Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 436: Chapter 436. Let’s Play a Game

While Amon was fighting the Immortal Ground Lord, Lin Li and the Silverback Hound fought the swarm of giant spiders. The giant spiders were called Yue Spiders. They were lower superior beasts. The Silverback Hound had no problem defeating them one-on-one, but these spiders fought in a swarm.

Thankfully, Lin Li was there to protect it. Her sharp claws let her dice the Yue Spiders in one slice, and her speed allowed her to hit multiple targets simultaneously. This significantly reduced the Yue Spiders’ number advantage.

The spiders themselves avoided approaching Amon because they didn’t dare to snatch the Immortal Ground Lord’s prey. To their shock, the Immortal Ground Lord was chased away by its so-called prey. How would they dare to remain?

The swarm scurried away, disappearing behind the thick leaves of the trees.

Lin Li and the Silverback Hound suffered light wounds but nothing serious. They approached Amon, who was checking the remains of the centipede part he killed. The centipede’s corpse didn’t have any valuables Amon could harvest. Only two small parts of it were left. The part that was eroded was gone completely.

Amon praised Lin Li for successfully protecting the Silverback Hound before sending her back into his black space ring. As for the Silverback Hound, he patted the beast and gave it a large piece of raw beef. It was the hound’s favorite food. He kept some inside his space ring.

While the hound was enjoying its food, Amon turned his attention to the numerous spider corpses littering the ground. The web glands inside these Yue spiders were good ingredients for talisman-making and blacksmithing. He picked these corpses up and threw them inside his black space ring.

He sent a mental command to Lin Li to harvest the web glands. After reading all the available books about plants keeper, Lin Li also read the books about harvesting spirit beast parts. She could now utilize her new knowledge of these Yue Spiders’ corpses.

After the Silverback Hound was done eating, Amon let her sniff Xiong Bao’s clothes again. They soon resumed their journey.

Hours later, the day changed to night. It was total darkness in the forest, but this didn’t hinder their journey. Amon could see in the dark, while the hound relied on its smell to determine direction.

Amon focused on his Mystic Sense as they moved. He detected many spirit beasts in the vicinity. It was unclear whether this increase in number happened because of nighttime or because they were deeper into the forest. The weird thing was these spirit beasts kept their distance.

Amon thought the spirit beasts were waiting until they had enough numbers before they attacked, so he remained alert. However, the spirit beasts kept their distance even after midnight. He now wondered whether it was because these beasts knew about what he did to the Immortal Ground Lord, which made no sense. Spirit beasts didn’t share news like people.

Then, all of a sudden, these spirit beasts scurried away. Amon could no longer sense any presence within his Mystic Stage’s sense.

Not long after the spirit beasts left, the Silverback Hound stopped. It lay low on the ground and whimpered.

’Another strong spirit beast?’ Amon became alert again after seeing the way the hound acted.

He focused on his Mystic Sense. He detected nothing within the scope of his sense. He also looked around the place. As his eyes darted around the place, he suddenly found an old man with a bald head standing not far away. The old man’s abrupt emergence took him aback and caused him to jump away.

The old man didn’t move. Amon still detected nothing. He didn’t sense any danger from the old man but knew that the being before him was no normal being. It should be almost impossible to get this close to him without him noticing.

The two stared at one another in silence. The Silverback Hound stayed whimpering on the ground.

Since Amon sensed no killing intent from the mysterious old man, he figured the person meant him no harm, at least for now. He asked the old man, ”Who are you?”

Instead of answering, the old man asked, ”What is your purpose coming here? It has been some time since your kind visit this place.”

”My kind...? So, are you admitting you are a spirit beast?” Amon also returned with another question without answering.

”What else do you think live in this forest?” The old man answered with another question.

Since this game of questions got him nowhere, Amon gave a direct answer to the old man’s first question, ”I am here for the fruits of the Longevity Tree.”

”Longevity Tree... I didn’t know humans still knew the name of that tree,” the old man muttered. ”Long ago, there was a group of humans who came near my abode. Normally, I either chase them away or simply devour them. Against my better judgment, I decided to welcome this group in. Sadly, they betrayed my hospitality and stole some of my prized possessions. I hunted them down and taught them a lesson. Unfortunately, my action caused even more humans to disturb this forest. They even sent an army to try to wipe us out. Many of my friends in this forest were killed in the process. Since then, I have sworn never to repeat the same mistake.”

”By mistake, do you mean the hospitality you gave to the group of humans?” Amon asked.

”Yes. That act brought forth a disaster for my friends here,” the old man answered.

”So... You are back to either chase me away or devour me, is that what you are saying?”

The old man grinned. He said, ”I am still thinking... To be truthful, I am a bit bored. Let’s play a game, shall we? If you can escape my labyrinth, I will give you one fruit from the Longevity Tree.”

”Your labyrinth?” Amon asked.

The old man nodded. ”However, you may not rely on that hound.”

Amon sensed great danger then. He jumped away at the same time the Silverback Hound yelped and leaped high into the air. When their feet left the ground, thick vines erupted from underneath. These vines shot straight for the Silverback Hound.

Amon used Invisible Sky Steps and Corporeal Shifting Branches simultaneously. He changed direction in the air and shot toward the Silverback Hound. The vines coming out of his body tried to grab the hound. Amon wanted to save the hound by transferring it back into his black space ring.

Unfortunately, he was too late. Half of the thick vines coming out from the ground formed a wall and blocked his vines from reaching the hound. The other half pierced the hound’s body. The skewering vines then moved in different directions, pulling the hound apart into pieces.

Everything happened so fast. Failing to save the hound, Amon decided to focus on saving himself. He zoomed several times using the Invisible Sky Steps and moved away from the old man. He needed to get away from there.

Even though he had put a decent distance, he heard the old man’s voice as if the old man was next to him.

”The game has started. You either escape or stay in this place forever.”

Amon didn’t stop. His Alpha Flying Knives flew out. He rode them to increase his fleeing speed. He took the direction he came from. He would retreat first before thinking about his next move.

However, he stopped after flying for some time. He stopped because he realized something was wrong. He had a photographic memory. He memorized the path he had walked through with the Silverback Hound and saw that the path he was on was different.

He looked around him. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, except that everything was slightly different than what he remembered. Normal people might not notice it, but he was sure all the trees near him were a few inches from where they used to be.

Seeing the bizarre situation, Amon decided not to move around recklessly. He stood there and studied his surroundings. He noticed that the weirdness was not only limited to the slight displacement of the landscape but also the absence of life. While it was true the spirit beasts distanced themselves from him before the old man appeared, he still sensed small animals in his vicinity. At the moment, his Mystic Sense couldn’t even detect the presence of those small animals.

After some time, Amon closed his eyes. He studied the forest from his memory. He opened his eyes and looked around him. He repeated this endlessly. He tried to capture every detail of where the changes happened. After an hour of using his mind to play the game, Spot the Differences, he thought he had spotted them all.

To make sure, he closed his eyes another time and ran through all the differences he had found. He planned to check these differences in close-up to see if he could learn anything. He opened his eyes again. What he saw was different from before he closed his eyes.