Rise of The Demon General

”Huh? Hai Di’s son, Hai Xuang?” Xiong Ba asked. ”Isn’t he...”

”Yes, he is the one who stole Lord Lang Man’s wife and kicked off this war,” Tau Su said. ”If he is there, that means his couple is...”

”Lan Mei, Lord Lang Man’s wife.”

Everyone went silent at the news until Tau Su asked the scout. ”Did they notice you when you saw them?”

”No, I was very careful. I also used my concealment and Far Sight arts. They didn’t know I was watching them.”

Tau Su turned to Xiong Ba and said, ”Boss, do you know what this means? If we capture Hai Xuang and bring Lan Mei back. How many aer stones will Lord Lang Man reward us?”

”Forget the aer stones. He might even bestow Boss the title of Warlord!”

”If Boss gets the title, we will also be accepted into the faction and promoted, won’t we?”

Everyone became excited at the prospect of rewards and promotion. So much so that the two men holding down Bun Xong loosened their grips. Bun Xong didn’t let this chance go. He tore his arms from their grasp and gave them a hard punch. He hurriedly flew away.

”Tch!” Xiong Ba uttered. He shot into the sky.

A large, curved blade with a jagged edge appeared in his hand. He turned into lightning and arrived above Bun Xong in an instant. With a thrust, his blade pierced into Bun Xong’s back. Like a lightning strike shooting down from the sky, Bun Xong was slammed into the ground. He died upon impact.

”Tch, we will look for another sod for my cock experiment,” Xiong Ba said. ”First, we go hunt the wife stealer, and bag us a good retirement reward, hehe. Call everyone! We move out at once!”

*

At the hut where the scout had seen Hai Xuang and Lan Mei, the pair was sitting peacefully outside.

”Brother Xuang, are you sure it is fine for us to be out in the open like this?” Lan Mei asked.

”Don’t worry. It will be fine. I am fine living inside a cave, but I can’t subject you to such a life. That’s why I built this hut. This place is in the middle of nowhere. There is only one small village nearby. We can go there to get things or meet people if we get bored. Of course, we must disguise ourselves if we do that.”

”I’m worried about the war... Will it reach here?”

”We are pretty deep inside the Devotion Domain. I doubt the Commitment Faction can invade this far. From what I heard, the Commitment Faction performs poorly because it faces two adversaries. The Devotion Faction attacks them from the North, while the Mercy Faction attacks from the South. We shouldn’t worry that they can invade that deep into here.”

Lan Mei sighed with a sad expression. ”I feel awful... This war. It happens because of me. Everyone who loses their lives in this war is my fault.”

”Our fault,” Hai Xuang corrected. ”Even so, I don’t regret my decision one bit. Please don’t say you regret it...”

”No, Brother Xuang, I don’t. Every day with you has been the happiest day of my life. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I just... I wish our happiness didn’t come at the cost of so much suffering to others.”

”Sometimes we have no choice but to take the hand we are dealt. What else can we do? Give up on our love? I can’t do that!”

”Neither do I,” Lan Mei said. The two stared at one another tenderly as their lips came near. They then kissed passionately.

A whistle interrupted their romantic affair.

”Wow, you two are so into each other that you don’t even realize our approach. I don’t know if I should be baffled or impressed.”

Hai Xuang and Lan Mei stood up in alert.

”Who are you, people!” Hai Xuang exclaimed. He looked around them. The intruders that came surrounded their hut. There were too many of them. Most of them were Fiendish Stage. One had an aura of similar strength to his, while the one who just spoke had an aura stronger than his. He saw no path for escape.

”Hehe, my name is Xiong Ba. We are mercenaries working under the Commitment Faction.”

’Commitment Faction?’ Hai Xuang thought in surprise. He didn’t understand how the enemy intruded so deeply into their territory. But now that he thought about it, though they had numbers, it was too small for an army. It was not strange for a small squad to sneak through the chaotic battlefield. The Commitment Faction probably sent them this deep to cause disruption.

”What do you want with us?” Hai Xuang asked. ”We are just common folks. There is no benefit for you to target us.”

”Hehe. Why so modest? You are very famous, Young Lord Hai Xuang. We are surprised to find you here in the middle of nowhere,” Xiong Ba said. ”And that pretty lady must be Lady Lan Mei. Imagine how Lord Lang Man will be thrilled if we bring her back?”

”I won’t let you!” Hai Xuang exclaimed.

”Don’t worry. We won’t separate you. We will bring you back as well. What happens next after we hand you to Lord Lang Man, well, that’s out of our hands. Hehe.”

”You will only get her over my dead body!” Hai Xuang brandished his weapons. Two chakrams covered in flames whirled beside him.

”Your dead body? I don’t think so. We will just cut off all four of your limbs and pull out all your teeth to make sure you can’t do anything. Then we will bring you back with your beloved lover. I don’t think Lord Lang Man would mind that. Instead, I think he will thank us for that. Perhaps he will give us the honor of torturing you if he sees how good we are at doing it.”

Xiong Ba’s followers advanced a little at a time while he talked. They all showed wicked grins.

”Sister Mei, stay behind me!” Hai Xuang told Lan Mei.

”Hehe, I love seeing people struggle futilely,” Xiong Ba said. He was about to lunge forward, but an intense pressure suddenly bore down on him.

It was not just him. Everyone in the area felt the strong pressure. None of them could move. His followers even began to leak blood from the orifices on their heads. They opened their mouths to scream, but no voice came out. Their heads soon exploded.

Xiong Ba and Tau Su still had their heads intact, but they both felt a splitting headache inside them.

Only Hai Xuang and Lan Mei were spared from the head pressure, but they also could barely move. Hai Xuang managed to turn his head up slowly and lay eyes on the one responsible.

”Fa... Father...,” he uttered.