At this moment, the experts of the Nanye Dynasty, the Saint Bone Zheng Family, and the Beast Flame Inner Courtyard...
All of them, with the exception of Zheng Liling and a few others, had been slain.
It might have seemed like the key figures were still alive, but any one of the people Lu Chao had just slain was an illustrious and famous expert in their own right.
The experts Nan Zhuiming had brought with him, for instance, held extremely high positions within the Nanye Dynasty.
But now, every last one of them had fallen to Lu Chao’s spear.
...
While Lu Chao led over ten thousand cavalry onward in a relentless charge...
Lu Dingtian and his men had already returned to the makeshift town.
The town was filled with panic!
All the spectators found their escape routes blocked. The town also held many of Lu Dingtian’s subordinates and Death Warriors, as well as the third of the Great Martial Academy’s students who had refused to follow Lu Chao.
There were also guards from the Hundred Flames Trading Company, among others...
And of course, there were students like Zheng Zhuhe from the Beast Flame Inner Courtyard and Nan Ke from the Nanye Dynasty.
They had all followed Lu Dingtian’s prior command to lock down the makeshift town.
When Lu Dingtian and his men returned, the main army of the Great Wu Empire had not yet arrived, but the rumbling of the earth could already be heard in the distance.
At this, Lu Dingtian gave a sinister grin. "Kill them! Kill everyone in this town! Leave no one alive!"
As soon as he spoke, the people who had merely come to watch the tournament between the three academies were all left completely stunned.
Among them were a number of important figures.
Dignitaries from Great Wu, the Hundred Countries, and elsewhere—a City Lord, for example.
Just then, a City Lord from the Great Wu Empire rushed before Lu Dingtian. "Marshal Lu, we’re on your side!"
THUMP...
Lu Dingtian’s response was to kill the City Lord with a single palm strike.
He spoke coldly, "Right now, no one can be trusted except those who are on my side. Everyone else must be slaughtered without exception."
After a brief pause, Lu Dingtian’s gaze suddenly fell upon Wu Tong and Wu Ye...
The two had been part of the group pursuing Lu Chao, and they had just retreated along with Lu Dingtian.
Facing Lu Dingtian’s terrifying gaze, Wu Ye hurriedly said, "Marshal Lu, we are on your side! We would never betray you. Our hatred for Lu Chao is as deep as the sea; we despise him to our very bones. Please, believe us."
Lu Dingtian didn’t reply. Instead, the corner of his mouth curled into a slight smirk...
He strode toward Wu Tong and Wu Ye, step by step, and finally spoke. "Apologies, but I can’t trust either of you."
The color drained from their faces. Without a moment’s hesitation, they turned to flee...
But Lu Dingtian gave chase with ruthless speed... BANG!
His Violent Saint Bone erupted with power as he landed a heavy palm strike squarely on Wu Ye’s back.
With a cry of pain, Wu Ye was sent flying. Wu Tong’s pupils contracted violently as he screamed, "Second Brother! Second Brother!"
At that moment, Wu Yiyi was right beside Zheng Zhuhe.
She saw her father fall and wanted to scream, but she forced herself to stop, thinking, ’I can’t let Lu Dingtian notice me. If I stay next to Zheng Zhuhe, I might not have to die. They probably won’t kill Zheng Zhuhe.’
At that thought, as if overcome with grief, Wu Yiyi collapsed against Zheng Zhuhe.
She had feigned a dead faint...
Zheng Zhuhe, who was also extremely weak, instinctively held Wu Yiyi tight, his own heart filled with terror as he watched Wu Ye die.
He looked around and saw that Lu Dingtian’s men had already begun the slaughter.
Suddenly...
Just as Lu Dingtian moved to kill Wu Tong... "Report!"
A messenger, one of Lu Dingtian’s own men, rushed forward. "Marshal, Yin Ye is leading the men from Dragon Flame Academy in an attack! They took a detour, and their target is right here!"
Lu Dingtian abruptly halted his attack and demanded coldly, "Why wasn’t this reported sooner?"
The messenger quickly replied, "Our scout was taken down by Yin Ye’s experts! We only just discovered that their target was the makeshift town."
Instantly, Lu Dingtian’s fists clenched. He scanned the people around him, taking stock of who could still fight for him...
Finally, Lu Dingtian barked out a cold order, "All forces, assemble! Prepare to fight Yin Ye!"
After a quick count, Lu Dingtian felt he had a fighting chance.
But... "Report!"
Another messenger appeared, speaking rapidly, "Marshal, Nan Zhuiming and Zheng Liling’s forces have been almost completely wiped out! Only the two Saint Bone Family Heads and a few others escaped on Flying Bird Demon Beasts, and it’s unclear if they’ll even get away."
"Lu Chao is leading over ten thousand cavalry and is charging straight for us!"
These reports made Lu Dingtian’s mind... BUZZ!
He was thrown into a frenzy. His mind was reeling, and he looked once more at the people in the makeshift town.
GRIND...
’It’s too late to silence the witnesses now. I should have started killing them before I even left. But I wasn’t here, so I couldn’t have done it anyway. There are too many people in this town.’
’Without me here to keep them in check, they would have resisted and fled in all directions.’
"Marshal, if we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late! Lu Chao and Yin Ye are closing in on us from both sides!" Lu Dingkong said, his voice trembling.
Lu Dingtian shut his eyes tightly. If it were only Yin Ye, he could have fought.
But against Lu Chao’s ten-thousand-strong cavalry, staying in this makeshift town was a death sentence.
’That useless fool Nan Zhuiming... It’s one thing that he didn’t listen to me, but he couldn’t even hold back that traitorous son of mine for a single moment.’
’And now, damn it all, he’s left me with this huge mess.’
Lu Dingtian gritted his teeth in fury. Finally, he gave the heavy command, "All men, follow me out of town! We’ll rendezvous with the Great Wu Soldiers and Horses!"
With that, Lu Dingtian took his personal guard and fled the makeshift town in a flash, heading toward the Great Wu Empire.
Naturally, they took Lu Hanyan’s corpse and the heavily injured Lu Hanyang, whose Saint Bone had been gouged out.
In the blink of an eye... THUD!
Having narrowly escaped death, Wu Tong collapsed heavily to the ground. He then scrambled over to the fallen Wu Ye. "Second Brother... Second Brother..."
But Wu Ye no longer responded.
At the same time, people all around collapsed to the ground with thuds. Whether commoners or dignitaries, they were all still reeling from the shock.
At the edge of the arena...
Li Wumian hadn’t joined the pursuit because he wasn’t in the True Fate Realm.
He said to Zheng Zhuhe, "Young Master Zheng, we need to run, now! If we’re still here when Lu Chao arrives, we’re dead!"
Zheng Zhuhe heard this, nodded gravely, and looked down at Wu Yiyi in his arms.
She pretended to stir, murmuring, "Take me with you... My father is... he’s gone. I want revenge."
’I don’t know if father is really dead, but running is the right move,’ she thought.
Zheng Zhuhe nodded decisively. He lifted Wu Yiyi into his arms and, along with the surviving disciples of the Saint Bone Zheng Family, fled in a different direction. Nan Ke and his followers also made a frantic escape.
They could have followed Lu Dingtian, but they were too weak. Besides, they didn’t dare.
They were terrified of being silenced by him.
And so, those who could flee, did.
Only those who had no fear of Lu Chao—or even admired him—remained.
Just then... THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
Yin Ye and the forces of Dragon Flame Academy were the first to arrive. When they heard that Lu Dingtian had already escaped, their eyes flashed with cold resentment. In the end, Yin Ye gave the order, "Don’t pursue. Wait here for Lu Chao..."