"Impressive, those guys."
Ghost Painting Book Immortal muttered, and I felt it too—the creatures known as Razorbeaks radiated a terrifying ghostly aura. They were beings born of ghost energy, much like Wraith Enforcers, with flesh and blood.
There were about forty Wraith Enforcers; the males were easy to recognize, each with a pair of horns or a single horn atop their heads, while the females' horns were curved. Only three male Wraith Enforcers were present, and the sky was completely covered.
The Razorbeaks screeched as they charged toward the stronghold. My heart skipped a beat, and just then, Kane roared and spread his wings.
"So fast."
As soon as the Razorbeaks dove, they reached the range of the spikes. One Razorbeak opened its mouth—the rounded protrusion at its front split apart into eight sections, revealing rows of white fangs. Instantly, a male Wraith Enforcer screamed as he was bitten whole. Black blood splattered, and he was swallowed in a flash. The scene was gruesome and brutal.
"Don't panic! Drive the Razorbeaks onto the spikes!"
The lead female Wraith Enforcer shouted, and immediately, the Wraith Enforcers flapped their wings, dodging the Razorbeaks' attacks and thrusting their spears at the beasts.
With a ripping sound, I saw a Razorbeak impaled on the fortress's upright black spikes. Instantly, it was as if black rain fell from the sky—black blood splattered everywhere. With a smack, some of it landed on me, still warm. It was fresh blood.
My heart raced. More and more Razorbeaks filled the sky, while Kane had already charged forward, his furious fists pounding against a Razorbeak, but it didn't budge an inch.
"Everyone, help out."
I called out. Although we couldn't fly, as ghosts in the living world, we were already strong. Ray Lin radiated waves of green light.
"Since these creatures are born of ghost energy, let's defeat them with even stronger ghost energy."
But at that moment, Ray Lin transformed his ghost energy into a beam of light and shot it into the sky, where it dissipated. I stared in astonishment.
"No good, Kane. Our ghost energy can't break through the density of naturally formed ghost energy here."
More Wraith Enforcers were devoured by Razorbeaks. I had to do something. I shouted immediately.
"Black Moon, help me!"
As soon as I finished speaking, Black Moon seemed to understand my intent. With a whoosh, he flew over, barked twice, and a huge dog appeared. The Celestial Hound grew larger, its four paws sprouting sharp claws. I climbed onto its back, raised my hands, and the Celestial Hound carried me, leaping up a slanted spike.
Black, murderous energy began to spill out and condense. Soon, a sniper rifle appeared in my hands. I immediately took aim.
"Zhu Tang, I'll leave the loading to you."
I shouted, aiming at a Razorbeak circling overhead and pulled the trigger. Bang—a jet-black bullet shot out, piercing through. My murderous energy surged, and with a bang, the bullet struck straight into the open mouth of a Razorbeak.
With a thunderous roar, black flames erupted inside, burning fiercely. Instantly, the Razorbeak whimpered, crashed into a spike, and then fell to the ground.
"Ya, you..."
Kane's hands clamped tightly onto a Razorbeak's head. He was shocked.
"You all, fall back first."
I shouted, then kept pulling the sniper rifle's trigger. Each bullet hit a Razorbeak, mixing fire-attributed murderous energy, successfully igniting these creatures made of ghost energy.
I took down more than ten Razorbeaks, though many remained. But now, the Razorbeaks began to retreat. Cheers erupted, and the black sniper rifle in my hands turned into wisps of smoke and vanished.
"Ah, there's something to eat now! Haha, we won't need to worry about food for a long time."
The Wraith Enforcers in the burrows came out and began slicing up the Razorbeaks with knives. It was a strange scene, almost like something out of primitive times.
One male and six female Wraith Enforcers had been devoured by the Razorbeaks. Yet when the Wraith Enforcers cut open their bellies, all they found was a pile of shredded meat. Some of them cried, but overall, everyone was happy.
I watched as the Wraith Enforcers below skillfully carved up the Razorbeak meat. In less than half an hour, they had finished the job.
"Thank you, strange one."
It was the woman. As she approached, the Wraith Enforcers around her stepped aside. She seemed highly ranked—though much shorter than Kane, at this moment, Kane stood before her like a child who'd done something wrong.
"No time to waste, outsider. You're called Ya, right? I'm Nightshade Yu, but you can just call me Yu."
I let out an 'oh,' and only then did we realize that 'Nightshade' was their surname, while the other character was their given name. Yu looked impatient, and after explaining the surname, she continued speaking.
"Ya, can you teach us? That thing you just used was murderous energy, right? You made something that could kill a Razorbeak in one shot. Please, teach us—otherwise, we'll be wiped out."
I swallowed, looking at the Wraith Enforcers around me. Their eyes were full of longing as they stared at me. I smiled.
"Alright, if you can do it, I'll teach you."
Yu looked delighted. Kane reached out his hand, but with a smack, Yu brushed it aside.
"Why did you come back? Even if some memories have faded, we Nightshades can erase the bad parts entirely. You haven't forgotten, have you, great sinner? Who caused all this?"
This is the Nightshade Dominion, and these Nightshades are born ghosts—like humans, they reproduce through male and female union. Outside, fierce beasts roam; the lowest islands are home only to the most primitive creatures.
These Nightshades used to live atop the highest islands, constantly battling stronger beasts to survive. But that balance was shattered.
Nightshades can sense one another. Over two thousand years ago, a being called Mr. Wraithshade arrived on Ethereal Isle. Kane had just come of age then, and from Mr. Wraithshade's stories, he learned about the outside world—and about humans.
Mr. Wraithshade was quite talkative. When he first arrived, the Nightshades nearly made him into food, but as he stayed longer, he became good friends with them.
After about a year, Mr. Wraithshade wanted to leave. Though he knew the way, returning was extremely difficult—the only way was for one of the Nightshades to escort him back.
The Nightshades debated for a long time and rejected the idea. They had no desire to leave, nor did they want others to know of their existence.
Unbeknownst to all, Kane had already been captivated by Mr. Wraithshade's tales of the outside world. Ignoring his brother's and Yu's objections, he quietly led Mr. Wraithshade across the sea, leaving the Nightshade Dominion behind.
"My husband, the leader here—the Wraith King—sensed Kane's location. To bring him back, he led a group out to search for him."
Yu spoke, and I stared at Kane in surprise. So Yu was his sister-in-law?
The Wraith King led hundreds of Nightshades across the sea to the Underworld, never to return. More and more male Nightshades followed him across the waters.
There is a decisive difference between male and female Nightshades—strength. Males are more than ten times stronger than females. After leaving enough males to fend off beasts for a short time, most of the male Nightshades went to the Underworld.
Born as ghosts and prone to eating humans, the Nightshades longed to escape the stagnant Ethereal Isle. Yet none who left ever returned.
"A thousand years ago, I felt it—my husband died, and so did the other Nightshades. None came back, except this shameless one standing before our clan. Kane, how dare you return?"
Yu spat out the words. Kane just sat on the ground, legs sprawled, silent and head bowed, tormented inside.
"I'm just saying, you can repopulate—so many women, what's the worry..."
"Nightshades have only one partner in their lifetime. Even if their partner dies, they never seek another."
Yu spoke, and Deathcurse fell silent.
"No time to waste, Ya. Teach us quickly—the beasts outside have discovered this stronghold and may attack together. If that happens, we'll be wiped out."
Yu was anxious, her green eyes fixed on me. I gave an awkward smile and began explaining firearms to her.
But after a long while, I couldn't explain it clearly. They had no concept of firearms—just like my own ghost souls before.
"Let me do it, Ya."
With a whoosh, Spirit Snake emerged from my body. Many Nightshades gathered around, mostly women.
"So, this is something humans invented to kill faster, right? Pretty clever—makes short work of those beasts. Go on, tell us about its structure and how it works."
I stared in surprise as the Nightshades began discussing, some even releasing ghost energy and trying to form weapons, looking almost convincing.