Free Web NovelChapter 83: Chapter 83: Hindsight
WHIIIIIR...
The whistle of arrows tore through the air, striking like a ferocious thunderclap.
"AHHHH..."
Dozens of Innate Masters had their attention fixed on Lu Chao, leaving them completely undefended from the arrows coming from behind. Several were struck in an instant.
Screams of pain erupted!
Another Innate Master quickly shouted, "It’s an ambush, just as I thought! He’s not alone."
Immediately, some of them spun around to defend against the direction the arrows were coming from...
At the same time, the twenty-thousand-strong army fell into chaos once more.
The death of their young commander, coupled with the sudden volley of arrows, made the soldiers fear how many enemies were hidden in the surroundings.
Amidst the chaos, Lu Chao’s voice roared, "Kill!"
With the dozens of Innate Masters distracted by the arrows, Lu Chao used the momentum of his warhorse to charge viciously into their midst.
The young commander’s mount was no ordinary warhorse. It was a Postnatal Level Demon Beast, and its charge was far more powerful than that of a common steed.
Demon Beast Warhorses possess a degree of intelligence and typically don’t allow anyone but their master to ride them.
But who was Lu Chao?
He was a born killing star of the battlefield. These Demon Beast Warhorses, having spent years in the army, were already instinctively afraid of him. The moment Lu Chao mounted one, it lost all will to resist.
The force of Lu Chao and the Demon Beast Warhorse’s charge far surpassed that of a Fourth or Fifth Layer Innate. He swept his spear wide.
"ARGH!"
The three Innate Masters blocking his path were cut down at the waist, sending blood spraying everywhere.
Charging past their bodies, Lu Chao’s voice thundered again, "Those who stand in my way die!"
His charging horse crashed forward...
Wherever his long spear pointed, the dozens of Innate Masters seemed to be sent flying.
Some were slain, while others, driven by instinctual fear, leaped back frantically, not daring to face Lu Chao’s weapon.
In an instant, Lu Chao broke through the encirclement of dozens of Innate Masters.
From the large tree... WHIIIR!
Cheng Yunsu and the others continued to fire arrows at the group of Innate Masters.
Even if they couldn’t kill them, they had to disrupt their focus.
Lu Chao charged on, heedless of the arrows. He trampled through the surrounding soldiers, and those who tried to block him were sent flying or crushed, their screams endless.
In just a couple of breaths, he charged back to the base of the large tree.
Lu Chao ordered, "Seize their horses and follow me."
Without hesitation, Cheng Yunsu and the others leaped down from the tree, commandeered nearby warhorses, and charged out with Lu Chao.
Here, with the threat of arrows gone...
The dozens of Innate Masters finally regained their composure. They stared blankly in the direction Lu Chao and his group had gone.
One Innate Master asked dumbly, "Do we give chase?"
A second Innate shook his head firmly. "We can’t pursue recklessly. Watch out for an ambush or a trap."
"But if we don’t, they’ll get away. Maybe it really is just those few people," a third person spoke up.
A fourth Innate Master said numbly, "That’s impossible, right? How could just a handful of people dare to face us?"
With their leader dead, the dozens of Innate Masters were all of different minds, unsure of what to do.
As for the soldiers, after seeing anyone who tried to block the path get slaughtered, they simply made way for Lu Chao’s group. They all just looked to the dozens of Innate Masters, waiting for their orders.
Only after Lu Chao’s group had already charged out did some soldiers come to their senses and let loose a volley of arrows.
But it was useless. Lu Chao and the others had already vanished into the forest.
「A short while later...」
The deputy commander arrived from Canyang Valley and was stunned by the scene before him. ’Why isn’t there a battle going on?’
After he got a clear account of what had happened, the deputy couldn’t contain his rage and swung his hand... SLAP!
A heavy slap sent the nearest Innate Master flying.
He roared furiously, "Are you idiots? There were definitely only a few of them! An army of twenty thousand, and you let yourselves be scared witless by a handful of people?"
The Innate Master who had been slapped held his face, feeling utterly wronged. ’How can you be so sure there were only a few of them?’ he thought. ’And even if there were, who the hell would have thought someone who hadn’t even reached the Innate Realm would dare to face an army of twenty thousand?’
’You’re just a Monday-morning quarterback! If you had seen your leader killed in the first exchange, wouldn’t you be shaken too?’
THUD...
The deputy sent a second Innate Master flying with a kick, then roared, "What are you standing around for? Go after them!"
The group of Innate Masters snapped out of it, quickly mounted their horses, and gave chase after Lu Chao’s group.
After another moment passed, just as the deputy was debating whether to send a message and report the matter to Lu Hanyan... ROAR!
A tiger’s roar suddenly echoed from the direction of Canyang Valley. freёwebnoѵel.com
Immediately after, Fan Jinhua’s voice rang out, "I am Fan Jinhua! Everyone, follow me and break out of Canyang Valley!"
Fan Jinhua and his men had finally made their move. He had deliberately roared as loud as he could, intending to relieve the pressure on Lu Chao.
Hearing this, the deputy jolted in alarm.
"Damn it! Those people just now were a decoy! He lured me away from Canyang Valley!"
"After killing Lu Yan’s Personal Guard, Fan Jinhua didn’t flee south back to Tiger Flame. The bastard had the audacity to come back for a rescue!"
"Quick, back with me!"
With that, the deputy led his men and charged back toward Canyang Valley. Along the way, he hurriedly sent a carrier pigeon to Lu Hanyan.
But when the deputy returned to Canyang Valley, what he saw was...
Fan Jinhua had already led two thousand men—the assassins’ extraction team—and broken through the encirclement. They were now charging toward Zhengyang Mountain.
Although Fan Jinhua was injured, his combat prowess was still formidable.
Especially after the deputy had been lured away...
The remaining forty thousand soldiers had no master strong enough to contain Fan Jinhua. And because the deputy had been drawn off by Lu Chao, the forty-thousand-strong army was thrown into disarray by just two thousand men in an instant.
A cold chill ran down the deputy’s spine. If Fan Jinhua escaped with his men, Lu Hanyan would have his head.
At this thought, he charged madly toward Fan Jinhua’s group while ordering, "What are you all standing there for? After them!"
With the deputy’s return, the forty thousand routed soldiers finally had a commander to rally around and began a frantic pursuit.
Fan Jinhua, leading the two thousand men of the extraction team, glanced back and saw the deputy. He gritted his teeth. "No delays! Keep running with me! Our lives depend on this!"
The two thousand surviving members of the extraction team had nearly given up hope. Canyang Valley was simply indefensible.
And that was with Lu Hanyan’s elite forces not even having made a move yet.
Fan Jinhua’s sudden arrival had given them a glimmer of hope for survival. It drove them into a frenzy, fighting for their lives to break out, and now they ran for their lives with that same desperation.
Soon, they reached Zhengyang Mountain and arrived at the small mountain path Lu Chao had told them about.
"Once everyone is across, we destroy the path behind us, and we’ll be safe."
Fan Jinhua came to a sudden halt, waving frantically at the two thousand men. The group surged onto the mountain path.
However, the vanguard of the pursuing army had already arrived.
The deputy was still coming from Lu Chao’s location, so he was farther behind. For now, he could only roar, "Charge them at all costs! Take Fan Jinhua’s head, and you’ll be enfeoffed as a marquis and general, with a reward of ten thousand taels of gold!"
There will always be brave men under a heavy reward. The vanguard of the pursuing army charged forward recklessly, as if their lives meant nothing.
