Chapter 99 – Mutual Slaughter

Chapter 99 – Mutual Slaughter

By the time Cheng Yang and his group exited the Black Tortoise Island dungeon, it was nearly dark. They had spent too much time searching for the dungeon portal earlier.

However, Cheng Yang still needed to return to Phoenix Village that night. The main reason wasn’t the 10% cultivation speed boost the village provided, but rather because he had to clear the Nightmare difficulty of the Bloody Church dungeon tomorrow morning before heading to Xianghe Village to search for its dungeon portal.

Cheng Yang hadn’t told Liu Hao about the dungeon entrances before leaving. Without him present, finding the portal would be useless. Moreover, given Liu Hao’s reckless nature, he might just charge into the dungeon alone if he found it – that was exactly the kind of thing he would do.

After dinner at East Mountain Village, Cheng Yang and Liu Xiyue set off for Phoenix Village. Having traveled this path several times before, the thorny bushes had been cleared, allowing them to quickly enter the ruins of Xiangcheng City.

Cheng Yang led the way with Liu Xiyue following closely behind, less than two feet away. As night had fallen completely, the young woman couldn’t help but feel an innate fear of the dark environment. The apocalyptic ruins were littered with mutilated corpses, and the occasional mutated beast would leap out unexpectedly.

“Lord… do you think ghosts exist in this world?” Liu Xiyue’s soft voice suddenly broke the silence.

Cheng Yang, who had been concentrating on their surroundings, was startled by her question. He chuckled wryly, “Liu Xiyue, in a world like this, who cares about ghosts? Even if they exist, we’ll just have to kill them. Didn’t we just clear the Ghost Valley dungeon today? We saw skeleton soldiers – ghosts probably exist too. What’s the difference between them and spirits?”

Whether it was Cheng Yang’s reasoning or simply hearing his voice, Liu Xiyue’s fear seemed to lessen. “Thank you, Lord,” she said softly.

Cheng Yang was puzzled, “Why are you thanking me? It’s normal for girls to be afraid of ghosts. Don’t overthink it.”

Liu Xiyue nodded and continued following Cheng Yang. They encountered numerous battles along the way, but with Cheng Yang’s strong defense and ample supply of potions, they faced no real danger. Even large groups of mutated beasts fell before Cheng Yang’s solo attacks.

The frequent battles slowed their progress, and after about an hour, they had only covered half the distance through the ruins.

“Lord, look! What’s that ahead?” Liu Xiyue suddenly exclaimed.

Cheng Yang, who had been bored by the lack of enemies recently, immediately turned to look where she was pointing. In the distance to their left, flashes of light illuminated the darkness – the telltale signs of magic missiles being used in combat.

“Let’s check it out,” Cheng Yang whispered, leading Liu Xiyue forward cautiously.

Within a minute, they reached a broken wall that provided a clear view of the scene ahead. What had once been a plaza was now a battlefield where seventy to eighty people were engaged in fierce combat.

“They’re… humans?” Liu Xiyue was stunned. She hadn’t expected to see people killing each other in this apocalyptic world where humanity was already on the brink of extinction.

Cheng Yang wasn’t surprised. As he observed the situation, he explained in a low voice, “This is normal. After the earthquake, resources became scarce. Conflicts between people didn’t decrease because of the disaster – they became more intense. Take our territory for example. If I didn’t implement a food rationing system and let people search for food themselves, what do you think would happen when two groups found a large bag of flour? Would they peacefully divide it, or would the stronger group drive off or even kill the weaker one to take everything?”

Liu Xiyue hesitated. She wanted to say they would share, but couldn’t bring herself to voice it, knowing how unlikely that outcome would be.

“Don’t dwell on it,” Cheng Yang said. “Let’s focus on what’s happening here.”

The plaza was in complete chaos. Some combatants were throwing magic missiles, others firing arrows, while some swung iron swords wildly. A few summoners had called forth shadow wolves but were now running for their lives while their summons ran amok.

Cheng Yang mentally assessed their fighting style: *utter nonsense.*

The combatants’ classes were clearly divided, each with their own fighting methods. This chaotic melee completely negated their individual strengths. While they might have started with some formation, the intensity of battle had destroyed any semblance of order – a sure sign of impending defeat in any proper engagement.

However, since both sides were equally disorganized, neither could gain the upper hand. As they fought, they hurled insults and accusations at each other. From their shouts, Cheng Yang pieced together what was happening, and his expression darkened.

“Stay here and don’t come out,” Cheng Yang whispered to Liu Xiyue. Without waiting for her response, he stepped out from behind the broken wall.

“Stop!” Cheng Yang’s shout cut through the chaos.

Despite the ongoing battle, his voice reached everyone clearly. The combatants paused in surprise, quickly regrouping with their respective factions before turning to look at Cheng Yang.

A burly man with a large scar on his forehead was the first to react. “Where did this brat come from, daring to order us around?” he sneered.

Cheng Yang gave him a cold look. “Watch your mouth, or I’ll turn you into a corpse.”

The scarred man was about to retort when a young man in his twenties grabbed his arm, urgently whispering something while making meaningful glances at Cheng Yang.

Uncertain of Cheng Yang’s strength, the scarred man swallowed his anger for the moment, though he resolved to kill this meddler once he figured out his capabilities.

“Why did you stop us, kid?” the scarred man asked, his tone slightly less aggressive. “If you’ve got nothing important to say, you’d better leave. Some waters are too deep for you to wade in – you might drown.”

From the other side, a middle-aged man shouted, “You bastard! After all the evil you’ve done, aren’t you afraid of divine retribution? Young man, this person has lost all humanity. You should leave while you can.”

Though the middle-aged man would have liked Cheng Yang to stay – recognizing him as a combatant who could help in the fight – he didn’t want to drag an innocent person into their conflict. The strongest among them were only low-level apprentices, so one more person wouldn’t make a decisive difference anyway.

Cheng Yang’s impression of the middle-aged man improved. While such good-hearted people had low survival rates in the apocalypse, they were undoubtedly valuable. However, having such a person as a companion required careful consideration, as their kindness could sometimes endanger their allies.

“I heard most of your argument,” Cheng Yang said calmly, showing no signs of being intimidated. “Though some details are unclear. If you’re willing to explain, I might be interested. I’m not one to play the hero, but I don’t mind taking out the trash.”

The middle-aged man hesitated, but a woman in her thirties beside him couldn’t hold back. “Young man, you’re not alone, are you? No one travels these ruins alone at night. Go call your companions! We need to teach these scoundrels a lesson. They’ve captured many women and… they’re complete monsters!” Her voice trembled with rage.

The scarred man’s expression changed at her words. If what she said was true, they couldn’t let Cheng Yang leave. They were already struggling against their current opponents – additional reinforcements would tip the scales against them.

Forgetting Cheng Yang’s earlier warning, the scarred man sneered, “I told you to leave, but you insisted on staying. Now you’ll stay here forever! Brothers, let’s…”

Before he could finish, the young man who had stopped him earlier spoke up urgently, “Boss, we can’t kill him! I saw him in the main city a few days ago – Commander Yuan himself escorted him out. If Commander Yuan finds out…”

“What about Commander Yuan?” the scarred man growled, his eyes glinting dangerously. “If we’re careful and Yuan Jianze never finds out, what does it matter? He’s only a low-level apprentice like us.”

The young man opened his mouth to argue but couldn’t find the words. It was common knowledge that the strongest combatants in Xiangcheng City – indeed, in the entire world – were only low-level apprentices.

PS: Seeking collections and recommendations…