Rise of The Demon General

"Hm…" Amon gave the matter a thought.

"Even if you cannot get three, you should at least get two with your two hands. One for me and one for you. What do you say?"

Amon didn't respond.

Lei San continued, "this mandrake can be said to be the true purpose for the youths that enter this dimension. As you know, everything we take from this place will be confiscated by the White Cloud sect once we leave. While there are spirit herbs and fruits here that we can consume to increase our cultivation, the time we spent here is too short. A few months of consumption won't give much effect. The Thousand-Year Mandrake, on the other hand, is something that you can consume and its effect will last your entire life. It is what every young cultivator is willing to die for.

"This dimension has been secretly known as the place that has plenty of these mandrakes. That's why many clans and even the White Cloud sect made this compass. The needle was made from the stem of a Thousand-Year Mandrake that was harvested before. This stem was attracted to the nearest living Thousand-Year Mandrake, so it can be used to locate the next mandrake. However, a Thousand Year Mandrake rarely had a stem, so each of these compasses was a valuable commodity for those who enter this place.

"That's why almost every reputable clan that managed to enter this place, was told to search for these mandrakes. This was their priority before accumulating other treasures to be given to the White Cloud sect in exchange for points."

Amon understood now why neither Lin Weida nor Lin Bubai explained to him about these mandrakes. The benefit would only be for himself, the Lin clan won't get any if it was Amon who discovered the mandrakes since he was still considered an outsider. Better to let their direct descendants such as Lin Fen and Lin Cang the opportunity.

"Do you need to think for so long to give me an answer?" Lei San asked.

"All right, I will do it," Amon said. "How do I know when you will use your secret art?"

"You just need to watch my art," Lei San said as he offered his hand for a handshake. "I hope our cooperation is successful."

Amon simply stared at Lei San's hand without offering his.

Lei San kept his smile as he retracted his hand. He then took out a small round object from his Space Ring. "This is a Repellant Smoke Bomb. It creates thick smoke that spread out and will repel most spirit beasts. Once you get the mandrake, you will have a higher chance of escaping if you use this. The smoke will cover you and it will also drive the remaining snakes away, so you can make a quick getaway."

"Why you didn't just use that smoke bomb yourself to get the mandrakes?" Amon asked.

"First, they have already seen me in this group. The White Cloud will give my Lei clan a series of troubles if they knew I take the mandrakes out of their youths' hands."

"And I won't have that problem?" Amon asked.

"I'm sure you bring something that covers your identity when you do the snatching. No one is aware that you are here aside from me. As long as you are not caught, then there should be no problem. The second reason, you will need to see the mandrakes clearly when you pluck them out. If you use the Repellant Smoke Bomb before that, you won't be able to."

"Why would I need to see the mandrakes?"

"When being pulled out, the Thousand Year Mandrake will utter a shrill cry that can paralyze most creatures. You should prepare something to plug your ears for that. After the cry, the mandrake will detach itself from its stem and flower before attempting an escape. You have to pay attention to the direction where its shrieking mouth is pointing because that's the direction it will bolt to. You have to catch it just as it is detaching itself. If you fail to catch it as it detached, you will have very little chance of catching it. It is very fast, not to mention there will still be those young Ethereal Bronze-skinned Snakes around the place, not to mention the other youths. You won't be able to chase after it. Once it is gone, the mandrake will look for another secluded and safe place to burrow itself and grow another flower again."

"I see. That is very useful information. Any other things I should be aware of about the mandrake? What about after I have the mandrake? Can I just eat it raw?" Amon asked.

"You can. In fact, that is the only way to eat it. Doing anything else to it will reduce its potency," Lei San said. His hand extended again to offer Amon the Repellant Smoke Bomb.

"How about what the mandrakes looked like? How do I identify them inside the snakes' nest?"

"The mandrakes have large purple flowers above them. The sides of the flower have red lines. It is very distinctive. There should be no other flower inside that nest."

"All right, we will follow your plan," Amon said and received the bomb. "I will try to get all three if possible. If not, then I will get at least two. You have my words that I will give one to you."

"I'm glad to hear it," Lei San said. "I will return. If I am gone for too long, they might get suspicious. They planned to do it at dawn. When the young snakes are still sluggish. You should prepare by then."

"I will," Amon said.

*

The next morning, before the sun rose. The thirteen youths prepared themselves to raid the nest of the Ethereal Bronze-skinned Snakes for the mandrakes.

Pai Wuci was organizing the operation. He had one of the White Sect youth go someplace away. That youth was the one in charge of placing the bait to lure the snakes away.

The bait was scented meat. This scented meat had been prepared by the White Cloud sect's cooks and alchemists. It carried a strong particular scent that the Ethereal Bronze-skinned Snakes found hard to resist once they smell it.

White Cloud sect was the organization that had explored this dimension the longest. They had not yet explored all the corners of this dimension nor did they encounter all the spirit beasts that existed here. But the ones they did, they had studied and devised the strategies and tools to deal with them. Pai Wuci carried with him all sorts of these tools and baits. Luckily for these youths, these Ethereal Bronze-skinned Snakes were one of those known beasts.

Pai Wuci arranged the remaining twelve youths here. They spread out and prepared to take action.

They had taken positions as close to the nest as possible. From the distance, they saw the countless snakes coiling on top of each other. These snakes didn't turn invisible until they left their nest to hunt.

Not long after, they saw the Ethereal Bronze-skinned Snakes start reacting. One by one, the snakes left. As their bodies slithered out from the nest, the furthest one started to become transparent. As they moved further, they were completely invisible.

Pai Wuci gave the sign to hold when he saw some of the youths become restless. They needed to wait until the adults were far away. They needed sufficient time to deal with the young snakes. The White Cloud sect's boy who had taken the bait would be moving the bait further in an interval. Therefore, pulling the adults further and further.

When Pai Wuci thought that it was long enough. He gave the go sign.

Everyone came out of their hiding ground. Those that had long-range weapons or arts initiated the assault. The young snakes which were slithering or resting lazily in the nest were greatly startled by the ambush. They hurriedly spread out as the attacks wounded them. There were nearly fifty of them.

The next to attack were those who possessed fire element arcane arts. The Ethereal Bronze-skinned Snakes were of the metal element and fire was strongest against this element.

All four of the White Cloud sect's youths possessed these fire element arcane arts. They were the top organization in White Cloud city, so it made sense that they possessed the most number of arts. The first round of assault resulted in six young snakes being killed.

The snakes didn't just wait to be slaughtered. Although they were still young, they fought ferociously. They didn't have venom. And since they couldn't yet turn invisible, their edge came from their strength. Their scales although not yet as tough as the adults, were still tough enough to endure most attacks. Only those with the fire element could truly hurt them easily.

One of the clan youths got reckless. He became too heated in the attack and advanced too far. He got himself surrounded by three snakes. As he realized his blunder, he tried to escape. But one of the snakes swung its body and hit him by the side. Another took the chance and coiled around his body.

He tried to fight the snake off while calling desperately for help. However, the others were too busy fighting or simply didn't care. He felt the snake that wrapped around his body start to tighten. Soon, he heard the sound of his bones breaking. It took a second before the pain seeped in. He screamed. The scream soon ended when the snake tightened the grip on his head and shattered his skull.