142: The indestructible cockroach

"It's from the direction of Yan Province!"

A scout pointed southwest and cried out in alarm.

Everyone looked in that direction, only to see rolling black Qi surging like a tide from the borders of Yan Province. Wherever it passed, vegetation withered, and birds and beasts turned to bone.

Even more terrifying, the common people touched by the black Qi instantly transformed into bloodthirsty monsters.

"Your Majesty!"

Wang Guanli, ignoring his unhealed injuries, stumbled to Li Shun's side. "This black Qi... it's extremely similar to the 'Corpse Plague' recorded in ancient texts!"

At this moment, Li Shun held an Amulet in his hand. Seeing this, the surrounding crowd instinctively gravitated towards Li Shun.

There was no other choice; everyone feared death.

For Wang Guanli, a civil official, to squeeze in was truly difficult.

Seeing this situation, Li Shun immediately gave an order.

"Pass down the command! All common people, gather around me!"

Saying this, he raised the Amulet high, and a golden light suddenly flared, forming a protective barrier a hundred zhang in radius.

Seeing this, Shen Jianhong also immediately took out an Amulet and held it high in front of him.

The panicked crowd surged towards the two like a tide.

But just then, an ear-piercing shriek suddenly came from within the black Qi, and a giant black shadow, about ten feet tall, burst forth through the mist!

"It's a Ghoulish King!"

Wang Guanli's face was pale. "Ancient texts record that when a Ghoulish King appears, it must be led by a Corpse King..."

"What should we do?"

The Ghoulish King seemed to have died recently, still retaining a human form, its decaying body crawling with maggots.

It smashed a fist towards the protective barrier, and the golden light immediately vibrated violently!

Fortunately, the protective barrier held steady amidst everyone's exclamations.

"Protect Your Majesty!"

The Imperial Guard Commander led his men forward, but the Corpse King casually waved its hand, and more than a dozen elite soldiers were instantly torn to shreds.

"I'll do it!"

Li Shun leaped up, striking out with a sword. The golden sword light collided with the Corpse King's sharp claws, erupting in a deafening roar.

The Qi wave knocked back dozens of surrounding soldiers, and even the black Qi was temporarily dispersed.

The Ghoulish King let out a cry of pain. One of its arms was severed by the golden sword, and black smoke billowed from the wound.

It worked!

But not by much.

The one-armed Ghoulish King still possessed combat power, but Li Shun's face instantly paled a few shades, and his body swayed slightly.

His sword-wielding hand trembled slightly—this golden sword light was formed from the Qi of Great Yan's national destiny. Each use consumed a portion of the national destiny!

Now that Great Yan was in decline, he couldn't use such a Move many times!

"Your Majesty!"

Li Dequan, seeing Li Shun's poor condition, rushed forward to support him.

Li Shun gritted his teeth, steadied himself, and immediately gave an order.

"Retreat! Withdraw in the direction of Qing Province."

***

These black mists drifted with the wind. This was the edge of the black mist, so even if there were some Ghoulish Kings, their strength shouldn't be too great.

As long as they bypassed the black mist and successfully reached Qing Province, everything would be resolved.

Li Shun's thinking was still clear.

Although he didn't have much experience fighting demons, his vision was good, and he made the correct choice at the first moment.

Everyone kept their eyes on the protective barrier, fighting and retreating, retreating and fighting.

Although the severed-arm Ghoulish King was still fierce, it seemed to be wary of Li Shun's golden sword light and dared not rush forward. It merely roared from a distance, directing the monsters recently corrupted by the black Qi to continuously assault the protective barrier.

"Your Majesty, the black mist is spreading southeast!"

Shen Jianhong reported in a deep voice, while maintaining the golden light of the Amulet.

Li Shun looked up and, sure enough, the rolling black mist writhed like a living thing, slowly but steadily spreading in the direction of their retreat.

"We can't retreat in a straight line anymore."

Li Shun gritted his teeth. "Change course, go around!"

Wang Guanli, enduring his back injury, spread out a map: "Your Majesty, if we change course, we'll have to cross Qinglan Mountain. The mountain path is rugged, I'm afraid..."

"It's better than being swallowed by the black mist!"

Li Shun decisively ordered, "The entire army changes course and enters Qinglan Mountain!"

The team immediately turned, rushing along the small path at the foot of the mountain.

Fortunately, along the way, they did not encounter any more powerful Ghoulish Kings.

Perhaps the black mist's range was limited, or perhaps that Ghoulish King had another mission. In any case, though everyone was exhausted, they had at least temporarily escaped the most deadly threat.

However, no one dared to be complacent. As long as they hadn't reached Qing Province, the danger had not truly passed.

When they climbed to a high point on the mountainside of Qinglan Mountain, Li Shun looked back down at the foot of the mountain.

The sky over Yan Province had been completely swallowed by darkness.

These monsters came from Yan Province. What exactly had Yan Province experienced?

After hearing the tea stall owner's description in Qing Province last time, Li Shun had later sent people to investigate Yan Province. However, the dispatched personnel never returned, likely meeting a tragic end.

Yan Province, Qing Province, and Xu Province are all adjacent. Now that such a terrifying thing has emerged from Yan Province and is spreading to the surrounding areas, what about Xu Province?

I wonder if Lord Chuping has a way to resolve this...***

Lin Chuping, whom Li Shun was thinking of, had just finished fighting Ghoulish King mini-boss #2 and was lying like a dead dog in the Prefecture City's temple.

These past few days, Lin Chuping had been like an unkillable cockroach. With the help of the System, his dog-headed advisor, he finally figured out the situation in Yan Province.

There were a total of three Ghoulish King mini-bosses like the one from last time within Yan Province.

Lin Chuping was too lazy to name them distinctly, so he just used #1, #2, and #3 to differentiate them.

If Lin Chuping was an unkillable cockroach, then these three mini-bosses were like persistent hyenas.

Every time Lin Chuping got within about 50 kilometers of the target volcano, he would always encounter a mini-boss.

Damn it!