Rise of The Demon General

Dao Su wasn’t joking. The process took hours, even for Dao Su, who had two extra arms more than regular humans. This was because he had to conduct the procedure slowly. He worked in detail, making small cuts bit by bit. With Amon being fully aware, this process was no different from savage torture. Sweat filled Amon’s body as he endured the pain. The clothes in his mouth were almost shredded from his gritting teeth. Yet, he didn’t move.

Dao Su was fully focused on his work, so he didn’t give Amon his attention. It was Zee Whang who had a full view of the situation. Zee Whang had been expecting Amon to call it quits or even lash out in anger. He waited for minutes, expecting it to happen the next second, but that expectation never came to realization. Even after hours had passed. Amon remained lying on the table willingly.

Zee Whang himself was sweating even when he didn’t feel the pain. He winced many times, just from imagining what Amon was going through. The sinister feeling of wanting to see Amon fail slowly gave way to a strange sense of admiration.

He realized then that this man before him was not human. No human could endure this, even so willingly. He knew, because he hated humans so much that he knew all their weaknesses. No, this man before him was a machine. A machine with a clear purpose that would not let something as fickle as emotions or feelings stand in his path.

Finally, Dao Su began to make a connection between Amon and the Scortaur’s part that was to be transplanted. This time, his four arms moved dexterously. Two of his arms attached thin, almost invisible filaments to Amon’s nerve points where he had cut open. His other two arms attached the filaments’ other ends to the Scortaur’s cut limb.

Zee Whang counted the number of filaments, which represented the number of nerve connection points. He lost count at three hundred and forty-three. Dao Su continued to connect roughly two hundred more filaments before he stopped.

Once the connections were completed, Dao Su ordered his altered bugs to lift the Scortaur’s cut limb. The bugs that performed the lifting were attached with giant dragonfly wings. Their wings produced rhythmic sounds as they turned invisible due to beating too quickly. Despite more than ten bugs doing the lifting, they all moved with perfect synchronization. No one flew faster or moved in a direction different than the others.

As if operating a crane, Dao Su guided his bugs and had them slowly bring the cut limb down on Amon’s body. The filaments that connected the nerves between the two parts tautened despite the distance between them becoming shorter. It was as if the filament itself pulled the two parts together.

Slowly, the Scortaur’s cut limb attached to Amon’s body. Dao Su poured a clear liquid onto the connected parts before using a needle and thread to sew the edges. After finishing the process, he took a talisman he had placed beside the table, uttered an undecipherable mantra, and activated it.

The talisman flashed before turning into dust. At the same time, the thread that had been sewn emitted a soft light. They blended into the flesh. The parts where Amon’s body met the Scortaur’s limb also underwent a fusion. They no longer seemed like two separate body parts. The skin between the two melded together. Visible blood vessels were accentuated around those areas.

Dao Su wiped the sweat on his forehead. His task was finally done.

Amon spat the ruined clothes he had been biting from his mouth. He pants a few times before asking, ”Is it done?”

”Don’t move yet,” Dao Su told him. ”My task is done, but the fusion process is still ongoing inside you. Give it two or three more hours.”

Amon didn’t protest. He lay his head on his arms, closed his eyes, and rested. At least the pain was subsiding now.

Zee Whang approached and studied the result.

”Impressed?” Dao Su asked him. Pride was obvious in his voice.

”Barbaric is what I will call it,” Zee Whang replied.

”Tch! Go back and work on your tin cans, you nature-hating tubby!”

”I will. No need to tell me twice. I can’t stand all this mess. Not to mention the stench. My God! I feel like I want to vomit!”

”Don’t you dare vomit at my workplace!” Dao Su warned him.

Amon opened his eyes. ”Can you two bicker somewhere else? You are disturbing me.”

”Tell that to this pig!” Dao Su exclaimed. ”Go, shoo! Leave this room!”

Zee Whang ignored Dao Su. He asked Amon, ”You do know this makes you look less of a human, don’t you?”

”Is that a problem?” Amon asked back.

Zee Whang chuckled. He said, ”No. Not at all.”

*

Dao Su tidied up his tools and moved them back to his workshop. He asked Amon if he could use the rest of the Primeval Scortaur for his experiments. Amon approved his request. He also asked Amon if he could move his workshop here. This room was larger and had a containment enchantment. It was perfect for him.

Amon rejected the second request. Though he once told Yuka he could find experts to recharge the energy that powered the prison enchantment in this room, he had not yet gotten to it. The energy of this advanced prison was limited, so he would only use it for special occasions. He told Dao Su he could choose another room and build a less advanced restraining facility with a separate power generator.

Dao Su wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of the work involved, but he didn’t complain. He left with his equipment and returned three hours later, just as Amon rose from the table.

Amon tried moving his new limb, which was a tail. A giant scorpion tail was now hanging from his backside. It wiggled around erratically.

”Give it some time,” Dao Su told Amon. ”We are a creature with four limbs. It isn’t easy to get accustomed to having an extra one, much less controlling it. I myself take a few days until I can properly use these extra hands of mine.”

The scorpion tail behind Amon continued to move around at random.

”I can see that it is pointless for me to give you advice,” Dao Su uttered. He took a seat and observed Amon.

”Do you have nothing better to do?” Amon asked.

”Gathering data from the results of my experiment is a part of my job,” Dao Su replied.

Amon glanced at Dao Su but otherwise said nothing. He continued testing the way to move his new limb. He monitored each movement while memorizing the sensation that accompanied it. He tested it again to see if the resulting motion was the same. He repeated it until he fully grasped the sensation before proceeding to the next motion.

Dao Su had a journal with him. He jotted some notes while watching Amon. He also gave Amon some advice from time to time.

After around three hours, Amon roughly got the hang of his new tail. He swung it around. It moved left, right, and then whirled to the front, as if slapping an imaginary enemy. Amon ducked. His tail spun upward and thrust forward from above him, as a scorpion did. The stinger at the end of the tail stabbed forward. A strange liquid with a foul smell was ejected from the stinger.

”Hm…” Amon moved the stinger before his face. The foul liquid was the Primeval Scortaur’s original toxin. The poison gland was at the base of the tail. It was among the parts transplanted to Amon. The Scortaur’s toxin was already powerful and could easily kill a Peak Fiendish Stage cultivator, but he would learn a way to combine it with his poison.

”Incredible,” Dao Su remarked. ”I have never seen or heard someone accustomed to their new, altered parts as quickly as you did. I can’t believe you can control it to that extent in just a few hours. Simply fascinating! You, sir, are one interesting specimen. I hope I can work with you more in the future.”

”Perhaps,” Amon said. Though Dao Su had warned him that the more altered parts one transplanted, the more likely one would go insane. However, he had seen Yao Ai having many altered parts. If she could do it, he could as well.

Amon wrapped his scorpion tail around his waist. It made him look like he wore a large, thick, and armored tasset.

”Interesting way to hide it,” Dao Su remarked.

”I am not trying to hide it. This way, I can walk around easily without having to worry my tail might trip over things.”

”If you say so,” Dao Su said.

”I believe you should have taken some of the Primeval Scortaur’s toxin to study, haven’t you?”

”I have. What about it?”

Amon gave him a small vial filled with black liquid. ”Try to see if there is any reaction if you combine this poison with the Scortaur’s toxin. If there is a problem, see if you can find a way to fuse them.”