Chapter 26: By a lucky strike, we wiped out a band of enemy elite troops

"His Majesty!" Just then, a patrol guard hurried over, saying, "Report to His Majesty, there's something strange here! We've found many mutilated corpses! And there's a large amount of strange Black Water!"

"Take me to have a look." Xiao Qidi's voice sounded.

He walked a few steps, then turned and asked, "Miss Ning, aren't you coming along?"

His voice was calm and unemotional, as if nothing had just happened.

Ning Jinli frowned, wondering if he wasn't angry at all; had she overthought it, scared herself?

"Oh, coming!"

Ning Jinli secretly let out a breath of relief and quickened her pace to catch up.

The two followed that patrol guard for over a hundred meters and saw many pieces of flesh scattered in a pile of rubble.

Here a chunk, there a chunk.

Bones and flesh were a mushy mess.

Ning Jinli felt a bit nauseous, pinched her nose, and instinctively asked, "Animal corpses?"

Xiao Qidi shook his head, "With this drought lasting so long, aside from the warhorses stationed in the village, there are no other animals."

"Oh, right..." Ning Jinli shuddered, her face changing dramatically, "Wait! If they're not animals, then these…… are they human?"

Xiao Qidi used his battle sword to pry open some stones.

Then he used the sword tip to lift a severed hand, "Correct, it's human."

Ning Jinli saw that the severed hand had its flesh turned outward, reddish meat mixed with charred black as if burned by fire, and she could faintly see the tendons and bones inside.

"Ugh!"

She turned, bent over, and vomited messily.

Having lived twenty-two years, this was the first time she had ever seen a human corpse with her own eyes.

Only now did she realize that no matter how realistic the props in TV dramas and movies are, they still fall far short of the shock of the real thing!

Xiao Qidi brought the sword tip before his face and leaned in to sniff the severed hand.

He analyzed without changing his expression:

"The corpse is very fresh, not dead long. It seems to have been directly pulverized by some tremendous force, yet oddly, it also appears to have been scorched by fierce fire……"

"Yes, His Majesty," the patrol guard said, "My fellow brothers and I have also noticed this, and there are even more elsewhere—I truly don't know what's going on."

"Ugh……you……ugh……could you step farther away to talk, ugh!!" Ning Jinli vomited even more violently.

Xiao Qidi glanced at her askance.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, then he gestured for the patrol guard to lead him elsewhere to continue the inspection.

After a while, Ning Jinli finally recovered her strength.

Her mouth was filled with the bitter taste of bile, and her little face turned deathly pale.

Seeing Xiao Qidi in the distance, she gathered her courage and walked over, "I just thought, could it be that during the Blasting of the cave, we accidentally blew up our own people……"

The discovery of the corpses in such a convenient spot, and their condition being like this,

She worried that perhaps the soldiers tasked with placing the explosives hadn't managed to exit the cave in time.

Although she remembered carefully counting heads after leaving the cave at the time, now she wasn't sure.

Xiao Qidi didn't answer, seeming to ponder something.

Ning Jinli tugged at his sleeve, speaking with a sobbing tone, "I also don't know what's happening; clearly I didn't press the remote button, yet the explosives detonated, waa……"

"They're not our people." Xiao Qidi turned his head.

Ning Jinli blinked, "If they're not our people, who else could they be……"

Xiao Qidi saw her tear-filled eyes, tears hanging on her pallid face, and instinctively reached out to wipe them.

Ning Jinli, however, instinctively stepped back two paces.

Xiao Qidi's hand hung in midair, and the atmosphere suddenly became inexplicably awkward.

"Um……" Ning Jinli sniffled, wiping her tears, "I'm afraid your hand touched the corpse."

Xiao Qidi pressed his thin lips together and uttered two words, "No."

He turned his head and said softly:

"I'm quite certain that everyone we gathered to follow you in placing the explosives had all left the cave, and judging from the number of body fragments, even if all those who entered the cave at the time had died, they wouldn't add up to this amount. I'm looking to see if I can find any objects to determine the corpses' identities."

Upon hearing this, Ning Jinli's guilty heart that had been hanging finally settled back into her stomach.

She calmed down and, while thinking, said:

"Although natural flowing water has self-purifying ability, in the short term the water here must be treated before it can be used; most importantly, we must absolutely prevent anyone from drinking it directly."

"Later I'll prepare a batch of water disinfectant to put into the pond……"

"Right, where is the Black Water? I want to see what it looks like."

"Originally I meant well, wanting to help solve the drought problem here, but I never expected such an accident."

"Again corpses and Black Water—she feels somewhat guilty."

A patrol guard replied, "It's dark and viscous, very strange, also seeping out from the ground; I can take the Fairy to another place to have a look."

"A dark, viscous liquid?"

Ning Jinli wondered.

"How does it sound somewhat familiar?"

Her eyes lit up; could it be……

Just as she was about to go have a look, Xiao Qidi discovered some metal fragments.

"They're actually soldiers of Yu Guo!"

His expression instantly turned grim and stern.

The surrounding patrol guards' faces changed dramatically.

Ning Jinli halted her steps, "How could this be?"

Xiao Qidi's brows and eyes were shrouded in gloom, his distinct-knuckled fingers pinching some shattered fragments.

"This is the armor of Yu Guo soldiers."

"These are their swords."

"Moreover, it is equipment used by elite troops."

Ning Jinli covered her mouth in shock.

Xiao Qidi lifted his gaze to the distance, his eyes slightly narrowed, "The only reasonable explanation is that, at the time of the cave's blasting, a large number of Yu Guo elite troops happened to be inside."

Ning Jinli exclaimed, "In other words, does the cave have a passage that goes through that mountain?"

Xiao Qidi nodded, his eyes filled with chill, "No wonder Ba Yong suddenly led troops to attack Lin Xian Village; he must have sent elite soldiers into the cave, planning an inside‑outside coordinated strike!"

Ning Jinli's hairs stood on end all over her body, and cold sweat broke out on her back!

She didn't even dare to think: if those Yu Guo elite troops successfully sneaked in, killing the villagers off guard and leaving everyone attacked from front and rear, what terrible consequences would ensue!

Xiao Qidi slowly exhaled, his gaze softening as it fell on her face, and he said softly:

"Fortunately you blew up the cave, burying them all inside; it seems Ba Yong's sudden withdrawal was precisely for this reason. Everything now makes sense."

"Miss Ning, you have saved all of our lives once again."

Ning Jinli's heart still pounded with fear.

She had simply struck lucky by accident.

Just as she was about to say a few polite words, Xiao Qidi's gaze turned gloomy again, and a killing intent rose.

"The enemy's move means they already know the village's situation; there must be a traitor leaking intelligence! Issue the order: investigate this matter thoroughly, and also severely punish the soldiers previously responsible for patrolling the village!"

The Patrol Guard Captain beside him trembled all over from fright.

Ning Jinli hurriedly asked, "Why punish the patrol personnel?"

Xiao Qidi coldly said, "Given the current situation, for a traitor to leak information, the only way is to sneak out and defect to the enemy; thus the guards' lax patrol, failing to prevent it, nearly caused a major disaster!"

The Patrol Guard Captain fell to his knees with a thud, "Your Majesty... the soldiers previously in charge of patrolling the village were all arranged by me, your subordinate; if you wish to assign blame, please punish me."

"Very well, first punish you for the negligence in your arrangements."

Xiao Qidi's eyes turned icy to the extreme, he raised his battle blade and slashed toward the captain's neck!

In the flash of lightning and sparks, Ning Jinli stepped in front of the captain, "Stop!"