Rise of The Demon General-Chapter 680. An Invitation to Meet a Secret Backer
"Are you saying the Holy Mother did that to you?" Huang Er asked.
"You have truly met the Holy Mother?" Huang San also asked.
"Her name is Mu Qin," Amon told them.
"Absurd!" Hou Huang thundered. "If you have met the Holy Mother, you wouldn’t have been alive!"
"The empress is right! You are clearly lying to us!" Gu Wen exclaimed.
"General Amon, even I find that hard to believe," Hou Bang added.
"Hehe," Bo Wu continued to utter its eerie laugh. This only made Gu Wen’s irritation even worse. He shouted, "If anyone’s a demon, you should be one! Having that thing from the Lower World attached to you, only a silly person will believe you!"
"Mm..." Amon did expect such distrust. Unless he presented them with proof, it would be difficult to convince them. The easiest proof would be to find another demon and show them that Bo Wu could identify the demon, but where could he find one in such a short time? He couldn’t reveal his own secret now, could he?
He had been hoping that their desperation could persuade them to believe anything that might help them, but that didn’t seem to be the case. He saw no choice but to spend more time and effort arguing with them until they accepted that they had no choice but to try his solution.
However, before he resumed speaking, he noticed Sima Fang whispering something to Dim Loog’s ear. Farghous King’s expression changed after hearing the whisper. He turned to Sima Fang, who nodded to him. He then spoke loudly, "Everyone, maybe we should listen to General Amon’s proposal further."
Gu Wen turned to his king with a questioning face. "Your Majesty, you couldn’t have believed that ridiculous claim, could you?"
"Haha. What did you say about a silly person earlier?" Xan Chi ridiculed, which drew a scowl on Gu Wen’s face.
Dim Loog’s face turned red from the ridicule. He told Sima Fang, "You explain!"
Sima Fang cleared her throat. "Honoured rulers. I can’t say I agree with General Amon’s claim that the Holy Mother is a demon. I, however, have it on good authority that General Amon most likely has had contact with the Holy Mother."
"What is the basis of your belief?" Huang Ti asked Sima Fang.
"Because he mentioned her name," Sima Fang answered.
"Her name?" Hou Bang asked. "Right, he said something about it. What was the name again?"
"Mu Qin," Amon repeated.
"What’s so special about knowing the Holy Mother’s name? I bet everyone in Oredolia does," Gu Wen argued.
"On the contrary, almost no one in Oredolia knows, much less people from other countries," Sima Fang replied. "Only the Hierophant and a few trusted Cardinals know her name."
"Then how do you know he is telling the truth?" Gu Wen argued. "He could be telling us a random name. Since no one knows the truth, no one can tell if he lies as well."
"I know Mu Qin is the Holy Mother’s real name," Sima Fang stated.
Everyone looked at Sima Fang with a frown. Didn’t she just say that only a very small circle inside the Temple of Divinity knew the Holy Mother’s name?
"I understand everyone’s confusion," Sima Fang chuckled at the stares she received. "Considering the situation, I want to invite you all to meet someone."
"Who?" Hou Huang asked.
"My clan’s secret backer. Wait, I will send him a message first," Sima Fang took out a message talisman and wrote on it. The talisman turned to dust afterwards. She then continued, "Considering General Amon told the truth about meeting the Holy Mother, he could be right about the other claim as well. Think about it. If he is right, we can indeed use this to our advantage. No matter how much faith the temple followers have in the Holy Mother, they will abandon her if it is proven true that she is a demon." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
"Let’s say that General Amon’s claim is true," Huang Er said. "How are we going to prove it? No one is going to believe it simply because we tell them. Hell, I still haven’t believed it myself."
"That’s right," Hou Huang said. "If, and I say if, the Holy Mother is truly a demon, then she has an exceptional concealment art that no one has ever known to exist. It can conceal her infernal energy even when she discharges it."
"It doesn’t have to be an art," Huang Ti said. "It can be an artifact. I have heard mention of such an artifact from the records of ancient ruins."
"So, even if the claim is true, we must find a way to break her concealment," Hou Bang concluded.
"There is one method," Amon said. "I’ve read about a talisman with a powerful demon unveiling power. The Temple of Divinity used it often during an era where demon reports were rampant. It can remove disguises, concealments, and draw the demonic aura out of the person who possesses it. I, however, don’t know how to acquire or make one. I was hoping someone among you would."
"What you are referring to is the Demon Revealing Talisman," Sima Fang explained.
"Do you have it?" Amon asked.
"No, but I know it," Sima Fang said. "It is a high-tier runic talisman. I also don’t know how to make one, but the person I invited everyone to meet might. Speaking of which, I have just received a reply."
Sima Fang read the replied message. She then said, "He has agreed to meet us. Let’s go. The meeting will be at Dagger Valley."
"Right now?" Gu Wen asked.
"Yes. The person I want everyone to meet is available right now, so why wait?" Sima Fang replied.
"Why can’t that person just come here?" Gu Wen protested. He considered asking country leaders to move location to accommodate an unknown person to be inappropriate.
"You will understand when you meet him," Sima Fang said. "Trust me that meeting this person will benefit everyone."
"Dagger Valley... The place is rather close to Saint’s Rest. Are you sure it is safe?" Huang Er asked. "The people inside Saint’s Rest might react if they see a large force heading there."
"We won’t bring our force," Sima Fang replied. "The invitation to meet will only be for us twelve inside this tent."
"Your Majesty, it is too risky," Hou Bang told Hou Huang.
Dim Loog turned to Sima Fang before saying, "I trust her. It should be fine."
Gu Wen wanted to say something, but cancelled it since his King had spoken.
Hou Huang said, "The ones I’m worried about are the Holy Mother and the Hierophant. I don’t fear anyone else. Very well, since King Dim Loog dares to brave the risk, I will as well."
"If everyone goes, then we will too," Huang San said.
"Good. Let’s leave," Amon said.
*
Outside the tent, the rest of the other country leaders’ retinue stood waiting. Amid those who came with Huang San was Wu Di. As for the group that came with Amon, Xin Wuming stood among them.
Wu Di greeted Xin Wuming when Amon’s group arrived, but Xin Wuming ignored him. After that, the two just stood in silence side by side. Wu Di kept glancing at Xin Wuming, and Xin Wuming continued ignoring him.
After some time, Wu Di could no longer hold in his opinion, "Bloody hell, you are truly the worst! Can you please stop acting like we are strangers?"
"Don’t speak to me. I don’t speak to traitors," Xin Wuming stated.
"Ouch! You hurt my feelings, you know."
"You should be glad I hurt your feelings instead of your face."
"Man, why are you so angry. It is I who should be angry. Why do you insist on serving someone as bad as Amon?"
"You refer to him as General!" Xin Wuming exclaimed. "And how dare you call the general bad. He is the most competent and resourceful person I have ever met!"
"I don’t deny that, but he is still a bad person. Didn’t you already see how many bad things he committed?"
"Just because someone does something bad doesn’t make them a bad person," Xin Wuming uttered.
Wu Di made a face like he had just heard something unbelievable. He exclaimed, "That is the most nonsensical statement I have ever heard! Someone doing something bad is the entire parameter of defining a bad person!"
"Hmph! I can’t expect you to understand. You were never his true follower," Xin Wuming said. "Brother Amon is indeed merciless to others, but he is fair to his subordinates. You yourself have received many boons from him!"
"That’s true, but I can never accept the way he treats the innocents."
"Hmph! What about them? I don’t care about people whom I don’t know."
"Sigh... I guess this will always be the difference between us."
When Wu Di was still sighing, people came out of the main tent. The retinues who had been waiting outside immediately approached their respective leaders. To their surprise, they were told to stay here while those leaders flew away.
Amon gave Xin Wuming the same order. "Wait here," he said. He glanced at Wu Di before leaving his wheelchair and flying away with the others.
