Rise of The Demon General

No image depicted victory and defeat as clearly as what was currently being shown. The victor, the Grave Owlbat, stood proudly over its defeated foe, which lay helplessly on the ground.

”Hahaha! That was it for your pet,” Diu Cay laughed. ”I’m afraid you will have to tame a new beast. Let this be your punishment.”

”My pet is still alive,” Amon said.

”It is, but as I said, this will be your punishment. My pet has found its prey. Do not expect it to let your hawk go.”

The Sun Ray Hawk, although lying weakly on the ground, continued to emit electricity and flames. Nevertheless, the Grave Owlbat was unaffected. Such weak defiance couldn’t hurt it. Its two feet continued to pin the Sun Ray Hawk down. It showed no intention of letting it free. On the contrary, it tightened its claws, shattering more bones.

”I suggest Your Honor tell it to. Otherwise, don’t hold me responsible for what happens next,” Amon said.

”Is that a threat?” Diu Cay was amused upon hearing it. ”Go ahead. Free your pet. The ten minutes I mentioned are not yet over. I don’t mind even if you have fought my Grave Owlbat with your tamed beast right from the start.”

”Your Honor misunderstands. I didn’t mean I would interfere. I said it out of sincere concern about what will happen if that Grave Owlbat pushes my tamed beast too far.”

”Hehe,” Diu Cay felt even more amused. He thought Amon was just saying that in a pathetic attempt to save face. He looked down at his pet, which still stood triumphantly over its prey. The burst of fire and lightning from the defeated hawk never stopped. Same as its master, he considered it a pathetic attempt to show defiance at an already clear outcome.

As he sneered, a strange feeling entered his thoughts. It was obvious the Sun Ray Hawk suffered grave wounds. Yet, he never heard a pained cry from it. It was as if it didn’t feel pain. Also, the burst of fire and lightning had a steady rhythm to it, and it was building in intensity.

Out of curiosity, he expanded his cultivation sense. The Grave Owlbat and the Sun Ray Hawk were far below on the ground. They were outside the normal range of his cultivation sense. When he sensed the energy, he immediately knew something was wrong. The energy he sensed was building up, and it had gone past what was possible to be generated by a Mid Mythical Beast.

He instinctively shared his senses with his pet. From the Grave Owlbat’s eyes, he saw that the Sun Ray Hawk under it was melting. The energy the hawk was building was so intense that it harmed even itself. He understood then what had happened. The hawk was burning its own life force to generate tremendous energy.

He hurriedly ordered his pet to leave, but it was too late. The energy buildup had reached a critical mass. An earth-shattering explosion erupted where the Grave Owlbat and the Sun Ray Hawk were. Fire and lightning flew everywhere.

Fire was the most destructive element of the divine cultivation path, while lightning was its counterpart in the infernal cultivation path. Fusing these two elements, the Sun Ray Hawk possessed the most destructive energy. The detonation by using its own life force as fuel had a similar output to what Amon thought the atomic bomb of his past world would have. The blast pushed him and even Diu Cay slightly away.

When the dust settled, they saw only the Grave Owlbat. The Sun Ray Hawk was gone. The Grave Owlbat was still alive, but it was far from being okay. It was whimpering on the ground. Its two legs were gone. Its bone-white feathers were charred to a crisp.

Diu Cay zoomed down and landed beside his tamed beast. He was speechless and confounded by his pet’s state. Though it was possible to heal it, such a grievous wound would take a long time.

He looked up at Amon in anger. ”You, bastard!” He cursed.

”I did warn Your Honor, didn’t I?” Amon said.

This statement burned Diu Cay’s fury even more instead of quenching it. His aura exploded, and he flew up in Amon’s direction.

”Diu Cay, stop...”

A soft but powerful voice pierced into him. Though his anger burned strongly, he wasn’t so far gone that he dared ignore this voice. He stopped and turned to the one who spoke. Yao Ai and the Vermillion Vulture had arrived. The Mercy Faction’s army hovered behind her.

Projecting her voice only at Diu Cay without letting the others hear, she said, ”You have made a fool of yourself. Even killing him will just embarrass you further. Stop and take your loss.”

”Urgh!” Diu Cay clenched his fists. He was unwilling, but he dared not oppose Yao Ai’s will.

Yao Ai approached Amon. She said, ”You sacrificed your tamed beast for this pointless contest. Is it worth it?”

”No, but he was the one forcing it. It was out of my control,” Amon replied.

”Was it?” Yao Ai asked, but soon added, ”Never mind. We have wasted enough time. Come. Follow me. We will enter Mo Wang’s territory.”

Yao Ai turned to Diu Cay and said, ”Wait here with the others. Do not move unless you receive my call.”

Diu Cay bowed at the order. He was too angry to give a verbal reply. Yao Ai also didn’t demand one. Without further words, she flew ahead. The Vermillion Vulture didn’t follow. It stayed behind with the others.

Amon gave Diu Cay a short glance before following her.

*

Amon and Yao Ai flew ahead. While Mo Wang’s central territory occupied only a small area compared to the entire lower world, it was still big enough to be considered a province. The difference was that no human settlement was within this territory. It was pure wilderness, with various spirit beasts roaming freely.

Throughout the travel, Amon noticed several powerful beasts. A decent number were Primordial Beasts. Yet, they didn’t attack the duo. At first, Amon thought it was Yao Ai’s aura that dissuaded the beasts from attacking, but when he spotted a Diamond Wyvern, a Higher Primordial Beast that was rumored to be even stronger than the Vermillion Vulture, he understood that was not the case.

While Yao Ai, who possessed the cultivation level of the Unholy Monarch Stage, was stronger than a Higher Primordial Beast, it was not to the point that it caused fear in such a beast. What he saw from the Diamond Wyvern supported this theory. It growled at the two as they flew past, showing aggression, yet it didn’t make a move on them.

Yao Ai caught Amon’s puzzlement. She said, ”All the spirit beasts here have been dominated by Mo Wang. Our presence here is expected. They won’t dare lay a hand on his guests.”

’Impressive,’ Amon thought. His purpose in this meeting was to meet Hai Di and Lang Man, but he was now more interested in meeting the ruler of this realm. He wondered how powerful one needed to be to influence so many powerful spirit beasts to this extent.

After some time, they saw a human-made structure in the distance. It was a large castle with many tall spires. At its center was a sky-reaching tower. The entire structure was black. Amon speculated it was made entirely of blackstone.

While the castle looked remarkable, what he felt as he got near awed him further. The aether density near the castle was much higher than the already dense aether of the lower world. Not only that, he saw the spires around the castle, five in total, exuded a thick aura of five different elements. They were lightning, ice, gravity, wind, and darkness.

Yao Ai had expected Amon’s reaction. She explained, ”Each of the spires sat on a ley node. Five ley nodes containing the five infernal elements.”

”That can’t be...,” Amon uttered. For all five ley nodes to form here, right at the center of the realm, it is too artificial. It’s impossible that this occurs naturally.”

”Perhaps,” Yao Ai said. ”Perhaps Lord Mo Wang has the secret to manipulating the world’s ley lines and the flow of the elemental energies, I can’t say. Since I was born, Lord Mo Wang’s castle has been here. These five ley nodes were also here from the start and never expire. Whatever the secret, Lord Mo Wang never shares it with us... Ah, seems like I was right. We are the last to arrive.”

Before the gate to Mo Wang’s castle stood four individuals: three males and one female. Three of the four, Amon only knew from the information inside Yao Ai’s data crystal. As for the last one, he had met the person long ago, even if it was only through projection. This person was Hai Di, the one whom the cult in Melas Twich Town referred to as the Dark God.