Rise of The Demon General

"Watch your tongue, human!" Ublaith exclaimed. He also sat at the same round table. Krassazh was beside him.

The supreme leader was calmer. "It is not easy to alter the habit that comes from millennia of conditioning. My people feel more comfortable living underground. I’m not going to force them to do otherwise just for the sake of my pride. When they are ready to live under the sun, they will do so naturally."

"Not for your pride?" Amon chuckled. "Is that why there is no throne in this so-called throne room?"

"That is what you called this room. We never do. This is our main conference room, where we discuss important matters."

"I see, but I believe you are still the one who makes the decision for all the Hyanids?"

"Is that why you visit?" Krassazh asked. "You want me to decide on something that involves my people? Our deal is done, Amon. We don’t need to like each other or collaborate. So long as your people leave us alone and don’t bother us, we won’t have any trouble."

"I disagree, supreme leader," Amon replied with a grin. "Our collaboration is far from being over."

"We are not interested in playing your games, human. All we want is a land of our own. We have no ambition or greed for anything more. I was angry with you because you broke your promise and reduced the portion of land owed to us, but that’s fine. I agree that one-third of this lower world is enough for my race to live peacefully. So, let’s just let bygone be bygone. Do not draw us into the petty power struggle you humans like to partake in."

"The problem is that this petty power struggle will find you, whether you like it or not."

Ublaith wasn’t as patient as his father. He yelled, "What do you mean, human? Speak plainly!"

Amon wasn’t offended by the outburst. He calmly replied, "What I meant is that this peace you want, even if you keep to yourself in this territory and do not reach outside its boundaries, the outside world will come and cause trouble to you."

"As far as I know, the outside world is already under your control," Krassazh said. "I know that even that Unholy Monarch lady is under your control, so if the outside world comes to cause trouble for us, you are responsible for it."

"The outside world is bigger than you think, Supreme Leader," Amon said. "The outside world I am implying here is the one outside even the lower world."

"What are you talking about?" Ublaith asked. "Our knowledge about the outside world might be limited, but even we know that the people outside the lower world cannot freely come here."

"What is true now does not mean it will be true later. In case you don’t know, this lower world is an artificial one made by a cultivator in the far past. The fact that humans made this world meant that it had the potential to be altered by other humans. Sooner or later, someone with enough knowledge and power will find a loophole, and this has been proven in the past. You should know the ancient battleground’s history, where you perform the worthiness trials."

"... We have heard unconfirmed tales about it."

"If the tale you are referring to is where the Divine from the upper world battled the ruler of this lower world, then I can assure you that it is confirmed. I assume you are familiar with the Divine? He is the undisputed ruler of the upper world, who also influenced the surface world from behind the scenes."

"We have heard of him. Are you telling me that the Divine will visit this world again?"

"Not just a visit. He will invade with his force. He had already laid the groundwork for it."

"What are you talking about?"

Amon handed them the reports he had fabricated. Though it was fake, the details were extensive. It was the same fabricated evidence he had presented to Li Hong or anyone else who questioned him about the Divine’s intervention in the crisis that had plagued the lower world for the past few decades.

He knew that neither those people nor these Hyanids could prove the authenticity of his reports. They would have to send investigators and spend a lot of time to uncover the truth. Even then, they would never find conclusive evidence that opposes his reports, because most of the people from whom these reports were drawn had already died, and most of the places where these reports came from had been destroyed.

At the same time, Amon could also never verify the authenticity of his reports. Regardless, the reports were sufficient even if they were only to plant the ideas about the Divine’s threat, even if they could not be proven.

Krassazh and Ublaith talked among themselves using their clicking language as they studied the reports Amon presented. Amon let them. He waited patiently in silence.

After several minutes, Krassazh returned to using human language, and it seemed he called Amon’s bluff.

"While these reports are extensive, all of them are circumstantial and mostly are one-sided accounts. I don’t see them as concrete proof of the upper world’s involvement in this lower world."

"That’s a pity," Amon said. "But if you are unwilling to join this fight, I can’t force you. However, know that even without all the setbacks our lower world has suffered, we are still heavily inadequate to go up against the upper world’s force. The Hyanids’ power, combined with the Cryanids and the altered Hyanids’ number, should make up for our inadequacy. Since you are unwilling, sigh... I’m afraid I won’t be able to protect this lower world, at least not quickly enough before the upper world strikes."

Krassazh and Ublaith glanced briefly at one another. Ublaith said, "The struggle between human forces has nothing to do with us."

Amon sighed again. "I wish that were true. However, I think you should know what the Divine is like. You said you have heard of him, didn’t you? Then you should know what he is like. He is a perfectionist, a stickler for order and purity. All the persecutions of infernal cultivators that happened in the upper and surface worlds come from his order. The reason he hates infernal cultivators so much is that he considers the infernal cultivation path impure.

"If he learned about the existence of Hyanids, what do you think he would do? If you are a spirit beast, it is a different matter. However, you are half-human. I have every belief he will consider the Hyanids a violation of the natural order, even more so than infernal cultivators. He will never stand your existence and will do everything in his power to eradicate your kind. When he invades this lower world, and he will, your race will be his first target once he learns of your existence."

Ublaith made a loud clicking sound before uttering, "Don’t think you can scare us with that threat!"

Krassazh, on the other hand, was quiet. Amon understood his type. Even if Amon were truly bluffing, he wouldn’t afford to overlook it. He had the fate of his entire race on his shoulders. This had been his responsibility for almost as long as the Hyanids’ existence. He considered this responsibility his calling. Keeping the Hyanids safe and bringing them prosperity had been what gave his life meaning.

That’s why Amon’s warning, even if there was a decent chance that it was a bluff, was too risky to ignore. He was now comparing the risks between the two wrong decisions he could have made under the conditions. If Amon had indeed been bluffing and he had made the wrong decision of collaborating with Amon, he risked losing a good portion of the Hyanids’ fighting force for a cause that did not grant the Hyanids equal benefit. On the other hand, if the threat was real- that the upper world could invade this lower world- he risked losing everything if he refused to aid Amon.

Both options contained risks, but one was graver than the others. He cursed Amon in his mind. Amon handed them options rife with heavy losses if he made the wrong choice. Should he take a gamble and hope for the best?

Amon understood this. That’s why he didn’t respond to Ublaith’s scolding. He remained silent as Ublaith kept telling him that they would never cooperate with him. His eyes remained on Krassazh. He knew the lead Hyanid was struggling with indecision in his mind. Such was the burden of leaders. Their decisions affected the lives of many. Amon believed a leader such as Krassazh wouldn’t dare to gamble the fate of his entire race. The supreme leader would choose the option with the least potential losses.

Ublaith seemed to realize this as well when his father remained quiet even after he went into a tirade. He stopped speaking abruptly and turned to his father. He spoke using the Hyanid language.

Krassazh remained unresponsive.

This reaction shushed Ublaith. He stared at his father in disbelief. He already knew what his father would decide from his silence.

After a while, Krassazh glanced at Ublaith before turning to Amon. He said, "Tell me what your plan is to face the upper world. I wish to hear it first and decide how feasible it is before making any decision."

Amon grinned. "Fair enough. My offensive on the upper world will begin with the purge one and a half years from now."