National Guardian's Gone and We're Done-Chapter 52: The New National Guardian War God Starts to Crack

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: The New National Guardian War God Starts to Crack

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!

The sound of a bouncing ball echoed through the silent night, carrying an eerie rhythm that was neither fast nor slow.

It was as if a prelude to death was being played on the empty city streets.

Against the backdrop of this sound, the once-steady steps of the patrol team members began to tremble.

An indescribable chill surged through them, shooting up their spines to the crowns of their heads.

"We clearly notified all the city’s residents that they are absolutely forbidden from leaving their homes after sunset."

A member of the patrol team frowned in confusion. "Why would someone still be out here bouncing a ball?"

The team’s captain, a man with a goatee, scanned his surroundings with sharp eyes.

He suddenly spun around and drew a modern automatic crossbow from his back.

Every arrow for the crossbow was meticulously crafted from special materials.

The arrowheads were coated with a special cinnabar paste, which had a significant restraining effect on Evil Spirits.

While such an arrow was unlikely to cause a fatal wound to a human,

it had a considerable suppressive effect on beings like Evil Spirits.

"All units, on alert. Be ready to engage at any moment."

The goateed captain ordered in a low voice, his words echoing in the darkness. "If it really is a child bouncing a ball, we’ll take them back home first. But my gut tells me there’s a high probability this is an Evil Spirit at work."

"No way. Hasn’t the Royal City already issued a notice?

The Evil Spirits in Yongdeng City were remnants that came down from the Demon Cave long ago. Aren’t other places supposed to be safe?

Our Xuanyong City even sent many of our Martial Artists to Yongdeng City as reinforcements."

A young patrolman in the squad had a clear look of fear on his face.

He had joined the City Defense Team less than half a year ago and only had the cultivation of a Third Grade Martial Artist.

Most of his information about Evil Spirits came from pictures in academy textbooks and online videos; he had never truly faced one.

At this moment, fear washed over him like a tide, making it hard for him to even stand steady.

Seeing this, the goateed captain sighed softly and said earnestly, "We’re not playing video games in school anymore. In real life, matters of life and death can’t be solved with a Resurrection Coin.

So, whenever we encounter any anomaly, we must be on high alert.

Treat every unusual situation as the most dangerous possible threat. That’s the only way we can improve our chances of survival.

I’m just guessing, though. I hope it really is just some clueless kid bouncing a ball on the street."

Hearing their captain’s words, the new recruits’ expressions turned serious, and they all drew their weapons.

Led by the goateed captain, they cautiously advanced toward the source of the sound.

Fortunately, there were streetlights ahead, illuminating the street as brightly as day.

When the ten-man patrol team finally reached the source of the sound, they were all dumbfounded by the sight before them.

The continuous sound of a bouncing ball was not coming from a child.

The scene was completely different from what they had imagined.

The scene before them was like a horrifying tableau, slowly unfurling in the silent night.

A human head lay alone on the ground, constantly bouncing up and down,

making a dull "THUMP, THUMP, THUMP" sound.

The head’s eyes were closed, and it belonged to a young man in his twenties.

His skin had long lost its healthy color, turning as pale as paper.

At the neck, the severed blood vessels and flesh were already dried out.

Suddenly, the head’s eyes snapped open, its black pupils glinting with an eerie light.

It stared intently at the patrol team, as if it wanted to suck each of their souls into its endless darkness.

Then, the head slammed into the ground and shot toward the goateed captain like a black streak, moving at an astonishing speed.

The speed was staggering.

The goateed captain didn’t even have time to react; he could only watch helplessly as the head flew toward his own.

After a muffled thud, a clean, circular cut appeared on the goateed captain’s head, and blood instantly gushed out.

His head rolled off his body, spraying blood like a fountain onto the remaining nine members of the patrol team.

The warm blood jolted their senses, and they screamed in terror.

The head rolled to a stop, landing side by side with the eerie one.

The more experienced patrolmen reacted quickly, immediately activating the emergency beacons on their bodies,

which automatically sent their location and a report of the situation to the Xuanyong City command center. At the same time, they rapidly retreated.

While they waited for rescue, an even more horrifying scene unfolded.

The goateed captain’s head began to twist and writhe on the ground, its facial features changing violently.

In just a few short seconds,

the goateed face had completely transformed, becoming an identical copy of the young man’s head from before.

The transformation was shockingly fast.

At this point, the remaining nine members of the patrol team could no longer tell which head had originally belonged to their goateed captain.

Then, both heads started moving at the same time.

They shot between the members of the patrol team like two crazed cannonballs.

Screams rose one after another as the nine patrol members fell, one by one.

In the end, eleven heads lay on the ground, their faces now identical, all bearing the visage of that young man.

These heads bounced in place, making a sound indistinguishable from that of a bouncing ball.

Soon, patrol teams from all directions rushed to the scene.

When they saw the spectacle, they all gasped in horror.

The sight before them was too bizarre, and they couldn’t believe their eyes.

However, the heads began to move again.

The previous patrol team had died too quickly to send any detailed information about the strange heads.

As a result, these newly arrived patrol teams had no time to react.

In the blink of an eye, the heads and bodies of more than a dozen people were separated.

After these new heads fell to the ground, their features rapidly changed, transforming to look exactly like the original young man’s head.

In the darkness of the night, the sounds of bouncing balls grew more numerous, converging into a grotesque symphony.

The sound echoed through the night sky, sending a chill down everyone’s spine.

Many residents were awakened by the noise. They pushed open their windows and looked outside.

However, the scene that greeted them was as terrifying as Hell descending upon the earth!

...

The morning sun had just begun to spread across the lands of the Great Jing Empire, its golden rays not yet having dispelled the last vestiges of the night’s gloom,

but the entire internet was already in an uproar.

A shocking piece of news was spreading like wildfire, instantly igniting a firestorm across all platforms.

Xuanyong City, once a prosperous metropolis, had become a Purgatory ravaged by an Evil Spirit.

Its over seven million residents had all been horribly killed by a mysterious power—not a single one was spared!

Even more unbelievably, this strange Evil Spirit did not originate from Yongdeng City.

Yongdeng City was now heavily surrounded by an army of Martial Artists, forming an impenetrable fortress that made it impossible for the Evil Spirits there to escape.

This meant that terrifying Evil Spirit threats still lurked in other corners of the Great Jing Empire.

Once the news broke, it caused a massive uproar.

Discussions erupted on every street corner.

"Weren’t the Demon Caves of the Great Jing Empire supposed to have been completely sealed? Why are Evil Spirits still so rampant?"

"Could it be that Xiao Cangqing has gone down the same path as Chu He? Has the threat of the Demon Caves never truly been eliminated?"

"Who the hell is lying about all this?"

"Doesn’t Her Majesty the Queen owe a reasonable explanation to the over seven million dead in Xuanyong City, and to the other citizens of the Great Jing Empire who are still struggling to survive?"

"Xiao Cangqing, don’t you usually interact with the public on your livestreams? Why are you so silent this time? Shouldn’t you come forward and explain the current situation in the Great Jing Empire?"

"..."

On the wide streets of the Royal City, furious citizens flooded in like a tide.

They held up protest banners and shouted slogans until their voices were hoarse, beginning a massive protest march.

The noise echoed over the Royal City like rolling thunder.

...

"You said the Evil Spirits would lie low because they feared Chu He’s existence! You lied to me!"

Inside a luxurious villa, Xiao Cangqing stood before a floor-to-ceiling window,

staring at the reporters and protestors gathered outside, his expression grim.

The situation had spiraled completely out of his control.

His status as the National Guardian War God was also beginning to waver amidst the surging tide of public opinion.

"What? Are you questioning me?"

A deep and raspy voice sounded in Xiao Cangqing’s mind.

The voice carried a rotten stench, making Xiao Cangqing frown slightly as irritation and unease welled up within him.