Chapter 1278: Wind and Rain Shake the Ancestral Land

Wan Silang let out a loud cry, then Mr. Dong's experimental cabin fell silent again, as if nothing else had happened.

A few Bailong people tiptoed over and pressed their ears to the door to listen.

Nothing.

Suddenly the door opened, and everyone quickly squeezed back onto the wooden ladder.

Wan Silang emerged, his breathing a bit short and his face pale.

He closed the door behind him and walked upwards without a word.

Everyone eagerly asked, "What's in there? What's under the black cloth?"

If it could scare Ah Liang, who kills as easily as slaughtering chickens, to such a state, what was under the black cloth must be extraordinary!

"It's a—"

Everyone leaned in expectantly, but Wan Silang kept them in suspense: "—secret."

"Hey, what's wrong with telling us?" Everyone's curiosity was piqued.

"Mr. Dong said anyone else who wanted to explore the secret would be locked in the experimental cabin for the next few days."

Wan Silang walked back to the corridor, threw the gambling money from the table into his companion's hands, and said, "Keep it."

Then, he returned to his cabin.

Even then, the goosebumps on his arms were still clearly visible.

At lunch, He Lingchuan asked Dong Rui:

"How were the experiment results?"

"That subordinate of yours, who fancies himself bold as brass, was scared so badly he almost lost control of his bladder," Dong Rui mumbled through a mouthful of food. The ghost ape, sitting nearby gnawing on a peach, bared its gums and chittered with laughter upon hearing this.

It had been there, and seen it all.

This kind of scene it would never tire of, even after a hundred viewings.

"But I immediately warned him that everything he saw was classified and he must keep silent," Dong Rui chuckled. "He just nodded and ran off."

"If even a well-trained warrior was almost scared out of his wits, it proves my plan is feasible," He Lingchuan mused. "However, atmosphere is also crucial."

He knew exactly what Mr. Dong's experimental cabin was like: dim lighting, cluttered objects, and many pairs of eyes staring at you—some belonging to ghost apes, others in jars. Anyone entering for the first time would probably think they had stumbled into the Ghost King's underworld palace and would already feel a chill down their spine.

Everyone is influenced by their environment; he needed to make good use of this.

He Lingchuan then asked Dong Rui again, "Can you release those new test subjects of yours?"

"They still need more modifications," Dong Rui said irritably. "Do you know how difficult it is to shrink them to normal human size?"

"Hurry up. There's still time needed for training before deployment." The difficulty wasn't He Lingchuan's concern; he just kept pressing. Who could blame him? He was the wealthy client. "You need to have them armored by the time we reach Julu Port."

Dong Rui reached out with his chopsticks and picked up a large piece of braised pork. "Got it!"

Behind the pile of sundries, a red light pulsed.

The scent of blood hung in the air. Wan Silang found himself standing in that confined space again—

Mr. Dong's experimental cabin.

Something crashed towards him from behind, its footsteps heavy and accompanied by a beast-like growl.

He spun around, and something was almost face-to-face with him.

The creature's face was human-like; though its left side was pitted and scarred, it was still covered with skin. The skin on its right side, however, was torn away, revealing pale golden bones and dark red tendons underneath.

Without eyelids, there were naturally no lashes. Its large, rolling eyeballs were distinctly red and white, but its left eye was sunken in its socket, flashing a pinpoint red glow.

It also had a horn on its forehead, like a rhinoceros.

This time, Wan Silang held back his scream and struck with a backhand slash.

But the creature blocked the blow with a flick of its wrist. Its arm guard met the blade, sending sparks flying.

Its hands were like dried claws, long and thin, with veins bulging on the surface.

Only then did Wan Silang realize that it was wearing black armor!

It seemed to be the very black armor he had personally delivered to the experimental cabin.

The monster blocked his blade and wasted no time, opening its mouth to bite at his head. Black smoke swirled around its mouth and nostrils.

His vision was instantly filled by the gaping maw.

The last thing he saw were the monster's long, sharp fangs.

He sprang up, awake.

In a single day, he had been scared twice by this monstrosity?

Wan Silang rubbed his face vigorously and found his back slightly damp:

"Damn it!"

He Lingchuan himself wasn't idle. He returned to his cabin to work immediately after eating.

Since the sea journey was boring, he had set aside some letters to read on the ship.

Lingguang picked out a letter from the pile and handed it to him:

"This is a letter from Songyang Prefecture."

The ship swayed gently with the waves, like a cradle. He Lingchuan yawned, rubbed his dry eyes, and Lingguang put two drops of eye medicine in them.

He closed his eyes to rest for a moment and had Lingguang read the letter aloud.

However, the content of the letter was far from good news, as another change had occurred in the Wren Kingdom:

The Wren capital had been breached by Grand Marshal Dong Haoming!

After holding out for over a month, his "cheap" old man, He Chunhua, had fled south with the Wren King, retreating all the way to his own territory, Yazhou.

After driving out the Wren King, Dong Haoming crowned himself king in the capital.

Hearing this, He Lingchuan let out a soft hiss: "Well, well, he's too impatient."

As long as the Wren King was alive, the kingdom's lifeline remained.

If he were Dong Haoming, he would definitely wait until the Wren King was dead before ascending the throne; otherwise, his claim would be illegitimate.

Dong Haoming had been fighting for so many years, it seemed he truly had run out of patience.

But to He Lingchuan, this decision was too rash and audacious.

Sure enough, two Wren generals immediately refused to submit, seizing the opportunity to establish themselves. They were not far from the capital, so Dong Haoming had to lead his troops to attack them. Meanwhile, several other armies, including Zhao Pan's, rushed to Yazhou to support the king.

With the Wren King still alive, the unfallen Wren Kingdom still retained a bit of centralizing force.

"If he brings the Wren King back to Yazhou, half the battle is won. However, it's almost too convenient that those two generals declared independence now; the timing is too favorable for He Chunhua."

Considering his "cheap" old man had a God of Fate backing him, it seemed only natural for him to be favored by good fortune.

Sometimes circumstances are stronger than people, and great achievements still depend on luck.

Lingguang wondered, "Doesn't the Wren King know the danger?"

Even it could see that. At this point, what difference was there between the fate of a "king" and that of a commoner on the street?

Neither could act independently.

"Of course he knows. He's not stupid," He Lingchuan shook his head. "I'm afraid he has no choice. Does he have any leverage to say no, other than relying on He Chunhua?"

He Chunhua held military power and was by the Wren King's side. Yet, the Wren King could only rely on him to fight Dong Haoming, and the dynamic of a weak lord and strong vassal was already established.

To describe the Wren King's predicament in one phrase, he was surrounded by wolves and tigers, all with ill intentions.

Lingguang then asked, "Can't Zhao Pan and those generals be used by him?"

"It's not that simple. They're in Yazhou now, not the capital." He Chunhua was the local overlord of Yazhou, not the Wren King. "Besides, He Chunhua has plenty of ways to deal with people like Zhao Pan."

Later, after Dong Haoming suppressed the two "rebellions," he finally concentrated his forces and marched on Yazhou, planning to kill the Wren King and then remove He Chunhua, his thorn in the side.