Chapter 522: Overwhelming Suppression

Light swept in from the horizon, and wherever it passed, the greenish-black miasma of malevolence that shrouded the area outside the small town immediately churned violently, then began to recede rapidly.

Within that boundless light was contained an extremely pure power of purification.

The ordinary human-faced wolves let out shrill cries, their bodies actually beginning to melt away on the spot.

Even the two-faced human wolf had black, foul-smelling liquid dripping from its body, as if it were about to melt.

Waaah!

It let out a piercing shriek, its pupils brimming with savagery and bloodlust turning toward the horizon behind it—the source of the light was there.

Whoosh!

But just then, two dazzling streaks of light tore through the sky from above. The two streaks seemed to burn with sacred flames; their speed was so extreme that even the air ignited from the friction, like two meteors.

The two streaks descended from the heavens, heading straight for the two-faced human wolf.

Huang Lou narrowed his eyes and could see that within those two streaks were what appeared to be two flame-wreathed light nails. The resonant force condensed upon those light nails was so overwhelmingly powerful that even he felt his scalp tingle.

But more than that, there was delight.

This was light-attribute resonant force!

Clearly, the one who had stepped in to help was a great expert who possessed the light resonance.

They were saved!

The two-faced human wolf also sensed the danger from those two flame-wreathed light nails. Immediately, the mouth on its human face opened wide, and foul-smelling black smoke poured out, condensing into two giant hands of black smoke. Wreathed in thick corrupting energy, those hands slapped directly toward the two light nails.

Hiss!

Yet upon contact, the flames of light upon the two nails blazed mightily, and in an instant they melted and vaporized the two foul-smelling hands of black smoke. Their momentum undiminished, carrying ferocious force like sudden thunder, they drove heavily into the head and tail of the two-faced human wolf.

Hum!

The two-faced human wolf was pinned hard to the ground amid a wail of agony, while the flames of light rising from the nails seared its body, as if to melt it away.

But the two-faced human wolf continued to struggle frantically, displaying an extremely tenacious vitality.

Whoosh!

However, at that moment, a streak of azure light descended from the heavens, enveloping the two-faced human wolf. Within the azure light, an elegant azure luan bird could faintly be seen spreading its wings and slashing down. Immediately, the two-faced human wolf let out a shrill cry, and its entire body shattered into countless fragments in an instant.

Flames spread across the light nails, swiftly burning those chunks of flesh into black vapor.

Huang Lou and the many guards on the city wall stared at this scene, dumbfounded.

The two-faced human wolf, powerful enough to annihilate their small town, had been so easily and cleanly erased.

Huang Lou swallowed. The light-attribute resonant force earlier had been extremely pure and overbearing, while the azure light that followed clearly came from a different person. Judging by the sheer depth of their resonant force, the latter was even stronger than the former.

He looked up toward the distance, cupped his fist, and said, "I am Huang Lou. I do not know which friends have come to our aid, but on behalf of everyone in the town, I offer my thanks for this life-saving grace."

Not long after his voice faded, streaks of light swept over from the distant horizon, and after a dozen or so breaths, they landed before the small town.

Huang Lou and the many guards looked over curiously, and a look of amazement could not help but surface in their eyes.

For the ones who had appeared were actually two young girls.

The girl on the left was exceedingly beautiful, especially her golden pupils, which radiated a unique charm. Her bearing was somewhat calm and cool, yet the light-attribute resonant force emanating from her inspired an inexplicable sense of trust in those around her.

The girl on the right was also a rare beauty, her oval face carrying a touch of warmth. She actually seemed a little easier to approach than her companion. However, from her, Huang Lou sensed an extremely powerful pressure, which made his heart clench. This was... a great expert of the Tiangang General Stage?!

After glancing at the two girls, Huang Lou's gaze shifted, and only then did he notice that behind them followed a youth with silver-white hair. The youth was quite handsome, but his resonant force fluctuations were far weaker; at a glance, he appeared to be at the Resonant Master Stage.

Two girls and one boy.

Among them was an expert of the Tiangang General Stage, a possessor of light resonance who appeared to be at the Disha General Stage's Extreme Sha Stage, and a Resonant Master.

What a strange combination.

A sliver of doubt flashed through Huang Lou's mind, but on his cold, hard face he forced out a smile and thanked them once more: "Many thanks to the three of you for your rescue."

He was extremely courteous, not only because they had come to their aid, but also because of their strength. The Black Wind Empire no longer had any order now; if these people bore ill intent, they could slaughter the entire town and no one would seek justice for them. So naturally, he had to be cautious.

In the past, as the commander of a city, with the entire Black Wind Empire behind him, he would not have been so cautious even when facing a Tiangang General Stage expert. But now, everything was different.

"You are too kind, sir."

In response to Huang Lou's deference, the Princess merely smiled faintly and said in a gentle voice, "This is also our mission."

"Mission?"

Huang Lou was taken aback. The Black Wind Empire had collapsed, and the original order and powers had all vanished—so who could possibly be issuing rescue missions like this?

The Princess explained, "We are from the Academy Alliance. The Academy Alliance is currently joining forces with some of the neighboring powers around the Black Wind Empire to purify and contain the aberrations in this region."

She did not conceal anything, since shortly they would need to enter the town to set up nodes with purification spirit pearls, and they would need this Huang Lou's cooperation.

"The Academy Alliance?"

Delight surfaced in Huang Lou's eyes. Having once served in the Black Wind Empire, he naturally knew of the existence of this colossal entity, the Academy Alliance. He immediately exclaimed with joy, "The Academy Alliance is going to act to resolve the aberration calamity of the Black Wind Empire?"

"The aberration calamity of the Black Wind Empire is extremely severe. The Academy Alliance can only join forces with some neighboring nations and other powers to blockade the Black Wind Empire, to prevent the calamity from spreading, while doing some simple clearing. As for completely resolving the calamity, I'm afraid that is no simple matter." Li Luo spoke up at this point; he did not wish to give the man unrealistic hope.

A shadow passed over Huang Lou's eyes, and he then said with a bitter smile, "I was being naive. Still, it is already an excellent thing that the Academy Alliance can step in to help. At the very least, saving some is better than saving none."

Li Luo nodded and said, "We will next set up purification devices within the town. Once these are in place, the town will be much safer in the future, and will be shielded from contamination by the malevolent energy. So we hope for your cooperation."

"That is wonderful!"

Delight appeared on Huang Lou's face. He had seen such purification devices before, but they were extremely complicated to refine, and their small town no longer had the capability to produce them. If the three before him could help them set them up, it was undoubtedly a blessing from the heavens.

"Three benefactors, please come in quickly!"

Huang Lou waved his hand toward the city wall, and immediately someone opened the sealed city gates. Then he invited the three of them in.

At Huang Lou's invitation, Li Luo and the others exchanged a glance, then followed him into the small town.

Inside the town, the streets were paved with bluestone and looked rather deserted, but along the way, quite a few townsfolk still poured out to eye the three strangers.

Huang Lou loudly announced the purpose of the three to everyone, and when the townsfolk heard that Li Luo and his companions were going to set up purification devices for the town, they immediately burst into cheers, and the looks they gave the three became much more respectful.

Li Luo's gaze swept over those figures, and he noticed that many of them had a faint greenish-black tinge to their complexion.

This caused his eyes to narrow slightly—this was a sign of erosion.

Bang!

The room on the left side of the street ahead suddenly shattered at this moment, and a human figure burst out, crawling on the ground and letting out a hoarse roar.

The townspeople around immediately cried out in alarm and scattered in all directions.

And from within that house, a woman and children rushed out crying, grabbing the chains on that figure's body, desperately pulling him back toward the house.

Li Luo's expression shifted slightly. The figure that had burst out was bound in iron chains, and his face was extraordinarily twisted, with a dark bluish-black hue flowing in his eyes—this was a sign of deepening contamination.

"Quick, drag him back!"

Huang Lou also let out an angry shout at this moment. People swarmed forward, pinned down the contaminated man, and sent him back inside the house to be bound up.

Li Luo and the other two came to a halt.

After dealing with this incident, Huang Lou walked over and said in a heavy voice: "Although our little town is in a remote area, with the ravages of the Other Beings over the years, the miasma of evil thoughts has also seeped in. Those with weak wills are easily eroded and contaminated, gradually showing signs of losing their rationality."

"Not choose to purge them?" Li Luo hesitated for a moment and asked.

Huang Lou let out a sigh and said: "They're all neighbors. The one just now has a wife and children at home... We can't very well kill someone right in front of their faces, after all it hasn't reached the point of complete loss of control yet."

Li Luo felt a little heavy in his heart as well. In the past, when encountering Other Beings in the Dark Cave, he hadn't actually felt their harm too keenly—after all, those who could enter the Dark Cave were ultimately all outstanding students. But now, having come to the Black Wind Empire where Other Beings ran rampant, he realized just how great the impact of Other Beings on ordinary people was.

This was only in a remote area; it was hard to imagine what kind of miserable state things were in deep within the Black Wind Empire.

It was probably truly a scene of nine houses out of ten emptied, a tragedy beyond human endurance.

"Once the purification devices are set up, this kind of situation will be greatly reduced." The Princess was briefly silent, then spoke up to soothe.

"Hopefully so." Huang Lou nodded with a bitter expression.

"Once we've set up the purification devices here, we'll leave for Zhenjiang City. You are a person of the Black Wind Empire—might you have any intelligence on that front?" Jiang Jiang Qinge suddenly asked. That Zhenjiang City was the main quest the Academy had forcibly assigned them, and also the location of that important strange formation node.

"Zhenjiang City?"

Huang Lou heard this name and was briefly dazed for a moment, then a trace of fear surfaced in his eyes.

"You're going to Zhenjiang City? You absolutely cannot go there, that place..."

"That place has Calamity-grade Other Beings roaming about!"