Chapter 312: Chapter 312: The Strong Will Gather
The next moment, the Eagle Flame Commander, high in the air, forcefully reined in the Flying Bird Demon Beast beneath his feet. He roared, "All knights, follow my lead and loose your arrows! Kill the Fake Lu Chao! He’s trapped in mid-air with nowhere to dodge!"
BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ...
The torrent of arrows surged forth again, but because the Flying Bird Demon Beasts were agitated and still affected by the great bell’s toll, the Flying Bird Knights’ aim was poor. The arrows continuously whizzed past Lu Chao.
Just then... BOOM!
Lu Chao forcefully circulated the True Qi within his body while still in mid-air, snatching a flying arrow right out of the sky.
Then, using the arrow as a sword, he executed Thousand Kills Slaughter Sword in mid-air.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! The sounds of metal striking metal rang out continuously as the incomparably swift sword light deflected the entire volley of incoming arrows.
The Eagle Flame Commander kept loosing arrows...
But in his eyes, the Fake Lu Chao seemed to have transformed into countless streaks of sword light, batting away their arrows as he descended toward Sword Thinking Peak.
’This Fake Lu Chao... this damned Fake Lu Chao! Why is he so powerful?’
The Eagle Flame Commander recalled that "sensationalist" warning from before: the Fake Lu Chao was even more terrifying than the real one.
Just like Guan Zanyi before him, he was now experiencing it firsthand.
Protecting his wife, ascending the tower, piercing the Three Flames Commander’s mount, then catching an arrow to use as a sword and batting away their endless volleys.
The more the Eagle Flame Commander thought, the more his voice trembled. "We can’t let him live. Absolutely not. We must eliminate the Fake Lu Chao."
With that, the Eagle Flame Commander steered his Flying Bird Demon Beast into a dive, drew his long spear, and charged down at Lu Chao for the kill.
At that exact moment, Lu Chao had just touched down on the ground...
His brow twitched, and he immediately roared, "Students of Dragon Flame, aim for the space above my head... loose!"
Hearing the command, all the new Dragon Flame students raised their bows, nocked their arrows, and unleashed another frenzied volley.
The diving Eagle Flame Commander’s eyes went wide. He let out a strange cry, "You bastard! I’m jumping!"
All his murderous intent toward Lu Chao was gone. With the sky full of arrows shooting straight at him, the Eagle Flame Commander could only leap desperately from his Flying Bird Demon Beast and plummet toward the base of Sword Thinking Peak...
When he looked up, his Flying Bird Demon Beast was already so full of arrows it looked like a porcupine.
Then, Lu Chao’s voice rang out again. "Keep covering me with arrows! Follow me and keep killing!"
Evidently, after landing, Lu Chao once again charged toward the people who had climbed Sword Thinking Peak, unleashing another round of frenzied slaughter.
「At the base of Sword Thinking Peak...」
The Three Flames Commander had crashed down long ago, and now the Eagle Flame Commander had smashed down as well. Luckily, the soldiers below had managed to break their fall, so they weren’t smashed into a pulp... After all, they had both plummeted from their Flying Bird Demon Beasts to the base of Sword Thinking Peak.
This was unlike Guan Zanyi, whose three falls had not been from very high up.
But even so, both men were in terrible shape. They felt as if all the meridians in their bodies had been displaced. With a cry, they both spat out a mouthful of blood and looked around frantically...
The Thirty-Fifth Route of the Small Kingdom Soldiers and their allies were drawing closer and closer, yet the commanders’ forces couldn’t seem to break through to the peak.
"Huh? Where’s Guan Zanyi?"
The Eagle Flame Commander realized Guan Zanyi was missing and quickly asked the soldiers around him.
However, the surrounding soldiers were also stunned. They had all been watching the recent battles and hadn’t paid any attention to Guan Zanyi.
So where was Guan Zanyi now?
He had run away...
He had run into a forest somewhere on Sword Thinking Peak, muttering to himself, ’We can’t win. The Fake Lu Chao is even more terrifying than the real one. I have to run... Just like when I faced the real Lu Chao, running away is the only way I’ll survive.’
They didn’t find Guan Zanyi, and there was no time to search for him...
The Three Flames Commander stared intently at Sword Thinking Peak, watching his men get cut down one by one as they tried to ascend. He took a deep breath and suddenly roared, "General Dean Zeng Quan! Get over here and kill the Fake Lu Chao, or this battle is lost!"
He knew they couldn’t win. He had to... call for a true expert.
At that moment, Zeng Quan was still occupied fighting Dongfang Ren and his allies, alongside the other three deans.
The battle between the two sides was apocalyptic.
But when the Three Flames Commander’s voice reached him, Zeng Quan quickly leapt back and looked toward the Azure Flame Sect battlefield in disbelief.
For a moment, Zeng Quan was dumbfounded. Then he realized...
While they had been focused on dealing with Dongfang Ren, the tide of the battle had been completely turned. The Three Flames Soldiers and Horses had lost their previous overwhelming momentum and had fallen into utter disarray. The base of Sword Thinking Peak was littered with corpses.
A chill ran down Zeng Quan’s spine. ’We absolutely cannot lose this battle.’
He clenched his fists and yelled frantically, "Let’s go! To Sword Thinking Peak!"
With that, they unleashed a furious attack on Dongfang Ren, then used the opening to dart toward Sword Thinking Peak. Zeng Quan added frantically, "It was the Fake Lu Chao who turned everything around! It was all his doing! We have to kill him!"
Of course, Dongfang Ren roared, "Everyone, after them!"
His speed was incredible. Though he called it a pursuit, he was in fact just speeding toward Sword Thinking Peak himself.
He had to get there first to protect Lu Chao.
At this very moment, Zeng Quan and his experts were rushing toward Sword Thinking Peak. Dongfang Ren and his people were also rushing toward Sword Thinking Peak. The soldiers of the Thirty-Fifth Route were all rushing toward Sword Thinking Peak. It was as if the terrifying final showdown was about to begin.
...
「At the same time, by the gate of Beast Flame Academy.」
Zheng Liling and Ming Huawan had appeared here at some point, and they were gazing toward Sword Thinking Peak.
Ming Huawan spoke first. "The Fake Lu Chao actually managed to turn the tables, and so quietly..."
At first, they’d thought the Three Flames Soldiers and Horses had victory in the bag. But it wasn’t long before they felt something was off, even if they couldn’t quite put their finger on it.
And then, just like that, the Three Flames Soldiers and Horses completely lost their momentum.
Not daring to delay, the two of them had rushed to the Beast Flame Gate, and that’s when they heard it: the Three Flames Commander was crying for help.
If they didn’t kill the Fake Lu Chao, this battle would be lost!
A cold glint flashed in Zheng Liling’s eyes. "In this battle, we can only win. We cannot lose."
With that said, Zheng Liling abruptly took out a black cloth and masked his face.
Ming Huawan did the same. With their faces masked, they both charged toward Sword Thinking Peak...
On the surface, Zheng Liling was still a citizen of the Dragon Flame Kingdom, so he could not reveal his true identity.
Although he was also from the Dragon Flame Kingdom, he could claim that as the General Dean of Beast Flame Academy, he was punishing Lu Chao for killing one of the deans.
Ming Huawan, however, was from the Great Wu Empire, so of course he couldn’t reveal his identity either.
But just as they disappeared...
Another figure suddenly dropped down—it was the Dragon Flame King, also masked. He stared at the retreating backs of Zheng Liling and Ming Huawan, took a deep breath, and bellowed, "Lu Chao! Zheng Liling and Ming Huawan are coming to get you!"
His voice thundered toward Sword Thinking Peak.
This made Zheng Liling and Ming Huawan stop dead in their tracks. They whipped around to look in the direction of the Dragon Flame King.
But after shouting his warning, the Dragon Flame King had already vanished from the spot.
Zheng Liling’s mouth twitched uncontrollably...
’Son of a bitch, my identity’s been exposed. That bastard! This expert sent by the Dragon Flame King is always hounding me!’
Ming Huawan was startled and asked, "Patriarch Zheng, what should we do?"
Taking another deep breath, Zheng Liling hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth. "Ignore him. We kill the Fake Lu Chao. When the time comes, I’ll just deny everything... If we win this battle, what can the Dragon Flame King possibly do to me?"
With that, Zheng Liling once again shot toward Sword Thinking Peak...
