Rise of The Demon General

Krassazh approached Amon. ”And you are the one Xlasstazh prophesied to be our boon. Human, I must say that I find the prophecy hard to believe.”

”I can’t quite bring myself to believe that I’m responsible for such an undertaking,” Amon said. ”Nevertheless, please rest assured that my desire to cooperate with the Hyanids is genuine.”

Now that Krassazh approached Amon, he could sense the Hyanid leader. Nevertheless, he couldn’t quite gauge Krassazh’s cultivation level. It was like the Hyanid was covered by an invisible veil. He understood then that Krassazh used concealment art. For Krassazh to come so close behind him undetected, the concealment art must be extraordinary.

Amon remembered that Xlasstazh told him that Krassazh had the cultivation level at the Intermediate Unholy Monarch Stage of the Monster Realm. This was a being who was on paper stronger than Yao Ai, an existence whom he should not offend, for now.

Krassazh stared at Amon for quite some time. Neither made a sound. Xlasstazh, who stood to the side, also remained silent. The only sounds were from the tapping sounds the Cryanid Ants made when they crept, and the occasional guttural grunts from the Cryanid Queen.

Finally, Krassazh spoke again. ”Tell me. How does helping my race benefit you? If you say bullshit like you take pity on us, or you do this out of the goodness of your heart. I will drop you right here, right now. I don’t care if you are the Creator’s envoy or His champion.”

Amon chuckled. ”I am no saint, nor was I anyone’s envoy or champion. I did this for myself. I have told Ublaith before. I have the same desire as you. While you want to conquer the mainland for your race, I want it for myself. So, I need your strength and army. Once we are done, we share the land in half. I believe that is an agreeable arrangement.”

”Hm...” Krassazh stroked the tiny tentacles dangling from his chin, which looked like his beard. ”Alright. Let’s say I believe you. How will you help my race win over humans?”

”First of all, you will need to pull your force back and refrain from attacking humans.”

Krassazh didn’t respond for a long time. Xlasstazh was uncomfortable with the silence but didn’t dare give any input. Amon waited patiently. His expression never changed. He was neither anxious nor concerned.

”You are one confident human, I give you that,” Krassazh finally spoke. ”What if I say no?”

”Then that will be your race’s loss. You have thrown away the one chance that can give your people the future they desire.”

”Har, har, har,” Krassazh laughed. ”I praised your confidence just now, but it seemed I still grossly underestimated it. I don’t know whether I should be convinced by your unusual self-assurance or fear it. If you have lived as long as I have, you will know how overconfidence can ruin someone, or worse, the people around them.”

”If you can see my track records, you will know I’m someone who can make real what I promised. But since you can’t, all you have is my words. If you wish to give me a task to see my worth, I’m game.”

Krassazh shook his head. ”You have already fulfilled an impossible task, surviving the purging hole. I can’t think of a better task than that. No, I am already convinced that you are a capable person. What I doubt is your reliability. How can I know your asking me to pull back my force is not a ploy to give the humans a breather so they can mount a better defense against our future assault?”

”You can’t,” Amon answered. ”As I said, I can’t prove anything to you. You must either trust me or not. That’s your choice.”

”Hm...,” Krassazh turned to Xlasstazh, who finally joined in on the conversation. ”Supreme leader, you know where my position is in this matter. I don’t believe the Creator will screw us over after proving His prophecies to this point.”

Krassazh looked back at Amon. After another brief staring between the two, he said, ”Until how long do you propose I halt my invasion?”

”Until I give you the signal,” Amon answered.

Krassazh shook his head. ”Sorry, that’s not good enough to convince me.”

”Very well. I will be frank about my plan. There are two ways we can do this. The first is to wait for me to pit the human force’s three Domain Lords against each other. If you have sufficient intel on the humans, you should know that these Domain Lords aren’t on good terms. Wait until I make them fight each other. You can swoop in to finish them once their forces are weakened.”

”How exactly are you going to pit them against each other?”

”I don’t know,” Amon answered.

Krassazh’s hard forehead creased.

”Yet,” Amon added. ”But I have already planted the seed for it. I just need more time and understanding of the three Domain Lords before I make my move. It will be some time before that happens.”

”How much longer?” Krassazh asked.

”I don’t know. A few more years, perhaps.” When Krassazh’s forehead creased again, Amon said, ”Your race has been plotting for centuries to invade the mainland, with the true invasion only beginning around two decades ago. What’s the harm of waiting a few more years?”

”You mentioned two ways. What is the second way?”

”The second way will also require you to wait, but it will not be dependent on my effort, and I don’t know how long till it happens. Are you familiar with the Purging?”

”Mm... I have heard mention of it, but no, I’m not familiar with what it refers to.”

”I myself am not privy to the details. What I know is that it is a large-scale operation where the forces of the lower world send their forces to Aetheria.”

”The surface world?”

Amon nodded. ”From what I know so far, the involved party will be those with high cultivation levels. This means that when the Purging happens, there will be a great shortage of high-level combatants in the lower world. That can be our window to mount the assault.”

”When will this Purging happen?” Krassazh asked.

Amon shook his head. ”This is another detail I don’t have. All I know is that the Purging happens every ten million years, and it should be several years ahead.”

Xlasstazh said, ”Our records did indicate a wide-ranging commotion in the humans’ activities every ten million years. We are unclear what this commotion is, until now.”

”Mm, I don’t know. Both ways you described sound vague and without a clear timetable,” Krassazh said.

”That’s because I don’t have enough information yet,” Amon said. ”That’s why I ask you for time. You should save your force until that time comes. Don’t provoke the humans further. Otherwise, you won’t have enough force for the big push once the opportunity arrives, or worse, your insistence to invade might upset the three Domain Lords enough that they bind together to get rid of you. If that happens, your chance to succeed will quickly go down to zero.”

Another period of silence. Krassazh contemplated while stroking his beard. After a full minute, he took a deep breath and said, ”Very well. I will take a chance and put my faith in you. I hope you don’t disappoint me, human.”

”I won’t,” Amon answered.

”I’m glad you made this decision, supreme leader,” Xlasstazh said.

”I will send the order for my force to retreat. I believe you will return to the mainland to work on what you promised?” Krassazh asked Amon.

”That is my plan,” Amon answered.

”I will not send my people to escort you. You must brave the way back alone. Though humans rarely enter this misty border, it doesn’t mean there is none. If even one human sees you being accompanied by my people and brings the news back, it will jeopardize our cooperation.”

”I understand. I never intended to be escorted. I will manage it myself.”

Krassazh nodded in approval. ”With your current cultivation level, I don’t think you have much to worry about. You only need to be careful and not stray into another zone. You should be grateful you came to this zone when you entered the misty border. Most of the strong spirit beasts have been chased away by the combined might of my race and the Cryanids. If you go to a different zone, there is a high chance that you encounter higher primordial beasts or even deity beasts.”

”I will point you in the direction of the mainland before you leave,” Xlasstazh said.

Amon didn’t need that, but he opted to be polite. ”Thank you. That will be helpful.”

Krassazh asked whether Amon wished to spend some days in their city and enjoy their hospitality. Amon refused the offer. He reasoned it would be better if he didn’t waste time on needless activities. Krassazh approved of his attitude. Amon excused himself, and Xlasstazh escorted him out.

After the two left, Ublaith came out of the shadows and asked Krassazh, ”Father, are you sure about cooperating with him?”