Chapter 350: Divine Artifact of the State: Transfer of Authority

"They are all dead."

Zhou You gazed at the stone pillars towering within the city; the expressions frozen on each face were different, reflecting their reactions before death.

The protective Captain Ye, the vengeful Captain Chang, and...

The Eight Great Ghost-Catching Captains of Gongliang City had been wiped out, and along with them, countless City Gate Guards under their command had all perished.

Hidden Charms vary in strength; the weak ones are roughly at the level of mid-to-high-tier Martial Masters, while the strong ones can even rival those below the Strong Martial Third Heaven.

The intelligence from the Gongliang City Gate Guards was incorrect; the target was not a small Hidden Charm, but a large Hidden Charm of the Strong Martial level.

A single word of difference, and the entire City Gate Guard force was annihilated.

"The intelligence was wrong; Captain Chang and the others fell into a trap."

Zhou You understood in an instant: the mastermind behind this large Hidden Charm must be Kunpengzi of the Golden Immortal Dao.

Bewitching hearts, driving charm-creatures, plotting the destruction of the City Gate Guards, and scaring away the two great clans to completely conquer this city.

Zhou You withdrew his gaze and heard the clamor from all directions, knowing this was no time for sentimentality.

Although they had escaped the city, the wilderness was filled with rebel soldiers and chaotic troops, prowling the surroundings in search of prey.

Grain, tree bark, rodents, and even comrades who had collapsed in a faint were all targets for predation.

In the grass and mud, human bones bearing tooth marks could be seen everywhere; they could never have been picked so clean by decay in such a short time.

A group of fewer than a hundred people appearing in the crisis-ridden wilderness was no different from breaking into a zoo with its cages wide open.

In such a scene, every tree and bush looked like an enemy soldier; the family members were terrified out of their wits, and the mere sound of an owl caused them to collapse.

Fortunately, there were quite a few martial artists in the group, and they were all elite soldiers and strong warriors.

Zhou You was a Martial Master, and Zuo Shier and the others were all Qi-Blood Warriors; unless they encountered a large-scale rebel force or even multiple Martial Masters, retreating with their families in one piece was not a problem.

On the map of the interface, the situation had changed again.

Originally, the rebel soldiers were in a chaotic state around the city walls; the closer one got to the walls, the tighter the organization and the more experts emerged—almost all the elites were beneath the city.

Conversely, the further out one went, the more it turned into a scattered mess, with hungry refugees searching for food everywhere.

Of course, these were all red dots of varying sizes, representing the enemy camp.

At this very moment, these red dots were being forcefully penetrated by many yellow light streams, throwing their ranks into chaos.

Hmm, the remaining Martial Masters in the city had begun their breakout!

Zhou You exhaled; this was a good thing. With these people drawing fire, the pressure on him would be even less.

He was just about to signal the caravan to speed up when suddenly...

A tremendous force suddenly came from his waist, as if a giant hand were grabbing him; Zhou You was instantly unable to move.

To be able to do this, one must be at least a high-tier Martial Master, or even possess power at the Strong Martial level.

Out in the wilderness, what could be attacking him? Zhou You's heart pounded violently, and when he suddenly saw an object on his body, he understood in an instant: "So it was this!"

This object was precisely that City Gate Guard waist token.

"What do you want to do? The City Gate Guards have all perished; I am but a wisp of ash, unable to bear the heavy burden of national duty."

Zhou You reached out to press the waist token; the City Gate Guards were all dead, and adding him to the count would be of no use.

That was a large Hidden Charm, a terrifying existence at the Strong Martial level; unless someone came from Fucheng, no one could deal with it!

Zhou You's small frame was better off saved to protect his father and mother, as well as the few companions by his side who had entrusted their lives to him.

But the waist token ignored his explanation, directly exerting a massive force that pulled his feet off the ground, suspending him in mid-air. At the same time...

Gongliang City had turned into an Asura hell, with the living becoming food for the Hidden Charms; there was no difference between the Inner City and the Outer City.

Most of the City Gate Guard barracks had turned into ruins, and the remaining broken walls were smoking and carbonizing in the flames until they finally crumbled to the ground.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo!"

A youth wearing the robes of a City Gate Guard looked toward the direction of the stone pillars, seeing many familiar faces, and could not help but shed tears.

He had come here to die; he knew he was no match for the Hidden Charms, but he wanted to be the last City Gate Guard to fight to the death.

When the city fell, how could there not be one or two resolute souls to die with it? Suddenly, a foul wind swirled, and a Void Charm rushed nearby; seeing the youth, a living person, its eyes lit up.

It revealed its true form, no longer disguising itself; its appearance was uglier and more ferocious than the most deformed beast.

"Die, charm-creature."

The youth held his blade and slashed forward; he was merely a Strength Apprentice, had not mastered Qi-Blood, and knew no weapon techniques, yet he mustered the courage to fight against a Void Charm, the lowest form of charm-creature.

The blade struck the Void Charm's arm, sending sparks flying; under the impact of the massive force, the youth's back slammed into a stone wall, his mouth filled with the taste of blood.

The Void Charm grinned ferociously and pounced, but before it could grab the youth, a flash of white light appeared before its eyes.

The next moment, it lost all sensation and vanished.

The youth saw it clearly: a ball of white light had suddenly erupted from the ruins of the barracks, easily obliterating the Void Charm.

Hidden within that ball of white light was an Ancient Small Tripod, which grew larger as it flew.

A Tripod Vessel was no small matter in this world; commoners could not use them, and only monarchs and great clans were qualified to do so.

The City Gate Guards served an Enfeoffed Monarch, so it was reasonable for them to have been bestowed a Tripod Vessel.

*Whoosh! * The small tripod, wrapped in white light, brushed past the youth's scalp and sped away.

The expectant youth was dumbfounded on the spot; it didn't recognize me as its master, so I am not the chosen one! The small tripod trembled slightly, its white light flickering like a loose lightbulb; if one observed closely, one would find that the frequency of the vibration was identical to the vibration of Zhou You's waist token a hundred miles away.

"Trial Project (Five-Star): 780 years of accumulation by the Gongliang City Gate Guards; designated successor, the highest-ranking survivor, Team Leader Zhou You (Apprentice Period); take charge of the Monarch-bestowed Divine Artifact and drive out the scourge of the Hidden Charms."

In an instant, the information transmitted from the waist token made Zhou You suddenly realize the truth.

One city, one guard—this was the standard configuration; every city's City Gate Guard had a Divine Artifact bestowed by Junshan.

The Divine Artifact carried the weight of the state; once it entered a city, it took root and could not be moved, remaining in the City Gate Guard barracks and unable to be used.

As they guarded the city and maintained local peace, the Divine Artifact accumulated immense energy.

This time, the Gongliang City Gate Guards had moved out in full force, which was definitely falling into a trap; even if one captain had been left behind, they could have relied on the power of the Divine Artifact to defend, and the Hidden Charms would not have been able to break into the city and run rampant.

Kunpengzi's scheme was extremely vicious, slaughtering all eight of the Great Ghost-Catching Captains along with the officers qualified to be replacements; the Divine Artifact remained, but there was no one to preside over it.

However, he still miscalculated one person: Zhou You.

Zhou You was an anomaly under the weighing of pros and cons; nominally an apprentice, in reality, he was second only to the Captains of the martial master level within the City Gate Guard. This was still outdated information.

As of now, Zhou You has broken through to martial master and is already qualified to be a candidate for Captain, the ninth person hidden behind the eight great Captains: the Hidden Captain.

As of now, his position is the highest and his strength is the greatest, so the Divine Artifact immediately sought him out through the rigid sensing of his waist medallion.

Coincidentally, the interface also came to join in the fun, listing the mission for this time.

(End of this chapter)