After listening to the bandaged old man’s account, the Bone Elder couldn’t help but let out a series of eerie chuckles. Crimson ice crystals formed on the newly grown bone spikes.
“Not bad! A truly clever plan!”
A gleam flashed through the hollow eyes of the
Bone Elder. With a wave of his hand, he suddenly produced three bone tokens and
tossed them to the bandaged old man. He ordered, “Immediately inform Bloodhand,
Poisonheart, and Boneface to act at once. Spread the rumors. Make sure everyone
believes this was the work of that Landed Immortal-level powerhouse!”
“Yes!”
The bandaged old man acknowledged the command,
caught the bone tokens, and disappeared without a trace.
…
Because of Dustin’s intervention, the fearsome
red mist that had terrified countless people was wiped out.
The situation in Southern Frontier temporarily
stabilized. The three princes, who had considered abandoning the cities, now
returned to trying to control the plague and calm public sentiment.
Until the final moment, they would not give up
so easily.
However, because the three made different
choices, the situations in their respective cities also shifted accordingly
after the red mist vanished.
Li Wenxing’s Wugang City was the most stable. Though there was brief chaos, he
swiftly brought things back under control.
Coupled with the prescription from Margaret to
use as a preventative measure, the plague didn’t spread rapidly. Everyone
responded actively, working together to save Wugang City and weather the
crisis.
Li Guanglong’s situation was a bit worse.
Before preparing to abandon the city, he
executed many corrupt officials. While that relieved some public anger and won
him some goodwill from the commoners…
Without those officials to manage communication
and implement orders, the situation remained chaotic.
Even without the red mist, controlling the
plague and stabilizing Lincheng was no easy task.
Compared to Li Wenxing and Li Guanglong, Li Juntang, who initially held the
upper hand, now faced the worst situation.
While Li Guanglong killed corrupt officials and
sent a strong warning, at least the people had a way to vent their anger.
But before abandoning Liyang City, Li Juntang essentially did nothing helpful. All he
did was plunder and extort.
He even burned
bridges after crossing.
When trying to soothe the populace and control
the plague, Li Juntang kept making hollow promises to the elite and tried to
curry favor.
Then at the last minute, he turned on those
same elites --- using various tactics to squeeze their resources and wealth.
Had Liyang City truly been doomed, his actions
wouldn’t have mattered.
But unfortunately, the city could still be saved.
Li Juntang’s betrayal and backstabbing
instantly enraged Liyang’s elite class.
So when he attempted to take back control and
asked for their cooperation to fight the plague and stabilize the situation…
The elites flatly refused.
Worse, they began secretly retaliating,
constantly throwing obstacles in his path.
As a result, Liyang City’s situation grew even more unstable, worse than
Lincheng.
But Li Juntang brought this upon himself. Even
if he was boiling with rage, he had no choice but to endure.
All three princes made different choices, and
now the three cities bore different consequences.
…
Night had fallen like ink over Liyang City.
In a graveyard outside the city, a soft
rustling could be heard.
A withered
black hand suddenly broke through the soil.
The hand, though shriveled like dry wood and
tipped with long fingernails, pulsed with strength.
After waving a few times, it dug open a small
tunnel in the mound.
In the next second, a zombie with tattered clothing and a shriveled face
crawled out from inside.
With the first zombie emerged, then came the
second, the third, the fourth…
In just a few minutes, seven zombies had clawed their way out of the earth, a putrid
stench filling the air.
The first zombie that emerged had a jade
pendant hanging around its neck, which glowed eerily under the moonlight.
It let out a hoarse “huh-huh” sound from its
throat, and began hopping stiffly forward, leading the other six zombies toward
a densely populated area.
Each zombie could leap ten meters at a time.
Not only were they incredibly strong,
but their bodies were as hard as iron. Wherever they passed, plants and grass
withered and turned black, corrupted by the aura of death.
At that moment, on a main road in the outskirts
of the city…
Because of the lockdown, very few vehicles were
passing by.
Only a few squads of soldiers were stationed at
checkpoints, preventing people from escaping and potentially spreading the
plague.
“I heard the red poison mist has disappeared
--- it was thanks to some unrivaled powerhouse. We can finally breathe easier
now.”
“Yeah, without that red mist, at least Liyang
City won’t face complete destruction. As for the plague, well… we’ll have to
wait for the higher-ups to develop an antidote.”
“During a city-wide crisis like this, the fact
that we’re still alive is already something.”
“…”
At a certain checkpoint, a group of soldiers
chatted casually.
Ever since the red mist vanished, fewer people
had tried to break through the blockade, and things had finally quieted down.
“Hey, look! What’s that?!”
Suddenly, one of the soldiers pointed into the
darkness ahead.
The others followed his gaze and saw, at the
edge of their vision, several figures
hopping toward them.
The figures’ eyes glowed with a green, ghostly light, sending a chill down the spines of the watching men. - Ton
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