Rise of The Demon General

"Slayer Amon, I didn’t notice you were with us in this campaign," the other guard said.

"I wasn’t," Amon answered. "I came because I was in the vicinity. I heard Our Ladyship is in a bad condition? I wish to see her."

The guards hesitated. They remembered that Amon was famous for the special privilege Yao Ai granted him. Even so, Diu Cay had warned them not to let anyone in except if he gave them his direct permission. Hence, they told Amon, "Forgive us, Slayer Amon. We can’t let you in. Only people authorized by Dictator Diu Cay may enter this tent."

Amon didn’t come alone. The person beside him was a beautiful woman with long white hair. She told the guards, "Slayer Amon is someone close to Our Ladyship. Haven’t you heard that he is granted entry to the Carrion Tower whenever he wishes to speak with Her Ladyship? The same applies here. Slayer Amon is important to Her Ladyship. If Her Ladyship knows that you barred him from seeing her, you will have hell to pay when Her Ladyship wakes up."

The two guards imagined all kinds of horrible tortures in their minds when they heard the woman’s voice. It was so vivid that they felt chills running down their spines. Cold sweats began dropping from their foreheads.

"Plea–Please! You may enter, Slayer Amon," the guards said, before quickly adding, "But only you. She must stay outside."

Neither Amon nor the woman minded the restriction. Amon entered, and the woman remained.

The woman was Lin Li in human disguise without her tails. It was her Mesmerizing Voice that influenced the guards’ minds just now. After Amon entered, she walked to the side of the tent, where the Vermillion Vulture was resting.

The Vermillion Vulture also suffered many injuries. It had lost one of its heads. The stump had been cauterized. With only one head, it appeared more like a normal giant vulture. There was a potion like the Regrowth Pill that could allow a spirit beast to recover lost limbs, but one for a Primordial-grade beast was very rare. The Mercy Domain possessed such a potion in their vault in Saintly Sin City. The Vermillion Vulture would have to wait until they returned to Carrion Tower before the potion could be administered.

It had received treatment from the beast tamers in the camp, but it still required much rest to recover properly. It sensed someone approaching. It opened its eyes and looked at the one who dared to disturb its rest. If it were a weak human, it would gobble the person up as sustenance to help it recover.

Its large eyes met with Lin Li’s bewitching eyes. It knew at once that the woman before it was not a human, even when her aura felt like one. Nevertheless, it couldn’t do anything. It was like its body had lost all will to move.

Lin Li spoke, "Good bird. Go back to sleep. There is nothing to worry about... Rest... Be at peace..."

The Vermillion Vulture felt its eyelids become extremely heavy. Drowsiness assailed it. Soon, it closed its eyes and lay its head back on the ground. It went into deep sleep, deeper than before Lin Li approached it.

The guards who witnessed the exchange were dumbfounded. They thought for sure the Vermillion Vulture would act up due to being approached by a stranger. It never let anyone approach except when Yao Ai was around. They wondered if the woman was a grandmaster beast tamer.

Little did they know that what Lin Li used to pacify the Vermillion Vulture was a combination of her two abilities, the Mesmerizing Voice and Hypnotizing Gaze. The Vermillion Vulture might be half a grade higher than her, but it was wounded, both physically and mentally. Its mental injury came from Yao Ai’s near-death state. Though it wasn’t as crippling as if Yao Ai had died, it was still a decent blow to its psyche. It was unable to resist the influence of Lin Li’s power.

Lin Li walked beside the vulture’s resting head and ran her hand along its fur. To the guard, she seemed to be caressing the beast. They were even more sure that she was a beast tamer after witnessing the scene.

Lin Li’s hand stopped beside the vulture’s neck and continued caressing it. Suddenly, the light in her eyes changed, and so did her hand. Her delicate, soft hand transformed into a beastly one with sharp claws. In a violent swipe, her claws sliced the vulture’s long neck.

Several long and deep gashes ran around the neck. Though the vulture’s skin was thick and hardy, it was defenseless. Lin Li’s current strength was not to be taken lightly either. Blood gushed out of the open wound. The sudden injury woke the vulture from its sleeping trance. It tried to lift its head and shrieked, but coughed up blood instead.

Lin Li didn’t stop with that one assault. Her claws turned into a flurry, leaving more cut wounds on the neck.

"What are you doing?!" The guards exclaimed. They were taken aback by the sudden hostility. One second, Lin Li was showing affection to the sleeping beast. The next second, it was an uninhibited act of butchering.

The guards were about to rush over, but heard a commotion from inside the tent.

"What?!" The series of unexpected events caused them to stop in their tracks. By the time they moved again, Lin Li had already flown away, leaving the vulture in a pool of its blood.

*

When Amon entered the tent, the pill masters were still administering treatment. They were surprised to find a stranger entering without Diu Cay present. None of them recognized Amon. They stopped their work and looked at each other.

"How is Her Ladyship?" Amon asked.

They could sense Amon’s high cultivation level, so they didn’t dare to be rude. They answered, "Her Ladyship has passed the critical point, but she still requires much rest."

"I see. How long till Her Ladyship wakes up?"

One pill master gathered up the courage to ask, "Forgive me, Sir. May I know who you are?"

"Never mind that. From the look of it, she won’t be waking up for some time. That’s a relief."

The pill masters were confused by Amon’s words. "Sir, we don’t understand."

"That’s okay. You don’t need to... It is time."

"Sir...? It is time for what?"

"I wasn’t talking to you," Amon answered. The voice of a half-choked shriek was heard from outside. As if using the sound as a signal, Amon swung a dagger. Flashes of white lights filled the tent. The pill masters were cut to pieces. They made noises when they fell, but the noises were concealed by the shrieking and trashing of the Vermillion Vulture outside.

Amon quickly took out Yuka’s prison box and opened its portal. From the outside, he heard the guards yelling at Lin Li. At that time, he noticed movement and saw that one of the pill masters was not yet dead despite no longer having half of his lower body.

This pill master opened his mouth to scream, but Amon was faster. A flying knife sank deep into the pill master’s throat, stopping his mouth from making a sound. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop his hand. In his death throes, his hand grabbed a nearby table filled with equipment. The table fell, causing a commotion.

"Tch!" Amon uttered.

He no longer had the luxury of finesse. He grabbed the unconscious Yao Ai and unceremoniously threw her into the portal. He already instructed Surressh and Dao Su to be ready behind the portal. The Hyanid would tie Yao Ai with the chains that used to bind Di Yu, while Dao Su would administer pacifying drugs to keep her in a coma.

The guards entered then. They were shocked to see the situation inside the tent. Corpses were everywhere, and their domain lord was missing. The only one who remained alive was Amon.

"Slayer Amon, where is–heergghhh...!!

Both guards found a knife sticking in their throats. A second knife soon embedded itself in their foreheads.

Amon picked up Yuka’s prison box and stored it inside his black space ring. He used an invisibility talisman and turned invisible before slashing the rear of the tent. When he exited the tent, many soldiers had rushed over after hearing the noise the Vermillion Vulture made in its final moments.

They would soon learn about Yao Ai as well. Fortunately for Amon, this was a hastily made encampment. The soldiers here won’t be able to implement a proper lockdown. He should be out of here even before anyone reports the situation to Diu Cay.

He heard a commotion not far away. That should be the soldiers trying to capture Lin Li. They would not succeed with her in her fox form. He ran in a different direction. They would regroup after.

Diu Cay rushed back to the main tent, but it was too late. The Vermillion Vulture was dead, and Yao Ai was missing. He was furious. Why did misfortune come one after another? It was as if fate itself was against them.