50: Accept the mission and guard Qingzhou City!
When Song Ming opened his eyes, he found himself in a dark, enclosed room.
The air was filled with a damp, musty smell, and he could even faintly detect a hint of blood.
Song Ming looked around but didn't see the two Senior Brothers.
"Is it random teleportation again? Or are they in the same place as me, just in different specific locations?"
He didn't dwell on it too much.
He stepped forward and opened the door.
The afternoon sun streamed into the room.
Immediately, a strong smell of blood assailed him, mixed with a pungent animal odor.
Song Ming frowned and looked out into the courtyard.
He saw a dog Yao Beast, larger than an adult, standing in the courtyard, clutching the internal organs of some animal.
Several dismembered limbs were scattered at its feet.
The dog Yao Beast's ears twitched at the sound behind it.
It then turned its head to look at the door behind it, a human-like expression of surprise on its face.
"Hey, little guy from the Demon Slayer Division, your dog grandpa just finished eating a human, and I'm not hungry right now, so scram! Otherwise, I don't mind eating one more!"
The dog Yao Beast finished speaking and didn't even glance at Song Ming.
It casually gulped down the internal organs in its hand, then wiped the blood from the corners of its mouth.
Now it was Song Ming's turn to be surprised.
"You're a Yao Beast, and I'm from the Demon Slayer Division. Aren't you afraid of me?"
The dog Yao Beast sneered, "Just a bunch of useless trash, what's there to be afraid of!"
Song Ming narrowed his eyes.
It seemed this Da Qian Dynasty was truly on its last legs.
Even a dog Yao Beast could openly eat people within the city and show no regard for the Demon Slayer Division.
The dog Yao Beast licked its paws and eyed Song Ming askance.
"Hehe, you look so tender and fair-skinned, like a Young Master from a prominent Family. I bet you'd taste delicious!"
"How about this, let me have one bite, just one bite, and I'll let you go, what do you say?"
Seeing the dog Yao Beast's drool almost dripping, Song Ming's disgust reached its peak.
With a casual flick of his hand, he cast a Sealing Aura.
The dog Yao Beast was instantly frozen in place, unable to move, and was crushed into dust almost immediately.
[Killed Level 9 Dog Yao Beast, gained +150 experience points]
Song Ming walked through the courtyard and opened the outermost gate.
He stepped onto the long street in the city.
The streets were sparsely populated.
Most of the shops on both sides of the road were closed, with only a few half-open.
The passersby either looked worried or, more often, completely numb.
The entire prefecture city subtly revealed a sense of decay.
Song Ming glanced at the Demon Slayer Division token in his hand, preparing to look for any missions here next.
Just then, a familiar voice came from the crowd.
"Song Ming, so you're here!"
Upon seeing Song Ming, Meng Li immediately waved to him.
Song Ming turned to look in the direction of the voice and saw Meng Li and Zhang Xinhua jogging over.
"This place has a lot of Yao Beasts; you might encounter them if you're not careful. Did anything happen to you?"
Coming up to Song Ming, Zhang Xinhua asked with concern.
Song Ming shook his head.
"That's good. This is Qingzhou City, one of the thirteen prefectures of the Da Qian Dynasty. Next, let's go to the Demon Slayer Division in the city and see where the most Yao Beasts are!"
Zhang Xinhua said to the two of them.
Before long, the three of them arrived at the Qingzhou City Demon Slayer Division headquarters.
Before their eyes stood a towering five-story pagoda, surrounded by numerous lower branch halls and pavilions.
At this moment, many black-clad Demon Slayer Division constables were bustling in and out, appearing very busy.
Zhang Xinhua led the way inside.
Song Ming and Meng Li followed her in.
Soon after entering, a Demon Slayer Division Commandant, dressed in white with cloud patterns embroidered on his uniform, hurried downstairs to greet them.
As a large Secret Realm, Demon Suppression Pass, especially in the real world, was more likely to yield treasure chests and equipment.
Therefore, many students at Divine Xia Academy had taken on missions here.
To facilitate later students, they spontaneously established a faction in this Secret Realm called the Ten Thousand Treasures Sect.
The reason for this name was that the founder of this faction was the top scholar from the Ten Thousand Treasures Province of the Great Xia Country.
Over time, the Ten Thousand Treasures Sect gradually developed into a first-rate power within the Da Qian Dynasty.
Therefore, subsequent Professionals who entered would simply identify themselves as disciples of the Ten Thousand Treasures Sect.
So, upon seeing the disciples of the Ten Thousand Treasures Sect arrive, Commandant Wang Hu naturally dared not neglect them and stepped forward to bow, saying, "Esteemed disciples of the Ten Thousand Treasures Sect have arrived. This humble official apologizes for any lack of hospitality and asks for your understanding!"
Song Ming also returned the bow, imitating Zhang Xinhua and the others.
The experience was quite novel, like Transmigration into a historical drama.
"Commandant Wang, this is our Junior Brother who has completed his studies and is here for experience. Are there any places nearby where a large number of Yao Beasts are gathered, so my Junior Brother can practice?"
Zhang Xinhua immediately followed up.
Commandant Wang was overjoyed at her words.
Yao Beasts ran rampant within the Da Qian Dynasty, and their numbers were countless in the wild outside the city, causing headaches for the Demon Slayer Division officials.
Now, with the esteemed disciples of the Ten Thousand Treasures Sect offering their help to solve the surrounding Yao Beast problem, how could he not be happy?
Wang Hu quickly said, "Of course there are. Not to mention anything else, just the mountain range twenty li outside Qingzhou City has nearly a thousand Yao Beasts gathered there.
They are restless and could attack Qingzhou City at any time.
If you all lend a hand, our pressure would be significantly reduced, and at least the people of Qingzhou City could live a little longer!"
[A task has been offered to you. Do you accept?]
[Task Description: Protect Qingzhou City.]
[Task Requirement: Work with the Qingzhou City Demon Slayer Division to resist the invasion of Yao Beasts from the Howling Moon Mountains twenty li away and ensure Qingzhou City is not breached by Yao Beasts!]
After Commandant Wang finished speaking, a mission prompt immediately appeared before Song Ming's eyes.
It was the same for Meng Li and the others, and they gestured with their eyes for Song Ming to accept the mission as they did.
Seeing this, Song Ming didn't hesitate. With a thought, he chose to accept.
[You have accepted the mission]
[Mission: Protect Qingzhou City!]
[Rewards: Experience +40,000, random Level 20 green top-tier equipment]
After accepting the mission, Song Ming's relevant panel also appeared before him.
It truly lived up to its reputation as the real world.
Forty thousand experience points plus a piece of green equipment.
The rewards for any random mission were generous, and the earnings were significantly higher than clearing a typical Level 20 dungeon.
"I will arrange lodging for the three of you immediately. I have already dispatched scouts to investigate the Howling Moon Mountains outside the city. If there's any unusual activity, we will know immediately!"
Commandant Wang called someone over and instructed him to prepare lodging for Song Ming and the other two.
Meng Li and Zhang Xinhua exchanged glances and didn't object.
Demon slaying missions were not urgent, especially one involving guarding a city.
If they rashly went to the Howling Moon Mountains and encountered a Yao Beast King they couldn't handle, wouldn't they just die immediately? Let alone completing the mission.
Only Song Ming frowned slightly.
Since they already knew where the Yao Beasts were, wouldn't it be better to just go and kill them directly?
As for guarding Qingzhou City, once all the Yao Beasts in the Howling Moon Mountains were dead, wouldn't Qingzhou City naturally be saved?
However, before he could speak to change the plan, he heard a series of urgent and hurried footsteps from outside the hall.
A black-clad Demon Slayer Division scout stumbled in and said to Wang Hu, "Commandant, it's bad! Outside the city... a large number of Yao Beasts have suddenly appeared!"