Chapter 143
Cheng Yang took some prepared clothes out of his ring for the father-daughter duo . After so much continuous use, their current clothes stank—especially Qin Qiang, who had been lying in his mother’s corpse juice .
Then, Cheng Yang carried them down the cliff face one at a time before placing them on Enlai’s back . Enlai resisted at first since he didn’t want civilians to ride him, but Cheng Yang’s threats forced him to allow it .
Under Cheng Yang’s orders, Enlai rushed back to the village ahead of Cheng Yang, who followed behind his path of destruction .
Since the path had already been cleared, and the weight of two emaciated riders was negligible, Enlai took less than half an hour to return to Phoenix Village .
Once they were safely behind the village’s walls, Qin Qiang finally allowed himself to believe that they were saved . As for Qin Yiling, she was ecstatic to see so many people .
Over the last few days, the duo had come to believe that humanity was all but extinct . Even when he was feeling hopeful, Qin Qiang thought that human civilization had been thoroughly razed . So, when he saw a thriving village, he was moved to tears .
Cheng Yang was slower than Enlai but not by much . He arrived a few minutes later, and when he did, he explained the current state of the world to Qin Qiang .
Qin Yiling was too young to understand most of what Cheng Yang said, but Qin Qiang was different . When he learned that the world had been gamified, the shock in his eyes didn’t subside for a long time .
“Mister, if we get classes, the monsters can’t hit us?” Qin Yiling asked .
Cheng Yang froze . When he brought them here, he never intended to let them perform a class change ceremony . Not only were all of the slots taken right now, but the task of selecting people had been delegated to his generals . However, Cheng Yang couldn’t refuse when he saw the hope in Qin Yiling’s eyes . So he nodded .
“You’ll get a class soon, and then the monsters won’t be able to hurt you . ”
Those words brought a smile to Qin Yiling’s face . Seeing her smile made Cheng Yang smile too, so, in high spirits, he checked the class change statues to see if there were any open slots .
Unfortunately, it was as he thought . There weren’t any open slots since it was weird for a Phoenix Village soldier to die . Qin Yiling would have to wait until the statues leveled up .
He also had the option of taking her to a satellite village and performing a class change ceremony there . However, since none of them granted the soldier an Innate Ability, he didn’t want to .
Regardless, he tested their aptitude . Qin Yiling was best suited for the Sorcerer class, while Qin Qiang was best suited to be either a Warrior or Ranger .
After explaining the situation to Qin Qiang, Cheng Yang had one of his subordinates lead them back to his Meditation Hall . Cheng Yang wasn’t worried about how the duo would be treated since they were his guests . If anyone dared to harass them, that person would be expelled from the village .
It was just after eight at night, so Cheng Yang decided to visit Joyous River village and get the first clear of the Nightmare Difficulty of the Abandoned Citadel instance dungeon . Then, after midnight, he could run that difficulty again . After that, he would return to Phoenix Village to train .
With Enlai’s speed, it only took Cheng Yang ten minutes to arrive at Joyous River Village . It was even faster than driving a sports car down the highway . Of course, that was mostly due to the road between the two villages .
The road led towards the southern gate, where several people could be seen coming and going . It was time for dinner, so even civilians were bustling about .
Liu Hau’s subordinates were also hard at work . Their role was vitally important in protecting the civilians as they used the road . They needed to sweep through the surrounding areas to ensure there weren’t any monsters forming herds . This was especially important after the discovery of two Nests . If the soldiers of Joyous River Village weren’t careful, monsters might overrun the road and massacre civilians .
Thankfully, the village was on the brink of becoming a High-Grade one . At that point, there would be two thousand soldiers dutifully defending the territory .
In the future, after Cheng Yang annexed the safe zone, those two thousand soldiers would be supplemented by tens of thousands from Cloud City . Otherwise, there wouldn’t be enough combat strength to restrict the monsters hordes in the tens of thousands .
Cheng Yang’s appearance shocked those near the village’s gate . Although Cheng Yang felt he should be used to it by now, he couldn’t deny that he liked the looks of awe he received while riding Enlai .
“My Lord, what are you doing here?” Liu Hau rushed to the city gates as soon as he heard Cheng Yang had arrived . Not only was that his duty as a Governor, but he was also curious about Cheng Yang’s mysterious trip . However, his enthusiasm turned to shock when he saw the white tiger . “Yoko, look out behind you!”
“Calm down . ” Cheng Yang gleefully rolled his eyes, “This is just my new catch . ”
Liu Hau was stunned for a moment but quickly understood what Cheng Yang meant .
“Then this is an Ascendant? Didn’t you say they’re almost impossible to meet and harder to tame? Where did you find that guy?”
“I ran into him halfway to Yicheng . ”
“That’s where you were going? But Yicheng is over fifty kilometers away, how did you get back so quickly . ”
“Haven’t you visited the Tavern in the last few days?” Cheng Yang chuckled .
“What would I go there for? Their food is overpriced and not even that good . ” Liu Hau seemed offended that Cheng Yang believed he would frequent the Tavern, “Besides, it would look bad if I went in when my subordinates are forbidden to . ”
At present, no one aside from Cheng Yang and the five generals were allowed the freely enter the Tavern . Anyone else needed permission, something that was only granted if Old Lee needed someone to browse the forum .
Cheng Yang’s greatest enemies were other humans, so he decided to restrict the biggest information leak . Although Yuan Jianzhe might have found the villages by now, Cheng Yang wasn’t going to announce that Yuan Jianzhe’s suspicions were correct .
Since Liu Hau didn’t know, Cheng Yang told him about his business selling Stones of Return .
“We’re rich . Totally completely rich . ” Liu Hau said with eyes bigger than a cow’s .
“In a sense, but our expenses are going to grow just as quickly . ” Cheng Yang replied, “Anyways, I came here to deliver some of those Experience Fragments and help you clear the Nightmare Difficulty of the Abandoned Citadel . ”
“My Lord, don’t change the subject, what were you doing in Yicheng? Why didn’t you tell anyone you were planning to visit?”
“It was a spur of the moment decision . ” Cheng Yang lied . “So, I only took two people, and coincidentally, we found a Territory Altar . ”
Liu Hau sighed .
“My Lord, you are the core of our territory, so don’t throw yourself into danger like that! Every time you do, we’re terrified you might die . Although it’s unbelievable, we trust you when you say you had visions, so let us share the burden of fulfilling your dream . What if something happened and you died? Everything you’ve built would become sand in the wind before Yuan Jianzhe conquered everything you left behind . Can you bear to see that happen?”
“Don’t worry . I have my limits . ” Cheng Yang replied . “I knew it wouldn’t be too dangerous, so I didn’t want you all to be worried all day . I even brought some Stones of Return, so if we encountered danger, we could safely escape . Besides, look at everything we gained from my trip . We have a new village incorporated into our territory, and I obtained a powerful Pet . Although Little White might seem gentle, he’s at the same level as a Mature monster No risk, no reward, right?”