Chapter 47: Shattered Defenses. Ten updates have been posted; thank you all for your support.

“Fortune favored me.”

After three-tenths of the spoils had been taken, everything the players had picked up was reduced to ordinary flesh and bone, no longer of any use to them.

From this alone it was clear that the system was far more dependable than some people. Whether it was an agreement between players or a transaction between players and an NPC faction, all of it would be recognized and influenced by the system.

Wang Liang glanced a few times at the rotting remains and quickly lost interest.

What did catch his attention was the coffin in the Hundred Blessings residence, opening and closing repeatedly as though its owner were laughing in high spirits. Only then did he come over and ask a question.

“Not bad luck at all. Although the tiger demon drove off the mountain god and seized his position, it did not take the mountain god’s seal. That thing ended up in the hands of Deputy Commander Yin Xun, which is why he was able to borrow the power of the mountain god’s seal to summon dark clouds and shield the ghost soldiers.

“When we killed him, the already damaged seal was shattered into fragments. I happened to spot a large piece just now. At first I thought someone would snatch it away, but luck was on my side in the end, and no one wanted it.”

The more the Hundred Blessings residence spoke, the more excited he became. At last he added, “I’m not talking to you anymore. I need to transfer the power in this mountain god’s seal into my general’s seal as quickly as possible. If I keep delaying it, the power will disperse.”

Hearing this, Wang Liang’s eyes on the objects on the ground changed at once.

After thinking for a moment, he took a piece of cloth, wrapped everything up, and carried it over to Lord Chenghuang.

In truth, Lord Chenghuang had noticed long ago that Wang Liang and the others were dividing the spoils, but he did not care about such matters. When Deputy Commander Yin Xun died, he had already observed that Yin Xun carried nothing that needed to be kept.

So if Wang Liang wanted to split the loot, let him.

He had not expected Wang Liang and the others to take only three-tenths of the goods and then bundle up the rest to send over.

Seeing Wang Liang like this, Lord Chenghuang could not help but smile. “Fellow Daoist with many talents, there’s no need to bring these things here at a time like this. The judge will handle them.”

“No, Daoist Lu, take a look at these. Could they be fragments of the mountain god’s seal?”

As he spoke, Wang Liang held out the remaining pieces of Deputy Commander Yin Xun’s body before Lord Chenghuang.

At this, Lord Chenghuang turned his gaze in that direction as well.

He accepted the items Wang Liang handed over and gave his hand a shake, instantly scattering all of Yin Xun’s flesh and bones.

These things were treasures to the players, but to Lord Chenghuang they were no more than insignificant nourishment; he did not lack such things.

What he cared about were the remaining stone-like objects. After piecing together those several stone fragments, a faint smile appeared on Lord Chenghuang’s face as well.

“It is the mountain god’s seal. It has just shattered, and there is still a trace of the mountain god’s power left within it. It seems the ghost soldier legion survived by relying on that power of the mountain god, and that is also at least half the reason why Mount Jingyang became a demon mountain.”

After saying this, Lord Chenghuang flew forward on his own to the magistrate of Yanggu County.

“County Magistrate Wu, you’ll need to hold the line here a little longer. I have matters to attend to.”

Although he did not know what had happened, the battle here was already drawing to a close after the first wave.

So long as no one recklessly drew new enemies over, there was actually no danger in this fight.

County Magistrate Wu replied with certainty, “Lord Lu, please do as you wish. I will handle things here.”

After receiving that assurance, Lord Chenghuang flew toward the rear of the battle formation.

At first Wang Liang wanted to follow and see, but he soon realized he could not keep up with Lord Chenghuang’s speed of flight. In the blink of an eye, Lord Chenghuang vanished.

By then the ghost soldiers had already completely collapsed, and the battlefield had entered its final cleanup phase.

This battle had actually been remarkably easy. Not only the central army, but even those dispatched by the smaller factions stationed between the vanguard and the center had felt no real danger.

They felt as though they had come on an outing. After eating breakfast to their fill, they merely stood there watching the show.

So at this moment they were all eager to get started, hoping the next enemy would be lured out of the demon ridge of Mount Jingyang quickly so they could show off their strength.

Just as the soldiers were happily thinking that the matter had ended there, a thunderous crash came from the sky, and a bolt of lightning streaked across the heavens, striking the distant Mount Jingyang directly.

That bolt of lightning drew everyone’s attention.

Wang Liang looked up in the direction from which it had come and saw that it was no natural phenomenon. Within the lightning there was a force of pure, righteous judgment, overwhelmingly yang and upright.

With that strike, most of the yin miasma shrouding Mount Jingyang dispersed, revealing its true form.

Seen from afar, it was no more than a modest hill. Trees stood thick upon it, though the vegetation that should have seemed lush and green now all looked black.

Between the trees hung many human skins and white bones.

“This is a cutscene. Looks like we killed the gatekeeper boss, and now the dungeon is opening for us.”

The players, startled by the lightning as well, naturally saw the scene before them. One player raised both hands and exclaimed.

He had barely finished before someone smacked him on the back of the head.

“You’re thinking too much. Even the lowest-level dungeon requires level thirty-five. We won’t be running dungeons for years.”

Wang Liang had heard about dungeons several times, and in fact he had first appeared in this game because of one.

So when the players mentioned dungeons, he could not help listening a little more closely.

However, the players did not continue that topic, and instead began talking about the boss they were about to fight.

The only useful thing Wang Liang learned was this: at the entrance to a dungeon there was a resurrection stone. If players died, they would revive at the dungeon stone and reenter the dungeon to grind it again, rather than having the game world shut its doors to them the moment they died, as in a normal game.

That resurrection-stone setup was the key difference distinguishing a dungeon from the game world.

As for why an immortal-fantasy game had such a distinction, not even Wang Liang understood it, and neither did the players.

While the others joked and laughed, Wang Liang suddenly felt an uneasy sensation. He lowered his head in confusion and saw the ground trembling faintly beneath him.

That vibration felt much like the thunder of ten thousand horses surging past that he had encountered on the battlefield before.

His heart tightening, Wang Liang drew the Slash-Life Blade and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Everyone be careful! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”