Zhao Mu and Mo Guanguan walked in the middle of the group, carefully observing the village as they moved through it.
They soon noticed that every house had been specially reinforced with thick wooden beams and steel plates. The doors and windows were tightly sealed with metal sheets covered in iron spikes.
Even though it was broad daylight, the entire village was eerily quiet.
An unsettling atmosphere hung in the air.
After hearing the village head's explanation, Meng Qiuqiu asked curiously, "Can't you just kill all of them? Where do so many corpses come from? Don't people here still practice traditional burial?"
Several of the Cadet Soldiers nearby immediately showed mocking expressions.
Zhao Mu glanced at Meng Qiuqiu and explained, "This village is located on the outskirts of the Blood Bone Mountain Range. This area was once a massive battlefield ten years ago. At least a million people died here."
"Moreover, the soil in this region is damp and soft, while the dense forests receive very little sunlight. Because of these conditions, corpses don't decompose easily."
"It isn't surprising that bacteria infect some of them, causing them to mutate into Corpse Ghosts."
Liang Zhichu turned to Zhao Mu and smiled.
"I've heard that Junior Brother Zhao Mu is both knowledgeable and talented. After meeting you today, I can see that the rumors are true."
"Junior Brother, could you tell us more about the Corpse Ghosts?"
In this world, martial arts were valued far more highly than scholarly knowledge.
Although Liang Zhichu and the others had done their research before coming here, their knowledge was still nowhere near Zhao Mu's.
Zhao Mu didn't hold back.
"More than thirty people have died in the past three months. This shows that the Corpse Ghosts themselves aren't particularly powerful."
"However, the real problem is the Corpse Mother."
He paused.
"The Corpse Mother is the original mutated Corpse Ghost. It possesses the ability to infect and assimilate other corpses. If we don't eliminate it, the problem will continue indefinitely."
Zhao Mu looked at the village head.
"If we want to completely resolve the Corpse Ghost crisis, we have to enter the depths of the forest and find the Corpse Mother."
"For that, we'll need an experienced guide."
Everyone's expressions changed immediately.
Who in this remote mountain village could possibly be a powerful Spirit Power User?
Anyone who managed to reach the Private Rank would leave the village and seek work in the city. Even working as a construction laborer would be better than staying in Qingshan Village.
Zhao Mu looked around.
None of the members of the village protection team had even reached the Private Rank.
Clearly, they were not suitable to guide them into that terrifying forest.
At that moment, someone suddenly spoke.
"If you need a guide, why don't you look for the Deserter King?"
"The Deserter King?"
Hearing that title, Zhao Mu and the others instinctively felt a sense of resistance.
As soldiers, there was one kind of person they despised above all others.
A deserter.
Someone who fled in the middle of battle not only abandoned his comrades but could also place an entire army in danger and potentially cause the failure of a war.
The village head seemed to remember something and slapped his forehead.
"That's right! How could I have forgotten about him?"
He turned toward Liang Zhichu, Zhao Mu, and the others.
"If you need a guide, he's probably the only person in the entire village who can do it."
The village head first brought them to his home.
It was a large, independent two-story building with an open space in front and no surrounding courtyard.
Only the village head and his granddaughter lived there.
His granddaughter was an eight- or nine-year-old girl wearing a simple white dress. She had fair, delicate features and looked almost like a porcelain doll.
When they reached the second floor, Zhao Mu and the others saw her timidly hiding behind a wall.
Her skin was unnaturally pale.
The village head explained, "My granddaughter has always been in poor health. She usually stays at home to recover and rarely goes outside."
Zhao Mu and the others didn't pay much attention to the matter.
Shao Han looked around the spacious house and asked curiously, "Such a large house, and only the two of you live here?"
The village head gave a bitter chuckle.
"My three sons all died on the Front Line several years ago."
"Only my eldest son left behind a child."
Everyone fell silent.
No one knew what to say.
The high casualty rate among the soldiers of the Xuanfeng Empire was an undeniable fact.
This was especially true for ordinary soldiers who couldn't enter the Military Martial Specialization School and were sent directly to the Front Line.
They were little more than cannon fodder.
After settling down, the group arranged their sleeping quarters.
Ten people were squeezed into three rooms, with Zhao Mu and the other five sharing one room.
They had come here on a mission, not a vacation.
There was no reason to separate the rooms by gender.
Besides, they wouldn't be taking off their clothes when they slept.
Corpse Ghosts often attacked the village at night, meaning they could be forced into battle at any moment.
After putting down their belongings, Zhao Mu said to Meng Qiuqiu, Lu Yan, and Zhuo Yun, "You three should survey the surrounding terrain first."
"I'll go with Mo Guanguan to meet this Deserter King."
Everyone immediately divided up according to the plan.
After leaving the house, Liang Zhichu and Shao Han decided to accompany Zhao Mu and Mo Guanguan.
The four of them followed the village head toward the village tavern.
On the eastern side of the village stood a very old tavern.
Its owner, Old Mouzi, had been running the place for more than twenty years, making it one of the most popular entertainment spots for the adults in the village.
The tavern was small and somewhat crude.
Yet when the village head brought Zhao Mu and the others there, they found it packed with people despite the fact that it was still daytime.
At night, the villagers had to carry weapons and patrol the village.
So daytime was the only time they had to relax and drink.
In a secluded corner near the bar, however, a large area had been left completely empty.
A middle-aged man wearing a black linen shirt sat hunched over on a stool.
He repeatedly raised a cup of cheap liquor to his mouth and gulped it down.
The people around him deliberately kept their distance, as though he were some kind of plague.
There was no need to guess.
This man was almost certainly the Deserter King the villagers had mentioned.
Sure enough, the village head walked over and pointed at him.
"The only person who can lead you deep into the forest is him."
The village head then put his hands behind his back and suddenly shouted.
"Wang Shou!"
The man named Wang Shou was startled so badly that he fell straight off his stool.
The surrounding drunkards immediately burst into laughter.
Some slapped their thighs while others pointed at Wang Shou mockingly.
"Look at that idiot!"
"And this guy still brags every day about being a member of the Black Armored Imperial Guard?"
"A deserter who abandoned his comrades and ran away should have been executed long ago!"
"Just look at him now. He's nothing but a useless drunk!"
"Of everyone who went to the battlefield with him, he was the only one who came back alive. Why didn't he die there with the others?"
The insults continued without end.
The villagers hurled the most vicious words they could think of at Wang Shou.
But Wang Shou didn't seem particularly bothered.
His face was flushed from alcohol, and his eyes were hazy.
He staggered back to his feet and looked toward the village head.
"Village... Village Head?"
"Do you need something from me?"
The village head looked at him.
"You already know about the trouble our village has been facing."
"Some elite soldiers from Qingfeng Camp in the city have come to help us deal with the problem."
"But they need someone to lead them into the depths of the forest and find the source of the Corpse Ghosts."
He paused.
"Of everyone in the village, you're the only one who frequently ventures deep into the forest."
"So you'll serve as their guide."
The village head spoke calmly, his hands clasped behind his back.
However, Zhao Mu could sense a faint sense of alienation in his attitude toward Wang Shou.
Zhao Mu wasn't particularly interested in that.
Instead, one phrase from the villagers had caught his attention.
Black Armored Imperial Guard.
Zhao Mu stared at Wang Shou.
He had promised Bu Yanhuan that one day, when he became a member of the Black Armored Imperial Guard, he would go to the battlefield and find her.
The Empire's strongest military force was the Demon Sealing Army, which was directly under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Capital.
Every soldier within the Demon Sealing Army had undergone extremely strict selection and training.
The force was further divided into several elite divisions.
The Black Armored Imperial Guard.
The Silver Imperial Guard.
The Empire's Wings.
And, at the very top, the Golden Temple Knights.
There were fewer than a hundred Golden Temple Knights in the entire Empire.
Even the lowest-ranking Black Armored Imperial Guard possessed enough strength to serve as a Dominator in a small-scale battle.
Zhao Mu couldn't help but take another look at the drunken man in front of him.
Could this man really have once been an elite member of the Black Armored Imperial Guard?
Looking at his current appearance, it was difficult to believe.
Moreover, the villagers had given him the title of Deserter King.
From their attitude, it seemed obvious that they considered his claim of being a Black Armored Imperial Guard nothing more than the boast of a drunken fool.
Zhao Mu thought about it for a moment.
In the end, he didn't take the matter seriously.
After all, whether Wang Shou had truly been a member of the Black Armored Imperial Guard or not, they would find out soon enough.
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