Chapter 304: Chapter 304: Lay Down Your Weapons and Surrender to the Light
If Fan Jinhu had been the leader of the first Chaotic Hundred Countries uprising, the Three Great Flame Countries would never have been able to launch such a massive offensive. It was obvious that although Fan Jinhu was Fan Changcun’s grandson, he was completely inept in the Soldier Dao.
It was all the Fake Lu Chao, pulling the strings.
The leader of both the first and second Chaotic Hundred Countries uprisings was the Fake Lu Chao.
Ming Huawan, however, wasn’t dwelling on this. He muttered in a low voice, "Why are our Patriarch and Lu Hanyan so slow? Logically, they should have been done by now, shouldn’t they?"
"Could it be that the Fake Lu Chao and Fan Changcun are really trapped deep within the Azure Flame Forbidden Land, unable to get out?"
When they had devised their plan, they had calculated...
...that the Fake Lu Chao and Fan Changcun would surely have to emerge from the Forbidden Land upon receiving news of the Three Great Flame Countries’ armies arriving. But there was also another possibility: that the Fake Lu Chao, Fan Changcun, and the others were truly trapped, with no hope of escape.
In that case, their plan would have to be declared a failure, as Lu Hanyan and Ming Huasheng wouldn’t be able to enter the depths of the Forbidden Land.
Suddenly... FLUTTER!
A carrier pigeon flashed into the carriage and landed on Zheng Liling’s hand. He quickly scanned the letter attached to it.
The next moment, Zheng Liling’s expression became grim to the extreme.
"Your Patriarch and Lu Hanyan’s operation has failed."
"Fake Lu Chao, Cang Changcun, and a third person came out of the Forbidden Land just as we predicted. But the plan failed."
As Zheng Liling spoke, Ming Huawan’s eyes bulged. He snatched the letter and read it voraciously.
Finally, he looked back at Zheng Liling and said hatefully, "Your Marquis Jilong, Yin Ye, secretly came to the Beast Flame Academy, and even went to the Azure Flame Forbidden Land to cause trouble! The Fake Lu Chao is returning to the battlefield."
Lu Hanyan’s letter was written like this...
Because of Yin Ye’s arrival, the Fake Lu Chao had a chance to escape. Then, Yin Ye entered the Forbidden Land while the Fake Lu Chao returned to the battlefield.
Of course, Lu Hanyan wasn’t going to tell Zheng Liling and Ming Huawan that she and her twelve Death Warriors had been so frightened by the Fake Lu Chao that they fell to their knees. She couldn’t tell anyone about such a humiliating matter.
So, of course, she wrote in the letter that it was all Yin Ye’s arrival that had ruined everything.
Zheng Liling and Ming Huawan, naturally, took her words at face value.
The former’s fists clenched tightly...
’Dammit. Yin Ye and that unknown expert sent by the Dragon Flame King really are watching me.’
’Perhaps it was them who stole information about my plans and arrangements, which led to Yin Ye going to the Forbidden Land to intervene.’
’Damn it, damn it all! Who the hell are those eyes in the shadows?’
The above were Zheng Liling’s inner thoughts. Outwardly, he quickly summoned a subordinate...
"Quick, inform Zeng Quan and the others! Tell them the Fake Lu Chao is about to return to the battlefield and that everyone must be careful! Also, tell the Three Flames Commander that the Fake Lu Chao is the true leader of the Chaotic Hundred Countries rebellion. He is not to be underestimated!"
At his words, the subordinate hurried off to deliver the message.
...
「Meanwhile, on the battlefield...」
The Dragon Flame Academy, along with the troops of several dozen Small Kingdoms, held defensive positions in the mountains and forests around the old Azure Flame Sect site. However, they were still being constantly pushed back by the forces of the Three Great Flame Countries. Luo Wendeng had already lost count of how many orders to fall back and defend he had given.
Fan Jinxiang was beside Luo Wendeng. She asked softly, "Brother Luo, if we retreat any further, there’ll be nowhere left to go. What do we do?"
She was skilled in the Soldier Dao, so she was currently serving as Luo Wendeng’s aide.
Clenching his fists tightly, Luo Wendeng said in a low voice, "If we can’t retreat, then we fight to the death..."
The words had barely left his lips when... WHOOSH!
Elder Yu Fei appeared in a flash and landed, saying, "Xiaoluo, the commanders of the Small Kingdoms are all asking when Lu Chao will return. Faced with this situation, their resolve is beginning to waver."
At these words, Luo Wendeng’s expression changed drastically...
His younger brother, Luo Wendun, said with a slight tremble in his voice, "It’s no good. We can’t do this without Brother Lu. We can’t give the Small Kingdoms any confidence."
On the entire march here from the Dragon Flame Kingdom, it had been Lu Chao who steamrolled the enemy in every battle. Now, the commanders of the Small Kingdoms all knew that Lu Chao had entered the Forbidden Land and hadn’t returned. They could all pretty much guess that the true leader of the Chaotic Hundred Countries rebellion was Lu Chao, not Fan Jinhu.
Coupled with their disadvantageous position in the battle, the morale of the Small Kingdoms was beginning to crumble.
"As long as Elder Dongfang is here, the commanders of the Small Kingdoms won’t fall apart," Luo Wendeng said with conviction.
Hearing this, everyone looked toward a particular battle taking place away from the main battlefield...
It was the battle of the experts. Dongfang Ren was leading the powerful masters and deans from the Small Kingdoms’ various academies against the experts of the Three Great Flame Countries, who were led by Zeng Quan. But on their side, only Dongfang Ren truly stood out.
Everyone else was basically a supporting character...
And just at that moment, Dongfang Ren was forced to retreat again and again by the combined might of Zeng Quan and three academy deans.
Zeng Quan’s hearty, unrestrained voice echoed from afar...
"Dongfang Ren, it seems your old bones have gotten weaker!"
"You already have one foot in the grave, so why are you still getting involved in things like this? Why must you oppose us?"
At this, Zeng Quan looked at the deans of the Small Institutes beside Dongfang Ren and chuckled darkly. "And you fools, even if Dongfang Ren can protect you now, will he still be able to protect you after he’s in his grave?"
"If you lay down your weapons and surrender now, if you forsake the darkness for the light, it’s not too late."
"I can put in a good word for you with the Six Great Flame Countries. They will overlook your transgressions."
The voice, carried by Zeng Quan’s True Qi, rolled across the battlefield, causing the experts from the Small Kingdoms to tremble slightly.
’Dongfang Ren can’t hold out against four people by himself. And he really is too old. When he passes away, the Six Great Flame Countries will come to settle the score with us... Most importantly, we can’t even hold on in the current battle.’
Dongfang Ren didn’t reply to this. He simply gripped his Sword and charged forward.
But Luo Wendeng, acting as the temporary commander, closed his eyes in despair. ’This is even bigger trouble... With Dongfang Ren unable to hold on and at a disadvantage, the morale of the Small Kingdoms will shatter completely.’
He rapidly issued a series of new orders, but he still couldn’t stop the decline.
"HAHAHA..."
From the opposing side, an old general beside the Three Flames Commander let out a wild laugh. "Descendants of Azure Flame! Tell the Fake Lu Chao to come out! Tell that Fake Lu Chao to get the hell out here! ...Fan Jinhu, aren’t you such a hotshot? Why don’t you come and be the commander?"
The one speaking was none other than Guan Zanyi of Tiger Flame Pass...
He was no longer a main commander, however. After his failure at Sword Tooth City, he had been thrown over to Beast Flame to serve as an Order Commander. Now, he could only act as a vanguard general for the Three Flames Commander. Yet, he was still madly taunting Fan Jinhu.
’Dammit, before this, I really thought Fan Jinhu was the leader of the Chaotic Hundred Countries rebellion.’
This battle made it perfectly clear: Fan Jinhu was a nobody.
At this moment, Fan Jinhu was also just a vanguard general. He was on the field, fighting relentlessly.
He didn’t want to reply. He was still worried about Lu Chao and his grandfather.
Meanwhile, the Three Flames Commander, who hailed from Wolf Flame...
...had a ferocious expression on his face. His voice was chilling. "Even if the Fake Lu Chao comes, it’ll be useless. I will utterly crush him."
But the Three Flames Commander knew very well that the Fake Lu Chao couldn’t possibly come. He would be captured by Patriarch Zheng Liling of the Zheng Family.
This thought had barely formed when a subordinate suddenly appeared. "Reporting to the Commander! A message from Patriarch Zheng says the Fake Lu Chao is returning!"
At these words, the Three Flames Commander’s entire body shuddered...
