Rise of The Demon General

Amon didn’t give Xin Rong the time to recuperate. The hooked ends of his dark tentacles turned into cannon nozzles. They immediately fired dark bullets after transforming.

Xin Rong turned into a flash and moved away, dodging all the dark bullets. Amon used Invisible Phantom Flash, chasing her while attacking simultaneously. The two turned into flashes of light, zapping around in the sky, while sword lights and sharp winds clashed along their paths.

Though Amon’s speed burst allowed him to keep up with Xin Rong, it was only momentarily. He couldn’t keep up his speed burst indefinitely. As for Xin Rong, it was her natural speed after using the transformation art. Eventually, she left him behind and kept a safe distance between them.

Amon stopped chasing. Xin Rong, who saw her opponent stop his movement, did so as well.

"If you want to run, just run," Amon taunted her. "Didn’t I say it before? You may leave. It’s your army that must stay. If you are so scared of facing me that you must keep running away like this, then leave. No one is stopping you. Go!"

Amon didn’t land any blow, but Xin Rong felt as if a debilitating strike had just hit her. Did she run away from Amon? This thought rattled her. She realized now that she did. Even if she wasn’t aware, that was what everyone saw.

She looked down and saw the faces of his troops. Each one wore an expression of disbelief. The more hurtful things were their eyes. She saw disappointment, shame, and defeat in those eyes. She was their leader. Yet, she showed them such a disgraceful action. After this, how could she command their respect? There was only one way. She must defeat Amon!

She exclaimed, "Flee? I am Xin Rong, the Dictator of Devotion Faction! The second-in-command to Hai Di, the strongest Domain Lord in the lower world! I don’t flee, certainly not from a nobody such as you...!!"

Amon chuckled as Xin Rong lunged toward him. "Hehe. Haven’t you heard the saying? Pride comes before a fall."

Xin Rong swung her glaive, delivering a slash that conjured a powerful crescent energy that rushed forward.

A mass of dark shadow materialized in the crescent slash’s path. The dark shadow devoured the slash. Then, multiple dark tentacles burst out.

"Elder God Tentacles?" Xin Rong recognized the arcane art. "How dare you show me an imitation art! Your art is nothing compared to our lord! I will destroy it with one slash!"

However, even after performing several slashes, the dark shadow from which the dark tentacles originated didn’t weaken. All the slashes sank into the dark shadow as if it were a sea of abyss. Xin Rong was flabbergasted. Could the Law of Darkness have empowered a darkness-arcane art to such an extent?

Not only did the power of Amon’s Elder God Tentacles defy Xin Rong’s expectation, but its form was also different. The dark tentacles transformed into gigantic demon arms. They surrounded her.

Xin Rong’s glaive slashed. The energy from her cultivation allowed her to hit these demon arms as if they were solid objects. All the while, she flashed around, trying to escape encirclement.

However, every time she almost did, smaller tentacles sprouted from the demon arms. These tentacles linked with other demon arms and formed trellises, barring her way. After some time, she was locked inside a giant net.

"You should know, I learned this trick from your beloved lord," Amon uttered.

Xin Rong was speechless. Amon’s Law of Darkness not only empowered his darkness-arcane art but also allowed him to modify it at will.

Amon threw the Broken Justice forward. At the same time, he released his six Lightning Flying Knives. The dark cage that locked Xin Rong in didn’t hinder those weapons. They zoomed around at lightning speed and from confusing angles.

Xin Rong parried all those attacks using her glaive. But with only one hand and without being able to utilize her speed, the effort was taxing.

"Give it up, dictator!" Amon taunted. "You won’t win this fight!"

"Don’t you underestimate me...!" Xin Rong shouted.

Explosive winds erupted from her. Following her wide swing, countless tornadoes emerged. The shadow cage formed from the Elder God Tentacles couldn’t contain the explosive power of the winds. It broke apart, and the tornadoes spread everywhere, obliterating everything in their paths.

"Quite a powerful wind-element art," Diu Cay remarked.

"Not bad," Yao Ai added to the comment. She was also a wind-element user. "However, that art is only suitable when fighting many weak opponents. It can defeat them all simultaneously. Against a strong opponent, however, it is not effective. Its offensive power is too distributed."

As if to prove her point, Amon’s devil form punched through the wall of winds swirling around Xin Rong. The tornadoes were not strong enough to blow him away.

Amon swung the shining Broken Justice from above. Xin Rong responded by parrying it using her glaive.

*CRACK!*

The cracking sound shocked Xin Rong. It came from her glaive. She was reminded again of how the blade of Amon’s broken sword bit into her glaive. After multiple clashes, the blade of her glaive had suffered accumulated damage. It finally gave in with this clash. The blade of her glaive shattered, and Amon’s weapon resumed heading toward her.

She moved away to dodge the slash, but she had a late start because she never thought her glaive would break. The Broken Justice sliced through her left side, from the waist to her left thigh. The slice left a long and bloody gash.

The gash was not the most terrible outcome of the exchange. As she attempted the dodge, she didn’t realize that Amon had already prepared a follow-up attack. His tail elongated and came from the direction she was dodging toward.

It was the same move as their first exchange, but with different outcomes. In that first exchange, she managed to block the slash and dodge the tail assault. This time, she failed in both. The stinger on the tail stabbed into the side of her neck.

Void Volatile Poison was pumped into her bloodstream. The poison was not strong enough to affect her, but the stab wound to the neck remained fatal. The stab also stunned her. During that moment, she stopped moving, and six lightning bolts punched into her chest.

"Hrghh...!!" She vomited blood. The six Lightning Flying Knives were embedded deep in her chest.

Amon made a gesture, and the six knives released lightning energy. The energy pushed Xin Rong downward. She turned into a lightning strike and slammed into the ground below.

*BOOM!*

The impact released a lightning explosion. When the dust settled, she was still on the ground. The six purple knives remained embedded in her.

Amon landed beside her. He saw that she was still alive, but barely.

With difficulty, she spoke, "Is... Is what you said... true...? Has Lord Hai Di... truly been... defeated...?"

Amon answered, "I know the one you truly want to know is Hai Lao. He is gone. I delivered the killing blow myself."

Xin Rong closed her eyes. "Then... there is... no more reason... for me... to remain in this... world..."

She stopped speaking afterward. Amon stayed there for a few moments, making sure her aura was completely gone, before he returned to the air. The six Lightning Flying Knives left Xin Rong’s body and followed him.

He flew until he was above Xin Rong’s army. All the soldiers in that army were still shocked by her defeat. Amon’s Elder God Veil remained active, while the six flying knives swirled around him, occasionally discharging crackling electricity. The shadow suit covering him appeared to enlarge as his voice boomed.

"Members of the Devotion Faction! Hear me! I am Amon, soon to be the lord of the Commitment Domain! Know that I spoke the truth when I said the Venal Virtuous City had fallen. Hai Di is dead! So do all your faction members in the capital. The Devotion Faction is no more! You no longer belong to any faction.

"There is nothing left for you in this domain. Everyone has been notified to migrate to either the Mercy or Commitment Domains. If you remain in this domain, you will be hunted down by the Cryanids. I now offer you the chance to join me as members of the new Commitment Faction! Together, we will take over the Commitment Domain and rule over it!

"If you choose to let go of this opportunity, I won’t stop you. You may leave. You may go to Venal Virtuous City and validate my words. But know this, if you reject my offer now, you will have to go through the proper way to join my faction later. I won’t just accept any member. The entry test will be strict and grueling. It will also be limited. I will select only the best!

"Join me now and enjoy the benefits of being a member of the ruling faction, or leave and take your chances. Make your choice!"