parentshiftbook Chapter 122: The Gathering of People
Chapter 122: The Gathering of People
A man covered in khaki armor stood in mid-air, a long sword held to his chest, looking down at the rebel army in the eastern border.
After the great battle, He Changhong and the others were all injured and exhausted.
Unexpectedly, this mysterious warrior from the Great Wei seemed to possess inexhaustible power, showing no signs of exhaustion since the start of the battle.
Black Tiger King had already left the battlefield, keeping a distance and keeping a close eye on Zhang Ping.
There was a gash on its waist, with flesh torn and bloody. It had been drained of a lot of blood by Zhang Ping earlier, and now it dared not get too close.
But the Demon Lord's grand plan cannot be disrupted.
It bared its fangs and roared, "Zhang Ping! If you dare to interfere in the Southern Frontier battlefield again, the Demon Lord will personally come to capture you!"
In mid-air, Zhang Ping's expression remained unchanged.
He glanced at He Changhong and the others, and said coldly, "Pursuers, die!"
After saying that, he glanced at the Black Tiger King, who was hiding far away, and thought to himself that it was a pity.
The opponent had been modified by the Demon Lord using some unknown method, resulting in a significant increase in both strength and wind manipulation ability.
The speed brought by those four amethyst wings was terrifying; even if he flew at full speed, he could hardly catch up.
I managed to inflict a wound and have some blood drawn during the previous battle, but my opponent instantly created distance between us.
"Never mind, the essence of the Gu is more important. We'll extract its power another day." Zhang Ping shook his head slightly.
Although he felt it was a pity, he could distinguish what was more important.
He had already realized that a key part of this so-called demonic plan was to incite the warriors of the Southern Frontier to kill each other, preventing anyone from disrupting it.
Once he launches a major offensive against the rebels in the East, he will inevitably attract a horde of demons to attack him.
At that time, will he fight or not? If he fights, the outcome is uncertain; the evolved Black Tiger King is not to be underestimated, and there's also the mysterious Demon Lord behind him. Escape is certainly possible, but what about the Spirit Gu?
Getting caught up in this demonic scheme for no reason has brought a lot of trouble.
For now, the only option is to postpone things until the essence gu is successfully refined.
"well,"
With a sigh, Zhang Ping leaped away.
Seeing that Zhang Ping had left without attacking the rebels in the eastern border, the Black Tiger King breathed a sigh of relief, and his massive figure immediately disappeared into the clouds.
The wilderness was littered with mangled corpses.
He Changhong stared at the horrific scene before him, his face covered in blood, his hands clenched tightly, and his eyes bloodshot.
"My lord, what... what do we do now?" The other warriors' faces were also filled with humiliation.
They are nothing but playthings in the hands of demons. This so-called war for survival is nothing but a bloody farce casually set up by demons!
He Changhong suppressed the raging fire in his heart, and after a moment he said hoarsely:
"Let's go to Red Maple City to rest and recuperate."
......
Zhang Ping quickly caught up with Miao Caixin and the others; they were all in bad shape.
Miao Caixin, in particular, has been through several fierce battles and her injuries have not yet fully healed; she is now barely holding on.
Seeing Zhang Ping return safely, Miao Caixin breathed a sigh of relief and, without asking any further questions, silently flew towards the royal city.
After a night of light rain, the sky cleared up for once.
There is no snow in southern Xinjiang during winter.
The warm sun shines on the wilderness, illuminating the human corpses scattered on the ground.
Some passing refugees saw the body from afar, and if the body was dressed even slightly better, they would go up and plunder its belongings.
In the Battle of Red Maple City, the royal coalition suffered heavy losses, but their situation was still relatively optimistic compared to the rebels. However, it was uncertain how many of the city's civilians would be able to escape to the royal city safely. Even if they did, they would still have to face the subsequent onslaught of the rebel army.
Starting in the early hours of the morning, warriors began to retreat back to the royal city.
People in the city also learned of the impending arrival of the rebels, and the streets and alleys were filled with people rushing to buy supplies and preparing to flee again.
Three days later, at the sacred mountain of the royal city.
Miao Caixin returned from outside with a heavy expression, holding a piece of intelligence in her hand.
At the mountaintop, Zhang Ping faced the cold wind and curiously examined a structure resembling an altar. "Is this the King's Gu Bowl?"
Seeing Miao Caixin arrive with a grim expression, Zhang Ping assumed there was a problem with the materials used in the spirit worm and quickly asked:
"Fellow Daoist Miao, what has happened?"
"The messengers sent out to find a way out have returned with news that the escape routes to the south and west have been cut off by demons," Miao Caixin said in a low voice.
"Moreover, demons have appeared in both the southern and western borders, driving the people of both places to converge on the royal city."
The massacre of her people weighed heavily on Miao Caixin's heart, making her the King of Southern Xinjiang.
During this time, the royal coalition forces were bogged down by the rebels in the east, while the demons were not idle, launching successive attacks on cities in the south and west. Coupled with the defection of the eastern border forces, the north suffered a horrific massacre…
Today, in the entire southern border region, only a dozen or so cities within the royal city area remain relatively intact.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ping couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow for the southern border region.
"The materials needed for the essence gu that Fellow Daoist Zhang requires have been prepared. On the day of the First Yang, I will personally oversee its refining." Miao Caixin's eyes flashed with determination, and her tone revealed a hint of a death wish.
Zhang Ping caught the emotion in her eyes, though he didn't understand its meaning.
He didn't say much. Even if the other party wanted to live and die with the capital, he was powerless to stop them.
He only cared about whether the spirit worm could be successfully refined.
"Then thank you very much, Fellow Daoist Miao. Before the First Yang Day, I will do my best to defend the royal city. You can take this opportunity to arrange a way out for your family."
Although their escape route was blocked by demons, the territory was vast, and the demons could not leave no opening. If the Southern Frontier royal family wanted to evacuate, finding an opening would not be difficult. The key was where to go after leaving the Southern Frontier.
Several days later, the rebels in the eastern border still made no major moves, but the warriors who went out to scout reported that more and more refugees were pouring into the royal city from all directions.
The already overburdened royal city was once again flooded with a large population.
The environment within the city is deteriorating at a visible rate.
These past few days, while Zhang Ping was perusing royal records, Miao Lele came looking for him.
She first thanked Zhang Ping for bringing Miao Caixin back, and then handed him the three materials that Zhang Ping had asked her to find earlier.
Having obtained the materials, Zhang Ping successfully imprinted the clay into stone beast patterns, thus gaining a preliminary grasp of the ability to manipulate soil.
The beast pattern is acceptable, and the cultivation level has improved slightly, but not by much.
It was a cloudy day with a biting wind.
Zhang Ping went out to investigate the movements of the demons, but found no trace of the Black Tiger King.
Upon returning to the capital, he saw refugees almost everywhere in the city, and his brow furrowed.
Everywhere you look, people are sitting on the ground in the streets and alleys, many of them skin and bones from hunger. Every few steps, you can see fights breaking out over food.
The royal army was simply unable to manage the situation and could only let it run its course.
"Sigh." Zhang Ping sighed deeply, letting out the trace of reluctance in his heart.
He simply stopped paying attention to these things. His abilities were limited; he couldn't defeat the demons, nor did he have the courage to risk his life for the refugees here.
He was also afraid of dying.
In a corner of an alley, a young man dressed in a black robe blended in with the refugees, inconspicuous at all.
Suddenly, the young man's body trembled slightly, and a voice echoed in his mind:
"The Holy Demon Lock...it's the aura of the Holy Demon Lock...go quickly..."
Li Fan immediately got up and walked out of the alley. Following the guidance in his mind, he searched the street and finally locked onto a man dressed in red.
Wearing a striking red outfit, she stood out in the crowd.
After identifying the target, Li Fan immediately stepped forward and called out loudly:
"Friend, wait a moment!"
Zhang Ping had already noticed the gaze behind him, but hadn't paid it any mind. However, upon hearing the sound, he raised an eyebrow, stopped, and turned around to look.