Chapter 79: A Cock’s Crow

"Is Master Wang unharmed?"

Even as Wang Zhenling was deep in thought, Chen Wu had already returned with a squad of men, saying, "I had only just charged out when I encountered the reinforcements sent by the Commandant..."

Wang Zhenling took a deep breath and smiled, "My thanks to the Commandant, and to all the brothers who came to assist. I am deeply grateful!"

The men all replied that they dared not accept such thanks.

At this moment, Wang Zhenling began to tally the losses among the local militia. In such a short span of time, over thirty men had been killed. This represented nearly a tenth of their force. For a group of militia hastily assembled like this, such a casualty rate was enough to cause morale to plummet, necessitating a long period of recuperation.

For most armies in the classical era, it was common for a force to collapse once casualties exceeded ten percent. Only elite troops could endure twenty or thirty percent losses. Those capable of sustaining losses of over half were the legendary, formidable armies that left their mark on history. The visceral, face-to-face brutality of cold steel was far more shocking to a soldier than modern weaponry.

In any case, with such heavy losses, Wang Zhenling’s unit—which had originally vied to serve as the vanguard—had no choice but to withdraw, recuperate, and move behind the main army. Fortunately, the Dacheng Dynasty placed the highest importance on military merit, offering generous rewards and substantial compensation for casualties. In the past, there might have been fear of superiors embezzling these funds, but with Chen Bushi present, that was not an issue. Thus, once Wang Zhenling returned to announce the rewards and allowed for a few days of rest, the morale of the Guangyang militia was quickly restored. Of course, that is a story for another time.

As for the current situation, not long after Wang Zhenling was relieved, Chen Bushi had led the Danling County troops to catch up. By now, twilight was falling, and the county troops set up camp nearby. It was then that Wang Zhenling saw the long-absent Mr. Yu, who was accompanied by several individuals who appeared to be Qi practitioners.

"Mr. Yu had gone ahead to make preparations for dealing with the Wuji Mountains..."

This was what Chen Wu had told Wang Zhenling in private. It left Wang Zhenling with a sudden realization, finally understanding what Mr. Yu had been doing during his long disappearance. Mr. Yu had seemingly vanished after the eradication of the Wuhua Society; he had not been by Chen Bushi’s side even before the Wugu cultivators attempted to assassinate the County Magistrate and Wang Zhenling. This further proved that Chen Bushi had long kept his sights on the Wuji Mountains. Perhaps his very reason for taking the post of County Commandant in Danling was the Wuji Mountains themselves. One could only wonder what exactly within those mountains he was targeting.

Upon seeing Wang Zhenling, Chen Bushi did not blame him for the loss of men, but instead offered him words of comfort. After all, it was not a failure of strategy; who could have foreseen such a dramatic turn of events within the Wuji Mountains? Wang Zhenling had charged to the front with good intentions; if he were to be blamed, no one beneath him would be willing to exert themselves in the future.

"Commandant, twilight is upon us. How shall we proceed?"

Chen Bushi offered a cold smile and said, "We march on the city tonight and take Xiaji County! Rest assured, now that Mr. Yu has returned, we need not fear any tricks those Wugu cultivators might pull."

When this was said, Mr. Feng’s expression was naturally unpleasant, though at that moment, no one cared for his mood.

Though they spoke of attacking Xiaji County overnight, it could hardly be called an assault. The entire county had been enveloped in a dense, deathly aura. Scouts reported that all the inhabitants within the city had perished, and the streets were filled with corpses. There was no sign of any other movement. Yet, everyone knew that the oppressive, pervasive aura of death clearly signaled a trap; under normal circumstances, such a concentrated miasma could not have gathered. Wang Zhenling had realized something was wrong the moment he witnessed this.

However, Chen Bushi had already decided on a direct assault. Looking at the smiling Mr. Yu, it was clear he was fully confident. The army advanced, reaching the base of the Xiaji city walls. Upon seeing the city filled with corpses, the three thousand county troops were in an uproar. Once the officers spread word of how vicious the cultivators of the Wuji Mountains were, having slaughtered the entire population, the men were gripped by a sense of shared grief and righteous indignation. Though Xiaji County was not large, it had held over two thousand people. That the Wugu cultivators had slaughtered them all was madness in its most extreme form.

*I doubt the ordinary Qi practitioners of this world are capable of such acts. Only the transmigrators of the Wugu Valley could be so ruthless,* Wang Zhenling mused to himself.

The Danling troops, who had initially harbored complaints about marching overnight to assault the city, now found their grievances vanished. Filled with fury, they were determined to hunt down the perpetrators and tear them to pieces.

Just then, a muffled sound erupted from the city center, near the City God Shrine, as if some gas had suddenly expanded. A black mist surged forth, sweeping across the entire city.

"It reeks! What is that smell..." The besieging troops shouted, covering their noses and mouths.

"This is bad! It’s corpse miasma!" Wang Zhenling caught a whiff of the scent, which resembled rotting rats, and his expression changed drastically as he shouted inwardly.

It was not only Wang Zhenling who recognized it; Mr. Yu and his companions clearly did as well. Yet, they did not seem surprised, instead immediately making preparations. Beneath the shroud of corpse miasma, the corpses throughout the city began to wobble and stand up.

"These people have come back to life..."
"No, it looks like they've turned into zombies!"

The county troops cried out, their voices trembling. Indeed, the corpses had all transformed into walking dead; they stood stiffly, swaying as they lurched toward the living outside the city walls.

"I expected those cultivators would use this trick. I request the Sun God Mirror!" Mr. Yu sneered.

Mr. Feng stepped forward, holding the Sun God Mirror. A drop of fresh blood fell upon it, and suddenly, a rooster appeared, head held high, letting out a crow!

With that single crow, the world turned bright! Suddenly, the Sun God Mirror emitted a scorching, brilliant radiance, as if it were the sun itself. Within that light, a vibrant, dancing phoenix-like rooster seemed to manifest, casting beams of liquid, crimson fire that shone like volcanic rays. Wherever the light fell, wails of agony followed. Countless moving corpses screamed as plumes of blue smoke steamed from their bodies, only for them to collapse, limp and rotting once more.

Within Xiaji County, the one or two thousand inhabitants who had been turned into zombies were reduced to mere bones, appearing as though they had been decaying for months, stripped to the marrow.

"What a formidable Sun God Mirror!" This was not the first time Wang Zhenling had seen the mirror, yet he could not help but marvel at the power of such an artifact.