The Lord is Empire

Since ancient times, he who held the support of the people held the world. Popular support could be said to be one of the most important things to a ruler.

Zhang Hong’s 3,500 soldiers were all quite experienced, and because Zhao Fu only had 1,000 soldiers, they would have to each face three enemies. Zhao Fu was at a clear disadvantage, so he hoped to use the residents to restrict Zhang Hong.

At the same time, he had poured a bucket of dirty water over Zhang Hong. In actuality, Zhao Fu had no idea if Liu Ming’s death really had to do with Zhang Hong, but he still did his best to paint Zhang Hong as despicable, unforgivable scum.

Only that way could he incite the crowds against Zhang Hong and help his forces overthrow him!

The clamoring in Mountain Willow Village woke up many people, and when they heard these yells, the residents came out. When they saw Liu Subai crying and how devastated she was, they immediately became furious and joined Zhao Fu’s forces.

More and more people joined Zhao Fu’s forces, and they rushed towards the Mayor’s residence, seeming completely unstoppable. Very soon, the two sides clashed.

On one side, Zhang Hong controlled most of the military and a small portion of the residents, while Zhao Fu’s side had a smaller force of 1,000 soldiers and bandits. However, he had the majority of the residents supporting them.

“Who are you?” Zhang Hong asked as he glared at the black-cloaked figure beside Liu Subai.

He knew that in the few days after Liu Subai had escaped, it was impossible for her to gather so many people to attack Mountain Willow Town. All of this must have been done by the black-cloaked figure beside her, as everyone seemed to follow his orders. However, despite being at Mountain Willow Town for so long, Zhang Hong had never heard of this person before.

“Who I am isn’t important! I heard that a tyrant appeared in Mountain Willow Town, scum who tries to kill even the elderly and the young. My heart was filled with indignance, so I decided to help Big Miss Liu take back Mountain Willow Town and get rid of you, you villain!”

Zhao Fu did his best to seem as righteous as possible to gain the support of the residents, and he made Zhang Hong seem as wicked as possible.

“Hmph!” Zhang Hong coldly harrumphed - he didn’t believe Zhao Fu at all. What idiot would waste so much time and effort without asking for any rewards? Zhang Hong realized that Zhao Fu’s goal was most likely Mountain Willow Village as well.

“Ah, Gou Sheng! Hurry and come over here! Stop helping Zhang Hong commit evil crimes. You won’t have a good end following him!”

Just as Zhang Hong was about to say something, an elderly voice sounded out. Indeed, Zhao Fu’s side was pulling out the emotional cards.

When comparing residents and soldiers, soldiers would obviously be more powerful. After all, soldiers had professions, equipment, skills, battle experience, and buffs. As such, soldiers were normally much more powerful than residents.

Because of this, Zhao Fu chose to play on the soldiers’ emotions. The people who Zhang Hong’s soldiers were facing were the townspeople, who included their families and friends. It would be impossible for them to attack and kill those people.

Many soldiers’ hearts started to be shaken, and they seemed to want to join Zhao Fu’s side!

“That’s right! Old Li’s son, don’t continue committing evils over there!”

“Big brother, come to this side; don’t continue following those sorts of people!”

“Darling! Come to this side!”

Zhao Fu’s side used all sorts of tactics. Facing the shouts of so many family members and friends, many of the soldiers looked like they were going to join Zhao Fu.

Seeing this, Zhang Hong became completely infuriated and exploded out with his Stage 2 cultivator’s aura, causing it to weigh down on everyone as he yelled, “I’ll see who dares to go over!”

This massive aura caused many of the soldiers who had wanted to join Zhao Fu’s side to freeze. Zhang Hong was indeed the strongest person in Mountain Willow Town to be able to suppress the scene with just his aura alone.

Under Zhang Hong’s immense aura, many people started to feel nervous, and they revealed expressions of terror. They felt that Zhang Hong was undefeatable, and Zhao Fu’s side’s morale started to plummet.

At this moment, an aura that was no less weaker than Zhang Hong’s, and even somewhat stronger, burst forth, colliding with Zhang Hong’s aura.

“Don’t worry everyone; I will kill this Zhang Hong!”

Everyone’s gaze fell on the black-cloaked figure, and a wave of cheers sounded out. It was as if they were looking at a majestic hero.

Sun Xiaowei let out a breath of relief. He hadn’t expected Zhao Fu to be so strong to the point that he could even contend with their strongest expert.

Zhang Hong looked over at Zhao Fu and released an ominous killing intent. His body disappeared like a bolt of lightning and shot towards Zhao Fu. He knew that if he didn’t get rid of Zhao Fu, it would be impossible to fully control the situation. Zhao Fu had realized the same thing, and he drew his sword to meet Zhang Hong.

Following this, Zhang Hong and Zhao Fu engaged in a massive battle, and their forces also clashed together. Even though many of Zhang Hong’s soldiers had joined Zhao Fu’s side, there were still many who were loyal to Zhang Hong, resulting in an intense battle.

Zhang Hong’s sword shot out a dark and cold sword light towards Zhao Fu’s throat, which Zhao Fu evaded by ducking to the side. Immediately following this, Zhang Hong swept his sword to the side, forcing Zhao Fu to block with his sword.

Zhang Hong then suddenly spun and lashed out with a kick, sending his leg through the air with a ‘whoosh.’ In response, Zhao Fu clenched his other fist and punched with all of his strength.

_Bang!_

The sound of the air exploding rang out as Zhao Fu and Zhang Hong each took two steps back. Zhao Fu hadn’t expected Zhang Hong to be so powerful, nor had Zhang Hong expected Zhao Fu to be so strong. He was the strongest within the surrounding 100-kilometer radius area, and he hadn’t expected someone who could rival him to suddenly appear.

Both of their expressions started to become serious, and they soon started to clash again. Zhao Fu’s sword fiercely slashed towards Zhang Hong, who dodged to the side and flicked his sword upwards. This sinister strike slashed upwards towards Zhao Fu’s chin, and Zhao Fu quickly retreated, barely avoiding it.

Suddenly, Zhang Hong stepped forwards, and his sword gave off a large amount of gray light as it stabbed towards Zhao Fu’s chest.

In response, Zhao Fu coldly harrumphed and unleashed Sky Demon Slash!

A sharp black sword qi slashed out and collided with Zhang Hong’s sword, resulting in another explosion. Sword light scattered everywhere, releasing terrifying shockwaves and making it so that no one dared to step too close.

“Malicious Ghost Soulstealing!”

After exchanging many blows, Zhang Hong realized that he was at a disadvantage, and he could only explode out with his strongest attack. His body erupted with a sinister gray aura, and he slashed out as an ashen-faced, malicious-looking ghost appeared and shot towards Zhao Fu like a blur.

Zhao Fu slowly raised the Sky Demon Sword and gathered its demonic qi, unleashing Sky Demon’s Feast.

The image of a savage demon soon rushed out to meet the malicious ghost!

_Chi!_

The image of the demon slashed the malicious ghost into pieces with a single attack, and Zhang Hong coughed up a mouthful of blood. Zhao Fu caught this opportunity and ran forwards, turning into a blurry shadow as he stabbed his sword through Zhang Hong’s chest. He then rotated it, destroying Zhang Hong’s internal organs and finally killing him.

As soon as Zhang Hong died, his subordinates lost their battle spirit, and the situation turned to Zhao Fu’s side’s favor, resulting in his victory.