Rise of The Demon General

Lin Giru showed an irritated expression. He said, "Boy, saying you are just observing is just an expression. You still need to work, otherwise, I will not give you any mission points. I am the appointed leader in this mission so I will decide the points you will get upon mission completion."

"And what kind of work will you ask him to do?" It was Madam Lin that asked.

Towards Madam Lin, Lin Giru did not dare to be haughty. He said in a respectful tone, "Of course, I will only assign him a task that he is capable of, Madam. Rest assured, I will not bully him."

"My retainer will make sure of that. If I receive reports of you making things difficult for my son. I will make you regret it."

"I will not dare to," Lin Giru bowed, but Amon noticed Lin Giru shot a worried glance at Lin Fong, who replied with an assuring expression.

'What are these two up to?' Amon wondered. He might have to be careful out there.

During the wait, Lin Giru took the three teenagers and Amon to the counter to register their names for the Greasy Horned Weasel mission. Since it was the first time for Amon, the counter also interviewed him for his personal info. After the interview was done, the counter gave him a token. He saw that his name had been carved onto the token on one side, the other side was the character Lin. He was to give this token as identification the next time when he wanted to report a completed mission or request a new mission.

After waiting a while, Lin Fong was getting impatient. He said to Madam Lin, "Sis, the lair won't be hidden for long. We need to depart now. We can't spend time waiting here."

"He will arrive soon," Madam Lin replied. "If you can't wait. You can just have your people go. I will help Lin Mo pick another quest."

Hearing that, Lin Fong had no choice but to continue waiting.

Not long after, a tall man approached them. "Madam, I have arrived," the man said.

"Lin Guo, I would like you to accompany this group and look after Amon during his mission," Madam Lin said.

"Oh? My job is to take care of your safety when you go outside. If I go with them, who will protect you if you go outside?" Lin Guo asked.

"Don't worry, I will not go out before you return."

"This… It will be difficult for me to explain to the Clan Master if something happens."

"Don't you worry about my father, I will go talk to him. You just do what I've instructed. Nothing will happen to me inside this clan estate. Or are you saying that you are not listening to my command anymore?"

Lin Guo bowed apologetically, "That's not my intention. Lin Guo will follow your command."

"Good. Make sure you keep Amon safe. You can leave him be if he is given an appropriate task suitable to his level. But do not let him get bullied by anyone and you have to interfere if any excessive danger occurs."

"Lin Guo obeys," he said as he gave Madam Lin a salute and then came to stand by Amon's side.

Lin Giru appeared to be nervous after Lin Guo showed up. Probably because he knew Lin Guo's cultivation was higher than his. He looked at Lin Fong with uncertainty. Lin Fong then pulled him to one side.

"What are you doing?" Madam Lin asked with a frown. "Didn't you say you want them to leave as soon as possible?"

"I'm just giving him some last advice," Lin Fong spoke. He went further with Lin Giru and then they talked. No one heard what they were saying as they were rather far away.

'Heh, so obvious,' Amon thought. 'Let's see what you cook up.'

The two then came back after they were done talking. "Let's go," Lin Giru said.

"Stay safe," Madam Lin said to Amon.

"Don't worry, mother. I will come back safely."

Amon saw Lin Fong snickered at his words as he turned around.

*

They went on foot to the place marked by the map. It was towards a mountainous region not far from White Cloud City. The lair of the Greasy Horned Weasel was supposed to be around the outer part of this region.

Lin Giru seemed like an experienced scout. He took them on a path that avoided the spirit beasts that roamed the wilderness. But the area around the city was rather lowly populated with spirit beasts so it was not that difficult to avoid them.

The three teenagers followed him closely. They talked among themselves along the way, sometimes they glanced back at Amon and gave a disdainful laugh.

What a bunch of clowns, Amon thought.

Lin Guo was running beside Amon. He was having mixed feelings about the kid. In his opinion, the kid's advancement was rather spectacular. It was just four years ago when he first met him. The kid was still in the beginning Mortal stage at the time, but he was at the peak Mortal stage already. Being a peak Mortal stage at the age of 9 years old could be considered a prodigy already.

The best prodigy of his current generation was Lin Xiaolong, who had just recently breakthrough into the Strength stage of the Human realm. He was the same as the previous generation's most talented Lin Bubai, the big brother of Madam Lin, who had also reached that same level at age twelve.

The three younglings at the front although were not lousy, they could only be considered average for a big clan such as the Lin clan. The three only reached the Strength stage recently at the age of fifteen.

Considering Amon's development, Lin Guo had a hunch that Amon might break through the same level in another year's time. If that was true, he would have broken the record of Lin clan's most talented by a whole two years. Lin Guo wondered if it was true as the rumor said that Amon had gotten a secret stash of potent cultivation pills from the Hei clan's last stock.

Amon did not know what Lin Guo was thinking, but if Lin Guo knew that Amon was actually only seven years old instead of nine years old, he would have flipped over. Amon's body was larger than a normal kid so this age misunderstanding was not so obvious. Amon never bothered to clarify this misunderstanding. Otherwise, he would have to also explain why his energy core was formed before he was five years old.

They stopped when they were around the place where the lair was rumored to be. Lin Giru then asked the three younglings and Amon to search the surroundings for the entrance to the lair. On the mission board containing the mission they were undertaking, there was also a description of the weasel's lair. It was said to be a hole on the ground or a rock wall, the hole should be around the size of an adult human.

Around the opening of the hole should be many traces resembling sword cut marks. These marks were the Greasy Horned Weasel's marking their territory with its sword horn. Apart from that, there would also be some residue resembling grease near the hole. This was the weasel's saliva which was very much like grease, hence its name.

With that characteristics, the three teenagers and Amon went in four separate directions to search. Before Amon took off, he glanced back and saw Lin Giru approach Lin Guo. They seemed to be having a chat. Amon stayed a while observing them, but Lin Giru seemed to notice and looked over in his direction. Amon turned back after that and resumed his search for the lair.

The search lasted for around half an hour before Amon heard a shout from the other direction. Amon headed over in that direction. Before long, he saw almost everyone gathered there. They were staring at a small hole on the sloping ground. There were several long line marks around the hole that looked as if they were made by a sword, accompanied by an oil-like smell. Amon assumed that must be the hole to the lair they were looking for.

However, there was one problem. The hole looked too small. It was not as described by the mission board where it was a hole of an adult human-sized.

"It seems the report is inaccurate," Amon heard Lin Giru say after everyone gathered. "This is indeed a lair of Greasy Horned Weasel, but it is a lair made by a young Greasy Horned Weasel."

"Young?" Lin Bu asked.

"Yes, the hole is too small for an adult Greasy Horned Weasel. There is a good and bad issues due to this. Good because such a young spirit beast will be weaker, there should also be fewer weasels. A lair made by young Greasy Horned Weasel should only contain two or three weasels."

"And the bad issue?" Lin Bu asked again.

"Us two adults won't be able to enter the lair."