Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 672: Chapter 672. Echos’ Movement

After some while, Xu Bao finally spoke, ”General, no matter what, I am Echos’ soldier. I have sworn under oath. I understand your noble desire to save the world, and I commend it. However, I can’t act without consent from my king. I must return to Echos.”

”If that is your decision, I won’t insist,” Amon replied. He turned to Yong Baili and asked, ”What about you?”

”... I was never a military man. If the world is in trouble, we, as the ones inhabiting it, have the responsibility to do all we can to save it. My sister and I will follow General in your crusade. Once we are done, we will ask forgiveness together from the king.”

Amon nodded. He rose and announced, ”I’m not going to stop anyone unwilling to follow. We are, after all, defying the king’s order. As you mentioned earlier, most soldiers in my army are already aware of this matter. What they don’t know is my reason. I wish to spare you all from the knowledge that we march unsanctioned, so only I will bear the guilt. Now that it has come to this, I will tell everyone the truth about the calamity. Those who wish to return to Echos are welcome to do so. Those who volunteer to help me see through this can continue to march with the First Demon Army. Wuming, go and gather everyone outside Bulo City!”

Everyone was dismissed. Xu Bao and Yong Baili helped Xin Wuming gather everyone. An hour later, all thirty-three thousand soldiers of the First Demon Army gathered outside Kazhan’s capital. Amidst the troops were also some Kazhan and Khode’s soldiers. Amon let them join. Since he was revealing the truth about the calamity, he might as well do it for everyone.

Amon began by addressing the fact that he had defied the King’s order by refusing to return to Echos. He then told everyone his reason. It was, of course, not his true reason, but noble causes have always been the easiest way to motivate the masses.

Many were skeptical of his claims until he showed the recording from the memory stone. Even then, many still found it hard to believe.

Amon closed his speech by telling Echos’ soldiers that they were free to decide if they followed the King’s order or his. Kazhan and Khode’s soldiers, of course, had no such luxury.

Amon told Echos’ soldiers to submit their decision by tomorrow. Those who decided to leave would follow Xu Bao and return to Echos.

*

The next day, Amon received the report from Xin Wuming. Around six thousand Echos’ soldiers decided to leave. According to Yong Baili, this was already a good outcome. Originally, more than half of the troops expressed the desire to leave. Even though they all admired Amon, no one wanted to be branded as traitors by their own kingdom.

But after learning about the calamity, they had a different thought. Additionally, Amon promised them that after they defeated Oredolia, they would return to Echos, and Amon would plead with the King to forgive them for following him.

The six thousand troops left before the day ended. They joined Huang Er’s army, which still camped in the vicinity of Bulo City.

Huang Er was displeased with the number of Echos soldiers leaving Amon’s camp, but thought it was understandable after hearing Xu Bao’s report. She had known by now that Amon was notoriously persuasive.

She left with her army several days later. She didn’t see that there was anything she could do concerning Amon. Furthermore, she received the news that the king would be heading to the front line. Her army was to join with his.

*

Amon also received the news about King Huang San’s move.

Huang San’s army was composed mainly of the army inside Golden Stone City’s Grand Barrack. It was hardly possible to mask the Grand Army’s movement, and Huang San didn’t intend to. Instead, he made the preparation as majestic as possible, drawing everyone’s attention.

Huang San also sent emissaries to Gyleth Marx and Farghous, informing them about his intention. This way, they won’t try anything against his marching army. Whether they believed him or not, that’s another matter. But after Amon’s action in Kazhan, he had faith that those two would more likely believe Echos to be their ally.

Huang San spent two weeks in preparation before his Grand Army departed from Golden Stone City. Huang Ti accompanied him in the campaign. After hearing Huang San’s intention to go to the front line, Huang Ti decided to tag along so he could ensure Huang San’s safety.

It was thanks to this extensive preparation that Amon easily got wind of Huang San’s moves. He received messages from both Gao Lan and Yang Li.

”That young king has more backbone than I give him credit for,” Amon remarked. He was inside his tent with Xin Wuming.

”Will he try to stop us from attacking Oredolia?” Xin Wuming asked.

”On the contrary, he will support us,” Amon replied.

”Really? Then why go through the trouble of pulling troops away from us?” Xin Wuming asked.

Amon snickered. ”He won’t truly assist us. His support will most likely be staged. It’s all for a political show. With his presence, my assault on Oredolia will seem like an act under his order. Even if we win and the Temple of Divinity is truly proven to be the cause of the calamity, our merit for stopping the end of the world will partly be his.”

”We do all the work, and he reaps the reward?” Xin Wuming asked. The distaste in his tone was clear.

Amon chuckled. ”Don’t be displeased. Scheming has always been the game of kings and politicians. If I were unwilling to play, I wouldn’t have built the First Demon Army.”

”Why must we be afraid of Echos?” Xin Wuming asked. ”We have defeated Kazhan and Khode. Even if Echos’ soldiers are unwilling to fight for us, we have enough troops to conquer Echos. Our human puppets, battle puppets, and battle tools are enough to score us a victory and occupy the Golden Stone City. Even King Huang Ti won’t stop us. He is weaker than Shou Zou. Brother’s Alpha and Beta Puppets should be enough to face him.”

Amon gave Xin Wuming a meaningful look. ”Are you truly okay with me going against Echos? You yourself are Echos’ citizen. Are you willing to go down such a treasonous path?”

”I owe the Huang Clan nothing,” Xin Wuming stated. ”Everything I have and what I’ve become are all thanks to Brother. Only Brother deserves my loyalty.”

Amon put a hand on Xin Wuming’s shoulder as a sign of appreciation. ”Good, but it is not yet time to take over Echos. Even if we have the power to take it, we don’t have the justification. We will face opposition from all sides. We won’t be able to hold control of the country for long. It is the same reason why I don’t conquer Khode and Kazhan directly. No matter what you think, public approval matters. Before we have absolute power, we cannot reveal all our fangs. There will be a time when people will have no choice but to obey our every whim, but it will still be a long road before that. Remember, in the game of scheming, patience and pretense are of absolute importance.”

”I will remember Brother’s lessons,” Xin Wuming said. ”In that case, what should we do in response to King Huang San’s move?”

”We will advance to Oredolia as we originally planned. Nothing changes,” Amon said. He then showed a wide grin. ”He may think that the steps he took gave him advantages over ours. He doesn’t realize that it actually allows me to proceed with my other plans.”

”What other plans?” Xin Wuming asked.

Amon smiled without answering Xin Wuming’s question.

*

Amon let his army recuperate for two months in Bulo City after defeating Shou Zou before resuming his march to Oredolia. Even though Gyleth Marx was free to advance on Oredolia, and Farghous also did, he didn’t believe Oredolia was that easy to defeat.

By letting the others fight, he could perceive everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. They would also be tired enough by the time he arrived. That should give his army an easier time securing victory.

Another reason he waited was that Kazhan’s old tribes had expressed interest in supporting his campaign, especially the Xan Tribe. Xan Chi announced that he would lead Kazhan’s army and marched alongside the First Demon Army to strike Oredolia.

Xan Chi and his colleagues hated the Temple of Divinity. It was the temple’s teachings that forbade them from possessing slaves. Hence, they considered the temple an opposition to their beliefs. They had also heard about the calamity. They could save the world, protect their way of life, and satisfy their battle lust. Why would they pass up the opportunity to join this campaign?

The two months were for them to draft soldiers from all over the nation. Before, they only used their tribes’ warriors. Now that they were in charge, they could issue a call to assemble more troops.