Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved-Chapter 530 - 509 First Update

Wen Sheng, although he did not understand what the soldier meant by "in the cliff ravine," already felt a bad premonition creeping up on him, but his heart was still unwilling to accept it and made excuses.

Perhaps they were just resting below the ravine, Wen Sheng reasoned as his gaze turned toward the nearby cliff ravine. Even though the light remained dim, one could vaguely make out the ravine resembling a monster with its gaping maw open wide, the sparsely distributed pine trees clinging to one side of the cliff face, and the dark, black-colored, stunted forest at the bottom, its height unknown.

"Take me to see it—" Wen Sheng steadied his mind, and the soldier immediately got up to lead the way ahead.

The bottom of the cliff the soldier spoke of was nearly a hundred meters away from their current location, twice as wide, and as they approached, the dark shadows at the base became increasingly dense.

"Vomit—" One soldier was retching at the side of the mountain path, with his comrades beside him clearly not faring much better. A few steps more, and the sounds of muffled crying could no longer be stopped; the soldiers huddled together, trembling uncontrollably.

Wen Sheng quickened his pace, the shadows below the ravine seemingly confirming his suspicions. Suddenly, Wen Sheng stopped, his gaze fixated on the stacked black masses within the ravine. At the same time, the sunlight broke through the last cloud, casting the first beam of light, and the entire valley was instantly illuminated. Wen Sheng’s eyes, stimulated by the light, recoiled two steps, nearly losing his balance.

"Wuwuwu—" The soldiers, who were ordered to stop crying, could not contain their voices and began to cry out loud again, and those who had gone down to investigate kept vomiting so violently they were nearly willing to expel their own intestines.

His subordinate grabbed Wen Sheng’s arm, helping him to stand as he swayed.

"General—"

Wen Sheng, hearing nothing, tremblingly raised his arm, pointing to the bottom of the ravine. The uniforms of the soldiers were vaguely visible. The ravine, ten or more zhang wide and several dozen zhang across, was densely packed, like hell reincarnated, a scene far more terrible than any battle he had ever experienced.

"How—how could this happen?" Wen Sheng’s voice instantly became hoarse, like a dried-up, about-to-break string on a musical instrument, threatening to snap at any moment.

Wen Sheng did not ask what had happened, nor did he urgently send people to search. His army of tens of thousands, in just half a night, was gone without a trace, leaving only a few hundred men left. The reason had already become meaningless to him.

"General, General—" Several soldiers climbed up from the edge of the ravine, dragging a body with them. The soldier leading the way brought Wen Sheng back to reality. freeweɓnøvel~com

"It’s Deputy General Lin—" said the soldier tremulously. He took one glance at the body, unable to bear a second look.

Wen Sheng, however, immediately looked over and his face contorted bizarrely, as if he had seen a demon, for the familiar face of his subordinate was now half split open from the neck, with only the connecting skull barely keeping the head attached. Half of the body looked like it had been scorched by fire, with the charred right hand emitting a foul stench, turned entirely black.

Fire? How could such a scene have occurred without even the slightest disturbance?

"Investigate the others," Wen Sheng commanded immediately, his voice grave. The heavy burden in his heart spurred his resolve. He could not afford to collapse in weakness. The Wen Family, the soldiers of the Eastern and Northern Borders, and his vast enterprises all depended on him. To rebuild the Southeastern Army was just a matter of a few years.

An hour later, in a tranquil silence, almost no sound could be heard throughout the entire forest, an eerie stillness pervading the air.

The bodies hauled in lay scattered haphazardly across the twisted mountain path, the soldiers’ faces ashen, void of the pride once held by the Southeastern Army. All that remained was a fear of ignorance and chaotic suspicion.

Wen Sheng was silent, the corpses around him emitting a strange aura. Some were burnt to death, like Deputy General Lin, curled up into charred balls beyond recognition. Others were bloated to several times their size, their skin turned a ghastly purplish hue, resembling bodies left to soak in water for days. Many were dismembered, with heads, hands, and feet tangled in bizarre contortions. By comparison, those with chests slashed by swords seemed almost normal.

Wen Sheng didn’t know what state of mind he ought to be in. He felt as if he had aged a decade overnight. What had the Southeastern Army encountered, and who were these adversaries with unknown backgrounds?

"General, what do we do now?" his trusted aide glanced at the exit, now close at hand, the sole thought in his mind being to leave this haunting place as quickly as possible.

"Send the order, everyone departs immediately for the Eastern Border—" Wen Sheng had already made his decision. However, seeing so many of his soldiers here, the fruits of his years of labor, all his men, he couldn’t bear to leave them.

"General, that is unwise, there could be a trap ahead—" another subordinate immediately knelt down, speaking anxiously.

"Our men have scouted ahead, there are no ambushes. Besides, the missing brothers all disappeared before dawn." The first aide glanced at the terrified subordinate without any hint of blame. At this moment, everyone was afraid, and he understood the feelings of all the brothers.

"Even if it’s a ruse, this general still wants to see for himself—" Wen Sheng said sternly as he flicked his whip and pulled his horse over, mounting it and looking towards his soldiers, their gaze dull.

"Brothers, are you afraid?" Wen Sheng called out loudly, surveying the surroundings. He didn’t hurry to speak but waited for all the soldiers to direct their attention to their leader atop his horse.

"Yes, I am afraid, but is fear useful? The enemy has killed so many of our brothers, the brothers we lived with day and night. They died for nothing—are you content with that?" Wen Sheng shouted.

"No, not content!" Someone among the soldiers immediately shouted out, followed by dozens, then hundreds of roaring voices, instantly filling the valley.

"Good, that’s my Southeastern Army. Today, I, your general, will lead you out of here to see what ghosts and beasts lie ahead," Wen Sheng shouted, his soldiers mounting their horses behind him. These men, left at the rear, were the elite of the Southeastern Army, and they would not easily give in.

Wen Sheng led the charge, refusing his men’s suggestion to send a few soldiers ahead to gather information. Step by step, he moved towards the mysterious valley ahead. Under the sunlight, all the soldiers quietly followed, saluting the bodies lying on the ground as they passed. Though they didn’t know what had happened or how the enemy had silently wiped out nearly three-quarters of their force, the Southeastern Army knew there was no turning back. If their foes could so effortlessly kill them, their only option was to rise and face death head-on.

Wen Sheng didn’t know what he would face ahead, but the orderly footsteps behind him bolstered his confidence. His one and only thought now was to clash swords with the enemy, to see for himself what kind of power could wipe out so many of his men without breaking a sweat.

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