Rise of The Demon General

Inside Council Pylon, the tallest tower in Dabao City, a battle was taking place inside a room specifically built for training or sparring. Currently, two beings were fighting one another. One was a human, and the other was a large automaton comprised of metal and circuitry.

The human was Zee Min, one of Khode’s five high councilors. Her weapon of choice remained the mechanical gauntlets as before, except that they had been upgraded. She had activated her mechanical armor’s augmenting function, boosting her power and speed. Even so, she could only fight her opponent to a draw.

"Alright, stop it!" Zee Min exclaimed as she disengaged from the bout.

As she did, her opponent, a battle puppet, stopped moving.

"What do you think? It is impressive, isn’t it?" Zhong Yuan, who had been watching the fight from the side, uttered.

"It certainly is. Though I should have been able to defeat it if I had used my arts," Zee Min said.

"I also haven’t instructed it to use its weapons," Zhong Yuan said, which made Zee Min lift her eyebrows. "I installed a few powerful weapons in it. If you had used your arts, I would have given it the order to do so as well, but I’m glad you didn’t. That kind of all-out fight can easily end with either you being wounded or it being damaged."

"Yeah. Don’t need to go that far. This is just a test fight, and I must say you have outdone yourself. You are finally able to recreate another battle puppet on par with a Lord Stage cultivator."

"Yeah, those high-tier runic puppets I made for Amon were built using materials he provided. I don’t know where he got those power sources, but I can finally build one of my own. Given time, I should be able to build more. With them, Khode can become the most powerful nation in Aetheria."

"This will also secure your position in the High Council," Zee Min said. "You know how much those two coots want to push you out of the seat. Their organizations aren’t afraid of getting their hands dirty for power."

"Do you seriously think they are the ones who had assassinated Zue Siao?" Zhong Yuan asked.

When Amon reformed Khode’s High Council, the five members were Zee Min, Zhong Yuan, Hong Zi, Ha Velet, and Lin Xiaolong. Lin Xiaolong was expelled after he openly assaulted Echos’ army, which resulted in the death of their king, Huang San. Zue Siao was chosen as his successor, thanks to Zee Min and Zhong Yuan’s recommendation, with the support of the majority of Khode’s citizens.

Hong Zi and Ha Velet, on the other hand, were unhappy with the decision. They both wanted their organizations, the Vagrant Sect and the Charger Guild, to have another member in the High Council. Zue Siao had been murdered recently. The suspicion fell on these two organizations, but no proof had been found.

"I have tasked our officers to investigate, but I’m not confident," Zee Min said. "Thanks to Hong Zi and Ha Velet, the Vagrant Sect and Charger Guild have implanted their agents deep in our administration. I don’t know who I can trust. Anyway, until we know the truth, you should remain in this tower as you always do. They won’t be able to do anything to you with the security here."

"Well, I guess my solitude habit saved my life. Don’t worry, I have lots of things to keep me busy in this tower. I have no plan of venturing out anytime soon. You are the one who should be careful."

"Hah! Let’s see if they dare to come for me. I will welcome the opportunity to capture them and get to the bottom of it!"

"Well, I guess even they won’t dare to challenge a Lord Stage cultivator like you. Hey, that gives me an idea. How about I use myself as bait? When they show up, I will use this High-tier Runic battle puppet to capture them?"

"I advise against such risk," Zee Min said. "This battle puppet is durable, but you are not. They may use their number to catch you from a blind spot."

"Yeah. You are right. I’m not a fighter. I will take your advice and stay inside this tower. By the way, have you thought about who to recommend for Zue Siao’s replacement? If we don’t pick someone soon, the Vagrant Sect or Charger Guild will get what they want. They have been pushing the public to support their candidates for the fifth High Councilor."

"I won’t let them. It’s a pity there is no capable candidate from the Zue Clan."

"What about General Zue Du? We can be assured he will act in Khode’s best interests."

Zee Min shook her head. "If we appoint him, that means two members of the High Council come from the military. That won’t be good. It will be no different from having the Vagrant Sect or Charger Guild getting two spots on the council."

Zhong Yuan shrugged. "You may be the only one who bothers to play by the rules here."

"Following the rules is what differentiates us from the unlawful. In terms of a candidate, my best hope is picking someone from the Xuang Clan. However, this clan has distanced itself from Khode’s government after Xuang Feng’s fall. I will try to see if I can persuade them to..."

Their discussion was interrupted by a loud alarm.

"What the hell happened?" Zee Min asked.

"Let me check," Zhong Yuan uttered. He ran to the side of the room filled with many control panels. He tapped some of the buttons on the panel, and the screen above it came alive.

"Something has breached this city’s protective barrier," Zhong Yuan said as he watched the screen. It showed the sky above Dabao City where the barrier had been broken. Something small was flying through the hole in the barrier. Zhong Yuan tried to zoom in on the thing, but it was too fast. Before he could get a close look, the thing had flown into the mushroom-shaped top of the Council Pylon.

"What the hell was that?" Zee Min asked.

"I don’t know... but from a glimpse, it looks like a human... if a human has a tail," Zhong Yuan answered. "And it is upstairs."

"Can we see the Council Room from here?"

"I can’t. We agreed to have that room free of surveillance. Just in case someone tries to tap into our system and eavesdrop on our meetings."

"It’s my turn now to regret that you are also someone who plays by the rules. So, we don’t know what the hell is up there."

The two looked up, unsure what to expect. They thought there would be rumblings of the thing causing havoc above, but everything was quiet.

After several seconds of silence, Zhong Yuan finally said, "I will call security to gather above. I will send my battle puppets first. They will apprehend any unwanted intruders."

"Alright. I will go up as well to check it out," Zee Min said.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Zhong Yuan asked. He sounded nervous.

"I am the strongest cultivator in this country. If I can’t deal with it, no one can," Zee Min answered. Her tone didn’t sound less anxious. "Anyway, I must go up to make sure."

"If it is something you can’t handle, run. We will think about our options based on what you learn."

Zee Min nodded. "Wish me luck, partner."

"I will give you something better. Take this High-tier Runic puppet with you. If it is too dangerous, sacrifice it to cover your escape."

"I am touched. I know how valuable this thing is to you," Zee Min said.

"Not as valuable as you," Zhong Yuan replied.

There was a meaningful exchange of gazes between them, but both tried not to dwell on it. They turned away and did their own things. Zee Min flew out of the room with the High-tier Runic puppet, while Zhong Yuan sent commands to the tower’s security through his control panel.

The training room wasn’t too far from the top. Zee Min saw the crowd of battle puppets who rushed ahead of her. She saw them enter the Council Room and heard several brief clanking sounds. It was silent soon after.

’Have they apprehended whatever is up there?’ She asked in her mind.

She soon dashed past the entrance to the Council Room. What she saw shocked her.

Scores of battle puppets, none with intact bodies, were scattered around the room. The most shocking thing was that there was no sign of battle. The floor, the pillars, and the ceiling were perfectly fine. There were not even scratches. Whatever destroyed these battle puppets limited the damage only to those puppets, without touching any other things inside the room, and from the sounds she heard outside, the altercation occurred very briefly.

From the quick survey, her eyes landed on something standing in the middle of the puppet wreckage. It was a humanoid being, but not a human. It was covered in red armor and had a long tail. The only exposed parts were its head and hands. The skin of these exposed parts was rough and dark. Its eyes were completely black, and it had six small horns atop its bald head.

When the creature turned to her, she had a strange feeling as if she had seen it before.

The creature grinned at her. It then spoke, "General Zee Min, I’m glad that you remain this country’s High Councilor. This should ease things up."