Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 723: Chapter 723. Vassal’s Duty and Honor

Amon didn’t respond to Huang San calling his name. Now that he had made his move, he wasn’t going to let Huang San leave this place alive. Even so, he wasn’t going to take unnecessary risks by confirming Huang San’s assumption.

A long, flaming black sword emerged from the shadow that covered his right hand. He slashed this black sword. The slash produced a crescent black energy that shot at Huang San.

Huang San ducked to the side, avoiding the crescent energy. As he did, vines covered in leaves and thorns sprouted all over his body. They covered every inch of his body and extended over to his longsword.

’Nature Assimilation,” Amon recognized the arcane art.

Nature Assimilation was Huang Zhan’s signature art. Like his deceased brother, Huang San possessed an affinity for the wood element. After he became king, he searched the palace library for the tome containing this arcane art and studied it. His affinity to the wood element was A-class, surpassing even Huang Zhan.

Not only had Huang San trained the art to the same level as Huang Zhan, where he could extend the enchantment to his weapon, but the vines he conjured also possessed sharp thorns. These thorns hurt anyone who dared to attack him physically and carried a toxin that could weaken and paralyze the victim.

Amon performed a second slash. Huang San didn’t dodge this slash. His longsword, covered in thorny vines, clashed with the incoming crescent energy. The crescent energy was shattered upon contact.

Huang San used his barbed whip arcane art. The Nature Assimilation enhanced the art. In addition to the normal barbed whip, four thorny vines also lashed out. It made his art look like he conjured five barbed whips. These whips slashed from random directions. Expecting his opponents to be occupied by his whips, he aimed the lightning scepter.

Huang San’s tactic was useless. Amon ignored the barbed whips. He let the whip hit the dark suit enveloping him. Not only did they fail to pierce through his defense, but the whips were also eroded rapidly. The blue lightning came then.

Amon was ready. Combining the Invisible Sky Steps and the speed burst granted by his dark suit, he dodged the lightning and charged through the barbed whips in rapid succession. In an instant, he arrived beside Huang San.

Amon’s arrival surprised Huang San, but he still managed to swing his sword to block the incoming slash. The vine-enhanced longsword clashed with the flaming black sword.

The flaming sword conjured using the ceremonial dagger’s special ability was indeed powerful. However, Huang San’s golden longsword was not to be scoffed at. It was Echos’ heritage weapon bestowed upon the ruling king. It was a low-tier runic weapon. It didn’t possess any elemental power, but it was extremely durable. With the additional enhancement from the Nature Assimilation, it could withstand the full power of Amon’s ceremonial dagger.

While Huang San successfully blocked the swift assault, he failed to do the same with Amon’s follow-up attack. Amon’s other hand punched forward at almost the same time as when the two weapons clashed. The punch landed on his waist. The blow sent him crashing into the wall.

’Hm...’ Amon could feel from the impact that his punch failed to inflict damage on his target. The vine armor protecting Huang San was tougher than he expected. He also felt a slight pricking during the impact. If not for his dark suit, his fist would have been wounded by the vine’s thorns.

More thorny vines lashed out of Huang San’s vine suit, as if in retaliation for Amon’s attack. These vines whipped at Amon. Though the vines couldn’t hurt Amon, they still made it hard for him to approach Huang San. Amon performed Infinite Phantom Slash. The countless black slashes repelled all the vines that barred his way.

If Huang San was only suspicious before, he was sure now after witnessing the martial arts. He exclaimed, ”General Amon, assaulting your king is an unforgivable sin! Prepare to suffer the death penalty!”

With the vines repelled, Amon arrived before Huang San. He still didn’t say anything in response to Huang San’s outcry. He sent a swift kick that shoved Huang San back into the wall. His left hand then grabbed Huang San’s sword arm, preventing him from retaliating.

The lightning scepter on Huang San’s right hand glowed, but Amon slashed his dagger, knocking the scepter and causing it to point away. The blue lightning was fired, but it struck the opposite wall. Amon then pinned Huang San’s left arm using his right hand.

Huang San’s vine armor made it hard to wound him, but it wasn’t stronger than the Elder God Suit. The darkness from Amon’s dark suit slowly crept and enveloped Huang San. Huang San could feel the darkness eating his vine armor. Amon planned to end Huang San the same way he ended Huang Er.

”Amon... Let go...! You, bastard! Let go of me...!!” Huang San exclaimed. Unfortunately, he couldn’t compete against Amon’s raw strength despite having a higher cultivation level.

”Hm...?!”

Suddenly, Amon sensed something from the side. He quickly let go of Huang San and jumped away, just as a pillar of bright light washed over the area where he had been a moment ago.

After the pillar of light was gone, Amon could see the perpetrator. It was Wu Di in his Saintly Ape form. He had lost Huang San earlier because he couldn’t keep up with Huang San’s speed. Thankfully, he was in the vicinity when he heard the sound of battle and Huang San’s yelling. That helped him locate the hole that led into this underground cave.

”Your Majesty! Are you alright?” Wu Di shouted with concern. He came over to Huang San’s side.

”Ugh... Thank you for the save,” Huang San told Wu Di. Patches of darkness still cling to his vine suit. They melted the vines, but Huang San channeled his aether and stimulated new vines to grow, replenishing the destroyed ones.

While Amon’s darkness could eat through Huang San’s protective armor, he also experienced a similar thing. He didn’t perfectly dodge Wu Di’s Evil Destroying Light. The light scraped his left hand. He now put his left hand behind his back, hidden from Wu Di and Huang San. Wu Di’s light had blown the shadows covering that hand and exposed it. The shadow from his dark suit slowly expanded to cover the hand again.

’Mm...’ From what he had read, the divine and infernal elements didn’t counter each other except for two elements, light and darkness. Both elements were weak to one another. That’s how Wu Di’s light could break through Amon’s dark suit when it had endured more powerful attacks in the past.

Thanks to his perfect affinity, it didn’t take long for him to mend his broken suit.

”Wu Di, be careful. That demon is General Amon,” Huang San told Wu Di.

”What? Impossible. Hasn’t General Amon died already? How can he be a demon? And why does he want to kill Your Majesty?” Wu Di asked.

”I don’t know, but trust me. I’m sure about my claim.”

Wu Di stared at Amon, trying to peer through the concealing shadows. He yelled, ”You, demon! Speak! Are you truly General Amon?!”

”Hmph,” Amon harrumphed in reply. He slashed his black sword.

The black crescent that shot from the sword surprised Wu Di, but not Huang San. His vine-covered longsword broke the black crescent before it hit.

”He is too dangerous. We need to escape from here and regroup with my army,” Huang San said.

”Your Majesty, go! I will cover you.” Wu Di’s body enlarged as he spoke. His master-level Gigas Blood gigantified his entire body, allowing him to use his body as a blockade inside the cave.

Huang San was about to say that he wouldn’t sacrifice Wu Di to save himself, but he remembered his status then. He and Wu Di were no longer fellow students. He was a king. Wu Di was his vassal. It was Wu Di’s duty and honor to protect him, even at the cost of Wu Di’s life. Furthermore, he already tasted how dangerous their current opponent was. If he were hesitant, they both could end up losing their lives.

With that thought, Huang San turned and dashed toward the hole he came in from. He shouted, ”Wu Di, Echos thanks you for your sacrifice. It won’t go unnoticed. I promise I will make this right!”

”You won’t leave.” Amon finally spoke for the first time in this confrontation. His voice was muffled, though, so it was still not a confirmation of his identity.

Amon thrust his hand forward when he spoke. Wu Di thought Amon was performing an assault. He crossed his two arms to block. Yet, he didn’t feel any impact.

Amon didn’t attack Wu Di. He was using the Elder God Tentacles. The dark tentacles burst out right at the mouth of the hole that connected this cave to the surface. These tentacles effectively sealed the escape route. Huang San could sense that the intense darkness from these tentacles was not weaker than the dark suit covering Amon. He didn’t force himself through. He jumped back when the tentacles came for him.

”Shit!” Huang San cursed. With the escape route sealed, he had no choice but to face Amon with Wu Di.