" Wang Ye?" Murong Yunji frowned. "That Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review? I've heard of him. How did he get in?"
"These days, he's probably the only one who can get in normally." Chen Qing shook his head and sighed. He hadn't received any information that Wang Ye was coming, but since the loophole that allowed inanimate objects to freely enter and exit had been discovered, it seemed to Chen Qing that Wang Ye, this special being, would be activated.
"So what if he comes in?" Murong Yunji asked curiously. "I've heard of him, a young upstart, Liu Yu's beloved disciple, but so what? He's just a newcomer who's only been practicing magic for less than ten years. What can he do if he comes?"
"He's faster than you," Chen Qing said quietly. " Wang Ye is probably the fastest sorcerer in the world right now. If he were here, the plan might not succeed."
"Oh?" Murong Yunji laughed in exasperation, "Is my lord trying to provoke me?"
Chen Qing shook his head. "I don't have that kind of time. I'm just stating the facts."
With the Fusion of the Evening Elephant and Flying Shadow techniques, no one in the world can match Wang Ye's speed, especially in the Nine Heavens Mirror Valley, where inanimate objects are not restricted—it is the perfect place for Wang Ye to showcase his abilities.
Chen Qing glanced at the sky and looked at Chen Ying: "Let's rest for another half an hour, then we'll begin!"
What Chen Qing didn't expect was that Wang Ye arrived faster than anticipated.
"Get closer, don't stray too far. If you need to poop or pee, hold it in. There are the most zombies lingering outside the city. If you can't get into the city before dusk, you'll all die here!"
The leading soldier roared loudly, his voice so loud that it made the ears of hundreds of people ring. Even Wang Ye, who was following in the ranks, couldn't help but frown.
Seeing Wang Ye's expression, the burly man quickly stepped forward and said gently, "Sir, you've been frightened. Please rest assured, we'll definitely be able to enter the city before dusk. We've already escorted several groups; we know the area very well. Nothing will happen."
Although the gentleman was dressed in black, he had a refined and scholarly air. He introduced himself as a teacher at the official school in Sibei County. Such a person was worth the efforts of dozens of ordinary people and could be exchanged for many good things from the prefect. Naturally, the prefect treated him with great courtesy.
Wang Ye smiled slightly and replied politely, "General, you're too kind."
"Hey!" Upon hearing the word "general," the man's face lit up with a smile, but he still couldn't help waving his hand. "Not at all, not at all, we are just lowly soldiers, how could we be worthy of the title of general?"
Pawn?
Wang Ye smiled enigmatically. The dozen or so burly men escorting the civilians, though not dressed in formal military uniforms, clearly possessed the imposing presence of elite warriors. Their powerful aura was palpable; he had witnessed them earlier, wielding simple wooden shields, charging through hundreds of undead in the black mist. Not only were their individual combat strength formidable, but their formation was also impeccable. Such elite troops were likely few and far between under the command of the border dukes in the north.
The Black Dragon Navy was considered elite, right? The best soldiers in Jiangnan were all in that force. But when Wang Ye arrived in Nanming Prefecture, he could see clearly that even now, the governor there, Zhou Hanyang, hadn't dared to let his troops go too far out of the city. Yet the soldiers here dared to go out for two or three days in a row to rescue people from hundreds of miles away.
Moreover, he had clearly observed along the way that these guys who called themselves the Liuzhou Tiger Guard Army suffered almost no losses along the way. If the soldiers of Nanming Prefecture had such capabilities, they probably wouldn't even need the support of the imperial court.
"We're almost at Liuzhou, everyone be careful not to fall behind. Don't panic if anything happens, we'll handle it!" the big man continued shouting in his loud voice.
Using his vision, Wang Ye could immediately see that black mist was rising from the Liuzhou City, indicating that there were already quite a few living corpses capable of generating black mist in broad daylight.
Wang Ye has recently gained a clear understanding of this black mist. As a puppet, even if he enters the black mist, the living corpses are not very interested in him, so he can observe it very clearly.
After these zombies devour each other to a certain extent, some of them will evolve the ability to generate black mist. Once such zombies appear, they can take away a large number of other zombies, forming a small group, and they will become increasingly intelligent.
In other words, after a while, a large number of zombies will be able to walk freely during the day. From a time perspective, the longer it is delayed, the worse it will be for Jiangnan. It is truly commendable that Liuzhou can take the initiative to strike now.
Chen Qing, that guy, always manages to surprise people.
Wang Ye watched with a smile, wanting to see just how far Chen Qing had come to control Liuzhou.
Upon reaching the outskirts of the city, Wang Ye saw several groups converging from different directions. After inquiring, he immediately realized that the Tiger Guard Army was probably quite large, at least not just a few hundred men, otherwise they wouldn't be able to send people back in such a continuous stream.
It's probably worth several thousand.
A force of several thousand? He remembered that Chen Qing had only been in Liuzhou for two months, right? And he already had several thousand elite troops under his command?
Just then, a wolf howled at the city gate, and the gate, adorned with a wolf's head, opened. Hundreds of silver-armored gatekeepers leaped down from the gate, their finely crafted swords and shields alert, and marched out to meet them, forming a defensive line in two rows.
"Fellow villagers, don't panic! Line up, don't make a ruckus, and move inside. Do not trample or shove, and absolutely do not push or squeeze women and children. If you are caught doing so, I'll throw you out to feed the living corpses!!"
Most of the young men in the countryside still held the soldiers in awe of the leaders. After all, they had witnessed the two days of escorting the soldiers. These men, who called themselves the Tiger Guard Army, killed the terrifying zombies as easily as slaughtering chickens and dogs. They were incredibly powerful!
So even with so much black mist surrounding them, everyone still managed to restrain themselves and didn't dare to run away.
A group of soldiers nodded in satisfaction, grinned, and began to draw their swords and slaughter, working in conjunction with the gatekeepers who had come out of the city to form two impenetrable defensive lines. They managed to prevent any of the approaching zombies from getting through, which amazed Wang Ye!
The gatekeepers, clad in silver armor, were well-equipped, each armed to the teeth, yet their movements were incredibly agile. Despite their heavy armor, they resembled light infantry—no, more like assassins. Their every strike was deadly, and they were as slippery as fish. Facing thousands of zombies, almost no one could even touch them.
In contrast, these lightly armed Tiger Guard Army were different. Each one was as heavy as a mountain, yet their short blades carried the force of blunt weapons. They were all strong and powerful, and with a single strike, they could often cleave the zombies in two. When they got tired of using their blades, they would fight with their bare hands. The leading men could even crush the heads of zombies. Their fighting style was so brutal that it was terrifying!
What's strange is that these Tiger Guard Army seem completely unafraid of being bitten.
Others might not have noticed anything amiss, but Wang Ye, being a sorcerer, quickly discerned the clues.
These soldiers all possessed the power of their bloodline. The armored soldiers at the city gate had the power of wind element, making their movements extremely light and powerful. The power of these Tiger Guard Army seemed to come from the earth. With his Spirit Eye activated, he could clearly see that the earth's power was constantly flowing into their bodies, and their skin had become as hard as rock. Even if they were occasionally bitten and their flesh was broken, upon closer inspection, it was just soil and stone, with no flesh or blood at all.
These Tiger Guard Army look like statues sculpted from clay and stone!
But Wang Ye knew that it was a layer of rock forming armor close to the flesh, and these soldiers' superpowers were simply the nemesis of these living corpses!
That's really interesting.
Soon, with the cooperation of a group of soldiers, the thousands of civilians being escorted entered the city in an orderly and slow manner without any surprises. After Wang Ye followed into the city, he heard the garrison shout.
"Brothers, go drink some sugar water to replenish your energy. We just received a signal that several more teams from Whitewater County are returning. There's another match before dusk."
"Hey boss, does this mean we need to bring in more people? This is the fifth time today. If this keeps up, my back is going to break."
"Too tiring? Your neighbor Sigou has been eyeing your spot for a while now. How about I help you apply to go farm in Great Azure Mountain?"
"Nothing, nothing at all, just kidding, just kidding!" The man shook his head repeatedly.
Just kidding. These days, besides the Tiger Guard Army, goalkeepers are the most sought-after. They get good treatment and are prestigious. Even Sancui, who used to look down on me back home, has been coming to fawn over me lately. My family is even considering marrying Sancui to me. She's the village beauty, and even the township head's son has his eye on her. Before, who would have a chance with me?
Isn't it because she's now a powerful gatekeeper? Marrying her means she can directly settle in Liuzhou and even get a house as a gift?
Wang Ye listened to the soldiers' conversation with growing astonishment. This efficiency was even more exaggerated than he had imagined. Five or six waves like this a day? Wouldn't that mean rescuing tens of thousands of people every day?
If Nanming Prefecture were this efficient at rescuing people, there wouldn't be this current panic.
"Interesting, so these must be door gods?"
Wang Ye observed the white wolf illusion on the city wall from a distance. The rumors about the door gods had actually been sent to the capital a month ago. Because they could not identify Mr. Black Cloud and Master Ziyue, many people thought it was just a gimmick created by Chen Qing.
However, it seems that things are not as simple as Mr. Black Cloud reported.
"Sir," the Tiger Guard Army leader, covered in blood, stepped forward and said, "Please rest in the city first. New rescue teams will be arriving soon. The city gate is crowded; we don't want you to get hurt."
Wang Ye smiled and nodded upon hearing this. These men all possessed special bloodline abilities, yet they were nothing like the arrogant soldiers of bloodline families. They seemed very respectful towards scholars. Where did this Chen Qing come from?
Or was it cultivated a long time ago?
That's really interesting.
Just as he was nodding in agreement and preparing to go to the city to take a look, Wang Ye saw a face that made his eyelids twitch.
He was very familiar with that face now; it was the dangerous face that had almost thrown the entire capital into chaos.
What is she doing here? Did she know I was coming?
A Li was in the distance, also noticed Wang Ye. She smiled and bowed from afar, one hand stroking her belly. The coquettishness on her face had subsided considerably, replaced by a maternal air.
Why is my belly so big?
Wang Ye frowned deeply. It's only been three months since the Crown Prince's essence was stolen, right? But this pregnancy looks like it's been ten months!
Could the Crown Prince have been tricked?
Just then, the fox demon suddenly frowned, clutched his stomach, and squatted down, cold sweat pouring down his face.
Wang Ye's eyes widened. What was going on? Was that fetal movement? Was she about to give birth?
"I can't wait any longer!"
A Li squatted on the ground, looking at a spot in the distance. Her lips moved slightly, but no sound came out. However Wang Ye, who had been observing her, could see it clearly.
The banshee was saying: Attack!