Chapter 545: The Vanished Village

The expansion and reorganization work at Black Cloud Stronghold was in full swing, a vigorous vitality filling the air over the camp.

However, a report from the outermost outpost was poured over this fervent scene like icy water.

"My lord, Instructor Lin, something has happened!"

The team captain in charge of patrols turned pale, his voice trembling slightly, and hurried into the commander's tent.

"Wang Family Hollow… the entire village, everyone is gone!"

Everyone in the tent heard this and their expressions all tightened.

Wang Family Hollow is a small village on the edge of the Northward Aspiration Army's controlled area, with about forty or fifty households, usually rather secluded but always law-abiding.

After the Northward Aspiration Army rose, it had sent people to pacify them, encountering no resistance, and even purchased their surplus grain and mountain products at fair prices.

How could such a village suddenly become empty of people?

"Speak slowly, what happened?"

Lin Chong asked in a low voice, gesturing for the team captain to calm down.

The team captain took a breath, striving to compose himself.

"According to the rotation protocol, I led men this morning to patrol toward Wang Family Hollow and, along the way, replace the hidden sentry there."

"As we neared the village entrance, I felt something was off—it was too quiet, not even a dog's bark or a rooster's crow."

"I led men into the village to investigate and discovered… discovered that every household's doors were left ajar, the stoves inside were cold, and the tables still held uneaten food, with some bowls and chopsticks fallen to the ground."

"There was not a single person in the village, and all the livestock and poultry were gone as well."

"It was as if… as if everyone had been eating or working when something suddenly snatched them away out of nowhere!"

"We searched the village thoroughly—no signs of fighting, no bloodstains, nothing at all, except… except this."

The team captain said this, producing from his bosom an object carefully wrapped in oilcloth.

Opening the oilcloth revealed a small, inconspicuous piece of soil, dark in color, almost black.

It faintly emitted an extremely weak aura that instinctively provoked a sense of repulsion and chill.

Chen Wen's gaze instantly locked onto that piece of soil.

Without touching it, his powerful 'Shi Yong' clearly sensed it.

Upon it lingered a strand of familiar, hateful energy residue—dark energy!

Moreover, it was not the kind of dark energy usually carried by the Iron Crow Army's dark shade, which bears erosive and chaotic traits.

This was a purer, more condensed trace of dark energy, seemingly focused on 'extraction' and 'annihilation'.

"It is the Iron Crow Army's doing."

Chen Wen's voice was low and certain.

He took the piece of soil, and the chill from his fingertips grew stronger.

The vitality it contained had been completely drained, leaving only lifeless stillness.

"But their purpose this time seems different from before."

"Not to cause panic, nor to launch a direct attack… rather, it seems they are conducting some kind of… 'harvest'."

"Harvest?"

Chao Gai's eyes widened, his face full of incomprehension.

"Harvest what? Grain? Why would they steal grain? Or livestock?"

Wu Yong's hand, which had been waving a fan, stopped, his expression grave.

"I fear what they are harvesting is not an ordinary thing."

"My lord, do you still remember when we encountered those shamans and demonfolk? They seemed also to be trying to gather some kind of energy, only we interrupted them."

They also seemed to be trying to collect some kind of energy, but we interrupted them.

Chen Wen nodded, his eyes sharp.

"That's right."

"That time was a tentative gathering targeting the mental strength of living warriors."

"And this time…"

He hefted the piece of soil that had lost its vitality.

"The scope is broader, the target more… fundamental."

"They seem to be attempting, on a large scale, to draw out the most primal vitality, or rather… soul energy."

The tent fell into a deathly silence.

"Drawing out soul energy?"

This sounds more terrifying than any weapons combined.

An entire village's people—men, women, old and young, together with their livestock—were just silently 'harvested' like that?

"These damned bastard dogs!"

Chao Gai slammed his fist onto the table, his eyes blood-red.

"I'll fight them to the death!"

Lin Chong restrained the excited Chao Gai and looked toward Chen Wen.

"My lord, if this is indeed the case, this is no trivial matter."

"We must immediately ascertain the Iron Crow Army's purpose in doing this, and whether they will strike other villages as well."

"We must find out."

Chen Wen stood up and put away that piece of soil.

"And we must be swift."

He felt a strong sense of crisis.

The Iron Crow Army changed its strategy, adopting this more concealed, more vicious method; what they are plotting behind it must be enormous.

It is likely related to the Iron Crow Army's master regaining strength, or carrying out some dangerous ritual.

"Instructor Lin, you hold the main stronghold, tighten defenses, especially protect the other villages within the control zone, send out more patrol teams, and report any abnormality immediately."

"Mr. Wu, please immediately compile all topographical and population data concerning Wang Family Hollow and the surrounding areas."

"Chao Tianwang, gather fifty of the most elite brothers wearing Soul-Calming Bells, and follow me to Wang Family Hollow at once!"

"I want to go see for myself what clues this sneaky bunch has left behind!"

The orders were issued swiftly.

Within a quarter hour, a capable small team had assembled.

Chen Wen changed into a tight-fitting outfit conducive to movement, slung a long sword over his back, and his calm gaze held a cold severity.

Chao Ding was fully armed, holding a plain saber, his eyes burning with flames of anger.

The squad departed from Black Cloud Stronghold, spurring their horses straight for Wang Family Hollow.

The closer they got to that direction, the clearer Chen Wen's sense became.

Through Shi Yong, he could 'see' that area ahead.

The faint but vibrant Fortune Momentum light spots that should have belonged to the village gathering place had completely extinguished and dissipated.

In their place was a dark energy contamination zone, spreading slowly like ink stains, filled with dead silence and emptiness.

When he finally stood at the entrance of Wang Family Hollow, the sight before him confirmed his perception.

Under the sunlight, the village was eerily silent.

The houses remained, the fields still existed, but all signs of life had vanished.

No cooking smoke, no children playing, no sound of chickens or dogs.

Only the wind blowing through the empty houses and streets produced a wailing sound, adding an eerie quality.

Chen Wen drew a deep breath and stepped into this land of deathly silence.

He sought to trace the source of that dark energy and unveil the opening act of the Iron Crow Army's new scheme.

The vanished village was like a silent alarm, and as the Northward Aspiration Army advanced triumphantly, it sounded the prelude to crisis.