Lu Longchuan nodded silently. He was not surprised by what the man had revealed.
After staying in Huyang for so long, he was already used to the abundance of martial ethics of the local villagers.
After all, Chen Feng was spreading martial arts without restraint. Even the nursery rhyme of a village child might be the incantation of some large martial arts sect’s secret manual.
With Lu Sheng leading the way, the team did not slow down. Soon, they entered deep into Dragon Locking Ridge.
The forest was filled with mist, and the trees were shadowy. Although it was daytime, their vision was quite limited.
Lu Sheng wiped his sweat and said, “Follow this path. In about four hours, we’ll be able to leave the mountain range before dark.”
“That’s good.” Lu Longchuan exhaled.
Along the way, he had been on guard, afraid that there would be an ambush, but there was no movement. This finally made him feel much more at ease.
However, at this moment, a rustling sound suddenly sounded from the forest not far away, as if many people were approaching them.
At the same time, a thunderous shout suddenly sounded in the forest.
“Hahaha, they indeed came!”
“We didn’t wait in vain!”
“This is the Dragon King Stronghold. Hurry up and surrender!”
“Don’t even think about leaving this place!”
Shouts of killing erupted, and Lu Longchuan and the others were instantly shocked out of their wits.
“What? There’s really an ambush!”
Sun Rong’s expression drained.
The soldiers reacted as though they had been thrown into hot oil. They were already low in morale, and did not wait for the leader to command them at all. They fled in the opposite direction of the shout. In their panic, they threw down their helmets and armor and quickly dispersed into the misty forest.
Lu Longchuan and the other leaders had long been frightened out of their wits by Chen Feng. They did not dare to stay to fight and turned to run.
Behind them, the shouts followed like shadows, sometimes close and sometimes far.
Unknowingly, Lu Longchuan and the others had already been chased through different directions several times.
Suddenly, the group missed their footing and fell into a pit trap covered in thin leaves. There were short bamboo spears set up in the pit.
Plonk plonk!
Theit group hurriedly twisted their bodies to dodge, but they were still pierced by the bamboo spears. They screamed in pain as they bled profusely.
Most of them only had their limbs pierced by the bamboo spear, as their bodies were covered in armor. It was difficult for the bamboo spear to penetrate them, so they would not die directly.
Lu Longchuan’s shoulder and calf were pierced, and he was sweating profusely from the pain.
At this moment, figures appeared at the edge of the hole. They were the villagers from before. They were all dressed as hunters, and the leader was Lu Sheng, who had led the way previously.
At this moment, the group of hunters drew their bows and aimed at the people in the hole.
“Don’t move. Otherwise, I’ll shoot all the arrows at once and teach you to die from ten thousand arrows piercing your hearts!”
Lu Sheng shouted.
Lu Longchuan was shocked before he said angrily, “You’re from the Dragon King Stronghold?! You specially acted as guides to lure us into this trap?!”
Lu Sheng’s expression did not change as he spoke,
“You’re thinking too much. This hole is a trap used to trap beasts, and we’re not from the Dragon King Stronghold. But today, I’ll let you understand one thing.
“You defeated soldiers are looking for a guide. After this is done, you will definitely kill me to silence me. I can only strike first.
“Ever since Chen Feng came to Huyang, our days have been much more comfortable than usual. Your Imperial Court came to exterminate him because you wanted to snatch our good days. If not for your strength and authority, I would have at least cut off the heads of a few officials and soldiers.
It just so happens that I lack a gift to go up the mountain and go under Chen Feng. You guys are wearing good armor and helmets, so you’re most likely generals in the army. Capturing you can be considered a meritorious service. After I go up the mountain, I can at least be a leader.”
Hearing this, Lu Longchuan was so angry that his face trembled.
He originally thought that he had been ambushed by the enemy, but he did not expect to meet his end in the hands of a group of villagers!
And it was even at the hand of a child!
How embarrassing!
“Big Brother, don’t panic. After I kill this group of stupid villagers, I’ll break you out!”
Shi Hu suddenly stood up and roared loudly. Ignoring the bamboo spear on his body, he was about to kick the wall and jump to the ground to start a massacre.
“Release the arrows!”
Without hesitation, Lu Sheng commanded.
Sou! Sou! Sou!
With the twang of the bowstrings, more than ten arrows tore through the air, turning Shi Hu into a porcupine. He died with his eyes wide open.
“Er Hu!”
Lu Longchuan’s eyes almost popped out. A force surged in his body, temporarily suppressing the pain. He jumped up and slashed at Lu Sheng.
The blade force whistled through the air, containing the power to cut through metal and jade.
However, Lu Sheng was not afraid. He pulled out his saber and blocked this powerful slash. Moreover, he restrained Lu Longchuan’s leap and suppressed his opponent, who had nowhere to borrow strength in the air.
Even though Lu Longchuan was seriously injured and his skills were greatly reduced, Lu Sheng was actually able to block the other party’s full-strength slash. His martial arts were not weak. Clearly, it was not the “rough martial arts” that he had mentioned previously.
Lu Longchuan was pressed back into the hole by the saber, but wanted to jump up again.
However, the next moment, his body suddenly froze.
A few arrows pierced his back.
They came from the hunters surrounding the other side of the hole attacking while he was distracted.
Lu Longchuan’s vision darkened. The force he had painstakingly gathered immediately dissipated, and his entire body went limp. He leaned on the ground with his saber and forced himself not to fall.
“My life is over…”
Lu Longchuan muttered to himself as blood flowed from his mouth.
Seeing this, Sun Rong couldn’t care less about his injuries. He quickly introduced himself and shouted,
“Stop! Everyone, stop! He’s the leader of the Heavenly King Stronghold, Lu Longchuan. We’re all leaders of the Heavenly King Stronghold. If you let us live and send us to Chen Feng, it will be a great merit for you!”
Lu Sheng raised his eyebrows and immediately smiled happily.
“Oh, looks like I’ve caught a big fish.”
…
In some part of Huyang Pingzhou, the pursuers of the Dragon King Stronghold were advancing.
Chen Feng rode on a horse with a group of leaders beside him, chatting.
“We’ve been chasing for many days, and we’ve already captured most of the leaders of the Heavenly King Stronghold. Unfortunately, we haven’t found Lu Longchuan. I wonder where he ran off to. Could he have already run out of Huyang?”
Hong Dingxian said in a worried tone.
Chen Feng casually said, “It’s fine. It’s naturally good if we can capture him. It doesn’t matter if we can’t. In any case, we’ve already captured most of the people in the Heavenly King Stronghold. Lu Longchuan’s foundation has already been lost. Even if he slips away, it won’t amount to much.”
Fang Zhen touched his chin and chuckled, “Second Brother, I finally understand why you want to sow discord. Did you capture those leaders to subdue them?”
Chen Feng nodded, “That’s indeed the case, but that’s only one reason. The other reason is that they’re indebted to Big Brother, so they’ll try not to harm their lives.”
Guo Haishen sighed, “Sigh, when two armies fight, there should be no need to talk about life and death. We should rely on our own methods, but Second Brother still wants to repay the kindness on my behalf. I’m really ashamed. If they’re unwilling to surrender, Second Brother, don’t care about my face. Kill them if you have to.”
“We’ll talk about it then.”
Chen Feng did not assent.
At this moment, Duan Yunfeng suddenly sneered and said, “If not for the fact the Perfected Master Windwalker was poisoned by a spy, we wouldn’t have won so easily. Those treacherous officials in the court only know how to fight among themselves. We really didn’t misjudge them.”
Hearing this, everyone could not help but laugh mockingly.
They were originally curious why Perfected Master Windwalker suddenly did not leave the formation. Now that he had captured a large number of enemies, they naturally found out about the situation and despised the Imperial Court even more.
In order to fight for power, they had actually stabbed their own people in the back, benefiting foreign enemies like them.
Everyone felt that the people in the royal court were becoming more and more hopeless, and they were full of contempt in their hearts.
“This is the shortsightedness of the ruling class, only ever thinking about what is in front of them.” Fang Zhen shook his head.
Was this how these words were used? Guo Haishen scratched his head.
Duan Yunfeng paused for a moment before saying regretfully, “Unfortunately, the Perfected Master Windwalker managed to escape during the chaos. When he recovers in the future, he will be able to restrain Chief and will be a powerful enemy. If we could have taken advantage of the situation to capture him, we could have cut off the dog emperor’s right-hand man.”
“That’s right.” Fang Zhen echoed. Then, he smiled evilly and said, “However, Perfected Master Windwalker really has a rich family background. He actually brought so much gold, silver, and treasures. In the end, they all benefited us… I wonder why he brought these treasures to the battlefield. Could it be that he wants to live lavishly while having a war at the same time?”
Hearing this, Chen Feng interrupted the conversation,
“Alright, don’t think about anything else. Let’s chase after Lu Longchuan first.”
Everyone agreed.
At this moment, a sentry suddenly ran over from the front and shouted,
“Report! There’s a group of villagers blocking the way ahead. The leader calls himself Lu Sheng. He said that he’s a villager at the foot of Dragon Locking Ridge. He captured Lu Longchuan and the other leaders of the Heavenly King Stronghold and wants to offer them to us!”
When everyone heard this, their expressions changed in surprise and curiosity.
Guo Haishen was shocked, “Then Lu Longchuan died in the hands of a group of villagers? For real?”
Chen Feng raised his eyebrows and laughed out loud,
“This is really effortless. Brothers, follow me to greet Commander Lu!”