Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

Wu Wei froze. ”Bandits are attacking the city?” he asked, a nervous edge to his voice. ”How many?”

The Government Soldier replied, ”Thirty to forty riders, my lord.”

Wu Wei froze for a moment, then broke into a relaxed laugh. ’Thirty or forty riders? What the hell is there to be afraid of?’

His eyes narrowed as he glanced at the corpses hanging from the gate tower...

’Looks like they’re the assassins’ accomplices. They couldn’t control their impulses and came for a rescue.’

’Thirty or forty riders... They’re just here to hand-deliver merit to me.’

At that, Wu Wei’s expression immediately turned serious. He shouted at the top of his lungs, ”Citizens of Yangzhou City, listen! Vicious bandits are attacking! Everyone, retreat into the city! Do not let yourselves be harmed by these thugs!”

He put on the air of a benevolent ruler who loves his people like his own children. Instantly, the crowd of onlookers descended into chaos. Those outside the city walls scrambled to get inside.

RUMBLE—

The gates of Yangzhou City slammed shut.

All of the Yangzhou City Government Soldiers mounted the gate tower, preparing for battle.

In the crowd, Fan Jinhua’s expression flickered. ’Lu Hanyan just left. Who would attack Yangzhou City at a time like this?’

Scarcely had the thought crossed his mind when...

”Dad!”

A sorrowful cry boomed from outside the city walls.

The voice made Fan Jinhua’s expression drain of color. ’Damn it,’ he thought, ’it’s Nephew Tan and the others, our extraction team! How did this happen? Why couldn’t they control themselves? Why did they come?’

Fan Jinhua now knew exactly who was charging the city.

The assassins were masters from several kingdoms. And where there were assassins, there was an extraction team. Their people were lying in wait, ready to retrieve everyone after Lu Hanyan’s successful assassination.

Once Lu Hanyan was dead, her Great Wu troops would inevitably give chase, making the extraction team all the more crucial.

But the assassination had already failed.

The extraction team was supposed to get far away from Yangzhou City immediately, not charge it!

’This will get them all killed! Even if they manage to take Yangzhou City, what’s the point? If Lu Hanyan decides to turn back, who here can possibly stop her?’

’I have to... make them leave...’

At this thought, Fan Jinhua gritted his teeth. He immediately masked his face and prepared to rush onto the gate tower.

But just as he was about to charge out, Wu Wei suddenly said, ”Such fearsome bandits. Let them onto the wall first.”

Fan Jinhua froze at his words. ’Let them onto the wall?’

SWISH SWISH SWISH...

While Fan Jinhua was still stunned, thirty to forty men charged onto the city wall. Leading them was a tall, powerfully built young man.

He stared at one of the corpses hanging from the gate tower and cried out, ”Dad! Dad!”

Seeing the young man, Fan Jinhua was completely stupefied.

’It’s just Nephew Tan, with thirty or forty men.’

’The whole team didn’t come... Why was Nephew Tan so impulsive? Why didn’t the others stop him?’

As he thought this, Fan Jinhua’s gaze fell upon a particular corpse, and his entire body began to tremble violently.

’Brother Tan is dead... The boy’s father is dead.’

Fan Jinhua’s words were practically ground out from between his teeth.

「Meanwhile...」

Wu Wei stood high on the gate tower, looking down on Nephew Tan and his men. ”So,” he declared, ”you’re the accomplices of the assassins who tried to kill Lady Hanyan last night. Men! Seize them! Execute them on the spot!”

’With only thirty or forty of them, I’ll let them onto the wall. Killing them in front of all the citizens of Yangzhou will be quite the spectacle.’

The order was given. ”Kill!”

The City Lord’s Mansion’s soldiers immediately lunged toward Nephew Tan and his men, swarming them like bees. Barring any surprises, the outcome was easy to predict.

”ROAR—!”

Just as Nephew Tan was completely surrounded, Fan Jinhua finally charged out.

His face was still masked. He brutally batted aside several Government Soldiers, landing in front of Nephew Tan and his men.

Wu Wei’s eyes narrowed at the sight. ”A Transformation Realm master,” he said in a cold voice.

Fan Jinhua ignored him, instead saying, ”Nephew Tan, go! Now! I’ll hold them off.”

Scarcely had he spoken when—BLECH!

Fan Jinhua suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. Though Lu Chao had helped him neutralize the Water Chant Palm Force in his body, he was far from fully recovered. A single palm strike had been enough to aggravate his internal injuries.

Seeing blood drip from beneath Fan Jinhua’s black mask, Wu Wei smirked coldly.

”So, an injured Transformation Realm master. This just got more interesting... Attack!”

Hearing the order, the Yangzhou Prefecture Soldiers resumed their attack, closing in for the kill.

Fan Jinhua gritted his teeth and held them back. He turned to the young man beside him. ”Nephew Tan, hurry up and go! Why did you come here?”

But Nephew Tan replied with a desolate look, ”Because we can’t get away! That witch, Lu Hanyan, she’s already found us! Her troops are hunting us down. So many have been killed... they’re being wiped out!”

Fan Jinhua’s eyes widened in disbelief. So, Nephew Tan hadn’t come out of sheer impulse after all.

”Rather than be slaughtered by that witch Lu Hanyan, we decided to fight our way back to Yangzhou City and die here with my father and the others.”

”Instead of being butchered for nothing, we might as well take a few of them down with us.”

GRIND...

Fan Jinhua’s teeth ground together. The extraction team was being annihilated... most of them were the sons and nephews of the assassins.

As he fought, Fan Jinhua gazed at the corpses hanging from the gate tower, tears of bitter grief streaming down his face.

Nephew Tan continued...

”We thought if we risked it all and came here, we might have a chance to save some of our uncles.”

”But they’re all dead! All of them!”

”Uncle Fan, why did it fail so catastrophically? They said it was a sure thing in the beginning, didn’t they?”

Listening to Nephew Tan, Fan Jinhua was rendered utterly speechless. Lu Hanyan was far, far more terrifying than any of them had ever imagined.

”AAAAAAAAAAH—!”

The thought of all his companions dead, the thought of their sons and nephews on the extraction team being slaughtered by Lu Hanyan... Fan Jinhua’s heart exploded with grief and rage. He let out a heaven-shaking roar.

A tiger’s roar split the sky. Kill! Kill! Kill!

Wu Wei remained on the gate tower, watching as Fan Jinhua’s True Qi erupted violently. A cold glint flashed in his eyes. ”The Heavenly Destiny Tiger Roar Bone,” he said coolly. ”Master Fan Jinhua. So, you were one of the assassins too.”

Wu Wei had recognized him.

Fan Jinhua ripped off his black mask, revealing a blood-soaked beard. ”Wu Wei,” he snarled, ”I’m going to take your life!”

He knew he wasn’t going to survive this. He no longer wanted to.

During the assassination last night, he had concealed the aura of his Heavenly Destiny Tiger Roar Bone. He had hidden it even when he just struck.

But now, there was no longer any need.

His companions were dead. Their sons and nephews were all about to die. How could he have the gall to go on living?

With a roar, Fan Jinhua charged toward Wu Wei.

But he was immediately intercepted by Government Soldiers and several Innate Masters from the City Lord’s Mansion. Wu Wei roared with laughter. ”Fan Jinhua, weren’t you so cocky yesterday? Challenging my entire Yangzhou City all by yourself. What happened? Not so tough now, are you?”

It was because Fan Jinhua had not yet fully recovered.

He didn’t answer, only continued to kill. Just as Nephew Tan had said, he would take a few of them down with him.

Wu Wei let out a series of sinister chuckles. ’A big fish, a very big fish,’ he thought. ’I never expected Fan Jinhua to be one of the assassins, or at least an accomplice. I’m going to earn some major merit for this... Hehehehe.’

At this thought, Wu Wei issued a stern command to the Yangzhou Prefecture Soldiers: ”I want Fan Jinhua alive! As for the others... kill them all!”

THUMP THUMP THUMP...

Suddenly, the thunder of hooves echoed from the streets within the city.