Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 474: Chapter 474. Life-and-Death Struggle

There was an instance when Amon thought this invitation was a trap. However, he felt it was too unlikely. He was a registered kingdom official. This was a formal invitation. His people knew he was invited here. If anything happened to him, Prince Huang Zhan had to answer for it. Even if Huang Zhan was a prince, he would not be free from punishment. He could even lose the right to enter the Ancient Ascension Trial.

These considerations gave Amon the confidence to come here alone.

Even so, he didn’t panic about these unexpected circumstances. Right after the soldiers displayed their hostility, Amon also acted. With one swing, he threw multiple flying knives that flew in all directions. Simultaneously, he jumped upward as he unfurled his ceremonial dagger.

The soldiers, after blocking his flying knives, jumped up to chase him, but the ceremonial dagger controlled by the Xian Cloth came at them like a snake. When they tried hitting the black dagger with their weapons, their weapons broke from the clash. This stopped them from approaching Amon.

While running up the wall, Amon used the body-strengthening meridian points technique to boost his power.

Several soldiers jumped down from the battlement above. Amon was unfazed. He continued to head up. Four large flying knives flew out and assailed the soldiers that came at him from above. Most of these soldiers were Transformation Stage cultivators. They couldn’t compete with the Alpha Flying Knives’ speed and power. The flying knives struck the soldiers and wounded them.

Three soldiers who jumped from above were Beginning Mystic Stage cultivators. They used movement arts to dodge the Alpha Flying Knives when the knives were assailing their comrades and headed toward Amon. Amon also used movement arts, Invisible Sky Steps. He performed complicated maneuvers and zoomed past the three without slowing down.

He continued going for the top of the wall. His ceremonial dagger and Alpha Flying Knives kept those pursuing him at bay.

When he almost reached the battlement, an immense pressure bore down from above.

’Peak Spirit Stage...!’ Amon thought in alarm.

A giant human clad in armor jumped down from above him. Amon remembered this giant from the assembly in the throne room. This giant was General Da Niu, Prince Huang Zhan’s right-hand man.

Da Niu dropped towards Amon with a readied fist. A thundering roar was heard. An illusory image of a giant ox’s head followed Da Niu as he punched down.

Amon activated the Great Virulent Serpent. His current power could almost rival a Beginning Spirit Stage cultivator, but it was still far from going up against Da Niu. The pressure exuded by the general alone made it difficult for Amon to move away. Thus, he was forced to face Da Niu’s punch head-on.

Amon performed Bone Shattering Shadow Fist using his left fist. His tiny fist collided with Da Niu’s titan fist. Even before the impact happened, Amon knew he was in deep shit.

The ox image crashed into him. A powerful explosive force threw him back down. His internal organs received a massive shock. If not for his mutated physique and blood, he would have died already. He still suffered internal injury and vomited blood. If not for his incredible mental fortitude, he would have blacked out.

Thankfully, he used his left arm to receive Da Niu’s punch. Bo Wu helped dampen most of the destructive power. Otherwise, all the bones inside his arm would have broken.

Amon didn’t let his concentration waver, even with his critical condition. He sensed his earlier pursuers approaching from below. He retained control over his Alpha Flying Knives and had them continue assailing them.

While they were harassed, Amon backflipped and kicked the nearest soldier. The kick sent him toward another soldier, who he kicked as well. Using the soldiers as stepping stones, Amon shot in a different direction.

Now moving diagonally away from Da Niu, Amon preserved his speed and continued moving up the wall.

Da Niu was visibly surprised when he saw Amon could still move like that. He flew toward Amon. With his cultivation, his flying speed was fast, even without using movement arts. His keen perception detected an assault from the side. It was Amon’s ceremonial dagger tied to the Xian Cloth.

He sneered at the attempt and used one hand to swat the weapon aside.

Before the ceremonial dagger hit Da Niu’s arm, it adjusted its angle slightly and struck the part of the arm not covered by armor. Da Niu expected the dagger to bounce right off after impact, but a sudden stinging pain caused him to pause.

He instinctively channeled more aether into his arm. The energy enhanced his arm and repelled the dagger away. He looked at his arm and saw a cut wound dripping with blood. He frowned at the wound and licked it.

While Da Niu paused, Amon never stopped. He sent his Alpha Flying Knives to harass Da Niu while he used Shadowless Sprint in conjunction with the Mystic Stage’s flying ability. The flying ability freed him from gravity’s constraint while the Shadowless Sprint on the vertical wall propelled him with incredible speed.

He almost reached the top for the second time, but his ears and Mystic Sense warned him of an impending doom. The roar and a massive image of an ox-shaped club came from his right. This energy club came from Da Niu, who wasn’t perturbed by Amon’s Alpha Flying Knives.

The illusory club was so large that whether Amon moved to the left or right, he would still be hit. So, Amon jumped away from the wall. The imaginary club rushed past him. Even when he was not directly hit, he could feel the intensity of the power. An aftershock wave swept him by. He would have lost control of his flight if he had not thrown his ceremonial dagger to the wall.

His ceremonial dagger flew up and stabbed near the top of the wall. With the dagger as an anchor, the Xian Cloth kept him from getting swept away. He channeled his aether into the Xian Cloth and controlled it to pull him up. At his current cultivation stage, he could already fully master the Xian Cloth. He shot toward his dagger with incredible speed.

The momentum allowed him to shoot past the top of the wall. With a somersault, he landed on the battlement. Based on his study, a standard fort’s barrier was designed to prevent objects from the outside from entering but allowed objects from the inside to travel outward. This let the defenders shoot projectiles at the enemies outside the fort while they were protected by the barrier. Hence, he should be able to escape this fort because the barrier wouldn’t stop him from going out.

Nevertheless, his struggle was far from over. Up there, another group of soldiers were waiting for him. They all wielded spears. These soldiers thrust in his direction the second he landed.

Amon already knew about these soldiers thanks to his Mystic Sense. His ceremonial dagger was already detached from the wall it was anchored to. It now swept in a radial direction, cutting all the spears before it stabbed Amon. The ceremonial dagger made one full swing and came back, targeting the soldiers’ necks.

Before, Amon restrained himself from dealing fatal attacks to the soldiers. He believed the soldiers here didn’t attempt to take his life. So, all the knives he threw only aimed to wound the soldiers’ mobility. But after that punch from Da Niu, he no longer believed it was so. This was a life-and-death struggle, so he would not hesitate to take his opponents’ lives. He could sense Da Niu approaching. He had to finish these soldiers before that general arrived.

When his ceremonial dagger was about to slice the first soldier’s head, an authoritative voice was heard.

”Halt!!”

At the same time, a chain dart shot from the left and clanged with the ceremonial dagger before it hit the soldiers. Amon turned and saw it was Prince Huang Zhan.

Da Niu, who was charging over, didn’t show any sign of stopping.

Prince Huang Zhan repeated, ”Da Niu. I said, stop!”

Da Niu skidded to a stop right above Amon. The force from his charge didn’t stop, though. It created a shockwave that swept past Amon and the soldiers on the battlement. The soldiers were unable to resist the shockwave and fell on their butts.

Amon watched the giant general with alert. He also had his Mystic Sense paid attention to Prince Huang Zhan. The prince was walking toward him at a normal pace.

”Impressive, Colonel Amon. Impressive!” Huang Zhan said while clapping.

Amon didn’t respond. He remained alert.

”Relax. It is just a test to see how good my little brother’s best assistant is. I have heard a lot about you. Many say my brother’s rise is thanks to you. I simply want to see if the rumors about you are justified. Please, don’t take offense.”

Huang Zhan arrived and stood before Amon, who remained at the ready.

”Please, I apologize. Perhaps I have gone a bit out of line.” Huang Zhan offered Amon a handshake.