As his voice fell, Lu Chao abruptly wheeled his horse around.
He then bellowed another order to everyone, "Let’s go! Gather the troops and attack Cyan Sword Mountain! We’ll strike the Cyan Sword Great Empire’s defense line. With that good-for-nothing Yan Mu as commander-in-chief, taking it will be a simple matter."
Dongfang Ren and the others were utterly astonished by Lu Chao’s words, but they followed him immediately without a hint of hesitation.
Meanwhile, Mo Jing, who had just used Lu Dingtian’s troops for a Gathering Power technique, was stunned. He suddenly roared, "You little bastard, get back here!"
Lu Chao shot a look over his shoulder, his voice cold.
"Your mount, the Sword-Winged Ice Wolf, can’t fly anymore."
"You’re severely injured. If I don’t attack your good-for-nothing young master now, when should I? Not only am I leading my troops there, but I’m also sending a message to the Hundred Countries right now. I’ll have their vanguard charge Cyan Sword Mountain."
"Let’s see if you can make it in time. And let’s see if your good-for-nothing young master can hold the line."
At this, Lu Chao added, "Send out another message. Immediately dispatch assassins and Death Warriors. Be ready to assassinate Yan Mu at any moment..."
With that said, Lu Chao ignored Mo Jing behind him.
A massive number of the Hundred Countries’ Armies gathered and quickly left Zhengyang Mountain, following Lu Chao.
From behind came a furious shout: "Get. Back. Here."
It was, of course, the sound of Mo Jing roaring repeatedly. He led his troops in a frantic pursuit, though he no longer dared to charge Lu Chao alone.
WAH—
Suddenly, Mo Jing spat out another mouthful of blood, swaying precariously on his warhorse.
Finally, Lu Dingtian and his three companions emerged in a sorry state from some unknown direction. Zeng Quan and Zheng Liling had also been hit by arrows. They all looked wretched, but they managed to make their way to Mo Jing’s side.
"Lord Mo Jing, are you all right?" the four of them asked almost in unison.
Mo Jing clutched his chest tightly, seething with rage. "That damned little bastard! He deliberately made me detonate the Gathering Power, then immediately turned and fled, just to worsen my injuries!"
"He ran away on purpose because he knew that in my current condition, I couldn’t pursue him for long."
’What an absolute scoundrel.’
Mo Jing was grinding his teeth in fury.
"Lord Mo Jing, should we continue the pursuit?" Nan Zhuiming asked blankly.
SLAP—
Mo Jing slapped him across the face on the spot and roared in fury.
"Chase them? My ass! Right now, I need to focus on my Cultivation first. We must set up our defenses and watch out for them circling back for a surprise attack."
"I’ve got it. I’ll pretend to faint right now to lure them into circling back."
As he spoke, Mo Jing immediately had Lu Dingtian and the others let out feigned, panicked cries...
"Lord Mo Jing, you can’t die!"
"My lord, wake up! We can’t go on without you!"
These cries were deliberately projected to be heard by Lu Chao’s group up ahead, as well as by the Hundred Countries’ Flying Bird Knights in the sky.
「Up ahead.」
Lu Chao and his men, of course, heard the shouts immediately. They also received a report from the Flying Bird Knights: Mo Jing had suddenly fallen from his warhorse and seemed to be on his last breath.
In response, Lu Chao just scoffed, "Still trying to set a trap for us? Ignore him. Keep moving."
How could Lu Chao possibly fall for such a petty trick? Besides, he knew Lu Dingtian all too well; that man’s cries were utterly fake.
And so, under Lu Chao’s command, the hundreds of thousands of troops from the Hundred Countries’ Armies continued their march toward the Hundred Countries without stopping.
At that moment, Yin Ye rode closer and asked, "Lu Chao, are we really going to attack Cyan Sword Mountain?"
His expression turning grim, Lu Chao shook his head. "We will, but not right away. There’s no point in killing Yan Mu. Like I said before, having that good-for-nothing young master in command makes him the easiest to deal with."
Hearing this, Sun Shijin and the others were all stunned. ’Then what was the meaning of Lu Chao’s earlier shouts?’
"It’s simple. It’s to lure the injured Mo Jing back to Cyan Sword Mountain to protect Yan Mu."
"If he doesn’t leave, and he recovers in a few days, then the Second Prince, Wu Zhiqiu, and the Great Wu Empire won’t be able to hold back Lu Dingtian’s army. When that happens, Great Wu will fall."
As Lu Chao finished speaking, everyone’s pupils contracted.
They understood at once. Mo Jing possessed a Heavenly Destiny Tiger General Bone. Even in his heavily injured state, he was still terrifying. If he recovered even slightly and helped Lu Dingtian attack the Great Wu Empire, they would be completely unable to defend themselves.
Therefore, Lu Chao used the ploy of killing Yan Mu to frighten and force Mo Jing into returning to Cyan Sword Mountain.
"As soon as Mo Jing goes back, we’ll immediately turn around and strike, joining forces with the Great Wu Empire to eliminate Lu Dingtian."
"But before that..."
"We must make Mo Jing believe that we’re really going all-out to attack Yan Mu. We have to make him believe we’re genuinely going to kill him. So, send a message to Dragon Flame Master Wang. Have him immediately dispatch troops to apply pressure on Cyan Sword Mountain."
Lu Chao’s voice was low and powerful.
Yin Ye, of course, understood immediately. Without hesitation, she wrote the letter and sent it off. Afterward, the group paid no more attention to the situation behind them and continued toward the Hundred Countries.
「Back on Zhengyang Mountain.」
After waiting for a long time, Mo Jing finally got up from his feigned collapse.
He was seething. "He didn’t take the bait! That damned dog! Lu Dingtian, why couldn’t you kill him properly?"
At this moment, Mo Jing once again thought about Lu Dingtian’s failure to finish the job. The humiliation he had just suffered was all because of that failure.
And the shame Young Master Yan Mu had suffered was also because of Lu Dingtian.
THUD.
Lu Dingtian dropped to his knees on the spot. He began to frantically explain, telling Mo Jing that there might be a major issue with Lu Chao’s Bone of Myriad Stars, suggesting that it must be incredibly miraculous.
Ultimately, after various explanations from Lu Dingkong, Lu Hanyang, and others, Mo Jing finally believed Lu Dingtian’s words.
’To die like that and still come back to life so bizarrely... And he’s not some Fierce Ghost or lingering soul.’
’He truly revived by reforming his physical body.’
The fact that Lu Chao could retrieve two Heavenly Destiny Star Saint Bones and even restore his original cultivation level was proof enough that his body was still his own. This wasn’t a case of some spirit possessing a corpse.
"There really is something strange going on. Perhaps it’s some bizarre, legendary Heavenly Destiny Bone," Mo Jing muttered, a strange light glinting in his eyes.
Hearing this, Lu Dingtian and the others nodded emphatically.
Then, Nan Zhuiming asked softly, "Lord Mo Jing, what should we do now? That little bastard Lu Chao is going to kill Young Master Yan Mu. Will the Young Master be able to stop him?"
Lu Dingtian also pressed, "My lord, can we still coordinate with the Young Master and win a victorious battle to conquer the Azure Flame Domain for him?"
At the same time, Zheng Liling said, "My lord, how are your injuries? I have medicine here..."
When Mo Jing heard Zheng Liling’s last words, the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
He didn’t explain right away, needing to think first.
He first had Lu Dingtian and the others rest where they were while they bandaged his wounds. It wasn’t until that night that Mo Jing finally addressed the four of them again. "Our Young Master Yan Mu... probably can’t stop Lu Chao."