Chapter 57: The Shaman Who Spreads Wisdom

Escorting over nine thousand slaves on the road, even the Ghost Rong Clan, renowned for its elite troops, found it difficult to march quickly.

Let alone the fact that although the Ghost Rong Clan was an elite unit of the Ghost Fang State, only those few dozen scouts possessed mounts.

This was because the Ghost Fang State had not mastered the skill of taming beasts on a large scale.

Those black strange beasts had only chosen to join the Ghost Rong Clan under the grace of the Five Directional Gods.

With these two factors combined, the Ghost Rong Clan's marching speed, if not saying a hundred li a day, could only be described as turtle-slow.

Fortunately, the Ghost Rong Clan had already captured enough slaves on this outing, so they were not in a hurry to accelerate their march.

On the contrary, Mu Zheng intentionally or unintentionally adjusted the formation, making the originally loose ranks more aggressive.

This was the consistent practice of the Ghost Rong Clan, or rather, the Ghost Fang State.

When encountering truly formidable enemies, they would often drive those lowly slaves to exhaust the enemy's living strength.

The Ghost Rong Clan's true main force would only launch a fierce attack with overwhelming force to break the enemy's defenses when they spotted a flaw in the enemy.

From this, it could also be seen that the young Mu Zheng clearly did not underestimate the strength of Gao Village Town.

After all, being able to hold a position in the Hundred Lands and Thousand Mountains, Gao Village Town must be hiding some secret.

"What do you think... what exactly allows them to become the hub of this region?"

Although Mu Zheng did not mention the name of Gao Village Town, You Zhong on the side immediately understood the meaning behind the other's words.

"They have no gods, no priests, and not even warriors..."

"Yet they can become the hub connecting villages big and small within a hundred li, what do they rely on?"

Before You Zhong could even reply, Mu Zheng continued speaking on his own.

"Could it be solely the prestige of that 'Shaman'? Or those ridiculous 'wisdoms'?"

His eyes showed no concealment of his disdain; Mu Zheng, born in the Ghost Fang State, believed only in strength.

"Perhaps... it is related to that witch from a thousand years ago?"

After hesitating for a moment, You Zhong finally voiced his speculation.

"I heard that the witch from a thousand years ago chose to settle nearby; perhaps her power continues to protect this place?"

However, facing You Zhong's explanation, Mu Zheng suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"Haha, so you also believe in that kind of legend?"

"That is merely a legend, a legend that sounds ridiculous just to hear!"

"A witch from the Central Plains, bringing her tribe across more than half of the Central Plains, just to settle in such a remote and ghostly place?"

"If this legend were truly true, then where is that witch's tribe?"

"That was a powerful tribe capable of crossing more than half of the Central Plains; even if it perished, it could not be as obscure as it is now, could it?"

After drawing a definite conclusion, Mu Zheng looked at You Zhong and said.

"Run less outside the city in the future; those stories circulating among other tribes and mountain folk are ultimately just groundless tales."

Just then, a commotion suddenly erupted at the front of the column.

Only the sound of the foremost scout shouting a reprimand was heard, followed immediately by the weeping of those slaves.

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"Grandma... my father and mother are both dead..."

"Those damn Ghost Fang people, they killed my whole family!"

"My sister... my sister died so miserably..."

"My mother was fed to wild beasts just because she coughed once..."

"And my younger brother, he was only eight years old; because he couldn't walk and wanted to rest, they dragged his bones right out of his body..."

It was as if they had found a breakthrough.

The slaves, who had previously been dead silent, let out wails and weeping.

And opposite those slaves, an old grandmother with a hunched figure and a withered face silently listened to everyone's crying, her expression heavy and speechless.

Thus, when Mu Zheng and You Zhong arrived at the very front of the column, this was the scene they saw.

"You are the 'Shaman' of Gao Village Town?"

Squinting to examine the old grandmother not far away, Mu Zheng kicked over a slave who was still wailing beside him.

Since that slave was already at the end of his rope, and now was kicked over by Mu Zheng, he immediately fainted and died on the spot.

Seeing this, one of the slaves suddenly sprang up and threw himself at Mu Zheng without regard for his life.

As a result, this time Mu Zheng did not need to act personally; You Zhong beside him had already drawn the long blade from his waist.

Swish!

A flash of blade light passed, and the head rolled to the ground.

You Zhong expressionlessly sheathed the long blade again.

As if he had not just killed a person, but was chopping melons and vegetables.

This kind of coldness from human nature could absolutely not be cultivated through acquired training.

Ordinary people would not be so calm even killing a chicken, let alone killing a fellow human being who looked exactly like themselves and could speak.

"Ghost Fang..."

Having witnessed all this with his own eyes, the old grandmother's face became even heavier.

"Who I am is not important; what is important is whether you know what place you are about to step into?"

Trying his best to ignore the miserable state of those slaves, the old grandmother looked up at Mu Zheng and questioned.

"This is the Hundred Lands and Thousand Mountains, not your Ghost Fang State's territory."

"Your behavior will anger the spirits of the mountains, and even the gods of the Hundred Lands..."

"By then, even the Five Divine Ones will not be able to protect you!"

The old woman's words were not sternly righteous, yet the warning tone between them was exceptionally intense.

For she spoke the truth; in this world where gods truly exist, the high rulers of the Gui Fang Kingdom were not absolute masters who could act without restraint.

"Hundred Earths, Ten Thousand Mountains?"

A faint, almost imperceptible mockery surfaced on his face as Mu Zheng spoke lightly.

"Thirty years ago, the Tu Fang Kingdom was not Gui Fang territory..."

"But now? The lands of the Tu Fang Kingdom have long become our domain, and their subjects have become our slaves."

"Power is the truth of this world!"

"So it was thirty years ago, and so it shall be thirty years hence!"

Hearing Mu Zheng's arrogant declaration, the old woman's expression instead grew more relaxed.

"Power is truth; those words are indeed well spoken..."

Though her back remained hunched, at this moment the old woman gave off an aura as solemn and majestic as a mountain peak.

"But have you truly grasped the 'truth'?"

As she spoke, a visible ripple of primal energy erupted around the old woman.

This surge of primal energy was so vast that even the earth trembled, as if a true god had descended.

Boom-boom-boom...

Continuous minor earthquakes spread from near to far, quickly causing panic throughout the Gui Rong clan's military formation.

Those battle-hardened warriors of the Gui Rong clan fared better.

They were elite troops cultivated by the Gui Fang Kingdom, among whom even some had fought against gods.

But the far greater number of slaves had never witnessed such a scene; in an instant, their ranks completely fell into chaos.

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(End of Chapter)