Chapter 282: Chapter 282: Serving as the Bait Alone
So, what was Lu Chao up to now?
Aside from the key figures at the heart of Dragon Flame, no one knew that Lu Chao wasn’t even at Lion Flame City.
He had already reached the border of the Lion Flame Kingdom.
That’s right. The masked Lu Chao outside Lion Flame City was, in fact, an impostor.
He was being impersonated by a Dragon Flame Student with a similar build.
That was why, during the shouting matches and verbal spars, the Fake Lu Chao in everyone’s eyes never uttered a single word.
The real Lu Chao was now riding alone, advancing at great speed...
Just then, an army tens of thousands strong suddenly appeared before him.
The commander of this army saw Lu Chao and immediately shouted, "Who goes there?"
Lu Chao instantly reined in his warhorse and called out with a smile, "Senior Sister Sky Cliff, it’s been a while."
The army’s commander froze on the spot. Her eyes widened as she stammered, "Lu... Lu Chao?"
Indeed, these were the soldiers of the Sky Cliff Kingdom who had just broken through a pass and entered the territory of the Lion Flame Kingdom. Their commander was not some old general, but Senior Sister Sky Cliff of Sky Cliff Academy herself.
At this moment, Senior Sister Sky Cliff was utterly bewildered. ’Shouldn’t Fake Lu Chao be outside the Lion Flame Royal Capital?’
’How did he suddenly show up here all by himself?’
"Senior Sister Sky Cliff, let’s cut to the chase..."
"The Lion Flame Royal Capital is now surrounded by our forces. The Lion Flame King is waiting for reinforcements from his allies. He doesn’t dare kill the hostages, fearing the Small Kingdoms will completely turn on him and side with Dragon Flame..."
"So for now, both sides will be in a standoff for at least a few days."
"And now, I want to take command of the Sky Cliff army. I will lead your soldiers to ambush the Fox Flame Kingdom’s forces and cut them down before they can provide reinforcements."
"I wonder, Senior Sister Sky Cliff, if you would be willing to hand over your commander’s token?"
Lu Chao wasted no more words, getting straight to the point and directly demanding command of the Sky Cliff army.
Senior Sister Sky Cliff’s mouth fell open, her mind still reeling. ’Who just asks for command of an army so directly?’
She and the surrounding Sky Cliff experts exchanged bewildered glances...
At that moment, an old man stepped forward and asked, "Young brother Lu Chao, what are your chances of success?"
Lu Chao looked up. The old man before him was none other than Dean Sky Cliff...
"One hundred percent. I’ve already contacted the Liyan Kingdom. We will encircle the approaching Fox Flame forces. When the time comes, we will annihilate them, leaving no one alive..."
"If we want to rescue all the hostages, relying on Elder Dongfang alone is far from enough. We must achieve breakthroughs on multiple fronts."
"We absolutely cannot allow all these armies to converge on the Lion Flame Royal Capital."
Lu Chao analyzed the current situation piece by piece... A quarter of an hour later, Senior Sister Sky Cliff solemnly handed her commander’s token to him. Then, with a single command from Lu Chao, the Sky Cliff army set out under his orders.
The Sky Cliff Kingdom was one of the larger kingdoms among the Hundred Countries.
Their army numbered in the tens of thousands, as did the Liyan Kingdom’s. This allowed Lu Chao to deploy his forces with ease.
「One day later...」
Within a small kingdom on the border of the Lion Flame Kingdom.
The army of the Fox Flame Kingdom arrived as reinforcements. In a vast and mighty procession, they prepared to cut their way into Lion Flame territory.
Their commander spoke coldly, "Lion Flame is pathetic. Beaten so easily by Fake Lu Chao. It’s laughable. When I get my hands on that Fake Lu Chao, I’ll cut him to pieces to avenge the disgrace at Sword Tooth City."
The other Fox Flame generals also burst into mocking laughter, full of disdain for Lion Flame.
As for Fake Lu Chao, they were all shouting for his head...
However, at that very moment, a low voice rang out, "Fox Flame Commander, it’s been a while."
As the words faded, Lu Chao once again appeared, all by himself.
He stood alone, blocking the path of the Fox Flame army.
He wasn’t wearing a mask, and of course, the Fox Flame Commander recognized him. She had seen him at the Tiger Flame Sword Tooth Cities.
Back then, Lu Chao had put on his mask right in front of them.
Still, the Fox Flame Commander hesitated for a moment, her brow furrowed, and asked in a low voice, "Who are you?"
After all, Lu Chao had just been a minor figure back then. She hadn’t even asked for his name, so she didn’t recognize him right away.
"I’m Lu Chao!"
The moment he said this, the Fox Flame Commander’s eyes shot wide open.
She couldn’t help but shriek, "Fake Lu Chao! You- you’re supposed to be outside Lion Flame City!"
Lu Chao shrugged and replied with a smile, "I got scared, so I ran. Now I’d like to ask for the Fox Flame Commander’s help."
At his words, the Fox Flame Commander’s face filled with shock and suspicion...
But she was no fool. She wasn’t about to believe his nonsense. She shouted, "Men! Seize Fake Lu Chao!"
Hearing this, Lu Chao said nothing, simply turning his horse and spurring it into a gallop to escape...
Seeing this, the Fox Flame Commander shrieked, "Trying to run? After him! We’ll surround him! Don’t let him get away!"
With a single command, the Fox Flame Commander led several hundred elite soldiers in pursuit.
The hundreds of soldiers began to encircle Lu Chao.
About ten minutes later, Lu Chao was completely surrounded by them in a mountain forest.
The Fox Flame Commander said coldly, "Fake Lu Chao, didn’t you want to ask for my help? Why did you suddenly run?"
To this, Lu Chao could only turn back and say, "Fox Flame Commander, I came to negotiate. But you ordered my capture without a second thought. Where’s the sincerity in that? No matter what, I’m still the Head Senior Brother of Dragon Flame Academy."
Hearing this, the Fox Flame Commander and her elites just sneered.
Everyone knew that Fake Lu Chao and the Six Great Flame Countries were in a fight to the death. Fake Lu Chao had ruined the grand plan of Beast Flame and instigated the Chaotic Hundred Countries, bringing immense shame upon them.
And now, he was trying to instigate the Chaotic Hundred Countries for a second time.
Many people were now beginning to doubt whether Fan Jinhua had truly been the commander who instigated the Chaotic Hundred Countries back then.
Some were even starting to suspect that the commander of the Descendants of Azure Flame at the time was none other than Fake Lu Chao.
"Cut the crap. Surrender obediently and you might suffer a little less."
As the Fox Flame Commander spoke, she waved her hand, signaling for her elites to close in.
She was far stronger than Fake Lu Chao in the Martial Dao, but she wanted to toy with him a little.
However, at that very moment... AHHHHHH!
Screams suddenly erupted from behind them, followed by a desperate roar, "Commander, it’s an ambush... AHH!"
The sounds were coming from the Fox Flame army they had left behind.
Instantly, the color drained from the Fox Flame Commander’s face. She and her elites whipped their heads around, only to hear wave after wave of horrific cries... the sounds of slaughter, blood-curdling screams, and desperate pleas for help.
In an instant, the Fox Flame Commander was completely stunned. She whirled back around and shouted, "Fake Lu Chao, you... you actually came alone to act as bait..."
She had never imagined that Fake Lu Chao would act as bait by himself, luring her, the commander, away from her main force.
Who else would dare to do such a thing?
