# 325
**Chapter 325: Before the Gate**
Wang Lu’s voice echoed across the open ground. The prisoners charging at the front faltered under the force of his aura, their steps instinctively slowing.
With a roar, Wang Lu took the offensive, launching himself directly into their midst.
Fang Yanghui stood nearby, layers of spiraling air currents swirling around his hands. His gaze swept over the prisoners, and he let out a helpless sigh.
“If only I still had my blade…”
He shook his head and, following Wang Lu’s lead, flickered into motion and crashed into the crowd of prisoners. The two of them instantly disrupted the momentum of the assault.
Seeing this, the military commander shouted, “All units, reform the line! Reload and provide support!”
The few remaining armored vehicles and tanks rumbled back into action, quickly tightening their defensive perimeter. Flames and ammunition poured forth, helping the two men barely hold back the prisoners’ onslaught.
“Who are those two?” the commander asked, eyes fixed on the battlefield.
“The one over there is Fang Yanghui. He used to be part of the Night Watch team stationed in Chuanxiang City. A few years ago, he killed seven civilians. According to him, they were child traffickers who had sold his sister. But after months of investigation, no solid evidence was found. He couldn’t justify his actions, so he was sent to the Purification Chamber.”
“The other one, Wang Lu, uses fire. During a mission, he captured a dangerous superhuman and was supposed to escort him to the Purification Chamber. But due to a personal grudge, he hijacked the transport, accidentally injured several Night Watch members, and killed the superhuman on the spot. He was also sent to the Purification Chamber.”
After hearing his aide’s explanation, the commander frowned slightly. Watching the two blood-soaked figures fighting desperately, he let out a long sigh.
“What a waste…”
…
In the distance, An Qingyu watched silently, then turned to Lin Qiye.
“You’ve been worried about this?”
Lin Qiye nodded. “Using the prisoners’ momentum to break out of the Purification Chamber in one go is indeed the best escape route. But if we do that, we won’t be the only ones set free… they will be too. I want to leave this place, but if the cost is releasing people like them back into society, the price is too high.”
An Qingyu pondered for a moment. “So what do we do? Give up this chance?”
“No.” Lin Qiye shook his head, his eyes narrowing slightly. He looked up at a towering black steel wall nearby, a strange gleam in his gaze.
“I’ve thought of a better way!”
…
**Boom—!!**
A deafening explosion erupted. A pillar of scorching fire shot into the sky, blazing through the chaotic battlefield. Waves of heat rolled outward, forcing several prisoners to retreat.
Flames danced across Wang Lu’s bronze skin, radiating endless light and heat. In this terrain, his power was unleashed to its fullest. The inferno burned like the fire in his heart, incinerating all filth and ugliness.
Fang Yanghui moved like a phantom through the crowd. The spiraling air currents around his palms surged as he deflected a wind blade from one prisoner with a single hand. Then he slammed his palm into the ground, shattering the earth beneath and forcing several nearby prisoners to stumble back.
“This guy… he’s more reliable than I thought,” Fang Yanghui muttered, glancing at the imposing Wang Lu.
In the next moment, three more prisoners rushed in at once!
The sudden appearance of Wang Lu and Fang Yanghui had successfully slowed the prisoners’ assault. The precious time they bought allowed the military to regroup and regain the advantage of long-range firepower.
Artillery fire rang out in quick succession. Caught off guard, several more prisoners were injured and fell.
Among the prisoners, someone quickly realized the danger and shouted, “Ignore those two! Charge the gate!”
At his cry, most of the prisoners snapped to attention. Wang Lu and Fang Yanghui were strong, but they were only two. There was no need to fight them head-on. If they simply bypassed them and charged the gate en masse, the two couldn’t possibly stop everyone.
The prisoners currently engaged with them immediately pulled back, gave them a mocking glance, then scattered and sprinted toward the gate at full speed.
Wang Lu roared in fury and turned to chase, but the ground beneath him suddenly erupted into a massive hand that blocked his path. A barrage of Forbidden Ruins was hurled at him. It might not kill him, but it was more than enough to hold him down for a while.
Fang Yanghui, on the other hand, used his agile movement to evade the attacks. But even he could only stop two or three prisoners. Against this pack of rabid dogs charging forward with no regard for their lives, his strength was far from enough.
“Damn it!! Come at me if you’ve got the guts!”
Wang Lu watched prisoner after prisoner slip past him, grinning as they broke through the final line of defense. He roared in rage.
Under the leadership of a few strategically minded prisoners, the group no longer tried to wipe out the military defenders. Instead, a dozen or so prisoners spearheaded a breach in the line, which the rest then widened. They ignored the heavy weapons and soldiers around them, charging straight for the gate.
At first, the military’s artillery could still inflict damage. But once the prisoners broke through the defensive line, the heavy weapons became nearly useless. The distance was too close, the scene too chaotic. A single misstep could hit their own men instead.
The prisoners didn’t care. Once their Forbidden Ruins activated, attacks flew indiscriminately into the crowd!
In this way, the prisoners tore a bloody path through the military’s final defense!
The heavy gate now lay completely exposed before them!
Nothing could stop them anymore!
“Charge!!”
“Hahaha!!! I’m gonna be free!!”
“To hell with the Purification Chamber! To hell with the Night Watch!!”
“Break that gate! Nothing will hold us back ever again!!”
“…”
**Thud—!!**
A figure plummeted from the sky and crashed into the ground in front of the gate. Shattered stone flew in all directions, dust billowing into the air.
All the prisoners rushing toward the gate froze.
In the swirling smoke, a young man in a blue-and-white striped patient’s uniform stood silently. His black hair fluttered in the wind, and beneath it, a pair of golden eyes blazed like molten metal.