Chapter 80: Chapter 79: Fitting the Stereotype

Fenglin County. The city wall.

Perhaps spurred on by the twenty taels of silver and a year of waived medical expenses, the Guards and Hunters from Fenglin County’s great families, along with disciples from the martial arts dojos, all moved with incredible speed.

In moments, led by their young masters, they had taken up positions across the city wall, sharp blades in hand.

But the Demon Corpses, awakened from their slumber in the mountains by the soldiers, were rushing toward Fenglin County even faster, even more swiftly.

By the time everyone had scrambled into formation on the wall, the Demon Corpses were less than half a mile from Fenglin County.

Nearly a thousand Demon Corpses charged toward Fenglin County in unison.

Their taloned limbs clawed at the earth, churning up the yellow soil and kicking up a massive cloud of dust behind them. The momentum was staggering, as if a sandstorm was about to swallow the small city whole.

A tremendous rumbling rose from their stampede. As they drew closer, even the thick city walls began to tremble faintly.

At this distance, everyone on the wall could clearly see the horrifying appearance of the Demon Corpses.

"W-what the hell are those things!" someone stammered, his teeth chattering as he struggled to stay on his feet.

"Demon Corpses! They’re the Demon Corpses the refugees from Qingzhou talked about!" someone shouted, already taking a step back.

SHING!

Seeing the Guard on the verge of deserting, Lin Gaoyuan drew his blade.

He had seen a Demon Corpse before, but the sight of a thousand charging at once was an entirely different spectacle. His heart began to pound violently in his chest.

"Hold your ground!"

Lin Gaoyuan raised his blade and roared through gritted teeth,

"Anyone who dares retreat from this wall can forget about ever working for the Lin family again!"

"And for every Demon Corpse you kill, on top of the initial twenty taels of silver, I’ll add another five!"

At his cry, the other martial arts dojos and great families followed suit, raising their own bounties.

Sure enough, the combination of heavy rewards and harsh punishment stabilized the defenders on the wall. They all stopped backing away.

Gazing at the distant Demon Corpses, the eyes of the assembled Guards and Hunters now held a greedy fire, not just fear.

It seemed they were willing to risk it all for a chance at a better future.

But the Demon Corpses gave the defenders no time to prepare.

AWOOOO!—

Just as the horde was about to reach the wall, a piercing howl erupted from within its ranks.

At this sound, the horde fanned out, spreading to surround Fenglin County.

This stretched the already sparse defenders even thinner, making the wall that much harder to hold.

BOOM!

The first wave of Demon Corpses slammed into the city wall. A massive impact shot up through the mortared bluestone, and the defenders felt their knees buckle.

SCRAPE! SCRAPE!

The Demon Corpses’ sharp claws dug into the gaps between the bricks. Each upward scrabble made a sound that sent shivers down the spine.

The sound came from all directions, a dense cacophony. Every strike of their claws sounded as if it would tear the very walls apart.

Watching this terrifying scene, Lord Liu, clad in his official robes, felt his legs tremble as a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

In the time it took him to stand there stunned, a Demon Corpse had already scaled the wall. With a roar, it opened its maw of razor-sharp teeth and lunged at a nearby defender.

But the defenders on the wall reacted swiftly. A dozen blades slashed out as one, and the first Demon Corpse to reach the top, riddled with wounds, tumbled back down.

But before its body even hit the ground, more Demon Corpses crested the wall, launching themselves fearlessly at the defenders.

In an instant, the clang of steel and the cries of battle filled the air.

"All of you, hold the line! No one is to retreat!"

"Anyone who retreats will be subject to military law!"

Lord Liu lasted only a moment on the wall. Gazing at the seemingly endless tide of Demon Corpses, he began to shrink back behind the others with his portly frame.

To mask his cowardice, he strained his throat and shouted with all his might,

"Hold the line!"

"I’m going to write to Cangwu City for reinforcements!"

With that, he scrambled away, not daring to look back as he practically fell down the stairs from the wall.

Nearby, Lin Gaoyuan and several other Patriarchs watched him go, shaking their heads in resignation.

’It’s too late to ask Cangwu City for reinforcements now.’

’With a horde this massive, it’s only a matter of a few hours before they break through Fenglin County’s walls.’

’By the time reinforcements arrive, Fenglin County will be nothing but a city of the dead.’

But Lord Liu wasn’t thinking about any of that. He just wanted to get away from this disaster, cursing his legs for not carrying him faster.

Though he was technically at the late stage of the Flesh Refining Realm, years of gluttony as an official had left him fat and flabby. His Qi and Blood had long since dissipated, and his physical constitution was no better than that of an ordinary man.

The only thing quick about him anymore was his performance in bed; in every other respect, speed was beyond him.

Fortunately, Fenglin County wasn’t that large. Stumbling and scrambling, he soon caught sight of the familiar magistrate’s office.

But his target wasn’t the office. It was his personal residence next door.

’A horde of Demon Corpses this large... Fenglin County can’t possibly hold out. Even if we wait for reinforcements from Cangwu City, it will be too late.’

His talk of getting reinforcements was just a stalling tactic. He knew full well that the city’s soldiers and the Guards from a few great families stood no chance against these monsters.

’The fall of Fenglin County is a matter of a few hours—they might not even last two.’

’I have to get out of here. Staying in the city is a death sentence.’

He stepped into his residence, passing the study without a second glance.

Instead, he headed straight for the master bedroom. In a hidden compartment beneath the bed was the stash of silver coins he had accumulated over years of taking and giving bribes.

It wasn’t a huge amount—only two thousand taels in silver banknotes—but it was enough to live out the rest of his days in comfort and leisure.

As for how to escape Fenglin County, that was even simpler.

After all his years in Fenglin County, he had captured a few master thieves in his time.

And from them, he had learned of a secret passage leading outside the city walls.

’Good thing I was too cheap to spend the silver to seal it back then. Who knew it would come in handy now!’

A smile touched the corners of Lord Liu’s mouth. At the thought, he couldn’t help but slow his pace.

He knew he couldn’t leave just yet; there was no point in rushing. He had to pack his valuables and wait until the Demon Corpses had fully swarmed the walls before he could use the passage to slip out of the city.

If he left too early, he’d just end up as food for the Demon Corpses still outside.

’After the city falls, the tens of thousands of citizens inside will be devoured, with not even bones left behind.’

’When my superiors notice something’s wrong in Fenglin County and send investigators, they won’t find a trace of me. They might even assume I died defending the city! I could be remembered as a hero in the history books!’

He wiped the sweat from his brow. He was quite pleased with this thought, and the smile on his face grew wider.

Walking through his large residence, he felt much calmer. He ambled unhurriedly toward the master bedroom to pack his valuables and prepare for his departure.

He didn’t notice how quiet his residence was today. He didn’t call for any maids or servants, and he certainly had no intention of bringing his wife along.

’With two thousand taels in silver banknotes, why would he need any of them?’

’Bringing such burdens would only slow him down.’

The thought of leaving Fenglin County to live in seclusion, all while being remembered as a heroic figure, filled him with glee. Even his exhausted legs felt lighter.

CREAK...

The door opened. Lord Liu strode in familiarly, heading for the bed to retrieve his two thousand taels in silver banknotes.

But as he took a single step inside, his body froze.

There was a man sitting in the room, unhurriedly flipping through a book.

Before Lord Liu could speak, the man slowly closed the book. His tone was ice-cold.

"I always knew you were unreliable, but I never thought you wouldn’t even bother to write the request for aid. You really deserve to die."

Lord Liu knew this was bad. There was no doubt this person was here to cause him trouble.

And since he was masked, he was clearly here to kill.

He knew this wouldn’t be resolved easily.

He was about to try and pull rank, but when he saw the man close the book and reach for the ink-black scabbard at his side, he shrieked in terror.

"I am an official of the Imperial Court! The lives of the forty thousand people of Fenglin County rest on my shoulders!"

"You can’t kill me! You can’t kill me!"

The man in the room was, of course, Wu Chen.

He shook his head. "In this world, there’s no one who can’t be killed. You are no exception."

"I have money! I have money!"

One tactic having failed, Lord Liu tried another, screaming,

"I have been an honest official, saving only a hundred taels of silver over the years for my retirement. If you leave now, brave warrior, these hundred taels of silver..."

"You people never speak a word of truth, do you?"

Wu Chen shook his head with a light laugh, cutting him off. "You’re exactly what I’d expect from one of your kind."

He had already searched the entire residence; he knew exactly how much money there was.

From the moment Wu Chen had sat down, he’d guessed that Lord Liu would, in all likelihood, abandon the city.

He hadn’t known how the man planned to escape, but seeing him head straight for the bedroom instead of the magistrate’s office or the study confirmed his suspicions.

Having finished reading the Martial Arts manual, Wu Chen had no patience for more talk. In a flash, a black gleam of light slashed toward the man’s fat, almost nonexistent neck.

THUD!

The portly figure, which had been backing toward the door in a desperate attempt to flee, froze mid-step.

Then, it collapsed to the floor in a massive heap.

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