Chapter 152 - Humiliation

Chapter 152: Chapter 145: HumiliationWithin less than a day, Andre came before Lu Hong again.

"Little brother, if you agree to become a member of the Bassa family, I can request the elders to release you." Andre earnestly tried to persuade Lu Hong to join the Bassa family.

"Don’t even think about it." Lu Hong shook his head firmly. Joining a family was not a matter of just a few words; an external bloodline family required thorough reviews and signing a contract to ensure the secrets of the family wouldn’t be leaked, among other things.

For a cautious family like Bassa, the contracts required were absolutely very restrictive; Lu Hong would not put his life in such a family.

"Okay then." Andre finally gave up persuading Lu Hong, and then asked him, "Do you still have the magic artifact you used when you tried to assassinate Craig?"

"Why, do you want it?" Lu Hong sneered. "Couldn’t find it last time? I have it, but even if I gave it to you, you wouldn’t know how to use it."

Being caught red-handed trying to rummage through someone’s belongings made Andre’s face turn red, and he awkwardly explained, "That was just to make sure you didn’t carry any tracking devices that could expose our bases."

"Tell me, what do you want my artifact for?" Lu Hong did not explain that it was the power of the "Holy Sword"; it was better to speak less about such matters. It was perfectly appropriate for the other party to perceive it as a powerful magic artifact.

"Here is the thing, if you can use the artifact to help us rescue someone, I can request the elders to release you, and I assure you that we won’t trouble you any further." Andre promised solemnly.

"Rescue someone?" Lu Hong shook his head. "My magic artifact is suited for killing, not saving people."

"Just breaking in is enough. After our people get the target out, please use the magic artifact to intercept the enemies. Is that feasible? If you agree, I’ll immediately have someone release you."

"Rescue whom?" Lu Hong pressed.

"The third miss of the Gold family, Xia Lu."

"The third miss?" Lu Hong sneered. "What? Was she captured by the empire? Do you need to save her?"

Andre shook his head. "How could she be captured by the empire? The empire’s army has enough to defend themselves but not enough to counterattack. The third miss was made a scapegoat by the Gold family due to Craig’s death; they plan to exchange Xia Lu’s life to regain the support of the Silver-White family."

"I see." After hearing Andre explain, the intentions of the Bassa family became clear: helping Lu Hong ’take care of’ Craig was to provoke tension between the two major families, and now rescuing Xia Lu would definitely intensify the feud between the two families. Furthermore, if they could persuade this female tactician to join the Bassa family, their thousand-year plan for seizing power would indeed be ripe and ready.

"Okay, release me," Lu Hong agreed promptly. "I need to restore my strength to use the magic artifact. Provide me with magic potions that massively replenish vital energy, and if you have any high-level Demon Beast blood meals, get those too."

Replenishing vital energy was different from replenishing magical power. Magic potions for replenishing vital energy were rare, as the profession of Angry Blood Warrior was practically extinct, and no alchemist specialized in producing potions for such an endangered profession. Therefore, Lu Hong specified a second method to restore vital energy: feeding.

Of course, eating humans was the fastest way.

"No problem," Andre hurriedly agreed. "Just wait a moment, I’ll go request it from the elders and will soon return with the blood meals to release you."

Damn it, didn’t he just say he could release me immediately? Lu Hong, watching Andre hastily leave, suddenly felt he couldn’t entirely trust this man’s words. He was willing to help the Bassa family sabotage the Gold family, but given past experiences, it was necessary to carefully consider things beforehand, such as this rescue mission, where he was assigned to cover the rear.

What dangers might there be in covering the rear?

Being betrayed and used as cannon fodder.

After some deep contemplation, Lu Hong had identified the potential dangers he might face.

If the Bassa family intended to use Lu Hong as cannon fodder, they certainly wouldn’t leave any witnesses. During the rescue mission, there would definitely be a Bassa family member tasked with killing him after he completed his mission.

Just as Lu Hong pondered these issues, the door of the cage was once again opened.

The brightness seeping through the dark cell made it hard for Lu Hong to open his eyes, so shielding his eyes, he said, "You’ve come back so soon? That’s quite efficient!"

But the opponent seemed not to be Andre—sharp stilettos suddenly pierced into Lu Hong’s arm that was shielding his eyes.

"Who are you?!" Lu Hong, enduring the pain, hastily retreated.

"Humph!" The woman’s voice was cold and venomous, "I truly did not expect that just a day later, you’d have the chance to walk out of your cage."

Through her voice, Lu Hong guessed the identity of the woman in front of him and said gravely, "I don’t have any grudge with you, do I? Just because of a few jokes earlier?"

"Jokes?" The woman sneered, "Who do you think you are? To joke with me?"

She then pulled on the chain hooked to Lu Hong’s shoulder, dragging him over bit by bit.

"Andre will take at least another half an hour to report to the elders. Don’t worry, I won’t kill you because you are still of some use to me. However, for your grave disrespect toward me, you should properly taste the bitterness!" The woman, the daughter of the Clan Leader of the Basa family, had never faced disrespect in the strictly hierarchical family, and being spoiled and arrogant was the norm.

Lu Hong, enduring the severe pain, remained silent, letting her whip lash out at him. He endured this humiliation, unable to do otherwise as his shoulder blade was locked, leaving him utterly powerless.

Suffering from a depletion of vital energy, Lu Hong could not activate the healing effect of his Lionheart bloodline. After nearly half an hour of whipping, his body was already torn and bleeding.

"Huff..." Breathless, the woman dropped the whip, looking at Lu Hong with some surprise. "I didn’t expect you to be a real man, not even a scream. Let’s consider the matter of disrespecting me settled for now. Next time, I hope you’ll show more respect to me, otherwise, it won’t just be a whipping."

After hearing noise outside, the woman turned and walked out of the cell, greeting Andre.

Seeing the woman leave the cell, Andre inwardly exclaimed in alarm and rushed into the cell.

"Young brother? Are you alright?" Andre quickly picked up a magic potion and administered it to Lu Hong.

It took a while before Lu Hong was pulled back from the brink of death, Andre looking at him apologetically and tending to his wounds.

"Young brother, I hope you won’t hate Sangxi."

Lu Hong stayed silent. Was this woman’s name Sangxi? Very well, I’ve noted it down! Such humiliation, regardless of the perpetrator’s status, had made it onto his kill list.

Once Andre unlocked the shackles, Lu Hong slowly stretched his muscles and then picked up the blood food Andre brought and started eating vigorously.

Having tasted the cost of losing strength, Lu Hong did not wish to experience it a second time. This woman named Sangxi was undoubtedly going to die!

"Hey, young brother, eat slowly, don’t choke," Andre tenderly passed him a glass of water, taking care of Lu Hong’s food and drink.

Although the current scene seemed harmonious, their thoughts were worlds apart.

Andre had never imagined Sangxi would treat Lu Hong this way. The elders had decided to kill Lu Hong after he had used the magical tool, a command Andre opposed. He had been explaining continuously, hoping to save Lu Hong’s life. It seemed now that he had to personally carry out this execution order.

Andre would not rely on others; even if Lu Hong held only 1% of vengeful desire against Sangxi, Andre would completely eliminate this possibility.

This was also why he had managed to gather intelligence for the Basa family for years without being discovered, always steering the safe course.

Convinced of his resolve to kill Lu Hong, Andre’s gaze towards him softened.

Meanwhile, our Lu Hong was continually regaining his vital energy through the food and rapidly pondering on how to break the situation.

Following the Basa family to rescue Xia Lu was his best chance to escape, yet it was also not easy. Soon, both the Basa family and the Gold family would be his enemies, Lu Hong was on Andre’s kill list, and Andre was likewise on Lu Hong’s list, a strand of killing intent unintentionally revealed by Andre had been keenly captured by Lu Hong.

Basa family, await my revenge!