Chapter 1321: Rescue from the Execution Ground

Luo Dan stood in the middle of the square, carefully cradling the knife in his hands, chanting prayers for the condemned according to the ritual.

The sky burial ceremony was a ritual of reincarnation prepared for the dead.

But today, this sky burial was for the living.

As demanded by the great chieftains of the West, these resistance army members would not be given a swift death by a slit throat.

Instead, they must be kept alive to watch their own flesh being sliced off, then thrown into a pot to be cooked, and finally shared among the believers.

This was an extremely cruel punishment, inflicting not only physical pain but also psychological humiliation.

The banner the resistance army fought under was to overthrow the chieftain nobility and liberate the serfs.

Yet when they died, countless serfs would cheer for it, scrambling for their flesh and blood.

What a supreme irony this was?

Deji sat on his chair, his sharp eyes sweeping around the surroundings. He then said to the monks under his command, "Stay alert. The rebels are likely about to make their move."

The monk nodded. "Rest assured, Khenpo. The moment they dare show themselves, the Heavenly Net and Earthly Snare we have laid will crush them to pieces immediately!"

Deji nodded with satisfaction. "My only fear is that they won't come."

At this moment, Luo Dan in front of the sky burial platform had already raised his knife.

A resistance army member was dragged over, stripped naked, and then tightly bound to the sky burial platform.

Luo Dan looked down at him coldly. That person's eyes held only indignation and mockery, not a trace of fear.

Luo Dan said, "Let me send you on your path to reincarnation!"

He raised the gleaming long knife in his hand, about to bring it down onto the resistance fighter's chest.

And at that moment, among the kneeling crowd, pairs of eyes suddenly turned sharp.

"Boom!"

...

Suddenly, violent explosions erupted all around the square. The earth trembled instantly, and the believers kneeling on the ground wailed in agony, collapsing to the ground.

The explosions came too suddenly. Clearly, someone had planted explosives around the square in advance. The entire square was thrown into chaos, with people and objects thrown into disarray.

Deji's face immediately turned cold. He knew this was the handiwork of spies the resistance army had planted among them.

Furthermore, those with the ability to plant explosives around the square must have held a fairly high rank.

He did not panic. Instead, he immediately stood up and began issuing orders.

"Hold the perimeter of the square! Anyone who approaches is to be killed on sight!"

Outside the square were tens of thousands of believers. Many were now terrified by the sudden explosions, running around in panic. Some instinctively rushed towards the square itself.

As soon as Deji gave the order, the monk soldiers of Sangha Monastery and the private soldiers of the Yasha Langtai family immediately took up their weapons, blocking anyone trying to approach.

The tide of people surged. Although the soldiers shouted loudly, ordering everyone to stay away, those caught in the crush couldn't control their own movements.

"Rat-a-tat-tat!!!"

And these soldiers wouldn't bother with such considerations. They only knew to obey their orders, immediately opening fire and killing any believers who approached.

The front few rows of believers fell like wheat being harvested.

And from among these people, dozens of figures suddenly shot out, their weapons aimed at the monk soldiers and private soldiers, launching a counterattack.

The resistance army members hidden among them had finally made their move!

Luo Dan, who was performing the sky burial ceremony, merely lifted an eyelid before lowering his head again. His thick wrist didn't waver in the slightest as he directly plunged the knife into the resistance fighter's chest.

Beads of blood welled up, and a straight red line appeared on his chest.

The entire process avoided blood vessels, so the blood line was extremely fine, like a work of art.

The resistance fighter didn't feel pain—he was already numb from the cold. With his last ounce of strength, he shouted to his comrades who had come to rescue him, "Go! Get out of here! Don't worry about us!"

Everyone knew this was a trap deliberately set for them, yet they had come without hesitation.

The Prayer Festival was the grandest event in the hearts of all esoteric sect believers.

If they showed cowardice at such a time, not even daring to rescue their own comrades, they would completely lose the support of the people in the Southwest Region.

So today, even if they failed, they had to let everyone see that they dared to declare war against tyranny and injustice!

As the resistance army charged forward, Zhang Yi and the others remained coldly watching from the sidelines.

Pagyi Gesang sat upright on his chair, his heart completely unruffled.

Zhang Yi and his group were merely watching the spectacle.

He had promised the Snow Mountain Divine Eagle that he wouldn't take action against them when the time came, and would only lend a hand when the opportunity was right.

But right now, the resistance army's assault was clearly being held back by the monk soldiers of Sangha Monastery and the private soldiers of the Yasha Langtai family.

They were too weak. At this point, the people from the other three great families hadn't even really joined the fight, yet the resistance was already struggling mightily.

Battle cries filled the air around the square as the two sides clashed together.

On the sky burial platform at the center of the square, the other sky burial masters were already at a loss, unsure whether to flee or stay.

Only Luo Dan continued meticulously with the dissection.

It was as if he were drawing a chessboard on the body of that resistance fighter, crisscrossing lines. Soon, the flesh on his body was divided into neat, square chunks.

Then, he casually tossed the chunks of meat into the large pot of boiling water beside him.

Watching their comrade die in battle, the other resistance fighters bound to the execution racks wore expressions of grief and pain, sweeping hateful gazes over every noble lord sitting comfortably on the scene.

But right now, they could do nothing.

Each of them had been starved for three to five days.

Even for superhumans, going long periods without eating to replenish energy meant not only being unable to fight, but even walking would be a struggle.

Not to mention the hundreds of jin of chains weighing them down.

Outside the square, the resistance army members were still fighting desperately.

"Awooo—"

From the distance, the howl of a wolf sounded, followed by the cries of one wild wolf after another.

Zhang Yi followed the sound and saw, on the distant snowy plain, a pack of gray wolves surging forward, kicking up a blizzard of snowflakes.

Riding atop one massive dire wolf was Drolma, brandishing a long whip as she charged forward with murderous intent!

"That guy should make his move now, right? Otherwise, with just these people, they won't be able to rescue the prisoners here."

Zhang Yi thought to himself.

Sure enough, the next moment, an eagle's cry came from the land behind the wolf pack.

A golden light rose from the horizon, like a great sun.

Then, a golden figure swiftly flew towards the sky burial platform.

It was a superhuman with golden wings. His face was covered by a mask, obscuring his features, but his powerful aura rapidly swept across the entire snowy plain, crashing against the formations of the monk soldiers and private soldiers.

A fierce gale swept through. No matter how strong these superhumans were, they couldn't withstand even a slight gust of this wind.

The previously impregnable formation immediately showed signs of loosening.

The surrounding resistance army members seized the opportunity, roaring as they charged towards the square!

Author's Note