Chapter Thirty-Five: The Corpse King, Jiang Chen!

Upon hearing Lin Fan’s words, Old Jin stopped overthinking and suddenly laughed. “You really do have a way about you—sending the new recruits for physical training at the construction site… Ha! What a brilliant idea. On one hand, it speeds up the project, and on the other, half a day’s work on a construction site is far more exhausting than a twenty-kilometer weighted march.”

“Aren’t you afraid you’ll scare these greenhorns off with all that hard labor?”

Lin Fan shook his head. “If they can’t handle this much hardship, then they have no business making enemies of the gods—they’d best go home.”

“Don’t forget, our enemies are gods. Stronger than any we’ve faced before—the gods themselves.”

“It’s better to be worn out by training than to die at the hands of the Sea Goddess and her monstrous followers.” Here, Lin Fan paused and continued, “But we can’t neglect other aspects of training. In the end, this form of physical training is more a necessity than a choice, but shooting and tactics mustn’t be left behind.”

Just then, Old Chen, who had been busy on the phone coordinating matters, finally couldn’t take it anymore. He turned and said, “You two! If you’re so idle, come over and help me out for once!”

“Heh, Old Chen, aren’t you the overall supervisor?” Old Jin grinned shamelessly. “I’m just a rough fellow—if it’s leading troops to battle, that’s one thing, but managing construction… tsk tsk, I’ve no desire to go down in history as a criminal against the nation.”

Old Chen found himself at a loss for words.

At that moment—

“Report!” A young soldier rushed in, casting a respectful glance at Lin Fan and Old Jin before turning to Old Chen, his expression grave. “Chief Supervisor, we’ve encountered a problem at construction site 1125, ten kilometers from here.”

“What problem?” Old Chen frowned. “There’s no bedrock there, just soft sand—you mean they can’t dig through it?”

The young soldier shook his head, troubled. “It’s not that. They uncovered a pitch-black stone stele at the site. It looks strange… Here’s a photograph for you to see.”

Before Old Chen could react, Lin Fan leapt to his feet and snatched up the photo.

As he gazed at the familiar stele, Lin Fan’s breath quickened.

“A stele inscribed with the character for ‘corpse’…”

“The first secret awakened by the aura of the gods has begun!”

“And it’s come even earlier—because we started building the Iron Wall ahead of schedule, we’ve unearthed this slumbering secret sooner than expected!”

Without hesitation, Lin Fan spun on his heel and strode out. “Leave this to me!”

With that, he went to the next room and pushed open the door.

Inside, the initial members of the Godslayer Corps—Master Dao Wanqian of the Daoist sect, the Compassionate Lama of the Buddhist order, and Master Mo Buzhi of the Confucian school—were all seated cross-legged in meditation.

“All of you, stop cultivating!” Lin Fan clapped his hands. “Up! Fall in!”

Wang Hu, the burly man from the Xingyi school, blinked in curiosity. “Boss, what’s going on…”

Lin Fan pronounced each word with conviction: “The Godslayer Corps’ first battle has arrived!”

The first battle of the Godslayer Corps!

At that moment, tension filled the air, and a spark of excitement shone in everyone’s eyes.

The purpose of the Godslayer Corps was wholly different from any other force!

And their battles…

“Heh.” Wang Hu, who had reached the sixth level of the Godslayer Demon-Slaying Art, grinned broadly, clenching his fists. Behind him, the spectral form of a great white tiger manifested. “At last, I get to put my skills to the test!”

The peachwood sword at Dao Wanqian’s waist gently swayed.

Five minutes later.

A military vehicle roared toward Area 1125.

Inside the rattling carriage, Lin Fan, dressed in athletic gear, spoke in a low voice, “The creatures we’re about to face may surpass anything you’ve imagined.”

“In the future, we call such beings the ‘Enigmas.’”

“They are not gods, but they possess extraordinary power—a unique category. They appear in many legends.”

“Huh?” Wang Hu scratched his head, puzzled.

“Let me put it this way,” Lin Fan frowned. “Since legendary gods like Poseidon and Apollo truly exist…”

“Then don’t you think it’s possible that werewolves, vampires, zombies, and fox spirits might also exist?”

At these words, the first group of Godslayer members in the vehicle all sucked in a sharp breath.

“You mean…” Dao Wanqian’s grip tightened on his peachwood sword, his brow furrowed.

“That’s right.” Lin Fan nodded. “These beings are the Enigmas.”

“They were once suppressed into slumber by our Eastern Martial Gods, but that doesn’t mean they stand with the gods.”

“We can slay them—or… subdue them, and make them serve us.”

“However, killing is far easier than taming.” Here, Lin Fan’s voice grew heavy. “I don’t expect us to subdue this Enigma—it’s our first battle. Don’t take chances. Kill if you can. Be decisive and leave no mercy. The first priority is for everyone to survive, and to experience this extraordinary combat.”

“Don’t let your guard down.”

“This Enigma is not powerful, but in my memory, it is one of the most devastating to our nation, having caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands.”

Everyone’s faces turned ashen at these words.

“Hundreds of thousands of deaths?” Mo Buzhi could hardly believe it. “And that’s not considered strong?”

“In terms of raw strength, it isn’t. After so long in slumber, it’s only at the demigod level.” Lin Fan’s voice dropped. “But its name is… Jiang Jun.”

“Jiang Jun!”

These two words struck everyone like lightning.

The Corpse King, Jiang Jun!

The progenitor of all zombies!

In legend, the first zombie, born of resentment and dark energy!

“This is our adversary?”

“To think the demons recorded in our Daoist texts truly exist.” Dao Wanqian stroked his peachwood sword and suddenly smiled. “How thrilling! At last, a chance to emulate our forebears, to slay monsters and purge evil!”

The peachwood sword and yellow talismans of the Daoist order were crafted precisely for the eradication of such vile beings.

Mo Buzhi’s expression was grim. “I think I know how it caused the deaths of so many…”

Hundreds of thousands—

Even if it killed them one by one, it would take decades, centuries.

If, as Lin Fan said, Jiang Jun had fallen to the level of a demigod, there’s no way it could have killed so many by itself.

The problem is—

What is a zombie?

A being born of the world’s dark energies, with a thirst not only for blood, but, crucially, the power to transmit its own dark aura into humans, transforming them into mindless zombies as well!

It’s a mobile source of contagion, endlessly spreading its curse.

If unprepared, the Corpse King could easily raise a zombie army!

The best way to deal with such an Enigma is to destroy it utterly the moment it appears.

But… this time, it’s emerged at Area 1125! There are thousands of workers and new recruits there!

Worse yet, all the construction sites are interconnected, stretching along the entire Ludong coastline. If a zombie outbreak truly erupts—

Does that mean the eight million new recruits and thirty million-strong workforce painstakingly gathered would all fall under Jiang Jun’s thrall, becoming zombies?

At that point, control would be impossible—the entire nation would be engulfed by the undead!

Mo Buzhi bit his lip hard, unable to voice the terrible suspicion in his heart.