Seven days later.
Zhao Yuanzhou's murder of the imperial envoy and his entourage was still not covered up after all. A memorial was thrust into the Heaven Dou Empire's court and handed all the way to Xue Ye's Long Case.
It is said that after Xue Ye read the memorial, he took photos of the Long case and issued an order on the spot to strictly handle the case and investigate thoroughly without any tolerance.
In order to prevent such vicious incidents from happening again, he specially ordered Prince Xue Xing to personally lead the team. He took one Soul Saint and two Soul Emperors and led 300 elite soldiers to Dengfeng County day and night.
This battle is not like capturing a small Zhao Yuanzhou at all, but more like sending troops to exterminate a rebel army.
However, Zhao Yuanzhou had already gone empty, and Prince Xue Xing missed the opportunity.
In order to force Zhao Yuanzhou to come out, Xue Xing directly beat some people in Dengfeng County as "associates" of Zhao Yuanzhou, and at the same time issued this order:
Zhao Yuanzhou If you don't come out for one day, kill ten people. If you don't come out for two days, kill twenty people.
If they don't come out for three days, they will kill forty people until all the people in Dengfeng County are killed.
Time comes in the morning.
The scorching sun is high.
Outside the gate of Dengfeng County, the bustling market place in the past has long been cleared out, replaced by a suffocating silence.
The rolling heat wave distorted the scenery in the distance, and the scorching light poured straight on everyone's head, making their scalp numb.
Twenty people had their hands tied behind their backs and knelt in a row on the hot soil.
Among these people were gray-haired old women, old farmers with wrinkled faces, and young men no more than eleven or twelve years old.
Their clothes were shabby and their lips were chapped and bloodshot.
Several people were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, hanging by their wrists on wooden stakes with ropes, like a string of animals waiting to be slaughtered.
Behind each person stood an axeman holding a ghost-headed sword.
Prince Xue Xing and a group of accompanying officials were sitting under a temporary awning.
The top of the pergola was covered with a thick white cloth, and an ice basin was placed at each corner. Cool water vapor rose from the basin, dividing the inside and outside of the shed into two worlds.
Xue Xing was leaning on the Taishi chair covered with bamboo mats, holding a glass of iced sour plum soup in his hand, lowering his head to take a sip from time to time.
It is indeed not easy to force Zhao Yuanzhou to come out.
He is a smart man, and he is also a Soul Master. In such a famine year, looking for a cat in any nook and cranny is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
But if you want to kill some common people who only know how to grow crops, it is easy to catch them. It is easier than crushing a few ants.
"Executioner." Xue Xing lazily put down the sour plum soup in his hand, wiped the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief, and raised his chin to the side, "What time is it?"
Upon hearing this, the executioner bowed forward, looked up at the position of the sun, and replied respectfully, "Your Highness, it's almost time."
"Yeah." Xue Xing responded casually, "Let's get started."
"Yes." The executioner straightened up when he heard this and took out an order arrow from the lottery box on the case in front of him.
He cleared his throat, raised the command arrow, and shouted at the top of his lungs in the direction of the execution ground, "The time is up..."
Just when the arrow is about to be released--
"Dog officer!! Stop it--!!"
A cold shout came from the official road in the distance like thunder!
The Soul Power contained in that voice was thick and sharp, causing circles of trembling ripples to appear in the ice basins at the four corners of the pergola. The executioner flicked his wrist, and the command arrow that was about to be released fell to the ground with a clatter.
Immediately afterwards, a billowing plume of smoke and dust rose from the end of the road.
Led by Zhao Yuanzhou, dozens of figures were speeding towards the county gate at an alarming speed.
The Soul Ring on their bodies swirled and bloomed, with four, five, and six rings, and the three-color halo of yellow, purple, and black complemented each other. Under the scorching sun, it was so bright that people dared not look directly at it.
More than a dozen Soul Master urged Soul Power's auras together with all their strength at the same time, forming an invisible sense of oppression that made Xue Xing under the pergola shiver involuntarily from a distance away.
"Not good!" Xue Xing bounced up from the Taishi chair.
He grabbed the arm of the guard beside him and screamed, "Hurry! Guard him quickly!"
"Don't worry, Your Highness, just leave it to me!"
A low and steady voice sounded from the side of Xue Xing.
The speaker was a burly middle-aged man with a stern face and an air of battle-hardened chill between his brows.
This person is the Soul Saint that Xue Xing brought to the battle. Seven-Ring Soul Sage can be regarded as a strong person in the entire Heaven Dou Empire.
Soul Saint Before he finished speaking, seven Soul Rings burst into bloom around him, and a majestic aura pressed in all directions like a mountain.
At the same time, the two soul emperors and the seven or eight accompanying Soul Master of Soul Power Level also quickly entered the fighting state, and the Soul Ring bloomed with dazzling light under the scorching sun.
"Get them!" Soul Saint gave the order and took the lead in turning into a stream of light and crashing into Zhao Yuanzhou's group.
The two soul emperors he brought followed closely behind, each activated Martial Soul, and fired a fierce Soul Skill at the dozen figures rushing at the front.
In an instant, there were sounds of killing outside the county gate.
The swords, swords and shadows intertwined wildly under the scorching sun, and the sound of Soul Skill and Soul Skill colliding was deafening.
The fire attribute Soul Skill exploded a piece of red Lie Yan, and the ice attribute Soul Skill instantly froze the piece of Lie Yan into broken ice slag.
Someone summoned a huge Beast Martial Soul, roaring and rampaging through the crowd, and someone else used the sharp edge of the weapon Martial Soul to split open Beast Martial Soul's defense, and blood mixed with minced meat splashed on the hot mud.
Logically speaking, it would be easy for a strong person with Soul Saint level to crush those Soul Masters below Soul Saint with Martial Soul Avatar turned on.
It was as if a grown-up strong man rushed into a group of three-year-old children and punched each one without hesitation.
But Xue Xing soon discovered something that made his hair stand on end.
The Soul Saint he brought with him was defeated by the three Six-Ring Soul Emperors in a joint attack.
Before he could start talking trash, his right arm was slashed hard by an Xiuchun knife that came from an unknown angle.
If he hadn't hid quickly enough, all the arms would have been removed!
The sword light passed by, bringing up a cloud of hot blood mist.
Soul Saint groaned, took a few steps back, and turned pale.
What on earth is going on?!
"Quick! Let's go!" Xue Xing The souls of the deceased were so strong on the spot. How could he care about the dignity of the prince? He picked up his robe and ran away.
"Guan Guan! Where to go!" A cold voice sounded from behind him.
Zhao Yuanzhou turned around and shouted at the dozen Soul Master who came to the rescue with him, "Brothers! Zhao owes you today! I'll leave these pieces of shit to you!"
"Don't worry!" A Four-Ring Soul Ancestor cleanly chopped off the head of a fellow Soul Ancestor with a knife, and responded loudly, "They are all a bunch of chickens and dogs, just leave it to us!"
"Thank you!" Zhao Yuanzhou thanked him and quickly picked up Soul Power and chased after Xue Xing.