tried to use the diplomacy channel to acquire an entry permit for Amon but failed. His influence in the ministry was not enough. He would have gained the permit if he accompanied Amon, but Amon wanted to go alone.

Thus, Amon had to resort to illegal crossing. For this, he gained assistance from Zong Hua.

Many merchants had special permission to perform the crossing. Yet, they had to go through rigorous checking. Smuggling Amon would be too risky. Zong Hua didn’t offer her assistance by risking her merchant contacts. Her assistance was by introducing Amon to a professional smuggler, who occasionally helped her merchants smuggle some regulated goods.

Zong Hua gave Amon the location where the smuggler would be waiting and a message talisman to use when Amon arrived at the location.

The location was slightly away from the border wall that separated the two countries. In that area, the no man’s land only occupied a small area, which made it an ideal place for someone to cross over illegally. This weakness was, of course, known to both countries. Hence, a massive formation was laid out in that area.

The formation formed a barrier that prevented entry. If someone attempted to break through using force, a retaliation formation would be activated. At the same time, an alarm would sound at a nearby fort, and soldiers would be dispatched to check the situation.

The Swift-wing Eagle brought Amon to the agreed location and left him there after he jumped down.

The landscape around him was filled with rocky canyons. It appeared deserted, but Amon’s Mystic Sense detected a constant flow of energy in the area ahead of him. The place was filled with formations powered by words of power.

He took out the message talisman from Zong Hua. He wrote a short message indicating he had arrived. The talisman in his hand turned into dust. He looked around. There was a natural-formed pillar that was pretty high. He jumped to the top of the pillar and sat cross-legged. He cultivated while waiting for the smuggler to arrive.

It was half a day later, when it was night, before he sensed someone approaching. The guy tried to hide his presence by sneaking around the terrain. Amon pretended not to be aware.

The person stopped behind a giant boulder next to the pillar. Amon could feel this person checking him out. Whether the person was Zong Hua’s smuggler contact, Amon did not know. He waited for the sneaking person to make contact.

After more than five minutes, the person finally came out of the boulder. He called from below, ”Are you Amon?”

Amon looked down and asked back, ”Are you Zou Zhe?”

Hearing his name called, Zou Zhe acknowledged the man atop the pillar as his client. He asked, ”Why are you on top there?”

Amon jumped down and landed beside Zou Zhe. Zou Zhe took a step back. Amon’s large stature and sinister eyes were intimidating.

”I want you to find me easily and avoid wasting time,” Amon answered.

”Okay...,” Zou Zhe uttered. He could understand from this interaction this client was a pushy type.

As if to confirm his assumption, Amon said, ”Let’s go. You choose the night so we can use the darkness to sneak across the border, don’t you?”

Actually, he chose the night so that he could spend the night with the client and get to know him. He preferred to understand what type of person he was bringing across. If something went wrong, it could be his ass on the line. However, he had a hunch that warned him not to offend this man, so he said, ”Okay, follow me.”