Chapter 519: Execution
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Heaven’s Wall City was crowded. Everyone was gathered to witness the public execution.
Many of them knew the story behind this execution. This execution was a show of force, and also bait to lure the experts of the Martial Faction out before killing them all.
There were thousands of imperial guards waiting in ambush in the area. As soon as the experts of the Martial Faction dared show themselves, the thousands of imperial guards would pull the triggers of their Army Breaking Crossbows. Not even Spirit Devour Realm experts could endure such assault.
Time passed slowly. Suddenly, a massive black eagle appeared in the sky. A cage hung from the eagle’s beak, and within the cage was Lord Luosha, Xuan Qiu.
Boom!
The sound of drums rang out. The black eagle screeched before letting go of the cage. The cage landed heavily on the public square, cracking the ground and sending clouds of dust into the air. Everyone watching was shaken.
The person inside the cage seemed completely unaffected. She sat within the cage cross-legged, eyes shut.
“Deputy Commander of the imperial guards has arrived,” an imperial guard walked onto the platform and announced loudly.
Following his announcement, a large number of imperial guards marched in and surrounded the entire public square.
Next, a massive Tiger Lion Beast appeared before everyone. Behind the beast was a large number of imperial guards and sitting on the beast’s back was a middle-aged man wearing the deputy commander’s uniform. He slowly approached the platform with an incomparably majestic bearing.
The middle-aged man was Tang Hao, deputy commander of the imperial guards, a peak stage Spirit Devour Realm warrior.
One had to admit that after the imperial guards did so much just for the sake of executing Xuan Qiu, many people were frightened. Many of these imperial guards were Energy Burst Realm experts. Any would-be rescuer would be hard-pressed to escape with their lives.
With Cao Zhengchun’s help, Tang Hao’s strength had reached peak stage Spirit Devour Realm. Even if the Martial Faction decided to send some Spirit Devour Realm experts there, they still might not be his match.
Currently, he was releasing his aura with no intention to hide his strength. He was trying to exert pressure on the crowd around them, and the Martial Faction members that were likely to be hidden nearby.
Tang Hao leaped off the beast and walked to the middle of the platform. He waved his hand and said, “Take the traitor, the criminal from the Martial Faction up to the execution platform.”
Whoosh!
At his command, two imperial guards opened the cage and took Xuan Qiu out. Xuan Qiu still appeared rather clean, but her aura couldn’t be felt, and her face was somewhat pale. It was clear her Energy Center had been sealed.
The two imperial guards slowly took Xuan Qiu to the execution platform.
“Kneel,” one of the imperial guards said coldly. During execution, it was common practice to make the criminal kneel on the platform.
“Just kill me if you want. But to demand me to kneel? Who do you think you are?” Xuan Qiu was, after all, a Spirit Devour Realm expert. Although her strength had been sealed, she still had the bearing of one. With only a shout, her presence alone made the imperial guard take two steps backward.
Meanwhile, among the crowd, some people had furious expressions on their faces, wishing to pull out their weapons right then.
“Be patient,” a burly man leading them raised his hand and suppressed them, telling them to not act rashly.
That group wasn’t a part of the Martial Faction. They were the prisoners that had been released from the Luosha Prison. Although they were criminals, they were also loyal to friends. Hidden amongst the crowd, they planned to stop the execution. Even if they had to die, they vowed to rescue Xuan Qiu.
“Xuan Qiu, you’re no better than a corpse, now,” Tang Hao said with a wave of his hand. A powerful force rushed toward Xuan Qiu’s knees. “Don’t bother acting so high and mighty.”
Bang!
Xuan Qiu was without her strength, like a regular human. She couldn’t resist Tang Hao’s attack. When her knees were hit, they were instantly broken, causing her to crash down on them with a pained look on her face.
“Whore, if you weren’t an important prisoner, I’d have killed you in the prison,” scolded one of the imperial guards when he saw that Xuan Qiu was finally kneeling on the ground.
“Ma Long, has anything been found yet?” sitting on the platform, Tang Hao asked while sipping on wine.
“Father, we’ve looked all over but there’s nobody from the Martial Faction to be found,” Tang Malong answered. “Perhaps they’re all in hiding, or maybe they’ve given up on rescuing Xuan Qiu.”
“That Xuan Qiu is Xuan Ji’s sister,” Tang Hao said, feeling a little doubtful. “With Xuan Ji’s temper, how could she watch on as her sister is executed?”
“Father, we’ve already laid an inescapable trap,” Tang Malong said. “Even if Xuan Ji came here personally, she won’t be able to leave. The Martial Faction relies entirely on Xuan Ji. Without her, we’d have eliminated them long ago. They’d never allow Xuan Ji to come here.”
Countless defensive measures and traps had been laid in the area. And apart from the imperial guard experts, they had crossbow shooters hidden everywhere.
“Go!” a shout rang out from the crowd.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Figures leaped out from the crowd, each wielding extraordinary-looking weapons as they charged straight at the execution platform.
The imperial guards reacted immediately. They pulled out their weapons as well and, equipped with various weapons such as spears, sabers, and swords, they surrounded the newcomers.
“Interesting,” Tang Hao said calmly. “Arrest them alive.”
“Brothers, since we’re already here, we have to rescue Lord Luosha, even at the cost of our lives!” Their burly leader killed a random imperial guard and shouted.
“Haha. At the cost of your lives? But your lives are worthless.” Tang Hao didn’t bother to do anything. He sat there, completely relaxed, feeding his mount a piece of fish.
Of the newcomers, the strongest among them was just an Energy Burst Realm warrior. Their attack was no different than suicide.
Tang Hao waved his arm, sending a massive, violent gale out. The intruders lose their footing and were sent flying everywhere. When they crashed to the ground, the imperial guards pointed their weapons at the intruder’s throats.
After all the intruders were arrested, Tang Hao stood up and slowly walked toward them. When he arrived, he discovered that some of them looked familiar, criminals that he had personally arrested before.
“So you’re all the escaped prisoners of Luosha Prison?” Tang Hao asked calmly.
“So what if we are?” the burly man replied. “And so what if we’re not? No matter what, we’re still going to die today. Just get it over with if you want to kill us.”
“Interesting.” Tang Hao sneered and immediately pulled out the Bejeweled Weapon behind him. He waved in the direction of the burly man. Blood sprayed out and the burly man wailed miserably. A bloody arm streaked through the air, and when the Tiger Lion Beast saw the arm, it jumped and swallowed it with a single bite.
“Tang Hao, it’s pointless to kill them. Just release them.” Xuan Qiu couldn’t bear to watch on anymore. She’d never expected that the death row prisoners she had released previously would return to rescue her.
“Since we have some time before noon, why don’t we have some entertainment before the execution,” Tang Hao said before ordering the imperial guards, “Cut off their limbs, grind them into mincemeat and feed my mount with it.”
But right after the order was given, everyone there felt that the ground start to shake. They could also feel that all their weapons were shaking, and even on the surface of the cups of wine, ripples appeared.
“Killing intent!”
An extremely terrifying killing intent swept over the public square, while everyone there started shivering the moment the sensed the killing intent.
“Has Xuan Ji arrived?”
Tang Hao was alarmed at that thought. His nerves were stretched taut as he started scanning his surroundings. This newly appeared killing intent was so terrifying even a peak stage Spirit Devour Realm like him felt his scalp go numb.