Rise of The Demon General

Mo Wang threw something in Thien Huo’s direction. It was a prism ball. The ball opened halfway. As it did, the blood that gushed out of Thien Huo’s wound flew toward it. The blood entered a tiny dot at the center of the opened ball. The dot was like a black hole. No matter how much blood it absorbed, it didn’t change its size.

”Vile humans!!!” Thien Huo exclaimed in rage. The scales around his body shone with bright red light. The ground underneath him burst into flames.

The red light was particularly bright in his chest, right under his long neck. This intense light travelled from that chest up into his throat and all the way to his head. When the light entered his head, he opened his jaws.

”Periisshhh...!!!”

A searing hot beam of condensed flames poured out of his mouth. This flaming beam rushed toward Mo Wang.

”Hahaha!” Mo Wang never stopped laughing ever since he landed his sneak attack. He revealed a talisman in his hand. This talisman exploded, and the space before him collapsed into a void. When the flaming beam hit the void, it was as if entering a bottomless abyss. It vanished inside without a trace, never reaching Mo Wang.

While the brunt of Thien Huo’s fire breath was aimed at Mo Wang, its destructive power was not solely on the flaming beam. Accompanying the beam was a cone of scorching flames. These flames washed over a larger area. The void shield created by Mo Wang’s talisman also protected him from these flames, but not Amon, who stood several feet behind him.

”Watch out!” Di Ying put herself before Amon. A prismatic shield made of light materialized around her. This prismatic shield blocked the flames from hitting them.

Even through the prismatic shield, Amon could still feel the heat. If he had been hit directly, he would no doubt have been burned to a crisp.

While he had many questions about their situation, he knew that getting answers was not his priority. An opportunity to escape had presented itself. He intended to make full use of it. He grabbed Di Ying’s arm and pulled her away.

He shot away at high speed with Di Ying in tow. He heard loud sounds of impacts and explosions from behind. The battle between Thien Huo and Mo Wang was escalating quickly.

”Wait! Amon, stop! We must help my uncle!” Di Ying protested.

Amon didn’t stop. ”We can’t! Those two are out of our league. We will be killed if we join the fight.”

”We can’t just leave him!”

”Don’t worry! That man won’t kill your uncle. He can’t. Even if he can, he won’t do it.”

”Wait! Do you know the man who attacked my uncle?”

Di Ying had her back to Amon when Mo Wang emerged from the rift originating from Amon’s black space ring, so she wasn’t aware that Amon had anything to do with the ambush.

Amon himself was also taken aback. Witnessing the incident, he understood that Mo Wang had planned this. Mo Wang must have done something to his ring when they met. It was probably when Mo Wang briefly touched the black space ring. He must have activated a secret enchantment in the ring that let him teleport over.

Now that Amon thought about this, he was sure Mo Wang had played him. Mo Wang knew about Thien Huo’s existence from the start. He had lied about not being able to capture Di Ying because she could sense him. The real reason was that Thien Huo was guarding her. His real target was Thien Huo, not Di Yu’s offspring, and he sent Amon on this quest to trigger a confrontation with Thien Huo.

Since Thien Huo thought his opponent was only Amon, he let his guard down. He failed to defend against a sudden attack from a Peak Infernal Devil Stage cultivator, allowing Mo Wang to draw his blood, which was what Mo Wang was after.

Now that Amon thought about it, he believed the enchantment that let Mo Wang teleport over also let him sense aura via his black space ring. Mo Wang only appeared once Thien Huo transformed into his true form, a Salamander Dragon. Mo Wang must have been waiting for it.

’Not bad, Mo Wang,’ Amon thought. ’No wonder you are this realm’s ruler. Here I thought I was playing you. It turns out it is the other way around.’

”I said, stop...!!” Di Ying exclaimed. She forcefully tore her arm away from Amon’s grip.

Amon was rather surprised by her strength. He was reminded that though she had not yet matured, she was still a noble dragon. He had no choice but to stop.

”I ask you again, Amon! Do you know the person who attacked my uncle?” Di Ying demanded.

”... I do,” Amon answered. ”His name is Mo Wang. He is the one who imprisons your mother.”

”You... Are you in league with him? Is what my uncle said true? Did you deceive me?”

”I didn’t! I am serious about saving your mother. This is our chance. When both your uncle and Mo Wang are occupied. If we are lucky, we can get to Mo Wang’s castle, where your mother is imprisoned, before he returns. We should hurry!”

”No... No! We should help our uncle first!” Di Ying exclaimed. She turned around and flew back. She didn’t get far, though. She suddenly screamed and fell to the ground. An agonizing pain was tearing through his soul.

The pain lasted only an instant. She could move again. It didn’t take long for her to understand what had happened. She just knew somehow. She turned to Amon.

”I’m sorry,” Amon said. ”I did it for your sake. You will die if you return there. Neither your mother nor uncle will want that.”

Di Ying hissed at Amon. ”You... You tricked me! Uncle was right! This connection between us. It is not a sacred bond! It is a chain! You have deceived me into this!”

”You can blame me, but I swear I will fulfil my promise. Do you want to save your mother or not?”

”Liar! You are a human liar!!” Di Ying exclaimed.

Her voice and body transformed while she cried. Unlike her uncle, her dragon form was slender. She had a long, serpentine body much like her mother, who was an Abyssal Dragon. Yet, her scales weren’t black. They were colorless with a tinge of multi-colored shine around their edges. Amon understood that this was common for the dragonling of a noble dragon. They hadn’t come to their elements yet. Once they matured, their scales would change color.

Di Ying opened her mouth as she lunged forward. She attempted to devour Amon.

She didn’t reach even halfway, though. She dropped to the ground as incredible pain assailed her. She rolled on the ground while screaming, knocking several trees and crushing some rocks in the process.

”Stop it! Stop it!” She pleaded.

”Will you behave?” Amon asked. His voice was transferred directly into her mind, so she could still hear it despite her screaming.

”Yes... Yes...,” she replied weakly.

She panted on the ground as the pain slowly subsided. Amon walked to her and crouched right by her head. If she wanted, she could snap her jaws and bite Amon. She thought about it, but she somehow couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Amon felt her confusion. He explained, ”Even if I didn’t stop you just now, you will stop your assault on your own before hitting me. That is how powerful a mental link is.”

”It doesn’t stop you from hurting me,” Di Ying said crossly. ”Whatever this connection is, it favors you more than it does me.”

”I’m sorry. It is not my intention to hurt you. I promise not to do it again, provided you don’t give me the reason to.”

Di Ying scoffed and looked away.

”I can feel your anger,” Amon said. ”Our souls are linked. We can feel each other’s emotions. Your resentment is understandable because you think I have betrayed you, but I promise you, everything I have told you about your mother is true. I truly want to help you save her. You can feel my emotion as well. Do you feel deception in my soul when I said that?”

Di Ying didn’t answer. She didn’t. Yet, she was new to this. She didn’t know exactly if Amon could manipulate what she felt through their mental link.

”I will prove it to you. Come with me. We will save your mother together.”

Di Ying hesitated. She looked back in the direction of her home. Sounds of battle were still heard from there.

”I am also telling the truth when I said your uncle would be fine,” Amon told her. ”Even if Mo Wang can kill your uncle, which I doubt he can, he will still not do it. It is the same reason why he doesn’t kill your mother despite having her captive all this time.”

”Why?” Di Ying asked.

Amon explained to her what Mo Wang had told him about the secret connection between the noble dragons. When one noble dragon dies, the others would be aware of the incident and know the cause of death. If Mo Wang killed Thien Huo, he would become the target of every noble dragon in both the lower and upper worlds. Even the Divine, whom Mo Wang feared, didn’t wish for that to happen.

Amon also told her that Mo Wang’s target was Thien Huo’s blood, not his life. Once he had gained enough, he would leave her uncle alone.

While Amon explained the reasons, he also secretly and subtly influenced Di Ying’s thoughts via their mental link. After a few seconds of silent consideration, Di Ying said, ”Alright. Let’s leave...”