Chapter 522 (1): The Great Trends of the World Are but Small Matters
There were many rivers in the Southern Thorn Nation, and the two steeds continued to travel both day and night.
However, traveling from the Southern Thorn Nation to the Northern Swallow Nation was a slightly troublesome matter, as the two nations had just engaged in a series of battles on the border not too long ago. The Northern Swallow Nation had actively incited these battles, with many units of light cavalry ranging from one hundred cavalrymen to one thousand cavalrymen wantonly breaching the borders and entering the neighboring nation to cause trouble.
Meanwhile, there was seemingly no cavalry in the northern region of the Southern Thorn Nation that it could use to defend its territory and fight with the enemy cavalry, so the soldiers could only choose to retreat and defend the cities instead. These battles caused both nations to seal their borders, so any wandering martial artist who attempted to cross the borders at this time would immediately become target practice for both sides.
However, the two steeds still decided to cross the border along a small mountain path.
Recalling the scouts of the Five Mountain Nation who had infiltrated the Southern Thorn Nation before, Sui Jingcheng seemingly came to an understanding about something.
Evening arrived, and the two steeds arrived on top of a hill, allowing Chen Ping'an and Sui Jingcheng to witness the flames tearing through a village constructed along a river.
Sui Jingcheng initially thought that the senior sword immortal would observe this from a distance before detouring around the area, but his horse was already galloping down the hill and directly charging toward the village. Sui Jingcheng faltered for a moment before hurriedly following after him.
After they entered the village, what they saw was a scene akin to hell on earth. There were mutilated corpses littered everywhere, with the clothes of the women in tatters and the limbs of the young men filled with gaping stab wounds from swords and spears, causing them to die from blood loss as they struggled to crawl away and left a trail of blood in their wake. There were many dismembered limbs and broken bodies lying on the streets, with many small children also suffering especially miserable deaths.
Sui Jingcheng jumped down from her horse and squatted down, retching from the sight.
Chen Ping'an closed his eyes and listened for a moment, after which he said, "There are no survivors."
Sui Jingcheng didn't hear him at all. Right now, she felt like she was about to vomit her intestines out.
Chen Ping'an squatted down and grabbed some blood-soaked dirt, gently squeezing it between his fingers before throwing it to the ground. He stood up and looked around, jumping onto a roof ridge and observing the footprints and hoof marks in the surroundings, with his gaze continuing to wander further and further away. He eventually jumped off the roof and gracefully landed on the ground, passing his Sword Nurturing Gourd to Sui Jingcheng before handing her the reins of his horse as well.