Rise of the Demon God

Prince Lu stepped forward as he explained, "We're having a competition to decide the share of each top clan for the next few years."

"Ah, so you are having battles here?" The Western General asked, laughing. "Seems interesting. I hope I'm not too late."

"Ah, there are only three competitions. The first two are already over.  As for the third one, which is a Beast Taming Test happening on the Nightmare Cliff," the Prince replied carefully. He didn't want to upset the Western General by telling him that he was already too late. 

"Ah, that's disappointing. It looks like I'm late. It's no fun anymore. We'll leave then," the Western General said as he sighed. 

"Great General, please wait. If you want, we can have those competitions again. My father should be back really soon from the Nightmare Cliff. And you'll also get to meet Great Master Long,"  the Prince said, trying to stop Western General from leaving disappointed. 

"Great Master Long? Is he some Elder in your country? I'm sorry, but I'll meet him later someday," The Western General said, not taking him seriously.

"Not at all! He's not from his country. In fact, my father said that he might even be a General from another Empire. He was passing through the country and decided to relax," Prince Lu explained. 

The members of Dragon Squad couldn't help but laugh. They glanced at Western General as they continued, "He sounds just like you."

"General from another Empire? It's possible. There's a meeting of the four of us. Maybe he was also going there like me. The meeting is in the Northern Empire. If he passed through here, he could only be a Southern General," the Western General said as he rubbed his chin while losing himself in deep thought. 

"That's possible," the Dragon Squad members nodded. "But wasn't Southern General the serious kind? He shouldn't have waited here," one of the Dragon Squad members pointed out.

"You underestimate the boredom of long distance trips. I can understand his pain," the Western General said, laughing. 

"Anyway, where is the Southern General now?" The Western General asked, curious. 

"He went with father to the Nightmare Cliff. They'll soon be back," the Prince replied calmly.

"Alright. I'll wait. By the way, do you have something to eat here? What's the specialty of this Kingdom? Get that here for my men and me," the Western General told the Prince as he walked towards the throne. 

He calmly sat on the throne as he started relaxing. His men also sat on the seats that were left empty by the Clan Masters.

The Prince looked at his men and told them to bring the best of dishes for the General before he walked back to them. 

"The food will soon be here," he told the Western General. 

Just as he had said, the food was brought to the location within half an hour. Not only that, the Prince even arranged for a small competition between youngsters where they fought each other.

He was trying everything he could to keep the General entertained. 

In the background, the General was also enjoying the entertainment as he ate the delicacies of Lu Kingdom. 

One of the Dragon Squad members was still lost in thought as he frowned. 

"Wasn't the name of the Southern General something else? They said the person they're talking about was someone named Master Long. Could they be misunderstood?" he asked the Western General. 

"You're the one overthinking here. It's simple. That guy gave a fake name because he was in Western Empire, and he didn't want to expose his identity. Didn't you hear the kid say that the man was keeping his identity a secret? Why would someone like him give his real name?" The Western General asked casually.

Three more hours passed, and the Western General was actually starting to get bored. 

"It's been so long. When are they actually coming back?" The Western General asked, frowning. 

"They should be here soon," the Prince replied calmly, but even he didn't know how long they were going to take. 

"If they aren't here in an hour, we'll have to leave. We have somewhere else to be as well," the Western General replied lazily as he continued. 

The Prince nodded his head, praying that his father was going to come back soon as he looked in the direction his father had left in. 

As he glanced in that direction, a bright glint flashed in his eyes as he grew surprised. His father was here, right on time. 

He could see the Golden Swan of his father in the distance, followed behind by the Clan Masters. 

"They are back!" He exclaimed, attracting the attention of the General who also looked in that direction. 

"Finally," said the General as he stood up, yawning.

Within minutes, thirteen beasts landed on the ground, but there was no happiness on anyone's face. They all looked gloomy.

"Father, where is Great Master Long?" The Prince asked his father. 

King Lu raised his head to reply when his eyes fell on the golden haired man in the back. 

"Western General?" The King exclaimed in shock as he went down to his knees in respect. 

"We Welcome Great General to our Kingdom!" He said respectfully.

The Clan Masters also went down on their knees in respect. 

"Enough of that. Answer the kid. Where is that person named Long? I want to meet him," the Western General said as he gestured to everyone to stand. 

Gu Lin also walked up to her father, who looked gloomy.

"Father, what happened? Where is he? Did he leave?" She asked Gu Wang. 

"Great Master Long... He is no more. He is dead," King Lu said, shocking everyone, especially Gu Lin.

Gu Lin looked at her father for confirmation in disbelief. Her father also nodded his head, affirming the news. 

"What nonsense is this?! You said he was possibly as strong as a General? That made me assume he was a Southern General! How can someone as strong as that die? Did you lie about his strength?" The General asked, seemingly furious. 

'If this was a lie, he is going to be really upset. He loves wasting his own time, but he hates it when someone else wastes his time. I think there will be bloodshed here.' the Dragon Squad Members thought, shaking their heads. 

"N-not at all! That wasn't a lie. He really was that strong," The King replied, shivering in fear. 

"Then how did he die?" Western General asked, frowning. 

"He... Actually... A dragon killed him!" The King replied. 

"A Dragon killed him?" The Western General asked, frowning.