Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 594: Chapter 594. Intercepting the Supply Train

Time continued to pass. Two months after the last confrontation between Echos and Khode armies on the wall of Surly Gate Town, no further conflict occurred. The two forces simply stared at one another from a distance.

Zee Min kept waiting for the reinforcement Xuang Feng promised. Still, no news came. Her soldiers grew restless, so did she. They sat there doing nothing, which eroded morale.

The only solace they could think of was that they were the reason Echos’ invaders didn’t expand their invasion. As long as they stood guard there, the enemy would not invade deeper into their territory.

Of course, Zee Min didn’t believe it at first. But over time, the mind had a way of comforting itself. Instead of hoping for a reinforcement that might never come, or forcing an assault with no hope of success, she convinced herself that they were doing something important by doing nothing.

This belief was shattered before the end of the day.

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Around twenty miles from where the Khode Army camped was a small station where several railways converged. The train that Amon saw when they were on their way to Surly Gate Town used these railways. These trains mostly transported goods or sometimes important personnel all over Khode.

It was also these trains that brought supplies to Zee Min’s army on the frontline. Deliveries came monthly. Amon had sent scouts to monitor the process a month ago. Today, another delivery was due to arrive.

One of the railways headed in Surly Gate Town’s direction, but this was obviously not used, considering the town was under occupation. Hence, the supplies for Khode’s army only stopped in the nearby station. Zee Min sent a battalion to the station to secure the supplies and transport them back to their camp. They were currently waiting at the station for the train to arrive.

Unbeknownst to them, a different party was also waiting for the train. This party was around ten miles away from the station, hiding behind a large rock outcropping.

This party consisted of twenty people. All were Martial Realm cultivators. Amon, Xin Wuming, Wu Di, and Zhong Yuan were among the twenty.

Xin Wuming read from a message talisman. ”Brother, the scouts said they have spotted the train.”

”Go,” Amon uttered. Four among them jumped out of their hiding place and ran to the railway. They planted several talismans at different places along the railway.

Amon estimated the time mentally. They should see the train already. True to his calculation, they saw the train appearing around the corner of a rocky mountain ahead. By then, the four who planted the talismans had returned to their hiding place.

Everyone waited in silence. The train continued onward without much sound. Unlike the train in Amon’s previous life, which used a steam engine that produced much noise. The one here was moved by the words of power engraved around its body. It drew its power from an engine at the train’s head, which absorbed aer stones.

When the train got close to the spots where Amon’s people planted the talismans, those talismans exploded.

The exploding talismans not only knocked the train out but also took out a long section of the railway. Due to the impact and for losing its guiding path, the train derailed. It skidded along the hard surface, bringing about dust clouds, and produced a terrible screeching sound.

It tumbled and finally stopped after dragging its heavy self almost a hundred meters away.

When the train started derailing, Amon already jumped out of the hiding place. Three fully assembled Yuanxu Cannons and several elemental balls materialized on the ground before him. He told Zhong Yuan, ”You are up! We have only a small window. Make it count!!”

Zhong Yuan and five others came forward. Two people manned each of the cannons. One worked on the aim and the ignition, while the other worked on loading the elemental balls.

”Damn! Having a superior space ring is truly a strategic advantage,” Zhong Yuan uttered while prepping one of the cannons.

Since the cannons were already assembled, it didn’t take long for them to be ready. The three Yuanxu Cannons discharged their ammunition onto the derailed train. Elemental explosions soon covered the train.

The train’s shell was made of hard metal and shielded by protective words of power, so it was not that easy to destroy. Amon was aware of it. That’s why he prepared the extra ammunition. The cannons were reloaded soon after firing. They didn’t bother to check how damaged the train was. They fired a second round immediately after the reloading was done.

Repeated blasts continued to hit the train. They could see pieces of metal flying from the punishment, but Amon instructed them not to stop. They continued firing.

Several Khode soldiers flew out of the massive dust cloud. These were the Mystic Stage soldiers tasked to protect the train. As for soldiers with lower cultivation levels, they were either killed when the train tumbled or were blown apart by the elemental explosions.

Amon and the others, who did not operate the Yuanxu Cannons, flew forward to face these soldiers. Those soldiers were already disoriented or wounded. They couldn’t put up much resistance against Amon and the others. They were quickly slain.

Some, who had just emerged from the dust cloud, saw that the situation was not in their favor and decided to flee. Amon didn’t let them. His flying knives flew far and stabbed them in the back of their necks.

Amon never stopped paying attention to the time. Five minutes after the explosions that derailed the train, he called everyone to stop. He grabbed the Yuanxu Cannons and returned them to his black space ring.

”We are done here! Go, go, go!”

Amon flew in the direction of the Surly Mountain Range. The others followed closely.

Not long after they left, the battalion sent by Zee Min to secure the supplies arrived on site. By then, the dust clouds had settled. They were shocked to see the destruction. The train was completely wrecked. The contents it carried were obliterated. There was not much they could salvage.

They looked around angrily for the perpetrators, but saw no one. One of them called the others and pointed in the Surly Mountain Range’s direction. Several figures were seen in the distance. Those figures were flying to the top of the mountain range. They were too far already. Even if the Martial Realm soldiers in their battalion gave chase, they wouldn’t catch those people before they went past the mountain range.

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”Son of a bitch...!!” Zee Min flipped the table inside his command tent. A messenger had just arrived and let her know the incident with the supply train.

She was furious. The enemies resorted to such a dirty trick even when they had the advantage.

”Those Echos soldiers have no honor!” Lang Gu was similarly seething.

Zee Min slumped back in her chair. After making a mess, she calmed down a little.

”What should we do now?” Lang Gu asked.

Zee Min didn’t immediately answer. When she spoke, she was asking a different thing. ”Is there any news from Xuang Feng?”

Lang Gu shook his head weakly.

Zee Min let out the longest sigh she ever did. ”We have no choice. Our rations are getting thin. We must retreat to the nearest settlement.”

”If we did. The Supreme Councilor will consider it as we fail the mission,” Lang Gu reminded.

”Fuck him!” Zee Min no longer restrained her frustration. ”That prick! Even when the nation is in crisis, he still uses the opportunity to get rid of people he suspects to be troublesome. That asshole is not a leader!”

”General, please lower your voice,” Lang Gu said with a worried tone.

”Rarrhh...! Fuck everything! I’m not doing this for that fucker! I’m doing this for my nation. We will retreat to Steam Water City. To hell with the Supreme Councilor. He can remove me from the military when this is all over, but I won’t stop until I drive the invaders out!”

”Why Steam Water City?” Lang Gu asked. ”It is roughly four to five days’ march from here. There are other settlements that are closer.”

”The other settlements are villages or small towns. They won’t have enough supplies to share with us,” Zee Min explained. ”Steam Water City is the closest large settlement. Plus, I know the mayor. He is an honorable and benevolent person. He will aid our cause.”

”Understood. I will have the army prepare to depart immediately,” Lang Gu said.

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”They are packing up,” Yong Huan said. He was using the Eagle Eye to observe the Khode Army’s camp from Surly Gate Town’s wall. Beside him was Amon, who had returned with the others.

Amon grinned. ”They have no choice. Unless they want to keep the siege with empty stomachs, they must leave.”

He turned to Xu Bao and asked, ”Prep the army. We will march soon. Time to go on a hunt.”