Rise of The Demon General

Du Ji looked at the army surrounding him. It was indeed a surprising sight. Never in his mind would he expect a simple Slayer like Amon to rise so rapidly like this. The most baffling factor was Yao Ai’s presence. She stayed behind and acted as if she were less important than Amon.

Du Ji at first thought that Yao Ai propped Amon up so she could use Amon to rule the Commitment Domain as a proxy. But from what he observed, the power dynamic between the two wasn’t as he expected.

He contemplated much about Amon’s demand. Fighting back would be folly. He had no chance of winning. Not only because his force was outnumbered, but also because he was no match for Yao Ai. Amon remained patient and waited.

After some time, he finally spoke.

"Hero Amon, your reputation precedes you. For you to show up with such force, I think anyone will agree it is an honor to be your follower. I even heard that you have defeated the late Dictator of the Devotion Faction, Xin Rong, in a one-on-one duel. Honestly, I found that hard to believe, considering your cultivation level. I hope I didn’t offend you by saying that."

"You didn’t," Amon replied.

"I’m glad that is the case. I’m a skeptical man. As someone at my age and station, you must forgive me for not believing every single piece of news that comes across. If I did, I wouldn’t have survived and kept my position for this long. Thus, the news about you defeating Xin Rong and being the reason for the undead plague ending, I must say I can’t take it at face value."

"Is this your roundabout way of refusing to join my force?" Amon asked.

Du Ji chuckled. "Don’t be so hasty, Hero Amon. I’m simply laying the ground for my next statement. As I said, I am a skeptical person. If I am to believe all the news regarding your accomplishments, I will require verification."

"How do you propose I give such verification?"

"My cultivation level is slightly higher than Xin Rong’s, but in terms of battle prowess, I must say that she is not that far below me. If you can defeat her in a duel, then you should be able to stand your ground against me."

Du Ji showed three fingers. "Face my three moves. If you survived them, then I will believe what the news says about you, and my followers and I will be at your service."

Amon grinned. "I accept your terms."

Shadows materialized around Amon, forming a protective suit in the shape of a devil. Under the cover of the Elder God Veil, Amon also performed the body-strengthening meridian points technique. His aura increased sharply.

"Hm... Perhaps you truly defeated Xin Rong on your own," Du Ji muttered. He brandished a swordstaff, a weapon that looked like a combination of a sword and a spear. It had a large, long, two-edged blade like that of a greatsword, but it also possessed a long handle like that of a spear.

He twirled his weapon and exclaimed, "Prepare for my first move, hero!"

He thrust the swordstaff forward. Scores of lightning swords materialized around him. These lightning swords shot toward Amon.

Amon retaliated with lightning weapons of his own. The six lightning-flying knives emerged, and the Elder God Veil coated them with its dark energy. The six knives then turned into lightning bolts. They zigzagged in front of him and intercepted any lightning swords that approached. None of the lightning swords managed to reach him.

Du Ji could better sense the darkness energy coating the lightning flying knives when they collided with his lightning swords. He said, "So, the rumor is true. As hard as it is to believe, you do possess a cultivation law."

"Give me your second move," Amon uttered.

"Hehe," Du Ji chuckled. He wasn’t offended by the taunt. "Prepare yourself! Here comes the big one!"

He pointed his swordstaff at the sky. Lightning began to appear from all around. Countless lightning snakes converged above the tip of his weapon. They conjoined into a lightning orb that grew as more lightning entered it. Before long, the lightning orb had grown to the size of an adult human, and it continued to grow.

"Don’t force yourself. You may dodge this attack if you want," Du Ji said. He pointed his swordstaff forward, and the lightning orb advanced.

The lightning orb’s speed could be considered slow for cultivators of their level. If Amon wanted to dodge, he could easily do it. Du Ji told Amon to dodge because it was a trap. The orb’s slowness was only a façade. The second its target moved away, it would turn into a lightning bolt that continued to chase its prey. Many of Du Ji’s opponents had fallen victim to this arcane art because they were lulled by its initial slowness and couldn’t adapt when it abruptly sped up.

Contrary to expectation, Amon didn’t take up Du Ji’s offer. He didn’t show any attempt to dodge. Instead, his flying lightning knives united. They became propeller blades and spun. The electrical energy generated from their spinning formed a giant electric shield. The Elder God Veil synchronized with the electric shield, bolstering its defense with darkness energy.

Du Ji’s lightning orb crashed into the protective shield. Even though it didn’t speed up, it didn’t mean that its power was diminished. The full power of the lightning orb bombarded the shield. Crackling energies burst everywhere as the shield resisted.

As the two opposing energies reached a climax, they erupted into a massive explosion.

When the dust settled, it was shown that Amon had been blown tens of meters away. As for the six lightning flying knives, the shield they formed was gone, and they had been tossed even further than Amon. Nevertheless, neither Amon nor the knives suffered any damage. The shadow suit covering Amon had thinned after the blast, but it soon recovered to its full form.

Du Ji was speechless. Even if he didn’t expect himself to defeat Amon with his second move, he expected Amon to survive by somehow outrunning the speed of his lightning orb. He didn’t expect Amon to willingly accept the full brunt of his attack, and more outrageously, Amon suffered no wound from it.

During the pause when Du Ji was processing the outcome, Amon’s six lightning flying knives flew back to him. They again combined and became propeller blades before Amon. Different from before, they didn’t remain in the spot. They tilted forward and turned into a drill.

"My turn," Amon uttered. The spinning knives drilled forward, leaving a lightning trail.

Du Ji was taken aback by this retaliation. He swung his swordstaff to respond to the assault. His weapon collided with the giant drill, throwing lightning sparks everywhere. The impact forced the six flying knives to separate, ending Amon’s offensive art.

Du Ji himself was forced back several meters. He was astonished by the power behind the offense. He would not believe that it came from an Intermediate Mammoth Stage cultivator if he didn’t experience it firsthand.

In response to Du Ji’s astonished expression, Amon said, "Hehe, you never said that I’m not allowed to strike back."

Du Ji didn’t bother explaining that his astonishment was not due to Amon retaliating. He smirked and replied, "Don’t worry. I don’t mind. Now, prepare to receive my final move...!"

Lightning again emerged around him. But different from before, they converged on him. The lightning snakes battered his body but didn’t hurt him. They wrapped around him, forming a lightning suit. He became an incarnation of a human made of lightning.

"I’m coming!" Di Ju exclaimed. He then turned into a lightning bolt. He zapped close to Amon but didn’t immediately attack. Instead, he continued zapping around.

Amon noticed that the afterimage Di Ju left when he zapped to a new place didn’t vanish. As time passed, more copies of him were created, and they surrounded Amon.

"Take this! Hundred Blitz Incursion!!"

All the afterimages Di Ju left behind were his lightning clones. They simultaneously rushed at lightning speed toward Amon. With so many coming at him from all sides, there was no escape.

Amon used Elder God Tentacles before Di Ju unleashed his attack. The tentacles emerged right below him. Using his Law of Darkness, he merged the dark tentacles with his shadow suit. The merged entity spread outward, forming a web.

This web of darkness intercepted the lightning clones when they were halfway toward him. It served as both an obstructing wall and an impeding strap. It caught and slowed all the lightning clones, while eroding them in the process.

Unfortunately, the power of Di Ju’s Peak Overlord Stage prevailed over his dark web. The lightning clones flared brightly, frying the web into dust, before proceeding onward.

While Amon lost the power contest, he didn’t stop. His initial move only aimed to slow the enemy’s assault. His follow-up was the real move to stop the enemy. His Broken Justice shone brightly, and flashes of white light spread following his swing.

The flashes struck the lightning clones. Some were obliterated, but some persisted. Amon dealt with the remaining ones by spinning the glowing Broken Justice around him. With the Xian Chain, he could adjust his range, striking further away before shortening the range as the clones approached. The weakened clones couldn’t withstand the glowing Broken Justice. They burst apart after receiving a slash.

Amon sensed danger when he destroyed the last clone. He dodged backward as a huge lightning pillar shot at him from above.