Chapter 464: Chapter 464. Public Execution

    Unable to dodge, Pan Xisheng used his defensive art, which created fiery explosions. The blast from the explosions repelled all the flying knives before they hit him.

    Xin Wuming remained clinging to his left arm, refusing to let go. The fiery explosions burned him but were not strong enough to push him away. Pan Xisheng was furious. How could a Beginning Mystic Stage trouble him so? His other hand was still busy controlling his book-whip to contest against Xu Bao, so he used his legs and delivered multiple kicks at Xin Wuming. Each kick broke the man’s bones, but Xin Wuming still wouldn’t release his clutch.

    "Why don’t you just die...?!!" Pan Xisheng exclaimed in frustration.

    He sensed attacks from his back again. Four of the many knives he had repelled had suddenly reversed course and came at him again. At the same time, he sensed Amon coming at him from above.

    "Give up! You are finished!" Amon exclaimed. He threw his ceremonial dagger.

    "Finish your mom!" Pan Xisheng replied defiantly. Since he couldn’t get rid of Xin Wuming, he used him as a shield instead. He shoved Xin Wuming at the incoming knives and dagger.

    However, the knives and dagger were as if alive. They changed course, circled over Xin Wuming, and returned to targeting Pan Xisheng.

    The alterations of assaults had been too quick. With Pan Xisheng bogged down by Xin Wuming and Xu Bao, he couldn’t react in time. All he could do was funnel his aether to create a forceful shield that protected his body.

    This brute force shield stopped Amon’s Alpha Flying Knives but not his Ceremonial Dagger. Using the Xian Cloth, Amon delivered a powerful thrust. The ceremonial dagger hit Pan Xisheng’s energy shield. It slowed, but its sharpness let him penetrate the shield by a little. It went through and stabbed Pan Xisheng’s shoulder.

    "Arghh...!!" The pain ruined Pan Xisheng’s concentration.

    Seeing his opponent lose concentration, Xu Bao performed a powerful drilling thrust. His thrust smacked the book-whip that was in his way before stabbing into Pan Xisheng’s right arm.

    Another scream of pain as Xu Bao expertly executed multiple stabs that hit Pan Xisheng’s limbs. He avoided hitting the fatal organs.

    Amon used an engraved rope to bind Pan Xisheng once he was too wounded to move. Xin Wuming let go of him then.

    Amon caught Xin Wuming before he fell. His body was full of wounds, and he was too weak to fly by himself. Amon fed him a recovery pill to accelerate his regenerative ability.

    "Kill me..! I refuse to be humiliated like this!" Pan Xisheng exclaimed.

    Amon hit his meridian points. In addition to being wounded and bound by the engraved rope, he was now also paralyzed. The meridian points Amon hit also prevented him from speaking. Amon gave him to Xu Bao.

    Xu Bao carried the bound Pan Xisheng on his shoulder.

    "Give him to me...!!!"

    They turned to the thundering voice. They saw Jiang Bo and Liu Xun, accompanied by several of his high-ranking soldiers, flying toward them.

    "Give that son of a bitch to me!!" Jiang Bo repeated.

    Amon floated between Jiang Bo and Xu Bao, who held Pan Xisheng. He calmly said, "We caught him. He is ours."

    "I lost a lot of soldiers because of him! I must have his head...!" Jiang Bo exclaimed.

    "You lost soldiers because of your ineptitude. Do not blame others for your own missteps."

    "What did you say?!" Jiang Bo looked ready to lunge at Amon, but Amon showed no sign of being intimidated.

    "Stand down...!!!"

    A different voice and another group flew over. It was Lao Zen and the others. They quickly came to Amon’s side.

    "Do you think I am afraid of you?" Jiang Bo exclaimed.

    "Major General, think about what you are doing," Lao Zen said. "It was Amon and Xu Bao who caught the mayor. This is their merits. Everyone saw it. Do you want to abuse your position to steal their accomplishment?"

    "This is not about accomplishment. This is to get justice for the men I lost!" Jiang Bo replied.

    "Then let us hand him over to the court. He will be tried and punished. Justice will be served. Do not forget that this operation is under the command of the Thirteenth Prince. Are you trying to belittle his command by executing an enemy who has already been apprehended?"

    "I don’t care shit for..."

    Jiang Bo stopped because Liu Xun held his arm. Liu Xun shook his head when Jiang Bo turned to him. Angrily, he swatted Liu Xun’s arm, stared at Amon, and harrumphed before turning around and leaving.

    After they left, Lao Zen sighed while looking at the scene below. Whatever caused the firestorm had stopped, but the flames still raged all over the city. The more he looked, the more rage filled him up.

    He turned to the bound Pan Xisheng and said, "I can never understand how someone can intentionally cause so much suffering and deaths for any cause. Do you think you did this for a better future?! How heartless of you to think the lives of those citizens below are so worthless that you are willing to murder them to further your agenda? You, rebels, are but the scums of this world...!!"

    "To be honest, if I don’t think you will suffer a worse fate by handing you to the court, I would have torn you limb from limb," An Guan added.

    "We will take him to His Highness," Amon told them. It was better to hurry and put Pan Xisheng in custody. Otherwise, someone might get emotional and do something to him. "The rest of you go down to the city. There should be a lot of citizens who need help. The fire was fierce, but it didn’t hit all spots. We should save as many as we can."

    They nodded and flew back to the city. Amon, still holding Xin Wuming, flew toward where Huang San was. Xu Bao carried Pan Xisheng and followed him closely.

    When they flew past above the city gate, they saw most soldiers still waiting outside had entered the city. They were searching for survivors. Even the six clans, who had exited the city earlier, went back in to provide help. Only a small garrison was left outside to protect Prince Huang San.

    Amon and Xu Bao landed beside the prince.

    Huang San looked at Pan Xisheng with disgust. He didn’t bother to say anything to him. He told Amon, "Good job catching him... However, we can’t consider this a victory. This is a terrible loss to Echos."

    "It is, but you can still use this to your advantage, thanks to you following my previous instructions," Amon said.

    "What do you mean?" Huang San asked with a frown.

    "We will talk later, privately," Amon replied.

    *

    The army spent a whole day to douse the fire in Fuxiang City. They started clearing the rubbles afterward. Survivors were gathered outside the city, where a massive number of emergency tents were erected. Manpower and supplies to help the survivors came from neighboring settlements.

    Despite the fierce fire, the casualties weren’t as high as expected. There were many survivors. The worst casualty came from the non-cultivators or those still at the Mortal Stage. More than ninety percent of them were wiped out. There were fewer casualties among those with higher cultivation levels.

    Pan Xisheng was escorted to the capital, where he would be interrogated before being sent to the gallows. There would be a trial, but everyone knew it was only for formality.

    Huang San and his force stayed in Fuxiang City. They continued to help the survivors.

    Jiang Bo returned to the capital. He didn’t stay to help. He had suffered a humiliating defeat. He regretted not heeding Prince Huang San’s command to bring only Martial Realm soldiers when storming the city. Not only did he fail to steal the merit, but he also lost more than half the soldiers he brought with him. He was sure his uncle, First Class General Jiang Tong, would give him an earful once he returned to the Grand Barrack.

    *

    Two weeks later, Pan Xisheng’s execution was carried out. Due to Prince Huang San’s request, the execution was carried out outside Fuxiang City, where it could be witnessed by the city’s survivors.

    Huang San volunteered to be the one who performed the beheading. Everyone gathered to watch the execution, even those not from Fuxiang City. The execution had been broadcast a week prior. Many journeyed to Fuxiang City just to watch.

    When Pan Xisheng was presented, the crowd went into an uproar. They cursed and scolded him, even threw rubbish at him. Everyone hated him for what he had done.

    He was left there on the execution stage for a full ten minutes for the masses to express their frustration. Only after everyone was tired did Prince Huang San go up the stage. He carried with him a large golden blade. This was a special execution blade used only on high-profile prisoners condemned to the death penalty.

    Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Huang San brought the golden blade down and detached Pan Xisheng’s head from his body.