Rise of The Demon General-Chapter 479. Battle in the Air

All the soldiers unsheathed their weapons. Most of them carried bows. Some of them were Mystic Stage cultivators, so they could fly. However, the great eagles were flying at high speed. If they left the howdah, they would get left behind. Thus, a ranged weapon was favored if a battle broke out here.

Stacks of javelins were also laid at four corners of the howdah. Throwing these javelins should deal more damage than their bows, but the range was shorter.

Amon had a crossbow in his hands. It was not the small crossbow that Xin Lie made for him in the past. It was a better crossbow that he commissioned Shi Hei to make. His new crossbow was categorized as a high-tiered engraved weapon.

Shi Hei crafted the crossbow based on Amon’s instruction, which was based on the design of the repeating crossbow from his previous world. This provided the weapon with a higher firing rate than a normal crossbow. He brought plenty of metal bolts for ammunition. He operated a lever that pulled the crossbow’s string before putting a bolt into the firing chamber.

With their weapons ready, all everyone could do now was wait. Under everyone’s tense eyes, the lights came closer. At this distance, they could now tell those lights came from artificial sources like their lanterns, but they still could not tell what carried those lights, except for Amon, who had night vision.

Amon aimed his crossbow at the lights and fired. By now, his Soul Searching Shot had reached Grandmaster mastery. At this mastery, he could mark a distant target. The bolt would fly in an arc toward the target. It could adjust its flight slightly if its target moved away from its trajectory.

A streak of curved light marked the bolt’s flight path as it sped forward. It disappeared into the darkness.

Suddenly, a shrill shriek echoed in the darkness. Upon hearing this shriek, the Swift Spirit Swallows and the great eagles started to fly erratically. It was as if they were troubled by whatever was uttering the shriek.

With the swallow riders having trouble with their steeds, they were late to react when the visitors finally arrived.

The visitors numbered a dozen. The most attention-grabbing was the one in the lead. It was a huge hairless bird with dark skin. Its wings resembled a bat’s leathery wings. It had a ridiculously long neck that measured to half its body length. This long neck ended with a rather small head that looked more like a dog’s head than a bird’s. Its two hind legs ended with sharp claws. These claws were heading at the nearest swallow rider.

The targeted swallow rider shot an arrow using his bow. But because his ride was swaying left and right, he failed to hit the target despite its large size. The black bird’s claws crashed into his ride. The two claws squeezed and twisted. The act broke most of the bones inside the swallow, killing it instantly.

The rider was a Transformation Stage cultivator. He screamed as he fell with his dead steed.

Behind the large black bird were similar creatures but smaller. Amon knew the black bird as the Yao Bird. It was classified as a lower mythical beast. The smaller birds behind it were Yao Birdlings. They were mid-superior beasts.

"Who are you!" The leader of the swallow riders called.

He called because this pack was no stray spirit beasts. On the backs of the Yao Bird and Yao Birdlings were harnesses. Each harness carried a human. A lantern was tied beside this harness.

The man atop the Yao Bird answered while showing an evil grin, "What’s the point of talking to dead men?"

The Yao Bird opened its mouth, and thick smoke burst out. The smoke spread everywhere and covered everyone’s sight. It was already difficult to see the Yao Bird in the night because of their dark body. They were even more concealed now with this smoke. To make matters worse, the riders turned off their lanterns.

The only indication of the Yao bird and Yao Birdlings were their shrieks. They shrieked more after the entire place was covered by smoke.

"Steady!" The leader of the swallow riders exclaimed. He finally regained control of his ride but couldn’t see the enemies, so things hadn’t truly improved.

The leader of the swallow riders was a Peak Mystic Stage cultivator with the rank of senior captain. His name was Lei Dong. As a Mystic Stage cultivator, he should be able to sense the enemies even if he didn’t see them. However, the smoke from the Yao Bird was no common smoke. It blurred the surrounding aether and made it hard for Lei Dong to sense anything. Hence, he was as blind as those below the Martial Realm.

He heard screams from his two subordinates. The screams were soon gone. Since he didn’t know where to go, he continued to follow the lights emitted by the lanterns carried by the two great eagles. Suddenly, a shadow emerged beside him.

He saw it then, one of the Yao Birdlings. It was so sudden he had no time to react. The Yao Birdling was about to crash into his swallow, its sharp claws aimed at the swallow’s flank. Suddenly, a bolt flew from the side and struck the Yao Birdling at the base of its neck. The bolt sunk deep, and blood spurted out.

The Yao Birdling shrieked in pain. It lost its charge and swayed. Lei Dong didn’t let this chance go. He steered his Swift Spirit Swallow and made a sharp turning maneuver, putting himself on top of the Yao Birdling. Aside from using a bow, he also carried a long glaive. He swiped this glaive at the Yao Birdling’s neck, splitting it in two.

After slaying the Yao Birdling, Lei Dong turned to where the bolt came from. Since they continued to move following the great eagles, the smoke was getting thinner. He was also close enough to one of the great eagles to see the one who helped him. It was Amon.

Amon didn’t fight alone. He gave commands to the soldiers in the same howdah as him.

"You two, fire at those Yao birdlings on the right. You and you, stay with me and fire at the same target as mine. The remaining four cover us from the back. Watch for enemies who try to circle behind us. The Yao Birdlings have fast speed, but their stamina is low. They can’t keep this pursuit for long. Target the base of their necks. That’s where their hide is the thinnest."

Even though they were not Amon’s direct subordinates, Amon outranked them. Additionally, it was a critical situation, and Amon’s commands sounded reasonable, so they followed the commands.

The Yao Birdlings circled the great eagle and attacked when opportunities arose. Their harassment caused the great eagle’s speed to plummet. The only remaining swallow rider, Lei Dong, stayed with the great eagle and intercepted the approaching Yao Birdling. The soldiers inside the howdah fired their arrows or threw the javelins at the surrounding Yao Birdlings following Amon’s commands.

This put the situation in a stalemate. The Yao Birdlings couldn’t cause much damage to the great eagle or the soldiers it was carrying.

One rider of the Yao Birdlings got impatient by this deadlock. He used his mental link with the Yao Birdling to force it to advance. It sped up under the barrage of arrows and charged into the howdah. Arrows riddled its body, but its thick skins cushioned its flesh. The arrows failed to penetrate deep enough to cause serious damage.

The soldiers inside the howdah were taken by surprise by such a daring advance. They failed to react in time. The Yao Birdling crashed into one of the soldiers. Its claws pierced into his body. He was then ripped apart with sheer force.

The Yao Birdling kept moving through the assault. It flew across the howdah, targeting the soldiers on the opposite side. Midway, a long yellow cloth came swirling. The yellow cloth was as if alive. It warped around one of the Yao Birdling’s beating wings and tightened. This caused the Yao Birdling’s flight to veer.

The rider of the Yao Birdling tried cutting the yellow cloth with his long blade, but the cloth refused to be cut. The rider then realized the end of the yellow cloth had a black dagger attached. This black dagger shot at him and pierced into his head.

The death of the rider sent a mental shockwave to the Yao Birdling. It experienced a mental collapse. Its flight stopped abruptly.

With the Yao Birdling no longer resisting, Amon pulled his Xian Cloth and tossed the Yao Birdling outside the howdah. He didn’t toss it randomly. He targeted another Yao Birdling flying outside and accurately hit that birdling.

"Shoot them!" Amon commanded.

The soldiers immediately concentrated their fire on the Yao Birdling, which had lost its speed due to getting crashed by its comrade. Arrows and javelins riddled its body. Under the intense fire, both the Yao Birdling and its rider succumbed. They fell from the sky.

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