I stared in astonishment at Ethan's Spectral Juggernaut, who held a black Deathbane Energy Blade over a meter long. It was drawn out as if unsheathing a sword, the beam emerging from the left side of his ribs just moments ago. Now, the right side of the ribs opened with a whoosh, and another black meter-long energy beam suddenly swept out from a small opening near the ribs.
I had split that energy blade in two earlier—it was razor-sharp, almost sci-fi in its feel. I swallowed nervously as The Engineer grinned with satisfaction from afar.
"You'd better be careful, Qingyuan. This weapon is seriously powerful. Deathbane Aura isn't just dangerous because of its density and physical mass—you always thought that was the case, didn't you? Heh, this is the power of science."
I raised Belle, intending to face him head-on. The two Deathbane Energy Blades in Ethan's Spectral Juggernaut's hands were unlike any ordinary condensed Deathbane Aura—I knew this well. The blade that had just sliced through my body was sharper than any physical sword.
In real life, using lasers to cut steel is nothing new. But in this situation, The Engineer's creation shook me to my core.
As for Ethan's Spectral Juggernaut, his body was likely packed with mechanical devices. It looked ordinary, but inside, it was densely filled. After taking a kick from him at close range, I realized he must weigh several tons. That explained the heavy thud when he stepped out of the coffin.
"Looks like you figured it out, Qingyuan. Right now, Ethan's Spectral Juggernaut weighs 3,798.745 kilograms—almost 4 tons. It's not easy to move. To solve this, I developed a transport chamber from Corpse Stone, and having a zombie carry it is clever. The coffin made from Corpse Stone is specially modified, with self-repair capabilities. Even if it's critically damaged, as long as the core remains, it can be restored quickly. Pretty impressive, right?"
The only word that came to mind was: monstrous.
"I really ought to thank you, Engineer—for making such a monster, and using my corpse to do it."
I joked half-seriously, and in an instant, I flew toward Ethan's Spectral Juggernaut. Suddenly, Belle grew warm in my hand and slipped free from my grip.
"I'm not playing along, Zhang Qingyuan. It hurts—a lot. Last time it was damaged, Cecilia was furious."
I cried out as Spectral Juggernaut Zhang Qingyuan lunged at me, wielding a beam saber. I roared, summoning two Deathbane Aura swords into my hands.
With a metallic clang, our swords met, and a crushing force surged through me. I stared in shock as my Deathbane Aura sword was slowly sliced apart.
With a thunderous boom, my body was instantly torn into four clean pieces, each flying off in a different direction.
"Let me show you something interesting, Qingyuan. Be careful with your Ghost Soul."
I stared wide-eyed as an alarm blared from the Spectral Juggernaut Zhang Qingyuan's body, followed by a mechanical voice.
Missile system activated. Loaded. Launching.
Suddenly, Spectral Juggernaut Zhang Qingyuan spread his arms. The skin on his shoulders parted like metal plates, revealing eight perfectly aligned holes. I swallowed hard.
"What the hell is this?"
A whistling sound filled the air. I saw missiles, each about the size of a carrot, trailing long black tails, shooting straight at me.
Luban jumped up in excitement. With a deafening boom, black Deathbane Aura explosives erupted all around me. My consciousness nearly faded.
"Looks like we went a little overboard."
A massive force swept me up—almost identical to the Deathbane Aura I'd unleashed on those zombies before. Just as I was about to be torn apart, a hand grabbed me, and the force vanished.
A flash of red snapped me back to consciousness. It was Lord Shenyan, standing protectively in front of me.
"Luban, maybe it's best not to bring that thing out right now."
Outside the Hall of Malice, the ground had caved in, rubble flying everywhere. Redmond stepped forward, raising a black barrier in front of the hall.
"Shadow, get over here! My power's running low—can't keep flying much longer."
Luban shouted. Only then did I notice several strange currents swirling around the Spectral Juggernaut Zhang Qingyuan—transparent streams that propelled him like jets as he moved.
Shadow hopped over, carrying the coffin, then set it down. With a creak, the top of the coffin opened. The Spectral Juggernaut Zhang Qingyuan flew inside, feet first. Luban pressed a button on his game controller, and the Juggernaut's red eyes went dark.
Just then, Yvonne May floated over. I moved toward her, and she placed a hand on my shoulder. My damaged Ghost Soul quickly began to recover. I thanked her.
"A being that transcends the boundaries of ghost, human, and corpse—Luban, this is fascinating."
Redmond burst out laughing. I stood before the coffin, carefully examining the Spectral Juggernaut Zhang Qingyuan.
"Charging it is a hassle, since it runs on Deathbane Aura. Once you initialize with the Juggernaut, Qingyuan, you'll be able to control it with your mind. There are three modes: auto-combat, auto-search, and auto-defense. All very user-friendly."
Luban couldn't hide his excitement. I walked over and snatched the game controller from him.
"This thing..."
"It's just a temporary remote. If you let it fight automatically, you wouldn't stand a chance before it ran out of power. This thing can go toe-to-toe with Lord Shenyan and Yuna Ji without losing ground."
I swallowed, my mind racing with questions. How could something this powerful even exist? But I realized even if I asked, Luban's explanation would go over my head.
"Alright, time for initialization. Qingyuan, release your Ghost Web and connect it to the small port on its neck."
I nodded and looked up. Sure enough, there was a pitch-black port on the Spectral Juggernaut Zhang Qingyuan's nose. Shadow set down the coffin, Luban pressed the controller, and with a creak, the Juggernaut flew out and landed in front of me. I swallowed again. Its eyes appeared—white, covered with clusters of tiny red dots. Up close, I realized each dot was a pin-sized red light.
"A 360-degree capture system. In battle, nothing can escape this machine...or rather, your corpse."