Rise of The Demon General

With a group of thirty-one youths under his command, Amon thought he should be able to make a wave now. Lin Gai was still at the side, unsure of what he should do. He had openly opposed Amon taking command, so it would be awkward to join now. Yet, he didn't dare to venture away on his own again.

Amon first asked them about their martial arts and arcane arts. Most of the youths here had similar cultivation level, so the ones that made a difference was their arts. He didn't need the details, there was no time for that. he simply asked them about the arts they were most proud of, categorized into defensive, melee offense, and range offense. Some point out their art can be both melee offense and defense, others point out their best art was movement art. Amon simply categorized the former as defensive and the latter as melee offense.

After gathering the information, he divided the team into three teams. The first was the vanguard team with defensive art, Amon allocated fifteen youths to this team. The second was eleven youths team for melee offense, they stayed behind the defensive team to strike when there was a chance. The remaining five formed the third team with range capability.

Amon explained to them in short of the basic strategy they should be doing in a conflict. He stayed behind with the range team, while he had Xin Wuming at the front taking command of the first and second teams.

"Let's go," Amon said. He slowly headed into the central part of the arena while observing the situation. The central part was where many groups were vying for supremacy.

Lin Gai hesitated for a while before fear overcame his pride. He decided to follow Amon's group.

Before Amon came to the center, however, another group blocked his way. They had more people, close to fifty youths.

"I've been looking for you. You Lin bastard truly knows how to hide!"

Amon looked at the one who made the shout. He recalled the boy to be amongst the group who had come with Wei Sui, but he didn't know his name.

"Where is Wei Lhosa?" Amon asked.

"He is at the other arena. Don't worry, I will only bruise you a little. I will still let you pass this preliminary round. Brother Lhosa had been eager to mash your brain matter with his hands."

"Heh, too bad. I thought I could just finish him right here."

"Haha, you truly know how to brag. But this is the last time you smiled, know that I, Wei Lu…"

"Get them!" Amon already gave the order while Wei Lu-whatever was still talking.

The fifteen youths of the vanguard team activated their defensive arts. They had various arts, some had their skins hardened to stone-like surfaces, some to metal-like surfaces, and some didn't show any apparent visual effect but one with keen eyes could see a thin membrane enveloping their bodies.

These fifteen rammed their bodies into the opponent's team. Their opponents were caught in surprise. They didn't think that their opponent which was less than them would take the initiative to attack them first. While they were off-balance and confused. The melee offense team swooped in and deliver crippling attacks.

Amon had told them to target the opponents' joints. They were not allowed to kill but Pai Kuan never said anything about crippling. With the opponents crippled, they would be unable to fight. Not to mention that all the ones here were still youths, they were not experienced yet dealing with the trauma of being disabled.

As Amon had thought, those who had their arms or legs broken or cut, lost their will to fight and just laid on the floor screaming, some even crying. Some youths in Amon's team didn't have the heart to cripple their opponents. Xin Wuming yelled at them as he set an example, crippling one youth after another.

The five youths of the range team used their ranged attacks, which were mostly arcane arts. Range arts were more scarce, Amon suspected these five were from big clans as well. Amon joined them, sending attacks to where the opponents seemed to be retaliating. He was not allowed to use a weapon, so the only range attack he could use was Bone Shattering Shadow Fist. The energy of the fist flew and slammed onto unsuspecting enemies.

"You… You… How dare you attack before we are ready! I, Wei Lumao, swear I will take you down!" The Wei clan youth yelled.

Wei Lumao's group tried to mount a counter-attack. They activated their martial arts and sent their attacks as well. But their coordination was haphazard. It was clear that they simply gathered together without a clear plan. When they attacked, Amon's defensive team came forward and became a shield to the offense team. Once the opponents' arts ended, the melee offense team quickly came back and delivered crippling attacks again.

Within a short period, the fifty youth team was reduced to less than twenty. While Amon's team only had a few youths with light wounds.

The youths of Wei Lumao's team were boggled by such a development. Were they much inferior to their opponents? How come they got beaten so badly even when they outnumbered their opponents?

While they were confused and shocked, they stopped moving. At this time, Amon rushed into their midst. He appeared in front of Wei Lumao. Before the boy could register what had happened, Amon swung his arm in a low position.

Wei Lumao fell as he lost footing. When he landed on the ground and looked at his legs, he screamed as he found that both of his legs stopped below the knee. He saw his two feet at another place. Amon had used his Water Slicing Ring to cut Wei Lumao's legs.

The other youths instinctively moved back. They were just about to run away when they heard Amon's loud words, "Follow me! I will bring you past this preliminary round!"

The youths stopped and looked at each other. As if having a tacit understanding, they bowed to Amon.

Amon reorganized these new recruits into his three teams. He also briefly explained their strategy. Since they themselves had experienced firsthand being the victims, they had no problem understanding. The ones who were wounded in the defensive team were retasked to the melee offensive.

With a group of almost fifty youths, everyone had more confidence. Amon did not lead them directly into the central part though, he looked at the situation and decided to circle around. When he found a team with fewer people or one that had many wounded, he sent his team to strike them.

When they were fighting, Amon observed the opponents. Once he identified the leader, he would swoop in and decisively incapacitate the person. Once the leader was down, he would throw the same offer to the rests, join him or face elimination.

Some still resisted, but they were soon routed because the others who were considering the offer were no longer assisting. In the end, these ones who were on the fence no longer had any choice but to join, because their numbers were getting even smaller.

In this way, Amon's group continued to grow.

From the groups they fought, many opposed even after being given the choice to join. These youths were mostly prominent clan youths who think it was beneath them to listen to the order of an unknown person. Amon was simply not that well-known amongst the community. Amon gladly dispatched them. The majority, who were from independent families and lower class youths, were more susceptible to joining his group.

When they hit more than one hundred members, someone pointed out that they couldn't add any more members, because the competition only recognized one hundred survivors. Amon told him to shut up and just follow his command. So they continued.

When they slowly made their way to the central part, they had close to one hundred sixty members. The remaining teams at the center which were still fighting each other were only three teams. They instinctively stopped their fights when they noticed such a large group was approaching.

The three teams had many wounded. Their numbers were also small after prolonged fights. The three of them combined didn't reach one hundred youths.

Amon gave his order to strike before the three could think about joining forces. He focused to strike at the team with more numbers. The two other teams would take some time before they realized they had no choice but to cooperate. Before that happened, Amon wanted to cull as many numbers as possible.

Since these three were the remaining opponents, Amon no longer give them the option to join his group. His instruction was to cripple everyone or knock them unconscious. After fighting together for a while, his group's coordination was getting better. The opponent's team lost half of its members within a short time.

Seeing the situation, the other two teams finally realized their disadvantaged situation. They promptly joined and attacked Amon's group together. But Amon was already ready, he had taken care of most of the leaders from the first team. The rests were simply loose individuals who fought chaotically. Amon redirected most of his force to meet the remaining two teams.

With their numbers outnumbering their opponents, the winner was soon decided.