sovbooks Chapter 113: The Refugee Caravan
Chapter 113: The Refugee Caravan
Across the vast land, a yellowish-brown official road divides the withered grasslands on both sides.
The cold wind was like a knife, scraping against the exposed skin.
A dense, ant-like crowd scurried along the official road, families in tow. Several soldiers on horseback could be vaguely seen leading the way.
"Mom, where's Grandma?" The half-grown child's feet were ulcerated and emitted a foul stench.
They were crammed onto a cart with five or six other children of similar age. Two men, dressed in thin clothes, pulled the cart from the front. The cold wind instantly dried the sweat on their bodies.
The woman walked with some difficulty, keeping close behind the cart.
She comforted him, "Little Egg, Grandma and the others have left first. If you want to see Grandma, you have to catch up with the group and get to the destination."
The child, confused and puzzled, scratched his rotting foot, which was very itchy.
"But Grandma said she was tired and sat down to rest, how could she be faster than us?"
The woman's expression darkened, and she made up another reason to comfort the child.
At the back of the line, elderly people without children to care for them couldn't find a cart.
I got tired and couldn't keep up with the group.
Sitting by the roadside, they numbly watched the procession slowly move forward. No one paid any attention; the old people's children had all died on the road.
At that moment, a young man in black robes suddenly sat down next to the old man.
"Grandpa, where did your group come from, and where are you going?"
The old man glanced at the young man, his chapped lips parted, and asked, "Young master, aren't you a refugee?"
"No." Zhang Ping shook his head.
This is already the heart of Taiwu Prefecture. A little further ahead, we will reach the area controlled by demons, and beyond that, we will reach the Southern Frontier.
He had just spotted this massive migrating group from the air, numbering in the tens of thousands.
Apart from the few soldiers clearing the way, the rest were mostly ordinary people without any cultivation.
This made Zhang Ping extremely curious.
"We don't know why we're leaving. The officials told us to leave Tiger City and go further in."
Having not eaten for a long time, the old man's eyes were somewhat cloudy, and his cheeks were thin and bony. His answers to Zhang Ping's questions were unclear.
Zhang Ping frowned, but he also heard the words "Tiger City".
"Tiger City is the first line of defense against demons for the Taiwu Prefecture, its status is equivalent to Lanjiang City, so how come so many people are fleeing from there?"
After glancing at the elderly man sitting on the ground, too weak to continue with the group, Zhang Ping stood up.
He asked other people again, and the result surprised him.
Tiger City began relocating its residents to the interior a month ago; this was not the first batch.
The frequency of migrations has increased significantly in the last two weeks.
This situation is not optimistic.
A city cannot consist only of martial artists; ordinary people are also an indispensable part, and should make up the majority, carrying out various production activities.
Tiger City began relocating ordinary people, for only two reasons: either they were about to be overwhelmed by the demonic onslaught and were preparing to abandon the city, or they had suffered defeats at the front and were about to be driven to the city walls by the demons.
Either way, the situation is not optimistic.
"Hopefully, the imperial court can resolve this."
As they re-entered the clouds, Zhang Ping glanced at the already departing troop. The elderly and infirm, lagging behind, sat scattered along the roadside, their teeth chattering over withered weeds.
……
Half a month later,
Zhang Ping continued south, encountering two more migrating groups along the way. He made no contact with them.
As he approached the border of Taiwu Prefecture, he noticed a small-scale battle breaking out on the front lines. He casually unleashed a sword strike from the sky, annihilating most of the demons below.
This greatly reduced the pressure on human warriors.
"Where did this powerful figure come from?" The head of the Exorcism Division, seeing the departing figure, seized the opportunity to attack amidst his surprise and doubt.
After passing Taiwu Mansion, the Hengduan Mountains lie ahead.
This mountain range is a natural barrier separating the Great Wei from the Southern Frontier. It is precisely because of its existence that the Great Wei, despite its far greater national strength than the Southern Frontier, has been unable to conquer it for centuries. They can only gain an advantage in some slightly better terrain.
Today, the Hengduan Mountains have become a land of demons.
Deep in the mountains, a massive blue ox lies prone.
The blue ox occupied most of the mountaintop, wearing an iron ring around its neck, and a pair of crescent-shaped horns on its head emitted a faint yellowish-brown light.
Suddenly, the blue ox opened its large eyes, and its massive body abruptly stood up. A powerful aura emanated from it, and the surrounding mountains and forests were instantly swept by a fierce wind.
"Bold human! How dare you trespass into my demon territory!"
With a roar, the blue ox raised its two front hooves high and stomped heavily on the mountainside.
The mountains and forests trembled, and soil and gravel gathered into a ball that flew into the sky!
In the sky, Zhang Ping suddenly stopped, looking down in astonishment at the enormous blue ox.
How could he not have noticed the big blue ox here?
He casually smashed the flying stone ball and curiously lowered the height.
"Big blue ox, are you a demon?"
This blue ox didn't look like a demon at all; it was more like a mythical beast. It was enormous and full of vitality.
"Huff—"
White breath billowed from the ox's nostrils, which were as large as a mountain cave, and the foul stench forced Zhang Ping to rise again.
"I am a purebred beast. Human, seeing how difficult your cultivation is, leave immediately! Do not go any further south!"
"Oh?" Zhang Ping became interested, his gaze focusing on the pair of earthen-yellow crescent-shaped horns of the blue ox, which shimmered with a kind of golden light.
This blue ox is blocking my way here, it seems to be trying to prevent me from going to the Southern Frontier, interesting.
However, what concerned Zhang Ping even more was the Green Ox's ability: a demon at the Marrow Marrow Realm.
He sensed the power of the earth element from the pair of crescent-shaped points.
"Big Blue Ox, I happen to need a pair of ox horns to decorate my courtyard. Could you lend me a pair?"
Upon hearing this, the green ox glared angrily, its heavy breathing surging.
"Human! You're asking for death!"
The moment it finished speaking, a golden light rapidly expanded in its pupils! The scorching heat baked its hide.
"roar!"
"Ninefold Gate!"
Zhang Ping took the initiative to provoke him, and the green ox roared angrily. The ground beneath its feet changed dramatically, and stone gates arched up in front of it to block the incoming golden light!
As the mountains and rivers changed, a human-like seriousness appeared on the green ox's face, and he uttered the words: "Meteorite."
Behind him, a large amount of soil gathered into stones, thousands upon thousands of them, and hurled towards Zhang Ping!
"Impressive!" Zhang Ping's eyes lit up upon seeing this!
If he wasn't mistaken, this giant blue ox had the ability to control the earth, which came from its pair of crescent-shaped horns.
Moreover, he possesses the ability to conceal himself. If the other party hadn't called out to him earlier, he probably wouldn't have noticed them and would have flown straight over the mountains.
"What good luck," Zhang Ping murmured, his eyes gleaming with golden light as a beam of intense eye flame swept across.
The incoming stone spheres were all destroyed.
The eye-burning attack left a charred mark on the blue ox's body.
Seeing this, Zhang Ping's eyes lit up again: "Wow, that's awesome!"
"Human, don't push your luck! There's an army of countless demons behind us; you're courting death!"
The ox's dark face twitched as it felt the pain from the charred parts of its body, and it dared not continue.
He spoke tough, but inwardly he was cursing: Damn it, where did this human come from? How can he be so powerful? I should have just pretended not to see him.