Rise of The Demon General

Yao Ai didn’t let up after wounding Hai Di. She pushed her advance by unleashing countless wind blades.

”Grhh...!” Hai Di gritted his teeth, enduring the pain in his shoulder. He executed Demon Palm. The gigantic palm materialized and destroyed all the wind blades.

”You disgraceful bitch!” Hai Di scolded. ”So, you finally reveal your true color? All those acts about challenging and duelling other cultivators are nothing but a fake façade. When push comes to shove, you are someone who uses numbers to gang up on your opponent.”

Yao Ai wasn’t offended. She was amused, instead. ”Senior Hai Di, in case you haven’t noticed. This is a war, not a tournament. Also, are you someone who complains about being outnumbered?”

Hai Di took a deep breath. He was indeed a bit emotional. He was pissed because the Mercy Faction had played him, putting him and his force at such a disadvantage. He glanced at his castle. Some of the enemies had reached there. His palace guards and weaker family members were battling those enemies outside the castle.

”You are right. I let my emotions get the best of me. Thank you for reminding,” Hai Di said.

”Oh...?” Yao Ai actually said all those things to provoke Hai Di further. She didn’t expect it to have the opposite result, instead.

’Hmph, never mind,’ she thought. It wouldn’t change the result. She made a hand signal. The Mammoth Stage cultivators rushed forward at her signal. Not only that, but her hand signal was also an indication for the army below. Many cultivators above the Fiendish Stage flew up toward them. They were to join her fight against Hai Di. She would truly use numbers to defeat him.

Hai Di shifted around, leaving afterimages. However, these afterimages didn’t stay still. They also moved around, confusing the Mammoth Stage cultivators.

”Don’t be deceived! Those are his shadow clones,” Yao Ai warned. She used Finger of Death, which pierced one of the clones. The hit clones turned into dark shadows before dispersing into nothingness.

Despite the warning, the Mammoth Stage cultivators still had difficulties. The aura from the shadow clones was the same as the original. The clones could also fight, but by splitting into so many clones, each clone was weaker than they could have been. The Mercy Faction cultivators couldn’t differentiate which one was real or fake. Hence, they couldn’t focus their attacks. Splitting up like that made them easy prey for the real Hai Di. The one who was unfortunately close to him suffered his demon palm. The poor guy’s body burst upon impact.

”There you are,” Yao Ai uttered. She had been waiting for Hai Di to kill one of her subordinates so she could locate the real him. She rushed over and stuck with him in close combat so he couldn’t confuse them again. His shadow clones continued to move all over the place.

”Ignore those!” Yao Ai exclaimed. ”This is the real one.”

Although Yao Ai’s action reduced the effectiveness of the shadow clones, the situation didn’t give her an advantage. Her plan was to perform hit-and-run tactics on Hai Di. Every time she moved away, her followers would take over by delivering ranged attacks. In this way, she could tire Hai Di out. Even if his followers were killed, there were plenty to replace the fallen.

She didn’t expect Hai Di’s simple maneuver to render her plan invalid. If she disengaged, Hai Di would confuse them again using his shadow clones. She must remain close to Hai Di to prevent that from happening. But by doing so, her followers couldn’t attack, because they might hit her instead. This situation made their presence pointless.

”As expected of the strongest domain lord,” Yao Ai praised. ”I was a fool to think this would be easy.”

”You are a fool indeed,” Hai Di said.

”Don’t be cocky. You might have calmed down a bit, but all it does is delay the inevitable.”

”And what is inevitable?”

”That today is the day you will fall. I have more than enough people to throw at you. Even you can’t face us all without getting tired!”

Hai Di glanced at the incoming mass of soldiers. His forces tried their best to block them, but it was futile. They were like a tidal wave that broke through a poorly constructed dam.

When they were halfway, countless black arrows intercepted them. Some managed to block, but many perished with exploding bodies upon being hit by the arrows. A few who dodged were surprised to find the arrows changed direction and returned to them. They tried to dodge again, with similar results. In the end, they were forced to block the arrows. Not many had good enough defensive arts to block. Those people perished.

The black arrows came from Hai Lao. His Law of Pursue allowed him to use arts that prioritize destructive power. He didn’t even need to aim. All those he targeted with his mind could not escape his attacks.

A tall, pale man with a skeletal face charged out from the crowd. This man was Diu Cay, the Dictator of the Mercy Faction. Hai Lao’s law of pursuit was too dangerous. If he were left alone, he could massacre a lot of their people in a short amount of time. Diu Cay’s approach forced Hai Lao to focus on him.

Diu Cay was not the only one Hai Lao needed to worry about. A shrill shriek was heard. Hai Lao turned and saw that the Vermillion Vulture was coming at him from the rear.

After losing one of its two heads, the Vermillion Vulture no longer dared to engage Hai Di. Yao Ai sent it away, letting it prey on weaker opponents. She had more than enough minions to sacrifice in this battle. No sense to sacrifice her tamed beast as well.

Against two such powerful opponents, Hai Lao was forced to retreat. The mass of Mercy Faction’s soldiers continued toward Hai Di.

Hai Di still fought Yao Ai in close combat. The surrounding Mammoth Stage cultivators tried to sneak an attack, but it was difficult. When they came closer for a better aim, they were instead getting hit by Hai Di and Yao Ai’s stray energy.

”You have my admiration, Senior Hai Di. Even wounded, I still can’t win over you in close combat,” Yao Ai praised. Each strike from Hai Di carried heavy pressure. Being so close to him also slowly wore her down. There was a never-ending weight pressing on her. She understood this was the effect of his Law of Pressure. She just never experienced it to such a degree. This made her realize that in their past fights, he was never truly serious. Even her altered limbs felt heavy from the pressure.

”I don’t need your admiration. I just need you to die,” Hai Di replied. He used Demon Palm. Yao Ai blocked it, but was pushed away.

Yao Ai felt pressure from behind and noticed dark tentacles had emerged there. She performed a vertical crescent kick. The kick produced a giant blade filled with wind energy. This giant wind blade sliced and destroyed the tentacles before they fully formed.

The Elder God Tentacles were only a distraction. Hai Di had prepared his true attack. His hand fired a black spear that rushed at Yao Ai, who had just finished her kicking motion.

Yao Ai couldn’t dodge, but she was not out of options. One of the wings on her back came forward, becoming a shield. The black spear struck the wing. The wings looked vulnerable, but were, in fact, very sturdy. The black spear couldn’t pierce through the wing, but Yao Ai was still sent reeling back from the impact.

By then, most of the Mercy Faction members from the army below had arrived. They joined the Mammoth Stage cultivators and delivered ranged attacks at Hai Di. With so many attacks, it doesn’t matter even if they were confused by the shadow clones. The mass of assaults could cover all of them.

”Bitch! Did you forget why cultivators like us weren’t afraid of getting ganged up on using numbers?” Hai Di asked. He didn’t show concern despite the countless assaults coming at him. ”It is because of our domain art!!”

A dark bubble radiated out of Hai Di. When this bubble passed the incoming assaults, it was as if they were getting devoured. The assaults slowed before fizzling out altogether. Hai Di’s domain arts covered a large area. Many enemy cultivators were inside the bubble once it expanded to its maximum scope. Hai Di purposefully waited until most of the enemies surrounded him before unleashing this art.

Dark shadows filled the inside of the bubble. Those within began to feel as if the air was slowly eating at them. They had difficulty moving because their bodies felt unusually heavy. Moreover, dark tentacles began bursting out of the edges of the bubble. Those struck by these tentacles experienced a faster demise. Even those with good defensive arts couldn’t last long. The tentacles exerted strong pressure and had powerful eroding capabilities. Most gave in within seconds.