FEotRS Chapter 7 – Chased

At the same time in the Riluo World, Luo Zhirou was gritting her teeth as she ran as far and fast as she could. She was not sure about what these mercenaries wanted from her, but she could sense that they were rushing after her, like wolves after an injured prey.

She had just fought the Three Tiger Brothers, and although she won, she had used most of her strength to do so. Fighting against these mercenaries would be impossible. Especially since it was a fight of attrition, so she was unable to fight back against another group battle. 

While she had a slight advantage against a lot of normal people since she had strengthened her body, she was not the only one who had done this, and right now, where her stamina was nearly depleted, she was feeling exhausted. It was as if there was lead in her legs, and her breathing was ragged.

She had run for hours on end, doing her best at hiding her tracks and changing her directions from time to time, but the mercenaries that were chasing her were not an ordinary group. From the fact that the Crown Prince had hired them, one could see their ability, and they had been given the task of capturing Luo Zhirou, so they were not going to let her go. 

This group of mercenaries also had some body enhancing cultivators. Although they were not as powerful as Luo Zhirou, they had not fought a large battle before they began the chase, and thus they held the upper hand.

After more than seven hours, she was unable to keep up any longer, and the mercenaries caught up to her, their eyes glistening when they saw her up close. 

Luo Zhirou had the most alluring and attractive appearance they had ever seen before; she was a country-toppling beauty! It was no wonder that the Crown Prince had taken a liking to her. 

“What do you want?” She asked with a feeble voice, her eyes narrowed and she raised the fan in her hand, ready to attack or sever her own throat, should they be too rude.

“The Crown Prince of the Riluo Empire has taken a liking to you, please follow us back to his camp to speak with him.” One of the mercenaries was immensely polite; this woman was so beautiful. If he were the Crown Prince, he too would want to take her home.

“I don’t know the Crown Prince, please leave me alone,” Luo Zhirou said, her hackles raised and her eyes filled with anger. If she had known that she would attract such troubles just from clearing up a few bandits, she would never have done so. 

Unfortunately, it was too late to regret it now. She had no choice other than to try and find a way out of it. 

Luo Zhirou was hostile towards the mercenaries that had chased her for a long time, but she knew that even if she was at her peak, she might not be their opponent, considering how many they were, and that ten of them had strengthened their bodies. 

“Miss, I understand your hostility, but he is the Crown Prince. Please come with us to meet him.” The leader of the mercenary had already foreseen what would happen in the future, and he treated the woman exceptionally well because he imagined that with her appearance she would be the favorite of the Crown Prince in the future.

It was well known that the Crown Prince liked beauty. He was a competent man, but he had one weakness, which was his liking towards beautiful women. 

The Crown Prince had been smitten with her appearance already; this mercenary believed that he would only be even more astounded when he saw her up close. As they looked at her now, they could feel even their breathing quickening. She was, indeed, a stunning woman. 

“I won’t,” Luo Zhirou was dead set on not meeting the Crown Prince. Everyone else might have some sort of reverence towards the royals, but Luo Zhirou was the descendant of the East Pearl Tribe – she only felt loathing towards them.

“Don’t worry, this prince will come to you.” Right as Luo Zhirou was looking for a way to escape, a melodious voice resounded through the forest, and a handsome young man appeared in front of her.

Luo Zhirou was, however, not stunned by his beauty. She had seen Big Brother Jin when she was a child, and he was as handsome as a god descending to the mundane world. Anyone paled next to the memory of her childhood sweetheart.

Still, the thought of him made her heart hurt. He had promised to find her after half a year, but soon ten years would have gone by, and he had still not arrived to take her away from this horrible world. 

Seeing that her expression did not have any infatuation after seeing his face, the Crown Prince was stunned, but then he felt elated. This woman was really not like any other. 

“This prince has decided to take you in as a concubine.” He said smugly, but the expression of Luo Zhirou turned grave, and her eyes flashed with anger and annoyance. Who did he think he was? 

“Your Highness, while I am honored, I am not willing.” She did not mince her words and turned him down right away. This was enough to make the prince’s face turn ugly. He had never thought that the woman would decline. 

“I was not asking for your opinion,” the Crown Prince finally said, “I was merely informing you that I am taking you as my concubine. We will get married in a month.”

Luo Zhirou narrowed her eyes slightly, “I already turned you down, what did you not understand about it?” 

“My dearest concubine, don’t be too fast to disagree. Even if you do disagree, I do not care, I am the Crown Prince of the Riluo Empire, you will become mine whether you like it or not. And should you not be obedient, i can make your loved ones experience a life worse than death, I will torture them until you cannot go against me any longer.”

The prince was usually gentle, benevolent and well liked, however his real personality was cold and ruthless. 

He was scheming and able to use people’s opinion to paint himself as a good person who was well liked by the masses, however he was willing to do anything to get what he wanted, and using underhanded means was not a problem for him.

Seeing that she was not going to agree to his offer, the Crown Prince quickly lost his patience and ordered the mercenaries to tie her up. He would simply kidnap her back to the Imperial Capital.

Luo Zhirou had guessed that they would move on her, so she had kept up her guards throughout the entire talk, and she and gained some strength after resting. As soon as the first mercenary arrived next to her, she brandished her fan with a flourish and with a speed too fast to catch with the naked eye, she attacked.

The mercenary died with grievances, his death causing the others to be filled with anger and hatred, but they dared not go against her with too much force, as they knew that the Crown Prince wanted her to be his concubine.

While Luo Zhirou attacked with lethal attacks, the mercenaries had to protect themselves, and at the same time also be sure not to be too rough. They dared not harm her.  

However, these mercenaries were not simple people either, they had seen her fight the Three Tiger Brothers, and she had emerged victorious, so when they got the task of immobilizing her, they were vigilant and quickly protected themselves with their weapons.

What shocked them was her physical strength. Luo Zhirou knew that the five energies within her body were different from any other person, and she also knew that she had benefited from it, but these mercenaries knew nothing about it, and when they felt how she pressed on, they were quickly at a disadvantage.

The main reason for this was that they were not willing to harm her while she was fighting with everything on the line. Although they had many more people, she constrained them all.

Watching how one woman alone was enough to hold down a whole group of mercenaries, the eyes of the Crown Prince brightened. If he had such a strong supporter, he would be capable of gaining much more of a stable foothold on the Crown Prince position. Unfortunately, she was not very docile, nor did it seem as if she wanted to surrender to him.

Luo Zhirou glanced at the Crown Prince, and goosebumps appeared on her entire body. The gleam in his eyes when he looked at her made her feel disgusted, and she would never willingly go with them back to the Imperial Capital. 

Unfortunately, as she was trying to fight back, someone suddenly snuck an attack on her when she was focused on the others, and her vision blurred before everything turned black. Her body limply collapsed on the ground.