Chapter Seventy-One: Escape

  After Bai Cang rejected Feng Hua Earl, the banquet fell silent as if even the air was about to freeze. In Feng Hua City, no one had ever dared to reject Feng Hua Earl before; she was like a goddess here, a queen, and no one could defy her will or dare disobey her orders.

  Feng Hua Bo Jun's expression remained unchanged as he looked at Bai Cang Dong and asked calmly: "Why?"

  "Because I want to promote myself as an earl." Bai Cangdong replied bluntly, now he had no way out, let him become Yan Mengyun's knight, that was absolutely impossible.

  "You're too arrogant, you think you can be promoted to Earl?"

  "A fool's wild talk."

  In the hall, a chorus of rebukes rang out, whether from their true feelings or to curry favor with Count Feng Hua, all were heaping ridicule and sarcasm on Bai Cangdong.

  "Good." The Earl of Fenghua only said a word "good", and did not mention letting Bai Cangdong become a knight again, nor did he choose someone else to accept the third set of armor.

  The banquet went on as usual, but the atmosphere was always a little worse. After it ended, Bai Cangdong and Feng Xian left the Earl's mansion together.

  "You shouldn't be so direct and offend the earl like that. At least be a bit more tactful." Feng Xian said.

  "We can't retreat; retreating half a step is like falling off a cliff." Bai Cang said with a shake of his head.

  Feng Xian wanted to say something else, but a maid from the Earl's mansion blocked their way.

  "Viscount Mask, Earl has invited you."

  Bai Cang East slightly furrowed his brow, but couldn't refuse, and had to follow the maid into Feng Hua Bo's study.

  "His Excellency the Earl has summoned me, I wonder what instructions he may have?" asked Bai Cangdong as he made his obeisance.

  "I hope you can think carefully again and decide whether to become a knight of Meng Yun." Before Bai Cangdong could speak, Feng Hua continued: "Don't rush to refuse, I know you have great ambitions, but sometimes unrealistic dreams are far less desirable than what is within reach."

  "You haven't seen an Earl-level undead, you don't know the terror of an Earl-level undead. You'll understand later, it's impossible to advance to Earl with just one person's power. This set of armor, martial skills and undead egg, I will keep them for you, you can come take them away at any time, and also the position of Knight Commander."

  Bai Cangdong left, and Yan Mengyun walked out from behind the screen.

  "Count, why must you make Viscount Mask my knight?" Yan Mengyun was puzzled as to why Feng Hua Count valued Bai Cangdong so much.

  "I didn't tell you that when there's no one around, just call me Mother." The Count of Windflower slightly furrowed his brow.

  Yan Mengyun lowered her head and remained silent, seemingly dissatisfied with Viscount Fenghua's request.

  The Marquis of Fenghua sighed softly: "I know it's hard for you to accept for a while, never mind, let's not talk about this, we still have plenty of time to be together, I'll make you accept me."

  "The Viscount of Masks is not an ordinary viscount. If you can get his full support, your chances of becoming a count will increase greatly." The Earl of Fenghua learned from Lingbo's mouth about how Bai Cangdong and Fengxian rushed to the altar and shattered the eternal life at that time, and ordered Lingbo not to tell anyone what she saw.

  "Isn't he just an ordinary viscount?" Yan Mengyun didn't understand what Feng Hua Bo meant by this sentence.

  "Firstly, he has the privilege of defying fate, which is crucial for advancing to Earl. Although the undead don't have the three major privileges, high-ranking individuals naturally have a suppressive effect on lower-ranking ones. Defiance allows him to be more unrestrained when facing the Earl's undead clan, and to exert his full strength more freely. Moreover, his strength is extremely formidable. I don't know how he achieved it, but currently, he can rival a Viscount who possesses 360 Great Round Full Golden Divine Light of the Main Deity. Do you think there's any other Viscount in Feng Hua City who can achieve this?"

  "How is that possible? Viscount Mask isn't a newly promoted viscount, I heard he's a Golden Natural Divine Light, but he only has less than ten units of it. How can he possibly rival the 360-unit full circle of Natural Divine Light of Viscount Sublime?" Yan Mengyun said disbelievingly.

  "If he didn't have such strength, how could he and Feng Xian possibly work together to charge up the Undying Altar and shatter the Eternal Crystal?"

  "Wasn't it Feng Xian who used the Exploding Life Pill and sacrificed himself to shatter the Eternal Crystal?" Yan Mengyun's eyes widened, clearly not expecting there was more to the story.

  "I tell outsiders that, but the truth is that Viscount Mask and Feng Xian together killed their way up to the Undead Altar, with Viscount Mask holding off most of the undead tribe. It was only because of this that Feng Xian had the opportunity to shatter the Eternal Crystal; otherwise, even if Feng Xian used the Exploding Life Dan, it would have been impossible to break through the powerful undead guardians like Hellfire and shatter the Eternal Crystal. Now you know why I must make Viscount Mask your knight."

  "It seems he is not willing to be my knight," Yan Mengyun said.

  "There will always be a way." said Earl Fenghua confidently.

  Bai Cangdong left the Earl's residence and saw Feng Xian still waiting for him outside.

  "Are you all right?" Feng Xian asked with concern.

  "It's nothing, Earl-sama just said a few words to me."

  "Would you mind telling me?"

  "She said that those armed things would be left for me, and I could take them at any time, and there was also the position of the Knights' leader." Bai Cangdong said.

  "Surprisingly, you're going to hand over the Knights Order to him. It seems that Earl-sama holds you in high regard. Don't you really consider becoming a knight of Yan Mengyun?"

  "I've said it before, my goal is to advance in rank, not become a knight." Baek Cheon-dong said firmly.

  "Feng Xian sighed and said, 'In that case, you're probably in trouble. The Earl is not someone who easily changes his mind. If I were you, I would leave Feng Hua City immediately and never come back.'"

  "It's probably too late." Bai Cangdong also wanted to leave Fenghuacheng immediately, but the Earl of Fenghua might not let him go that easily.

  "I thought so too," said Feng Xian, "what are your plans?"

  "Go back and sleep first, then leave Fenghuacheng immediately."

  "Do you need my help?"

  "Pray for me, I hope Earl Fenghua will not take action himself."

  Bai Cang returned home and really fell asleep, sleeping very soundly, and slept until dawn.

  He didn't go to see Feng Xian again, and after leaving a note, Bai Cangdong carried his luggage out of the east gate of Fenghuacheng. He hadn't walked far when he saw Hua Qianwu riding on a three-meter-tall, all-red, lizard-like undead noble with flames burning on its tail.

  Behind the dancing girl were twenty-five members of the Knights' Order, arrayed in a square formation, each one a viscount clad in full heavy armor.

  "You're really too arrogant and self-conceited, even daring to disobey the Earl's orders." Hana Chidori said coldly to Shirakabe Akira.

  "The Earl didn't say I couldn't leave Fenghuacheng." Bai Cangdong replied calmly.

  "There's no need to flaunt your eloquence, Earl. I have a request for you, and I hope you can stay in Fenghuacheng for a while longer."

  "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint the Earl, but I still have things to attend to and don't have time to stay in Fenghuacheng." Bai Cangdong had barely finished speaking before he took off like a shot, sprinting wildly into the mountains.

  "This is your own demise." With a single order from Hua Qianwu, the twenty-five viscounts galloped their horses wildly, and her Flame Tail Beast was running at the forefront, approaching Bai Cangdong at an extremely fast speed.

  "It's not just you who have a mount." Bai Cangdong summoned a golden undead egg, which instantly transformed into a Golden Lion Beast after being thrown out.

  Bai Cang leapt onto the back of the Golden Lion Beast, which let out a loud roar and rapidly sprinted into the mountain forest, its speed surpassing that of the Flame-tailed Beast by a hair.

  "How did the Golden Lion of the Four Knights end up in your hands?" Hana Chidori was shocked to see the Golden Lion.

  Bai Cangdong didn't answer and instead rode the Golden Lion swiftly towards the mountain forest. Once they entered the forest, Hua Qianwu and the others found it difficult to catch up with him again.

  The golden lion was in a frantic rush when eight emerald green eyes suddenly appeared out of thin air in front, which turned out to be the Tianmu Tongshu of the Eight-eyed Heavenly King.

  Fortunately, Bai Cangdong was well-prepared and the immortal sparrow flew onto his shoulder, countering the Tianmu Tongshu of the Eight-Eyed Heavenly King.

  Like a crab with eight legs, but with a semi-circular body, the Eight-eyed Heavenly King appeared not far in front of Bai Cang, blocking his path. On top of the Eight-eyed Heavenly King stood a fully armed Ling Bo.

  Bai Cangdong was seeing the true form of Hachimen Kō for the first time. The Hachimen Kō he met in front of the altar of immortality had undergone a transformation and greatly increased his abilities, even if he could hide during battles. This Hachimen Kō obviously didn't have that kind of terrifying ability, once he used the Immortal Light, his figure was directly exposed.

  Being blocked by Lin Bo like this, Hua Qianwu and the members of the Knights' Corps all rushed up, surrounding Bai Cangdong in the middle.

  "Masked brother, I'm sorry. The Earl has given an order and I had no choice but to come." Ling Bo's face was somewhat pale and his complexion wasn't good.

  Bai Cang nodded silently and turned to Hua Qianwu, saying: "I didn't want to stain my hands with the blood of my own kind, but since Count-sama insists on making things difficult for me, I have no choice but to go all out and start a massacre."

  "Lofty words, but today is your day of doom." Hana Chidori gave the order, and a group of viscounts immediately attacked Bai Cangdong. She herself was on the sidelines, ready to intercept in case Bai Cangdong tried to escape.

  These twenty-five viscounts were all elite members of the Knights, each with a Silver Origin True Spirit and cultivation above forty grids. Although their full set of equipment was only at the baron level, they were all top-notch, and the long spears in their hands were even viscount-level equipment.

  Due to their long-term training, these viscounts were even more proficient in the art of combined attack. Twenty-five long spears came one after another, stabbing, thrusting, sweeping and blocking, trapping Bai Cangdong inside. With his and Huang Jinshi's combined attacking power, it was surprisingly difficult for them to break out.

  Bai Cangdong recalled the Golden Lion Beast, he had just obtained the Golden Lion Beast not long ago and was still unfamiliar with its abilities, having problems controlling it. Riding on it made him unable to let go of his hands and feet, unable to exert his true strength.