After the scholar finished speaking, a heavy silence descended upon the entire Huaxia Imperial Warship.
"If the curse contamination had only lasted for seven days, there might still be a way to save them. But after a month, there's no hope," Lin Qian said, his face dark and troubled. "The only solution now is to kill them all before they fully succumb to the contamination. The cities must be destroyed, and no one can be spared."
"If these cursed beings escape from the Yun family's territory and the contamination spreads across the entire Soul Martial Continent, it would be catastrophic."
After a pause, Lin Qian turned to his grandfather, Yun Fan. "Grandfather, you must know who's behind all of this, don't you?"
"Yun Hu!" Yun Fan growled in response to Lin Qian's question, his fists clenched tightly. "And… I suppose I am also to blame!"
Yun Rong's face changed drastically as she looked at her husband. "How could that be...?"
"These territories were won by your grandfather's hands. Back then, I was the one who helped reconstruct the formations, ensuring everything was done correctly. I oversaw the installation of these cursed formations, though I didn't know they contained such evil," Lin Qian explained with a heavy sigh. "Grandfather had no idea the formations were laced with such a dangerous curse. Even after being infiltrated by the Array Virus, the curse remained hidden, silently waiting to activate."
"What I still don't understand is why this curse was triggered just a month ago. Grandfather, do you have any idea?" Lin Qian asked, his gaze fixed on Yun Fan.
But Yun Fan could only shake his head in helpless confusion. "I don't know. When Yun Hu ordered the reconstruction of the formations, he insisted that I oversee the process personally, saying he trusted no one else. I had no way of knowing this would be the result," Yun Fan said, his voice filled with regret. "If only I had realized the truth behind those strange runes."
Cursed runes were notoriously difficult to decipher. If it weren't for the Heavenly Crafting Department, even Lin Qian wouldn't have understood them. Yun Hu had acted with such confidence, believing that no one would discover the curse hidden within the formations. That's why the formation masters involved in the reconstruction were still alive.
It was through these formation masters that Jifeng and Ye Ying were able to uncover the truth.
When Lin Qian first learned of the findings from Zhuge Ming, along with the recorded evidence, he had been utterly shocked.
An alternate-world version of a zombie apocalypse?
The revelation left Lin Qian both horrified and furious. What crime had ordinary people committed to deserve such a fate? Learning that the contamination was irreversible filled him with a sense of helpless rage.
From what Lin Qian knew from past experiences and knowledge, he understood all too well how quickly a contagion like this could spread. It was terrifying.
Worse still, research from the Heavenly Crafting Department and Medical Department showed that even Saint Realm experts were unlikely to be immune to this curse.
This curse went far beyond the natural laws of the Soul Martial Continent.
"Once again, it seems this situation is beyond the limits of what should exist on this continent. The Yun family is shrouded in mysteries," Lin Qian muttered, his face grim.
"Qian'er, is there truly no way to stop this?" Yun Fan asked, his voice tinged with helplessness as he looked at his grandson.
Lin Qian could see the guilt in his grandfather's eyes, but how could Yun Fan be blamed for this?
"There's no other way. The only solution is to wipe them all out," Lin Qian said, his gaze distant as he looked toward the horizon, sorrow flashing in his eyes. "I'm sure they wouldn't want to live as monsters."
Seeing the sadness in Lin Qian's eyes, Yun Qingfeng stepped forward and patted his nephew on the shoulder. "It must be painful to give such an order."
The Yun family's territory spanned 190 provinces, home to countless people. But Lin Qian had no choice but to issue the order to kill them all, leaving no survivors. There was no other way to save them.
As young as Lin Qian was, issuing such a command must have weighed heavily on him.
"If we don't act now, the entire Soul Martial Continent will be in danger. The innocent people of these 190 provinces have already suffered enough. Preventing further tragedy is the only right course of action," Lin Qian declared resolutely. "After all, the entire continent will one day be part of the Huaxia Empire, and I have no intention of ruling over a wasteland."
"Haha, I have a nephew with ambition that knows no bounds," Yun Qingfeng chuckled as he clapped Lin Qian on the shoulder. "Don't worry. If this is seen as a great sin, your uncle will share the burden with you. We know the real culprit now, so avenge these innocent souls and honor them."
Lin Qian nodded solemnly. "I will."
The battle and advance continued. The overwhelming strength of the Huaxia Empire left the Yun family with no chance of resistance.
"Why? Why are you exterminating us?" A blood-soaked member of the Yun family shouted in confusion at a tall female warrior in one of the provinces.
"Huh? You don't get it?" The female warrior gave him a pitying look as she handed him a special lens. "Look through this, so you don't die without knowing why."
The Yun family member hesitantly raised the lens to his eye, and his pupils contracted in horror.
Through the lens, he could see the dense black smoke swirling around the people being slaughtered. The smoke twisted into sinister faces and coiled around their bodies like evil spirits.
"Ah!" The man screamed, dropping the lens in terror.
But before the lens could hit the ground, the female warrior swiftly caught it, and her sword plunged through his heart.
With a swift kick, she sent the now-lifeless body flying away, casually placing the lens back onto her helmet.
"Ah…" She sighed as she glanced at the fallen man one last time, wiping the blood from her blade before turning to leave.
This scene repeated itself across the Yun family's territory. The Huaxia Empire's Imperial Army and Beast Troops, like emotionless harbingers of death, systematically wiped out anyone they encountered in the Yun family's lands.
They wore special lenses that revealed the cursed smoke infecting the bodies of those they slaughtered.
From the very beginning, there wasn't a single person who wasn't infected by the curse. Not a single person had been infected for less than a month.
It was as though everyone had been cursed at the same time.
And a month ago, all of the formations within the Yun family's territory had been activated. To Lin Qian, that was the root of it all.