Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 590: Chapter 590. Lightning Calamity

The secret deactivation code didn’t work because there was someone inside the First Demon Army who knew the standard defensive method employed by Khode. Khode installed this deactivation code in every settlement’s barrier so that if an uprising occurred, the rebels couldn’t utilize the protective barrier.

The existence of this deactivation code was known only to the highest-ranked personnel within the Khode military and governing council. Unfortunately for the Khode Army, such an individual was against them in this war. This individual was Zhong Yuan.

Zhong Yuan informed Amon about the existence of this deactivation code before proceeding to erase the words of power that allowed the code to be activated.

It was due to the knowledge of this code that Amon expected the enemy to throw everything they had when they advanced, instead of sending a vanguard force to test their defense. The full force of Khode Army now bulked over the defensive wall of Surly Gate Town.

Once they did, Amon also revealed his full force. All the soldiers on the wall picked up their rifles and fired.

The battle puppets possessed hard skin. Even so, blackstone bullets were strong enough to penetrate their metallic covering. However, unless a bullet struck a battle puppet’s power source, the damage was insufficient to disable it. As a result, rifles proved mostly ineffective against these mechanical foes.

Amon was aware of this fact. That’s why he ordered his soldiers to prioritize aiming at the human soldiers among the battle puppets. These were the talisman masters who used the defensive talismans to cover the battle puppets.

There was an interval between each talisman usage. With so many rifles aiming at the talisman masters, they couldn’t protect themselves constantly. A rain of bullets riddled their bodies.

Without protection from the talisman masters, the blasts from the Yuanxu Cannons freely ruined the crowding battle puppets before the wall.

There were also many Mystic Stage soldiers from the First Demon Army who floated above riflemen atop the wall. These soldiers revealed their own talismans. Thanks to Surly Gate Town’s factory, the First Demon Army had sufficient talismans for use.

The First Demon Army didn’t have many talisman masters like the Khode Army did. Only a small portion of the floating soldiers were talisman masters. These talisman masters used higher-tier talismans. As for the rest, they used the lower-tier exploding talismans.

Though considered low-tier, the explosive talismans caused enough impact to shake the battle puppets’ internal mechanisms. Compared to rifles, these assaults proved more effective. Thanks to the crowd of battle puppets pressed against the barrier, a single explosion damaged many puppets at once.

Amon busied himself near the barrier. His crimson dagger easily sliced through many battle puppets, destroying them in droves. His Alpha Flying Knives with enhanced durability also destroyed many battle puppets. He just had to ensure these flying knives didn’t completely fly out of the barrier.

The other Spirit Stage cultivators within the First Demon Army didn’t stay behind. Yong Baili’s invisible threads cut apart many battle puppets, while Xin Wuming produced many sharp swords that skewered the puppets.

Wu Di excelled in close-range combat. Only one of his long-ranged assaults, the Evil Destroying Light, was powerful enough to destroy the battle puppets. When he summoned the pillar of light, it scorched the puppets and reduced them to dust. Consecutive use of this arcane art required him to consume aether pills to restore his energy.

Xu Bao and Gao Xingzi also excelled at close combat, but they had more varied long-ranged attacks than Wu Di. Xu Bao possessed martial arts that discharged drilling projectiles from his spear, while Gao Xingzi used a rope dart. The dagger on her rope dart was a high-tier engraved weapon, and her martial art channeled her aether to enhance its sharpness. Thus, the dagger easily pierced through the battle puppets’ hard skins, especially the low-tier puppets.

The town’s barrier and the words of power on the defensive walls continued to flare brightly as Khode’s battle puppets assaulted the barrier. Because they crowded in front of the barrier, the pressure inflicted by so many battle puppets at once was immense.

Zhong Yuan, who was among the talisman masters using high-tier talismans against the enemy, shouted at Amon, ”Boss! I’m afraid the barrier cannot endure such an intense assault for too long.”

Instead of being worried, Amon grinned. He replied, ”Don’t worry. The enemy will accept defeat before that happens, unless they are willing to lose half their force, which is fine by me.”

Zhong Yuan looked behind and saw scores of human puppets, battle puppets, and soldiers on standby behind the wall. They were there to confront the enemies when the town barrier shut down.

Explosions after explosions shook the space where the barrier occupied. Battle puppets dropped to the ground in droves. In a siege battle where one side was protected by a barrier, rarely did the attacker send in their full force before the barrier was exhausted. Doing that was the same as giving the enemy free hits, like what was happening now.

Zee Min gritted her teeth. This was no different than them falling into the enemy’s trap. The enemy had used their technological advantage against them. She was still baffled by how the enemy undid their deactivation code when Lang Gu approached her and asked, ”General! What should we do? We can’t continue like this. We are sitting ducks to the enemy’s bombardment.”

When she was about to answer, she noticed Xuang Feng high in the air. Her stare made Lang Gu turn as well. In fact, most of the eyes in the surroundings were on Xuang Feng. This was because he had caused an unnatural phenomenon that drew everyone’s attention.

Two large talismans were in each of his hands. These talismans were glowing brightly. At the same time, the sky above him was churning. The clouds swirled and darkened. Before long, a thunderous sound echoed. It was followed by chains of lightning shooting down from those clouds.

The lightning was as if guided. They snaked their way toward the two talismans in Xuang Feng’s hands. A vacuum revolved above the talismans. The lightning nested there. The massive electric power continued to gather as more lightning fell into this vacuum.

Zhong Yuan, who also saw the scene, blurted in surprise, ”Holy shit! That man can use Lightning Calamity...?”

Amon never heard about Lightning Calamity, but from the display alone, the energy that would be discharged would indeed be at the level of a calamity. He didn’t have the time to analyze the situation. He shot toward Xuang Feng.

Xuang Feng saw Amon approaching. He still needed several more seconds to accumulate the lightning energy to its maximum output, but he remembered how dangerous Amon was. That memory made him decide to unleash the energy before Amon arrived.

Amon stopped just before the barrier. It was then that Xuang Feng aimed the large talismans at him. The accumulated lightning energy burst forth.

Amon thrust his left hand through the barrier. The massive lightning energy crashed into his hand first, before bursting in all directions. The lightning battered the barrier with incredible intensity.

Amon gritted his teeth. The barrier stopped the lightning from hitting the other parts of his body. Only his left arm was outside the barrier. Even so, the vibrations radiating from his left arm to his entire body rattled him intensely.

When the lightning calamity finally ended, a large gape was in the barrier. Amon was floating at the center of this newly formed hole. His body was numb. He had trouble moving.

Xuang Feng was stunned speechless. Amon used one arm to bear the brunt of his Lightning Calamity. If he was allowed to accumulate the lightning power to the maximum and hit the barrier directly, he was confident it would have brought the whole barrier down.

His greatest shock was on Amon’s arm. That left arm should have been obliterated into dust, but it remained intact. It was not even scorched.

His shock made him react late. It was Zee Min who bellowed the order, ”Rush in from that hole...!!!”

Khode’s low-tier and mid-tier runic-grade battle puppets followed the commands. Its Martial Realm soldiers also did. Zee Min herself rushed forward. Lang Gu followed her closely.

Zee Min’s voice woke Xuang Feng up. He realized then that Amon was not moving. This was a perfect opportunity! He unsheathed his whip sword and thrust it forward.

Sadly for him, six large flying knives came to block his attacks. Amon might have trouble moving his body, but he was still conscious. His control over the Alpha Flying Knives remained.

He slowly backed away while his Alpha Flying Knives kept Xuang Feng busy. He shouted at his followers below, ”Do not let the enemy enter! Defend...!!!”

Soon, flying combatants from both sides swarmed around the hole in the barrier.

The first group of Khode battle puppets charged through the hole, but they were soon split into pieces by Yong Baili’s threads.

”None of you may enter!” Yong Baili exclaimed.

Following him, a giant sword pierced through multiple battle puppets. It changed direction a few times, cutting everything that fly through the hole.

”Out of our way...!!” A powerful voice was heard. Zee Min charged inside. Her mechanical armor exuded steam as she moved. She was armed with a pair of large mechanical gauntlets. With a quick one-two punch, she shattered the giant sword. The broken sword transformed into Xin Wuming.

Yong Baili’s invisible threads came, but Zee Min sensed them. She blocked them using her gauntlet. The threads couldn’t cut through its thick metal. With a swing of her arm, she created a wave that swept the threads away. Her interference allowed her force to enter through the hole.