The moment Chen Xiaojun and the other six left the courtyard, the atmosphere around them grew heavy.
They raced toward the road circling the village in unspoken accord, their seemingly scattered formation concealing a certain pattern.
As Chen Xiaojun and the others ran, everywhere they looked bore traces of the Wolf Bandits' rampage. The once peaceful village had been reduced to ruins.
They rounded a narrow path, and a scene of devastation suddenly appeared before them.
The fields had been trampled into a mess, their unripe vegetables and crops wantonly destroyed by the Wolf Bandits.
In the distance, flames from a burning granary shot into the heavens. Thick smoke coiled through the air, as though offering a mournful commentary on the devastation below.
They continued forward and found that many families' courtyard walls had been destroyed. Doors and windows lay shattered, roof tiles had been torn away, and some houses had even been set ablaze.
"Da Gu!"
Chen Jianjun suddenly stopped at the entrance to a small courtyard. Seven or eight Wolf Bandit corpses lay strewn across the ground ahead of them.
Among them, the figure of a teenage boy stood out. Wounds crisscrossed his body as he lay there in silence.
Grief surged through Chen Jianjun's heart. This was one of his childhood playmates, who had even participated in the clan competition.
The boy's father was also a member of the Garrison Team and had gone on the expedition with Ling Yunxiao. There was no telling how he would feel when he returned.
"Come on, let's look inside." Chen Xiaojun and the others followed him into the courtyard.
Inside, an old man had stopped breathing. A pile of Wolf Bandit corpses lay beside him.
Chen Xiaojun and the others could sense that the old man's life force had faded.