Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1483 - 1476: The Truth of Annihilation

Chapter 1483: Chapter 1476: The Truth of Annihilation

"That means..." Cheng Ziang asked hesitantly.

"It means that back then, the Kyushu military suffered an outbreak of plague, while the Ghost Race people curled up in the deep mountains and did not come out. A few months later, when they cautiously left the mountains, they were surprised to find that the Kyushu army had been completely annihilated by the epidemic, and the virus had wholly disappeared, so they were not infected. This might be the real reason why the Ghost Race people defeated the Kyushu Empire, with no sorcery involved, let alone any genetic weapons," Baiyue said.

"That does make some sense," Cheng Ziang nodded and replied.

"So, don’t drink when you don’t have anything to do!" Baiyue said with her hands on her hips.

"Are you focusing on my drinking?" Cheng Ziang asked with a mixture of laughter and tears.

"If you screw things up by drinking again, I’ll go and tell Luo’er," Baiyue said seriously.

"How old are you, still playing the tattletale..." Cheng Ziang said, covering his face.

"Of course, what I said might not be correct. This cursed place has no historical records, and we have no idea what happened back then," Baiyue closed her notebook and shook her head with a sigh.

"Forget it, it’s going to rain. Let’s head back first. If we happen to meet Miss Zisu, we can ask her about it. I think she might know something," Cheng Ziang suggested.

"Mm, that’s the only thing we can do," Baiyue nodded.

The clouds in the sky grew thicker, and the atmospheric pressure felt increasingly oppressive, making it hard to breathe. Just as the three of them stepped into the doorway of the room they were staying in, a thunderclap sounded in the sky outside, followed by a torrential downpour.

"My goodness, this rain is just unreasonable..." Cheng Ziang gasped for breath and looked out at the pouring rain, feeling emotional.

At that moment, in the room, a warm bonfire was burning at the hearth. Zisu was sitting in front of it, propping up her chin in a daze. When she saw the three people walk in, a slight smile appeared on her pale face, and her fluffy ears involuntarily twitched.

"Miss Zisu, are you okay? Your complexion doesn’t look very good," Baiyue walked over and asked with concern.

"Oh, it’s nothing. Just a bit... tired," Zisu smiled, then lowered her head to rub her eyes before looking up with a still somewhat strained smile.

"Don’t worry too much about official business. Take advantage of this time to rest," Cheng Ziang joined in.

"I wish I could, but the situation over at West Outer Heaven is urgent, it doesn’t allow me much rest. Every extra day I stay, the Demon Clan’s army is in greater danger," Zisu let out a sigh.

"You should trust Miss Yunji, after all, she’s also led the Demon Clan’s army to several victories," Cheng Ziang said.

"But her opponent is Yichuan Long after all. You’ve probably seen what kind of character he is," Zisu shook her head.

"So, Miss Zisu, did you come to Aximiya Island this time to seek a way to counter Yichuan Long?" Cheng Ziang subtly steered the conversation towards Zisu’s mission.

"Hehe, I was just discussing with the people of the Ghost Race methods to counter the people of Kyushu, after all, they once defeated the Kyushu Empire’s invasion with their own strength," Zisu laughed and smoothly parried the question raised by Cheng Ziang.

If Cheng Ziang had not understood her conversation with the Ghost Race elders, he might have really believed her. But now, he was becoming more doubtful because he wanted to know why Zisu kept lying to them.

"About that war from the past, I’m somewhat unclear, does Miss Zisu have any understanding of it?" Baiyue took out her notebook and pen, and asked Zisu earnestly.

"Oh, are you interested in the war between the Kyushu Empire and the Ghost Race?" Zisu asked curiously.

"We collect customs and cultures from around the world, as well as some historical news. This is part of our mission coming to the East Continent," Baiyue said seriously.

What she said was indeed the truth, so her tone sounded very sincere. Originally, Zisu had wanted to test her, but after hearing her explanation, all doubts were dispelled.

"Alright, I do know some things about what happened back then, and I’m willing to talk to you about it," Zisu nodded and said.

"That would be excellent," Baiyue said excitedly.

"Hmm, let me think, where should I start?" Zisu pondered for a moment.

"Tell us why the Kyushu Empire was defeated," Baiyue said earnestly, "I really want to know why the Kyushu Empire, with all its advantages in timing, geography, and harmony, suddenly met with a disastrous defeat, with hundreds of thousands of troops vanishing into smoke, and even Emperor Wu was not spared."

"You seem quite knowledgeable about the details of these events," Zisu looked at her and said.

"We’ve asked many people in the streets, but the answers were all different. The only consensus was that the Kyushu Empire was defeated and Emperor Wu fell in battle," Baiyue replied.

"I also heard that," Zisu thought for a moment, "at that time, the Kyushu Empire was indeed close to taking over the entire Aximiya Island, but unfortunately, they were bewitched by the Ghost Race, causing hundreds of thousands of soldiers to contract a disease and die..."

"Can the Ghost Race really use witchcraft?" Baiyue couldn’t help but ask curiously.

"Whether they can use witchcraft or not, didn’t you experience it for yourself back in the village?" Zisu shrugged her shoulders, as if it were a matter of fact.

"Such witchcraft shouldn’t be enough to kill so many troops, right?" Baiyue said.

"It was a contagious kind of witchcraft. The Ghost Race used it on just a few individuals, but then it spread rapidly throughout the Kyushu army, causing hundreds of thousands to perish from the disease," Zisu thought for a moment.

"When the Ghost Race used witchcraft on their own turf against the Kyushu army, weren’t they afraid that the witchcraft would backfire?" Baiyue earnestly asked.

"No need to worry, because this kind of witchcraft only targeted the people of Kyushu," Zisu said unconsciously.

"Can you be more specific?" Baiyue was taken aback and then asked seriously.

Zisu paused, suddenly realizing she had said too much, and quickly clenched her mouth shut. After a moment of silence, she stood up and said, "I’m feeling a bit tired, I’ll go rest in bed, you can continue talking."

"Witchcraft that targets only Kyushu people..." Baiyue muttered this phrase while staring at Zisu’s back, then turned her head to look at Cheng Ziang.

It was clear that the accounts they got from Zisu were almost identical to what Cheng Ziang had heard: witchcraft used by the Ghost Race specifically against the Kyushu people, leading to the annihilation of hundreds of thousands of soldiers. If what Zisu said was credible, that would completely overturn all the possible theories they had found today.

But it was evident that Zisu’s account was also just one perspective, and she, being from the Demon Clan, while possibly viewing the incident objectively, definitely didn’t have as much insider knowledge as the parties involved.

Now, to really understand the war between the Kyushu Empire and the Ghost Race, there were two most appropriate approaches. One was to search for historical records in Kyushu, and the other was to seek answers from the Ghost Race.

Both were parties to the disaster of that year; only by obtaining their accounts, combined with all known clues, could they uncover the real truth behind that war.

Zisu’s actions also deepened Cheng Ziang’s suspicions, as she seemed to be avoiding the purpose of his trip, either deliberately or unintentionally. Cheng Ziang really wanted to know what Zisu’s purpose was in coming here. Why it was so secretive and why she was unwilling to tell the others.

Another day passed, and the next day the weather was slightly better. Although it was still overcast, at least it was no longer raining. Zisu went to visit the Ghost Race elders again, while Baiyue was contemplating whether to go out and continue her cultural documentation.

Not long after Zisu left, a Ghost Race individual accompanied by two Ghost Race warriors came to the door of their room.

"Sir, please come with us," the Ghost Race individual said respectfully in the Demon Clan language upon seeing Cheng Ziang.

He wore an exaggerated ghostly mask, with a very noticeable bearded relief on the mask, which made Cheng Ziang involuntarily start to imagine his face.

"What is the matter?" Cheng Ziang asked warily.

"Our elder wishes to meet with you," the Ghost Race person said politely.