Chapter 110: The Greatest Utility of Huo Luoluo

Although he had crippled Zhou Bao, he had only shattered his limbs and bones, sparing his internal organs. There was no doubt he would survive, though he would be a cripple for life. Yet his own father had personally ended his son's name.

“The despicable Su family truly deserves death...!”

“How dare you attempt to kill the young master of the Zhou family? Such a crime is unforgivable...!”

“Boy, kneel and submit to your fate, and I’ll let you suffer less...!”

As the county magistrate Zhou finished speaking, twelve sixth-rank warriors behind him charged toward Su Yang and Huo Luoluo, terrifying auras bursting forth like a surging tidal wave.

“Stop!”

The authoritative voice of Deputy Magistrate Li rang out, followed by several sixth-rank warriors, along with numerous constables, servants, and maids.

“Deputy Li, this man killed my eldest legitimate son; do you intend to protect him?” Zhou’s eyes gleamed with a sharp light. He couldn’t believe Li would dare confront him now and ruin the carefully laid plan.

“County Magistrate Zhou, your son came looking for trouble first. He didn’t kill him because he was outmatched,” Li argued firmly.

“I don’t care! All I know is that my son was killed by Su Yang, and I will avenge him. Killing deserves death; it is only right and proper.”

“That’s right, this boy also killed one of my sixth-rank warriors.”

“Should he not die for that?” Zhou’s tone was commanding. “Deputy Li, if you want to interfere, then try.”

“You...!” Li frowned deeply, calculating the gains and losses. If he openly clashed with Zhou now, their plan would fall apart. Future chances would be harder to come by. But if he did nothing, Su Yang was surely doomed.

His daughter had just married this young man—if he died, would she become a widow at such a young age?

In the end, Li chose to withdraw, recalling the sixth-rank warriors he had brought.

“Boy, no one can save you today. You will die!”

A murderous gleam flashed in Zhou’s eyes. His son’s death would not be in vain. Before Li acted, Zhou could still use this strategy to find a flaw, replace several sixth-rank warriors, and ultimately capture them all in one net. The thought excited him.

“If you want to kill my master, first get past Huo Luoluo.” Huo Luoluo, clad in red and wielding a long spear, stood at the front with a resolute voice.

“Heh heh... This young lady is quite a sight. Then you’re the first to be dealt with...!”

“I wonder how good you are in bed, little lady... heh heh...!”

A lecherous sixth-rank warrior under Zhou charged at Huo Luoluo, his eyes flashing with greed.

“Seeking death!”

Just as he was about to reach her, a figure in green appeared before Huo Luoluo. A terrifying fifth-rank aura exploded, like a wild dragon or fierce tiger, crashing down on the Zhou warrior.

“Bang...!”

A heavy thud sounded as the lecherous warrior was sent flying by a single palm strike. The leader of the Wei clan left a shadow behind, grabbed the warrior’s ankle mid-flight, yanked him back, and pummeled him with another fierce punch! Two punches... three punches...

“You old thief Wei, you’re asking for death...!”

Zhou’s aura burst forth like a fierce tiger as he charged. Fists and palms clashed; Zhou staggered back three steps, Wei nine.

The other sixth-rank warriors around stopped, shock flickering in their eyes.

Why had the Wei clan leader suddenly joined the fight?

“You old thief Wei... you truly deserve death... why kill one of my warriors?”

Zhou gritted his teeth, eyes bloodshot with hatred and fury.

“County Magistrate Zhou, how dare you lay a hand on Miss Huo from the Su family? How many lives do you have?”

Wei’s tone was unwavering.

“The Su family’s Huo house?”

Zhou was momentarily stunned, then his expression darkened.

The renowned Huo family of the Su estate—how could he not know? The Wei clan’s backing was the Huo family, while Zhou’s own support came from another Su family branch, maintained through marriage—his eldest daughter had married into it.

But disputes between subordinate families were one thing; killing the heirs of the main family was another matter entirely.

If Huo Luoluo died, Zhou would not escape retribution unless the entire Huo family was destroyed.

“Huo Luoluo, the only daughter of the second master of the Huo family?” Zhou questioned suspiciously.

“Consider yourself wise,” Wei said.

“Miss Luoluo is the only daughter of the Huo family’s second master. She stayed with the Wei family because the rebels besieged the city and she could not go out.”

“How could the Huo family’s lady be allied with this boy?” Zhou cursed under his breath.

“Haha... how would I know?” Wei responded.

“I don’t need to know. Protecting Miss Luoluo is my duty. If you want to harm her, I will fight you to the death today!”

Wei showed no fear, issuing his threat.

“Then why did you kill one of my warriors?” Zhou seethed, recalling the earlier scene, wishing Wei a thousand deaths.

...

Behind Wei and Huo Luoluo, Su Yang’s heart tightened slightly at the scheming old men’s wickedness. They could have stopped this earlier but chose to wait until Zhou’s sixth-rank warriors attacked, then swiftly eliminated one of them in the chaos.

Zhou could do nothing but swallow the loss.

A sneak attack combined with a full-power burst—there was no time to stop it.

“Hmph, if you dare lay a hand on Miss Luoluo, I won’t spare your entire family.”

Wei spoke shamelessly.

“Fine, fine... so you mean I can’t touch this boy today?” Zhou asked.

“I’m protecting Miss Luoluo. He’s none of my concern,” Wei replied.

Protecting Miss Luoluo or protecting Su Yang—what difference was there?

Standing before the Zhou family estate, the county magistrate pondered: if he could hold Wei off, his eleven sixth-rank warriors could split—one to block Huo Luoluo, one to block Bai Luanluan, and the remaining nine to kill Su Yang. That would work.

But was Wei accompanied by more sixth-rank warriors? That was uncertain.

No matter. No risk, no gain.

What if he really could kill Su Yang?

If Su Yang died, Bai Luanluan couldn’t escape either, and Li could afford to lose two fewer sixth-rank warriors.

Still, thinking of his own two dead warriors today, his heart ached.

Su Yang truly deserved death...

“Su Yang must not die!”

Just as Zhou prepared to act, a rough voice echoed from the street entrance.

A burly man clad in armor, with a scruffy beard, walked out slowly, followed by a squad of soldiers—all formidable warriors hardened through countless battles, exuding fierce killing intent.

The temperature at the scene dropped sharply.

Zhao Man Gong!

A fifth-rank warrior!

“General Zhao?”

At Zhao Man Gong’s arrival, everyone was momentarily stunned, their faces reflecting confusion and surprise.

Especially Deputy Li.

His heart was already in turmoil. How had Su Yang managed to ally with the Huo family’s lady and gain Wei’s support? And now General Zhao was here backing him?

This...!

At that moment, Li couldn’t help but admire Su Yang—a true martial prodigy, adept even at weaving alliances between factions.

His daughter marrying this young man was indeed a fortunate match.

The Wei clan leader felt similarly. He had planned to face Zhou alone but now Su Yang had brought in Zhao Man Gong—a pleasant surprise.

...

“General Zhao, what do you mean by this?” Zhou asked.

“This man killed my son; why can’t he be touched? Why can’t he be killed?”

Zhou nearly spat blood after Zhao’s endorsement of Su Yang.

Damn it!

You come stirring up trouble?

Li was about to defect to the rebels outside; Zhou had risked his son’s life to capture Su Yang and Bai Luanluan, cutting Li’s forces down. And now you appear to make a scene?

“Old Master Su is very important to my army. He absolutely must not be killed. Your son is dead; let it be.”

“Let this matter be settled.”

Zhao waved his hand. “Old Master Su, County Magistrate Zhou, you may both depart.”

In Yanggu County, Su Yang was unrivaled in crafting corpse warriors—the first to succeed. He could even produce seventh-rank corpse warriors.

Usually, masters crafting these toxic corpse warriors had daily limits, and many ‘detoxified’ corpses still retained toxic tumors inside. If a soldier consumed one carelessly, they might mutate—covered in tentacles, sprouting another head from the neck, their bodies limp like earthworms...

Covered in sores all over...

All sorts of horrors that severely affected morale.

But since Su Yang took over crafting corpse warriors, such problems ceased.

Every detoxified corpse warrior he produced was completely free of residual tumors, a vital boost to the army’s strength.

“General Zhao, is this appropriate?” Zhou frowned.

“I am allied with Wei’s clan leader. If you continue talking nonsense, I will take your head,” Zhao said coldly, ignoring all rules or reason. Zhou was left speechless.

“Thank you, General Zhao. I will return now,” Su Yang said.

“Go ahead,” Zhao waved.

“Increase overtime on corpse warrior production in the coming days.”

“Understood.”

Su Yang nodded and left with Huo Luoluo and the others, leaving Zhou alone, glaring helplessly.

“County Magistrate Zhou, farewell.”

“County Magistrate Zhou, farewell!”

Deputy Li and Wei’s clan leader also departed with their men.

“General Zhao, this is a good opportunity to weaken Deputy Li,” Zhou said as most had left.

“Is Su Yang Li’s man?”

Zhao knew about Li’s impending betrayal and had already coordinated with Zhou on how to handle Li.

“Yes!”

“Otherwise, why would I have sacrificed my son’s name to save Su Yang’s life?”

Zhou sighed helplessly.

“But now, it’s too late.”

“Impossible.”

“Do you know how much strength Su Yang has added to my army by producing corpse warriors recently?”

“If he were with Li, how could he still serve me and strengthen my forces?”

Zhao remained firm, trusting Su Yang.

Zhou had no choice but to reveal that Li’s daughter, Li Doukou, had married into Su Yang’s family.

Zhao pondered long, then said slowly, “You mean a marriage alliance?”

“Yes, a marriage alliance.”

“No, no, no. I think it’s not a marriage alliance, but Li wanting to keep his daughter safe.”

“If he fails, everyone in his family dies, including Li Doukou. But if she marries Su Yang, it’s like water spilled, and the Su family will protect her.”

“You saw today—three sixth-rank warriors from the Su family, and the Su estate’s Huo family is connected to Su Yang. Maybe his daughter still has a chance.”

“You didn’t expect Li to marry his daughter into the Su family secretly, so you found out and caused this mess.”

“Su Yang probably isn’t with Li’s faction.”

Zhao thought for a moment. “At most, Li is just entrusting his daughter to a good family.”

“He poses no threat to us.”

...

“General Zhao, can you really favor Su Yang just because he’s useful to your army?”

Zhou was furious at Zhao’s analysis, calling it nonsense.

A marriage alliance was a marriage alliance.

With the rebels entering the city, Yanggu County would be theirs, and Su Yang’s fortunes would rise with Li.

No, by then, Li would become the magistrate.

Li only had one daughter, his sole heir, and he loved her dearly.

“Don’t set your sights on Su Yang. As for the others, do as you wish.”

Zhao didn’t want to argue further and left with his soldiers, leaving Zhou stomping in rage.

From afar, Zhao saw clearly.

Huo Luoluo had probably fallen for Su Yang and might even be willing to die for him.

If Su Yang died, Huo Luoluo would never rest.

If the Huo family blamed them...

Zhao knew well the second master’s nature. He never targeted a single person for revenge.

He preferred to kill everyone involved, or possibly involved.

That way, no one was spared.

Neither Huo Luoluo nor Su Yang could afford to perish.

Besides, if Su Yang were truly with Li, he wouldn’t be crafting corpse warriors to strengthen Zhao’s army.

Thus...