Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 675: Chapter 675. Zanbu Mountain

The tragedy in Golden Stone City soon reached Huang San’s army, which had joined with Jiang Tong’s force near the border. Former King Huang Ti dropped to his knees upon hearing the news. He could not contain his sorrow and wept in front of everyone.

That weep turned into anger. His aura suffocated those inside the tent. A few with low cultivation levels even vomited blood because they couldn’t endure the pressure.

Huang San and the others had to restrain him with little success to prevent him from rushing into Oredolia all by himself. All the evidence pointed to the Temple of Divinity as the culprits. Xin Dhaije even threatened the Huang Clan with divine punishment before he left. Everyone could now see that the attack during the festivity in the Golden Stone City was a realization of that threat.

After repeated pleadings from both Huang San and Zhu Yao, Huang Ti finally calmed down a little. He, however, swore to Heaven that he would not rest until he destroyed the Temple of Divinity.

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Amon also received the news of the tragedy during his march. He showed no expression upon hearing the news. He let Xin Wuming circulate the news to all the Khode Soldiers in their army. This bolstered their resolve to defeat Oredolia.

When they were still halfway, he told Xin Wuming, ”I will go first. You will be in command of the army.”

”Brother, where will you be going?” Xin Wuming asked.

”You don’t need to worry about it. Just march the army to the location I indicated yesterday. I will be back before it is time to meet the representatives of the other forces.”

”Very well, Brother. You can leave everything to me,” Xin Wuming assured.

”I know,” Amon said. He took to the sky. The Great Sun Hawk appeared beside him. He rode the hawk and flew at high speed. His direction was toward Oredolia.

Next to the First Demon Army was Kazhan’s army. They numbered forty thousand troops, not including their tamed beasts.

”Where does that guy go?” Xan Chi asked when he saw Amon riding the Great Sun Hawk.

”Who knows? It is hard to read his thoughts,” Fen Nu replied. Out of the ten tribes with seats in the conclave, they were the only two tribe leaders on the campaign. The others sent their warriors, but their tribe leaders remained in Bulo City.

”Never mind. I’m sure he won’t miss the battle when it starts. Come to think of it, it will be New Year’s Eve in three more days. Can’t believe we will be spending it in a war campaign.”

”You prefer celebrating it like usual? Drinking, whoring, killing slaves?” Fen Nu asked.

”Yeah, you are right. We can do that every year. Having a glorious battle. Now, that is not something you get every day.”

”The battle will be after the New Year. Following our ally’s marching speed, it will still be around two weeks before we enter Oredolia’s territory.”

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Amon left his army because of the Tribe Mother’s message. He normally wouldn’t have entertained such a vague instruction without a clear purpose, but he admitted the Tribe Mother left an impression on him. He couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever pointless thing the Tribe Mother gave him had a dire consequence if he didn’t heed it.

With the Great Sun Hawk, he reached the border of Oredolia much faster than his army. The difference between Oredolia and other countries was that the border of this religious country was only symbolic. It didn’t have anything that marked its border. No defensive formation, no wall, no guards that screened those who came and went. People were free to travel through this border without obstruction.

This was because, since the beginning, the Temple of Divinity had never considered itself a country. The temple’s headquarters was a holy ground where believers performed pilgrimage. No border was ever enacted. This was to allow the pilgrims free passage. The temple slowly became its own country because it never heeded other countries’ laws or their authority.

Hence, Amon had no trouble flying into Oredolia’s territory. He saw from the sky the devastation the war had wrought. Most settlements near the border had now turned into ruins. He saw a few scattered forces roaming the land, as well as some survivors from the ruined settlements. He ignored them all and continued ahead.

On the second day after the New Year, he reached his destination. Zanbu Mountain stood tall near Saint’s Rest. Its peak was a flat ground filled with forest. It had a small dead crater in the middle of this flat ground, which collected rainwater and became a lake. Low clouds surrounded the peak, making the forest look like a garden in Heaven.

Amon returned the Great Sun Hawk to his black space ring before he flew to Zanbu Mountain’s peak. He didn’t spot any force nearby. Even Saint’s Rest looked peaceful. The fact that Oredolia was surrounded by every other country in the world didn’t seem to put them into a high state of alert.

Since there was no obstacle, he proceeded to his destination. He landed beside the small lake in the middle of the forest.

He looked around the place. There was nothing particular about the place. He didn’t sense any spirit beast, whether in the woods or inside the lake, only some animals.

Xuan Ming told him to come here in the first week after the new year. Did whatever he was supposed to see here happen at one point within that week? Should he wait here for the remainder of the week? Could whatever incident he was supposed to witness have happened yesterday, on the first day of the year?

This was why he hated vague instructions. He couldn’t know for sure.

He was still pondering whether he should waste his time here for another six days when he heard a woman singing. It was faint, but he was sure he heard it correctly. He turned to the voice. It came from inside the forest.

He walked toward the voice. The forest inside looked serene. The weird thing was that the small animals he passed by seemed to be in a state of peaceful tranquility. They didn’t scurry away even when he walked near them. Normally, they would have run away if a normal person walked by, much less someone filled with killing intent like him.

For some reason, he also felt peaceful. He understood then that a strange aura filled this forest, which influenced the state of mind of its inhabitants. He couldn’t tell, though, the source of this aura.

He was close to the singing voice now. If he were a normal person, he would have thought the voice melodious and the song entrancing. He kept walking, even kicking away a squirrel who remained still in his path.

He came out into a clearing filled with beautiful flowers. A woman with unusually long hair was sitting on a boulder at the opposite side. Her hair was straight and black. It had a silky quality that reflected sunlight. Her skin was fair and smooth. Her face was beautiful. She appeared to be a mature woman in her mid-thirties.

She continued singing even after Amon appeared. Gathering around her were various animals. Deers, squirrels, foxes, boars, monkeys, rabbits, raccoons, and different kinds of birds. The scene of these animals lounging around the singing woman was straight out of a fairy tale. Yet, Amon wasn’t charmed by this scene. He was instead alert. The reason was that he couldn’t sense anything from the woman.

Amon didn’t feel any danger from her. If there was any time when Amon didn’t trust his danger sense, this was one of those times. He remained where he stood. He didn’t take another step closer to the woman.

After some while, the woman finally stopped singing. Her finger moved, and the animals were as if released from a spell. They scattered and disappeared into the forest.

The woman turned to Amon. Even though she looked relatively young, Amon thought her eyes appeared ancient.

She stood. The tip of her flowing long hair touched the ground. She was barefoot. Yet, her feet were clean. There was no dust or dirt on her. She wore a black priestly robe. The robe was not tight, but it didn’t hide the sensual curves of her body.

She started walking toward Amon.

”Stop,” Amon warned. He was holding his ceremonial dagger. ”Do not come any closer.”

The woman complied. She stopped walking. She smiled and spoke. Her voice remained melodious, like when she was singing. ”You must not be locals. If you are, you will know that this is a sacred mountain. It is forbidden to come here.”

”If it is forbidden, why are you here?” Amon asked.

”Because this is my abode,” the woman replied.

Amon had a bad premonition upon hearing that. He asked, ”And you are...?”

”My name is Mu Qin,” the woman answered. ”But the people around here call me the Holy Mother.”