Rise of The Demon General

Yang Li looked at the trespasser. Though he bore similarities to Amon, he didn’t look like him. In fact, he didn’t even look like a human.

To be certain, she asked a second time, ”Amon...?”

”Yes, it is me,” Amon confirmed.

”... Where have you been all this time?”

”Where else can a demon like me find refuge? The lower world, of course. Now, answer my question. Is that art your own creation?”

”It is...,” Yang Li answered. ”I named it the Cursed Flames of the Spider.”

”This proved that I was not wrong about you. I have learned that anyone who can create their own art before the Demigod Realm can be considered a talented practitioner.”

”What do you want from me? I thought we were done after what I did for you? I am free now.”

”You are. I see you spent your free time playing Mom. Are you happy with this life?”

”This has nothing to do with you, and you will never understand what it means to be a parent.”

”Relax. As I said, I’m only here to greet an old friend.”

”You are not someone who socializes for no reason.”

Amon grinned. ”I won’t argue with that. I can see that I’m unwelcome here. Is that your instinct as a parent?”

”I don’t want you anywhere near my son,” Yang Li stated.

”Why? Do you think I will be a bad influence on him?”

”What I know for sure is there will never be peace for anyone who comes into contact with you, whether they be friends or foes.”

”Unfortunately, whether you socialize with me or not, peace won’t be available for you, your son, or everyone in Aetheria soon.”

”What do you mean?”

Amon grinned again. ”Remember the news about the calamity that is rumored to be brought about by the Temple of Divinity?”

”... Are you telling me it is about to become real?”

”Hehe,” Amon chuckled. He explained to her the truth about the calamity: A purge carried out by the upper and lower worlds. She listened intently. She remained silent even after Amon finished divulging the information.

Amon waited a minute. Since she didn’t react, he added, ”So, you see. If I don’t do anything, the entire surface world’s population will be purged. Only kids aged five or younger who have a talent for cultivation are spared. Huang Bei certainly doesn’t fit that category. You won’t be able to protect him, not with your meager power.”

”Are you saying you want to save us? I find that impossible to believe,” Yang Li said.

”You know me. I’m not in the saving business. I’m doing it because I want to take this chance to poke at the upper world. See how troublesome it will be if I pick a fight with them.”

”I see... I bet you are done doing your stuff in the lower world, and now you want to expand your power even into the upper world.”

”There is never a ceiling too high.”

”Don’t you ever find anything enough?” Yang Li asked.

”I don’t,” Amon answered matter-of-factly. ”I know I have a greed in me that will never be satisfied. I have made peace with it. It will be my master till the day I die, but that does not concern you. What concerns you is that I can provide safe passage for you and Huang Bei. Otherwise, you must fend for yourself when the purge begins. What say you?”

”I don’t know what cultivation level you are at now, but I know it is too high for me to sense. I am too weak to provide you with any benefit. So, why trouble yourself to help us?”

”Mostly, I measure people’s worth by the benefit they can provide me in that instant, but in some cases, I measure them by the benefit they can provide me in the future.”

”You think I fall into the latter category?” Yang Li asked.

”We will see, but I’m willing to bet on you,” Amon answered.

Yang Li sighed. ”If it is to secure my son’s safety, I don’t mind making a deal with the devil.”

”I know.”

”However, he must not know it is you who help us.”

When Amon gave her a questioning look, she said, ”The fact that it is you who betrayed and murdered Huang San is public knowledge. I don’t want him to know that I’m working together with the person who is responsible for his father’s death.”

”I think what you don’t want is for him to find out that you are complicit in that incident.”

Yang Li gave Amon a furious look.

Amon smiled. ”Don’t worry. We won’t be working together. As you said, you are too weak to be of any use to me right now. I will give you coordinates. You can hide there with your son until I’m done dealing with the upper world.”

”Is it the entrance of the lower world?” Yang Li asked.

Amon shook his head. ”You can’t enter the lower world unless you are willing to give up on your cultivation. The path into that world rejects divine cultivators.”

”How long do we need to hide?”

Amon shrugged. ”Depends on how hard it is for me to conquer the upper world. That said, for you to properly hide, you need to know about your son’s nasty extracurricular activity.”

”What extracurricular activity?”

”Hehe. I only arrived here one day, and I already knew. You haven’t realized it because you purposefully look the other way rather than learning your son’s true nature.”

”What are you talking about? If you are talking about his rough treatment of the hookers...”

”As I expect, you truly don’t know. How about I show you directly? I noticed you captured one of the people who tried to assassinate you earlier, and your son left with him.”

”What about it?”

”He won’t be able to resist it. Let’s go to where he takes that assassin, shall we?”

”He can’t see you,” Yang Li warned.

”Don’t worry. He won’t recognize me. I look nothing like my old self. I won’t tell him my real name, for now. Let’s go.”

Amon had already walked away. Yang Li had no choice but to follow him. He didn’t need direction because the palace remained the same as before he was exiled. As they walked, Amon asked about the current ruling arrangement in Echos.

”Lei San is the Regent of Echos?” Amon asked. This news was a surprise to him. Du Ji didn’t include this information in his report because Echos was no longer a proper country.

”He is not only a good cultivator but a good politician too,” Yang Li said. ”Nevertheless, the true power holder is the Farghous ambassador. He is the one calling the shots. The regent is selected among Echos’ citizens to appease the public, making it appear that Echos still matters on the surface.”

”If it is just for show, why not just have you or Huang Bei for the role?”

”Because excluding the Huang Clan from politics is one of the conditions I gave Dim Loog when we surrendered. I don’t want my son to get involved in the power struggle, and I have been right. Ever since Echos surrendered to Farghous, the regent has changed three times. The first Regent was Lao Zen. However, he proved to be a poor candidate because he kept fighting the Farghous ambassador for Echos’ interests. He ended up dead one day, assassinated. The assassin was never caught, but we all know it was Farghous’ doing. The ambassador chose someone from the Xian Clan as his replacement.”

”No one from the court objected to that? What about Ha Gild and Jiang Tong?” Amon asked.

”Those two left the court when I surrendered. Anyway, the Xiang Clan member turned out to be an ideal second regent because he obeyed everything the ambassador said, so much so that it became his doom. He was also assassinated, but it was by Echos’ underground liberation force.”

”The same force that tried to assassinate your son just now?”

Yang Li nodded. ”Lei San was his replacement. He had just been appointed not long ago. Like his predecessor, he is a good friend of the ambassador and will no doubt do anything the ambassador asks. I do not doubt he will be the target of the liberation force before long.”

”Perhaps he already is,” Amon said. ”Perhaps those four assassins just now sneaked in here looking for him. They happened to see you and Huang Bei, and decided to change target instead.”

”Do you think so...?”

”Nah, I’m just reaching. It is more likely they found out what your son enjoys doing and decided he doesn’t deserve to be a member of Echos’ royal family.”

”That again? What exactly are you...”

Yang Li stopped speaking because she heard a shrill scream. The scream was continuous and contained much pain.

”... What’s that?” She asked. Amon had led her to a catacomb under the palace.

Amon answered her, ”That is your son’s extracurricular activity.”