The Demon King's First General
Chapter 171: Interruption

Chapter 171: Interruption

A thousand years ago, in the northern part of the Forest of Nightmares, it was raining back then, and several flashes of lightning lit up the sky.

Two figures drenched in the continuous droplets of rain were standing in the open ground. The wind was cold, and every time it blew, withered leaves from trees drifted in the air.

"You never listen to anything I’ve said," a woman with bright yellow eyes imparted while looking at a young man with black hair spikes.

Upon seeing how mad the woman was, the man just bowed his head in surrender.

"Why did you leave the den?" The woman asked; anger was fuming in her eyes.

However, the man still kept his silence while clenching his fist. Then, a man dressed in a maroon-colored coat arrived at the scene; he wore a dull and bored-looking expression.

"Eimereen," he said, referring to the woman.

As soon as she heard her name being called, she averted her gaze from the black-haired man and directed it to the newly arrived individual, her eyes asking. ’Why?’

"Cinhard is looking for you," the man said.

Then, the woman looked back at the man, and her next action made him startle; she embraced him all of a sudden before whispering in his ear.

"Go back. You’re a full-fledged dragon, not a halfling like me," she uttered before her image disintegrated and vanished into thin air.

The two men were left there standing while the rain continued to pour.

"Chasing you away in this harsh condition, she really has no mercy, even for her brother," the man stated and turned around.

He was about to leave when the man finally spoke a word.

"Will you let me stay here if I join your army?" He asked while staring at the general’s back.

Then, the man looked back without turning his body around, and upon seeing the determination in his eyes, he replied.

"The Demon King wants to rule the entirety of this world, and to do that, he needs to take down everyone who opposes him. A large-scale war will soon erupt, and if you join us, you’ll be forced to fight and kill your very own blood. Are you fine with that?" He said.

The next second, the man turned into a giant black dragon, and then he bowed down, his head touching the soaked ground.

"I, Blackwell, pledge my loyalty to the Demon King’s General!" He vowed an oath without a single hint of hesitation.

The silver-haired demon turned around, and his lips began to curl upward.

"You’re way too fast to concede, and your loyalty should be addressed to the king," he replied.

Then he pulled out a black dice from his pocket, and a jet-black scythe appeared on his hand as soon as the surface with five white dots on it shone.

"Get up and prove your worth!" He exclaimed.

Afterwards, claws and blades clashed, trees were uprooted while craters formed on the ground, creating puddles of water.

And after almost an hour of constant suffering, the black dragon lay down; cuts from slashes covered his entire body, his breathing was rough, and a few of his scales were broken. He glanced at the silver-haired demon standing next to him.

No wounds, not even a single scratch, could be seen on him. Even his clothes were fully intact.

’Like what she’s said, there’s a monster hiding in the ranks of demons,’ he thought as he embraced his defeat.

. . . . .

Everyone was surprised by the sudden turn of events; their jaws dropped in astonishment, and their minds felt numb from what they heard, especially Kizhaia’s.

The Siren Queen, watching several meters away from the battlefield, was taken aback upon hearing the black dragon’s declaration.

"D-Demon King’s General!" She exclaimed.

Her eyes sparkled while staring at the black-haired demon.

"But how?" She uttered as she racked her brain, trying to remember all the Darkness Generals.

However, none of them fit his appearance, and she saw all of them die before her eyes. Aside from this, she also thought that the demon was from the underworld, a soul devourer who managed to escape, but she realized just now that her deduction was wrong.

’I read no records about him. Where did he come from?’ She thought, asking herself.

’This won’t do; I need to find out who he really is,’ she added; curiosity got her good.

. . . . .

Meanwhile, Kreigster gritted his teeth while looking at the scene before his eyes.

"That man! This presence, is it him?" He exclaimed; annoyance could be seen on his face, and the scene from the Herish Kingdom resurfaced in his mind.

He wanted to charge at him, pay him back for what he did on that day, but his appearance was quite different from what he remembered.

Aside from this fact, seeing the black dragon kneeling and trembling before him held him back.

In that moment, he realized how weak he really was. The opponent he fought while giving his best effort was subdued in a matter of seconds.

"Damn it," he cursed, clenching his fist, disappointed in his so-called strength.

. . . . .

Salamander struggled to move; behind him were buildings and homes shattered, crushed the moment he fell down. His right side was scorched black; scales were broken from the sudden impact.

"What was that?" He pondered while gritting in pain.

But despite his agony, he rose to the ground, looked up, and searched for the black dragon, but the giant creature was nowhere to be found.

"Where is he?" He wondered.

Thus, he flapped his wings and flew upward, just to see the black dragon lowering his head to a black-haired man.

A mixture of emotions boiled inside of him.

"What in the world is happening here?" He asked.

He was out for only a fraction of time, and the scene turned out like this all of a sudden.

Confusion ate up his mind, which led him to experience frustration about his defeat. Then, the words that came out from the black dragon’s mouth left questions in his thoughts before they became fuel to his anger.

"Demon King’s General?" He repeated, his gaze burning with irritation.

. . . . .

"You’re still way too fast to concede," Zeno smirked while tossing the dice into the air.

Blackwell ignored his remark and asked for forgiveness instead.

"Forgive me for not being able to recognize you at a glance, General," he uttered, his head still on the ground.

Zeno caught the dice and gestured his hand upward.

"Rise up! Don’t be bothered by it," he replied, and the black dragon stood up as soon as he allowed him.

Then, Zeno looked around and clicked his tongue upon noticing that there were so many eyes looking at them.

"Would you like me to eradicate them all?" Blackwell asked after seeing the annoyance in the general’s expression.

"I would love to, but I’m in the middle of searching for someone, and I think that maybe you know something," Zeno replied, smiling; his gaze was directed at the black dragon.

"But first, do tell me, what is this all about?" He asked, and the curl on his lips disappeared.

Upon seeing this, Blackwell couldn’t help but gulp. He found himself shaking, afraid not to satisfy the entity before him.

"I—It’s to dive—" he was in the middle of answering when something was hurled towards him, interrupting him from speaking.

A spinning red umbrella with three lotus flowers on one of its sectors.

"Celestine," Blackwell snarled as he looked up and glared at the woman levitating in the air.

The woman stared at him before taking a second to glance at the silver-haired demon.

"You’re not thinking of betraying us, are you?" She questioned the black dragon’s loyalty.

"I’m not surprised though; you never accepted Him to begin with," she added.

Then she raised her hand, and the umbrella flew back to her palm. Afterward, she diverted her gaze to the black-haired man and smiled.

"How’s your hand? That’s way too beautiful to be hidden in a glove," she said, teasing.

"Indeed, it’s such a treasure that I need to put a glove on so others won’t stare at it too much," Zeno replied with a smirk while looking at Celestine; his voice dripped with sarcasm.

The next second, a jet-black scythe appeared in his hand.

"So, are you here to surrender your soul?" He asked.

Celestine froze for a moment; she bit her lip and answered.

"My soul and everything of me belong to Him and Him alone!" She exclaimed.

Upon hearing this, Zeno leaped above, creating several platforms of energy to use as his foothold. Then, upon reaching a certain distance, he opened his mouth.

"I’m not so sure about that," he said then, swinging his scythe in a horizontal manner.

Celestine was about to defend using her umbrella; however, the thought of her defeat from their previous fight resurfaced in her mind, causing her to dodge instead.

"What’s the matter? Afraid to suffer from energy burnout?" Zeno taunted while chasing her.

As soon as she heard it, Celestine snapped out of her thoughts; she halted from running away and faced the demon.

"Silence!" She yelled, and the entirety of the city lost its color, turning it into a grayscale world.

"Freezing the time won’t do you any good," Zeno whispered as he sliced the woman’s neck.

"And it’s the same for me as well," he added as she saw the Enchantress of Time appear next to him, unscathed.

. . . . .