Chapter 476 - 463: Showdown
How could he face her?
"Even if I die in battle, even if Phoenix City is blown up, I will not compromise."
Cheng Hao said through gritted teeth.
He swung his sword again, killing the soldier who had just climbed onto the city wall.
His face was full of rage, with boundless hatred.
In the months since Xiaoxiao went missing, he organized manpower and brought survivors from nearby cities to Phoenix City, now boasting over forty thousand residents.
Three to four thousand have died in this half-month siege of the city.
They were all new recruits trained by the Patrol Team, which made him feel genuinely reluctant, but the enemy was too numerous, too strong. With massive defensive fortifications and surprise attack tactics, they managed to hold off the enemy for ten days, then delayed three more days with poison and subterfuge, and finally had to hold the walls to the death.
All the men on the walls had their families moved to the underground caves.
Indeed, after months of struggle, they finally opened the passage to the underground caves.
Very few knew about this, and everyone was informed of this brilliant escape route only when they were evacuating.
So, aside from the Patrol Team and temporary personnel holding the walls, the city was empty, and no one was in the Underground City.
They sealed the passage to the caves, so what if everyone died in battle? All the secrets had been moved; all they would get was an empty city.
Upon thinking of this, he suddenly laughed, with blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, making him look particularly sinister and wanton.
He did not regret the nearly mutual annihilation strategy, dragging so many fresh lives to hold the city gate to the death.
Once the gate was lost, someone would secretly bomb the Underground City’s passage, hindering their exploration, and over there, upon receiving the news, the passage to the caves would be thoroughly sealed with concrete.
Even if they cleared the collapsed passage to the Underground City, they might still not find the underground caves.
Their heroic sacrifice paved the way for their families to live well.
It was all worth it.
Cheng Hao felt neither guilt nor sympathy, cold-hearted and cold-blooded to anyone but his family; his kindness was lost five years ago...
Lost on that stormy, thunderous night, the most unbearable, most unwilling memory suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Perhaps close to death, the disgrace of those years also dispersed, no longer a demon in his heart.
That autumn, a drunken beggar came to the village, looking decent, scholarly, full of knowledge, with no other faults but loving to drink, so everyone was willing to help him.
Unexpectedly, the beggar, kind and good-looking during the day, turned into a demon at night, attempting to defile him, still small.
He was coaxed into the thatched hut, forcibly stripped, utterly humiliated.
The other filled with vile language, hands all over, grinning a monstrous obscene grin, utterly disgusting.
At that time, his despair and fear reached a peak, his mouth gagged, unable to scream even in terror, writhing against the half stone under the straw pile poking painfully into his back.
In anger, a bold idea sprang forth.
With all his strength, he broke free from the binds, grabbed the rock, and took the other by surprise, smashing it over the man’s forehead.
The man’s assault stopped, and anger, humiliation, and immense hatred controlled his emotions. Seizing the man’s dizziness, he clutched the stone again, repeatedly smashing it on the man’s head until it dented a large chunk, revealing a blood-and-brain mess, lying immobile on the ground, no longer capable of torment, and only then did he realize and stop.
With trembling bloody hands, he discarded the deadly weapon, blank and bewildered.
The rain poured outside, accompanied by a thunderous crash of thunder, illuminating his pale face, allowing him to clearly see the scene before him, causing him to vomit uncontrollably.
Fear and panic spread within him, desperate to escape. Shivering, he crawled out of the straw house.
Outside, the torrential rain restored some reason.
Realizing that running away could ruin his life and even implicate his family.
So he returned to the straw hut, dragged the body to the back hill, dug a pit, buried the body, went back to the hut to clean the crime scene, and quietly slipped home afterwards, as if nothing had happened, changed into fresh clothes.
The villagers only thought the beggar had left the village, and no one noticed anything amiss. He lived on tenterhooks for half a year before finally suppressing the fear of being exposed.
An eleven or twelve-year-old boy, who should have been in the springtime of youth, faced such change and had his heart and body leave indelible scars.
Over time, the pain in Cheng Hao’s heart slowly faded, but his naturally bright and sunny nature had changed greatly.
He hid his evil and gloomy side, presenting a gentlemanly demeanor in front of parents, family, and mentors, though he knew his heart was already tainted with evil, sinister and wanton, not a good person.
Thus, he did not regret it, only lamenting that he had let down his sister’s trust.
Phoenix City was built by his hand, and it would fall by his hand.
He hoped she wouldn’t be too sad upon her return, wouldn’t blame him, her incompetent second brother.
As for his own life and death, it was not within his consideration. To die for his family’s protection was an honor even in death.
His originally gentle exterior bore the resolve to face death.
Seeing the iron door about to be breached, he resolutely leapt down, leading the charge.
Cheng Beiniu cursed under his breath and had no choice but to follow.
Cheng Hao’s skills weren’t top-notch in Phoenix City. With emergency training, he could only match Dawei, yet he dared to fight the enemy alone.
Then another tall figure leapt off the wall, that was Qi Fei.
On the wall, Yang Fan, Ming Shan, Han Xifeng, Niu Qinghe, Bai Qiuyi, and many familiar faces turned grim.
Liu Chanyi, seeing his master jump off the wall, was extremely anxious, and wanted to follow, but was grabbed fiercely by Chu Qianyun.
"Brother-in-law, Master...?"
The boy’s once rosy cheeks now paled completely.
Coming to Phoenix City was a new life for everyone, a hard-won stable home, no longer hungry or freezing, no longer drifting forlornly, yet these people ruined it all. He hated his youth and weakness for not being able to assist Master; his lip was bitten to bleeding without him realizing it.
"Going down there would just mean death for you too. Let me..."
Chu Qianyun stopped mid-sentence, a wave of sadness hitting him hard, nearly bringing tears, not knowing if he’d ever have the chance to apologize to his older sister.
Only those over 15 years old could officially join the Patrol Team; younger seedlings could only join the reserve camp. Yet, ever since his nephew became Cheng Hao’s disciple, he hadn’t considered himself a child anymore. He should have been sent to the underground caves as a backup force, but he adamantly refused, insisting on standing on the wall with everyone else to fight the enemy.