"Halt! What are your intentions, you lot?"
The soldiers guarding the city gate were clad in armor, exuding an intimidating presence. They frowned and sternly rebuked the group as they approached the gate.
These soldiers were not ordinary members of the Guardian Army; they had been transferred from the Northern Frontier after the outbreak of the pandemic by Si Chu to serve a deterrent role. The hardness and coldness that came from having seen bloodshed instilled a sense of dread in those who beheld them.
The most timid among them, Wang Yuan, was so frightened that he promptly stopped in his tracks, his face turning white as he shrank against Wen Zhiyi, pursing his lips and mumbling softly, "They're so fierce!"
Wen Zhiyi patted her hand in reassurance and, after a glance at the soldier, thoughtfully said, "It takes being fierce to scare people. It seems the situation in Jincheng is worse than we imagined."