I Can Extract Divine Power-Chapter 160 - 108: Corpse Driver, Incident

"According to protocol, we’ve already assigned personnel to every checkpoint. The Bing and Ding Divisions will coordinate to handle guard duty."

"I know the members of the Ding Division have been exhausted lately, what with guarding the Three Flames Temple. This time, the Yi Division will take over that responsibility. Coincidentally, the Yi Division is small and there’s only one temple to watch, so you all will have some downtime."

"This time, the Bing Division will take the lead, so our brothers in the Ding Division can get some much-needed rest."

With that, Hong Feng began to lay out the specific details.

Shen Bai listened quietly, stroking Amber’s head from time to time. He soon learned which members of the Bing Division would be paired with his own Ding Twenty-Third Division.

This time, the Ding Twenty-Third Division was paired with three members from the Bing Division.

These three were Zhao San, Qian Jiu, and Chen Shih.

The three were veterans from the Ding Division, all of whom had been promoted to the Bing Division. Each possessed the power of the Five Viscera Mirror and had been immersed in that realm for a long time, making them all seasoned experts.

However, the three were getting on in years. Having already entered middle age, further promotion was difficult, so they had remained in the Bing Division.

Once the assignments were made, the group didn’t hesitate or waste words, heading straight for their destination.

A Corpse Driver passing through Fenglin State would obviously not travel through a bustling city, so all the members heading into the wilderness rode swift horses.

After a hard ride, the group successfully reached their destination.

...

Their route was planned from the nearest checkpoint to the farthest. Every time they reached an assigned post, the designated Observatory members would stop, while the rest continued onward.

As their numbers dwindled, Shen Bai traveled farther and farther from the heart of the Fenglin Continent.

The journey was uneventful, but having joined the Observatory, Shen Bai had no intention of slacking off.

He was a man of principle; if a job was worth doing, it was worth doing well.

Before long, Shen Bai arrived at his designated guard post.

Upon arrival, they dismounted and found a place to sit.

There were plenty of rocks on the ground, so Kong Fang and Huang Guang moved a few into the center to serve as seats.

The three members from the Bing Division, led by Zhao San, exchanged a glance.

After everyone was seated, an awkward silence fell over the group.

After all, they were from different divisions. Though they might have seen each other around, they rarely interacted.

Fortunately, Huang Guang and Kong Fang were natural chatterboxes, and it wasn’t long before they started making small talk.

Meanwhile, Shen Bai held Amber, chiming in with a comment or two every now and then.

As they talked, the time gradually slipped into the afternoon.

The sun began to set in the west, but the atmosphere around Shen Bai’s group was no longer awkward. When they ran out of small talk, they began discussing their respective skills and martial theories, comparing notes with one another.

Zhao San and the other two Bing Division members were quite curious about Shen Bai. They asked about his past but knew where to draw the line, never prying too deeply or making him uncomfortable.

Just like that, the sun gradually set, and the curtain of night began to fall.

Zhao San took out a flint, lit a torch they had brought with them, and stuck it in the ground nearby. It became their only source of light. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Shen Bai rarely found himself sitting around and chatting at night like this. He found the experience surprisingly pleasant and relaxing.

"Brother Shen, you’ve clearly never been on a mission like this before. To be honest, we’ve been assigned to Corpse Driver escorts many times," Zhao San said with a smile. "There’s nothing to worry about."

Shen Bai stroked Amber’s head. "I’m not worried about any problems," he said. "I just think it’s rather special for all of us to be sitting here, gathered together and just talking."

Zhao San slapped his thigh. "Brother Shen, you’re really one of a kind. But after you’ve been on enough of these missions, you get used to it. There will be plenty of similar jobs here in Fenglin State in the future."

By now, Zhao San and his men had gone from seeing Shen Bai as a stranger to feeling familiar with him.

They had expected a young prodigy like Shen Bai to be arrogant and conceited, but he turned out to be as gentle as jade, which made their fondness for him grow.

The group continued to chat idly.

By now, the night had grown much deeper.

Just as Shen Bai was thinking it would be a long time before the Corpse Driver’s procession reached their position, a series of footsteps suddenly rang out.

They were exceptionally clear in the pitch-black night.

As members of the Observatory, they were all extremely alert to such unusual sounds.

Kong Fang glanced back toward the source of the sound. "Looks like the Corpse Driver’s procession is here," he said. "Nothing dangerous must have happened up ahead."

When his words fell, he received no response. He subconsciously turned back and saw grave expressions on everyone else’s faces.

Kong Fang asked, puzzled, "What’s wrong? Why do you all look so serious?"

Zhao San didn’t answer. Instead, it was Shen Bai who replied.

"There aren’t many sets of footsteps—only a few people. And they sound panicked. Most likely, something’s gone wrong."

Kong Fang listened carefully and realized it was just as Shen Bai had said.

The footsteps were panicked and hurried, and there weren’t many of them.

A Corpse Driver’s procession, after all, included not only the driver but also a thousand corpses. These footsteps sounded like seven or eight people at most.

Shen Bai placed his hand on Cold Moon, the blade at his waist, his eyes fixed on the source of the sound.

Amber, cradled in his arms, stared with her emerald-like eyes and let out a soft, low growl.

The footsteps grew closer. From the pitch-black woods, several figures suddenly emerged.

The men were wearing Observatory uniforms, with tokens hanging from their waists.

Panic and urgency were etched on every one of their faces.

When they saw Shen Bai and his group, they shouted urgently.

"You don’t need to guard this post! Get out of here, now! Something terrible has happened!"

"The Corpse Driver’s procession was attacked! Only a dozen or so survivors managed to find us. All the corpses have vanished!"