Rise of The Demon General Chapter 936. The Arrival of the Inquisitors

After Amon entered the rift, Mo Wang commanded the battle puppets that carried the Aether Absorption Machine to follow him. The machine never stopped humming during the travel. It continued absorbing the surrounding aether.

Mo Wang headed west, where the lower world’s portal was located. He saw the lower world’s forces were already ready by the time he arrived. Several hastily built fortifications surrounded the region. These fortifications were engraved with various defensive words of power.

The Hyanids had also arrived, bringing with them the Cryanid swarm. The Cryanids patrolled the outer rim of the fortifications, serving as expendable sentries.

Yao Ai welcomed Mo Wang on his arrival. She led him to the prepared spot near the river where the lower world’s portal was. The Aether Absorption Machine was placed there. Words of power were engraved on the ground. They provided a protective barrier to shield the machine from stray energies in case a battle broke out nearby. Ten mammoth stage cultivators stood around it, prepared to grab it and bring it into the portal at a moment’s notice.

Mo Wang commended Yao Ai on her defensive preparations, but Yao Ai confessed that she didn’t deserve the praise. The defensive setup was organized by someone Amon had appointed as her consultant before he left.

"A surface worlder?" Mo Wang asked.

"Yes. She is a weak woman whose cultivation level is only at the Peak Mystic Stage," Yao Ai answered. "Her name is Sima Fang."

"Though weak, she has proven useful in different ways. The general always has an eye for talent. Tell me. How does it feel to serve him?"

"Hmph! It’s not like I do it willingly," Yao Ai spat.

"The explosive device in your head?" Mo Wang asked.

"Can you take it out?" Yao Ai asked, hopeful.

Mo Wang shook his head. "Without knowing where exactly the device is planted, the risk is too high. As you said, he can detect it if someone opens your head. He may activate the explosion before I find and remove the device."

"Sigh... I heard that the Sima Fang lady is the same as me. Amon planted a similar device in her head."

"Really? I thought she was his friend. Then again, I would sooner believe a man like him to have enemies than friends. He must have valued her enough to go through the trouble of implanting the device. She should feel honored."

Yao Ai made a self-deprecating laugh and said, "Should I feel honored as well?"

Mo Wang shrugged. "Be ready. I doubt everything will go smoothly until the Aether Absorption Machine completes its task."

*

Mo Wang was on point. The seal he placed on the upper world portal broke apart five days after it was sealed. Out of the portal, a group of cultivators emerged. They all wore white robes similar to those worn by Tian Kuo, Guo Fen, and Xian Ta, except that a layer of thick battle armor was atop the robe.

They looked around and were alarmed to see the carnage. Amon and Mo Wang never bothered to clean up, so the corpses of the upper world cultivators they had slain remained lying around the place.

After looking around the place, these cultivators reported to their leader, "Lord Inquisitor, everyone is dead. We can’t find any survivors."

The Lord Inquisitor was a man named Zheng Chun. His cultivation was at the Intermediate Heavenly God Stage of the Divine Realm, which was only one stage below the True God Stage. In theory, his cultivation power was close to Mo Wang’s.

"No wonder we couldn’t contact anyone who came here. They are all dead, but the more important issue is the Aether Absorption Machine. Does anyone see it?"

His subordinates looked at one another before replying, "No, My Lord. We don’t locate it anywhere."

Zheng Chun took out a small device. It was round and had a needle that pointed in a certain direction, like a compass.

"The machine should be in that direction," Zheng Chun pointed to where the needle was pointing.

One of his subordinates jeered. "The thieves must not have thought that we put a tracking enchantment on the machine. They will sorely regret this when we find them."

"Still, who in this surface world can steal the machine? I thought everyone here had cultivation below the Demigod Realm?"

"The thieves might not be people from this surface world," Zheng Chun said. He pointed again in the same direction. "Don’t you realize what is there in that direction?"

"That... Is it where the lower world portal is?"

Zheng Chun nodded.

"The lower world has betrayed us? How dare they!"

"No wonder we received no reply when we demanded that they explain what was going on when we couldn’t contact our people."

Zheng Chun took to the sky. "Hmph! Whether they are all in on it or it is a stray faction from the lower world, they will not escape punishment. I, Zheng Chun, the Lord Inquisitor appointed by the Divine itself, will bring His wrath upon the heretics who have committed the ultimate sin of opposing His will. My inquisitors, follow me to deliver these sinners the divine punishment!"

"For the Divine...!!" The others exclaimed as they flew into the sky.

*

Due to the urgency, Zheng Chun split his troops into two. The first group was only one-tenth the size of the second. Even so, Zheng Chun believed this force was enough to retrieve the Aether Absorption Machine.

The first group consisted of cultivators at the Sovereign God Stage of the Divine Realm and the Ancestor Stage of the Demigod Realm. The second group comprised those with cultivation levels at the King Stage and Emperor Stage of the Demigod Realm.

The first group numbered only ninety-three cultivators. Nine were at the Sovereign God Stage, while the rest were at the Ancestor Stage. The Sovereign God Stage was equivalent to the Unholy Monarch Stage of the infernal cultivation path. In other words, these nine cultivators were at the power level of the lower world’s domain lords.

The group split so the higher-level cultivators wouldn’t have to slow down too much to match the weaker cultivators’ pace. Zheng Chun led the first group. They left the second group behind. Time is of the essence. If the Aether Absorption Machine were lost, there would be hell to pay.

*

The inhabitants of the surface world had scattered when the upper-world cultivators clashed with the lower world’s forces. The rulers of the four countries already knew from the start that Amon was using them as bait so that the lower world’s forces could get a jump on the upper world. This fact was immediately realized by most after the incident.

The civilians who had followed the migration order lost their trust in their sovereigns. Many decided to split and find a hiding place away from the others. The four country rulers also ordered their forces to move away from Khode’s western region. The lower world forces remained there and showed no intention of protecting them. Hence, they had no reason to stay.

Though they moved away, some curious ones decided to stay in the vicinity. With the lower world’s forces remaining stationary and building fortified defenses, it could only mean one thing. The conflict hadn’t ended yet. There would be more clashes.

The nation’s rulers had heard the details of the Purge from Amon. They knew that if this Purge had proceeded normally, they would be in the midst of becoming extinct by now. Hence, they hoped this conflict would be prolonged, and the lower world’s forces would come out on top. Though they dreaded the thought of being ruled by the lower world’s demons, it was still better than being exterminated.

Among the curious ones who watched the lower world’s forces from a distance was the King of Farghous, Dim Loog. The result of this conflict determined the fate of his country, of this world. He must know how it went. The first clash had ended with the lower world’s victory thanks to the ambush. He prayed that the next clash would end the same.

This second clash came six days after the first clash. The opponents the lower world’s forces faced were much fewer than the first. They numbered only around a hundred. Seeing the upper world’s number, Dim Loog was hopeful. This would be a repeat of the first clash. Yet, the result couldn’t be any more different.

Each of the hundred was a force of nature. One wave of their hands created a tidal wave of energy. This energy could level mountains. All the Cryanid Flies that served as the lower world’s first layer of defense were wiped out as soon as the energy waves hit them.

Even the enchanted fortifications meant little. They might as well be non-existent. The upper world’s cultivators cut through the defenders with little effort. The first layer of defense crumbled without harming or slowing the attackers.

The stray energies unleashed by the upper world’s cultivators flew everywhere. They landed far away and killed the surface world’s folks who watched from afar. Seeing that, Dim Loog decided to leave. Losing his life over curiosity wasn’t worth it. But from the look of it, their future looked bleak. He didn’t think the lower world had a chance to win this battle.