Chapter 290: Destruction

As the southern gate of the Great Han Empire’s Imperial Capital, Jinling City was only several hundred li away, which was not too far. The Imperial Capital was basically a highly-populated, flat piece of land where economy thrived. There weren’t many craggy mountain roads that were hard to travel on in the area. One could usually come and go as they pleased on a swift steed.

Yan Liqiang and Escort Wang Hui rode their rhinodrake steeds in the darkness, swiftly galloping north from Jinling City under the stars. The sounds of iron hooves thundered throughout the silent night. They passed by collapsed bridges and roads that had been cut off. Villages, cities, and towns on either side of the road were all reduced to ruins. Under the moonlight, they would occasionally see craters ranging from tens to hundreds of meters in the outskirts. The ground around those craters was barren and pitch black.

Among ruins of the villages, the heart-wrenching and anguished cries of those who were fortunate enough to survive drifted faintly with the night breeze. One could still see the burning farmlands and forests at the impact site in the outskirts. The rolling smoke was thick, but no one cared. Both them ran into a few other riders hurrying along the road. Both parties exchanged cautious glances under the dark night sky as they brushed past each other before speeding off in the opposite directions…

The further they traveled northward, the more deserted it became. As the magnitude of the destruction they saw along the way increased, the fewer survivors they bumped into. The sightings of gigantic meteorite craters became more frequent. Both Yan Liqiang and Wang Hui felt as though they were riding into an uninhabited region.

If the road was cut off, both of them would take a detour. If the bridge collapsed, they would have their steeds swim across the river. Their mood and facial expressions grew heavy at the current state of the once extremely prosperous heart of the Great Han Empire.

To be honest, Yan Liqiang already had a hunch in his heart when he watched the largest meteor fall toward the Imperial Capital and the series of events that ensued last night. Although Yan Liqiang wasn’t knowledgeable in quantum physics in his previous life, he at least knew about nuclear explosions. He had never been to Russia, but he had heard some of the theories behind the Tunguska event on the Internet. Not only that, but he had also seen the disasters that meteors could bring about in movies. Thanks to the knowledge and readings he had accumulated during his previous life, he was able to immediately determine the significance of this catastrophe.

Since he was at the border of Jinling City, he wouldn’t feel satisfied until he verified the aftermath with his very own eyes. It was no lie that he still had an unbelievable glimmer of hope in his heart telling him that perhaps things weren’t as serious as he thought and that there still might be some miracles.

After traveling for nearly an entire night, they found that the road ahead of them was blocked off again right before daybreak. The difference compared to last time was that the road was completely cut off by a mountain. The path ended abruptly and there was nothing around except for rubble and towering cliffs ahead of them…

Yan Liqiang abruptly reined in his steed. The sweaty rhinodrake steed beneath him halted, then immediately started pacing around the same spot. “Brother Wang…” Yan Liqiang turned his head around and shouted.

“This is Jinque Pass. I used this route when I came to the Imperial Capital with the escort leader. The Imperial Capital is just seven to ten li beyond this pass…” Wang Hui gulped as he took in the scenery before his eyes while riding. “Jinque Pass is supposed to be in between this mountain, how come…”

“There must have been a landslide here last night. Are there any other routes besides this one?”

“There’s a town about ten li south from here. There’s a smaller road that bypasses Jinque Pass there…”

“Let’s go there and take a look…”

“Agreed…” Wang Hui turned his steed around then galloped swiftly southward along the foot of the mountain. In just a short while, they managed to cover a distance of about ten li.

However, as soon as they arrived at the place that Wang Hui mentioned, they realized that the town had disappeared. Not to mention, the road had also vanished. The landslide had buried everything, leaving only a person wandering around the rubble like a lonely lost soul.

Yan Liqiang and Wang Hui dismounted as soon as they spotted that person and went over to him.

It was a man in his forties, dressed in a torn law enforcer uniform without his hat. He was staring vacantly at the ruins as he paced around there.

He was the first uniformed personnel Yan Liqiang had come across during their journey.

“Excuse me, Brother. Are there any roads that lead to the Imperial Capital around here?” Yan Liqiang asked.

The man finally turned his head around slowly at Yan Liqiang’s voice. He stared at Yan Liqiang lifelessly as a bone-chilling grin broke across his face. “Gone… Gone… All gone… Little Hua is gone… Little Ying is gone too… The town is gone… Everything is gone…” The person turned his head around again after saying all that, then resumed pacing around the rubble.

“Liqiang, I’m afraid this person has lost his mind…”

Yan Liqiang cast a glance at the person and sighed. “Brother Wang, is there any other way?”

“I only know these two ways through Jinque Pass to reach the Imperial Capital from Jinling City. Since the terrain has changed, perhaps we will find another way if we go further south…”

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Yan Liqiang lifted his head to look at the mountain that was blocking their path. “Let’s leave our steeds here instead and go over that mountain to take a look…” he simply said.

“Alright!” Wang Hui scanned the surroundings once. “But not here, it would be too eye-catching. If anyone passes by and takes our steeds with them, it will be difficult for us to return. We should find a more obscure spot up ahead!”

“How thorough of you, Brother Wang!”

“You flatter me, Brother Liqiang. This is merely the little experience I have gained from decades of escort journeys…”

Both of them rode a few more li toward the front until they saw small gully. The rhinodrake steeds were left in a more obscure spot in the small gully with their reins tied to a big rock. They then untied the sack of concentrated feed from the rhinodrake steeds and put them into their mouths so they could eat and recover their strength. After doing all that, they both started scaling the mountain from the bottom of the gully.

They both were quite physically strong. It took them only less than two hours to finally reach the top of the mountain.

By the time they made it to the mountaintop, the sun had just risen from the eastern horizon. The first rays of dawn shone upon the land. Standing at the peak, both of them saw the Imperial Capital…

Although the Imperial Capital was still about seventy or eighty li away, they could still get a clear view of the landscape to the north of the mountain.

The land was bleak and desolate…

The Imperial Capital had vanished…

The city had vanished…

The people had vanished…

The villages had vanished…

The river had vanished…

Everything was gone…

Even deities were unlikely to survive such heavenly might, let alone the flesh of mere mortals.

As far as their eyes could see, the entire landscape to the north of the mountain was as bleak and barren as the moon’s surface. Only a massive crater with the diameter of a few li was left on the land where the Imperial Capital once sat. The entire side of the very mountain they were standing on which faced the Imperial Capital was scorched black and all the trees growing there had fallen…

Countless high-ranking officials, dignitaries, wealthy merchants, royalties, and citizens living in the heart of the Great Han Empire were reduced to dust overnight, along with the innumerable wealth and boundless power in the city…

Yan Liqiang’s mind was stunned when he really took in the sight before his eyes. His hands and legs trembled. He could even hear himself gulp.

“Done… the Great Han Empire is done for…” Wang Hui paled as he mumbled to himself absent-mindedly.

The scene before them was no doubt the most terrifying catastrophe that could befall this nation. Yan Liqiang didn’t know what would happen next. However, he was certain that the fate of everyone in the Great Han Empire would be rewritten after today. The sight before their very eyes was definitely an ill omen…

“Brother Wang, let’s… go back!” Yan Liqiang bit his own tongue to sober up.

……

By the time they returned to Jinling City again, it was already evening. The two rhinodrake steeds seemed to have reached their physical limits after running for an entire night and day. As soon as they returned to the depot, Wang Sheng and Gong Dequan who had been waiting there immediately rushed up to them…

“How’s the situation in the Imperial Capital?”