Rise of The Demon General

”Yeah. Its name is carved on it,” Di Ying said.

Amon looked at the stake again and flipped to its other face. He saw it then. The word, Godslayer, was carved onto one of the four surfaces of the stake. While the word sounded heaven-defying, the carving was sloppy. It was certainly not done by someone with calligraphy skills. The stake itself also looked common. If it were on the ground, no person would think it a valuable item.

He felt no aura from this stake. He couldn’t think of any reason he was drawn to this thing.

”Is this also a treasure?” Amon asked Di Ying.

”It’s in here, isn’t it? So, yes.”

”Do you know what it is for?”

Di Ying shrugged. ”I don’t know what most of the things inside here are for.”

Amon looked at the sharp end of the stake. It was dull. He stabbed it onto the ground. He had to exert a large enough force before the stake pushed into the ground. The stake was very hard, but not sharp. It was not suitable as a weapon. To test how hard it was, he tried crushing it with his hand. The stake refused to break. It was hard enough to resist his power.

He hesitated a bit before he tried stabbing the stake into his own arm. The dull tip of the stake touched his skin but didn’t penetrate. He felt nothing from it, not even discomfort.

”Not a weapon,” Amon confirmed.

He turned to Di Ying and asked, ”Why did your mother collect this thing? It doesn’t emit an aura. It also doesn’t shine as the other treasures inside here. Anyway one looks at it, it is nothing but trash.”

Di Ying shrugged again. ”I don’t know... Um, if you think it is trash, why are you so interested in it?”

’That is a good question,’ Amon thought to himself. Yet, he had no answer. He couldn’t think of any reason he would be interested in this piece of black wood stake. Other than the carving of a domineering word, there was nothing special about it. Yet, he had this unexplainable urge inside him that he must have this stake.

”Can I have this stake as well?” Amon asked Di Ying.

Di Ying made an expression as if she were pondering hard on the matter. She told Amon, ”Five stories.”

”We have a deal,” Amon said, sending the black wooden stake into his black space ring. He would probably let Zee Whang examine it later to see what was so special about it.

”Can I get the first story now?” Di Ying asked excitedly.

”Aren’t you going to complete this tour of your home first?” Amon asked back.

Di Ying showed a disappointed expression, but didn’t refuse. She asked whether Amon had more stuff he wanted to see in this vault or if they should continue the tour. There was still plenty of valuable-looking goods, but Amon didn’t want to appear too greedy. Di Ying currently had a favorable impression of him. He preferred to keep it that way. Thanks to her naivety, it shouldn’t be difficult so long as he doesn’t go overboard. Hence, he told her to continue their tour.

The cave network turned out to be quite vast and complex. The tunnels brought them to more caverns. One thing that seemed to be a theme in these caverns was that they were all spacious, as if the occupants were mostly giants instead of normal-sized humans. Aside from the second cavern, which was the treasure vault, the other caverns all had large, open ceilings.

There was even one cavern filled with a lake. Di Ying told Amon that this lake was her favorite place. She often spent time swimming in this lake and hunting for the fish down there. Amon entertained her passionate accounts with engaging conversations, even when he had zero interest in what she liked or did during her pastime, all to build a connection with her.

Amon only had a genuine interest again when they entered a cavern filled with greenery. Unlike the garden in the first cavern, this one looked more like a farm. Also, unlike the garden, which housed only aesthetic plants, the plants in this cavern were all high-grade spirit plants that exuded rich auras.

Many of the plants here were those he hadn’t encountered before or had only read about in books. They were probably rare plants found only inside the misty border. For them to be collected here, it would be a great waste if he didn’t make use of the situation.

Di Ying saw the glint in his eyes. She asked, ”Do you also like gardening?”

”Only for certain plants,” Amon answered. ”These are also your mother’s?”

”No, these are cultivated by my uncle.”

”Mm. So, he will be angry if any of these plants go missing.”

”He most likely will.”

”What if I only collect seeds from those that are already mature?”

”You only want the seed? Then you are in luck. Follow me!”

Amon followed Di Ying as she went to one side of the cavern. He saw several shelves there. The shelves were filled with many small bags.

”I help my uncle cultivate these plants. I am in charge of counting and separating the seeds after he harvests them. He never asked me to report their number, so I am the only one who knows the exact number of the seeds. I can spare you a few, so long as you don’t take all the seeds.”

”How many stories do you want in exchange for the seeds?” Amon asked.

Di Ying shook her head and smiled. ”I’m just messing with you. You can tell me any stories you like.”

”... You are very kind,” Amon remarked.

”I follow the examples from the characters of my favorite stories. They are all kind-hearted, honorable, and righteous people. So, how many seeds do you want?”

”How many can you spare?”

Each small bag contained the seeds of a particular plant. Amon went through each bag and asked for no more than five percent of the total seeds. Di Ying was happy with that arrangement. With only such a slight reduction, she believed her uncle wouldn’t notice.

Amon placed the seeds he had gained into his black space ring. He would let Lin Li deal with them later once he reunited with her.

The tour continued. There was one cavern deep underground with a lava lake. Di Ying said she also swam there once in a while, but not as often as at the previous lake. The lava lake was rich in fire elements, which was an ideal place for him to cultivate his divine cultivation. However, he had only a limited amount of time before Di Ying’s uncle returned. Cultivating was not his current priority.

The rest of the place didn’t interest Amon much, but he made it seem like he was amazed by every cavern. He never stopped talking. He faked his enthusiasm, pretending that he enjoyed conversing with her. She returned the enthusiasm, which was original for her part. Considering she most likely never had anyone to converse with aside from her uncle, it was understandable.

After the tour ended, Amon wasted no time pulling her heartstrings. He gave her what she yearned for, a story. He narrated a story she had never heard or read before. He was sure about it because it was a famous story from his past world.

It was a story about a couple of young lovers who came from feuding families. The young lovers loved each other in secret because they couldn’t do it out in the open. The story ended in tragedy with the death of the two lovers. Di Ying wept after Amon finished telling the story.

”It... It’s beautiful. Why did I never hear of this tale?” Di Ying asked.

”The human world is filled with countless tales. You can’t know every tale,” Amon answered. ”Here. This is my gift, so you can revisit this tale any time you wish.”

Amon had been scribing the story on some paper while narrating it. He now bound the paper, turning it into a book. He completed the book by writing its title on the front page: The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.

Di Ying accepted the book joyfully. ”Thank you very much, Amon. I will treasure it! Wow... I thought that because you wrote so fast, the writing would be terrible. It is completely not the case. Your writing is as beautiful as the story itself. I’m very happy with this gift!”

”I’m glad you are,” Amon said with a fake caring expression. He then asked, ”Are you ready for the next tale?”

”Very much! Please, tell me more!” Di Ying exclaimed eagerly.

Amon nodded with a chuckle. He began, ”Once upon a time, in a fictional world, there was a country called Denmark. The king of this country has recently passed away. He has a son, known as Prince Hamlet...”