My Cultivation Techniques Upgrade Automatically

Chapter 79: Chapter 78: Foundation

Fenglin County, at the city gate.

Large groups of refugees from outside the city were led through the gates by the servants and guards of the wealthy local families.

Meanwhile, soldiers guarded the gate strictly, permitting no one to leave.

First, the soldiers had marched out, and now this. A sense of panic inevitably spread throughout the city.

"What’s going on? Don’t tell me Qingzhou has fallen and the Northern Barbarians are coming?"

"Bullshit! The Northern Barbarians have attacked Qingzhou three times in the last five years. Have they ever broken through its mighty pass? Weren’t they beaten back with their tails between their legs by the Black Armor Army every single time!" a beggar retorted.

Speaking of the awe-inspiring Black Armor Army, he couldn’t help but puff out his chest, momentarily forgetting the hunger in his stomach.

No one paid him any mind. The discussions continued:

"Maybe they found an encampment of the Blood Slaughter Sect’s fiends outside the city, so the soldiers went out to exterminate them..."

"Whatever’s happening, it’s safer to just go home and hold my wife."

"Waiter, the bill! We’re leaving!"

"..."

Watching the soldiers march out, followed by the flood of refugees pouring in, the patrons of the city’s taverns and teahouses were rife with speculation.

Although they didn’t know what was happening, they could clearly feel a grim, murderous aura settling over the city.

The drinkers and tea-sippers quickly settled their bills and hurried home, hoping to avoid the impending disaster.

「On the walls of Fenglin County.」

The corpulent county magistrate and the leaders of the city’s major families stood watching the distant mountains and fields.

That was where the fifty soldiers had gone, heading out of the city to slay the fiends.

"You’ve all caused me quite a bit of trouble, you know."

The county magistrate stuck out his large potbelly, his face a mask of sorrow as he gazed at the distant mountains, yet a faint, hidden smile played on his lips.

"My several hundred soldiers have marched out of the city. Just look at the commotion you’ve made me cause."

"If my superiors ask why I mobilized the troops, what am I supposed to say!"

The masters of the three martial arts schools and the patriarchs of the three great families standing beside the magistrate were rendered speechless by his words.

They already paid this county magistrate a considerable amount on a regular basis. They never imagined he would dare to collect pay for ghost soldiers, and so many at that.

Only fifty soldiers had actually left the city, yet he dared to claim it was several hundred!

If these soldiers died, so be it.

If they didn’t, he could just write a report to his superiors saying they did.

In short, he could use this incident to cover the shortfalls in his books.

But he was the official, and if these patriarchs wanted to continue living and doing business in Fenglin County, they had to rely on his favor. They had no choice but to pinch their noses and accept it.

Annoyed as they were, they couldn’t let it show on their faces.

Especially since the Demon Corpses were occupying the mountain belonging to the outermost Lin family. No matter how you looked at it, mobilizing the troops was most closely related to them.

The old patriarch of the Lin family immediately stepped forward, his expression humble. "We are deeply indebted to Lord Liu for dispatching his troops to exterminate the Demon Fiends on my family’s mountain."

"When the soldiers return, the Lin family will certainly host a grand banquet to celebrate Lord Liu’s success."

A "celebration" wasn’t just a few words of congratulation and a feast. It meant forking over real gold and silver to pay respects to this Lord Liu.

"Oh, the credit belongs to my subordinates! It wasn’t my achievement alone! I wouldn’t dare take credit for it!"

"All I wish is for the people of Fenglin County to be safe and sound."

Lord Liu’s mouth twisted into a wide grin. He could cook the books and get paid. What was there not to like?

The other families got the hint and chimed in with their own flattery, indicating that their congratulatory gifts would not be lacking.

Among them, two of the patriarchs had not seen the horrifying scene in the mountains and were somewhat suspicious about the truth of the matter.

But seeing the solemn expressions on the other patriarchs’ faces, they knew this was no act.

For no apparent reason, their hearts began to pound with anxiety.

Behind the old patriarchs were the younger members of each family. Watching this scene, they all felt utterly disgusted.

Wu Chen had also blended in among these younger members.

However, he paid no attention to the flattery of the group in front. Instead, he watched the city gate, where the number of incoming refugees was dwindling.

This meant the several thousand refugees from outside had all entered the city.

’Now, we just have to wait for the Demon Corpses to arrive.’

Only when the last refugee had entered Fenglin County did Wu Chen retract his gaze and look out toward the mountains beyond the walls.

He highly doubted that fifty leather-armored soldiers could sweep the mountain forest. It was a complete suicide mission, like throwing meat buns at a dog.

Moreover, the place where the Demon Corpses were entrenched was only twenty or thirty li from Fenglin County.

Their ultimate target was, of course, the tens of thousands of people in the city.

If they hadn’t been disturbed, and if a request for aid had been sent to Cangwu City, elite soldiers could have arrived in two or three days, and the situation might still have been salvageable.

But this Lord Liu just had to send troops into the mountains to get themselves killed.

His actions showed a complete disregard for the lives of the tens of thousands of citizens in the city.

If the Demon Corpses didn’t come, all would be fine. But if they did, there was no telling how many innocent people in the city would die.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A deafening roar arrived right on cue, echoing from the dense mountain forest.

The fifty soldiers must have entered the mountains and engaged in a fierce battle with the Demon Corpses.

Even without seeing what was happening, Wu Chen knew it must be a scene of utter carnage.

"Oh! It seems these Demon Corpses are quite capable. They’re making quite a racket!"

Lord Liu was still chuckling, oblivious to the gravity of the situation.

Beside him, however, the faces of the Lin family patriarch and the three martial arts school masters had turned ashen.

They, of course, knew the news their juniors had brought back from the mountains and trusted it without reservation.

Watching the movement of rolling rocks in the mountains, their brows couldn’t help but twitch.

The commotion didn’t last long. After about the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, a long silence fell.

After the silence, a black line appeared at the foot of the mountain, coming into the view of the people on the city wall.

"Oh, they’re back already?"

Lord Liu rested his hands on the battlements, chuckling as he looked at the patriarchs of the Lin family and the three martial arts schools.

"It seems it wasn’t as exaggerated as your little brats claimed!"

"Only fifty soldiers, and the disaster is resolved!"

"If I had listened to you and requested aid from Cangwu City, we’d all be in deep trouble if they decided to investigate!"

He finished with a chuckle, gazing at the returning black line in the distance.

After the soldiers returned, it would naturally be time to collect the silver taels from each family.

The thought of at least four or five hundred silver taels lining his pockets made his face light up with joy.

But as the black line drew closer and the view became clearer, Lord Liu’s smile froze on his face, and his fat body began to tremble.

The black line stretched from the foot of the mountain, and as it approached, it swelled like a roiling black tide, crashing ferociously toward Fenglin County.

The black tide drew nearer. Black scales glinted with a bone-chilling cold under the sunlight, and their sharp limbs left deep imprints on the ground with every step.

Though still more than ten li away, the deathly aura of the Demon Corpses already enveloped the small city.

Cold sweat beaded on Lord Liu’s forehead. Within a few breaths, his clothes were soaked through.

"Lord Liu, it’s time to close the gate!"

Seeing him standing stunned on the wall, utterly silent, the Lin family patriarch quickly shouted a reminder.

"Right, right, right! Time to close the gate!"

Jolted by the other’s words, Lord Liu finally snapped out of it and yelled to the soldiers behind him, "Quick, close the city gate!"

"And have all remaining soldiers in the city grab their bows, crossbows, and weapons, and get to the wall immediately!"

At his shout, the soldiers immediately ran toward the training grounds.

The few patriarchs on the wall also looked back at their own juniors.

They knew in their hearts that Fenglin County had few soldiers to begin with, and having sent fifty of them to their deaths, the current situation was likely even more dire.

If they wanted to defend the city, everyone had to contribute what they could.

"Go get all the family Guards and Hunters to the wall! Anyone who helps defend the city through today gets twenty silver taels!"

"Go gather all disciples at the Flesh Refining Realm and above! After today, their medicinal soups and meat rations are free for a year!"

"..."

Brave men will flock to a great reward. The patriarchs knew well that you couldn’t just ask people to risk their lives with empty words; you had to offer up real gold and silver.

Moreover, the guards, hunters, and disciples of the martial arts schools had already been assembled and were on standby. Deploying them to defend the wall would take no more than the time to drink half a cup of tea.

The juniors all accepted their orders. Not daring to delay, they quickly ran down from the wall and sprinted toward their respective family compounds.

CREAAAK~

The massive, heavy city gate began to slowly swing shut.

The entirety of Fenglin County now resembled a cage.

Wu Chen also walked down from the wall with the crowd, hiding himself in an unnoticed alleyway.

He glanced at the people of Fenglin County, who were beginning to panic as the gate closed.

Everyone finally realized something was terribly wrong. They scrambled to find the nearest hiding places, terrified of being conscripted as laborers.

Before long, about a hundred soldiers in leather armor surged through the streets, heading for the city wall.

Another three to four hundred men organized by the other great families—Hunters, Guards, and Martial Artist disciples—also arrived one after another.

The five or six hundred people spread out along the city wall, forming a sparse and flimsy defensive line.

The streets of Fenglin County, a city of thirty to forty thousand people, fell silent. Only the increasingly clear roars from outside the walls could be heard.

It was the approaching horde of Demon Corpses.

At this point, Wu Chen finally turned and headed toward the government office in the center of the city.

Having wandered around Fenglin County for a few days, he was already familiar with the city’s layout.

In less than the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, he was standing before the city’s government office.

’I wonder where the Arsenal is.’

Wu Chen, his face covered with a cloth, ascended the steps and wandered through the deserted government office.

Fortunately, the layout of the office was not complicated, and he soon found a specific room.

This room had no extravagant decorations or furnishings, only a bookshelf that covered an entire wall.

And on the three middle shelves were rows upon rows of azure-covered Martial Arts Manuals.

Wu Chen’s eyes lit up as he looked at these Martial Arts Manuals:

"The foundation of the imperial court is truly on another level."

"Twenty-one manuals for the Flesh Refining Realm, sixty-three for basic Martial Arts!"

"Never mind those!"

"There are a full five manuals for the Meridian Passage Realm!"