Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 646: Chapter 646. The Army’s Growth

The Royal Puppet Army easily routed the Wai Clan members who tried to free Wai Kung and Wai Ling. None of them made it to the two. The Martial Realm members were slain, while the Human Realm members were incapacitated.

A few civilians were injured, but these injuries were all caused by Wai Clan members who attacked haphazardly in their panic. The battle puppets from the Royal Puppet Army possessed uncanny coordination and precision, enabling them to avoid harming civilians.

After all the Wai Clan members were subdued, they were carried away. Wai Kung’s hands trembled as he watched. Lines of agony etched across his face. He and Wai Ling could only watch in hopelessness at the fate befalling their members.

Amon jumped onto the stage and gave the soldiers recovery pills to be distributed to injured civilians. While the soldiers went around distributing the pills, Amon addressed the crowd, ”You have all seen it. The Wai Clan isn’t willing to repent for their mistakes. They are still clinging to the power granted to them by the corrupt Supreme Chancellor...”

”That is a lie! Don’t listen to–Ugh...!” A punch in the gut stopped Wai Kung from interrupting Amon.

”... I don’t wish for this to happen, but they leave me with no choice. Since they have shown that they will continue to rebel, I have no choice but to subdue them!”

Amon made a gesture after he finished speaking. Upon the gesture, the Royal Puppet Army marched into the capital.

”What... What are you planning to do...?!” Wai Kung asked.

”Don’t worry, I won’t wipe out your lineage. Mothers and children will be spared,” Amon answered.

Wai Kung went pale after hearing that. He yelled, ”The ones who tried to save us are just a minority! You can’t prosecute my whole clan for this...!”

”You, monster!” Wai Ling screamed. Her voice was raw with madness and hatred. Her fists shook and tears burned her eyes. ”You will get what’s coming for you one day! I swear that you will die without an intact body! Even hell will be too nice for a demon like you...!”

Amon made another gesture. The executioner gagged Wai Ling and stopped her ramblings. Wai Kung also received the same treatment.

”Proceed,” Amon told the executioner before leaving the place. His purpose here was to turn the Wai Clan’s rescue attempt into an excuse to assault the clan. He knew that Wai Kung was right, that the clan members who performed the rescue attempt here didn’t represent the whole clan’s opinion. Even so, he didn’t care.

He wanted to attack the Wai Clan because he sought to replenish his army of human puppets with cultivators. After defeating Zee Whang, he looted a large number of receiver modules. The problem was that he lacked the prisoners of war to be converted into human puppets.

Since he took the role of someone liberating Khode from its corrupt tyrant, he had to liberate all the Khode soldiers who had been defeated in the battle. Additionally, there were not many, considering most of the enemy were Zee Whang’s battle puppets. The only exception was Wai Kung and Wai Ling, whose crimes were fabricated to make them appear as Zee Whang’s accomplices, which was not entirely false.

As for the original prisoners in Dabao City, most were Zee Whang’s political prisoners. Hence, they were all released after the formation of the new High Council. These prisoners were mostly influential people. They were very grateful for the release and helped sway public opinion in favor of the new High Council.

Hence, Amon lacked the subjects for conversion into human puppets even when he had sufficient receiver modules. This was why he performed a public execution for Wai Ling and Wai Kung. He even made the announcement far in advance to provoke and give the Wai Clan enough time to attempt the rescue.

The Wai Clan couldn’t put up a fight against the Royal Puppet Army. Everyone was apprehended except for the mothers and their children. These people were brought directly to Kulun Fort, where they were processed to become human puppets.

Zee Min came to complain about this case, but Amon ignored her.

*

Amon and his army continued to stay in Khode without interfering too much with the nation’s politics. He remained because he was waiting for Zhong Yuan to finish his special project.

Zhong Yuan took over Zee Whang’s private workshop under the Council Hall. That way, he could join the council meeting and resume his work once the meeting ended. The special project Amon tasked him with was the two high-tier runic battle puppets.

The Alpha Puppet was destroyed by Zee Whang, but luckily, the power source was not damaged. Zhong Yuan could salvage the puppet and rebuild it. He also built the second puppet simultaneously. He could do this thanks to the advanced equipment inside Zee Whang’s private workshop. Rare materials from Dabao City’s vault were also available to use for the puppets. This allowed Zhong Yuan to build a better battle puppet than the previous one.

As for Zee Whang’s supreme puppet, it was too damaged. Zhong Yuan could repair it, but it would take years. Amon couldn’t wait that long, so he gave the wreckage of the Supreme Puppet to Zhong Yuan as a gift.

During the wait, Amon targeted another clan in the capital, the Xuang Clan. He purposefully strutted around this clan’s territory. He being the reason for Xuang Feng and Xuang Chao’s death was public knowledge. He hoped his presence would provoke the clan members into hostility. Unfortunately for him, the Xuang Clan turned out to be more disciplined than he thought. They didn’t take the bait.

Fortunately for him, another incident occurred. One of the cities in the Western region, called Dust Smelter City, announced its independence and refused to have anything to do with the new High Council.

Zee Min and the others tried to settle the matters diplomatically, but they were answered with hostility. Any envoys they sent were slaughtered. It was so much that Zee Min finally accepted that they had to either use force or accept the city’s independence.

The problem was that Khode still had no effective fighting force. The military had mostly been disbanded by Zee Whang, and what remained was destroyed by Amon during the war. They only started rebuilding the military now that a new High Council had been formed, but it was still in its early stages. It didn’t have sufficient troops to occupy a city.

She was thinking about rallying the public to form a militia force when Amon came to her with a proposal. He could mobilize the First Demon Army and the Royal Puppet Army to help retake Dust Smelter City. In return, he got to keep all the prisoners from the battle.

Zee Min, Hong Zi, and Ha Velet were reluctant to accept the offer, but after a full day of discussion, they relented. They knew if they let Dust Smelter City revolt without repercussion, more would follow. The whole nation could break apart if they didn’t settle this matter swiftly. All Zee Min asked was for Amon to keep the casualties to a minimum.

Amon proved not to disappoint. The swiftness with which he settled the matter impressed everyone. In just one week since his army arrived outside Dust Smelter City, it was occupied.

Amon only dealt with the rebels who ruled the city. He didn’t trouble the civilians as long as they didn’t oppose his army. He didn’t do this because Zee Min asked him to. He stayed his hand because he still wanted to keep his image as this nation’s liberator rather than its conqueror. In this way, his threat on the Vagrant Sect and the Charger Guild remained valid.

All the rebels with the Martial Realm cultivation were slain. All the Human Realm rebels were brought to Kulun Fort to be repurposed into human puppets. This rebellion netted him many more prisoners than the Wai Clan. With the two incidents combined, he had a total of fifty thousand human puppets.

As for the First Demon Army’s human soldiers, Amon ordered Fort Fresh Maw to continue sending reinforcements, even after the war in Khode had ended. This, however, stopped three months after the war ended.

Jiang Tong received news that Fort Fresh Maw continued to send troops to Khode, so he presented the matter to King Huang San. He argued that the war in Khode had ended, Amon no longer required so many troops, while their war with Farghous was still ongoing. They needed the troops more than Amon.

Huang San agreed with Jiang Tong. With the king’s blessing, Jiang Tong took over Fort Fresh Maw. Any recruits acquired there would now be diverted to the formal military under his command.

Amon received the news along with Huang San’s command for him to return to Echos. He was to help Jiang Tong repel Farghous’ invasion.

Amon wasn’t angry that his supply of soldiers was cut. He expected this to happen eventually. The reinforcement he had received from Fort Fresh Maw before it was interrupted allowed his troops to recover. Alongside the troops he pulled back from Surly Gate Town and Steam Water City, his human soldiers were back to thirty thousand strong.

He sent Huang San a reply informing him that he still couldn’t leave Khode for the time being. He, however, promised that he would cause Farghous to leave Echos soon.

Huang San didn’t understand the reply, but he didn’t push the issue. He knew Amon well enough to know that Amon would not say things lightly. He was already glad with Amon’s accomplishment in forcing Khode into an agreement that favored their kingdom.

The First Demon Army remained in Khode for seven months after defeating Zee Whang. Right then, just as Amon was about to depart, he received news from Echos. Huang San and Yang Li had been blessed with a son, the future king of Echos.

Amon grinned upon receiving the news.