Cold Blade

Silence!

The Qin City descended into a deep silence. It felt as if there were no humans left inside the city. Even the ever-rustling soldiers on the stone walls went quiet as Mars roared to the heavens.

"What was that….!" Baren whispered to himself, his brows furrowed as he held his right arm, which had started trembling ceaselessly.

For a moment, Baren felt something he hadn't felt in a long time since he became the City Lord.

Fear!

The crazed shouts had died, and the crowd was silent too, their faces terrified as if they had seen a demon itself.

Meanwhile, Luther, who stood closest to Mars, had completely gone numb.

Looking down, Mars studied Leo's face for a while, and surprisingly, no one spoke. Then, he turned up and gazed at the crowd, Lord Baren, Maia, soldiers, and the city walls.

From yesterday's spar with Luther, Mars had learned a very important lesson.

The essence of combat, war, and conquering was not about strength but tricking their opponents and making a fool out of them.

just like Luther had made a fool of them tonight, tricking them and accusing him and Leo of murder.

Even though unimaginable anger surged forth in his heart, like a volcano threatening to burst at any second, Mars knew he was powerless at this moment.

He didn't have any skills to fight the soldiers or kill any of them, nor could he escape his fate if he decided to surrender.

The only choice for his survival was to escape the city.

'For that, I must trick these people!' Mars thought.

Acting recklessly in anger won't solve anything.

Suddenly, Mars's ferocious eyes turned into fearful ones, and his body started shaking. He looked at Luther and said, "Lord Luther…. I…spare me, please!"

"I don't want to die!" Mars started weeping on the floor.

Luther, who had been numb for a long time, saw Mars's trembling figure and smiled mockingly, "Oh, so you have finally realized, you bastard!"

He pointed at Leo's corpse and laughed, "Haha, look what your foolishness has done to your family, peasant, that's what you get by messing with a noble!"

"I know, please spare me!" Mars cried again and suddenly dragged his body slowly towards Luther's feet.

Luther's grin grew even wider.

"Oh, really, an apology?" He asked and saw Mars crawling up to his leg.

Meanwhile, looking at Mars's behaviour, Lord Baren frowned. He had seen this boy's unyielding gaze, surely, he wasn't the one to beg for mercy. 'Or have the deaths made him scared?'

"All right, if you lick my shoes clean right now…then, I shall grant you an apology!" Luther snickered. Looking down at Mars, begging for his life, sent waves of pleasure through his body, and he didn't want it to stop.

"Yes…yes, I will lick!" Mars said and moved his head lower to lick the boots and his other hand…swiftly reached for the sword thrust deep into Leo's chest.

"Young Lord!" "Luther!" The soldiers and Lord Baren were the first to notice this sudden change, and their eyes widened in surprise.

Without waiting, the soldiers rushed to Luther, and at this moment, Mars's weeping face turned into a vicious one.

"What…?" Luther flinched, and before he could react, Mars's hand had already gripped the handle. Pulling it out of Leo's body, Mars swiftly moved it and placed it straight against Luther's throat.

"Halt! Halt!" The soldier at the front screamed, and the rest came to a sudden stop.

"My lord!" "Lord Luther, that demon!" The citizens gathered in front and gasped in terror.

"Leave me!" Luther struggled, but Mars quickly got to his feet, tightly pressed the cold blade against his throat, and said, "Do not move or I will slit your throat!"

"Let him go, you peasant, or he will be tortured to death!" The soldiers ordered, slowly making their way forward, their swords ready to cut at any moment.

Mars knew that a single mistake here would cost him his life.

He glared at the soldiers that were slowly closing in on him and declared threateningly, "Another step forward, and I will slit your young lord's throat."

At this moment, he slightly moved the blade to cut open Luther's skin.

"Ahhh, stop! I don't want to die!" Luther screamed in terror. He feared blood the most.

Looking at the stream of blood emerging out of his throat, both Baren and Maia trembled. Baren jumped down from his chariot and roared, "Everyone, halt; none of you dare move from your place!"

He then turned to look at Mars and said while clenching his fists, "Boy, let him go, and I will give you a swift death or else…." As he said that, Baren's eyes turned colder.

"Hahaha!" Mars laughed, seeing through the old man's play. He pressed the cold blade even tighter against Luther.

"Bastard, leave him!" Baren roared in anger, but now he had started to sweat profusely.

Luther was the only child of his wife, who had died a few months ago, if he lost him here, then his bloodline would truly be facing the threat of extinction.

"Listen, old man!" Mars roared at Baren, "If you want your son to live and not be coldly murdered here, then bring me a horse and let me leave the Qin city without harm, once I am out, you can have him back!"

"How shameful!" "Like hell, we would let you leave!" The soldiers refused, anger surfacing in their eyes.

Meanwhile, the crowd was in utter shock. "Is he the same timid boy?" "How vicious he is, even threatening a noble!"

For these common people, even raising their voices against the nobles was considered a huge threat, and now this young boy dared to put a sword against one's throat and threaten another.

Listening to Mars, Baren shook his head and said, "Boy, even if you escaped, every Qin soldier would hunt you to the end of your life till they bring you back to me. So, escaping would not do you any good. Use your brain and surrender yourself here!"

"I am well aware of my fate, old man!" Mars grinned.

Threatening a noble was considered a grave crime, and there had been many examples of rebels' heads being nailed in front of the city entrance to make an example in front of others, but right now there was no better choice.

Mars sighed a little and then said, "This…will be my final request. Bring me a horse and let me leave the city, or I will kill your young master!"

"Do it, Father." "Ahhh, I don't want to die!" Luther urged, his legs trembling.

A silence crept up among the crowd as Lord Baren glared at Mars, gritting his teeth in anger and frustration. If he let this boy escape, his reputation among the nobles would be tarnished.

What would happen if they heard that not only a commoner threatened his son but even escaped while holding him captive?

His political career would be over!

"No….!" Standing on the chariot, Maia whispered in worry, her eyes fixed on the blade that threatened to slit Luther's throat.

When no response was heard, Mars nodded lightly and said while looking at Baren, "So be it, since you are not responding, I shall slit his throat and then mine; let us two die together; at least I would be able to take revenge upon my dead family!"

"Damn it, you…!" Baren studied Mars's face and knew he was telling the truth. This boy would really kill Luther and then commit suicide here!

"No, stop him!" Luther said, looking at his father, but Mars covered his mouth and moved his blade in such a way that a single thrust would pierce both of their throats at the same time.

"Die...!" His eyes gleamed coldly, and Mars moved the blade, but before it could cut through, he finally heard the words he had expected.

"All right, stop; I will do as you say!" Baren said, his breathing turning rougher with time. His eyes had turned red with anger. If given a chance, he would tear apart Mars's body with his own hands.

Mars stopped with a slight grin on his lips.

"My Lord!" "But we can't let this bastard escape!" "Our reputation would be tarnished if he escaped!" The soldiers chimed in, but Baren cut them off with a glare.

"My son's life is in line, you fool, what would I do with the reputation if my bloodline ends here!" Baren said and then ordered one of the soldiers at the side, "You give him your horse, and one of you orders the city watch to open the gates!"

"As you wish!" The soldier replied with a bow. He dismounted the horse and took it to Mars, while another one ran towards the city gates.

When he was close enough, Mars started walking with his blade still pressed against Luther's throat and said, "Move back and give me your shield too!"

The soldier threw the shield at Mars and backed off.

Mars swiftly mounted the horse, hung the shield, and then turned to Luther and said, "Hop on, let me take you for a ride!"

Luther gulped and wanted to run, but his fear of the cold blade didn't let him. He too mounted the horse, sitting in front of Mars.

Mars wasn't an expert in horse-riding, but he had learned some basics from a peasant who had one and could barely manage to ride one.

"The gates have been opened!" A soldier came rushing back to the crowd.

Mars swept a final gaze at the Qin city and then lightly kicked the horse, saying, "Let's go!"

With Luther still his captive, Mars ran through the city towards the gates while Lord Baren and soldiers closely followed behind, looking for something to take advantage of, but Mars was too cautious to have any slip ups.

Soon, Mars was in front of the city gates. He could see the soldiers lined up on the wall, glaring down at him with bows in their hands, ready to shoot at him.

"No one will shoot; let him through!" Baren roared, his voice reaching to the farther ends of the city walls.

Neigh!

Mars lightly nudged, and the horse sped forward, swiftly passing through the gates. Lord Baren wanted to follow, but Mars stopped them before they could: "No one will leave the city gates!"

"Do as he say!" Baren shouted, raising his arm to stop the cavalry behind him, and then said slowly, "Order the archers to aim their bows at the boy and be ready to shoot at the command."

"Yes, my lord!"

When Mars reached a safe distance away from the gates, he pulled the reins to stop the horse and then turned around to gaze at the enormous Qin City.

"Let him go now!" Baren roared from the city gates, his eyes filled with worry and frustration. Fortunately, Mars had not crossed the range of the archers. Any suspicious movement, and they would rain on him with the arrows.

Mars slowly removed the blade from Luther's throat and said, "You can leave."

"Hah, hahaha, yes!" Luther laughed in relief as the blade was retracted and swiftly jumped off the horse.

Luther turned to Mars, and his lips curled up as he said, "Let's see how far you can run, my father and his army would pursue you to the depths of hell!"

"You will not be forgiven for this peasant!" Luther spat and turned to run towards the city.

Mars gazed at his retreating back, his eyes turned colder every second. He knew that taking Luther with him instead of letting him go was the best choice since Baren would hesitate to take drastic measures.

But… Mars had controlled his anger and acted calmly for too long…he couldn't hold the blazing emotions in his heart any longer, he had to let them out.

"Haha, Father!" Luther laughed while running at his father.

"My son!" "Lord Luther!" Both Baren and Maia's expressions softened as they sighed in relief, looking at Luther running back safely.

Neigh!

At this moment, Mars lightly kicked the horse, urging it to run… but not further away from the city, instead towards Luther.

Luther noticed the movement, and turning his head, his eyes widened to their extreme as he saw Mars extending out his arm, holding onto the sword that had pierced Leo's chest.

"Father!" He cried in fear.

"Mars Noooo!" Maia screamed. "Stop bastard!" Lord Baren roared.

But their cries were not heard.

Shing!

A cold blade flashed in front of the whole Qin city's eyes, and Luther's head flew in the air.