Free Web NovelChapter 96: Chapter 96: Cut Them Down, Leave No Witnesses
The next moment, Lu Chao gave the order. "Move out! We’re going to rescue General Lei Zhen!"
THUMP THUMP THUMP...
Under Lu Chao’s lead, the two thousand remaining soldiers from the Azure Flame Sect immediately thundered back toward Yangzhou City. They vanished from the sight of the onlookers on the city wall, their movements so swift it was dizzying.
Guan Zanyi’s adjutant asked dazedly, "Fan Jinhu, are they really going to save Lei Zhen?"
Hearing this, all the men from the Tiger Flame Kingdom were deeply skeptical...
Just then, Guan Zanyi realized what had happened, and his expression changed drastically. "Son of a bitch! Fan Jinhu is using my order to make a run for it!"
Upon hearing this, the corner of everyone’s mouth twitched.
If Fan Jinhu had stayed, Grand General Guan would have certainly used him as expendable cannon fodder against Lu Hanyan. But just now, in a fit of rage, the Grand General had given them the perfect opportunity to escape Yinzhou City.
"That bastard. That bastard Fan Jinhu," Guan Zanyi cursed.
If Fan Jinhu heard this, he would surely feel wronged. ’It was all Lu Chao’s doing, so why am I always the one getting cursed out?’
Of course, Fan Jinhu was more than happy to take the fall for Lu Chao.
At that moment, the envoys from the Flame Country and other kingdoms rushed out. It was the middle-aged woman from Fox Flame who spoke up again. "Grand General Guan, this is no time to be concerned with Fan Jinhu. Lu Hanyan is about to attack!"
A chill ran down Guan Zanyi’s spine. He had no choice but to temporarily set aside his anger toward Fan Jinhu and hastily begin planning the city’s defense.
At the same time, carrier pigeons soared into the sky, sent to inform the other kingdoms that Lu Hanyan was still alive.
As for the details in the letters...
The envoys wouldn’t mind embellishing things a bit. Mentioning Lei Zhen’s command of the operation—throwing the Tiger Flame Kingdom under the bus would be quite satisfying.
...
Meanwhile, the two thousand remaining soldiers from the Azure Flame Sect charged relentlessly toward Yangzhou City.
Yu Xiaoping couldn’t resist approaching Lu Chao. "Brother Lu," he asked, "are we really going to rescue Lei Zhen and his son?"
And they were, indeed, heading straight for Yangzhou City.
Lu Chao smiled at the question. He gazed toward Yangzhou City and said coldly, "Lei Zhen and his son have escaped Yangzhou City. To make sure they don’t actually survive, we’ll go... and cut them down first."
At these words, everyone, including Fan Jinhu, stared dumbfoundedly at Lu Chao.
"If Lei Zhen is dead, dead men tell no tales!"
"It will confirm that he was the one who commanded the failed assassination, and we’ll be completely cleared of the crime."
A direct confrontation was out of the question...
Lu Chao wasn’t just using Guan Zanyi’s furious order to escape Yinzhou City; he was also seizing the opportunity to go and kill Lei Zhen and his son.
"He wanted to steal our credit and crush us completely, so we’ll send them to their graves."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Chao spurred his horse forward, with Cheng Yunsu right behind him.
Fan Jinhu and the others exchanged glances, swallowing hard. Then, one by one, a battle-hungry light ignited in their eyes. How could just talking be enough to vent their frustrations? Of course, they also needed... to kill to their hearts’ content.
The morale of the two thousand remaining soldiers of the Azure Flame Sect suddenly skyrocketed. Roaring, they charged wildly after Lu Chao.
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On the plains between Yangzhou City and Yinzhou City, Lei Zhen and his son fled for their lives with several hundred elite soldiers. The arrogance they’d had when trying to steal credit was gone, replaced only by the deathly pale color of their faces.
Lei Zhen cursed as he ran. "That bastard! That damn Fan Jinhu set me up! I’ll kill him!"
Lei Guangheng was cursing as well. "And that nameless descendant of the Azure Flame Sect! I’ll tear him limb from limb!"
He was, of course, referring to Lu Chao.
He was the one who made Fan Jinhu agree so readily to give them credit. He’d been setting a trap for them.
They were no match for Lu Hanyan; the city walls were breached within a quarter of an hour.
The father and son had no choice but to abandon their regular troops and flee with a few hundred elites. And now, Lu Hanyan was in hot pursuit.
After his tirade, Lei Guangheng asked in a panic, "Father, do you think Grand General Guan will send troops to save us once he gets our message?"
Instantly, Lei Zhen’s expression stiffened...
"Given Guan Zanyi’s cowardly nature, I’m afraid he won’t be sending any troops."
"So we absolutely cannot let them catch us."
Lei Zhen knew Guan Zanyi well. If the man wasn’t so afraid of death, he never would have survived his encounter with Great Wu Lu Chao several months ago.
At this, Lei Guangheng’s face turned pale with fright once more...
The next moment, his eyes shot wide as he stared ahead, shouting ecstatically, "Father, I hear hoofbeats! Guan Zanyi sent men to rescue us!"
Lei Zhen’s eyes lit up. "I didn’t expect this... Faster, faster!"
They spurred their soldiers to charge faster, rushing toward the sound of the approaching hoofbeats.
However, when they got a clear look at the troops emerging from the direction of Yinzhou City, the father and son were utterly stunned.
Lei Guangheng’s eyes widened, and he let out a choked cry, "Fan Jinhu! And that bastard kid who set us up!"
Hearing this, Lei Zhen immediately snapped to his senses.
He roared at the approaching group, "Master Fan, did Grand General Guan send you to reinforce us? Your timing is perfect! Block Lu Hanyan’s pursuing troops for us, now!"
Though he hated Fan Jinhu to the bone, now wasn’t the time to argue about being set up. Blocking the pursuers from Great Wu was the priority.
If he could get Fan Jinhu’s group to block the pursuit, he and his son could escape.
Besides, ever since she began her attack on Yangzhou City, Lu Hanyan had been screaming that she wanted Fan Jinhu dead. She would definitely target him.
Since they came from Yinzhou City, it had to be Guan Zanyi who sent them.
However, Lei Zhen and his son realized that the approaching Fan Jinhu had a cold expression and didn’t answer. Lu Chao was silent as well.
Furthermore, their warhorses showed no signs of stopping.
Seeing this, Lei Zhen immediately roared, "Fan Jinhu, are you deaf?! Stop and make way for me this instant!"
Fan Jinhu still didn’t respond, but Lu Chao suddenly did...
When they were close enough, Lu Chao raised his longspear and boomed, "Kill them! Leave no one alive!"
The terrifying, murderous shout echoed in the ears of Lei Zhen and his son.
It left the two of them completely dumbfounded.
Lei Guangheng asked stupidly, "Who... who are you going to kill?"
PFFT...
The answer was Lu Chao’s spear thrust...
As the Demon Beast Warhorse lunged forward, the spear struck Lei Guangheng squarely in the chest.
Lu Chao’s voice was ice cold. "You."
At the same time, Fan Jinhu charged the more powerful Lei Zhen. He brought his greatsaber crashing down, blasting the stunned general clean off his warhorse.
In the blink of an eye, of the once high-and-mighty father and son, one was dead and the other had been thrown from his horse.
Behind them, Luo Wendeng and Tan An roared, "Kill!"
The two thousand remaining soldiers of the Azure Flame Sect descended upon Lei Zhen’s few hundred elites. Their charge was unstoppable.
Individually, Lei Zhen’s elites might have been stronger, but in terms of morale, there was simply no comparison.
In an instant, all of Lei Zhen’s several hundred elite soldiers were dead!
When the unhorsed Lei Zhen scrambled to his feet, not a single one of his elite soldiers was left standing. All he could see were the descendants of the Azure Flame Sect, surrounding and howling at him. Trapped in the center, a loud BUZZING filled Lei Zhen’s head...
He pointed a trembling finger at them all, his gaze finally landing on Fan Jinhu. "You... you... you..."
Then, he pointed at Lu Chao and shrieked, "You killed my son! How dare you?! Do you want to make an enemy of the Tiger Flame Kingdom?"
From atop his warhorse, Lu Chao replied coolly, "General Lei, I remember your son saying that Lu Hanyan is terrifying... and that it wouldn’t matter if a few more of us assassins died. Now, I’ll return those words to you."
"Lu Hanyan is terrifying. It’s only natural that you would die fighting her."
With a wave of Lu Chao’s hand, before Lei Zhen even had a chance to beg for mercy, he was run through by a flurry of spears and killed.
