Rise of The Demon General

Yao Ai laughed. ”Hahaha! Senior Hai Di, you should know I am never one to turn down a challenge. There is no need to provoke me... Hm? I don’t see your tamed beast. Rumor is that you have tamed a powerful spirit beast. Where is it? As I have looked forward to our contest, my Vermillion Vulture feels the same.”

”... I have no tamed beast,” Hai Di answered.

”Really? Mm... I will have to execute my spy master in that case. I don’t like being given false intel.”

”Last chance,” Hai Di said. ”If you and your force turn back now. I will consider this transgression as if it never happened. We can divide this lower world between the two of us.”

Yao Ai smiled. ”Why, aren’t you generous? The Hai Di I know will not let go of the chance to be at the top. For you to give such an offer, I can think of only two reasons. The first is that you are not the real Hai Di. The second is that you are trying to buy time, time for the troops that have marched into the Commitment Domain to return. Do you truly look down on me so much that you think I will fall for that?”

”Hmph! If that is the case, why are we wasting time? Let’s start murdering each other, then!”

The air between the two darkened. Dark tentacles burst out. These dark tentacles were like a net, trying to ensnare Yao Ai.

The Vermillion Vulture below Yao Ai shrieked in response. Its two heads spew fire. The jets of fire were extremely hot, but the dark tentacles were as if unaffected. They continued to advance.

Yao Ai slashed her hand. Her slash produced countless sharp winds that flew in all directions. These winds collided with the dark tentacles. The tentacles were cut to pieces, while the winds were eroded upon impact. The two arcane arts destroyed one another.

With that exchange, the battle gong sounded. The Mercy Faction’s army charged forward. The Devotion Faction’s soldiers pushed the militia in front of them. Having no choice, the militia advanced toward the charging army that outnumbered them.

The Vermillion Vulture charged at Hai Di after the Elder God Tentacles were destroyed. Hai Di lunged when the vulture was still halfway. The vulture was startled to find Hai Di was already beside it. With a palm strike, Hai Di hit the vulture’s side. It was flung away, spitting blood from its two mouths.

”Why don’t you pick someone your own size?” Yao Ai arrived beside Hai Di. Her scaly arm came at Hai Di with a backhand punch. Hai Di stopped the strike using one arm.

”You should blame your own pet for daring to attack me. Like its master, it didn’t know its own strength. It didn’t know that its deed would only invite demise on itself,” Hai Di mocked.

”Oh, don’t you worry. I fully know my own strength,” Yao Ai uttered. She delivered a punch using her other hand. To Hai Di’s surprise, the power from this punch was strong enough to force him back.

She didn’t stop there. A flurry of kicks, slashes, and punches assailed Hai Di. Hai Di wasn’t a rookie, though. He could deflect, dodge, or block those rapid attacks. They finally stopped after Hai Di managed to grab Yao Ai’s left arm. Yao Ai retaliated by grabbing Hai Di’s other arm. The two ended up in a deadlock, contesting strength.

”Impressive,” Hai Di praised. ”Though I have tasted it before, I still find it hard to believe every time we clash. Even though your cultivation is much lower than mine, your Law of Challenge can elevate your power to match mine.”

Yao Ai possessed the Law of Challenge. It was useless when she fought weaker enemies, but if against someone with a higher cultivation level, her power was augmented. The boost was proportional to the opponents. The stronger the opponents were, the greater the boost she received.

Of course, there was a limit. If the power difference were too vast, like against Mo Wang, she would still be helpless. But against enemies within the same stage, like Lang Man and Hai Di, her Law of Challenge effectively turned her into an equal opponent to them. That’s why she never once considered herself inferior to the other domain lords despite having a lower cultivation level.

Moreover, her augmentation did not stop at her cultivation law. On her back were two large bat-like wings. At the end of those wings were large pikes with sharp tips. These wings thrust forward when her arms were locked with Hai Di’s. The outermost pikes of those wings aimed at Hai Di’s eyes.

Hai Di was taken by surprise by this attack, but was not undefended. Around his body was a thin layer of shadow. The wings’ pikes struck this shadow armor. Hai Di’s law of pressure condensed the shadow armor to incredible sturdiness. The pikes couldn’t pierce through.

Nevertheless, the attack caught Hai Di’s attention. This distracted him from seeing Yao Ai’s other assault. He received a strong kick in his torso. The shadow armor prevented a direct hit, but it was still strong enough to send him reeling back.

Yao Ai followed up by using her Finger of Death. A thin ray of light shot out of her finger. It aimed at Hai Di’s head. The light ray struck Hai Di’s shadow armor. The ray managed to penetrate, but only slightly. It was deflected as it pierced through. It deviated from its course and grazed the side of Hai Di’s head.

Hai Di touched the wounded part and saw blood in his hand. ”... This is the first time you drew the first blood in our fight.”

Yao Ai grinned. ”This will also be the first time we have a clear winner in our fight.”

Hai Di struggled to maintain a calm expression. ”Hmph! Body altering is the path of the weak. By altering so many parts of your body, you are admitting your inadequacy.”

Yao Ai chuckled. ”No need to get angry when the opponent has the advantage, Senior Hai Di. It is unbecoming of you. What will people think if they know the strongest domain lord sulks over a little difficulty?”

”Who says I am sulking?!” Hai Di lunged.

The two exchanged moves as their armies below collided. The difference in strength was immediately obvious. The Devotion Faction’s militias couldn’t be compared with the Mercy Faction’s veteran soldiers. It was more of a slaughter than a battle. Even so, the militias couldn’t flee. The Devotion Faction’s soldiers covered their escape path. Not only that, but the family members of these drafted troops were held as hostages by the Devotion Faction. If they retaliated against the Devotion Faction, their family members would suffer. They had no choice but to keep fighting the Mercy Faction.

The Devotion Faction didn’t care for these militias. They were there as meat shields. Though their battle power was low due to being disorganized, the Devotion Faction hoped that the sheer number of these militias, combined with their instinct to survive, would be enough to buy them time, at least until their main army arrived.

Their hope appeared bleak, though. The enemies had a larger number. They fought more to stay alive than to win. They also couldn’t stop all the enemies. The enemies poured into Venal Virtuous City from the sides or flew from above them.

The ones who entered the city began killing civilians, burning down buildings, and causing havoc. This distracted Hai Di. He didn’t truly care about his people, but this was no different than someone destroying his properties. Even if he didn’t put much value in those properties, it still hurt his pride. This disrupted his concentration.

”You, bitch!” Hai Di cursed. Yao Ai became fiercer the more distracted Hai Di was.

Yao Ai remained grinning. ”If you think this is the extent I’m willing to go to put an end to our rivalry, you will be surprised.”

Hai Di sensed them then, invisible enemies approaching. He swiped his arm. A dark fog radiated out of him. This fog spread, revealing several hidden opponents. They were using invisible talismans, which were destroyed when the dark fog passed through them. They couldn’t hide from Hai Di’s senses, but the invisibility helped them get close without others noticing. All were Mammoth Stage cultivators. The dark fog ate through their defensive arts, but couldn’t kill them outright. They unleashed their ranged attacks at the same time they were revealed.

With so many sudden attacks coming at him, Hai Di couldn’t focus on Yao Ai. Yao Ai landed a strong hit during this chaos, sending Hai Di flying away. The Vermillion Vulture, which had been circling the two waiting for an opportunity, lunged forward at this time.

Blood leaked from Hai Di’s mouth, but his wound was not serious. He dodged the vulture’s lunge and counterattacked using Black Spear. The spear punched through one of the vulture’s heads. That head burst into a mess of blood and flesh. Its other head screeched loudly in pain.

Hai Di’s counterattack, while delivering heavy damage to the vulture, was not without cost. Yao Ai’s finger of death penetrated his shadow armor, which had been weakened by multiple attacks. It pierced from his back and out of his front shoulder.