Rise of The Demon General-Chapter 714. The World Ruler’s First Decree

The ones who could still move with sufficient freedom were Hou Huang and Xei Nuli. Peak Spirit Stage cultivators and Amon could also move, but with more difficulty. Other Spirit Stage cultivators could only move slightly, while Mystic Stage cultivators couldn’t move at all. Nearby civilians with lower cultivation had fallen to the ground and vomited blood. Those with the lowest cultivation died when their bodies exploded because they couldn’t endure the pressure.

Suddenly, the pressure was gone. Zhang Daofeng had retracted his aura. He slowly floated up, wearing a smug expression.

Everyone remained silent. They were still shocked by both the turn of events and the pressure Zhang Daofeng released. The first one to end the silence was Hou Huang. She exclaimed when Zhang Daofeng came up to her elevation, "Hierophant Zhang Daofeng, explain what is happening! Did you use us?"

Zhang Daofeng chuckled disdainfully. "Wasn’t what I said to the Holy Mother just now enough to explain what had happened? Are you so dumb that I need to repeat everything?"

"You...!"

Hou Bang grabbed Hou Huang’s arm before she did anything hasty. He said to her, "Your Majesty, we are here to stop the calamity. Now that the Holy Mother is defeated, we can search the temple for clues about it. Based on what the Hierophant said, he is not truly loyal to the temple. I believe he also doesn’t want this world to end, so he should let us search the temple."

Hou Bang directed his next word to Zhang Daofeng, "Right...?"

"Hehe...," Zhang Daofeng chuckled. "Did I not say that I don’t care about the calamity? Whatever it is, it doesn’t worry me. I am a Demigod now. I can leave for the upper world whenever I want."

"Then... do you mind if we enter the temple and search for the clues ourselves? We won’t trouble you."

"There is nothing I can think of that you can do to trouble me."

"Uh... Is that a yes or no...?" Hou Bang asked.

"No," Zhang Daofeng answered.

"Enough!" Hou Huang thundered. "You think you can play everyone like this and get away with it?"

"I can," Zhang Daofeng responded.

"Everyone!" Hou Huang exclaimed. "The Holy Mother is powerful, but we still defeat her by working together. Zhang Daofeng has deceived us. He promised to help us avert the calamity, but what he covets is personal ambition without a care for the world. Even if he is powerful, he is still human. Fight with me! Together, we will–"

Zhang Daofeng’s chakrams moved at lightning speed. Their speed was completely different from what it had been before. Before Hou Huang knew what happened, the two chakrams flew past her.

"Your Majesty...!!" Hou Bang screamed.

Hou Huang looked in shock at her two arms, which were no longer there. The two chakrams sliced her arms cleanly before she could do anything. While still in shock, she found that Zhang Daofeng’s ink brush had pierced his stomach.

"Hacckk...!" She vomited blood.

Zhang Daofeng grabbed her by the hair and forced her to look at him face-to-face. He said, "You know, I always despise you, nobility. Born with a golden spoon and act like you are better than everyone else. I used to be a citizen of Gyleth Marx. I left that place and joined the Temple of Divinity because I was treated like garbage there. Well, guess who is whose garbage now?"

He suddenly flew down while still grabbing Hou Huang’s hair. She was dragged and slammed to the ground, face-first.

"Everyone, save your empress...!!" Hou Bang exclaimed. He charged down together with the surviving Gyleth Marx’s soldiers.

"Hehe," Zhang Daofeng looked at them amusingly. He again released the previous suffocating aura. Gyleth Marx’s soldiers either stopped in their tracks or slowed down significantly. While they were incapacitated, Zhang Daofeng’s chakrams swept past them.

The two chakrams flew and released bursts of fire and water that were much more powerful than when Zhang Daofeng fought Mu Qin. Even when the chakrams didn’t hit a target directly, the flames still burned nearby soldiers to ashes, while the water drowned the soldiers by forcefully entering their lungs.

The two chakrams zoomed back and forth amid the petrified soldiers. The rate at which the soldiers were slain was faster than when they fought Mu Qin, and those soldiers couldn’t fight back like before. This was not surprising. The current Zhang Daofeng was more powerful than Mu Qin. He was now at the Beginning King Stage of the Demigod Realm, a being that had not existed in Aetheria for a long time.

"Flee!" Amon told Xan Chi and the others.

Sura Yao had rushed down with the other Gyleth Marx’s soldiers when her empress was attacked. Amon didn’t know if she was still alive. The intermingling of fire and water from Zhang Daofeng’s chakrams created a misty atmosphere that obscured perception. The aura inside the mist was also too chaotic. Not that Amon cared. Sura Yao was not his subordinate, anyway.

Zhu Yao grabbed Huang San and flew away with him. Dim Loog, who had been wounded by Zhang Daofeng’s surprise attack, was carried by his people. Everyone, except for Gyleth Marx’s soldiers, tried to flee the scene.

"Not so fast," Zhang Daofeng uttered.

His aura expanded. The fleeing soldiers felt their bodies become extremely heavy. They found it hard to move.

Amon used all available arts to buff his physical condition to break Zhang Daofeng’s influence by force. He succeeded for a few short seconds, but the pressure that affected him suddenly quadrupled. Not only that, but he also discovered that he was slowly losing altitude. He was forced to the ground by an invisible force.

He sensed Zhang Daofeng getting near. He looked back and saw that the Hierophant was looking directly at him while approaching. He knew then that he had been singled out. That’s why Zhang Daofeng’s aura pressing on him intensified.

"No one leaves, especially you," Zhang Daofeng said. His eyes remained on Amon. His hand was still gripping the helpless Hou Huang by the hair.

"Did I offend you in any way?" Amon asked.

"Yes. You hurt my great-great-granddaughter," Zhang Daofeng answered. He lifted his arm and swung it down.

Amon was slammed by an invisible force from above and sent crashing into the ground below.

"Ugh... Shit," Amon cursed as he tried getting back up, but the intense pressure fell on him again.

Zhang Daofeng tossed Hou Huang to Amon’s side. His chakrams returned to his side. By then, most of Gyleth Marx’s soldiers were slain. A few who still survived were wounded. Hou Bang and Sura Yao were among these survivors. They remained where they were. They were too weak to do anything.

Zhang Daofeng looked around before making an announcement. His voice reverberated throughout Saint’s Rest and continued for miles outside the city. "Everyone! I am now the strongest being in this world, which makes me the authority figure. I am your king, your emperor, your God! I can ascend to the upper world, but why should I? I like it here. Perhaps I will go there when the calamity strikes. We will see. For now, my words are your command. You will bow to me and do everything I say, unless of course, you prefer to die. That is fine, too."

He stopped and surveyed everyone, checking if anyone wanted to object.

When no one did, he resumed his speech, "Since I am now the world ruler, I demand that everyone come and show their respects. Spread my decree to the world. All nobles, clans, or sects must send their leaders. They must come to the Temple of Divinity and swear their allegiance to me. Of course, they must present me with a suitable tribute as well. I will give them time until the end of this month. Any organization that doesn’t show up and pay its respect, well, I will pay them a visit instead. The day that I do will also be the last day they exist in this world.

"As for the nobles who are already here: The ones from the armies that assaulted this city, or the ones from this city. I invite you all to my temple. I insist! I will be disappointed if you don’t. Do not disappoint me. You won’t like it when I’m disappointed. Hey, I’m not a bad person. As long as you play nice and show respect, I can be nice to you. So, do your best to earn my favor, eh? Hahahaha...!"

No one dared to utter a sound to object.

Zhang Daofeng finally looked down again. "As for the two of you..."

He stretched his hand. His two chakram flew above Amon and Hou Huang. The chakrams began to revolve around one another.

"You are not invited," Zhang Daofeng said with an evil grin.

"Tch!" Amon did two things during the split second before Zhang Daofeng acted. The first thing was storing his ceremonial dagger and Xian Cloth in his black space ring. The second was taking a pill out of his black space ring and swallowing it.

Zhang Daofeng saw Amon’s action. He was at first confused, but decided he didn’t care. The two chakrams spun faster. A yin-yang symbol appeared following their spinning. Torrents of fire and water burst down from the symbol. They formed a hurricane of mixed elements. This hurricane descended upon Amon and Hou Huang.

No one could do anything to stop it.

After half a minute, Zhang Daofeng called his chakrams back. The fire and water hurricane ended. Amon and Hou Huang were no more. What was left were broken pieces of Hou Huang’s armor, whip, and Amon’s Jue body suit. Beside the broken equipment was Amon’s tattooed left arm and his black space ring.