Chapter 187 - The Sageridge Border Army (2)

Xu Yuan glanced at her. “If you’re really sorry, then take what I said earlier to heart.”

A strange emotion flickered through Xu Xinyao’s lowered eyes.

The three of them stepped onto the town wall that was already on the verge of collapse. Xu Yuan stood there looking into the distance. After trembling in silence for a long while, a black shadow rushed swiftly from within the town toward them.

He circulated his cultivation art and poured it into his eyes. Only then did he see clearly that the person coming was General Wang, whom he had not seen for several days.

He landed in front of the three of them.

General Wang met Xu Yuan’s gaze, and without saying a single word, he dropped to his knees before him and cupped his fists in salute. “Young Master Zhou... on behalf of the people of Sageridge, thank you for your great kindness.”

The air fell silent for a moment.

Xu Yuan slowly stepped forward and helped him up.

Compared to when Xu Yuan had left, this middle-aged man with graying temples now looked utterly haggard. A bright red wound nearly ran through his waist and abdomen, and his eyes were thick with exhaustion.

Over the past few days, the deaths and injuries of his comrades, together with his own wounds, had worn this burly man down in both body and spirit.

Xu Yuan sighed and said quietly, “General Wang, I only did what I wanted to do.”

General Wang looked at the young man before him, emotion churning in his weary eyes.

“Young Master Zhou, it may not count for much to you, but if not for you, there might no longer be a Sageridge in this world.”

Xu Yuan shook his head, changed the subject, and asked in a low voice, “Tell me. How did things turn into this in just three days?”

General Wang fell silent. His fists clenched until his knuckles creaked, and he said through gritted teeth, “The Myriad Manifestations Sect planted deathsworn agents inside the merchant caravans in the town. They used small source crystal bombs to blow up several key array nodes.”

Xu Yuan frowned. He swept his gaze around and spotted several charred marks along the inner face of the town wall.

“Hah... The Myriad Manifestations Sect really did leave themselves a backup plan.”

He patted General Wang on the shoulder and said quietly, “Reinforcements from the surrounding counties should arrive within ten days. When they do, they’ll deal with the demonic beasts still trapped inside the array. You people should get some proper rest.”

Then Xu Yuan turned his eyes toward Xu Xinyao. “Miss Xu, hand the token that controls the array to General Wang.”

General Wang froze slightly at those words. He turned to look, and the instant he saw Xu Xinyao, many complicated emotions flashed through his eyes.

There was anger, and there was gratitude too.

In the end, the burly man lowered his head and bowed to Xu Xinyao. “Miss Xinyao.”

Xu Xinyao stepped forward slowly and offered him the token. “General Wang, I’m sorry.”

General Wang lowered his head and accepted it. In a low voice, he said, “Miss Xinyao, you were used as well. But before entering the town, it would be best if you covered your face, just like Miss Ying’er.”

Hearing this, Xu Yuan cut in with great interest. “Oh? Is that because the people in the town are very grateful to her?”

General Wang paused, glanced at Young Master Zhou beside him, then answered honestly in a grave voice, “No. Young Master Zhou, you may not know this, but the town now sees Miss Xinyao as an accomplice of the Myriad Manifestations Sect. Her living shrine has already been torn down. We border soldiers did our best to stop them, but the common people causing trouble is not the real issue. The key problem is the martial apprentices among the merchant caravans and wandering hero bands. The Sageridge border army has already... already lost the strength to maintain order. With public anger running this high, Miss Xinyao may be in danger if she enters the town like this.”

Xu Yuan rubbed the space between his brows. He more or less understood. People loved to build gods, but they also loved to drag gods down from their altars. Especially when their own lives were threatened, their fear and rage needed somewhere to go.

He turned his eyes toward her. “Looks like all your hard work was wasted.”

The one who had worked so hard to save the people had instead become the target of the saved people’s hatred.

She was silent for a moment, then forced a faint smile. “Young Master Zhou, this is what I deserve.”

Xu Yuan looked at the smile on her face and shook his head. Then he turned to General Wang and asked quietly, “General Wang, may I borrow the communication crystal in the town?”

General Wang looked somewhat hesitant and said in a low voice, “Young Master Zhou, the array has already failed.”

Xu Yuan raised his hand and pointed at Xu Xinyao beside him. “Well, isn’t there an array master right here?”

General Wang did not hesitate. “If you need it, Young Master Zhou may use it as you wish.”

Xu Yuan smiled slightly. “Then let’s go.”

With that, Xu Yuan jumped directly down from the town wall. General Wang looked back at Xu Xinyao, opened his mouth, but said nothing. Then he followed Xu Yuan and leapt down from the wall.

Xu Xinyao was just about to step after them when she suddenly felt someone tug at the hem of her clothes.

Ran Qingmo silently took a brand-new veiled hat from her Sumeru ring. She tugged Xu Xinyao gently and asked, “Um... don’t you want this?”

Xu Xinyao looked at the veiled hat and bit her lip.

“I... I’ll just...”

“She wants it.” Xu Yuan’s voice came from below the town wall. “Ran Qingmo, help her put it on.”

As they continued walking into the inner town, more and more living people appeared on the streets, but the stench of blood did not lessen in the slightest. Countless wounded were laid flat on both sides of the road. People who looked like physicians rushed among them. Groans of pain and noisy curses rang out without end.

Most of those maintaining order were martial apprentices from the merchant caravans, because the Sageridge border army had almost been wiped out defending the town.

The well-dressed Xu Yuan and the two women drew quite a few eyes, but under the grief of lost family and death, most people merely glanced at them with numb expressions before looking away again.

Xu Yuan withdrew his gaze and asked in a low voice, “Have you counted the wounded?”

Half dead meant half dead, and that did not include the injured.

With the medical conditions Sageridge currently had, most of these wounded people would probably die in pain and sickness too.

General Wang walked at the very front and answered in a heavy voice, “We can’t count them all. There are too many. The walls on the south and west sides were breached. Even after we reached an agreement with the merchant caravans and hero bands, we still couldn’t kill the beasts fast enough. If Young Master Zhou had arrived half a day later, Sageridge might already have become a dead town.”

Xu Yuan said nothing more.

They walked all the way into the county office. When they passed the drill ground, Xu Yuan’s already numb thoughts froze again.

Across the vast drill ground lay countless corpses. The white cloth used to cover the bodies had already run out, so all sorts of colored cloth had been spread over them instead, one patch after another. Many of the bodies beneath were incomplete, scattered in pieces. Blood bloomed bright red across the fabric like flowers of the far shore.

Xu Yuan asked quietly, “General Wang, how many men does your Sageridge border army have left?”

General Wang stopped and swept his eyes over the drill ground. The corner of his mouth barely twitched into something that was almost a smile. “Four... four hundred and thirty-seven.”

ᯓ➤

An hour later.

Inside the silent stone chamber, the array patterns lit up as they charged with power, and the massive round crystal slowly floated off the ground.

Standing before the crystal, Xu Xinyao turned back and said softly, “Third Brother, the communication crystal has been repaired.”

Xu Yuan did not speak. He stepped forward, raised his hand, and gently placed it on the surface of the crystal. His soul intent and source qi poured into it at the same time.

Seeing this, Xu Xinyao fell silent for a moment and prepared to quietly leave the stone chamber.

Then Xu Yuan’s voice suddenly came over. “I’m going to speak with Father. You stay.”