Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 600: Chapter 600. Kindness

They brought Xuang Feng back to the Wai Clan’s mansion. Wai Ling helped him clean up while the others had a discussion inside a closed room.

”That monster! We can’t keep letting him play everyone!” Zue Siao exclaimed. She could finally let out her feelings after bottling them for so long.

”There is nothing we can do as we are now. His puppet army is too formidable. Any direct confrontation is hopeless,” Wai Kung said, frustration showing through his calm demeanor.

”With the army we will command. We will probably have a chance,” Wei Zhuang said.

”First, we must drive the invaders out before we do anything about our nation’s leader,” Wai Kung said.

”Actually, I heard some whispers from the underworld,” Xue Siao said. ”The chatter of uprising is picking up in speed. It seems like the Vagrant Sect and the Charger Guild will be at the tip of this uprising.”

”Those lowly people can only talk. They don’t have the guts to do anything,” Wai Kung said. His tone was full of disdain. ”Ignore them. We will only be wasting our time if we associate ourselves with those people.”

”There is one interesting topic in their chatter, though,” Xue Siao didn’t let the matter go. ”I heard they had a deal with the invaders. Echos’ General promised to hand over the reins of this nation’s power after they work together to bring down the Supreme Councilor.”

”Hahaha! And you believe that nonsense?” Wai Kung laughed, shaking his head. ”I don’t blame those people from the Vagrant Sect and Charger Guild. They are gullible, lowly idiots, after all. Do you think Echos Force bothers to come all the way here to help us rid our nation of our despot and then willingly hand over the result of all that hard work back to us? Only a fool is naïve enough to believe that! No, they are invaders. We don’t cooperate with them. We drive them out! Then, we fix our problem!”

”Let me remind you, we have a bigger problem on our hands,” Wei Zhuang said.

”The calamity can wait,” Wai Kung insisted. ”If we fail to remove the invaders and the supreme councilor, we might as well let the calamity strike. Because then, there is no hope for us, anyway.”

”Please don’t say that,” Zue Siao said, depressed.

”Anyway, having the invaders here benefits our allies,” Wai Kung said. ”If this General Amon returns to Echos, I doubt Farghous can remain inside Echos’ territory. Between Jiang Tong and him, it will be too much for Farghous to handle.”

”What about Gyleth Marx?” Zue Siao asked. ”The role of dealing with our real target falls upon them, doesn’t it?”

”Without the intervention of other countries, they are making good progress,” Wei Zhuang answered. ”But even with their military might, they cannot achieve a quick victory. We need to buy them more time.”

”Well, we can’t do anything to help until we deal with our own shit,” Wai Kung said. ”Our first order of business is to raise the biggest army we can. The Supreme Councilor dissolved much of Khode’s military after he came into power. Most soldiers became civilians, but with his permission, we can now call everyone to return. I have had my people issue the call. The funds and supplies required to mobilize have also been delivered by the supreme councilor. Now, it is up to us to make good use of this army.”

”We will!” A strong voice interrupted their discussion. They turned and saw Xuang Feng entering the room with Wai Ling.

”How do you feel?” Wai Kung asked.

”Better. The drug has been washed out of my system,” Xuang Feng answered. ”What is sad is that I have been wasting my time inside that jail cell. How long ago since General Zee Min’s army was defeated?”

”It is almost five weeks since then,” Wai Kung answered. ”What few are left of her army are now taking cover inside Steam Water City. She helped the mayor there to defend the city, which stands between Surly Gate Town and here. If the invaders wish to come here, they must defeat that city first.”

”How do they do? Do you think they have a chance to resist the Echos Army?” Xuang Feng asked.

”The Echos Army hadn’t made any attempt to attack Steam Water City yet,” Wai Kung answered. ”But they had been busy in hitting many small settlements around the city. Steam Water City had experienced a large influx of refugees since then, many of whom are cultivators. This increased the potential protectors inside the city. The action of Echos’ army is instead lowering their chance of occupying the city.”

”Do you think civilian cultivators will help defend the city?” Zue Siao asked.

”If it is any other city, I will say not, but the mayor of Steam Water City is a special man,” Wai Kung answered.

”I agree,” Xuang Feng said. ”His kindness is known to all. Out of all the politicians in Khode, he is the most beloved. His citizens will gladly fight for him, even if they are not formal soldiers.”

”That is a relief,” Wai Ling said. ”That means Steam Water City should be able to hold out until we finish gathering our army and march there.”

”Let’s hope it is so,” Wai Kung said.

---------------

”Brother, it has been two months, why are we not attacking that city yet?” Xin Wuming asked Amon.

They were camped on a low hill overlooking Steam Water City. All they did since arriving was monitor the city from a distance. They didn’t even stop the refugees who continued to trickle into the city from the surrounding areas.

”Patience, Wuming,” Amon replied. ”There is no one sure way to deal with everything. We must adapt based on circumstances. Some wars you win by being quick. Others you win by adopting patience.”

”I don’t question your method, brother. I simply don’t see the reason,” Xin Wuming explained. ”We have enough Yuanxu Cannons to bombard the city’s barrier from a safe distance. It is only a matter of time for us to destroy the barrier.”

”I might have done so if I didn’t have intel on the city’s mayor,” Amon said.

”The mayor?” Xin Wuming asked.

Amon nodded. ”Thanks to our friends from the Vagrant Sect and Charger Guild, I was up to date about the important matters of this nation. The mayor is a man named Shi Zhang. He had ruled Steam Water City for many decades. The reality of his staying in power for so long is not because he has a strong influence in the court. It is because the citizens of that city demand it. He is widely known as a kind and fair mayor. Almost all the citizens inside the city adore him. Trust me, to maintain that kind of veneration from the same crowd for such a long time is no small feat. The bottom line is that if we attack that city, it won’t be just the soldiers we have to contend with.”

”The citizens will as well?” Xin Wuming asked.

Amon nodded again. ”In a situation where the leader is much beloved, it will not only be the patriots who fight. Normal citizens without backbones will also take up arms. Even from a cynical view, I expect at least half the population inside that city to actively resist us if we storm inside.”

”Half...” Xin Wuming muttered. That thought didn’t paint a good picture. Steam Water City had a population of roughly a million souls. If half of them decided to oppose them, it would be a force many times their own.

Amon could see from Xin Wuming’s expression that he understood the point. Amon said, ”Even if most of those citizens have low cultivation levels, are poorly equipped, and have no training, their number will still overwhelm us if we charge at them. Even if we can win, we will suffer massive casualties. If that happens, we can forget about continuing our campaign to Khode’s capital.”

Xin Wuming was silent. He understood now why Amon had not attacked the city.

”Additionally, their population keeps increasing,” Amon pointed at the refugees seen in the distance.

More refugees came from all directions every day. This was due to them attacking the smaller settlements in the surrounding area. They were mostly villages and small towns. Those settlements were less protected and had weak barriers. Amon split the First Demon Army into many smaller detachments and sent them to attack these settlements. His order to these detachments was to pillage the supplies in these settlements and kill everyone at the Martial Realm. All Human Realm citizens were to be spared. The settlements were burned after the pillage. This forced the survivors to move to other settlements.

Seeing those refugees, Xin Wuming realized something and uttered, ”Brother! Then we shouldn’t let those refugees enter the city. It will just increase the enemy’s number!”

He was about to call a nearby soldier to issue a command, but Amon stopped him. ”Let them enter the city,” Amon told him.

”Let them...? But, brother, won’t that just make it harder for us to take the city?” Xin Wuming asked. ”You mentioned before that we cannot ignore this city if we wish to push our campaign toward Khode’s capital.”

”That is true. We must take this city,” Amon replied.

”Then... Why let those refugees in?” Xin Wuming asked in confusion.

”Kindness might be Shi Zhang’s strength that prevents us from occupying the city, but it can also be his weakness,” Amon said with a wicked grin. ”I will turn that kindness against him.”