Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 618: Chapter 618. Riot

It didn’t take long for Wu Di’s troops to rout the Khode legion, who tried to pass the Yancheng Rock Formation. Many Khode’s soldiers broke ranks and fled upon witnessing the unfolding battle. Wu Di ordered his troops to refrain from pursuit. Their mission was to prevent the enemy from passing. They focused on the enemies who still stubbornly resisted.

By the time the battle ended, a large portion of the landscape had transformed. Jagged rubble and corpses replaced the signature rock pillars that once defined the area.

Following Amon’s instruction, Wu Di didn’t return after his victory. He set up a camp behind the Yancheng Rock Formation. Soldiers equipped with rifles kept watch from atop the rock pillars that still stood at the site. They were accompanied by Mystic Stage Soldiers who performed regular patrols from the sky. Their task was to block anyone who wished to use that route to approach Steam Water City.

*

Half a day after Wu Di’s troops decimated Wai Xihou’s legion, the other Khode legion on the other side of the canyon suffered a similar fate.

That legion used a roadway that followed along the canyon. Most of the time, the terrain on the other side of the roadway was flat land, but there were parts where they passed through rocky hills. They were hit at one short pathway where the hills had a cliff right beside the roadway.

The ambush they faced was a rockslide trap. Massive boulders crashed down from the cliff above. Those who didn’t die from getting crushed were pushed into the deep canyon. Only the Mystic Stage soldiers escaped death by flying, but they soon found themselves as targets of riflemen from atop the cliff.

After Echos’ troops ran out of rocks to throw, they charged at the confused Khode’s soldiers. They focused more on pushing the enemies instead of slaying them. Many Khode’s soldiers ended up dying from falling into the canyon instead of being slain by the enemy soldiers.

The battle in that place also didn’t last long. After the battle ended, Echos’ soldiers did the same as their counterparts across the canyon. They set up a camp and watched over the roadway.

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

”What did you say?!”

Wai Kung threw the table in front of him. Everyone knew him as a patient man. Hence, his outburst took everyone by surprise.

”Motherfucking hell...!! Can’t we get even one win? It’s like our adversary has the full blessings of the Gods!”

Wai Kung continued to rant while the others remained silent. They had just received the report about the demise of the two legions.

The incident had already been a week past. They failed to establish contact with the two legions. They only knew because a surviving soldier entered a nearby town and used the town hall to report to the military base in the capital, which then relayed the message to the Grand Militia.

The surviving soldier was only from one of the legions. They still had not received confirmation from the other legion. But considering that they couldn’t contact the other legion even after one week, it was safe to assume the other legion suffered the same fate.

Wai Kung finally finished with his ravings and sat back down. He was panting, and there was a slight expression of embarrassment after he calmed down a bit.

”Forgive me. That was uncharacteristic of me,” Wai Kung said.

”That was perfectly fine,” Xuang Feng said. ”I was about to do the same, but you beat me to it.”

They laughed at the remark. The laughter lifted the gloomy mood inside the command tent by a little, but it lasted only a short while. Everyone was serious again soon.

”Now that our rear assault was foiled, what should we do?” Zue Siao asked.

Everyone was silent. No one had any idea.

”Should we send another split force to try to break through the rear?” Zue Du asked.

Xuang Feng shook his head. ”The enemy had somehow known about our attempt for a rear assault. They are most likely watching all the routes. We must send a bigger force if we wish to succeed where our legions failed, but that will mean weakening our main force.”

”Then, what should we do...?” Zue Du asked.

Xuang Feng couldn’t answer.

The meeting went on without any viable solution. Everyone pitched in once in a while, but the discussion was dominated more by silence. Even the rare suggestions that were presented were soon shot down by others with reasonable counterarguments.

At moments like this, Wai Kung missed Wei Zhuang. The man could be considered their strategist. Losing him was a big blow to their force.

In the end, the meeting ended not because they reached a consensus, but because everyone was too frustrated and tired. Xuang Feng called everyone to take a rest and resume the meeting the next day.

This persisted to the following day, and the day after that, and so on. After a week had passed, there were even a few days that passed without any meetings. Everyone was sort of at a loss about what to do.

Things only took a drastic turn a month later.

*

”We can’t rely on our leaders to act. We must do it ourselves! Who is with me?!”

A Khode soldier was standing atop a crate while making a speech. A large crowd surrounded him.

”What is going on here?” Zue Du asked. He was making a round around the camp to calm down his nerves after another fruitless meeting. The commotion drew his attention.

The closest soldier turned to him and was surprised to see a high-ranking officer. He was a little awkward when he answered, ”That man is one of the civilian cultivators who volunteered to join this army. He is frustrated at the lack of progress and suggests that we assault Tusha Valley by ourselves if the commander is still reluctant to do so.”

Zue Du frowned after hearing it. From the number of soldiers gathered here, many seemed to agree with the sentiment. He called one soldier and instructed that soldier to call Xuang Feng while he stayed and listened to the speech.

While listening, he also asked around about the speechmaker, whose name he learned was Lai Badong. Lai Badong was a young master from a large clan in Fire Boiler Town. He joined the Grand Militia with his friends against the wishes of his parents after hearing the emergency call. Like other young cultivators, he was very passionate about fighting back the invaders. Being idle for so long had driven many young men like him to take matters into their own hands.

”... We have a much greater number than the enemy. What are we afraid of? We are not afraid to die so long as we can beat those invaders back. I am not afraid to die! Are you? With our determination and our numbers, we will free this nation from the clutches of those Echos pigs and be remembered as heroes! Who is with me?!”

The crowd roared in agreement. Most who spectated comprised civilian cultivators, but their excitement drew even veteran soldiers who wished to do something instead of just lounging around. Their roar filled the entire camp and drew even more soldiers to come.

”Stop this riot at once...!!” A roar interrupted their commotion. Xuang Feng flew above them. ”Are you people trying to rebel? You are soldiers! You follow orders and maintain discipline! Riling up the crowd is a punishable crime in wartime. I will give you people the chance to disperse and return to your station!”

”No...!!!” Lai Badong exclaimed.

”Excuse me...?” Xuang Feng didn’t expect to be challenged by his own soldier.

Lai Badong levitated as well. He was a Peak Mystic Stage cultivator. Though he was much weaker than Xuang Feng, he didn’t show any fear. He floated until he was almost the same height as Xuang Feng before resuming his speech.

”We will not stay put even one more day while the invaders are on our soil. If our leaders don’t have the balls to do what must be done, we will be the ones who do it! My comrades! We are all patriots! Let us show everyone our determination! Let’s march into Tusha Valley and fight it out with the enemies!”

”How dare you! Have you not heard what happened to the vanguard troops that entered the valley?” Xuang Feng grabbed Lai Badong’s shirt threateningly.

Instead of being scared, Lai Badong maintained a firm expression. He shouted, ”You can’t silence me! You can’t stop me from doing what I must do for this nation! Even if you kill me, my brethren will march to battle the enemy. We won’t let you cowards stop us, because we are the true patriots!!”

”Let him go!”

”Release him...!”

”You can’t stop us, coward!!”

The crowd shouted at Xuang Feng. He looked at them in disbelief. He knew most of the gathered soldiers here were civilians, but how did things deteriorate like this so rapidly? They dared to oppose even him, who was the main commander of the force.

A few veteran soldiers with Martial Realm cultivation floated before Xuang Feng and said, ”Commander, please release him. Like it or not, we will assault the enemy today. We will carry out the duty to which we are called to form this army. We will do this, commander, with or without you.”