Rise of The Demon General-Chapter 748. Managing the Farm

"Where do you think you are going?" Amon asked Jin Cheng.

Jin Cheng froze. His eyes were fixed on the six revolving knives that hovered before him. He couldn’t help but nervously imagine the knives lunging at him at any second.

"Come over here," Amon told him. "We have unfinished business with you."

Jin Cheng had no choice but to comply. His eyes, however, never left the flying knives, which followed him, keeping a constant distance from him.

"You, piece of shit!" Wi Yin slapped Jin Cheng after he arrived. Jin Cheng didn’t dare to fight back. He was also weaker than Wi Yin. He fell to the ground from the slap. Wi Yin proceeded to kick the guy, who could do nothing but take the beating.

"Yin, stop it...," Wi Zhuang said weakly. "He is also a victim. He did it because Lu Zou and Lu Men threatened him."

"Coward!" Wi Yin gave Jin Cheng another kick before he went to help his brother stand.

"Let’s go back up," Amon said. He told Jin Cheng, "You, follow us."

The four walked through the exit opposite from which Amon and Wi Yin entered. After several minutes, they came to a dead end. Amon moved to the side and gestured at Jin Cheng. Jin Cheng walked to the front and activated a secret mechanism on the wall. The dead end opened, revealing a basement filled with crates.

They walked up and came out of the mansion where Amon and Wi Yin met Lu Men the first time. Outside, they saw a scene of carnage.

"Boss," one of Amon’s crew greeted him.

When Amon went into the secret tunnel, his crew ambushed the bandits on the farm. Since most of their top fighters were underground, the remaining bandits up here stood no chance. Most were killed. Several surrendered and were kneeling in front of the mansion.

Amon nodded at them. He ordered, "Clear the bodies and secure the perimeter. We will stay here for a few days."

"Uh, a few days...?" Jin Cheng asked.

"Didn’t I say we have unfinished business?" Amon replied. "You submitted a mission request to the Mercy Faction to assist you in securing this farm. We have taken care of these bandits. Your farm is secured. Wouldn’t you say it is mission accomplished?"

"It’s... You are right. You have completed my mission request," Jin Cheng said.

"Good. Wi Yin, accompany him to our faction office in this town to report the mission’s result. In the meantime, we will use this mansion as our temporary base. Wi Zhuang can stay here and rest until he is strong enough to return with us."

"You heard the boss," Wi Yin kicked Jin Cheng’s butt and forced him to start walking.

*

Amon didn’t just spend his time there to let Wi Zhuang recuperate. He also purchased several low-tier runic-grade tools. Runic-grade items were treasures in Aetheria, but in this realm, they could be procured from the local markets, as long as someone had sufficient aer stones. This showed another massive difference between the lower world and Aetheria.

The runic-grade tools he bought were a bunch of metal collars. They were no normal collars. Words of power were engraved all over the collars’ surfaces.

Amon put these collars on all the bandits they apprehended. Once they were put on, they couldn’t be released except by the one who possessed the control talisman. If the wearer tried to remove the collar by force, it would explode, blasting his head in the process. If the person who possessed the control talisman willed it, he could also trigger the explosion. The collars were the restraining devices that the lower world developed to control prisoners.

With the devices in place, Amon forced the captured bandits to work or supervise the new workers drafted to work on the farm.

"We will be leaving tomorrow," Amon told Jin Cheng one day as they were making their round around the farm, inspecting the workers.

"Oh, so soon?" Jin Cheng asked. At first, he feared Amon and wished that he and his crew would leave. But after the past few days, Amon had demonstrated superb management skills. He had organized the hiring of new workers and decided how the work was distributed. He made detailed task lists and handed them to each worker. Everyone knew what they needed to do, and he had his crew ensure no one was slacking off.

It was not yet harvesting time, but Jin Cheng could see that the farm’s productivity would increase if they kept this pace. He wasn’t sure, though, if that would still be the case if Amon left

"Here," Amon offered Jin Cheng a bunch of talismans. Jin Cheng was confused at first, but he realized soon that they were the control talismans for the collars worn by the captured bandits. If he had these, he would have the power to keep the workers in line.

"Thank you, I..."

Amon moved his hand away when Jin Cheng was about to grab the talisman. "Do you think I did all this out of the goodness of my heart?" Amon asked.

"I... No, of course not. What do you want in exchange?" Jin Cheng asked.

"Half the spirit herbs produced by this farm must be delivered to me," Amon replied.

"Ha–Half...? How about I give you twenty percent of the profit?"

"Half," Amon did not budge.

"Thirty percent?"

Amon gave Jin Cheng a hard stare and repeated, "Half."

Jin Cheng knew then that this was not a negotiation. He nodded weakly, "Okay..."

"Hmph. If not for me, you won’t even have a farm left. Do you think a bandit like Lu Men will keep his word and share this farm’s profits with you? Most likely, he will keep you as a slave, if not outright kill you when he has no more use for you."

Jin Cheng shuddered after hearing Amon’s words. Now that he thought about his past interactions with Lu Men, he did think that would be what happened if Lu Men’s group had won. He felt grateful that it was not the case.

"Do I have to send the harvested spirit herbs. It will be a chore to carry everything. My space ring is not enough to carry everything. How about I sell them and give you half the profits?"

"No, I want the spirit herbs," Amon replied. "Don’t worry about how to transport. I will send people every half year for the task. You only need to prepare the goods."

"Very well, then," Jin Cheng nodded. Amon handed him the control talismans.

Jin Cheng seemed ecstatic after having the talismans in his hand. As they walked, Amon noticed Jin Cheng’s demeanor slowly changed. He walked more confidently, to the point of a swagger. As they were about to arrive back at the mansion and complete their round, they noticed one of the bandits with the exploding collar sitting leisurely. One of Amon’s crew members was nearby.

Seeing that, Jin Cheng strutted over. He kicked the sitting bandit. "What are you doing sitting here. Move your ass and get to work!"

"I’m taking a short rest!" The bandit talked back.

Jin Cheng gripped the bandit’s ear, treating him like a little kid. "You will rest when I tell you to rest. Now, get back out there!"

Jin Cheng kicked the bandit again. The bandit glared back but backed off after Jin Cheng showed the control talisman in his hand.

Jin Cheng turned to Amon’s crew member, who was nearby. He yelled, "And why the hell are you just standing there and letting him rest? It’s your job to put him in line."

"... He has been working for hours. He asked for only a five-minute rest. It’s not something unreasonable," the crew member replied.

"I will be the one who decides what is reasonable. You are nothing but a work dog. You don’t make the decisions. I do!"

Jin Cheng continued to yell at the crew member. The crew member’s hand reached for his weapon, but he relaxed his hand when he saw Amon behind Jin Cheng. Amon didn’t make any comment. His face remained expressionless.

After Jin Cheng was done, the crew member grunted and went away, following the bandit who was forced back to work. Jin Cheng turned and walked back toward the mansion. A satisfied expression was on his face.

"These low lives need to be taught a lesson once in a while to keep them in line," he said proudly.

He entered the mansion with Amon. Once the door was closed, Amon grabbed Jin Cheng’s neck, lifted him, propped him on the wall, and slapped his face one time.

"You are right. Some people require to be taught a lesson once in a while. You certainly fit that category," Amon told him.

Jin Cheng showed a terrified expression. He remembered again why he feared Amon.

"I guess this is your true personality," Amon told him. "A spoiled rich brat who used to command other people just to feel superior. You might have lost that persona when Lu Men stole your farm. Let me tell you right now, I don’t need that spoiled brat. What I need is someone who can take care of this farm, keep it operational, without incurring a riot from the workers. You can be stern, but do it to keep them in line, not because you enjoy it. If you can’t do this job properly, I will find another one who can. Do you want that?"