Rise of The Demon General

”He is also the target for my first call for aid,” Amon told Di Yu. ”Once you get rid of him, you will only have to answer me two more times. After that, your precious daughter is free. Aren’t you glad? You are one step closer to securing Di Ying’s freedom.”

Di Yu remained growling. ”You will be the first one I tear apart once this is all over.”

Amon sighed while shaking his head. ”You truly must learn how to negotiate. Threatening me like that will only serve as a disincentive for me, discouraging me from freeing your daughter. Don’t you think that to be foolish?”

Di Yu didn’t answer. She only growled louder.

Amon walked forward slowly. He was heading to Di Ying.

”What are you doing?” Di Yu asked menacingly.

”I am sending her back into my ring’s dimensional space. I believed she had mentioned the space to you?”

”She is hurting!” Di Yu exclaimed. A shockwave radiated from her.

Amon was forced back a step when this shockwave passed by, but he resumed his walk soon afterwards. ”That is precisely why I want to send her into my dimension. I can nurse her back to health. I have restorative pills that can help her. I know some human medicine can affect noble dragons’ bodies, to an extent. Also, the energy within my ring’s dimensional space is much better than here. It will help her heal faster.”

Amon stopped and gestured at Di Ying. ”Tell your mother whether what I said is true.”

Di Ying replied by nodding at Di Yu.

”Furthermore, if she is inside my ring’s dimensional space, she will be protected from the battle out here,” Amon added.

Di Yu remained growling. She redirected her attention to Ling Dau, who remained stationary. Even he wouldn’t dare to be reckless with the presence of two noble dragons. He was still unsure if these two were enemies. He didn’t want to act first and make that a certainty. Hai Di had climbed up on Ling Dau’s back. The others stopped and didn’t dare to attack him during this time. The ones that never stopped fighting were the humans and Cryanids within and near the capital.

”Take her,” Di Yu uttered. ”Know that I will hold you responsible if anything happens to her.”

”Don’t worry. I’m fully aware of that,” Amon replied.

Throughout the conversation, Thien Huo never stopped giving Amon a hostile stare. He looked like he was about to lunge at Amon at any moment. Amon ignored him, pretending he didn’t notice the red dragon. This pissed Thien Huo off. He huffed, causing the air before his nostrils to flare up.

Only after Di Ying vanished into Amon’s ring did Thien Huo finally let go of his stare. He joined Di Yu, who moved toward Ling Dau.

Lin Li landed beside Amon. Amon gave her several recovery pills. He also asked her to bring Di Ying into the prison box to see Yeresdyx. The female Hyanid was a Master-level Pill Master and was good at tending wounds. After Lin Li entered the black space ring, Amon went around the place to collect Bo Wu and the broken Titan Battle Puppet.

Ling Dau remained silent as he watched his two relatives approaching. Di Yu and Thien Huo stopped before getting too close. The three were silent for several seconds.

Finally, Di Yu broke the silence. ”You... You have the aura of a noble dragon. Yet... I don’t recognize you.”

”Hm... I say he does resemble someone,” Thien Huo uttered. He then addressed Ling Dau, ”Hey, freak. What is your connection to Ling Guang?”

Di Yu’s face expressed realization upon hearing Thien Huo’s words. ”Ling Guang...? Wait, is he that defected foundling?”

Ling Dau scowled upon hearing the statement. He abhorred the term. He snarled. ”As usual, you noble dragons always look down on others. Thinking you occupy a lofty station or something.”

”So, you are truly Ling Dau? How do you... become like that?” Thien Huo asked. ”You have truly disgraced your predecessor. Ling Guang was a mighty noble dragon who commanded the element of light. He fell during the apex war, when the noble dragons duked it out with the divine tiger tribe.”

”Oh... I remember that war,” Di Yu said. ”That was a long time ago. It was the last major war our kind ever had. The war lasted until the humans intervened.”

”Considering the war spilled out into their territory, it was expected,” Thien Huo said. ”With the humans acting as intermediaries, peace was made. However, casualties had already occurred on both sides. Ling Guang was one of the casualties.

”Ling Guang left behind an egg, which hatched after his passing. Without a parent, the elder took in the foundling, along with two others who had also lost their parents during the war.

”Ling Guang’s progeny was unusual for one who inherited the noble dragon bloodline. He didn’t possess any limbs, nor did he have manes, horns, or even whiskers, which were what characterized most dragons. He was hideous. He looked more like a great wyrm than a dragon.

”However, his appearance was not his worst flaw. It was his temper. He was always in a foul mood and unwilling to listen to his seniors. After some time, his unruly nature finally brought about a tragedy. He always had arguments with the other foundlings, but one time, his quarrel devolved into a physical altercation. The squabble turned violent and ended with the death of one of the foundlings.”

”I remember that, too,” Di Yu said. ”After that incident, the elder punished Ling Guang’s progeny with banishment. He was no longer considered a noble dragon. He was shown mercy by being allowed to disappear, but any noble dragon who encounters him in the future has the obligation to take him down.”

Thien Huo addressed Ling Dau again, ”Are you Ling Guang’s progeny?”

Ling Dau spat. ”You remember the incident, but didn’t have the decency to remember my name? And don’t you mention that loser’s name again. I don’t accept a weakling who could be slain by his adversary to be my progenitor. Hear it now, my name is Ling Dau, and I will be the one who will end the noble dragons!”

Di Yu hissed and showed her sharp fangs. ”That is a bold claim, you freak.”

”So, you are indeed Ling Guang’s progeny...,” Thien Huo said. ”But how do you grow those extra heads?”

”Why must I bother explaining that to two noble dragons who are about to die?” Ling Dau said. ”It’s good that you two show up. You will be the first noble dragons to receive my wrath before I take on the others!”

Ling Dau opened his jaws after his speech, all six of them. Beams of different elements poured forth.

Di Yu and Thien Huo weren’t taken aback. They were battle-ready. A black shield materialized before Di Yu, while a red one appeared in front of Thien Huo. The two shields held for a while, but they eventually shattered. The blasts forced the two dragons back. They were unharmed. Their shields had absorbed most of the beams’ destructive power. Even so, they were astounded by Ling Dau’s power. A dragon’s power grew with age. He was supposed to be their junior. Yet, he had the power to push them back.

”How do you gain such power at your age?” Thien Huo asked.

”As I said, I will be the one who eradicates you, the obsolete noble dragons,” Ling Dau replied. ”With me as the new generation of noble dragon, you and your outdated customs no longer have a place in this world!”

Ling Dau lunged forward.

”Don’t get ahead of yourself, junior!” Di Yu didn’t back down. She charged ahead. Thien Huo followed her lead.

The collision of those three colossal dragons produced a shockwave. The ground below them shook, while the air trembled. The three refused to retreat after the powerful impact. They followed it up with a melee brawl. Di Yu and Thien Huo struck using their teeth and claws. Ling Dau possessed no limbs, but his six heads more than made up for his missing limbs, even against two opponents. Those six jaws moved back and forth as they struck with powerful bites.

The others watched as the three titans duked it out. Yao Ai was so absorbed with the battle that she only noticed Amon when he was right next to her. She was secretly amazed by Amon’s sneakiness.

”We must look for an opportunity to strike Hai Di,” Amon told her.

”Be my guest,” Yao Ai replied. Hai Di was hiding on Ling Dau’s back. Even though he was at risk of receiving splash damage from Di Yu and Thien Huo’s assaults, he was protected from being targeted by Amon and the others.

”He might use the chaos of the battle to sneak away. We can’t let him do that,” Amon said. ”When I give the signal, you must go for him.”

”You go for him yourself. Don’t expect me to go between those three dragons.”

”You either do it when I give the signal or be ready for your head to explode. Which one do you choose?”

Yao Ai grimaced at the threat. She was reminded again that she no longer held the reins.