Only after Asharuya and her two attendants left did Mu Nianbing approach the villagers.
"I'll give you three minutes to decide," he said evenly. "Leave or stay — it's your choice."
He wasn't one for long speeches. If they insisted on staying behind and meeting death, that would be their own decision.
As the saying goes, it's hard to reason with someone already courting death.
If Mu Nianbing remembered correctly, one of these villagers was a spy for the Black Vatican.
His expression cooled slightly. He had no patience for that organization.
At other times, he might have been cautious — but now he had three powerful allies with him. He had no reason to fear the Black Vatican.
His eyes soon fell on a young man among the villagers — the only one whose clothes were relatively new and neat.
That one.
Mu Nianbing's gaze sharpened. That young man had to be the spy.
Once we leave Hua Village… I'll make sure he never reaches the ancient capital alive.
After the allotted three minutes, around forty villagers chose to follow Mu Nianbing. Most of them decided purely out of fear — or rather, faith — in his strength.
After all, just seeing that colossal dragon was convincing enough.
"Remember what I said," Mu Nianbing told them coldly. "If you encounter the undead, don't scatter or run. If you do, I won't guarantee your safety."
He didn't expect them to listen, but at least he'd given fair warning.
"Master Hunter, we'll follow your every command," said Village Chief Xie Sang, bowing deeply with an obsequious tone.
Mu Nianbing glanced at him. "Village Chief, how many mages do you have in Hua Village?"
Xie Sang blinked, caught off guard by the question.
Still, he answered honestly, "Master Hunter, our village is small and remote. Besides me, there are only two others — Su Xiaoluo and Hong Jun."
He pointed them out as he spoke.
Su Xiaoluo stood beside Zhang Xiaohou, while Hong Jun was precisely the one Mu Nianbing had already marked.
Confirmation was all Mu Nianbing needed. Hong Jun was just a pawn — removing him early would change nothing of consequence.
Because there were so many people, Mu Nianbing didn't let them ride on the Cangming Jiao.
If anyone fell from midair, they'd die instantly even without encountering the undead.
It was safer to travel on foot, especially since Xie Sang knew a shorter route to the ancient capital.
The villagers moved slowly, so the journey that should've taken a single day stretched into two.
Surprisingly, no undead appeared during those nights.
Perhaps it was because the villagers of Hua Village carried traces of ancient royal blood — remnants of an old, divine blessing that deterred the undead.
After surviving two peaceful nights, everyone relaxed.
In their minds, daylight meant safety.
Usually, they were right. The undead couldn't survive without the dark energy that saturated the night in the ancient capital.
But Mu Nianbing's instincts told him something was off. He faintly remembered that the undead had already begun to change at this point in time.
Still, the villagers were in good spirits. The heavy tension that had followed them since Yangyang Village had finally eased.
Until a scream split the air.
A burst of silver light flickered in Mu Nianbing's eyes — in the next instant, spatial energy surged outward, ripping the undead from the soil before it could drag another victim down.
But he was still too late. The villager had already been killed.
Everyone froze, horrified.
The undead had attacked in broad daylight.
"This... this is impossible!" someone cried.
Panic spread instantly. Like frightened sheep chased by wolves, the villagers scattered — some rushing to Xie Sang, others to Su Xiaoluo and Hong Jun, and several toward Mu Nianbing.
Mu Nianbing wasn't surprised.
The fear of the undead was carved into these people's souls. Words alone couldn't steady them.
As more undead clawed their way out of the earth, Mu Nianbing's gaze locked onto Hong Jun.
Hong Jun was casting spells against a rotting corpse — one of the lowest-ranked undead.
Yet despite his supposed experience, he couldn't finish it off. Was he pretending to struggle?
Mu Nianbing's eyes narrowed. He quietly shifted his power.
A nearby ghost corpse suddenly lunged toward Hong Jun.
Focused on the zombie in front of him, Hong Jun didn't notice until it was too late. Startled, his star path broke apart mid-cast.
The ghost corpse slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.
"Help! Save me!" he screamed desperately.
But the villagers, terrified for their own lives, scattered even further. Not a single one dared approach.
Hong Jun's eyes filled with bitterness and resentment.
These were the same people he'd been protecting — and now they'd abandoned him without hesitation.
Ordinary humans were truly powerless in the face of the undead.
Once he was certain Hong Jun couldn't be saved, Mu Nianbing waved his hand. Invisible force crushed the ghost corpse into dust.
Blood soaked into the ground around Hong Jun's limp body. His breathing was shallow — there was no hope for recovery.
Unless a Parthenon Temple Sage descended this instant, Hong Jun's fate was sealed.
"I... still have... something to do... I can't... die yet…" he gasped weakly.
His eyes were wide with panic. Whatever promises the Black Vatican had made him, the thought of them only deepened his desperation.
But it was useless. The light in his eyes dimmed.
"Ah…" Xie Sang sighed heavily. "Hong Jun was the most promising young man in our village. What a loss."
Mu Nianbing's voice was cold. "There's no time to mourn. More undead might appear. Keep moving."
His indifference chilled the villagers, but his words snapped them back to reality.
"Let's go," Xie Sang said with another weary sigh. "We have to reach the ancient capital before nightfall."
The rest of the journey passed without incident. No more undead appeared.
Under Xie Sang's guidance, the group finally arrived at the massive gates of the Ancient Capital just as the sun was setting.
A squad of guard mages stood watch.
"Are you from Hua Village — one of the dangerous villages?" one of them asked suspiciously.
"Yes, yes! I'm the village chief!" Xie Sang replied hastily, pulling out a seal to prove his identity.
The guard took one look at it before frowning deeply. "You should know... we just received word. The people of Weiju Village have all vanished."
Xie Sang's eyes widened in disbelief. His knees buckled, and he nearly collapsed on the spot.
...
Author's Note:
Versatile Mage: Heir of the Frozen Throne — Part 1 is now fully completed and available on my Patreon!
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1. Dragon Ball: Oolong's Sex Adventure
2. Elements of Lust – ATLA & Korra Mixed Smut
3. Doraemon: Filtering with Nobi Tamako
4. The Naive Me Who Became Someone's Everyday Secret
5. High School DxD: Rias Gremory, the Phenex Bride
6. Versatile Mage: Awakening the Succubus System
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