Chapter 2775 - 2769: The Clan Leader’s Thoughts (2)

The Samurai of the Clan of Darkness, whose hearts had already gradually lost all hope, had their hope rekindled by the stance of this young man who took the lead and charged ahead; this man who seemed not to know what death was greatly boosted the morale of the people of the Clan of Darkness.

In the end, under the lead of this young man, these Samurai of the Clan of Darkness began a frenzied slaughter of those enemies who had been so terrified that they lost all will to fight; thick blackness and terrifying streams of blood-colored light swept across this gorge.

The outcome of this encirclement battle was that the army of the Clan of Darkness, already inferior in numbers, used a completely inconceivable posture and will to defeat the enemy whose numbers and equipment both surpassed the army of the Clan of Darkness, creating a miracle.

They broke out of the heavy siege with only one third of their forces lost; by rights, with no reinforcements to wait for, they should have been annihilated to the last man.

And the Samurai who led everyone in breaking out of the encirclement was An Tian in his youth; this battle of the gorge was also the fight that made his name. From that day on, everyone knew that within the Dark Samurai Regiment there was a Samurai who had once, fearlessly courting death, used a single mortal body to intimidate an entire army!

Later, An Tian also received reward from the Clan of Darkness for this display of valor: a vast amount of cultivation resources and a two-rank promotion within the Dark Samurai Regiment. This allowed An Tian, originally a bottom-tier soldier of the Clan of Darkness, to gain a certain status and fame; afterward, many young children joined the Dark Samurai Regiment after hearing An Tian’s story.

However, in this brutal battle An Tian also suffered more than a dozen blade wounds; by the time they returned to the Clan of Darkness’s station, An Tian had already fallen unconscious from massive blood loss, and it was those soldiers younger than him, who had been under his protection, who carried him to receive treatment.

Fortunately, An Tian not only pulled through the dangerous period, but in this tempering between life and death he also gained a certain increase in cultivation.

It was also during this brutal battle that An Ye first heard of this young Samurai An Tian. At that time, An Ye had just become Clan Leader; although he was much older in years than An Tian, he still felt admiration for this unusually courageous young Samurai who feared no sacrifice.

He secretly remembered An Tian’s name; in the future, if the chance arose, he would certainly promote this young Samurai of limitless potential.

An Ye stood up from the void, slowly exhaled another breath. Unwittingly, he had recalled events from so long ago. An Ye gazed at An Tian, who was still kowtowing, and at last felt a faint pang of reluctance in his heart. He let out a sigh, then took a single step upon the void, and in the next instant descended from the Great Hall Summit thousands of miles above to stand before An Tian.

An Tian sensed a powerful aura arrive before him. Within the clan, the only one who possessed such imperial might was the Clan Leader. Thus An Tian ceased his kowtowing, merely lowering his head, awaiting the Clan Leader’s judgment.

An Ye looked at An Tian, then said coldly: "If I do not agree to your request, are you going to keep kowtowing here forever?"

"This subordinate naturally would not dare use his own humble life to disturb the King for a long time. This subordinate knows that the King’s time is very precious, that there is not much extra time to handle such trivial little matters..."

"You are wrong. Your lives are all great matters to me. You think I have many affairs and am busy every day—this is indeed the case. After all, I must concern myself with virtually everything in the Clan of Darkness, and still reserve extra mental strength to attend to my own cultivation. I truly am busy every day,"

"But I have not yet reached the point of being too busy to care about the lives of my own people. Though I did not personally preside over this case, the impact of this matter is far too vile, involving the lives of the Two-headed Snake Clan,"

"So I also carved out some time to personally question those handling the case, and listened to the opinions of several people from the Abyss of Darkness and the Two-headed Snake Clan. Your son used a Taboo Formation, causing two deaths and one grievous injury—this is an indisputable fact,"

"Within our Clan of Darkness, the laws are rather strict. You, as one of the Dark Samurai Regiment, should not be ignorant of this, should you? Therefore, it is fitting that your son was sentenced to death; otherwise we cannot quell the fury of the family of that core disciple of the Two-headed Snake Clan, nor can we calm the anger of the families of those two dead children. The Abyss of Darkness’s face would also be hard to preserve,"

"Thus it was after careful consideration that I sentenced your son to death, and not as you imagined, truly leaving the entire matter to be fully directed by those below. In the end, the decision of punishment naturally still had to be made by me."

Listening to An Ye’s words, An Tian’s heart tightened all the more. He had never been so close to the King before, nor had he ever heard the Clan Leader speak so many words. Though he was a true Samurai, when facing An Ye, who carried innate imperial might, he still could not help the slight trembling of his body.

Especially since this matter concerned the very life and death of his son.

But An Ye then continued: "However, since you have already walked between the Abyss of Darkness and the Two-headed Snake Clan, and have obtained their permission and forgiveness, then I have little more to say. I do not know what method you used to make that group of old fellows loosen their stance,"

"But since both sides in the incident have already mutually reconciled, I am not some rigid man devoid of feeling and reason. I now grant your son a special pardon by oral decree: your son An Jiao will be spared the death sentence!"

An Tian’s heart surged with joy. He immediately kowtowed to express his gratitude: "Thank you, Clan Leader!"

"But your son has, after all, committed a mistake so grave. He killed; I care not what the reason was, but since he committed the crime of stripping another of life, he must bear the consequences. His capital offense may be forgiven, but his living punishment cannot be escaped,"

"I now order that your son be banished from the territory of the Clan of Darkness, and not returned for five hundred years. After five hundred years, if your child has come to understand all the consequences brought about by his impulsive actions, including his own grievous injuries and causing his father to humble himself so low as to beg so many powers,"

"When he truly begins to think thrice before acting, then I will permit him to return to the Clan of Darkness."

"As for you, An Tian, you clearly knew the wrong your son committed, yet still pleaded for him out of private feelings. You too have incurred the crime of defending and petitioning on behalf of an offender, so I also sentence you to be banished together with your son,"

"At dawn tomorrow, take him and leave the territory of the Clan of Darkness."

Although An Tian had more or less guessed such an outcome, when An Ye spoke the words of banishing father and son, his heart still could not help but feel a twinge of desolation. But he knew that the Clan Leader had personally come down to spare his son’s life; this was already immense grace. He ought not to ask for anything more.

"Thank you for the Clan Leader’s grace!" An Tian once more knocked his head against the ground.

An Ye nodded, turned, and prepared to depart, but suddenly halted his steps, saying mildly: "An Tian, train your son well. I hold his potential in very high regard. In the future, if he has the chance to return to the Clan of Darkness, he will surely become a peak combat force of our clan,"

"Though this child acts somewhat without regard for consequences, I have already met your child before. His left leg is congenitally crippled, yet on that left leg there have inexplicably appeared some fresh wounds,"

"Coupled with his impulsive actions, I have faintly guessed the reason your son was willing to gamble his very life to use the Taboo Formation,"

An Ye lifted his head and looked toward the direction of the Two-headed Snake Clan, speaking calmly: "I know the character of those so-called noble scions. They are wastrels who enjoy the foundations their forebears staked their lives to build for them, yet are unlearned, undisciplined, even arrogant and domineering,"

"Someday I will properly purge these tumors within the Clan of Darkness; it is just that the time has not yet come."