The dust had settled; Yang Kang was defeated.
But in one corner of the battlefield, Fatty Dong was currently thrashing the young master of the Lu family. Lu Song’s strength wasn’t bad either; just a few days ago at Mirror Lake, he’d even crossed swords with Dong Qinghan, and they were both familiar with each other’s capabilities.
Tonight, Dong Qinghan had specifically sought him out, and Lu Song, ever the welcoming host, had readily accepted the challenge.
He hadn’t expected that after just a few days apart, Dong Qinghan’s strength would have surged so dramatically. After a fierce bout, Lu Song was utterly defeated, with no chance to even fight back. He was chased around and mercilessly beaten by Dong Qinghan, a truly wretched sight.
Had this guy injected himself with chicken blood or something? Why was he so formidable tonight? Lu Song’s face was swollen and bruised from the beating as he fled in panic.
“Run! Go on, keep running, run faster!” Dong Qinghan kept a cold expression on his face, his portly figure surprisingly agile and elegant. With a mere flicker, he blocked Lu Song’s path and casually slapped him across the face.
Lu Song raised his hand to block, but the other’s technique shifted with incredible speed; he hadn’t even seen the movement before the direction of the palm strike changed.
With a sharp crack, half of Lu Song’s face went numb.
As the saying goes, you don’t hit a man in the face, and you don’t expose a man’s shortcomings. Dong Qinghan’s despicable behavior almost made Lu Song cough up blood from sheer rage. He was, after all, a young master from a first-rate family. With so many eyes watching on the battlefield, how could he show his face ever again if this got out?
“Dong Qinghan, don’t you push me too far!” Lu Song hastily retreated, creating distance from Fatty Dong.
“So what if I’m pushing you too far?” Fatty Dong swung another slap at him.
Crack…
Lu Song’s fury completely clouded his judgment. Techniques he could have blocked went undefended, and he took another heavy slap, his eyes turning red with rage.
“Blind fool, get out of the war city!” Dong Qinghan spat contemptuously as he continued his assault.
“Cousin!” Lu Song shrieked desperately, crying out into the void.
“Cousin my ass!” Dong Qinghan countered with a backhanded strike.
In the sky, Qiu Yimeng glanced down, gave a slight shake of her head, and ignored Lu Song’s pleas for help.
The day he’d been driven out of Yang Kai’s manor by Yang Kai, Qiu Yimeng had spoken with him privately the next day. She’d advised him to leave the war city as soon as possible and stop meddling in the succession battle—a deep and murky affair. It was well-intentioned on her part; she knew he had a talent for offending the wrong people and might bring calamity upon the Lu family without realizing it.
Yet this fool not only failed to appreciate her kindness but, after recovering from his injuries, had even found Yang Kang as a backer, attempting to oppose Yang Kai.
Now, coming to beg for help… it was already too late.
Dong Qinghan wouldn’t kill him. A beating like this, a humiliation, was probably for the best. Perhaps it would knock some sense into him, make him realize the succession battle was not something he could involve himself in.
The scene fell silent. After Yang Kang descended from the sky, everyone had stopped fighting. Only Dong Qinghan remained, relentlessly teaching Lu Song a lesson. The latter’s screams, like a pig being slaughtered, were chilling to hear.
Yang Kang’s manor was a scene of desolation. This battle had resulted in catastrophic losses, with casualties exceeding half their numbers. Before the fight began, no one had anticipated such an outcome.
They’d all believed that Yang Kang’s side, if not the strongest, was certainly not the weakest. Even if someone attacked, they shouldn’t be able to take the manor.
But the bloody reality had snapped them to their senses.
Without anyone noticing, Yang Kai had somehow acquired the power to surpass all the disciples of the Yang family.
Looking at that figure in the sky, many wore expressions of dejection and helplessness.
“Bring me the command flag!” Yang Kai ordered coldly.
Xiao Shun’s body swayed slightly. He charged into Yang Kang’s central hall, retrieved the command flag, and walked out boldly. No one stopped him. No one dared to.
The loss of the command flag signified Yang Kang’s true elimination from the contest.
Lying on the ground, Yang Kang slowly closed his eyes. From this moment on, everything in the war city had nothing to do with him.
“I’ll give you all a chance to live!” Yang Kai shouted, his voice carrying over the surviving warriors at Yang Kang’s manor.
Everyone held their breath, straining to listen.
“Gather all the resources from my Fifth Brother’s manor and deliver them to mine. After that, you are never to set foot in the war city again. Otherwise… you will be executed without mercy!”
No one spoke. No one condemned this blatant robbery. It was, after all, what Yang Kai had rightfully earned.
After tonight’s massacre, these warriors likely wouldn’t have the courage to stay even if they could. Moreover, Yang Kang had previously agreed to this very condition. With his prior word in play, these followers of his should comply.
“Didn’t you understand? If you didn’t, then none of you need to leave. Stay here forever.” Yang Kai’s expression turned menacing as he looked down.
“We understand, Young Master! Rest assured!” voices immediately called out, afraid Yang Kai’s men would start slaughtering again.
“Good.” Yang Kai gave a slight nod.
“We should head back immediately,” Qiu Yimeng said, her expression grave and slightly uneasy. “We were supposed to make this quick and decisive, but you insisted on dragging it out so long. The manor isn’t well-defended, and we don’t know if Yang Shen or Yang Ying have made a move.”
Currently, only a small portion of Yang Kai’s forces remained at his manor. If Yang Shen or Yang Ying received news of this and were ruthless enough, they could easily lead a large force out, exploit the weakened defenses at Yang Kai’s rear, and steal the command flag.
Even if Qu Gaoyi was guarding it, it wouldn’t be enough!
“I did it on purpose!” Yang Kai smiled faintly.
“What do you mean?”