Astral Apostle

Chapter 525: Severance and Submission (1)

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

These leaders of the Heavenly King Stronghold were all injured and covered in dust. Among them, Lu Longchuan was unconscious and was placed on a stretcher. His wounds had only been roughly bandaged and were still slowly bleeding.

Fang Zhen was shocked and asked in surprise, “Yo, why is he so seriously injured? He’s going to die, right?”

At this moment, Lu Sheng took two steps forward and cupped his fists,

“Leaders, don’t worry. Lu Longchuan is lucky and hasn’t been injured in any vital points. We’ve already applied herbs on him. He won’t die.”

When everyone heard this, they turned to look at Lu Sheng in surprise.

“Good man, were you the one who led a group of local soldiers to capture Lu Longchuan?”

“That’s right. I’m Lu Sheng.”

Lu Sheng nodded.

Fang Zhen’s interest soared as he urged, “Tell me, how did you catch him?”

Everyone was also interested. They were curious about how Lu Longchuan had been defeated by a group of villagers and was even beaten to an inch of his life.

“It’s good to let the leaders know that Lu Longchuan wanted to pass through Dragon Locking Ridge and thus searched for a guide…”

Lu Sheng explained the process patiently and factually, not showing any hint of fawning over the leaders.

After hearing this, everyone could not help but look at him in a different light.

Guo Haishen could not help but praise,

“Although Lu Longchuan was defeated, there are still hundreds of people in this group. Ordinary local soldiers are no match for him, but Brother Lu is not afraid. He saw through the emotions of the enemy and used the tactic of pretending to be an ambush to scare the soldiers away. Then, he lured the enemy general into a trap. He can be said to be bold, careful, brave, and scheming!”

Lu Sheng immediately cupped his fists and said in a clear voice, “Second-in-command Guo, you’re too kind. To be honest, I’ve admired the Dragon King Stronghold for a long time. When I heard that the Imperial Court was coming to attack, I’ve always wanted to help out in some way. Now that I have an opportunity, I took the initiative to take down this defeated army. I want to make a pledge of loyalty to join the mountain and gather with you!”

“Alright!” Chen Feng called out. Then, he nodded and said, “Brother Lu has captured the enemy’s head. This is a great merit. Please go up the mountain and take a seat.”

Lu Sheng was overjoyed and said loudly, “I’m willing to serve the Chief!”

Since he had made such a huge contribution, no one had any objections and accepted the new leader.

Chen Feng turned to look at Lu Longchuan and the others. Currently, only Sun Rong was in a good state.

“Do you have anything to say?”

When Sun Rong heard this, he smiled bitterly and said, “Chief Chen, we admit defeat. I hope you can send a doctor to treat my commander and temporarily save his life.”

“Of course… Bring them back to the stronghold before dealing with them.”

Chen Feng nodded casually and got his subordinates to escort a group of captives into the team.

…

The group had chased after him to capture the enemy leader. Now that their goal was achieved, they immediately returned.

After returning to the Dragon King Stronghold, Chen Feng did not delay and summoned all the leaders of the Heavenly King Stronghold.

Other than Lu Longchuan and the dozen or so people, dozens of other leaders had long been captured.

Some were captured on the battlefield, while others were chased and captured after they got separated. There were more than 50 leaders in total, accounting for more than half of the Heavenly King Stronghold.

As for the other leaders, they were either dead or had fled.

In the hall, the leaders of the Heavenly King Stronghold were escorted in, all of them filled with various expressions of dejection.

All the leaders of the Dragon King Stronghold sat on their chairs and stared at the group of captives with bright eyes.

Chen Feng remained expressionless as he casually spoke,

“Men, untie the leaders.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a lackey immediately came up and untied the ropes of the Heavenly King Stronghold leaders.

Everyone’s expressions changed. Even though they had regained their freedom, they did not dare to resist at all.

They all knew Chen Feng’s ability. This person was like a stabilizing force that suppressed the waves in their hearts.

Meanwhile, Lu Longchuan had yet to recover from his injuries. His face was pale and he was still weak.

“Chief Chen, our skills are inferior, so we have nothing to say. If you want to kill or torture us, feel free to do so.”

His expression was lonely, and his back was hunched, showing his old age. Because he had lost his foundation, he was already disheartened.

Hearing this, many leaders of the Heavenly King Stronghold also shouted, looking like they were ready to die. They felt that the winner was the king and the loser was the bandit.

However, they did not speak ill of Chen Feng. Although they had been defeated and captured, they did not dare to be unconvinced. Chen Feng’s martial courage had long intimidated them.

However, Xiang Tianjie did not speak. He did not feel good at all.

He had been imprisoned by Lu Longchuan and was not captured on the battlefield. Instead, when the Heavenly King Stronghold was defeated, no one came to care about him. He was captured in the cell and transferred to the prison of the Dragon King Stronghold. He did not even have a chance to resist the entire time.

Chen Feng looked around at everyone and waited for them to quieten down before slowly speaking.

“Your Heavenly King Stronghold was once a hero of the Green Forest, but you were willing to be a lackey of the Imperial Court. The reputation that you had accumulated for many years was lost in a day. I wonder if you felt any shame when you used your former colleagues in the Green Forest as stepping stones to promote and get rich?”

As soon as these words were spoken, many leaders revealed ashamed expressions.

Lu Longchuan’s face twitched as he said gloomily, “Chen Feng, so what if you win? Why are you still humiliating us? Just cut off our heads!”

Chen Feng shook his head, “No matter what, the Heavenly King Stronghold has done my brother a favor. I can let everyone off and let you go back.”

Everyone was stunned, then their eyes widened in surprise.

His group had been captured in one fell swoop. Why would the other party still be willing to let the tiger return to the mountain?

Guo Haishen’s expression changed slightly, “Second Brother, I…”

Chen Feng waved his hand to stop him from speaking.

“Not only do I not want your lives, but I also give you another choice… Stay in my stronghold and join us. Return to the Green Forest and redeem your reputation.”