The Dawn of the New World Chapter 1453

Hao Xuan glanced at Luz, waiting for him to step up. And as slow as he was thankfully he took the hint.

Clearing his throat Luz slowly got up, "There there, no need to be so harsh Bertha. After all, we are all friends here, aren't we?"

"Hmph, when did I become friends with the likes of you?" the disdain in her narrowed eyes could not be concealed, not that she was trying to.

"Oh, we are not friends?" he twirled his whiskers rather arrogantly, "Then I don't need to hide from Lady Yukio what you have been doing behind the scenes, do I? Maybe I should let it slip where all the-"

*Shing*

Bertha withdrew her saber and struck at him from above in one swift motion. Hao Xuan who was completely unprepared for the sudden attack still sprung to his defense instinctively, using his bare hands to catch the blade with some luck.

And suffice it to say everyone was surprised by his skillful interruption, especially since he managed to do so without harming himself in the process.

"Tsk...looks like you bought a good dog. A rat and a dog, a match made in heaven," she chuckled to herself.

Angered by yet another attempted murder, Hao Xuan snatched the saber away from her hands before throwing her against the wall. He hadn't used too much force but Bertha still flew across the room and slammed into the wall, throwing up a mouthful of blood and shaking the very foundation of the inn.

The next second he was standing in front of her, his hand wrapped tightly around her neck.

Her eyes bulged as she met his murderous gaze, killing intent pouring out of his body in spades.

In that moment Bertha felt like she was up against a wild beast, a predator that could cut her in half without a second thought. She understood that no looming threat of exile or death could stop him if he wanted to end her life.

The laws that protected her meant nothing to him.

The door suddenly burst open and a shadow flew across the room, stopping just beside them.

Hao Xuan reached out and grabbed a second blade that was coming straight for his head. His muscles bulged to the extreme as he was forced to use his full power for the first time in a long time to keep the blade at bay.

His hand bled but his grip did not weaken one bit.

He turned towards the newcomer. It was an older woman perhaps in her fifties. Her blue eyes stared daggers at him, just as cold as his if not more.

"R-Rukia!" Bertha called out her name with great effort.

Realizing that she could not overpower him with brute strength Rukia pulled back her shortsword and skillfully moved to the other side with the help of a movement technique.

"Let her go!" she ordered.

From that brief exchange Hao Xuan understood that this person was not a novice, unlike the arrogant innkeeper. The only reason he still had all his fingers was because she held back for Bertha's sake.

Not to mention that she was a Profound Realm Cultivator. She had sealed and suppressed her cultivation to a great degree but Hao Xuan could still sense it since he was close to it himself at one time.

He took a deep breath to regain his composure, "I did not start this."

"I don't care, let her go if you want to leave here in one piece," she replied coldly.

Hao Xuan's eyes narrowed.

He was faster than her and more powerful, especially in such close quarters but if she went all out and unsealed her cultivation then he would be in big trouble.

Regardless, he could not let her get the upper hand.

"She tried to kill me and then Luz, why should I believe she won't do the same again...now that her guardian is here?" he asked while tightening his grip around Bertha's neck.

"Do you intend to die here? If not release her at onc-"

Rukia tried to appeal to his sense of self-preservation but Hao Xuan did not have much of it left at this point. He grinned, cutting her off.

"I have nothing to lose anyway. If I'm going to die no matter what, why shouldn't I at least take the leader with me?"

Rukia's eyes widened, "You madman!"

Hao Xuan pulled back his other arm and made a fist, fully intending to crush Bertha's head into a hundred pieces.

"STOP!"

Rukia came at him again but he was ready for it this time. She swung her sword sideways but Hao Xuan used Bertha as a meatshield which caused her to freeze in her tracks.

He rotated on the spot to launch a roundhouse kick straight at her chest. Rukia pulled back her blade in the nick of time to offset most of the force behind the kick but what little managed to go through almost broke her in half.

She rotated over a dozen times in mid-air before crashing against the back wall. Hao Xuan tightened his group even further, almost to the point of snapping Bertha's neck in half.

"S-Stop, please! You win!" Rukia yelled from the dust cloud, throwing her shortsword at his feet.

"I give you my word as a warrior, no one here will harm you! Take me as hostage if you want!"