Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 741: Chapter 741. Becoming a Beginning Lord Stage

Amon was already close to the Beginning Lord Stage after consuming the Inheritance Pill. He was only waiting for the one-year time limit to pass before consuming the Aetherium Fruit. The time limit passed today.

The dark suit covering Amon’s face parted to let him shove the fruit into his mouth. Once the fruit is in, the dark suit closed again.

Xia To was confused. Why did his opponent eat a fruit mid-battle? It made sense if his opponent ate a pill. There were plenty of pills that aided a combatant in combat, but a fruit? This was the first time he witnessed such an occurrence. His confusion turned to amusement.

”Hehe. Weird man. I will let you eat your last meal before I waste you.”

”Thank you,” Amon said after swallowing the fruit. The fruit’s effects worked instantly. He felt the aether inside his energy core swell exponentially. Thanks to his Poison Blood Infusion Method, he had no cultivation choke point until the Demigod Realm. His surging energy immediately broke him through into the next cultivation level.

Xia To sensed the explosion of energy from Amon. He was flabbergasted by the phenomenon. He was still trying to understand what had just happened when Amon rushed toward him.

”What?” He was again surprised. Amon moved too fast inside his gravity zone.

He pumped his energy to further boost the power of his gravity zone. At the same time, the maul in his hand swung with flashing speed.

*CLANG!*

The maul and the black sword collided again. Different from before, Amon no longer staggered back. Xia To repeated his swing, and so did Amon. The two’s weapons flashed at lightning speed. Rapid clashes occurred.

Xia To couldn’t believe his eyes. He was as if fighting a completely different opponent. His shock caused him to overlook the changes in his weapon. Multiple gashes plagued his maul due to the rapid clashes. By the time he noticed, it was too late. His weapon broke with a loud crash. The black blade slipped past his broken weapon and came for his neck.

He jumped back to avoid the slash. Thanks to his gravity zone, his movement was extremely fast. He was out of the black sword’s slashing range when the sword was swung halfway. However, the black sword suddenly extended forward.

Everything happened within a split second. He still didn’t understand what happened when the black sword sliced past his neck. His head dropped with his eyes wide open.

Amon pulled the Xian Cloth back. The black sword extended because he shoved the ceremonial dagger forward using the Xian Cloth.

He picked up Xia To’s head before heading out.

The battle outside was not yet finished, but it was clear that the bandits were losing. He lifted Xia To’s head and bellowed loudly, ”I have killed Xia To. Anyone who wishes to have the same fate is welcome to continue fighting!!”

The bandits looked up in disbelief. When they saw Xia To’s head in Amon’s hand, the disbelief turned into terror and despair. They stopped fighting and ran in different directions.

Amon told the battle puppets not to pursue. Within seconds, all the bandits still alive had vacated the encampment. He landed and stored all the battle puppets while still inside the encampment. The Great Sun Hawk also returned inside the black space ring. Only after finishing that did he fly out of the encampment.

Wi Zhuang and the others were still watching from behind the hill. Their expressions were filled with disbelief as Amon approached. Amon threw Xia To’s head at Wi Zhuang, who caught it without thinking. He didn’t even look at the head he caught. His gaze remained on Amon.

”Can you confirm that is Xia To?” Amon asked.

Only then did Wi Zhuang turn his gaze to the head in his hands.

”The... The face fit his portrait... Yes, this is Xia To,” Wi Zhuang said.

”Mission accomplished then,” Amon said, before gesturing at the tower. ”Do you still need to destroy their encampment, or that head alone is enough?”

”We... We will destroy it,” Wi Zhuang said. He signaled his soldiers, who were also as dumbfounded as he was. They snapped out of it after receiving the command. They hurriedly rushed over to the bandit encampment. Not long after, fire began popping up at multiple parts of the encampment.

”Are... Are you some kind of a big shot in the surface world?” Wi Yin asked Amon while they waited for the soldiers who were burning the encampment. ”I heard that the strongest cultivators in the surface world were those with a power equal to our Fiendish Stage cultivators.”

”Right,” Wi Zhuang said. ”As far as we know, cultivators of the divine path with power as you ascend to the upper realm. Why did you come instead to this realm?”

”Because I also practice infernal cultivation,” Amon replied.

”Well, the upper realm indeed abhors infernal cultivators,” Wi Zhuang said.

Amon used the chance while they were waiting to pry some information. ”Do you happen to know about the calamity that befalls Aetheria every ten million years?”

”What calamity?” Wi Zhuang asked.

”Brother, perhaps he is talking about the purge?” Wi Yin said.

”Right. You must mean the purge,” Wi Zhuang said.

”The purge? What is that?” Amon asked.

”I’m not too clear about it, either. We only heard tales about it. It only occurred every ten million years, so those who had lived through the last purge are the domain lords and this realm’s ruler. What I know is that the next purge will commence in several years to come.”

”How many more years?” Amon asked.

Wi Zhuang shrugged. ”I don’t know. Perhaps the upper ranks in the faction know, but they don’t share the knowledge. The purge has nothing to do with us, lower ranks people, so we don’t really bother to learn about it.”

”I see,” Amon said. If he wanted to learn more about Aetheria’s calamity, he would have to climb the ranks within the faction.

”Do you come to this realm to find information about the purge to save the surface world?” Wi Yin asked.

Amon chuckled. ”The fate of Aetheria is not my concern. However, if the purge is an operation conducted by this realm, my familiarity with Aetheria is an advantage I’m willing to offer.”

”You must have no one you care about in the surface world, do you?” Wi Yin said.

”Well, as I said. If you want to know about the purge, you must climb the ranks of our faction,” Wi Zhuang said. ”Though I think with your prowess, that should not be a problem. Let’s go, my people are back. Let us return with this victory.”

Since the bandit base was made almost entirely of wood, the fire that Wi Zhuang’s soldiers started spread swiftly. By the time the soldiers returned, the fire that burned the encampment had turned into a raging inferno. Everything was ablaze. Amon and the others left while the bandit base burned behind them.

*

Wi Zhuang took Amon to the capital in the Mercy Domain. They passed through a couple of towns and one city along their way.

Through the journey, Amon learned that the settlements in this realm were unlike the ones in Aetheria. They didn’t possess defensive walls. It didn’t even seem like there was deliberate city planning. It was more like things were built randomly as the city developed.

Guards were almost nonexistent. The faction members didn’t bother when fights broke out. There was even an occasion where Amon saw someone being murdered in broad daylight. The people around acted like it was none of their business. Everyone fended for themselves here. If you were not strong, you must be willing to serve under others who were strong.

Everyone respected power, and the faction under the domain lord served as the strongest in this realm. That’s why even in such a chaotic environment, no one bothered Wi Zhuang’s group as they travelled through the settlements. The red vests they wore were the indicator that they were under Yao Ai’s protection.

That’s why, even though the domain lords were all volatile and risky, many still flocked to join their factions. Because by being a member, they were spared from the harsh conditions of their chaotic society, which hid danger at every corner.

’What a lovely realm,’ Amon thought upon learning this.

The capital that Wi Zhuang brought him to was called Saintly Sin City. It was a large, sprawling city that was a cacophony of majestic buildings and slums mixed without a clear pattern. Its most apparent landmark was the humongous building at its center. A huge colosseum with multiple arenas. Right next to this colosseum was a leaning tower that looked like a dragon’s neck. This tower ended in a mushroom top with the shape of a giant shell.

While the tower looked bizarre, it was not the one that attracted the most attention. It was the colossal creature that perched atop its mushroom-shaped top. A giant vulture with two heads and red feathers. Its two heads watched the inhabitants below with detached interest.