Guernica
That was a girl under ten years old. Almost not an inch of intact skin was left on her body. A light bump from a piece of crushed stone caused her carbonized arm to shatter into residue all over the ground... Beside her was an ash pile from burning grass and leaves, as well as an unrecognizably burnt bamboo hat.
Perhaps it was the smell of scorched flesh filling the air, or perhaps it was the irritating chemical residue in the ruins, but Eight of Clubs' Adam's apple rolled violently. Half a second later, he abruptly turned his head and dry-heaved crazily.
Chen Ling walked past the dismembered limbs all over the ground, came to his side, and sniffed lightly with his nose:
"It's nitroglycerin... They slaughtered the village with fire."
Blergh——!!
Eight of Clubs' stomach spasmed crazily as he continuously dry-heaved, his entire face pale and hideous.
That experience that had tormented him for more than half a year now surged into his heart uncontrollably. He began to hallucinate those cries and shouts of despair in his ears. The ruins before his eyes also twisted unconsciously, turning into a living hell of surging flames.
He saw women holding children, running frantically in the thick smoke, praying to heaven to spare her child. The next moment, a sharp sword ruthlessly cut her and the infant in her swaddling clothes into two... He saw figures running desperately in the sea of fire; no matter how they rolled, the flames only grew stronger, eventually burning to a crisp in despair amidst the thick smoke... He saw flowers withering, he heard all living beings wailing. The shadow of war shrouded everyone's heart, and flames swallowed everything.
In his daze, Eight of Clubs could no longer distinguish between reality and falsehood. He had a mental breakdown. He knelt on the ground in pain, his eyes full of bloodshot veins:
"Chen Ling..."
"Did we really... escape from 'Guernica'?"
...
In the withered jungle, two figures rapidly passed through.
"Mister Li... Mister Li, slow down!" Kong Baosheng said, panting, while climbing over a dirt slope. "It's just the flowers, grass, and trees that have withered; people shouldn't be affected... Don't be anxious first."
Li Qingshan quickly walked through the path, and following the direction in his memory, he went down the dirt slope and walked back onto the muddy main road.
His eyes were fixed on the direction of Willow Town, unable to hide the anxiety on his face.
The abnormal changes in the Red Dust Domain had turned everything in his memory upside down. Li Qingshan could no longer distinguish which was the true appearance of the Red Dust Domain... But right now, what he worried about most was the safety of his Grandmother in Willow Town.
Would this withering abnormality affect her body? Finding the surrounding environment suddenly changed, would she be afraid?
Did she follow others to the Red Dust Main City?
Li Qingshan had no bottom in his heart. Right now, the only thought in his mind was to be faster, even faster... He had to use his own eyes to confirm whether Grandmother was safe and sound.
"Ahead is Willow Town... We'll be there very soon." Li Qingshan pointed to the town silhouette in the distance and said.
Kong Baosheng narrowed his eyes and looked in that direction, suddenly speaking with some surprise:
"It seems a group of people is coming from ahead."
On the other side of the muddy main road, seven or eight figures were walking towards here together, in a hurry. Several younger children were directly carried on the adults' shoulders to speed up their pace.
"Are they people from Willow Town?"
"Not quite sure... I'll go up and ask." Li Qingshan immediately went up to meet them.
When the two came into contact with this group of people, they found out they weren't from Willow Town, but refugees from Penglai Town, which was even more remote than Willow Town.
"Why are you still walking in this direction?" a woman with a pale face said. "We just came from there. We saw many scorched houses along the way, and many chopped up corpses... You absolutely cannot go there!"
"What about Willow Town? Did Willow Town also suffer a disaster?!"
"Willow Town didn't... But the people inside seem to have all fled. They should have also headed towards the Main City."
Li Qingshan let out a slight sigh of relief.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask something else, the earth suddenly trembled slightly.
Buzz——!
Several people were startled at the same time and doubtfully looked around. Kong Baosheng seemed to have seen something and suddenly pointed in a direction, speaking in horror:
"Th... There...!!"
At the end of the road, three tall Silver Phantoms were approaching here at an astonishing speed!
Everyone didn't know what those things were, but judging from their horrifying appearance and the slender arms that were gradually transforming into sharp blades, those things definitely had no good intentions towards them.
Bursts of exclamations came from the crowd. Almost everyone was scared silly. They had lived steadfastly in the Red Dust Domain for so many years; when had they ever seen this kind of monster?
"Run!!" Li Qingshan was the first to react, rushing to the front of everyone without hesitation. "Split up and run!! I'll block them!"
"Mister Li, you..."
Kong Baosheng didn't know that Li Qingshan had already stepped onto a Divine Path, so he was extremely puzzled by Li Qingshan's decision to stay behind.
"I can protect myself." Li Qingshan turned his head and looked at his eyes solemnly. "Baosheng, you guys go to Willow Town first. I've already told you my family's address... After I extricate myself, I'll immediately go find you to rendezvous!"
After speaking, Li Qingshan stomped heavily on the ground with one foot. His figure charged to meet those three rapidly flying Silver Phantoms!
He raised his hand and grabbed his collar, tearing it forcefully. Under the surging Spiritual Power, several general's banners with the character "Yang" were outlined out of thin air behind his back. A Silver Armor instantly covered his body, emitting a piercing brilliance, just like an invincible God of War!
True Self Performance!
Seeing Li Qingshan's transformation, shock flashed through Kong Baosheng's eyes.
But his reaction was still extremely fast. He turned around and fled at the first moment, choosing to chase after a group of figures fleeing towards the dirt slope separately... Mr. Lin was no ordinary person; Kong Baosheng was very clear about this. Mister Li was Mr. Lin's friend, so it was also very reasonable for him to possess this kind of power. Kong Baosheng knew that his staying behind would only bring pressure to Li Qingshan. Since that was the case, it was better to try his best to survive.
Li Qingshan, transformed into Yang Zongbao, backhandedly pulled out a General's Banner with the character "Yang" from behind his back and flicked out a spear blossom in his hand. The next moment, this General's Banner actually turned into a Silver Long Spear, tearing through the air and making a sharp sound amidst his whistling sprint!
With one man and one spear, he charged straight towards the three Silver Phantoms!
After True Self Performance, Li Qingshan's figure was also incomparably tall. Even when confronting the Silver Phantoms, he was not inferior in the slightest. A Silver Long Spear roamed like a dragon, parrying the horizontally slashing arm of the freak!
Clang——!!
A roaring loud noise swept out. Compared to the Silver Phantom, Li Qingshan's strength was still a bit inferior. For a time, he staggered back several steps, his complexion extremely unsightly.
The next moment, the other two Silver Phantoms arrived one after another. Three slender sharp swords cut through the air, slashing at Li Qingshan's neck from different directions!