Chapter 00152: Betrayed by All (For Gulu, Extra Chapters Worth Several Millions)
# Betrayed by All (For Gulu, Extra Chapters Worth Several Millions)
Chapter 152
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 152: Betrayed by All (For Gulu, Extra Chapters Worth Several Millions)
With the Thousand Blades pointing at him, Pei Xinyong suddenly found himself in a dire situation.
Lu Yao wanted his life!
At this moment, begging for mercy was useless; he understood that Lu Yao would surely slay him right there to deal with the over a thousand people outside.
Wu Shaoyi had sent someone to advise him to guard against Lu Yao's sudden attack.
Yet, he still overestimated himself.
At this moment, Pei Xinyong had no time to feel regret, as another guard beside him let out a tragic scream and fell.
He had been stabbed to death by a chaotic barrage of spears.
The strong enemies had surrounded them tightly, allowing them to disregard martial ethics, thrusting their long weapons indiscriminately, and sooner or later, they would turn them all into skewers.
Pei Xinyong fixed his gaze on Lu Yao, a flash of anger flickering in his eyes.
He fished out a small brass figurine from his bosom, bit his tongue to draw blood, and then hurled it towards the crowd across from him, shouting, “Grow!”
This figurine was only as long as his middle finger, looking like a brass toy, its surface pockmarked and patched up, something that would be ignored if thrown aside on the road.
Seeing him casually throw something over, the bandit Lu instinctively raised his knife to deflect it.
Lu Yao, with keen eyes, shouted urgently, “Get out of the way!”
Unfortunately, it was too late.
This object grew in the wind; when it left his hand, it was less than three inches long, but in mid-air, it rapidly expanded, and Lu's bandit felt as if a large shadow suddenly loomed before him.
When it landed, it made a loud “bang” that shook the mountains.
The small brass figurine had transformed into a Copper Armored Celestial Soldier towering at four zhang (thirteen meters), fully clad in heavy armor, and even when struck with blades and halberds, it remained unyielding.
Pure metal, solid.
Lu Yao's complexion changed: “The Copper Armored Celestial Soldier of the Holy Master, you actually received it!”
As soon as the Copper Armored Celestial Soldier appeared, it swept its leg and delivered two heavy punches, scattering the surrounding bandits into disarray.
A few unfortunate souls were directly swept off the mountain path, falling into a ten-zhang deep ravine, their screams echoing endlessly.
With its presence, the pressure on Pei Xinyong and his men was significantly alleviated.
The Copper Armored Celestial Soldier moved slowly but with immense force; every heavy strike was substantial, and it was difficult for the bandits to deal with it on the narrow mountain path.
A sudden warning surged in Pei Xinyong's heart, and he retreated.
Just where he had been standing, two or three hard stone spikes erupted from the ground, growing to four feet before stopping, with the tips becoming increasingly sharp.
Had he retreated half a second later, he would have been impaled.
One of his personal guards was caught, screaming while bleeding profusely.
Pei Xinyong felt a tightness in his chest and pointed across, the Copper Armored Celestial Soldier half-turned, grabbing one from the bandit group and directly tossing him into the air.
That person fell into the ravine with a scream, precisely a sorcerer under Lu Yao's command.
Those ground spikes were indeed his handiwork.
The encirclement of the bandits was breached by the Copper Armored Celestial Soldier, and Pei Xinyong's men charged forward valiantly, eager to rescue their leader.
Seeing this ambush about to fail, Lu Yao gritted his teeth, drew the Ghost Eye Bow, and without needing anyone else to risk their lives, he bent the bow and nocked an arrow aimed at Pei Xinyong, whispering, “Guaranteed hit, two years of lifespan!”
The Ghost Eye at the front of the bow suddenly opened wide, focusing on Pei Xinyong.
The latter had just smashed a foe to death when he felt a tightening in his brow, as if some great terror was locking onto him.
He glanced hurriedly and saw the Ghost Eye wide open before Lu Yao, a beam of light shooting towards him.
The Ghost Eye Bow!
He was so frightened that his hair stood on end, with no time to think further, he dove to the side.
The arrow flew, and the Copper Armored Celestial Soldier just raised its arm to swing.
With a dull “bang,” a portion of the Copper Armored Celestial Soldier's forearm exploded, sending copper shrapnel flying and blinding several people.
But the arrow was deflected off course.
No matter, it had the attribute of autonomously pursuing its target; it curved back and re-aimed at Pei Xinyong.
A loyal guard rushed up to shield his master, stepping in front of him.
Blood mist erupted from his back instantly.
The arrow pierced through the human body, continuing its pursuit of the ultimate target.
The Ghost Eye Bow had once been a treasure of Hong Xiangqian, and Pei Xinyong knew its characteristic was that the first shot was the strongest, the second weaker, and the third the weakest.
Seeing it had already hit twice in succession, yet its speed had not diminished much, he had no time to find cover, so he poured strength into his right arm and swung his hammer.
This strike was exquisite yet perilous; with a “clang,” the three consecutive arrows struck precisely on the hammer face.
A moment too late or too early, and that arrow would have been nailed into his brow.
The hammer was knocked away, hitting Pei Xinyong's left shoulder, causing him to stagger back three large steps, his right hand's tiger mouth splitting open, blood flowing onto the hammer's handle.
But that arrow was indeed deflected, not returning.
With the three shots concluded, Pei Xinyong's left shoulder's collarbone was broken, his left arm rendered useless, unable to hold onto his weapon.
As the arrow left the bowstring, Lu Yao threw down his bow and raised his axe, charging forward.
Pei Xinyong was pushed back by the three arrows, just managing to evade Lu Yao's first horizontal slash.
The two engaged in another round of combat, both panting heavily as they glared at each other.
One was injured, the other exhausted.
“You are the murderer of the Holy Master!” Pei Xinyong could only retaliate with his right hand, cursing through the pain, “Wu family lads, listen well, your General Wu is still alive!” He had been so frantic that he forgot to shout out the truth to sow discord among the enemy ranks!
A commotion arose among the bandits.
Lu Yao had recruited over three hundred men from Wu Shaoyi, and this news left them in doubt, their decisiveness in wielding their blades diminished.
“He's talking nonsense, everyone stay calm!” Lu Yao rebutted loudly, secretly cursing himself for being blinded by greed; why didn’t he first return to Victory Town to gather forces, instead of directly chasing after the dog official?
Having more of his own loyal men was the way to go; what use were these traitorous scoundrels!
At this moment, a sudden warning surged in his heart, and he felt a chill down his back.
Not good!
Lu Yao, seasoned in battle, disregarded everything and dove forward.
With a swoosh, something shot past him, almost grazing his back.
Had he not ducked in time, he would have been heartlessly struck.
As Lu Yao propped himself up, he saw it make a dazzling return, aimed straight at his face.
This time it was both fast and fierce; before Lu Yao could blink, he felt a chilling aura invade his brow.
Was it a boomerang?
He had no time to care about Pei Xinyong and swung his axe to deflect it.
With a crisp “clang,” the axe blade actually chipped off a piece the size of a finger.
Only then did Lu Yao see clearly that what he had deflected seemed to be a… broken sword?
No, a broken knife.
Who threw it?
But as he dealt with this broken knife, his chest exposed an opening, and Pei Xinyong seized the opportunity, delivering a heavy blow to his left chest!
Within three zhang, everyone heard the dull sound.
Lu Yao was struck, spitting blood and rolling off his horse.
Pei Xinyong's furious strike caved in his left chest, two ribs fracturing and piercing into his heart!
The heart is the source of qi and blood; Lu Yao struggled to get up, but the area over his heart felt like a bottomless pit, continuously draining his strength.
Fortunately, his personal guards arrived, desperately protecting him.
As long as he could rush back to the main road to the north, Lu Yao could continue westward and reunite with the subordinates of Victory Town.
At this moment, a horn suddenly sounded not far away, and a troop burst forth from the thick fog, shouting, “Lu the Thief, die!”
The two bandit groups that had been entangled froze.
In such chaos, there was a third party to stir the pot?
However, since they were looking for “Lu the Thief,” Pei Xinyong's men instinctively stepped back a few paces, not wanting to be mistakenly injured.
Lian Deng seized the opportunity to rush out from the troop, shouting loudly, “General Wu is still alive, Wu family brothers, follow me!”
He was an old man beside Wu Shaoyi, having served for over six years, and the Wu bandits recognized this familiar face.
Earlier, when Pei Xinyong shouted, they had been skeptical, but with Lian Deng stepping forward, the truth was almost certain.
Immediately, a large number of Lu bandits lost their fighting spirit, switched sides, and rushed towards him.
Lu Yao on the ground was so furious that he nearly spat blood again, but at this moment, saving his life was the most crucial; he pulled out a talisman from his bosom and swallowed it without chewing.
Ordinary talismans were yellow paper with red characters, but this one was black paper with red characters.
Pei Xinyong was momentarily stunned by the sudden change in the situation.
Reinforcements had indeed arrived, but could these be Wu Shaoyi's troops? They were clearly wearing the standard armor of official soldiers!
Yet Lian Deng was standing among the opposing troops.
The chaos of the situation left even him, a seasoned commander, somewhat dazed.
But he reacted quickly, issuing orders: “Raise the blue flag, kill Lu the Thief!”
As the blue flag was raised, Pei's troops would naturally gather and align, preventing friendly fire on the battlefield.
Over the years, this had been Pei's army's basic operation; everyone had long since developed the habit.
With over ten blue flags raised, Pei's troops immediately contracted into their small teams, clearly distinguishing themselves from Lu the Thief.
The newly arrived official soldiers rallied their spirits, specifically targeting the Lu bandits.
Lu Yao had been supported by his guards to retreat, but after taking just two steps, he suddenly spat blood again, his legs giving way as he collapsed.
This blood was not only dark but also contained clotted matter, fragments of his internal organs.
His eyes were filled with disbelief:
Why hadn’t the swallowed talisman taken effect!
At that moment, a strong wind blew, and the mist rapidly dissipated.
The time limit of the fog had arrived.
As Lu Yao fell, the mist cleared, and his subordinates could see clearly.
Someone shouted repeatedly, “Lu Yao is dead, Lu Yao is dead.”
The battlefield situation was already dire; many bandits, upon hearing and seeing this, no longer dared to stubbornly resist and simply turned to flee, unable to withstand the dual assault from Pei Xinyong and the official soldiers.
A few of Lu Yao's most stubborn confidants, supporting him, were about to mount and escape.
These were all skilled fighters; the official soldiers were unwilling to let them go, rallying their spirits to pursue relentlessly, soon scattering this last small group of united strength.
At this moment, Lu Yao was jolted awake, his face ashen, his eyelids nearly unable to open.
He had fought fiercely against Wu Shaoyi and Pei Xinyong, and in between, had pursued and attacked the supporting troops.
He was already injured and exhausted, and after receiving a fatal blow from Pei Xinyong, the new and old wounds flared up together, and he could no longer hold on.
Deputy Zhao from the Crane North Zhechong Mansion rushed forward, sternly asking, “Are you the man-eating demon king Lu Yao?”
Lu Yao didn’t even look at him, only glaring at Pei Xinyong with a mocking smile: “In the end, it is you who allied with the official soldiers, it is you who betrayed the Holy Master!”
His mouth was full of blood, while Pei Xinyong's face turned ashen.
How could this be, how could it be like this?
Lu Yao wanted to say something else, but Deputy Zhao charged forward, striking down with his knife, not bothering to say another word.
A large scar appeared on Lu Yao's neck, the size of a bowl.
Blood splattered angrily, and his eyes widened in shock.
He died with his eyes open.
(This chapter is dedicated to the two new allies, Gulu Gulu Pa and several million Wangcai, for extra chapters.
Today also has 9,000 words; the manuscript has collapsed…)
(End of Chapter)