Rise of The Demon General

Once Lu Kang slammed into the ground, he knew his fate was decided. His movements might only pause for a second due to the slam, but it was enough for his opponent.

All the dark tentacles swarmed him. They wrapped around his body, arms, and legs. The ones that bound his limbs pulled in four different directions. He was suspended in the air with all his limbs extended outward. He faced upward, where Amon slowly floated down.

Lu Kang wanted to be defiant, but he felt the dark tentacles that bound him were also slowly eating through his skin and flesh. He inadvertently uttered, ”Me… Mercy…”

His plea stunned the crowd, who were already astounded by how the match turned out. Silence filled the arena, allowing everyone to hear Lu Kang’s words clearly.

”A… Amon, let me go… I am more useful to you alive than dead. I swear I will follow your every order. You can take my rank, and I will be your loyal follower… Just let me live…”

”Interesting proposition,” Amon responded. ”I do think you will make a somewhat useful underling.”

Hearing that, hope rose in Lu Kang’s heart. He said, ”Thank you. You will not regret this. With my aid, you will rise in rank much faster. Furthermore…”

Amon interrupted Lu Kang’s expectant speech, ”However, I am not certain about your promise of loyalty.”

Lu Kang’s words stuck in his throat upon hearing Amon’s words. He realized then that the two long tentacles from Amon’s back never stopped approaching him. As if sensing his notice, these two tentacles lunged forward and wrapped around his neck. They then tightened, while the other tentacles holding his limbs began to pull.

His mouth opened, but he couldn’t scream. The tentacles were choking him. They also bit into his flesh. His body, where the tentacles touched, was eroded. He couldn’t resist their pull. The audience heard terrible ripping sounds as his body split apart in multiple directions.

Amon let Lu Kang’s body parts drop to the ground except for the head, which he held high using his dark tentacles like a trophy.

”The… The winner is Enforcer Amon…!” The announcer exclaimed, but he soon realized his blunder. He quickly corrected it. ”Forgive me. From now on, Sir Amon will be known as Slayer Amon!”

Wi Zhuang and Wi Yin jumped from their seats and erupted into cheers. They were joined by their crew.

Their cheering stopped when a loud shriek startled them. This shriek was no normal shriek. A powerful energy pressure accompanied the sound. Everyone who heard it felt their body had been paralyzed. They couldn’t move a finger.

Amon also felt the pressure, but his power allowed him to move despite the heavy pressure. He moved away just as something pierced through the arena’s barrier from above.

This something landed in the arena with a boom. The ground cracked from its talons. Its body filled almost the entire arena.

The one that landed was the Vermillion Vulture. Its two heads looked at Amon, who had retreated to the edge of the arena, with a contemptuous gaze. Without ceremony, those heads ducked down and pecked at Lu Kang’s body parts. It even snatched the head still held by Amon’s dark tentacles.

Amon hadn’t deactivated his Elder God Tentacles. Those tentacles still swayed around in the arena. Some touched the Vermillion Vulture, but it didn’t seem bothered by those tentacles. The tentacles couldn’t touch the vulture directly. There was a thin energy layer that prevented them from doing so.

In a few seconds, the Vermillion Vulture was done gobbling up Lu Kang’s remains. It then left the ground and flew back to its nest above, leaving the stunned audience.

Before the audience could catch a breath, another pressure descended on them. This time, it was even heavier and more suffocating than when the Vermillion Vulture landed. They looked up. They saw someone entering through the hole in the arena’s barrier, which was slowly mending itself. In perfect unison, everyone left their seats and dropped to their knees.

The arena announcer announced, ”All hail His Ladyship, the reigning demon queen of the Mercy Domain, the undefeated lord of the arena, and the fiercest domain lord of the demon realm. May those who challenge her suffer a thousand deaths, for no one will ever be worthy of such a challenge.”

Amon also looked up when everyone did. This was the first time he laid eyes on the ruler of the Mercy Domain. The woman who floated down had an appearance that was anything but normal. For starters, a pair of huge crimson bat wings was on her back. Her arms and legs were covered in red, scaly skin. Amon doubted those scales were armor. They were too streamlined into her limbs. Beside her head were two thick, curly horns, and her eyes had elongated pupils like those of a snake.

Most people who underwent alteration by a flesh alterer usually exhibited only a small portion of altered body parts. The most Amon had seen were people with two altered limbs, like Lu Kang. He had heard that the more body parts were altered, the bigger the risk. Most died due to the extensive alteration. Some who survived went insane and behaved more like spirit beasts than humans.

Despite the extensive alteration Amon witnessed from Yao Ai, he could see from her snake-like eyes that she had the full faculty of her mentality. Despite their fierce nature, there was sharp will and cunning in those eyes.

Amon lowered himself and knelt like the others, although he did it a few seconds later than the others.

Yao Ai landed directly before Amon, which confused the audience. Though the special matches inside the central arena were rare, the Domain Lord’s appearance was even rarer. There had been many phenomenal battles before in this central arena, with participants stronger than in the match just now. Yet, the Domain Lord rarely graced the winner with her special appearance. Everyone wondered what was so special about Amon. Why was he granted this special attention?

Yao Ai spoke. Her voice was soft but strong. Her tone was melodious but carried a touch of authority that accepted no insolence. ”Mm… You kneel. Yet, I somehow get the feeling that you are defying me.”

Amon replied, ”Your Ladyship. It must only be your imagination, for I am committed to serving and obeying your commands.”

”Mm… Rise.”

Amon stood up upon the command. He was taller than Yao Ai by almost a head, which prompted her to look up at him.

Amon looked back at her. If not for her altered parts, she could be considered beautiful. Her flowing red hair reached her waist. As for her face, the skin was rough, and there were many visible tiny blood vessels, especially at the root of her horns and around her eyes. He figured those must be the side effects of the alteration.

The two stared at one another for a while. Yao Ai finally spoke again, ”Fascinating. No one has ever dared to stare at me as you do. Maybe I should pluck out your eyes as a warning to others.”

”If that offends you, I apologize, Your Ladyship,” Amon said. He turned his gaze downward.

”You said so, but I again have the feeling that you do not truly submit to me.”

”That is also only your imagination. If you want me to kneel again, I will do it.”

”Never mind that. I am interested in you because I have read a report about you. Is it true that you have command over a battle puppet army?”

”… I do.”

”And you also came from the surface world? Not that long ago?”

”That’s correct. I came from Aetheria a bit over five years ago.”

Yao Ai nodded. ”You might be a suitable person for a mission I have in mind. However, I’m interested to know why you use the arcane art of one of my rivals?”

The audience was surprised after hearing Yao Ai’s words. Amon was at first also confused, but he quickly connected the dots.

”Do you mean the Elder God Tentacles? It is because this arcane art is given by the Domain Lord of the Devotion Domain, Hai Di.”

The audience gasped.

”You learnt it from Hai Di? Are you his spy?” Yao Ai asked.

”I assure you I am not,” Amon answered. He proceeded to narrate his first encounter with Hai Di when he was still in Aetheria.

Yao Ai listened, but Amon couldn’t tell if she believed his tale.

She said after Amon finished, ”Well, the mission I want to give you takes you into Hai Di’s territory. We will see from the result of this mission if you are truly loyal to me or if you are Hai Di’s agent.”

Amon bowed submissively. ”I will make sure I live up to your expectations and prove my worth to you.”

”Mm,” Yao Ai nodded, but then her eyes caught something that attracted her attention. It was a small black ring dangling from Amon’s necklace when he bowed.

”That black ring… How do you come into possession of it?” Yao Ai’s hand grabbed the ring, but she didn’t snatch it from Amon.

Amon then remembered that Hai Di had also recognized his Black Space Ring in the past. Could Yao Ai be the same?

”It is active… You can use this ring?” Yao Ai asked. Her face showed genuine surprise.

Amon was still thinking about how best to reply when Yao Ai spoke again, ”This explains how you hid your puppet army and summon them at will… In that case, Amon, I challenge you to a fight in this arena!”