132: Chapter 132 Black Stone Powder

He pulled a purple jade glazed fruit from his bosom.

The Platinum Grade spirit fruit emitted a warm, soft glow in his palm. He stuffed the fruit into the horse's mouth, pressed his palm against its neck, and patted it gently.

"Horse, horse, a little faster."

The voice was very soft, as if talking to himself.

"Faster."

The horse swallowed the spirit fruit, snorted, and its four hooves exerted force suddenly, its speed jumping up a notch.

The wind poured into Zhou Yun's collar, making his robes flap loudly.

Ten thousand people followed silently behind him. No one spoke; only the sound of armor plates clashing and footsteps intertwined, rolling across the wilderness like low thunder.

The sky was growing darker.

It wasn't because it was late; it was because the clouds were pressing down. Gray, thick clouds sealed the sky tightly, not even allowing moonlight to filter through.

The wind grew more fierce, carrying sand and dust that stung when it hit the face.

A group of Demonic Beasts appeared ahead.

A dozen Black Iron Rank demonic wolves crouched in the middle of the road, their greenish eyes lined up in the darkness.

Zhou Yun did not slow down.

The horse charged straight through them.

The demonic wolves didn't have time to react before they were crushed by the horse and the ten thousand people following closely behind. Even their screams were crushed into the sound of footsteps.

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After traveling a bit further, a larger group appeared ahead.

Over a hundred Demonic Beasts occupied a low-lying area. Seeing the army approaching, they simultaneously raised the bone spurs on their backs.

Zhou Yun patted the horse's neck.

The horse did not turn.

The iron torrent of ten thousand people crashed straight into the herd, like a knife cutting into mud.

The sound of breaking bone spurs, the howling of beasts, and the clashing of armor all mixed together, then were left behind, further and further away.

The third time, there were thousands of them.

A pitch-black mass blocked the valley entrance ahead, dense and packed with miscellaneous beasts below Bronze Rank.

The number was enough to make any small city's army choose to take a detour.

Lei Lie looked at Zhou Yun subconsciously.

Zhou Yun's gaze pierced through the herd, through the valley, through the gray skyline in the distance, and landed on some invisible place.

He did not slow down.

The herd was knocked open, and then the gap grew larger and larger. Ten thousand people, like an iron nail, forcibly nailed through the entire tide of beasts.

No one stopped.

No one said a word.

I don't know how long it had been.

One hour.

Two hours.

Five hours.

The sky grew dark, then brightened a little, then darkened again. The clouds were always pressing down, making it impossible to tell if it was day or night.

Seven hours.

On the distant skyline, the outline of a city finally appeared.

City walls.

Arrow towers.

Flags.

Qing City.

Zhou Yun straightened his body, squinting his eyes as he looked at the city walls.

Flags flapped in the wind.

But under the flags, not a single person could be seen.

He slowly tightened the reins, the horse's speed gradually decreasing. The sound of hooves changed from a gallop to a trot, from a trot to a slow walk, and finally stopped a hundred paces outside the gates of Qing City.

He raised his hand.

The ten thousand people behind him stopped simultaneously.

The moment they stopped abruptly, many soldiers' legs began to tremble.

Seven hours of full-speed running; even with the support of formation master skills, even with the physique of a Professional, when you reach the limit, you reach the limit.

Some had pale lips, some knelt on one knee to catch their breath, and some had to lean on their companions' shoulders to keep from collapsing.

Zhou Yun dismounted.

When his left foot touched the ground, his legs went weak.

He pitched forward, his knees an inch away from hitting the ground.

Lei Lie was quick-witted and caught his arm.

Zhou Yun's weight pressed onto his arm, frighteningly light—Lei Lie only truly felt at this moment what seven hours of urging a horse to gallop meant for an ordinary person without Qi or the physique of a Professional.

"City Lord, what exactly..."

Lei Lie's voice was very low, trembling.

Zhou Yun did not answer him.

He looked up at the flags flapping on the city walls.

The wind pulled the flags taut, making a snapping sound.

Other than that, there was no sound at all.

"Do you... hear anything?"

Zhou Yun's throat was hoarse.

Having not drunk a drop of water for seven hours, the voice that came out sounded like sandpaper grinding on stone.

Lei Lie was stunned.

He tilted his head to listen for a few moments.

The sound of the wind.

The sound of the flags.

And then, nothing.

No sound of patrol footsteps, no sound of guard-changing orders, no hustle and bustle of a market, no crying of children, no dog barking, no rooster crowing—none of the sounds a living city should have.

Nothing at all.

Lei Lie's pupils slowly dilated.

"The city gate." Zhou Yun straightened his body and pushed away Lei Lie's supporting hand.

His legs were still shaking, but he stood firm.

"Break it open."

...

The city gate was barred from the inside.

The iron bolt was thick, but it couldn't stop dozens of Professionals exerting force at the same time.

With a boom, the city gate collapsed inward, raising a cloud of dust.

After the dust settled, the scene behind the gate was frozen in front of everyone like a painting.

The streets were littered with people lying in all directions.

Some had fallen at doorways, their hands still clawing at the door frames, their nails split, leaving bloody scratches on the wood.

Some had fallen in the middle of the road, with overturned buckets and broken bowls under them, the water stains not yet dry. Some were curled up in corners, hands covering their throats, the expressions on their faces frozen between pain and confusion.

One person was still alive.

Just ten paces inside the city gate, a middle-aged man lay on his side on the ground, one hand reaching toward the direction of the city gate, black blood continuously surging from the corners of his mouth.

His eyes were open, and his pupils moved slightly the moment Zhou Yun appeared.

His mouth opened, closed, then opened again.

No sound. Not a single word.

He was looking at Zhou Yun.

His outstretched hand trembled, his fingers curling, seemingly wanting to grasp something. Then, that hand slowly dropped, falling to the ground and kicking up a small cloud of dust.

Still.

Lei Lie, who was supporting Zhou Yun, felt a sudden weight on his arm.

He tightened his arm to support him, looked down—Zhou Yun's shoulders had slumped, and his entire weight was pressing onto his arm.

"City Lord!"

Lei Lie's voice was shaking.

Zhou Yun reached out his hand.

That hand was shaking violently, his fingers trembling, but the direction was clear—pointing at the people inside the city gate who didn't know if they still had breath.

"Quickly... save them..."

He didn't need to say more.

Strategist Zhu Ge's voice had already come from behind, steady, without a trace of fluctuation: "Priests first, the whole army enter the city to search and rescue, check every street and every household, do not miss any."

Soldiers flooded into the city gate.

The sound of footsteps spread out, pouring into every street and alley of Qing City.

Priests knelt beside the fallen people, pressing their hands on them, healing light brightening and extinguishing, brightening and extinguishing.

But the result came quickly.

Too quickly.

It was black stone powder.

Everyone had been poisoned by this colorless, odorless chronic poison.

At this moment, it had completely taken effect; no one could save them.

The healing spells of the Priests could cure wounds and drive away diseases, but they could not resolve the black stone powder that had already seeped into the internal organs.

A soldier ran back, knelt on one knee, his lips trembling several times before he squeezed out a voice: "Reporting... the whole city... not a single survivor."