Cold Spring County

As they spoke, the group had already reached the outskirts of Cold Spring County.

Before they even drew near, everyone noticed something was wrong.

The closer they had come to the county seat along the way, the more desolate the surroundings had become. By the time they reached the outskirts, the grass and trees were withered and scorched, devastation stretched as far as the eye could see, and even the ground was coated in a layer of dead gray.

Yet when they looked from afar now, Cold Spring County was lush with greenery, a sea of verdant green.

The city walls were still there, though they no longer resembled their original form.

Countless emerald vines climbed from the foot of the walls to their tops, then hung down from above, layer upon layer in dense tangles, as though the entire city had been draped in a great green velvet cloak.

The city gates stood half-open, their passageway thickly veiled in hanging vines.

Like a jade-green curtain, they concealed the scene within the city so tightly that only one or two gaps occasionally showed through, leaking dim green light.

The group looked at one another, all stopping in their tracks.

Boss Zhao swallowed and said in a low voice:

"Th... this is Cold Spring County? How did it become like this?"

Fourth Brother widened his eyes as well and pointed at the city gates.

"People! There are still people walking inside!"

Everyone was startled and immediately followed his gaze.

Sure enough, behind that curtain of green vines, several figures could vaguely be seen pacing back and forth.

The green light was dim, flickering in and out of sight.

But through the layers upon layers of vines, they could not make them out clearly no matter how hard they looked.

And as