CHAPTER 318: CHAPTER 180: PURPLE GOLD MINE

Five days had passed, and Zhou Village remained tranquil.

Just when Yun Sheng was becoming restless, that very night, she and Huang Que, as usual, turned off the lights to rest, with Yun Sheng sitting at the head of the bed in meditation.

Shortly after the third watch, a bright flare of fire streaked across the sky above the village.

Yun Sheng’s sharp eyes snapped open, and she immediately woke Huang Que and Liu Zi.

In the village, cries and barks of dogs could be heard incessantly.

"Drag everyone out from inside," commanded a voice filled with brutality, as the door to the house where the three of them were located was smashed open.

Yun Sheng, Huang Que, and Liu Zi pretended to tremble in fear, hiding motionless inside the house.

Several Wind Dogs about one meter tall rushed in.

The Wind Dog is a hybrid Demon Beast, a mix of the Wind Wolf and domestic dog, with bodies the size of a calf and a pair of black wings on their backs.

These Wind Dogs clearly underwent special training; each had a collar around its neck, adorned with sharp barbs.

A few mysterious people wearing half-masks stormed in.

One glanced around the interior of the house, a simple dwelling with just three "terrified" youths.

"Pah, three skinny rats not even fit to stick between one’s teeth, what a damn village this is, hardly any people in sight."

Zhou Village was regarded as a mid-sized community nearby, with over five hundred permanent residents, but ever since the incident of the entire village’s population going missing, those villagers with some means had moved to the towns.

The villagers that still remained in Zhou Village numbered just over two hundred, mainly consisting of those too poor or too weak to leave—predominantly the elderly, infirm, and disabled.

The mysterious assailants were out to capture people as a means to tally their achievements and rewards; the stronger the abducted villagers, the longer they could work in the mines.

The villagers of Zhou Village were all weak and sickly. Bringing this lot back would not warrant rewards, and might even lead to punishment from their superiors.

Yun Sheng pretended to sob, while surreptitiously sizing up the few mysterious brigands.

They were all tall, each over one hundred and seventy-five centimeters, and from their strides and muscle tone, it was clear they had received professional training.

These men were either former soldiers or Hunter Soldiers, but one thing was certain: they were not from the Da Zhou People.

"Enough with the nonsense, capture anyone you see. If they die from the hardship, just toss them outside to feed the Wind Dogs. We didn’t bring much food with us," said one of them, seemingly a minor leader among the mysterious people.

He glared at his talkative subordinate, and with a gesture, several mysterious people grabbed the three speechless youths, including Yun Sheng, and dragged them out of the house.

After dragging people out, they set the house ablaze.

All over the village, thick black smoke billowed, and the villagers were all herded towards the entrance of the village.

No one was allowed to speak or beg for mercy.

Among them were several women and children, some cradling infants.

To prevent the leakage of information, not a single living person was left in the village.

All the livestock in the village were also corralled, to be used as provisions.

"Waaah--" A child, startled and frightened, began to cry out.

The woman holding the child tried to soothe her, but the child could not be consoled.

The gaze of the brigand’s minor leader, cold and stern, swept over them, and a Wind Dog, drooling from its mouth, lunged forward.

"Let go of my child!" The mother, seeing the Wind Dog pounce toward her infant, struggled as if possessed.

She was just an ordinary woman, how could she possibly be a match for a Fifth Rank Wind Dog.

After a terrifying sound of swallowing, the cries of the baby vanished.

Yun Sheng watched, her hands clenched tightly together, her fingernails digging into her palms.

She could not intervene.

Anger surged within her like a tumultuous wave, rendering Yun Sheng’s heart unable to calm.

If she acted now, their entire plan would be ruined.

The lives of over a thousand people, the Purple Gold Vein.

Yun Sheng took several deep breaths, her hands firmly clasped with Huang Que’s.

Tonight, this cruel scene was deeply etched into their minds.

"Two adults to a beast, three children and elderly to a beast, take all the livestock," the petty leader was indifferent to the death of the baby. After confirming there were no survivors left in the village, he began directing his subordinates to herd everyone onto the Wind Dogs.

In just half an hour, Zhou Village was engulfed in a sea of flames.

Yun Sheng, Huang Que, and Liu Zi sat atop a Wind Dog.

The Wind Dog swiftly ascended, and soon Zhou Village was left far below.

Huang Que and Liu Zi, both encountering a Flying Magical Beast for the first time, were terrified and their faces tense.

After leaving the ground, those mysterious people also lowered their guard.

In their eyes, these villagers they had captured were all ordinary people; at such heights, they were not worried about them causing any serious trouble.

"Don’t be afraid, these are trained Demon Beasts, just pretend you’re riding a horse," Yun Sheng saw that the mysterious people had let down their guard, and quietly placed her palm on the head of the Wind Dog beneath her.

A subtle Magic Power penetrated the Wind Dog’s head, its eyes first flashing with a hint of panic, which was soon replaced by a blank expression, and after a moment, the blankness turned into docility.

The Flying Ability of the Wind Dog was even more formidable than that of ordinary eagles and hawks, and given its large size, it was most suitable for the transportation of people and livestock.

Yun Sheng observed the Southern Cross in the southern sky, silently calculating the flight time.

After flying for over two hours, night began to fade, and as the red clouds of dawn appeared, the mysterious people and the group of Wind Dogs, along with their prey, landed between an inconspicuous range of hills.

This range of hills looked no different from the one they had passed on their way there.

But upon closer inspection, one could detect faint traces of lethal intent permeating from the seemingly lush and vibrant jungle.

Among the leaves and in the rocks, a large number of deadly arrows had been set, as well as some arrays emitting the Fire Magic Element.

Should any outsiders invade, the arrow ambushes and Rocket Magic Arrays would be triggered in an instant, turning the intruders into a hornet’s nest.

The surroundings were all dense tropical vegetation, and the Wind Dog beneath them landed steadily on the ground.

The mysterious people immediately took out some Demon Beast Meat to feed the Wind Dogs.

After dismounting from the Wind Dog, Yun Sheng and the others realized they were within the mining area.

Yun Sheng finally saw the Thunder Burst Magic Array that Zong Ren’s bats had reported earlier.

It was a Magic Array marked with purplish-red insignias, which was inactive during the day, but would activate at night. Should anyone carelessly step on the array, they would be blasted to ashes by the Thunder Magic that burst forth from within.

Its power was in no way inferior to that of modern landmines.