Su Muqing was fully armed, wrapping herself tightly. Although it was a bit stuffy, it was better than being sunburned and peeling.
After ensuring that not a single bit of her skin was exposed to the sun, she flew onto the eagle's back.
After another three hours of flight, they finally saw the outer city wall of Chehe City around 7 PM. About two hundred meters from the outer gate of Chehe City, Su Muqing brought the eagle into the space.
The sudden change of location startled the eagle, causing its body to sway and throw the person on its back. However, with Su Muqing's skills, she was not afraid of such a height.
She landed steadily on the ground and quickly removed her sweat-soaked gear. The weather was so hot it could kill. Her body had turned pink from the heat, and her neck was almost breaking out in a heat rash.
Su Muqing rushed into the bathroom like the wind for a quick shower. Without even drying her hair, she clipped it back. When she came out of the bathroom, she saw that Huo Qiyuan had already prepared the third meal.
It was inevitable, as while only three hours had passed outside, seventeen to eighteen hours had gone by in the space.
Huo Qiyuan looked at her reddened skin with great concern. He pulled her to sit on a chair for a while, then busied himself with getting her water and applying cold compresses.
Su Muqing rested on the lounge chair for more than ten minutes. The climate within the space was so comfortable. The sticky feeling on her body dissipated, and she felt her pores begin to relax.
Thinking of the situation in Chehe City, Su Muqing did not continue resting. She put the car outside the space and then laid the still-unconscious Madam Zhou and Xu Fu flat on the back seat. In the next second, Huo Qiyuan, carrying a table full of dishes, also appeared on the open ground.
The eagle had gone to run wild as soon as it entered the space. Considering it had just flown for several hours at high intensity, Su Muqing didn't bring it out. Letting it absorb more spiritual energy in the space would be beneficial for its body.
“Uncle Xu, Aunt Zhou, wake up and eat.” Huo Qiyuan softly called the two sleeping elders awake.
Xu Fu and Madam Zhou opened their eyes. The surroundings were very dark, and they were unaccustomed to it for a moment. Had they just fallen asleep? Had they slept for a very, very long time? Strangely, neither of them had dreamt at all.
The two of them had rarely slept so well in a place rich with spiritual energy. Their bodies felt much lighter. Besides being extremely hungry, they felt as if their pores had become more transparent!
“Your Highness, how long have we slept? And how did I fall asleep?” Madam Zhou rubbed her temples, unable to recall how she had suddenly fallen asleep.
She clearly remembered Old Man Xu being angered to the point of fainting, and she had wanted to go and help him. Then, it seemed like something had touched her neck, followed by a wave of dizziness, and then she had fainted, without any sensation at all.
“Aunt Zhou, you suddenly fainted because you had been sitting for too long and then got up too quickly. You’ve only slept for a few hours, you must be hungry. Come, eat! This was personally made by Brother Huo. After eating, we’ll enter Chehe City.” Su Muqing helped Madam Zhou to sit down and then placed a bowl of steamed white rice into her hand.
“We’ve reached Chehe City already? How could it be so fast?” Xu Fu was somewhat surprised. He hadn’t expected that after just one sleep, he would wake up at the entrance of Chehe City.
“You all fell asleep just now, so we drove a bit faster.”
“Good, good! Then let’s eat quickly! Didn’t you say there were many wounded waiting for treatment in the city?”
As they chatted, they quickly filled their stomachs and finished the meal in about ten minutes. Since they were in a hurry, Madam Zhou put the table, chairs, and the used bowls and chopsticks into the car, planning to wash them after entering the city. Huo Qiyuan drove towards the outer city gate of Chehe City.
Leng Ao was guarding the city gate. He had been staring at the sky, but as the sky slowly darkened, his eyes were so strained he couldn't see the eagle's figure.
Suddenly! Two beams of light flashed brightly in the distant darkness, and Leng Ao’s eyes also lit up. He was too familiar with these lights because throughout the entire Yaoking City, and indeed the entire world, only two cars had such lights.
One was the Prince’s exclusive vehicle, but he had ridden the eagle this afternoon, and the car was still parked inside. The other was His Majesty’s!
Why had His Majesty suddenly come? And he hadn't seen the eagle either. Oh no! Had the Prince not found him? Had they gone their separate ways?
No matter what! Leng Ao ran with all his might towards the direction of the lights and soon reached the car door. Seeing that their Prince was the one sitting in the driver's seat, Leng Ao finally felt relieved.
Without Huo Qiyuan needing to stop, Leng Ao directly flipped himself onto the car roof and entered the city gate in this manner. The outer city gates faced inwards and upwards, with two high-power searchlights hung every few dozen meters, illuminating the entire road brightly.
The ground, which had been pockmarked by explosions that morning, was now almost complete after a day of filling. Several rows of military green vehicles were neatly parked on both sides, looking very imposing.
Huo Qiyuan drove forward. Upon reaching the inner city gate, the scene was entirely different. They got out of the car and walked inwards step by step.
There were obvious signs of water flushing on the city walls, but the mottled walls from the explosions and the indelible black marks on them all showed the extent of the damage it had suffered just over ten hours ago.
After entering the inner city gate and seeing the scene before them, Su Muqing realized how understated Huo Qiyuan's description had been that afternoon. Chehe City hadn't merely been almost scrapped; it was essentially rendered useless.
A total of twelve Divine Fire Cannons, besides the two at the outer city gate. The remaining ten were placed with four on the inner city wall, and one each in the six best locations within the city. Even Huo Qiyuan didn't know that the positions of the Divine Fire Cannons had been secretly altered.
Ten Divine Fire Cannons, countless bombs, and the eight grenades thrown by Leng Si and his men to stop them. Under such immense firepower, Chehe City was bombarded into a thousand holes.
More than ten hours had passed. Even after spraying so much disinfectant, the smell of gunpowder in the air had not dissipated for a long time.
The citizens within the city no longer cried out loudly. After crying for an entire day, their voices were practically hoarse and unable to speak. Many people silently guarded the bodies of their loved ones that had been dug out.
Some people were occasionally wiping their family members, while others stubbornly pressed their hands on the wounds that were no longer bleeding. These people were unfortunate, but they were also fortunate. At least they had family to guard them, and at least they were dug out intact!
The dismembered body parts on the other side were the true testament to the horrific tragedy Chehe City had suffered. Torn apart, dilapidated, bloody…
On the cleared open ground at the very edge, sat a crowd of people with vacant eyes and expressionless faces. They were like soulless husks, or like startled lotus finches, liable to suffer a mental breakdown at any moment. And this was merely the most realistic mental state of all the survivors.