Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 571: Chapter 571. Navigating Through Illusive Desert

The next morning, before sunrise, everyone woke early. The soldiers dismantled their tents and prepared to depart. They followed Amon’s instructions and used ropes to start tying themselves to the person next to them. Some who had tamed beasts also tied their beasts. The army took a few hours to complete this task. Once everything was ready, they marched.

Zhong Yuan stood at the front as the navigator, with Amon walking beside him. The remaining soldiers trailed closely behind, forming a tight column so that little space separated anyone. Supply carts were positioned in the center of the formation, tied securely to soldiers on either side.

The soldiers didn’t have trouble walking while being tied like this. They were trained to march in unison. Even without the ropes, they could move as one. The ropes were just for extra precaution.

When Amon stepped into the desert, he could sense that the air had changed. As a Spirit Stage cultivator, he could better detect the energy around him. The aether circulating in the place was orderly and structured. He knew then that he had entered the space influenced by a formation.

The other Spirit Stage soldiers or those with acute senses could detect the change as well. They told the people around them to pay attention and not lose sight of the comrades beside them.

After walking straight for several hundred meters, Zhong Yuan changed direction at a slight angle. He said, ”This way.”

Amon didn’t see anything in the new direction they were heading. Everything was desert as far as his eyes could see, but he didn’t question Zhong Yuan. The army followed their lead and adjusted their march.

This happened a few times. There was even a time when they turned Eastward. The soldiers looked at the sun above to ensure they were truly moving East. They then asked their comrades beside them whether this was the right way. Wasn’t East the way back to Echos? When this concern was brought to their superiors, they were told to shut up and follow the ones in front.

After many hours of walking, they realized another weird thing. The sun never truly set. It just hovered over the horizon. Some estimated that it should be nighttime by now, yet the sky was still bright.

”Brother, some in the ranks have expressed fatigue,” Xin Wuming reported.

Normally, trained soldiers could go for days without sleep, even those with low cultivation. However, Amon wasn’t surprised by Xin Wuming’s report. Since he entered this desert, he had sensed something draining from him, making him lose stamina faster than he should. It must be another effect of the formation.

”How long will this journey take?” Amon asked Zhong Yuan.

”Hard to say,” Zhong Yuan replied. ”When I crossed here the last time, it took me three days... Or so I thought. This place messes with your perception of time. It might be longer.”

”Will we encounter a problem if we stop and rest?” Amon asked again.

”It should be safe,” Zhong Yuan said. ”The formation doesn’t mess with you too much if you stay at the same spot. We won’t lose our progress. Just make sure no one wanders about.”

Amon issued the order to stop. He told everyone to just sit or lie where they were. It was impossible to build tents with all of them tied like that. He told everybody to rest and recover their stamina. They would resume their march after a three-hour rest.

As usual, Amon spent his idle time cultivating.

”Aren’t you going to rest?” Zhong Yuan asked Amon.

”No,” Amon answered flatly. He closed his eyes and ignored everything else.

Zhong Yuan seemed about to speak, but he instead lay back down and closed his eyes. The fact was that when someone cultivated, the energy around them became slightly turbulent. The intensity of the turbulence depended on the cultivation art. Lying so close to Amon, Zhong Yuan felt this disturbance and found it difficult to relax. How could he sleep?

To make matters worse, Xin Wuming copied Amon’s attitude and cultivated as well. This irritated Zhong Yuan. He wanted to complain but didn’t dare. All he could do was grumble inwardly while trying his best to rest.

*

After more than an hour, Amon abruptly stopped his cultivation and opened his eyes.

He stared at the empty desert before him. He saw and sensed nothing, but something was bugging him. Suddenly, his danger sense blared. The ceremonial dagger unfurled from the Xian Cloth on his right arm, just as a large beast with a mouth full of sharp teeth materialized before him.

He blocked the toothed mouth using his indestructible left arm. While the beast was biting that arm, he sank the ceremonial dagger deep into its skull. The beast dropped lifelessly to the ground.

Everyone was taken aback by this startling incident, including Zhong Yuan, who couldn’t truly sleep.

”What the fuck...!” He exclaimed.

”Brother! Are you alright?” Xin Wuming jumped into an alert stance. He held a longsword in his hand.

”A sand razorcat...,” Amon muttered after observing the spirit beast he had just killed. ”It is a lower superior beast. To my knowledge, it doesn’t have an invisibility or teleporting ability. How did it conceal itself and get so close?”

While they were still wondering what had happened, they heard commotion from the army behind them. The commotion came from the sides of their camp.

”The same thing is happening over there,” Amon said. He turned to Zhong Yuan and asked, ”Is this a defensive mechanism from the border formation?”

”It doesn’t have this mechanism the last time I crossed the border,” Zhong Yuan answered. ”If this is part of the formation, they are newly added mechanisms.”

There was no time to study the phenomenon. Amon yelled his order, ”Those stationed on the edges, prepare for battle! Enemies might appear right in front of you without warning!”

His order was relayed by those who heard it to the soldiers at the rear of the formation who were too far away. Those on the edges immediately rose and readied their weapons. They didn’t question the order because they could see for themselves some spots not far away were ambushed by spirit beasts that materialized out of thin air.

The soldiers ambushed by these spirit beasts were heavily wounded or outright killed. Their sacrifices, however, gave the soldiers beside them enough time to react. The lucky ones were those who had tamed beasts. Their tamed beasts detected the hostile beasts via their wild instincts and warned their partners, allowing them to prepare.

Fortunately, the spirit beasts weren’t too strong. They were mostly lower or mid-superior spirit beasts. After the initial losses, the army became alert. They formed a defensive line at the edges of their formation and repelled subsequent ambushes.

”Brother, what should we do?” Xin Wuming asked.

They were out of immediate danger, but their problem didn’t end. Spirit beasts continued to pop out randomly from time to time. The soldiers could defend themselves, but couldn’t rest. The energy around this desert tired them faster than they should. Without rest, they couldn’t continue their march and would continue to be sitting ducks for these ambushes.

”There should be a limit to these spirit beasts.” Zhong Yuan said. He touched the corpse of the sand razorcat Amon had killed. ”The spirit beasts are real. They are not illusions created by the defensive formation, so they should run out if we keep killing them.”

”But how many are they?” Xin Wuming asked. Zhong Yuan answered with a shrug.

”We can’t work with assumptions,” Amon stated. ”We will treat it like this defensive formation has an unlimited stock of spirit beasts to throw at us. Relay my command. We will alternate our rest. The soldiers stationed by the edges will keep watch for ambushes while the soldiers behind them take a rest. Once they have rested enough, they will exchange places with the ones who keep watch.”

”Exchanging places means they must untie themselves,” Xin Wuming said.

”It can’t be helped. Ask them to be careful after untying. Grab the person next to them and remain in contact all the time. They should tie themselves back after they exchanged places.”

Xin Wuming nodded. He relayed the command to the soldiers behind him, and those soldiers did the same, until everyone received the order.

Due to this arrangement, the resting period became longer. The army was immobile for six hours, with each batch resting for three hours, before resumed its march.

”You walk behind me,” Amon told Zhong Yuan.

”Really? I will have to tell you where to go when we change direction. Isn’t that bothersome?” Zhong Yuan said.

”I can handle bothersome,” Amon replied. ”What I can’t handle is if a spirit beast ambushes you and steals or damages that device in your hand. Can you still find the way without that device?”

”Oh,” Zhong Yuan uttered after realizing Amon’s concern. He moved back a little and walked behind Amon. Xin Wuming also positioned himself beside Zhong Yuan to protect him.