Chapter 280: Chapter 280: Great Victory, Entering Lion Flame
Another of the so-called "hostage kings" continued, "Later, when our institutes went to Dragon Flame, they nearly killed us."
Dozens of small institutes had set out for Dragon Flame, and the small kingdoms they belonged to had all been threatened.
That was why Dongfang Ren had to lead the small institutes back to the Hundred Countries first.
And the families of many from the small institutes had all been taken hostage...
For example, Senior Sister Sky Cliff’s family was now being held by one of the Flame Countries.
This enraged the various minor kings, and their hearts leaned even more toward Dragon Flame.
This was also why Lu Chao had to first take them as hostages himself in order to mobilize their troops.
In other words, if they had willingly joined Dragon Flame Academy, their families would have been in danger. But by being forced to deploy their troops after Lu Chao took them hostage, they could claim they had no choice.
’Lu Chao forced us to send our troops. It has nothing to do with us, so please don’t hurt our families.’
And now, Dongfang Ren was already moving in the shadows...
Only by rescuing the hostages could these small kingdoms and institutes wholeheartedly support Dragon Flame Academy.
Right now, many of the kings of the small kingdoms were only outwardly obedient to the Six Great Flame Countries.
At this moment, the battlefield had reached a fever pitch. Lu Chao and the members of Dragon Flame Academy fought with increasing momentum. A battle where the few would defeat the many was about to unfold, and the Lion Flame Commander was starting to lose control of the situation.
Dean Lion, who was in a fierce battle with Sun Shijin, couldn’t help but roar, "Shi Guang, are you a fucking good-for-nothing?"
Shi Guang was the name of the Lion Flame Commander...
Of course Dean Lion was furious. He had so many more soldiers than the Fake Lu Chao, yet they were being beaten this badly.
But Shi Guang couldn’t voice his grievances...
He hadn’t been a commander for long. One shouldn’t forget that in the war between the Hundred Countries and Great Wu, many powerful figures had been killed or crippled by the real Lu Chao. The current commanders of the Six Great Flame Countries were really nothing special.
After all, even a piece of trash like Guan Zanyi could become the Tiger Flame Commander.
Suddenly, Shi Guang looked toward a distant mountaintop and roared, "Mad Snow King, don’t you forget, your families are still in Lion Flame City! Halt your troops at once!"
He felt it was precisely because of the troops of Mad Snow King and the others that he was showing signs of defeat.
In response, Mad Snow King quickly shouted back, "Grand General Shi, we’re hostages! What can we do?"
Shi Guang froze. ’That’s right,’ he thought. ’They’re currently being held hostage by Dragon Flame Academy.’
"You bastards, I don’t believe it..."
Suddenly, Shi Guang suspected these kings were intentionally being taken hostage, and he roared incessantly.
But whether he believed them or not, they were hostages now. Their hands were tied, and there was nothing he could do by threatening their families.
The kings were now making a bet—betting that Dragon Flame Academy could win, and that Dongfang Ren could rescue their families.
Of course, some of the minor kings’ families were safe...
When they had left Beast Flame, Marquis Longyin had anticipated this and sent people for protection. However, it was impossible to protect everyone... As had been said, the shadow war during this period was terrifyingly intense.
"Lion Flame Commander, your head is mine."
Just as Shi Guang was roaring in frustration, a figure suddenly flashed before him.
A terrifying mask appeared. It was none other than the Fake Lu Chao, coming in for the kill.
After a moment of shock, Shi Guang bellowed, "Fake Lu Chao, you think you’re enough?"
In terms of his Martial Arts Realm, he was much stronger than Lu Chao, so of course he wasn’t afraid of Lu Chao getting close.
But Lu Chao let out a cold laugh. Suddenly, the killing intent from his Slaughter Sword Bone erupted. At the same time, his Dragon General Bone let out a thunderous roar, unleashing the might of a Dragon General and instantly shocking Shi Guang’s warhorse, forcing it to its knees.
The next moment, Lu Chao took advantage of Shi Guang’s panic and slashed out with his sword... SHHNK!
A head flew high into the air...
One’s Martial Arts Realm isn’t everything on the battlefield.
Morale, timing, decisiveness, and courage can all give a general a powerful advantage. Besides, Lu Chao had already reached the Transformation Realm, while Shi Guang was only at the True Fate Realm Third Layer.
The gap was not small, but it was not enough to compensate for the collapse in morale.
At that moment, Lu Chao planted a foot on Shi Guang’s warhorse, his voice booming out with the might of a Dragon General, "Lion Flame Soldiers and Generals! Your commander is dead! Surrender now!"
The terrifying might of the Dragon General shook the hearts of countless Lion Flame Soldiers and Horses.
One by one, they subconsciously looked toward Lu Chao, standing upon their commander’s warhorse, and their hearts trembled violently.
Those Lion Flame Junior Generals who had seen the real Lu Chao’s mask felt their courage shatter.
Fear spread like wildfire. And then... they fled!
To catch a thief, first catch the king. With their commander dead, the army scattered.
Combined with Lu Chao’s terrifying mask, the Lion Flame army was instantly routed and began to flee in all directions.
In an instant, the Lion Flame Soldiers and Horses were running around like headless chickens.
"Dammit! That goddamn good-for-nothing Shi Guang!" Dean Lion roared upon seeing the situation. Then, he turned and ran. He couldn’t defeat Sun Shijin, and if he were surrounded by Dragon Flame Academy, he would be dead for sure.
However, just as Dean Lion turned to flee frantically... WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
A dense volley of arrows pursued him. Dean Lion dared not be careless. He could only turn to deflect the shafts before continuing his frantic escape.
But his shoulder had already been pierced by an arrow...
Not daring to look back, he blended into the collapsing ranks of soldiers, throwing them one after another to block the arrows for him.
In the end, he finally managed to escape...
At this point, Lu Chao called off the pursuit, regrouped with the members of Dragon Flame Academy, and returned to his warhorse.
He stared at the fleeing Lion Flame Soldiers and Horses and said coldly, "Now, under the cover of this chaos, we will invade Lion Flame."
As soon as he said this, Dean Jiang, who had never been particularly brave, felt his heart tremble violently.
But Lu Chao continued...
"Brother Luo, immediately notify Sky Cliff, Liyan, and the other small kingdoms near Lion Flame to coordinate with our invasion."
"Our objective is to rescue the hostages!"
Luo Wendeng nodded solemnly and immediately sent a message by carrier pigeon.
At that moment, everyone from Dragon Flame Academy stared at Lu Chao at the very front, their eyes gleaming. The several hundred Descendants of Azure Flame still held their heads high with their chests puffed out... To them, this victory felt like a matter of course.
The new and veteran Dragon Flame Students experiencing this kind of warfare for the first time clenched their fists in excitement.
’So it’s really possible for the few to defeat the many... And it’s this thrilling...’
One by one, they were being baptized by war. The fear they had initially felt when facing the Lion Flame Soldiers and Horses had vanished.
And next, something even more thrilling awaited: they were going to invade Lion Flame.
And so...
The hostage soldiers from the small kingdoms joined them, swelling their ranks to tens of thousands alongside the two thousand-plus members of Dragon Flame Academy. Taking advantage of the great rout of the Lion Flame forces, they smashed through Lion Flame’s Mad Lion Pass...
From there, they advanced like a hot knife through butter, cutting a path straight to the Lion Flame Royal Capital.
And just as the Lion Flame Kingdom fell into a great panic, and just as the Lion Flame King was dispatching troops to stop Lu Chao, the Sky Cliff Kingdom, the Liyan Kingdom, and others led their own forces, broke through several smaller passes, and invaded Lion Flame as well.
Lion Flame was thrown into chaos.
