Chapter 239: The Shock of the Demon Suppression Division Captain!

General, the corpse tide has receded.

Outside Yunzhou City, within the southwestern market town.

Yang Si raised his hand and cleaved the two Earth-Escaping Zombies blocking the path before him in half, charging all the way to Mountain-Moving General Chen Ao's side, his face full of fatigue.

Although he had already achieved Perfection in Refining Organs, these Copper Skin and Iron Bones Earth-Escaping Zombies posed little threat to him, but he could not withstand their overwhelming numbers.

Merely this market town near the prefectural city had gathered no fewer than three thousand or more Earth-Escaping Zombies.

Moreover, having to protect the surviving civilians as they retreated into the city, the Demon Suppression Division Captains truly able to remain and fight numbered less than three hundred.

With such a disparity in numbers, coupled with the Earth-Escaping Zombies' uncanny ability to appear and disappear, capable of subterranean ambushes, even he had suffered many dark losses.

As for the other Golden Eagle Captains and Greedy Wolf Captains with slightly lesser strength, nearly every one of them bore wounds—how could a single word "miserable" suffice?

"Issue the order: set up sentries on the rooftops to monitor ground movements, to prevent these neither-human-nor-ghost things from launching a second ambush."

"Also, send a few experts in lightness skills to follow, locate the lair of these things, and report immediately!"

Mountain-Moving General wiped his face, smeared with blood and grime, and issued orders to the signal soldier beside him.

Afterwards, his gaze fell upon the street that resembled a human purgatory.

What met his eyes were nothing but severed limbs and broken arms, as well as earth and stone shattered and underground burrows dug by the Earth-Escaping Zombies.

Black blood stained the streets, filling the air with a nauseating stench of blood and decay.

The vast majority of these slain Earth-Escaping Zombies were once residents of the market town.

Some were street vendors, some were tavern owners, some were wandering martial artists, even pregnant women and children from the town...

After being infected by the Earth-Escaping Zombies, they turned into neither-human-nor-ghost monsters,

possessing astonishing strength, and their skin membranes were tough as gold and iron; martial artists below the Meridian Opening stage would have to exert great effort to slay them.

"These rats of the Ghost Mother Sect truly deserve to die!"

Chen Ao's eyes were icy, his tone filled with violent fury and killing intent.

"Report!"

At this moment, a loud voice came from afar and grew near, accompanied by the rumbling of horse hooves from the direction of the city gate.

"General, the city—"

"The Northwestern Prison has been breached!"

"What?"

Chen Ao's eyelids twitched violently,

"Where is Xu Longsheng? Wasn't he guarding the prison?"

"Xu Longsheng colluded with the Ghost Mother Sect, released the Xiao family suspects, and was summarily executed by Captain Qin."

The signal soldier, despite being several zhang away, leapt down from his horse and sprinted all the way to Chen Ao's side, dropping to one knee, his words ringing clear and loud.

"Xu Longsheng is dead?"

Chen Ao's gaze became dazed, he turned his head to look at Yang Si beside him, who also looked over in tacit understanding.

Their eyes met.

Both saw shock and bewilderment in each other's eyes.

Who is Xu Longsheng?

He was once the foremost combat strength of the Yunzhou Demon Suppression Division.

And the only one who had ignited the Furnace, standing only one step away from the Grandmaster Realm—a superlative master.

In his prime, Xu Longsheng's prestige in Yunzhou was no less than that of Fu Lingyuan today.

Had it not been for his ambush during a demon extermination campaign by a hidden mountain demon king, causing the Furnace to shatter and the blood-fire to extinguish, leading his martial path to decline...

The current leader of the Demon Suppression Division should have been this veteran of a hundred battles.

But after that severe injury, Xu Longsheng's martial path was severed, and his will grew despondent.

In the end, he even volunteered to guard the prison, and twenty years passed in the blink of an eye.

Never did he expect that upon hearing news of him again, it would be of treason and summary execution on the spot!

And the one who killed him was none other than Qin Shuo, who, like Xu Longsheng in his prime, now stood at the height of his power...

For Yang Si and Chen Ao, who had grown up listening to Xu Longsheng's demon-slaying exploits,

the impact could not be said to be small.

As such, upon hearing this news, both experienced a moment of daze and loss of spirit.

"Currently, the prison is under the control of Captain He Mingjing, but the inmates have all escaped along the tunnels dug by the Ghost Mother Sect..."

"Captain Qin went alone to pursue and capture, while Captain He, fearing an ambush, specially came to request reinforcements!"

The signal soldier continued his report.

Only then did Chen Ao gradually regain his composure,

his scattered gaze instantly focusing, the aura of a general who looks down upon all directions returning, as he lowered his voice to command Yang Si beside him:

"Yang Si, take your men and go to reinforce!"

……

The same scene unfolded almost simultaneously in the eastern and northern market towns.

The three great Demon Suppression Generals unanimously decided to dispatch their finest Cloud Dragon Captains to reinforce the Northwestern Prison.

While they themselves continued to guard outside the city, clearing the remaining Earth-Escaping Zombies.

When the three forces followed the tunnels and arrived all the way to the ambush valley outside the city, everyone was stunned.

Before their eyes lay scattered corpses everywhere.

There were Earth-Escaping Zombies, Ghost Mother Sect assassins, and even Xiao family masters in prisoner garb...

Some scattered corpses still emitted black smoke, as if struck by lightning, the mingling stench of corrosion and burnt flesh mixed with the bloody odor of fresh blood, making the entire valley reek so fiercely that one dared not breathe.

"These..."

"Are these all killed by Captain Qin alone?"

The troops sent to reinforce were all elite forces under the three Demon Suppression Commanders.

Although no intact corpse could be found on the ground now, from the battle traces, this was completely a one-sided massacre.

The only evidence of resistance is the exploded earth mound on the other side, suspected to be the Xiao Family's Cloud-Collapsing Arrow Technique.

You must know, among those Xiao Family suspects, there were several masters who had achieved success in Refining Organs.

But now they are all dead without intact bodies; only scattered fragments and facial remnants on the ground can barely identify their identities.

From this, one can see how ferocious and powerful the killer's strength is.

"According to those who survived in the great prison, Old Qin shot the traitor Xu Longsheng dead with one arrow, then went alone into the great prison's dungeon, and never came out again.

These corpses, besides being left by him, who else could they be?"

Although He Mingjing was also shocked in his heart, compared to others, he had known Qin Shuo longer, so he understood more clearly how terrifying his talent was.

Half a year...

Just half a year.

Originally, the border town youth whose realm was still a step behind mine now not only stands equal to the three Demon Suppression Commanders in status, but his strength far surpasses them.

Such growth speed has completely extinguished his original desire to strive and improve, to catch up and surpass.

In He Mingjing's eyes, the current Qin Shuo is even more monstrous than Fu Lingyuan was back then.

Therefore, although he is shocked, he can fully accept it.

"Quick look, there are blood traces on that mountain..."

Someone with sharp eyes soon discovered another place where Qin Shuo had fought before.

Soon the crowd rushed mightily to the mountain peak.

Upon seeing Xiao Zhanggong's skull rolling on the ground and Xiao Yingqi pierced through the chest by an arrow, everyone gasped in cold air, then turned to stone.

Inner Sect Disciple of Mysterious Weapon Mountain.

Hailed as a once-in-a-century martial arts prodigy in Yunzhou City, one of the Four Young Masters of Yunzhou!

It is said he has already ignited the True Gang Furnace...

Such a heaven's favored son, half a foot stepped into the Grandmaster threshold, a Quasi-Grandmaster...

Actually was killed by one arrow in an instant!

This discovery simply stunned people to the point of dropping their jaws, unable to believe for a long time.

"It seems someone escaped during the great battle; Captain Qin has already gone to pursue and kill..."

Yang Si, having long experienced battlefields, with firm will, soon recovered from the shock of Xiao Yingqi being killed in an instant.

He raised his eyes to scan the surroundings, soon locked onto a direction, and gazed far into the distance.

"Captain Qin can kill Xiao Yingqi with one arrow; who else could escape from his hands?"

Another Cloud Dragon Captain exclaimed in astonishment.

In his view, Xiao Yingqi, who ignited the furnace, had strength probably not inferior to Division Master Fu Lingyuan.

Such a master, killed by one arrow.

Could the escaping person be a Martial Arts Grandmaster?

If so, how strong must Captain Qin be?

"Netherworld Dharma King!"

Yang Si slowly uttered these four words.

Having dealt with the Ghost Mother Sect for so long, the Demon Suppression Division still has very detailed information on the Ghost Mother Sect's Four Dharma Kings and Eight Protectors.

This Netherworld Dharma King, among the Ghost Mother Sect's Four Dharma Kings, is not considered top-tier in strength, but his escape technique is first-rate.

Even Division Master Fu Lingyuan calls him the most disgusting and hard-to-kill stinking rat.

His Five Ghosts Translocation Technique is mysterious and unpredictable, extremely hard to catch.

"Captain Qin's trip this time, I fear will return without success."

Yang Si shook his head, withdrew his gaze.

Although Xiao Yingqi's death shocked him greatly.

But in his view, Qin Shuo's current strength is estimated to be on par with Division Master Fu Lingyuan, or even slightly weaker.

And Division Master Fu Lingyuan, who possesses Heavenly Phoenix Extreme Speed, can do nothing to the Netherworld Dharma King.

Although Qin Shuo is strong, capturing the Netherworld Dharma King and bringing him to justice will likely be difficult.