"Sir, everyone has arrived."
Chen Qing looked at the dozen or so fighters whose eyes were bloodshot, nodded, and said sincerely, "Thank you for your hard work, brothers."
Everyone straightened their backs, chests out, and shouted in unison, "It's not hard work!"
These words came from the bottom of their hearts. Many of them used to toil in the fields or work hard at the docks, struggling to earn two full meals a day and a little money to support their wives and children. Their lives were ordinary and uninteresting.
After this great calamity, everyone experienced devastation and faced unprecedented fear, but deep down they like their current lives.
This kind of life, where Heavenly Capital Heavenly Capital, is different from the numb, monotonous days of the past.
It felt like when I was a child, dreaming of achieving great things in the future.
These days, the respectful looks from countless ordinary people who see them as saviors give them an unprecedented sense of satisfaction. Although it is more tiring and dangerous than before, it is truly more meaningful and allows them to stand taller than ever before.
" Chishui County now has two thousand residents." Chen Qing glanced at the list and said, "The number will increase in the future. Tens of thousands of people will need your protection in this county. It's not comparable to Liuzhou, neither in terms of living conditions nor safety. There are certain dangers here. You will need to start from scratch, strengthen the Tiger Guard Army, and make this a safe county."
"Now I'm giving you a chance. Those who don't want to stay can leave with me tonight and return to Liuzhou. I will not look down on you. After all, many of you are engaged in Liuzhou. When you go back, no one can blame you, not even me. After you go back, your treatment will be the same as before."
Everyone looked at each other, some tempted, but others reluctant to give up their current achievements. In the past few days, they had been engaged in rural rescue, county town defense, and training of soldiers and civilians. With great difficulty, the place that was once like a ghost town had gradually become more human in their hands. Asking them to give up now felt like abandoning the fruits of their labor.
"Sir, what if we choose to stay?"
Chen Qing smiled. He didn't object to asking about the benefits directly. As an engineering graduate, he disliked beating around the bush and preferred to lay out the conditions clearly. If it worked, great; if not, no. Keeping things to oneself was actually bad for the future.
"Those who stay behind will naturally receive extra subsidies due to the significantly increased danger and greater mental and physical strain!" Chen Qing said earnestly. "Firstly, your salaries will be doubled for several months. Secondly, your blessings from the Battle God will also be doubled, allowing you to progress much faster than your comrades who remain in Liuzhou. Furthermore, if you unfortunately die, we will immediately send someone to bring your spirits to the Liuzhou Underworld to enjoy the best possible Underworld Lifespan treatment available today. We will also provide certain compensation to the women who are engaged to you, according to your wishes."
"Most importantly, if you stay here and can develop the Tiger Guard Army in Chishui County, you will have the opportunity to lead an army independently and become generals!"
Upon hearing this, the group of men's faces flushed with excitement. They had all rushed to follow the prefect in the first place precisely because they wanted to earn merit. And once they had earned merit, who wanted to remain a lowly soldier for life?
Chen Qing nodded in satisfaction. Second-level transmission can form a second-level god under the gods. Xu Hu is Battle God. The appearance of a new second-level Battle God under him will actually enhance his power. If the talent is outstanding, Chen Qing can re-confer the title in the future if he is willing. Because at that time, there will be enough fighting gods with enough Divine Path power, which will be more pure than the title conferred by demons.
Similarly, the gatekeepers are the same. At this stage, as long as they are outstanding and attract enough believers, they can replace the Old Wolf and become the gatekeepers of the county under Liuzhou. Once they have grown enough, they can also break away from the Old Wolf and become the new gatekeepers of the prefecture.
"Are you going back tonight, sir?"
Chen Qing nodded. "Yes, I'll be back tonight."
Actually, according to the original plan, he was supposed to stay for a few more days. After all, he was still a little worried about relying on a group of soldiers to manage the place completely. He originally wanted to select an educated person with a good character from among the refugees to temporarily manage the order, but now there was no time for that.
We need to return to Liuzhou ahead of time to see what happened, and then we need to gather more fighters to Yangzhou City.
Yangzhou has more than 30 counties, and we need more Level 2 fighters. To fully control the countryside Yangzhou City, we estimate that we would need at least 300 Level 2 fighters. We should go back and speed things up.
He was also very curious about what had happened in Liuzhou.
When the clone disappeared, it did not activate any forbidden techniques, but instead chose to preserve its maximum power in place, waiting for him to absorb it. This indicates that the situation at the time was not so urgent.
Moreover, apart from his own clones, none of the other gods had any problems, and he could feel that the entire power structure in Liuzhou was very stable.
So what exactly could force one's own clone to perish?
With these questions in mind, Chen Qing did not delay and boarded a small boat that very night to re-enter the Nine Heavens Mirror Valley.
Of course, the first direction wasn't towards Liuzhou, but rather it triggered the black lines on the arm, summoning a pitch-black living corpse.
"Take me to your master."
The zombie glanced warily at the Ghost Child beside Chen Qing. The Ghost Child bared its teeth at it, and the zombie frowned, closing its eyes to await instructions in its mind. After an unknown amount of time, it finally opened its eyes. "My lord, please follow me."
Chen Qing followed the other person, passing through multiple layers of mist. The surrounding river water gradually turned deep blue. Clearly, after passing through the Refracting Mirror, Chen Qing knew that he had actually arrived at a certain part of the West Sea.
The location is different from before, so it seems that guy is very wary of other forces and is constantly changing locations.
"Was your journey successful, sir?"
The seashell opened, revealing the same captivating woman. Unlike A Li, this woman, though alluring, possessed an extraordinary air of nobility. While her beauty was stunning, one dared not be too disrespectful. This feeling, in fact, could sometimes be even more stimulating to the opposite sex, which explains why Yuchi Feihong became such a simp.
"It went fairly smoothly," Chen Qing said with a smile. "Thank you for your help, senior."
The other party seems to be very sincere in cooperating. Since Yangzhou is a sealed-off area and the area is saturated with zombies, any forces from the outside who want to enter must first lose some of their own. Therefore, every time she cooperates with Chen Qing and the others to enter, she has to consume her own family members in Yangzhou City before the magic array can let them pass.
The number of followers is not unlimited, and according to her, her situation is not good. The number of followers she can develop is definitely less than that of the others. Such an effort is taking a considerable risk.
"No need to thank me, it's just a mutually beneficial arrangement," the woman said with a smile. "This time my sincerity has been shown, next time you will have to show your sincerity."
"How should we demonstrate it?" Chen Qing asked with a smile.
" The Qushui County and Siyun County in Yangzhou City are both places where the Laoba's relatives are entrenched. When you come next time, please cooperate in clearing them out as much as possible so that I can have more relatives enter and cooperate with you to continue the purge of Yangzhou, right?"
"Okay!" Chen Qing nodded and agreed without hesitation.
"And then there's the previous condition." The woman stood up and said quietly, "My family saw that Wang Ye has already entered the Nine Heavens Mirror Valley using Flying Star. How will you send them here to me?"
"It will take some time," Chen Qing said with a smile. " The Laosan of the Shen Family is quite powerful, and he is likely accompanied by other brothers. If I send him over, can you handle him, senior?"
The woman nodded. "It is indeed troublesome. Not to mention Shen Laosan, I don't know if there are any problems with his brothers. Moreover, if Shen Laosan was already parasitized, I might not be able to handle him in my current state if he were suddenly sent here."
"So we still need to investigate for our senior, don't we?" Chen Qing said with a smile.
"Are you sure Wang Ye can use the Flying Star technique to get to Liuzhou?"
"We've tested it many times, there shouldn't be any problems." Chen Qing nodded and said, " The Yin-Yang Road in Liuzhou is closed. Wang Ye can bypass the magic array and go directly to Liuzhou by taking the Yin-Yang Road!"
The woman at the " Yin-Yang Road " smiled enigmatically, "Young man, don't think that place is a safe haven, easy to enter and exit. Do you know what's hidden inside?"
"This junior truly has no idea," Chen Qing said, feigning surprise. "Could the senior perhaps reveal some information?"
The woman gave Chen Qing a deep look, then said, "Back when our ancestors were still united, they also coveted the Yin-Yang Samsara, but the demons of that Yin-Yang Samsara seemed to be ordained by heaven, and no one could take it away. Some even controlled Yin and Yang."
"Oh?" Chen Qing's heart skipped a beat. "Controlling Yin and Yang, what does that mean?"
"You really don't know, sir?" the woman asked with a smile.
Chen Qing nodded honestly. "I really didn't know that."
"Those Yin-Yang Road harbor some ancient monsters, and these ancient monsters come from your human race!"
Chen Qing: "."
"Senior, are you joking?" Chen Qing frowned. "How come I've never heard of such a thing?"
Are you kidding me?
When will humans be able to get involved in the Yin-Yang Road? The secrets within are things that won't appear until the third version.
"Then it seems you're not one of them." The woman closed her eyes in disappointment. "Kid, there are many secrets in this world, and many things are more terrifying than you imagine. Don't try to be too clever for your own good."
Chen Qing did not refute this, but bowed and said, "Thank you for your guidance, senior."
Oh, there's one more thing.
"What is it?" Chen Qing was taken aback.
"Your court has reinforced its troops," the woman said, looking out of the mist. "I can sense that the number of soldiers blockading Jiangnan has doubled!"
"Doubled?" Chen Qing's heart skipped a beat. Wang Ye had said before that this time, the Duke of Qin would lead an army of 300,000 elite troops to blockade Jiangnan. This was almost all the forces in the south. The court would definitely not send ordinary soldiers to deal with such demonic events, especially after the news of the living corpses came out. The court should have known that ordinary soldiers would be a burden on the battlefield against the living corpses.
We could add another 300,000 elite troops, but where would those soldiers come from?
The northern army must defend the border to prevent invasion by the Kingdom of Ancient Desolation, and the heavy troops in Cloud Capital certainly cannot be easily withdrawn. So, apart from the troops under the Duke of Qin, only the troops in the capital are left.
The emperor sent the Imperial Guard?
What are you going to do?
Um, cough cough, the plot holes will be filled in within the next ten or so chapters. Who is the murderer in Liuzhou? What is the past of the Mr. Five Poisons? What is the battle between the Emperor and the Duke of Qin? All of these will be resolved in the next ten or so chapters. Please don't say that I'm jumping around; the author hasn't laid out the plot too far ahead.
Well, it's almost the end of the month, and I'll probably add an extra chapter on the 30th. I've already got almost a thousand monthly votes, so adding two more chapters is definitely in the bag, hehe.
Dear readers, please don't be stingy with your double monthly tickets! Send them to Mofang to add more chapters!