The Demon King's First General
Chapter 104: Colony of Rats

Chapter 104: Colony of Rats

After half an hour of walking on the surface of the water, the demon and the snake monster arrived at the center of the swamp. Fog covered the entire part of the place, and hundreds of eyes hiding on it began to watch the two’s every move. The tree monsters were still present, but they were not the source of the curious stares.

"So he already took notice of us," Tencent uttered out of nowhere.

"Do you mean the owner of this place?" Zeno replied without glancing at the monster behind him.

Then the snake nodded his head before speaking.

"Yes, the ruler of this section," he said, then summoned a sphere made of black energy upon opening his mouth.

Zeno took a second to peek at him upon feeling the presence of the black sphere.

"Will you take him down?" He asked, curious about what the snake would do.

However, the snake shook his head while the other one looked at Zeno and spoke.

"I won’t stand a chance against that thing, but I can erase this fog for you to battle with ease," he said.

And as soon as he finished speaking, his other head spat the concentrated ball of energy towards the fog, which caused a huge explosion that turned into a crater in the middle of the swamp.

The mist coming from the fog disappeared as black smoke covered the entire area, then faded right in an instant with Tencent’s command.

"Hmnn," Zeno nodded while tossing and catching the black dice up in the air.

"Much better, though there was no need for you to do that," he said.

"Is saying a simple thank you that hard for you to say?" Tencent retorted with a sigh before shaking his head.

However, Zeno let out a short laugh upon hearing the snake and spoke with a lofty tone.

"Gratitude? Why would I be thankful for something I didn’t even ask for? And after all, it’s on your own volition," he said while staring at the hundreds of red eyes glaring at him from a certain distance.

Tencent closed his eyes and continued to shake his head as he heard the demon’s reply, while Zeno stepped forward and smiled.

"First, a snake, then a creature with several sets of wings and a golden-colored ape. And now a colony of rats?" He commented.

Afterward, he raised his right hand and pulled down his coat to take a look at his wrist. Upon seeing that nothing was written on it, the smile on his face turned even wider.

Then the red dice on his ear started to spin, and the moment it stopped, the surface with five white skulls glowed a bright hue.

"Ahhh, for it to land on five, this would be pretty fun. Now, who should I call first?" Zeno said before placing his hand under his chin, thinking.

"Ritche will be perfect for this kind of place," he uttered, and then the name appeared written on his wrist in red capital letters.

. . . . .

"General! The beastmen are on the move!" A blue-skinned demon with elongated ears reported as he saw a silver-haired man walking at the entrance of their camp.

"And their numbers?" The man who arrived answered, asking

"A few hundreds, General," the demon replied, his voice filled with respect for the man in front of him.

Afterward, the man looked up and went to a nearby tree before he leaped up. Then he sat down on its branch and looked at the sun. The next second, he directed his eyes towards the demon looking at him from the ground.

"Then show them no mercy," the general commanded.

However, the demon felt surprised upon hearing their general’s words; it was his first time hearing such a blunt command without any specifics coming from him.

However, due to his fear of the silver-haired demon, he had no resolve to ask what they needed to do, though he still managed to speak about their enemy’s plan.

"General, they must be killed this time, but we are having difficulty fighting them. They’re using the mountain’s terrain to have an advantage against our soldiers," the man stated, then looked at their mission leader while waiting for his answer.

"That’s a given; we are inside their playground, after all. Destroying their morale will be the shortest path to achieving victory," the silver-haired demon replied, letting his back rest against the tree trunk.

"If I were to give you a chance to think about our course of action, what would it be?" He added.

"A-Ahmnn, m-maybe we’ll play defense, a-and we’ll just wait for them to attack us?" The demon stuttered in disbelief.

’Why do I need to give out commands?’ He conveyed his thoughts inside his mind, almost crying due to the general’s sudden question.

"Quite plausible, but how do you intend to end them when you’ll just go to defend yourselves? That’s not how we demons show no mercy," the general replied, then he closed his eyes.

"T-Then w-what are we supposed to do?" The blue-skinned demon asked.

"Where’s Ritche? Tell him to come here first," Zeno ordered.

"He’s in the camp, waiting for your orders," the demon answered, and as soon as he bowed down, he spoke once more. "I’ll bring him here right away."

Then he turned around, and the moment he flicked his tail towards the ground, he was sent in the right direction, leaving the general lying above the tree.

Several minutes had passed, and the demon returned with another being who had a single horn protruding from his forehead, and on his waist there was a sword wrapped in a black scabbard hanging on it.

"You called me, General!" The demon named Ritche kneeled in front of the tree where Zeno was lying down above.

"Ritche, where are the beastmen now?" Zeno asked without any intention to open his eyes and look at the demon below.

Ritche was stunned after hearing the sudden question, though he still answered right away as if he were not bothered by the general’s action.

"Please forgive my incompetence, but I don’t know where they are, General," he answered while still kneeling on one knee.

"That’s sad to hear," Zeno said, then opened his eyes before stretching his body upon leaping down.

Afterward, he walked over to the kneeling demon and stared at him for a few seconds before speaking.

"You can give out our location, yet you keep your silence when I ask about them; that’s not a fair trade," he said, out of nowhere.

Ritche widened his eyes; even the blue-skinned demon dropped his jaw upon hearing his general’s declaration.

"I-I don’t get it, General!" Ritche replied while keeping his eyes on the ground.

Zeno pulled out the black dice from his coat’s pocket, and a jet-black scythe appeared on his hand as soon as he spun it on his palm.

Ritche slowly lifted his head upon hearing no answer from the silver-haired demon. However, as he saw the scythe reflecting the sunlight with its blade, he gulped several times. Then he moved his eyes a little higher, which made him see Zeno’s wide grin.

The next moment, Ritche leaped backward to create some distance and pulled out the sword hanging on his waist, then pointed it in Zeno’s direction.

"Ritche!" The blue-skinned demon yelled after seeing his subordinate’s action.

"You sell us out!" He shouted; rage was present in his voice.

Then he stepped forward, but Zeno blocked him with his scythe.

"It’s the general’s duty to pluck out the rotten fruits," he said.

Afterward, he began to step closer to the demon.

"How did you find out, and since when?" Ritche asked, glaring at the Demon King’s general.

"From the very moment we set our feet in this place, every time we encounter a beastman, you’re always present in the area," Zeno answered, then he rotated the scythe around his wrist and dashed towards the traitor.

"Just because of that? It’s impossible," the demon said before raising his sword to prepare for Zeno’s attack.

Their weapons collided, but Ritche held his ground against the general.

"In fact, you’re right; it’s merely a hunch, but your actions earlier helped me arrive at a conclusion," Zeno said.

"Nonsense!" Ritche yelled; he couldn’t accept that he got busted with just a hunch.

The next second, he thrust his sword with the aim of piercing the general’s chest, but it was parried right away.

"Your attacks are too honest compared to you." Zeno mocked the demon and struck his scythe downward, though his attack got blocked.

Zeno expected it to happen, and the next second, he let go of his scythe and pulled out his fist backward before throwing it at the demon’s forehead. Then the dice embedded in the scythe’s blade started to spin, and the moment it stopped, a jet-black gauntlet covered the general’s hand all the way to his arm.

"I’ll send your head to the beastmen as a gift," Zeno said, and a wide smile crept out on his face.

Ritche managed to raise his sword to block Zeno’s punch, but it was too strong for him to handle; his sword broke during the collision, and his horn shattered along with his face after receiving a direct hit from the general’s fist.

"This won’t be boring like this if this happens in a place where you can showcase your Legacy," Zeno uttered.

. . . . .

As soon as the name appeared on Zeno’s wrist, the water in the swamp dropped to a certain level, then droplets of rain began to fall, and small bubbles that rose up in the air started to appear out of nowhere.

"I wonder how many of those rats will survive this?" Zeno said, smiling like a maniac while thinking about the destruction the Legacy would cause.

. . . . .