Rise of The Demon General

"He truly knows how to make full use of the theatrics," Yao Ai remarked with a scoff.

Nevertheless, she couldn’t criticize the effectiveness of Amon’s method. Since the start, he intended to goad Xin Rong into a duel, whether she was willing or not. By defeating her in front of her troops, he proved that he was more than qualified to lead them, even when his cultivation level was lower than hers.

The intimidating appearance of his devil form further reinforced the notion that he was no ordinary human. Yao Ai could see the faces of the Devotion Faction members. Many wore expressions of awe. There was no denying that Amon’s actions and display had captivated them.

Amon was aware of this as well. Hence, he gave them the question, "Who wishes to join me?"

Murmurs rose as the Devotion Faction members talked among themselves. Some seemed ready to join Amon, but there were still some who were unconvinced. One of them was Li Hong. She was Xin Rong’s right-hand woman, so the others saw her as next in command after Xin Rong’s death. She flew out of the army and approached Amon.

She was a Peak Mammoth Stage, half a stage higher than Amon’s cultivation. But considering Amon had slain Xin Rong, who had a higher cultivation than her, she felt no superiority when speaking to Amon.

"Sir, I appreciate that you give us the choice. Nevertheless, why must we migrate? We should fight the Cryanids and take back our land. Between you and Lady Yao Ai, we should have no problem driving them out of the Devotion Domain. If you do that, we will be happy to follow you."

Many Devotion Faction members nodded at the statement. No matter what, this was their home. They preferred to defend it rather than migrate to other domains if they had a choice.

"We will not drive the Hyanids, who control the Cryanids, out of this domain," Amon answered. "The reason is that they are our allies."

"Allies?" Li Hong frowned. All the Devotion Faction members shared her surprise. Does this mean that Amon had admitted to conspiring with the Hyanids to destroy the Venal Virtuous City? If that is the case, then all the goodwill and admiration they felt for Amon earlier had vanished.

Yao Ai snickered. ’What does that snake hope to achieve by revealing that?’ She wondered.

"The truth is, we have no choice but to ally with the Hyanids, because we need them!" Amon exclaimed. "Because we have a strong enemy that has been working behind the scenes to obliterate us! All of us! Everyone in the lower world. If we don’t work together, it is only a matter of time before we are wiped out!"

"What do you mean?" Li Hong asked, confused. "Who is this enemy you mentioned?"

"The upper world," Amon answered.

Everyone’s murmur became louder, even from the Mercy Faction members. Amon’s statement had caught everyone by surprise.

"That cannot be," Li Hong said. "No one from the upper world can enter this world."

"The Divine can," Amon countered. "His visit to this world is a historical fact. I also don’t believe that someone in a high position like you isn’t aware of the upper world sending agents into this world. The ones that this world rejects are only those who practice the divine cultivation path. It doesn’t cover the possibility that some infernal cultivators may be working for the upper world."

"I find that unlikely. The divine’s hatred for infernal cultivators is well-known."

"I didn’t doubt that. Yet, he didn’t wipe you all out when he visited last time. Have you ever wondered why?" Amon asked. "Let me answer that for you, because he couldn’t. No matter how powerful he is, he is one man. He can’t wipe us out if we go into hiding, and he doesn’t wish to spend his life playing hide-and-seek with us. Hence, he devised a plan that lasts for aeons."

"A plan...?"

"The purge!" Amon exclaimed. "He forces us to do most of the work but takes most of Aetheria’s energy for himself. Why? Because he wishes to weaken us! With this arrangement, the upper world will continue to grow stronger than we. The fact that he shares with us a small portion of Aetheria’s energy is to lull us into a false sense of security, so we are not aware of his true purpose. However, his plan is near its completion. He will strike soon. This is proven by the undead outbreak currently plaguing our world!"

"The undead plague is the upper world’s doing?" Everyone was shocked by the revelation.

"Do you have proof?" Li Hong asked.

"Do we need one?" Amon asked in return. "You were just back from trying to contain the plague. You see how dangerous it is. If it is not contained, it will wipe out everyone in this lower world. This plague happens in all three domains. Even the Hyanids who now control this domain will be wiped out if the plague spreads, including everything inside the misty border. There is no safe place. Who do you think benefits the most if this happens? Certainly not anyone who lives in this lower world."

Murmurs resounded. Amon glanced at the masses as he spoke. He could see that many bought his lies.

He resumed, "Even if this plague fails to wipe us out, it will weaken us greatly. I don’t know for a fact, but I suspect that with all the excess energy the upper world has collected since the beginning, they might have devised a way to breach into this lower world. The next time, the Divine might not only come alone, but with an army. If that is true, with our weakened state after the plague, we won’t be able to fight back. We will be sitting ducks."

"Then... Why ally with the Hyanids? We, humans, should all work together instead. Our three domains should have worked together to prepare for the invasion instead of fighting each other as we did."

"That is precisely the reason why we ally with the Hyanids. The Divine’s treacherous ploy goes deeper than we thought. The war between the three domains is his machination."

Diu Cay turned to Yao Ai and asked, "Is that true?"

Yao Ai didn’t respond. She herself was wondering what the hell Amon was spouting. How much of what he said was real? She had no idea.

"Does anyone remember how the war began? I mean, truly began. We all know our three domains have been at odds with each other for a long time, but it didn’t enter a full-scale war until an incident."

"The abduction of Lang Man’s seventy-first wife?" Li Hong answered.

"Yes. What everyone doesn’t know is that this abduction is ordered by none other than Lord Hai Di, and the one who told Lord Hai Di to do that was none other than the Divine himself!"

An uproar occurred upon the statement.

"That can’t be!" Li Hong exclaimed. "Lord Hai Di can’t be conspiring with the upper world!"

"He can, and he did," Amon insisted. "The Divine promised him that he would appoint him the ruler of this lower world after he destroys and remakes it in his image. Lord Hai Di would, of course, have to convert to the Divine Cultivation path, but that was a small price to pay to be a ruler of the world. Though it is not made public, everyone close to Lord Hai Di knows of his ambition to replace Mo Wang and become the ruler of this world. The Divine can realize that dream for him. He and his family will be spared when the upper world invades. That’s why he goes along with the Divine’s plan and even helps him by spreading the undead plague."

"Lord Hai Di is responsible for the plague...? That cannot be!" Li Hong exclaimed.

Amon revealed a stack of paper in his hand. "I have testimony and reports on evidence compiled by people who placed Hai Di’s agents at the suspected spots where the plague first started. You are welcome to review them."

This was, of course, all made-up. Amon had prepared this beforehand, through coercion and fabrication. Most was circumstantial evidence. It doesn’t provide definite proof, but it doesn’t need to. All who could contest the validity of these reports were gone. Amon only needed them to sow doubt and the belief that Hai Di might be working for the Divine.

Li Hong looked at the stack of paper. She wasn’t going to read all those reports here, and Amon knew that, too. Just from his confidence in revealing these so-called reports, he had swayed many people’s opinions in his favor.

He struck while the iron was hot. "That’s why Lady Yao Ai and I requested the cooperation of the Hyanids to defeat Hai Di, because we can’t do it on our own. We must prevent him from further harming this lower world. In addition to that, I have also learned of a way to stop the undead plague from Hai Di’s notes after we defeat him. I’m now working on it. I promise you, I will shut down this plague in several more days! You have my word! I will not let the Divine’s plan succeed, and once I stop his plan, I will bring the fight to him. We will attack the upper world...!!!"