Free Web NovelChapter 76: Chapter 76: Arrows Aimed at Lu Chao
The City Lord’s Mansion’s guards were still surrounding Lu Chao and his group.
Of course, Lu Chao had to continue using Wu Xin’s life to threaten Wu Wei and force all of Yangzhou City’s troops to retreat inside the walls.
Wu Wei was grinding his teeth hard enough to shatter them, but he still had no choice but to concede.
Moments ago, because he had insisted on keeping the city gates shut, Lu Chao had twisted and broken one of his daughter’s legs.
This Life-taking Bone, Lu Chao, was utterly ruthless and decisive.
As all of Yangzhou’s troops retreated into the city under Lu Chao’s threats, the Government Soldiers on the walls had already drawn their bows on Wu Wei’s command, aiming them at Fan Jinhua, Nephew Tan, and the others.
The message was clear: Lu Chao and his companions were now outside the city. If he didn’t release Wu Xin, Wu Wei would order his men to fire and kill Fan Jinhua and the others.
At that moment, Lu Chao and his four companions rode back to position themselves in front of Fan Jinhua and the rest.
On the city wall...
Wu Wei bellowed icily, "Life-taking Bone Lu Chao, release my daughter at once! Fan Jinhua might live, but the others, including your wife, will be riddled with arrows until they’re dead!"
Wu Wei could not back down any further. If he did, his daughter’s life was forfeit.
He himself had drawn a bow, aiming it squarely at Cheng Yunsu. He knew enough about Lu Chao to know that threatening Cheng Yunsu was his greatest weakness.
Lu Chao didn’t answer. He simply tossed Wu Xin onto the muddy ground and said coldly, "Wu Xin, you can crawl back on your own."
Instantly, Wu Xin’s face flushed crimson. ’My arms and one of my legs are broken!’
’Crawl back in this state?’
But she didn’t dare to scream or curse. She was terrified that if she displeased this Life-taking Bone, Lu Chao, he would break her other leg as well. Wu Xin could only struggle to slowly crawl toward the city gate.
Wu Xin had never imagined she could end up in such a miserable state, her face slapped numb by Cheng Yunsu.
And now, she was forced to crawl through the mud while countless people watched.
Just then, Wu Wei’s command echoed from the city wall. "Quickly, go get my daughter back!"
The words had barely left his mouth when several Innate Masters flew down from the wall and started rushing toward Lu Chao’s group.
But Lu Chao suddenly barked, "Halt!"
The Innate Masters ignored him and kept charging.
Seeing this, Lu Chao said coldly, "Give me a bow."
Upon hearing this, Nephew Tan immediately tossed the bow and arrows from his own horse to Lu Chao.
Lu Chao drew the bow, aimed at the crawling Wu Xin, and barked, "Back on the wall, or Wu Xin dies now!" freёwebnovel.com
The Innate Masters from the City Lord’s Mansion finally stopped, but they didn’t retreat to the wall.
Lu Chao didn’t shout again.
Instead, he held his bow, looked to Fan Jinhua, and said, "Master Fan, you and the others retreat at once. Get beyond the range of Wu Wei’s archers."
The situation was now this...
Wu Wei was threatening Fan Jinhua and his men with a hail of arrows, while Lu Chao held the nearby Wu Xin’s life hostage with a single arrow of his own. For everyone to escape safely, they had to get beyond Yangzhou City’s effective range before Wu Xin could crawl back to her father’s men.
Of course, if Lu Chao hadn’t thrown Wu Xin down, they wouldn’t have been able to retreat at all.
Wu Wei would have certainly abandoned Wu Xin and ordered his archers to fire. After all, if Lu Chao carried her beyond the archers’ range, her death would be a certainty, and there would be no way to save her.
Therefore, Lu Chao’s strategy was to give Wu Wei hope of saving Wu Xin, thereby creating a chance for his own people to safely withdraw.
Hearing this, Fan Jinhua moved closer to Lu Chao. "Young Brother, let me take over. You and the others retreat."
He wanted to take the bow from Lu Chao and hold Wu Xin at bay himself.
’It’s too dangerous for Lu Chao to stay behind alone.’
Lu Chao just shook his head.
"Master Fan, your injuries are too severe. I’m afraid you won’t be able to hold off those Innate Masters for long."
"Besides, Wu Wei has surely sent men to secretly leave the city from another direction. I need you to protect Xiao Su’er and my father-in-law."
Fan Jinhua hesitated. After all, he and his men had been prepared to fight to the death in Yangzhou City.
He and Nephew Tan only cared about Lu Chao and his companions getting away safely; that was all that mattered.
Lu Chao was unaware of their resolve to die...
Thinking they were worried about his ability to fight, he added with conviction, "I even killed Lu Hanyan’s Personal Guard. Don’t worry."
A slight tremor ran through Fan Jinhua at his words. He glanced at Cheng Yunsu and Wu Caicai, then finally nodded in agreement.
’He’s right, I do need to protect those two.’
"Be careful," Fan Jinhua said in a low voice. "Once we’re out of range, start falling back slowly."
After giving the instruction, he immediately called to Nephew Tan and the others, and they began their retreat.
Cheng Yunsu, her father, and Wu Caicai gave Lu Chao one last, long look before quickly falling back with the rest of the group.
On the city wall...
Wu Wei, of course, understood what Lu Chao’s group was doing, but he dared not give the order to fire. He didn’t dare try to stop Fan Jinhua’s retreat.
Life-taking Bone Lu Chao still stood his ground, an arrow trained on his daughter.
Suddenly, Wu Wei bellowed another order. "All archers, aim for Lu Chao!"
Including his own, every bow on the wall shifted to aim at Lu Chao. If he dared make a single reckless move, they would shoot to kill!
The very instant his daughter, Wu Xin, was safe, they would shoot to kill!
He had lost hope of killing Fan Jinhua’s group, so he would have to make an example of this damned Life-taking Bone instead.
Left all alone, Lu Chao had become the sole target for all of Yangzhou City.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths...
Finally, Fan Jinhua, Cheng Yunsu, and the others were beyond the archers’ range. Fan Jinhua quickly shouted, "Young Brother Lu Chao, fall back!"
Lu Chao nodded, but his grip on the bow remained firm, his aim steady on Wu Xin.
He guided his warhorse, backing away step by step in the direction of Fan Jinhua and his group.
In front of him, Wu Xin crawled on and on, inching closer to the Innate Masters at the base of the wall. The masters, in turn, advanced slowly, step by step, their eyes glued to Lu Chao’s arrow as they neared Wu Xin.
The tension was stretched to its breaking point.
Beside Fan Jinhua, Nephew Tan asked, "Uncle Fan, who is he? What should we do?"
This was the first chance Nephew Tan had to ask.
But Fan Jinhua shook his head, having no time to answer. He stared tensely at Lu Chao’s back, looking ready to charge forward at a moment’s notice.
Cheng Chuming’s forehead was beaded with sweat; he had never witnessed such a terrifying scene.
Wu Caicai and Uncle Leng were trembling from head to toe.
Their impression of Lu Chao had changed yet again. ’He’s truly admirable,’ they thought. ’An ordinary person could never remain so utterly unfazed with a thousand arrows pointed at them.’
The arrow Lu Chao held aimed at Wu Xin was unnervingly steady.
Under these circumstances, if his arrow showed even the slightest tremor, Wu Wei would immediately order the rescue of Wu Xin.
The moment Wu Xin was safe, if Lu Chao hadn’t made it out of range, his death would be certain.
And yet, just as Lu Chao was getting closer and closer to his companions, Wu Wei, on the city wall, suddenly bellowed, "Save her!"
Hearing the command, the Innate Masters pushed off the ground with explosive force, shooting toward the crawling Wu Xin at high speed.
Clearly, Wu Wei wasn’t going to let Lu Chao escape the archers’ range. At this distance, he was confident he could save his daughter.
