Rise of The Demon General

The first thing, which was easier to spot, was the sight of the Cryanids retreating among those that continued to pour into the city. They didn’t retreat because they were wounded. Most Cryanids possessed no sense of fear. They would continue to fight even when they lost all their appendages. They were known to throw their lives without hesitation for the good of their broods.

Hence, it was odd for a mass of Cryanids to retreat when the rest of the brood was still fighting. Furthermore, these retreating Cryanids had no visible wounds, and they didn’t leave empty-handed.

Held in their forelimbs were humans. Silky-looking filaments wrapped around these humans, binding them, so they couldn’t resist the Cryanids that were transporting them.

Their number was not small. From the look of it, the purpose of the Cryanid’s assault might as well be to kidnap the humans.

The second thing was the Cryanids’ movement patterns. Amon could see the whole battlefield from high up in the sky. From his observation, he knew that the Cryanids didn’t attack randomly. They targeted particular structures in the city, which, if destroyed, would cripple the city’s ability to operate properly.

He also saw the Cryanids utilizing many chokepoints spread around the city’s layout. He even spotted a group luring the humans into one of these chokepoints. The Cryanid Flies above supported from the air and made use of the layout’s strategic advantage to the fullest.

The Cryanids were known as spirit beasts that behaved more like animals, acting on instinct. It was highly unusual for them to perform tactical moves like this. Nevertheless, Amon was sure his observation was not wrong. The Cryanids moved with a sense of calculated purpose.

As he continued to pay attention to the Cryanids’ movements, he learned another interesting fact. From the way they moved, he could roughly estimate their command center. At first, he thought it was the brain-shaped colossal insect that transmitted commands to its smaller brethren. However, it was not so.

The brain-shaped colossal insect was battling the human defenders in the Western section of the city. As for the Cryanid’s command center, Amon suspected it to be in the Northern part, slightly outside the city. The Cryanids’ movements in that section were sharper, and their patterns changed more swiftly compared to those further away. There was also a group of Cryanids that remained stationary at that place, as if guarding something. Whatever was issuing commands to this Cryanid horde, it was there.

While he knew this, he had no means to punch his way there. He had to fight through many Cryanids to reach that place. He could use the battle puppet army to do this, but that would mean sacrificing them. His mission was not to help defend this city. He had no desire to sacrifice his force unless he had to.

Nevertheless, he must find out the reason for the Cryanid’s strange behavior to complete his mission. Hence, he must reach that theoretical command center.

He looked around the battlefield. The best approach was to enlist the aid of the defenders’ top brass. That would be the Supreme Stage cultivator he suspected of being the city mayor. However, that cultivator was battling the brain-shaped Cryanid, which he suspected to be a Primordial Beast.

He preferred to avoid getting entangled in a battle involving creatures of that power. The power was on par with the divine cultivation level of the Demigod Realm. Even when he was now much more powerful, he still didn’t think he could defeat something of that power level.

Hence, he continued searching around the battlefield using his eyes. After identifying several groups he could use, he flew toward the city.

*

"You, lots! maintain formation!! Kong Lau! Stay near! Do not wander off...!!"

A man in armor was leading a platoon of soldiers wearing red vests. Compared to civilian cultivators who fought the Cryanids nearby, they displayed better efficiency because they fought as a team.

The one called Kong Lau replied, "But, sir, those insects are breaching the shelter. The people inside are doomed if we don’t help them!"

"They are already doomed. No point in us dooming ourselves as well. Maintain formation!" The man in armor commanded.

One of the red-vest soldiers approached him and reported, "Slayer Xou Liang, we just received news that the squad protecting the barricades on Eighth Street had been vanquished."

"Damn it! Is there no end to these insects? How about the reinforcement from the front line? Any news yet?"

"The last I heard is that the Cryanids also assaulted the other frontlines. Everyone has their hands full. However, I heard that Warlord Xou Yung had dispatched a battalion to aid us, but the estimation is that they still need at least half a day to arrive."

Xou Liang’s heart sank upon hearing it. Half a day might as well be a lifetime. They were already hanging by a thread here. Nevertheless, he tried to encourage his men, "You hear that, everyone? Help is coming! Keep fighting and do not falter!"

"Aahhh...!!"

Xou Liang turned to the sound of the scream. He saw the group of civilian cultivators fighting not far away getting overwhelmed. A Cryanid Wasp had swooped in from above and slain the unsuspecting Fiendish Stage cultivator who acted as the leader of the civilian cultivators. The moment it happened, a Cryanid Juggernaut came charging, throwing the civilian cultivators into disarray. The Cyranid soldiers swarmed in and finished everyone during the chaos.

"Fuck! What a bunch of useless ruffians!" Xou Liang cursed. He hurriedly barked orders, telling his men to reinforce the side where the civilian cultivators had been defeated.

He watched the Cryanid Wasp coming at them. Several Cryanid Flies descended from the sky to support the Cryanid Wasp.

"Kong Lau, with me!" Xou Liang commanded. He was a Peak Fiendish Stage cultivator, while Kong Lau was at the Intermediate Fiendish Stage. The two took to the sky and battled the Cryanid Wasp and its minions, protecting the rest of his platoon so they could deal with the enemies on the ground.

Nevertheless, the Cryanids seemed endless. More and more surrounded them, threatening to overwhelm them at any time.

"Grgh! Bastard!" Xou Liang cursed. His mace crashed into the Cryanid Wasp, shattering the hard carapace protecting its body. He had no problem defeating the Cryanid Wasp, even with the Cryanid Flies flying around him. He, however, could not help his men on the ground, and they seemed about to give in.

When he had mentally surrendered his platoon to fate, a red flash suddenly streaked through. As it did, the myriad Cryanid soldiers near its path split into pieces before becoming ablaze.

This red flash continued. It zoomed around the platoon. It even flashed up and zoomed past near Xou Liang. As the flash passed, Xou Liang could perceive that the flash was a human moving at an extremely fast speed.

In that instant, all the Cryanids around Xou Liang’s turned into burning pieces like the previous ones. This included the Cryanid Wasp that had been wounded by Xou Liang.

The flash stopped, revealing a large man with a bald head and muscled body. He wore a red vest like theirs and was holding a silver dagger with red edges.

Xou Liang noticed the symbol on the man’s red vest. The symbol signified the man possessing the same rank as him, a Slayer. He asked, "Comrade, thank you for the save. I have never seen you before. Are you an outsider?"

"I am. My name is Amon. I came from Saintly Sin City. I am on a special mission directly from Her Ladyship Yao Ai."

"I would love to help you with your mission, but as you can see. We are in a predicament ourselves. Whatever your mission is, it will have to wait until we repel the Cryanids that invade this city."

"I can help you achieve that, but I will need your aid for that."

"Seriously?" Xou Liang asked. While Amon’s entrance impressed him, he could sense that the power Amon exuded in the attack just now was not stronger than his. Amon’s offensive art was simply awfully effective in taking out many opponents instantly.

"Trust me. I have located the Cryanid’s leader, but I need help punching through their defense. Once we take out that leader, the Cryanids will retreat."

"Their leader? Isn’t that Cryanid Hivemind their leader?" Xou Liang pointed at the brain-shaped colossal Cryanid in the sky.

’So, that thing was called a Cryanid Hivemind,’ Amon thought. He shook his head at Xou Liang. "That Cryanid Hivemind is a misdirection so that you throw all your powerful cultivators at it. Even if you defeat it, the Cryanids will not retreat. By then, the damage caused to this city will be too much already."

"Sir, the Cryanids are regrouping!" Kong Lau informed Xou Liang.

Xou Liang could see a new swarm of Cryanids breaking through from another side. His order was to defend this place and stop the Cryanids from infiltrating further into the city. But from the look of it, their effort was futile.

"Damn it to hell! Amon, is it? I hope you are not shitting us. The fate of this city is on the line!"

Amon gave Xou Liang a confident stare. "I assure you. Follow my instructions, you and your platoon will be the heroes who save this city."