Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 619: Chapter 619. Gullible

Xuang Feng was speechless. His hand, which was grabbing Lai Badong’s shirt, slowly loosened. Lai Badong took the chance to slap Xuang Feng’s hand away.

”Let’s go, my comrades!” Lai Badong exclaimed. ”We will show them what true patriots are!”

Xuang Feng gritted his teeth. Since it had come to this, he had no choice. Judging from the crowd, he estimated those who were willing to follow Lai Badong amounted to around one-fifth of their force.

”Hold!!” He exclaimed.

Lai Badong turned and asked, ”What? You can’t stop us. We have made up our mind!”

”I am not stopping you,” Xuang Feng uttered. ”If we must attack, we must do it properly. Hold your march until we are ready.”

”Are you stalling? We won’t accept waiting another day,” Lai Badong stated.

”Three hours! We will begin our assault before the sun sets today,” Xuang Feng exclaimed.

Lai Badong looked at his supporters before he replied, ”Very well. We will wait until sunset. If the army doesn’t make a move, we will!”

”Tch!” Xuang Feng turned around and left. He called Zue Du and the others to make emergency preparations.

The crowd that supported Lai Badong cheered. They felt victorious after forcing the commander to act. Words of praise showered Lai Badong. Even before the battle began, he already felt like a hero. While he was enjoying praises from all around, a sweet voice he yearned for called out to him.

”Brother Badong, you are incredible!”

Lai Badong turned to the speaker, who was a female Khode soldier.

”It is nothing,” Lai Badong said, feigning humility. ”We are all patriots here. I’m simply voicing what everyone is thinking about. If anyone deserves praise, it is you, sister Weng Li.”

”Me...?”

”Yes. It was you, sister Weng Li, who gave me the courage to speak up. It was your inspirational words that made me see the errors of our commanders. I am simply repeating your words in my speech. Honestly, I think you should be the one who takes the credit when we defeat the invaders.”

”No, no. I wouldn’t have been able to do what you did,” Weng Li said while blushing. ”If it were me who stood before such a crowd, I would have frozen up. It was your charisma that moved all these people.”

”Sister Weng Li, you praise me too much. I am not that good,” Lai Badong said. His face, however, displayed an expression filled with pride. ”Sister Weng Li, do you have a plan after we drive out the invaders? If you don’t mind, how about visiting my hometown, Fire Boiler Town? There is a famous dumpling shop near my clan’s mansion. The dumplings are very delicious. You will like them.”

”If brother Lai is willing to treat me, I will make sure to visit,” Weng Li said teasingly.

”Of course, I am willing. I will treat you every day if you let me!” Lai Badong said excitedly.

Weng Li giggled. ”Well, we will have to wait until this war ends first. I will not keep you any longer. You have more important matters to do, like preparing for the coming battle.”

”Sister Weng Li, stay with me! I will keep you safe,” Lai Badong exclaimed.

”No. You can be considered as someone on par with General Xuang Feng already. The people here listen to you. You will have to lead them. You won’t be able to concentrate on your tasks if you must protect me all the time. I am but a mere Strength Stage soldier. I will be at the back line with other support soldiers.”

”I understand,” Lai Badong nodded. ”We will talk again after our victory. I will hold you to your word about visiting my hometown.”

”I look forward to it,” Weng Li winked at him before leaving. While moving away, Weng Li used her soul link to send a message to Amon.

Weng Li was the female soldier Lin Li disguised as. Amon knew that most civilian volunteers would be restless with the Grand Militia’s lack of action, so he had her give them a push. She had her scout around the camp for someone who fit the characteristics Amon described, which were a young man, reckless, confident, had experience leading, enjoyed being looked up to, could speak well in public, but most of all, gullible.

Lin Li thought it was impossible to find someone who fit those criteria until he met Lai Badong. She approached him and used flirting to get his attention. She understood then why Amon specifically asked her to look for an attractive Khode female soldier and copy her appearance for this infiltration.

While she disliked spying because it kept her away from her home inside the Black Space Ring, she loathed this task. Pretending to have an interest in that pompous young master was taxing. She couldn’t count the number of times she almost lost control and sliced Lai Badong’s throat. She couldn’t wait to get away from him.

She again asked Amon if her task was finished and if she could go home. Amon told her to be patient.

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

”Is everyone ready?” Amon asked.

”We are,” Xu Bao answered with a nod.

”I must say, having a spy on the other side is truly a great help.” Yong Baili said. ”Whoever this spy is, he deserves a raise.”

”He is a she,” Amon informed. ”You people protect this place. Do not let them get through.”

”Is General sure to go alone?” Xu Bao asked. ”We will be in trouble if something happens to General.”

”Don’t worry about me. They have a better chance of breaching this valley than of capturing me. That’s why I will be very angry if you two fail to defend this place. I will hold the two of you responsible if that happens.”

”Damn! That was one hell of a vote of confidence,” Yong Baili remarked.

”Don’t worry, General. We won’t fail you!” Xu Bao exclaimed.

Amon gave the two a hard stare for another second before leaving.

After Amon was gone, Yong Baili turned to Xu Bao and said, ”I don’t know if it’s just me, but I truly don’t consider that man younger than us. I can’t believe he used to be my student.”

”I get what you are saying,” Xu Bao said. ”I myself can’t believe he used to be the kid who needed me to save him in the past. I guess life does have many surprises.”

The two stood there for a while before shrugging and going to their posts. They called for everyone to be ready for a confrontation.

*

An hour before sunset, Khode’s army marched toward Tusha Valley. Battle puppets led the march. Following behind were the troops, mostly comprised of civilian militias. Lai Balong led this militia.

Lai Balong actually desired to be placed at the head of the march. But after a heated debate with Xuang Feng, he finally relented. He was not content, though. He planned to urge his people to charge and overtake the battle puppets as soon as the battle started. He saw this battle as a chance to make his name shine. He was not going to let this chance go. He was determined to obtain as much glory in this battle as possible.

They entered the Tusha Valley, but nothing happened. They continued marching through the valley without difficulty.

”Hah! What a letdown! To think our leaders were so afraid to enter this valley!” Lai Balong exclaimed.

A Veteran soldier near him said, ”Brother Balong, the report from the vanguard’s battle said that the enemies only started attacking when they were halfway into the valley. Do not be careless.”

”Look! I see the Yuanxu Cannons high up on the mountains,” another soldier pointed.

”The report also said many enemies are hiding at the foot of the mountains. These enemies use deadly weapons that can hit targets from very far away.”

”Doesn’t matter,” Lai Balong said confidently. He pointed at the row of enemies in the distance, blocking the path out of the valley. ”Once we punch through those enemies, those cannons and the hidden soldiers will be of no use. Come on, my friends! Time to make a name for ourselves!”

With a loud battle cry, Lai Balong flew forward. Others with the Mystic Stage cultivation followed his lead. They flew slightly above the marching battle puppets. The others who couldn’t fly ran past the battle puppets by slipping between them. Some even bumped into the puppets roughly, causing them to trip. These militias tried their best to get to the frontline.

Xu Bao, who watched the scene with the soldiers that blocked the valley’s exit, shook his head. ”Can you believe those clowns?” He said. ”Can’t believe this is the best Khode has to offer.”

The charging militias overtook the battle puppets. By then, they had already passed the mid-section of the valley.

”Haha! See? There is nothing to worry about!” Lai Balong exclaimed. ”With me, my comrades! We will punch through the enemies and be remembered as the heroes of this...”

He didn’t finish his sentence because he heard cries from behind. He looked behind and saw many pillars of fire shoot up where their army was marching. He then noticed the ground under them was flashing. He saw now there were many talismans hidden by dust on the ground. There was one directly under him.

Before he could do anything, a pillar of fire erupted from that talisman, and flames engulfed him.