Rise of The Demon General

Inside a busy tavern at one of the settlements near the border between the Commitment Domain and the Misty Border, two travelers were chatting at one of the occupied tables.

”Have you heard the recent rumor?”

”What rumor?”

”Lord Mo Wang has captured a deity beast.”

”A deity beast? Are you serious? Where did he find such a spirit beast?”

”Are you retarded? Inside the misty border, of course. Where else?”

”Bro, do you want to share a rumor or pick a fight?”

”I apologize. Anyway, I’ve heard this same rumor in the taverns I visited these past few months, so I think there is truth to it.”

”I fail to understand the connection between truth and the number of people discussing it. I doubt the rumor is legit, but let’s pretend that it is. What do you think Lord Mo Wang wants to do with this deity beast?”

”What else? It is widely known that Lord Mo Wang possesses the Law of Space. He is also known to be a hermit. Maybe he wants to create another world that he calls his own and retire there.”

”If he wishes to create a world as big as this lower world, he will need a Higher Deity Beast. A higher Deity Beast is as powerful as a True Devil cultivator. It is even more powerful than Lord Mo Wang. That’s why I told you not to trust rumors easily.”

”The only known individual to have attained such a power level is the Divine from the upper world. Yet, we have the upper world and the lower world. That means in the past, two Higher Deity Beasts have been captured and sacrificed. History doesn’t say it was the Divine who did it. So, it is possible to do so. Most probably, Lord Mo Wang worked with many of his followers to achieve the feat. Have you heard the name, Amon?”

”Isn’t he the slayer-rank officer under Lady Yao Ai? What about him?”

”I heard he helped Lord Mo Wang in capturing the deity beast. Considering this, Lord Mo Wang must have used his followers from all three domains for the task.”

”If that is true, there would have been a big mobilization of force. I have never heard news of such mobilization, have you?”

”Bah! Have you never heard of a covert operation?”

”It’s not so covert if nobodies like you and me heard about the result of that operation now, is it? And where do you think one can keep a deity beast like that locked up?”

”Why, inside Lord Mo Wang’s castle, of course. No one is allowed near it. It is the perfect place to hold a captive.”

”I don’t know, man. I still find this rumor rather far-fetched.”

”Well, true or not. It has nothing to do with us. Let us just drink to a good talk.”

”I will drink to that.”

Their chat was neither loud nor quiet. Someone at a table right next to them might have heard their conversation, but not someone sitting further away. Yet, one of the guests at the far corner heard every word of their conversation. That’s because his ears were not human.

Thien Huo glanced at the two people who spoke. They had now changed the topic.

”Mo Wang’s castle...,” Thien Huo muttered. Even as a spirit beast, he knew where the castle of this realm’s ruler was.

”So, it is true... That bastard, Amon, was working with Mo Wang...” He was doing his best to constrain his rage. If he let it out, this tavern would be obliterated, and his disguise revealed.

He looked at his left arm. It was still slightly painful. It was where Mo Wang had wound him during the ambush. It has been two years since that time, but he estimated it might take another month before he fully recovered.

”Di Ying... Please hold on for a bit longer. Uncle finally found your trace. I will be there as soon as possible.”

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When the war between the three domains intensified, each domain bolstered its forces by recruiting mercenaries. The one that spent the most was the Commitment Domain. This was because they were besieged by two opponents. Such rampant spending put them in an economic strain, but they couldn’t afford to be stingy.

Somewhere inside the Devotion Domain, a group of mercenaries under the Commitment Domain was loitering at the ruins of a village. They had defeated the village protectors, slain almost everyone, and raided the village for valuables. After that, they spent their time torturing the surviving villagers while waiting for their next mission.

”No order yet from the Commitment Faction?” The mercenary leader, who went by the name Xiong Ba, asked his subordinates. He was hanging out on the street next to a bonfire that used the villagers’ corpses as fuel.

Xiong Ba was a Peak Supreme Stage cultivator. He led a group composed of twenty-three cultivators. The average cultivation level of his group was the Fiendish Stage, with his lieutenant at the Beginning Supreme Stage.

The lieutenant, whose name was Tau Su, answered, ”Not yet.”

”Have you told them that we have destroyed this village?”

”I have sent them a message talisman, and yes, I have sent it more than one time. They told us to stand by until further notice.”

”Fuck!” Xiong Ba cursed. ”Is it so difficult to decide where to attack next? Just fucking point at a target.”

”Maybe it’s true?”

”What is true?” Xiong Ba was confused by Tau Su’s statement.

”That the Commitment Faction’s coffer is getting lighter. They did spend a lot of aer stones on mercenaries like us.”

”Are you saying that they haven’t given us any order because they don’t have the aer stones to pay us?”

Tau Su shrugged. ”Maybe they still have the aer stones, but they limit their spending. They probably want to focus on larger mercenary groups whose positions are near better strategic targets. We are neither. That’s why they ask us to stay and wait.”

”Fuck this. If they no longer have aer stones to pay us, then we will offer our service to the Devotion Faction.”