Chapter 76 - Please Help!

John who was running as fast as he could possibly go was now deep in the forest beside the Yui Clan's estate. Once he was sure that he was quite a distance away from the estate he decided to check his daughter's condition. 

He was worried since the entire time he was carrying her she didn't respond to him talking. It was also weird that she was in a wheelchair. Fearing for the worst, John momentarily stopped running. When he saw his daughter's countenance John could no longer hold it in and cried. 

His once lively daughter now had a blank expression on her face, as she kept mumbling something under her breath. She was so pale that one could mistake her as a ghost. She had become a rank two martial artist at the tender age of eight, which made her the youngest to ever reach this stage. Yet it was obvious that she didn't reach this level naturally. 

"Milly, I'm here! It's me, it's your dad. I finally came to save you.... I'm sorry that I wasn't able to get to you faster, but I'm here now, so please talk to me. Please, Milly, tell daddy that you're okay." 

John's hands trembled as he spoke and tears continued to flow down his face. He was now truly afraid, just imagining his once cheerful daughter would stay like this forever has already broken his heart. It was at that moment he finally heard the words that his daughter was mumbling. 

"I am a tool of the Yui Clan, I am but a weapon of the Clan. All I need to do is grow stronger. I am a tool of the Yui Clan-" She kept on repeating those words over and over again. 

When John heard those words he clutched his chest feeling extremely hurt. It wasn't just the feeling of sadness that John felt at that moment, but he felt extreme hatred as well. 

"Sakura do you see this?! Do you see what your filthy siblings have done to our precious daughter?! Are you telling me that even now I should forgive them?!... Sakura I know how much you loved them, and I know that no matter what they did you would always forgive them, but it seems that I can't be a saint like you. Even after they took Milly I was willing to forgive them, to believe in them, yet look at what happened, our daughter is now like this." 

John was in so much emotional pain at the moment he wanted to charge into the Yui Clan and kill Sakura's siblings. As his rage was about to overtake him, the image of his wife flashed in his mind. She was showing him a knowing smile that she would usually show when John complains to her about her siblings, once he was done speaking she would then say. 

"I understand how you feel, but even after all they have done, they will forever be my beloved brothers and sisters. They may have strayed from the path, but I'm sure someday they would turn back into the kind siblings I used to have." 

It was as if she was truly standing before him, telling him those words. This just made John cry harder than before. He held his daughter in his arms and hugged her tightly. 

'I don't know what to do anymore.' 

As John was wallowing in his despair, he suddenly felt some killing intent. He quickly dodged to the side but it was already too late, one of his arms was cleanly cut off. As a rank-five martial artist, he had complete control of his body and was able to lessen the blood gushing out. 

He held tightly onto his daughter and was about to flee, but as he moved away another person blocked his path. John was now completely surrounded. Seeing the ten rank six martial artists, one of which was carrying an unconscious Matsuri, John knew that he had no way to escape this predicament. Still, he would never give up without a fight. He placed his daughter down to the side and faced the ten. 

"Have you finished saying your goodbyes, John?" One of the ten martial artists spoke. As they were chasing John in the forest they heard him talking and they immediately understood what happened. John must've asked the help of the Elite Dragon Brigade to save his daughter. 

Still, even with the help of the Elite Dragon Brigade, John could not escape his current predicament. As a mid-tier clan, some laws do not apply to them, and it was easy to kill people that were within their lands without getting punished. There were various means they could employ to make John's death look like nothing. 

Even though they could have killed John after surrounding him, they allowed him to at least say goodbye to his daughter. 

"Hmph, how nice of you to actually allow that." John took out a knife and got into a fighting stance. 

"I see... So you're ready to die." The leader of the group who had some shoulder wounds pointed his sword at John. Though both were wounded, John's injury was worse, not to mention their strength were one rank apart. 

After a few exchanges, it was evident that John would not last any longer. As the final blow was coming time seem to slow down for John. Knowing that this was the end, he wanted to at least gaze upon his daughter. John looked in the direction where he placed his daughter, but to his surprise, his daughter was no longer there. He then saw someone zip past him and stood in front of him receiving the incoming strike. 

To everyone's surprise, Milly had actually moved in front of her father and took the sword strike. She was stabbed and fell to the ground. The martial artist who had stabbed her was stunned, he knew the importance Milly had to the Clan so if she died he knew that he and his group would die with her. 

John grabbed the falling Milly and tried to stop the blood from flowing out of her wound. He started panicking and did not know what to do. John noticed that at the corner of Milly's emotionless eyes were tears. 

"... D... A... D..." John heard his daughter calling for him while crying. Seeing this scene John started shouting. 

"Please help! Someone, please help!" 

As John was screaming for help the ten martial artists had come to a decision. Now that it has come to this, they decided to kill John, Matsuri, and Milly. They would bury their dead bodies and report back to the head of the Clan that Milly was kidnapped by John. At least by telling that lie, they could somehow survive, but if the head finds out that Milly had died then they wouldn't have any chance at all.