Rise of The Demon General

”Why did you ask about the caravan masters?” Nao Dou asked again.

Amon answered, ”To defeat the Divine, I must study his force and this world he rules. That will include a lot of traveling. Being a caravan master is a perfect cover for our group to travel the upper world.”

Nao Dou shook his head. ”Being a caravan master isn’t as easy as you make it sound. One needs to pass grueling tests and personality selection. That takes years, sometimes even decades. Even if one passes, they cannot immediately become a caravan master. The spot is limited. The Holy Temple doesn’t want too many caravan masters roaming the world.”

”I have no intention of going through the tests. We will steal the caravan emblem from an existing caravan master.”

Nao Dou snickered, shaking his head another time. ”Do you think the Holy Temple hasn’t thought of that possibility? Each Caravan Emblem is imprinted on those who pass the tests. Each settlement has an entry checkpoint. The guards will check you at this checkpoint. If the caravan emblem you carry doesn’t match the imprint, you will be immediately discovered.”

Amon snickered back. ”That’s why I said I’m lucky to have encountered you people when I came here. You will serve as the ticket for me to get the caravan emblem.”

”Huh? I don’t understand,” Nao Dou said.

Amon didn’t bother explaining. Instead, he produced a map. The map was one he took from Nao Dou. It showed a general layout of the upper world.

The map marked fourteen settlements. These were the fourteen cities, the largest human settlements in the upper world. Nao Dou explained that many smaller towns and villages were scattered around these fourteen cities, but they were not marked on the map. Only the Holy Temple members possessed a detailed map of the upper world. The general public wasn’t afforded this luxury. Nao Dou and Nao Zuanyi drew the map in Amon’s hand during their repeated ventures into the outside world.

”Where should we go first?” Nao Pei asked. He and Nao Mei approached to look at the map.

”The closest cities from here are Ceollach City and Laetus City,” Amon pointed at the map.

”If this map is scaled, they are still far away from here,” Nao Mei remarked.

”I did say this place is far away from civilization, didn’t I?” Nao Dou said. ”That is the whole reason we built our village in this place.”

”You told me this is where the Divine resides, didn’t you?” Amon pointed at one of the marked settlements. The words Gaius City were written there.

”Yes. That is the capital of the upper world,” Nao Dou confirmed.

”It is located at the center, as typical of most capitals. In that case, we will journey through each of the other thirteen cities around this capital before heading there. First, we will go to the spot between Ceollach City and Laetus City. We will wait there until a caravan master passes. Then, we will hijack it.”

”Are you sure? The Holy Temple won’t take kindly to people who attack their associates. They are sticklers for rules. You will find very few bandits in this world. That’s because all who violate the Divine’s rules are punished severely. Whether they are heavy or light violations, they are punished without fail.”

”The inquisitors?” Amon asked.

Nao Dou nodded. ”They comprised half of the Holy Temple. We cannot avoid them if we want to perform the long journey you mentioned.”

”What are the inquisitors?” Nao Pei asked.

”They are law enforcers, judges, and executioners all rolled into one,” Nao Dou answered. ”If they decide you are guilty, there is no use debating their decisions. They have the right to execute you on the spot. When I warned you not to use your mind powers, it is especially so if there is an inquisitor around. They carry artifacts that can detect the usage of mind powers and demon energies within their vicinities.”

”So, if they don’t use their mind powers, the artifacts won’t detect it?” Amon asked.

”Yes, but it will be very difficult considering we do it absent-mindedly most of the time. That’s why we didn’t let you out freely. Now that you do, you must all learn to suppress your powers.”

”You said it is the same as demon energies, didn’t you?” Amon asked Nao Dou. ”So, as long as I don’t use it, I won’t be discovered.”

”Right... you are a demon,” Nao Dou was reminded of it. ”Yes, so long as you don’t use your infernal cultivation, the inquisitor’s artifacts won’t detect it.”

This was like back when he still lived in the surface world. He must hide his other self. He saw no problem doing it again.

”But, even without you using your infernal cultivation, I think they will still suspect you as a demon,” Nao Mei said.

”Right. No offense, you certainly look like one,” Nao Pei added.

”That reminds me,” Nao Dou said. ”While the inquisitor’s artifact doesn’t detect hidden mental power or demon energy automatically, it has an active function to draw one out. If an inquisitor suspects you possess one, they can use this active function to draw your powers out, thus revealing your secrets.”

’Like the Demon Revealing talisman,’ Amon thought.

”You all need not worry about me,” he said as he revealed a talisman. He used it and his appearance transformed. He now looked like a normal human.

Nao Dou nodded approvingly. ”That’s better, but keep in mind that the inquisitors also carry talismans that can remove disguise and invisibility. Just make sure not to draw attention when you see an inquisitor.”

”Don’t worry. I am confident we won’t encounter them as often as you fear.”

”Amon, I have roamed this upper world more than you. You are a newcomer here, so you must believe me if I say that there are inquisitors in every town and city. They also frequently patrolled the roads between settlements, so it is next to impossible not to encounter them.”

Amon didn’t bother explaining. His confidence came from knowing what had happened in the surface world. He kept regular contact with Du Ji. He knew about the lower world’s battle with the inquisitors. He knew his force and allies had retreated to the lower world.

Du Ji also informed him that the few spies they left in the surface world reported that the inquisitors never left the area around the portal to the lower world. They built a camp and remained there. Moreover, more of the upper world’s forces arrived each day. Most wore the same uniforms as the inquisitors.

With those inquisitors remaining in the surface world, their number in the upper world would be significantly lowered. That’s why Amon wasn’t as worried as Nao Dou.

Nevertheless, he agreed they should be careful. He told the villagers to heed Nao Dou’s warning. They must get used to not using their mental powers unless they had no choice. Amon told them to train during the journey and had Nao Dou monitor them by reading their minds.

After ensuring everyone understood the instructions, Amon told everyone to move out. They headed to the spot indicated by Amon on the map. Several spirit beasts came at them when they noticed the group, but Amon and Bo Wu dispatched them.

Amon had Bo Wu leading the way. It had a keen sense to detect strong spirit beasts. That way, they could avoid unnecessary battles. In exchange, he let Bo Wu consume the spirit beasts they could deal with.

It would have been better if Di Ying was the one scouting. She had a keener sense than Bo Wu, but Amon wasn’t ready to reveal her yet. Furthermore, he doubted she would agree to this menial task. He didn’t wish to sour their relationship further for a simple scouting task.

They traveled slowly. Considering most in their groups had cultivation levels only at the Martial Realm, they couldn’t move quickly. After more than two days, they saw a paved road. It ran from West to East. It was wide, more than ten meters in length, but empty. No one was seen using it.

”Most of the time, only Holy Temple members and caravan masters use this road, so it was empty most of the time,” Nao Dou explained. ”Some strong independent cultivators or fugitives fleeing the Holy Temple also sometimes use it, but such a situation is rare.”

Amon looked around the place. He pointed in a direction. We will hide behind that rock formation and wait until a caravan master passes.

”We don’t know when that will happen. It can be days or even months,” Nao Dou said.

”That’s fine. I’m patient,” Amon replied. Two pairs of battle puppets materialized. Amon sent them further down the road in both directions. If anyone approached using the road, the battle puppets would warn him. If they were anyone other than a caravan master, they would remain hidden.

Amon spent his time having Nao Pei resume helping him improve his mind blast power.