Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 653: Chapter 653. Counter-Revolution

Amon spent an entire day learning how to use the low-tier ancient-grade talisman given by Xuan Ming.

”I’m impressed by your learning speed. Are you sure you are not an expert-level talisman master?” Xuan Ming asked.

Amon ignored the praise. It meant nothing to him. He looked at the large talisman in his hand. He only learned about activating it in theory, but he was certain there would be no problem when he did it for real. He stored the talisman in his black space ring.

”You sure you don’t want to kill me?” Xuan Ming asked before Amon stepped outside.

”You keep asking that. Do you want to die so much?” Amon asked.

Xuan Ming smiled. ”Never mind then. I will take it that fate still has something in store for me.”

Amon scoffed at the remark and walked outside. Xan Chi and Fen Nu were still waiting out there.

”What the hell are you two talking about for one whole day?” Xan Chi asked.

”Never mind that,” Amon said. ”You have gotten your blessing. Shall we start discussing our march to Bulo City?”

”Sure, but as you can see with the gathering below the mountain yesterday, many old tribes will participate in the action as well.”

”I have gone back down to further talk with them after what the Tribe Mother said yesterday,” Fen Nu said. ”They had received her message by the time I met them. They were now returning to their respective tribes to mobilize their forces. I have agreed with them that we will pool our forces outside Xinjian City before we march toward the capital.”

”How did they receive the Tribe Mother’s message?” Amon asked. He didn’t notice Xuan Ming using any message talisman when he was in the hut.

”Those Omen Crows are her messengers,” Xan Chi pointed at one of the large back crows perched atop a nearby dead tree. ”The Tribe Mother has mental links with all the omen crows on this mountain. He could speak through them.”

”Really...?” Amon asked. He could form mental links with two spirit beasts because he had two energy cores. He didn’t believe Xuan Ming used the same trick to form mental links with so many Omen Crows. Perhaps her feat was due to a special constitution. While he was intrigued, he didn’t bother to pry further. As long as the Tribe Mother didn’t oppose him, he would leave her in peace.

”When will the tribes’ forces arrive at Xinjian City?” Amon asked.

”They will arrive at different times, depending on how far their tribes are,” Fen Nu answered. ”But even the ones situated the farthest should arrive in less than two weeks.”

”Is Xinjian city safe from the Kazhan royal court’s prying? I would prefer the enemy learn about our movement as late as possible.”

”Don’t worry,” Xan Chi said. ”Despite Kazhan seemingly changing its government, many are still endorsing the old ways. The ruler of Xinjian City is one such person. He is the chief of one of the tribes that gathered at the base of the mountain yesterday. He sent his representative here after receiving the tribe mother’s invitation.”

”Very well. Let us depart to Xinjian City, then,” Amon said.

*

Xinjian City was one of the largest settlements near the border between Kazhan and Khode. The First Demon Army, which had been camping near the border, started marching toward the city after receiving Amon’s message.

Amon brought the forces of the Xan and Fen tribes and joined the First Demon Army before they arrived at Xinjian City. If the First Demon Army marched alone, it might cause commotion and unwanted incidents with the local population.

Xan Chi and Fen Nu were astonished by the First Demon Army. They were already intimidated by the number of Amon’s puppet army. The combined number of Echos’ soldiers and the human puppets almost rivalled that puppet army. What’s more, they sensed that most Echos’ soldiers possessed high cultivation levels. They also had the bearing of battle-hardened warriors. While Kazhan’s folks were people who revelled in conflicts and wouldn’t shy away from stronger opponents, Xan Chi and Fen Nu would prefer not to make the First Demon Army their enemy.

The Xan and Fen tribes sent only their warriors. Children and weaker members of the tribes went to their hideouts. The number of warriors the two tribes could spare amounted to two thousand.

The massive army made camp outside Xinjian city while waiting for the other tribes. During the wait, Amon stayed inside the city under the hospitality of the city ruler, a man named Tong Ze. Xan Chi and Fen Nu also stayed with him.

Tong Ze brought them on a tour around the city on the first day. Amon saw that the city was indeed in support of the old ways. Many citizens owned slaves, and many merchants practiced slave trading.

Amon noticed a building dedicated to the Temple of Divinity during their tour. Tong Ze assured him not to worry. The Temple of Divinity had little influence in his city, and he had already had his people detain all the priests and deacons in this city. Their enemy wouldn’t be aware of their movement. He wasn’t afraid of offending the Temple of Divinity because they would soon march to Bulo City anyway.

*

It was eleven days before all the tribes contacted by the Tribe Mother arrived at Xinjian City. Aside from the Xan and Fen tribes, sixteen other tribes gathered. Their combined forces numbered fourteen thousand warriors. Their number wasn’t as many as the Echos’ soldiers. However, almost all Kazhan’s warriors possessed tamed beasts, so their number was almost doubled if their tamed beasts were included.

Amon had a meeting with the eighteen tribe chiefs inside the city hall before they marched. He kept the plan simple. He considered these tribes as mere figureheads and expendables. He didn’t divulge his entire plan with them. All they knew was that they would march to Bulo City, defeat the royal court, and claim the capital.

Once they dismantled the royal court, they would replace it with a conclave as in the olden times. The conclave would consist of the representatives from the tribes that participated in this revolution. Or maybe it was more apt to call it a counter-revolution, since the movement aimed to undo the previous revolution and return the country to the old ways.

They marched the next day after the meeting. Tong Ze remained in Xinjian City, but he sent his right-hand man and half of his city guards to join the campaign.

The tribes’ forces marched at the head, but the first Demon Army comprised the bulk of the combined army. Amon let the Royal Puppet Army join the march instead of keeping it inside his black space ring. It was to bolster the chiefs’ confidence.

Considering the size of their army, other settlements soon learned of their advance. They didn’t mind. They no longer needed to conceal their intention. They even chose the paved road rather than going through obscure paths. This allowed them to avoid encounters with spirit beasts and thus, travel at a steady pace.

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

”They retreated?” Huang San asked. He just received a report from Lao Zen that the Farghous Army had left the two occupied cities.

”What did we do?” Ha Gild asked.

”Nothing,” Lao Zen answered. ”Jiang Tong and Princess Huang Er retained their sieging position. The enemy just packed up and left from the Eastern Gates. The last report was that they were on their way back to Farghous. Our army is currently harassing them as they retreat, but the enemy doesn’t retreat in panic. They maintain formation and perform a tactical retreat, so they don’t suffer many casualties.”

”Should we tell our army to continue chasing and invade Farghous?” Ha Gild asked.

”We don’t know yet why the enemy retreats. It is dangerous to go into the enemy’s territory without a clear grasp on the situation,” Huang San replied. ”Furthermore, the Farghous Army remains strong. Our military power is equally matched. It is not wise to go where the enemy has the terrain advantage.”

Zong Hua entered the room in a hurry when they were in discussion. ”I just received urgent news from my spies in Kazhan.”

Everyone turned to her. They didn’t understand why the news from Kazhan was important. They had no dealings with that country aside from being on the same side against a common enemy faction.

”Our troops are spotted in that country. They are marching with the local forces. From the roads they take, they are heading toward Kazhan’s capital, Bulo City.”

”Our troops? How can we have...” Huang Zan stopped mid-sentence.

”Is it General Amon’s troops?” Lao Zen asked.

Zong Hua nodded. ”He is sighted among the marching army,” she confirmed.

”This is outrageous!” Xa Jien exclaimed. ”We have been sending him the order to return all this time. He kept ignoring our orders. Now, he marched into our ally’s country without permission! It is obvious he intends to rebel...!!”