Chapter 77: The Siege
In the main hall of the Eternal Harmony Hall in the Royal Palace of He’an City, a magnificent round table with nine seats was placed in the center. Paired with the grand and majestic hall, it exuded supreme nobility, dignity, solemnity, and gravity.
Nine people, dressed in luxurious and dignified attire, sat around the table. Among them were eight men and one woman, and each table had two volumes of books – “The Warrior’s Path” and “Rune Encyclopedia.”
The one sitting at the main seat was an old man wearing a red and golden high-collared beast-patterned robe. His face was wrinkled, and his hair was completely white, but his eyes still radiated a sharp light.
He was none other than the Lord of He’an City, the Grand Elder, the King of Human, a Martial Ancestor-level warrior, and the strongest among the human race.
The King of Human spoke, “Gentlemen, please speak.”
At this moment, a burly man wearing golden-patterned armor and a blue cloak stood up. His beard was unruly, and his voice resonated like a deep bell, “King of Human, this is against the rules. No matter who this ‘passerby’ is, spreading something like this without our consent is unacceptable.”
This burly man in golden-patterned armor was Lord of Tufang City, the Fifth Elder, a Martial Ancestor-level warrior.
The Third Elder, with his hands stroking his white short beard, nodded, “Exactly, since ancient times, Masters and above are not supposed to spread their knowledge freely. However, these two books have been carelessly disseminated, shaking the foundation of our Nine Cities.”
The Seventh Elder, with his thin and wrinkled face, was filled with smiles. He chuckled, “I think this ‘passerby’ is an extraordinary genius. These two books are simply unbelievable.”
The Fifth Elder’s eyes widened, and he sprayed saliva as he retorted, “Nonsense! What kind of genius is he? The nine of us here broke through the shackles of the human race’s bloodline with our own efforts, reaching the pinnacle of this world. We are the real geniuses.”
This response baffled the Seventh Elder, who couldn’t respond and could only chuckle twice before flipping through the two volumes of books in front of him with relish.
The Third Elder added, “This ‘passerby’ does have some merits, but he violated the taboo. It’s a pity.”
The Fourth Elder, a middle-aged man with a square face and a stoic expression, broke his silence and bluntly said, “He can’t be allowed to live.”
The Ninth Elder was an alluringly dressed woman who appeared to be in her thirties but was actually over fifty. She covered her mouth and giggled, “Why can’t he live? I’m quite interested in this ‘passerby.’ Hehehe!”
As she spoke, her provocative gaze swept over the older men present, taunting them, “Could it be that you’re all afraid?”
The Fifth Elder immediately slammed the table and pointed at the Ninth Elder, “Insolence! This old woman of yours can’t speak properly, can she?”
The Ninth Elder rolled her eyes, blatantly ignoring him, indicating that she didn’t want to converse with such a man.
The Fifth Elder grew even angrier.
The Third Elder promptly intervened, “Calm down, calm down, don’t let tempers flare. Fifth Elder, please sit down.”
The Fifth Elder pointed at the Ninth Elder and muttered, “She…”
The Third Elder’s face stiffened, “Sit down!”
The Fifth Elder reluctantly sat back in his seat, still looking unsatisfied.
The others remained silent. They all knew that regardless of what they said, the final decision would be made by the King of Human, so it didn’t matter whether they voiced their opinions or not.
The King of Human was merely listening. Once he was satisfied with the answers, he would make a decision and conclude the meeting.
At this point, the Third Elder stood up, stroking his short beard, and spoke slowly, “Since this ‘passerby’ has shaken the foundation of our Nine Cities and violated the taboo, let’s follow the rules. However, considering his talent, if he is willing to follow our arrangements, we can spare his life.”
He glanced around, then looked at the King of Human and said, “I propose three things: first, a complete recall of the scattered ‘The Warrior’s Path’ and ‘Rune Encyclopedia,’ classifying these two books as permanent forbidden texts; second, send someone to find the ‘passerby’ and bring him back for us to deal with face to face; third, establish a Rune Exploration Institute to nurture the pillars of the human race.”
“I wonder… what does the King of Human think?”
The King of Human opened his eyes and slowly replied, “Gentlemen, what do you think?”
The others knew that this was the King of Human’s opinion, so they didn’t mind. As for whether “The Warrior’s Path” and “Rune Encyclopedia” had already spread too far to be recalled, no one present doubted it.
Because they had absolute confidence in their control over the human race.
Seeing that no one was speaking, the King of Human nodded and said, “Then, it’s settled.”
The meeting came to an end.
The meeting was over, but the action had just begun.
The King of Human immediately arranged for ten Grandmaster-level experts to launch a manhunt for Su Hao, with the goal of bringing him back in the shortest possible time.
…
Su Hao was still happily selling books, and the more he sold, the farther he went. He couldn’t even tell which location he was on the Eternal Harmony Continent anymore.
He knew that what he was doing might bring danger, so he remained vigilant at all times, keeping his radar active within a range of two kilometers. If he sensed any danger, he would immediately flee.
One day, after selling all the books, Su Hao was about to leave when his radar immediately detected ten powerful life forces rapidly approaching him.
“Ten Grandmaster-level warriors!” Su Hao’s scalp tingled. They really took him seriously, dispatching ten elite warriors of the human race to surround him.
“Run!” This was Su Hao’s first instinct. Only a madman would try to face ten Grandmasters as a Master.
He immediately chose the direction with the weakest life force reaction and attempted to break through.
Although the Grandmaster-level warrior he chose to evade had a weaker life force reaction, it was still higher than Su Hao’s. But that didn’t matter; Su Hao had runes.
“Void Break,” he activated the first rune to reduce air resistance, then “Eruption” to increase his speed, “Disguise” to lower his presence, “Harmony” to maintain balance…
Su Hao’s speed increased rapidly, and it seemed like he was about to break the sound barrier.
However, these ten Grandmasters seemed to be able to accurately locate Su Hao’s position and continued to approach him at high speed.
“What’s going on?” Su Hao was puzzled. He could sense that the enemy was behaving normally, but how were they able to detect him? Had they used some unknown method?
In a few seconds, he was about to face one of the Grandmaster-level warriors.
Su Hao immediately activated the runes on his armor: “Hardening,” “Deflection,” “Barrier,” “Oscillation,” and simultaneously activated the runes on his two blades: “Hardening,” “Sharpness,” “Penetration,” “Rotation” for the longsword and “Hardening,” “Sharpness,” “Penetration,” “Erosion” for the short blade.
The next second, Su Hao saw his opponent.
This Grandmaster-level warrior was clad in blue-gray patterned armor. Under the helmet, a resolute and cold elderly face was revealed. He held a broad-bladed longsword that emitted a hazy gray light.
Su Hao’s mind went blank, “Isn’t that a Rune Blade? The enemy is using a weapon I created to attack me?”
Su Hao suddenly revealed a sinister smile. What a joke, using runes in front of him?
They had made the wrong decision.
Su Hao held both blades in his hands, adjusting his body position for optimal power delivery.
Getting closer…
The next second would determine victory or defeat.
“Triple Eruption—Gliding Shadow Step!”
“Boom!”
After a loud noise, dust and debris filled the air, and Su Hao had already disappeared in front of the Grandmaster-level warrior.
The Grandmaster-level warrior was initially puzzled, but then his longsword snapped, and his field of vision followed the shattered blade as it spun in mid-air before falling to the ground.
“Clang!” “Plop, plop…”
These were the sounds of the broken blade falling and the head rolling into the grass.
As Su Hao passed by, he didn’t even look back as he quickly retreated.
In that fleeting moment, Su Hao had executed two strikes: the right-hand longsword cut through the enemy’s blade, while the left-hand short blade severed the enemy’s neck. That was all it took.
But the key to his success was his speed.
“Triple Eruption” instantly doubled his speed.
The Grandmaster-level warrior had no chance to react. His head and longsword were chopped into two pieces in just a few breaths of time.
In the blink of an eye, nine Grandmaster-level warriors converged at the spot where the beheaded warrior had fallen.
For a moment, everyone exchanged glances.
One of them, wearing a white water-patterned cape, seemed to be the leader. He frowned and looked in the direction Su Hao had left, saying in a cold tone, “Chase him! No matter what, we must bring him back.”
Then he turned to one of the warriors with a disfigured nose and asked, “Old Cao, can you lock onto him?”
Old Cao nodded.
The group fell silent and immediately pursued Su Hao in the direction he had fled.
