Rise of The Demon General Chapter 969. Digging an Underground Room

After the resistance movement members left, Amon didn’t immediately begin destroying the crime scene. Instead, he summoned many altered beasts, which filled almost the whole room.

Dao Su created these altered beasts at Amon’s request. They were not calibrated for battle. They were maximized for one purpose only: burrowing. Dao Su made these altered beasts using the Cryanids as their core components. Through Amon’s alliance with the Hyanids, he had no problem securing many live Cryanids for Dao Su. Dao Su used the Cryanids, which were already excellent burrowing beasts, and combined them with parts of other spirit beasts with burrowing abilities.

The altered beasts went to work at once. They dug a hole at the center of the basement. The other beasts lined up behind the ones digging the hole and poured in once the hole was made. Underground, they spread and made a large cavity.

Amon opened the portal box and called Dao Su and Yeresdyx. They were to oversee the altered beasts’ work. He wanted a sturdy cavern underground. Though Yeresdyx wasn’t a construction specialist, she was still a Hyanid who had grown accustomed to underground complexes. She would know how to instruct the altered beasts to dig a stable cavern. Dao Su was there to relay her instructions to the altered beasts.

While the two monitored the altered beasts’ work, Amon went around the secret tunnels and planted explosive talismans. He chose spots that would maximize yield and complicate the work of those who wished to reopen the tunnels.

Afterward, he sneaked up to the factory above the basement. A few guards were there, but the factory was mostly deserted at night. He stayed out of sight and planted multiple fire talismans at critical spots.

He didn’t activate the talismans immediately after completing the task. He entered the underground cavern the altered beasts had made and assessed the situation.

It was only a while, but the altered beasts had dug up a decent-sized cavern. He didn’t need a large space for his purpose. After half a night of work, he declared that the size was enough and sent all the altered beasts back to his black space ring.

He then called Zee Whang and Duan Jang, while sending Dao Su and Yeresdyx back into the prison box. Zee Whang carried several large arching pillars using his Neo Supreme Puppet. Duan Jang constructed these pillars in advance. Together, they placed the pillars around the dug cavern. Once done, they activated the words of power engraved on the pillars.

"Are you sure this is strong enough to support all the weight that is about to come down?" Amon asked.

"Absolutely!" Zee Whang stated.

"I hope so," Duan Jang answered.

The two replied at the same time. Zee Whang glanced at Duan Jang irritably for his pessimistic response.

"Well, let’s find out then," Amon said.

Duan Jang hurriedly said before Amon remotely activated the talismans he had planted. "Uh, you two might be okay, but if the ceiling crumbled, I would die. Can I go back to my workshop first?"

"Get here, you wimp!" Zee Whang grabbed Duan Jang and shoved him under his Neo Supreme Puppet. His puppet would shield Duan Jang if the ceiling fell.

Amon activated the planted talismans then. They heard distant explosive sounds as the earthquake shook the room.

Outside, the factory went up in flames. When the basement exploded, the building lost its foundation and collapsed. The rubble continued to burn. The commotion drew the attention of almost the whole city. The Holy Temple members immediately sent deacons and initiates to douse the fire and check the damage.

When the factory above collapsed, the cavern under it remained standing. The supporting pillars with their engravings could withstand the force from above.

"Good," Amon said after the earthquake receded. He did not doubt the structure above remained burning, but it should no longer pose any danger to them down here. "Get to work."

Zee Whang went back into the prison box and took out a large device. It was one of the eleven devices Amon secured from Mu Qin’s vault. However, additional contraptions had been attached to it. Zee Whang installed the device at the cavern’s center.

"Have you changed the way to activate it?" Amon asked. "Zhang Daofeng once told me that one needs to perform a ceremony to activate it."

"I have read the notes that came with this device. The ceremony involves cultivators performing it. Those who will no doubt perish with this thing. Too inefficient. I have added a mechanism to activate it with a flip of this switch. It must be done manually, though. So, you must leave someone here to do it."

"Easily fixed," Amon said and placed a battle puppet next to the switch.

Amon looked around, making sure everything was in order. After he was satisfied, he said, "Okay, this should be enough... Before we leave, Zee Whang, I have an assignment for you."

"Sure you do," Zee Whang said sarcastically.

Amon showed Lei Xiang’s necklace, which held the revealing artifact.

"Hm..." Zee Whang used his Neo Supreme Puppet to scan the necklace. He commented, "Its pendant is pretty complex."

"Its craftsmanship is also very well done," Duan Jang joined in.

Amon explained, "This pendant can detect the use of mental power and infernal energy in the vicinity. It can also be activated to forcefully reveal someone who possesses such powers. I want you to see if you can develop a method to block its sensing ability."

"Mm... Very well." Zee Whang picked up the necklace. At least this assignment is interesting, he thought.

"I want to study it as well," Duan Jang uttered.

"Take a number," Zee Whang said.

"Work on it together. Two minds are better than one," Amon said.

"I disagree. I don’t work together. You can have it once I’m done with it," Zee Whang insisted.

"Suit yourselves. Let’s leave," Amon said.

Zee Whang and Duan Jang returned to the prison box. Amon used a talisman. It was a long-range teleportation talisman Mo Wang supplied him. It paired with another talisman, which he placed inside his room in the inn. He teleported there, then waited for morning.

*

In the morning, he and several other mind practitioners went to the Ironlit District. The incident from last night had caused many people to go there to see what was going on. The fire had died down. Holy Temple members had cordoned off the area, so the general public could only watch from a distance.

The destroyed factory was not the only cordoned-off area. Other nearby sites were, too. These were where the secret tunnels passed, which Amon had blown up. The ground caved in from the explosion. Any buildings above also collapsed into the ground.

Amon had the mind practitioners spread out to read the minds of the Holy Temple members on site.

The Holy Temple members kept telling the crowd to disperse, but the crowd never truly disappeared because different people kept coming out of curiosity. After mingling with the crowd for an hour, Amon told his crew to return to the inn. There, they told Amon their findings.

The Holy Temple members found evidence that the incident wasn’t natural but had no clues linking it to either Amon or the resistance members. They thought it had something to do with the case Inquisitor Lei Xiang was investigating, but they couldn’t be sure. They had been trying to contact the inquisitor, but with no result so far.

Inquisitor Lei Xiang submitted a report that she planned to head to this area last night. She had requested a team of priests and deacons to aid her. That team was also nowhere to be found.

The Holy Temple members present weren’t privy to what Inquisitor Lei Xiang was investigating. All they knew was someone had been detained and questioned. That person was the owner of the burnt-down factory. They didn’t understand why the person who had lost his property became the suspect, but as Holy Temple members, they had learned not to question their superiors.

"Good. It seems they still haven’t concluded that Inquisitor Lei Xiang is dead," Amon said after hearing the reports. "I was afraid they would lock this city down to perform a thorough investigation. In that case, we must hurry and leave before they do."

"What about your Citizen Crest?" Nao Dou asked.

"I am working on that. You people should get ready. Whether I get the crest or not, you will leave at noon."

"Alright," Nao Dou nodded. He preferred this. He was never comfortable being inside a settlement, especially after the mess Amon caused last night. He was shocked when he learned about what had happened earlier this morning. He wondered if the rest of the ten-year service he promised Amon would be as wild as this. If it was, he wasn’t sure if his heart could take it.

He decided not to dwell on the matter. He organized everyone and prepared to leave.