Calamity Messenger

Chapter 386 - 317: In Pursuit

"It’s raining again."

The lookout tower at the Demon Gathering Camp, the sentinel tugged at the raincoat wrapped around him and looked up at the sky filled with dark clouds, lightning occasionally piercing through them, thunder roaring like ancient beasts. The world was overshadowed by the rain curtain... the camp seemed like a lonely boat in the sea.

"We clearly had golden clouds yesterday, how can there be such heavy rain?" The person next to him felt strange as well. Golden clouds, which are golden sunsets, usually indicate a sunny day following them. Anyone with some knowledge of weather phenomena would find today’s weather rather peculiar.

The old sentinel on the lookout tower took a puff from his pipe, exhaling a gray wreath of smoke, and said leisurely, "The aura is ominous, heaven and earth are in turmoil, surely there is a grand army passing through."

"Ominous aura?"

"Any messenger is bound to be brimming with ominous aura," the old sentinel tapped his pipe. "Think about it, don’t messengers go into secret realms to slay monsters and demons? The more formidable the messenger, the more monsters they kill. But what grudge do monsters and messengers bear? Monsters peacefully stay within their secret realms, not venturing out to harm humans, nor fighting for lands, yet messengers intrude upon their homes, slaughter them wantonly—slaying them once is not enough, doing it countless times. You tell me, how can the monsters not be resentful?"

"Messengers’ Qi Blood is strong, rendering them impervious to monster resentment. However, over time, this entanglement turns into ominous aura. Some people who have been stared down by a messenger die instantly because their soul was snuffed out by a rush of ominous aura."

"When messengers gather to march, it’s a massive surge of ominous aura charging fiercely, disrupting the weather, naturally bringing thunder, lightning, and upheavail. This is merely a minor spectacle; ten years ago, when I followed the lord southward to battle the Liang people, oh boy, the scene was terrifying—even before the fighting began, the earth was overturning, the Si River was severed, more people on the ground than raindrops overhead, thunder more numerous than flags. Surviving was what made one a true battle-hardened warrior..."

The old sentinel bragged again about his experiences following the great army southward ten years ago, yet everyone listened with relish, idle on a rainy day, imagining themselves commanding thousands on the battlefield.

As the old sentinel described the cavalry charge, everyone seemed to feel the tremor approaching, hundreds of ironclad riders trampling the earth. Before the torrent that could crush everything, mere mortals could only choose between wailing or screaming...

"Something’s wrong!" The sentinel suddenly turned, looking far away, "There’s cavalry approaching!"

The alert bell quickly spread across the camp; Northern Messengers immediately flooded onto the camp’s walls, some in panic, some lost, some commanding to calm the people, others secretly climbing over the camp walls to flee directly. No one knew who these cavalry were or their purpose, which made them wary... the unknown is the greatest fear.

Suddenly, a shadow darted and broke through the rain curtain. Enveloped in her cloak with the rain obscuring her, people in the camp could not recognize her, only seeing her swiftly leaping across the Demon Gathering Camp, each light tap on the ground covered dozens of steps like a nimble fox in the forest.

Quickly, no one paid attention to the shadow’s movements because... the cavalry were here!

A burly general with a tiger-backed bear-waist and a long beard stood on the wall, shouting towards the rain curtain, "I am Yang Feng, the Commander of Refusing North Military Town. This place is the Demon Gathering Camp, may I ask where this army is from, what intention...?"

Of all the powerful families in the Demon Gathering Camp, Yang Feng had the highest status and strongest power, plus he was part of the military town system, so naturally he took charge of the negotiations. He assumed the cavalry would stop outside the camp to communicate; after all, regardless of their purpose, this cavalry need not offend the Northern territory’s many powerful families.

Therefore, when the cavalry relentlessly charged through the rain curtain, directly crashing into the camp walls, everyone’s faces turned pale. Not only because of the cavalry’s unchecked arrogance but also because they recognized the origins of this cavalry—

"Baibao Guards!!!"

Yang Feng slumped to the ground, the dignified Third-Turn Commander, at this moment found his legs too weak even to run, "We’re doomed... doomed now..."

BOOM!!!

The wooden fence that could stop beasts was like paper before these fully armored iron riders. The nobles and beauties singing and drinking were trampled by warhorses, tents as luxurious as palaces pierced and ripped by spears, precious goods scattered all around, yet in an instant, this camp sanctuary turned into a mortal hell.

Some struggled to escape, but most fell to their knees in despair.

Ten years of prestige, ten years of slaughter, ten years of dominion had already engraved compliance into the hearts of all living people in the Northern territory. Compared to rebellion, death seemed tender.

Crack, crack, crack. The swift rotation of the chariot wheels on the mountainous terrain sounded so crisp, yet so terrifying. Even those slightly timid fainted instantly or died upon hearing it, as if the wheels ground upon their hearts.

Eight majestic white-maned steeds emerged from the rain curtain, a gigantic chariot engraved with sun, moon, and stars rolled into the Demon Gathering Camp, and standing atop the chariot was a beauty clad in red. The soaked red dress outlined enticing curves that stirred one’s blood, rounded and straight legs faintly visible beneath the crimson skirt. A veil thin as cicada’s wings masked her face, making it more intoxicating than seeing.

She wore a stunning red dress as if becoming the sole color in the world, and under her unparalleled splendor, everyone else seemed but gray dust.

Emperor of Qi, Ying Le.

"Who is the person in charge of the Demon Gathering Camp?" It was quite a while before she softly asked the question, as if she had just been daydreaming, her tone appearing somewhat languid.

Everyone looked at Yang Feng, who was collapsed on the ground. Despite being the Third-Turn Messenger, Yang Feng at least had the strength to crawl to the chariot and kowtow: "I, Yang Feng, await Your Majesty’s command."

"Have you seen the Prince of Lanling?" Ying Le asked.

Prince of Lanling? Ying Rushi? Since Yang Feng had come to the Demon Gathering Camp quite some time ago and was not in close contact with the outside world, he had naturally not heard of Ying Rushi’s betrayal. He shook his head blankly: "Haven’t seen him."

Splat.

Suddenly, Ying Le jumped off the chariot, plunging two fingers into Yang Feng’s eye sockets, instantly shattering his defense barrier. Yang Feng let out a miserable scream, but Ying Le raised her index finger to her lips, "Don’t make noise, don’t move, I’m asking if your eyes have seen him. Commander Yang, it’s not that I don’t trust you, but I believe your eyes’ answer more. After all, forgetfulness is common among distinguished people, maybe you forgot."

Yang Feng could clearly feel the two fingers digging around in his eye sockets, the sharp pain causing a strong urge to vomit, wanting to cough up his heart, liver, gallbladder, and lungs. Every pore on his body was screaming to escape, but he forced himself to stay still, allowing Ying Le to ’interrogate’ his eyes.

When Ying Le withdrew her fingers, Yang Feng was like a dog whose spine had been removed, unable to even kneel, lying directly on the ground.

"Your eyes told me," Ying Le rubbed his fingers together to rearrange the condensation, and said calmly: "You just saw the Prince of Lanling."

In a flash, Yang Feng understood something, and said tremblingly: "Yes, yes, I saw... She didn’t enter the camp, but bypassed it to run to a deeper place."

"Why didn’t you stop her?" Ying Le squatted down, legs together, heels raised, right hand supporting her chin, brows lightly furrowed, showing a pitiful pose: "Now she has entered the Demon Gathering Land, do you know how much trouble this will cause me?"

Feeling Ying Le’s right hand pressing on his head, Yang Feng cried, the rugged general with a beard crying bitterly, heartbroken, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please, please spare, spare my family..."

However, what descended upon Yang Feng was not pain or death, but a soothing warmth. Yang Feng felt that his left eye did not hurt anymore, and even the fear in his heart had vanished. He looked up at Ying Le, his expression doubtful and uncertain: "Your Majesty?"

"Look at you, why panic? You didn’t do anything wrong, the Prince of Lanling ran so fast, it’s normal you couldn’t stop him." Ying Le laughed.

Yang Feng choked and kowtowed heavily, the joy of a newfound life filled him with gratitude: "Thank Your Majesty for understanding!"

Ying Le turned to look at the ruins in the mist: "Demon Gathering Land... I can’t enter, it’s a bit troublesome..."

Yang Feng immediately looked up and offered to help: "Your Majesty, I will personally lead troops in, and surely bring back the Prince of Lanling’s head!"

"Hey, she is my only niece, my favorite junior member, the pillar of the next generation of the Ying Family. What are you thinking?" Ying Le sighed: "Additionally, you may not even defeat her."

At this moment, several figures appeared at the entrance to the ruins, and as soon as someone came out, they shouted loudly: "Something major has happened in the Demon Gathering Land... What’s going on?"

Quickly, Ying Le didn’t need to do anything, just by walking up to them, these First-Turn Messengers revealed everything they knew at the fastest speed, fearing that one second of delay could mean the difference between life and death.

"Foundation Establishment Pill...? Bandaged person...? Bandage...?"

Ying Le subconsciously bit her nails, corners of her mouth slightly upturned, showing a mysterious smile:

"My niece discreetly meeting someone, as the elder it’s only natural to send someone to check, right?"

She reached out and held Yang Feng’s head: "Commander Yang, I remember you seem to have a relic that can change terrain?"