Chapter 154 - Fighting Through a Bloody Path

Chapter 154: Chapter 147: Fighting Through a Bloody Path"Xia Lu is sentenced to death by dismemberment for the premeditated murder of the Jin Family’s Young Master Craig and for secretly inciting discord between the two clans; the evidence is conclusive, and the Council of Elders has ruled that the execution may proceed!" With the pronouncement of the charges, four large horses were brought into the arena.

According to the method of dismemberment, ropes were tied around the criminal’s limbs, while the other ends were fastened to horses. Driven by the horses, the criminal would be torn apart, an excruciating form of execution, especially for someone like Xia Lu who had no special professions.

At that moment, Xia Lu did not struggle in the slightest, as if she had resigned herself to her fate.

Evidence? All the evidence of Xia Lu’s assassination of Craig was fabricated by the Council of Elders. Power truly was a coveted prize, and Xia Lu regretted for the first time not keeping a firm grip on it when she had controlled the military forces.

Andre and others were poised and ready, blades in hand prepared to be drawn.

"Proceed with the execution!"

"Attack!" Andre shouted, and hundreds of members of the Basa family rushed towards Xia Lu, unleashing various skills at once.

"Oh?" Hua En was very surprised, and he was not alone; everyone present had not anticipated someone would dare to interfere with Xia Lu’s execution.

"Family Head, do we need to assist?" The commander of the Hua Family’s guard approached Hua En and asked.

Hua En looked at Faku and smirked, "Brother Fa, do you think I need to help control the situation to prevent the thieves from succeeding?"

"Family Head Hua... please... show us mercy!" Faku, seeing someone disrupt the execution, was incredibly agitated, seeing a glimmer of hope for his daughter’s life.

Confronted by Hua En’s question, for the first time Faku revealed his true feelings: "Craig was not killed by Xia Lu, you know that."

"Alright, then I’ll grant Brother Fa this favor." Hua En nodded at the commander, "This is the land of the Hua Family, just mind your own business."

"As you command." The guard stepped back, and the Hua Family’s troops remained utterly still, making it clear that as long as the Basa Family members did not provoke them, they would not intervene.

The response of the Hua Family was swift; although no specific arrangements had been made, their council’s guard immediately intercepted Andre and his people.

Andre cut the binds off Xia Lu and loudly said, "Miss Xia Lu, we are here to save you!"

Xia Lu was somewhat puzzled but accepted their goodwill. Honestly, she did not want to die. Moreover, she sought revenge against the Hua Family!

In less than a minute after rescuing Xia Lu, the Hua Family’s elite troops had surrounded Andre and his men. It must be said, the Hua Family was quick and efficient.

"Who are you to dare disrupt the execution?!" The Third Elder of the Council coldly ordered: "Execute them on the spot!"

Andre and his companions protected Xia Lu as they fought their way towards the direction where Lu Hong was.

"Young lad, if not now, then when?"

At Andre’s loud call, the Blood Holy Sword was suddenly drawn, a long dragon of blood qi roared over the plaza.

The people guarding by Lu Hong’s sides had barely reacted before they were swiftly slain by Lu Hong descended as a lion king.

"Andre! Take care!" Lu Hong, not being foolish, knew that once he used the War Holy Sword’s power, he would fall into a weakened state; afterwards, he would still be a lamb waiting for slaughter, with his life fully in others’ hands.

"What are you doing?!" Andre was furious, Lu Hong’s sudden betrayal seriously troubled him. Although he knew Lu Hong controlled a powerful weapon, he was unclear on its operations. From the overall situation, he had assumed Lu Hong would prioritize rescuing Xia Lu, and they could discuss the rest later.

But he never expected Lu Hong to be so foolish: "Don’t you want the empire to win?!"

Rescuing Xia Lu was the best opportunity to strike at the Hua Family.

Yes, Lu Hong admitted, if he could avoid entering a weakened state after using the War Holy Sword’s power, he would definitely choose to save Xia Lu first, then flee to safeguard his life.

"Sangxi, I’ll come back for you!" Lu Hong quickly retreated, his only thought at that moment was to escape from the Hua City!

And in Andre’s recent loud call, he had also set Lu Hong up.

The mention of ’empire’ alerted the Hua Family fully.

"Catch that lad alive!" Following the elder’s order, a third of the Hua Family’s guard force sprinted directly after Lu Hong.

Andre successfully diverted pressure towards Lu Hong, significantly increasing their chances of breaking through.

As for Lu Hong, he dashed from the Golden Square towards the main road leading to the west gate of Hua City, only to be stopped by the army.

Magic spells flew at Lu Hong from all directions, but with the Lion King’s blessing, he moved swiftly, and the opponents’ skills weren’t much of a threat.

After all, this was still inside the city among buildings, and with only one enemy, the use of large-scale magic skills was prohibited.

"Draw your sword, prepare for close combat!" the garrison Commander said gravely, "The elder said to capture him alive."

"Understood!"

With enemies ahead and pursuers behind, Lu Hong kept summoning the blood qi from within his body. As long as he could break through the western city gate, he would definitely be able to escape!

Bloodthirst activated!

Lu Hong transformed into a bloody stream of light and plunged into the midst of the Golden Army.

Like a blood-red hurricane, his method of exchanging wounds for wounds caught the opposition off guard.

"Fall back!" the Commander exclaimed in alarm, the opponent’s twin blood-colored greatswords were too flexible and swift, their immense power enough to breach the soldiers’ defenses.

"Mages, bombard him!"

"Too late!" Amidst the ongoing slaughter, the power of Bloodthirst had already activated subtly.

An intimidating roar thundered through the skies, plummeting every mage in the Golden Army into a momentary silence of magic power.

Taking advantage of this, Lu Hong charged into the mages’ ranks, and in mere seconds, more than thirty mages had perished under the holy sword.

"How is he so powerful? Is this really a Second Transition level two warrior?" The Commander, sent flying by Lu Hong’s sword, was internally shattered. His strength had long reached Second Transition level ten, and although not considered formidable in the land of Yuan Hua, under the suppression of strength, he still held a notable position among the experts. Assuming no Third Transition intervened, he still had some authority. Yet, unexpectedly, he was so easily defeated by his opponent.

"Golden Guard, come help quickly!"

The Golden Guard rushed forward with a fierce assault on Lu Hong.

"Next time, be more subtle with your killing intent!" Lu Hong spun his holy sword, sealing the throat of an attacking assassin with one thrust. He then kicked an approaching holy knight, sending him flying and toppling a swath of soldiers.

Blood Qi Shockwave!

Under the intensification by Bloodthirst, the power of the Blood Qi Shockwave was magnified several times over, exploding like a blood-colored nuclear bomb on the western side of the Golden City.

Bathed in a blood-soaked breakout, Sangxi, with a shocked expression, looked toward the bloody glow in the sky. Was that a skill deployed by Tu Kuru? Why was he so strong?!

Sangxi turned to André, his lips curling into a bitter smile, "What do we do?"

André gritted his teeth, "What else can we do now? Stick to the planned escape. The attention of the Gold family is all on him. Even though he’s strong, he might not be able to escape from Golden City."

Indeed, André and his group had already prepared for what would follow their breakout, ensuring their survival while Lu Hong became the main target for the Gold family’s frustration.

"Kill! Kill!" Driven by Bloodthirst, Lu Hong was like a blood-colored Heavenly God, his blood so thick and dark that it formed a protective barrier around him, blocking most of the skill damage.

"Quickly request masters from the council of elders to come, we can’t suppress him anymore!" The Golden Guard also suffered heavy losses. If Lu Hong hadn’t found a breakthrough from the garrison and nurtured the might of Bloodthirst, he might have been captured long ago.

Now, with the full power of Bloodthirst, no one below the Third Transition was his match.

Today’s three chief priests are all deployed at the front line, and numerous experts are assembled there; the Gold family now only has two Third Transition level five experts available, one Storm Sacrificer and one Magic Fighter, severely injured from the front line.

For a Storm Sacrificer in the Third Transition, there are two paths: the Hurricane Screamer and the Thunder Caller.

And even though there’s only one Phantom Demon Emperor in the Third Transition for a Magic Fighter, in practice, it can be divided into many varieties, with titles varying according to the specializations in elemental magic.

This heavily wounded Phantom Demon Emperor, specialized in water elements and holding the title of Water Elemental Emperor, primarily focused on recovery. His offensive skills weren’t strong, which made him a prime target for bullying on the battlefield.

"Wind’s Grasp, slice!" In the distance at the edge of the sky, a silhouette holding a short staff, the roaring wind like a bone-scraping steel knife, twisted around Lu Hong.

Thick, dark blood qi splashed up in showers, reducing the strength of the blood-infused blood qi with Bloodthirst.

"Water Nourish, Rainfall Blessing." The Phantom Demon Emperor chanted a spell, a rain cloud enveloping the western sky above the city, bringing a glimmer of life to those gasping from Lu Hong’s sword.

The gentle pitter-patter of rain wasn’t only healing; as it fell on Lu Hong, it brought harm, dissolving his blood qi once again.

As the two Third Transition powerhouses intervened, the slaughter-filled gaze of Lu Hong regained some clarity.

Regaining his senses, Lu Hong scanned the Golden Guards trembling in fear of advancing and the two pursuing Third Transition powerhouses. With a surge of force under his feet, he dashed straight out of the western city gate and fled.

The two Third Transition powerhouses exchanged a glance, hesitating in their decision when the command of the elder came through again.

"The Seventh Elder commands that you chase him down and capture him alive, leaving traces along the way. The Seventh Elder will dispatch other powerhouses to assist in the interception."

"Understood."