Rise of The Demon General

After they ensured no other spirit beasts were lurking inside the cave, Di Ying asked Amon, ”How are you going to check if Mo Wang is inside his castle or not?”

”The same way I did the reconnaissance last time I was here,” Amon answered.

Several little bugs with wings materialized around him. Strapped on their backs were tiny mechanical devices. They flew out of the cave as soon as they appeared.

Amon then took out several battle puppets and Yuka’s old prison box. He opened the prison box’s portal and told Di Ying to enter with him. The prism was placed beside the box. It continued to maintain the concealment bubble, preventing Mo Wang’s surveillance devices from detecting the energy emitted by the prison box. The battle puppets stood guard around the prison box.

Inside, Amon brought Di Ying to Zee Whang’s workshop. Zee Whang was, as usual, working from inside his Neo Supreme Puppet. The warning system inside his puppet informed him of Amon’s arrival.

”Holy... What is that creature next to you? The energy reading is off the chart,” Zee Whang remarked.

”That’s not a way to talk to a lady,” Amon said. ”Where is the monitoring device that I ordered?”

Zee Wang gestured for them to follow. They went to a wall with a contraption hanging on it. Zee Whang used one of the Neo Supreme Puppet’s arms to press a button on the contraption. Holographic images appeared on the wall. They showed images of the outside.

”Fascinating tool you asked me to make,” Zee Whang remarked. ”Camera, did you say its name is? How do you understand such a technique? It is quite complicated. If you asked any other smiths or tech experts to make it, they would surely have been left confused. You are fortunate to have me working on it.”

”Yes. You are the best. Satisfied, now?” Amon asked.

Zee Whang grumbled incoherently in response.

”Can you give them instructions from here?” Amon asked.

”I can send them signals, but I can’t control them. You need someone else,” Zee Whang answered. He used a transmission device inside his cockpit and shouted into it, ”Hey, old weirdo fuck! Come to my place!”

Dao Su’s voice was heard replying, ”What for, fatso?”

”The boss wants a word! Just fucking come already, you disgusting freak!”

Di Ying turned to Amon and asked, ”Is that how humans communicate with each other?” It was very different from the conversations she had read in her books.

”No, they are special cases,” Amon answered.

The holographic images on the wall showed Mo Wang’s castle, and it was getting nearer. They were projected from the devices strapped to the bugs Amon released earlier. The projections showed that the bugs sought to enter the castle from different entry points.

As the bugs began entering the castle, Dao Su came into the room with his Queen Roach in tow. Di Ying made a disgusted face when the large bug approached them. ”What is it?” Dao Su asked.

”I want to tell your bugs where to go,” Amon told him.

”Wasn’t your instruction to scour all corners of the castle? I have already given them the instructions to do that when I handed them to you.”

”I want to guide a few through a specific route, just in case our host is inside. I want to get as close as possible to our objective before the infiltration is discovered.”

”You can talk with your bugs through this,” Zee Whang pointed at a small ball hanging from the contraption that projected the images.

Dao Su marveled at the holographic screen as he approached the hanging ball. ”I must say, fatso. For all your shortcomings, your mechanical expertise surely makes up for them.”

”I don’t have shortcomings, you insufferable freak,” Zee Whang uttered.

”I beg to differ,” Dao Su replied.

”Please squabble on your own time,” Amon told them. He then pointed and said, ”Dao Su, order the two bugs in the upper center images to head to that corridor at the end of the room they are in.”

Dao Su picked up the hanging ball, lightly tapped it a few times, and asked Zee Whang, ”So, I just speak into this?”

”I’ve already told you, haven’t I?” Zee Whang replied. ”Are you also a dumb moron aside from being a disgusting freak?”

”Are you looking for a fight, fatso?”

”You think I am afraid?” Zee Whang made a threatening display with the many arms of his Neo Supreme Puppet.

”Ehem!” Amon coughed loudly to attract their attention.

Zee Whang retracted his puppet’s arms, while Dao Su brought the hanging ball close to his Queen Roach. The Queen Roach uttered a rhythmic screech. Soon, the two images Amon pointed at earlier moved toward the corridor Amon mentioned.

”Okay, ask them to continue along the corridor,” Amon said.

Amon continued to give instructions, which Dao Su relayed mentally to his tamed beast. The Queen Roach then sent the commands to her bugs inside the castle. After some time, the two bugs that followed Amon’s instructions were heading down the long, winding stairs that bore deep into the underground.

”Is that where my mother is?” Di Ying asked.

”At the bottom of those stairs is a gate, and beyond the gate is your mother,” Amon answered, before adding, ”Assuming if Mo Wang hasn’t moved her.”

”He hasn’t,” Di Ying said. ”This close, I can better feel her. She is still nearby. Why can’t I speak to her mentally the way I speak to you?”

”Your connection with your mother is different from our mental link. Also, your connection with your mother will disappear once you mature. Ours is eternal.”

Di Ying’s expression showed that she wasn’t thrilled with that statement.

”Bloody hell, how deep is that tunnel?” Dao Su remarked when he saw that his bugs hadn’t reached the bottom even after flying down for quite some time.

”Hey, freak. Can you tell your bug here to approach that glowing well?” Zee Whang pointed at one of the images on the left side.

”What for?” Dao Su asked, but he still relayed the request to his Queen Roach.

”That is one of the artificial ley nodes,” Amon informed.

”Artificial ley nodes? Can that truly be made?” Zee Whang asked with surprise.

Amon told him that Mo Wang’s castle had five ley nodes containing the different infernal elements. He never received confirmation that those ley nodes were artificially made, but Zee Whang agreed with his hypothesis that it was impossible to have all five here if they were naturally formed.

Hearing that, Dao Su was intrigued. He told the bug to go closer. However, the image didn’t move forward.

”Huh?” Dao Su instructed his Queen Roach to relay the order again, but the bug remained stationary.

They soon knew why.

The image turned. A close-up of Mo Wang’s face was seen. They heard him mutter, ”Hm, what’s this...? A miniature machine with a lens...? I know this technology... Amon, are you watching through this thing?”

”Damn it! He has indeed returned,” Amon uttered. By that time, the two bugs had reached the bottom of the winding stairs. They were before the giant gate into Di Yu’s prison. ”Dao Su, tell your bugs to fly around every inch of that gate. Zee Whang, record everything seen by those two bugs, especially the words of power enchanting that gate. Hurry, before Mo Wang arrives.”

They saw the images on the holographic screen turn black one by one. It was because Mo Wang had moved around his castle, eliminating each bug that he encountered.

”Tch! He is really fast. Having an opponent who understands the Law of Space is truly troubling,” Amon remarked.

Mo Wang seemed to know where each bug was located because the images went blank too quickly. It was only a matter of time before he went for the bugs in the underground chamber. Dao Su and Zee Whang noticed that as well, so they picked up their pace.

Finally, the two images showing the gate went blank.

”Did you get it all?” Amon asked.

”Barely, but we did,” Zee Whang exhaled a relieved sigh.

”What does this mean? Are we not saving my mother then?” Di Ying asked.

”We will, but not now. We won’t get far with Mo Wang inside the castle,” Amon answered.

”Then how? We can’t just wait until he leaves. When will he leave?” Di Ying demanded. Her impatient tone returned.

”Calm down, Di Ying,” Amon told her. ”Though I wish this didn’t happen, I was prepared for it. I have put in motion a plan in case this happens, but we must be patient.”

”Patient, until when?”

”I can’t say. When it’s time, we will know. Just trust me. For now, we will stay here and monitor the situation.”

Zee Whang asked, ”Will Mo Wang suspect someone of targeting her mother due to this? What if he moved her to another location?”

”I don’t think he will,” Amon answered. ”Even if he does, Di Yu was chained by the Divine. It will take effort and preparation to move her without breaking her chains. No, he will remain here and keep watch even if he suspects someone is targeting her.”