Anger and Blood in the Imperial Mausoleum

The further she went, the hotter the Phoenixfield King’s Command Token burned against her skin. Serena’s steps grew more urgent, and the number of Ghost Soldiers around her dwindled—they seemed unwilling to approach her, let alone attack.

Only then did Serena realize something was wrong. She quickly stopped, glanced around to confirm there were no Ghost Soldiers attacking, and, without time to think further, called out to Prince Nolan nearby: “The Ghost General might be here.”

Prince Nolan didn’t hesitate for a second; he changed direction and rushed toward Serena, gathering his energy as he ran.

They weren’t far apart; within a few breaths, Prince Nolan landed at Serena’s side.

As soon as Prince Nolan appeared, the Ghost Soldiers surged forward again. But before they could attack, they froze—clearly hesitating over something.

“Are they afraid of you?” Prince Nolan grasped the situation instantly.

Serena nodded, her face equally puzzled. “It seems so. Don’t ask me why—I have no idea. The closer I get, the more these Ghost Soldiers fear me. They don’t even dare come near.”

Prince Nolan didn’t press her for answers. Instead, his gaze on Serena took on a subtle, thoughtful edge.

Serena had no idea—maybe he understood, but… Prince Nolan opened his mouth, then finally said nothing at all.

Serena shot Prince Nolan a glance, didn’t push him, and instead pointed ahead: “Let’s keep moving. The Ghost General should be inside.”

Ahead lay several mound-tombs, looking just like ordinary graves—except there were no headstones.

Prince Nolan seemed to have guessed something and, of course, didn’t object. He advanced with Serena, while Sean Xuan and the Eighteen Riders, seeing this, quickly fought their way forward to follow.

With Serena leading the way, the Ghost Soldiers didn’t dare block them. Soon, the group reached the largest mound. On its side was a door-like opening. Serena and Prince Nolan exchanged a glance; Prince Nolan stepped inside first and signaled Sean Xuan to keep watch outside with the others.

Unlike the narrow, low entrance, the inside was like an ordinary room. No sunlight reached here, but luminous pearls were set in the ceiling and walls, so it wasn’t dark at all.

Stone chairs lined both sides, and in the very center sat a large chair—with a figure in armor seated upon it.

The reason she called it a “person” was because that corpse was perfectly preserved—and had been ‘watching’ them the whole time. Its eyes were dull, lifeless, but both Prince Nolan and Serena were certain this ‘person’ was looking at them.

“Ghost General?” Prince Nolan called out tentatively. The ‘person’ gave no reaction, just kept staring at them—or rather, at Serena.

Serena realized, to her surprise, that this ‘person’ actually felt familiar. As they drew closer, the Phoenixfield King’s Command Token grew hotter and hotter. Serena took the token from her chest and asked, tentatively, “Are you looking for this?”

Serena couldn’t tell if the corpse had any sense or awareness. She could only try holding out the Phoenixfield King’s Command Token to see if it would do anything. And then—

A sharp clang rang out—a pitch-black command token dropped from the armored figure. Serena glanced at him, bent down to pick it up, and saw it was perfectly preserved, with the characters “Phoenixfield” engraved on it.

“What’s this?” Serena held the token out to Prince Nolan. He took one look and immediately knew he’d guessed right: “It’s a Phoenixfield Command Token. Only a Grand General can hold one, and it allows command over up to thirty thousand troops. There are no more than five of these in the entire Phoenixfield Clan.” That alone showed just how high the status of the man before them had been—if he were still alive.

“So this man… was a Phoenixfield Grand General?” Serena finally understood why the Phoenixfield King’s Command Token was burning hot. Once she took the command token in hand, the King’s Token returned to normal.

“Yes.” Prince Nolan had already guessed this outside, so he wasn’t surprised. Serena, though, was stunned: “How could a Phoenixfield Grand General end up as the mausoleum’s Ghost General? Are those soldiers outside Phoenixfield troops too?”

Serena’s voice trembled, tinged with anger and killing intent.

“Unless something extraordinary happened, that’s exactly it.” To use a Phoenixfield Grand General and his troops as tomb-guarding Ghost General and Ghost Soldiers—it showed that even in the Former Dynasty, the Phoenixfield Clan wasn’t always so dominant, and the royal house feared them.

“Phoenixfield shed blood to defend the Lan dynasty’s realm, and the Lan imperial house actually refined my clan’s people into living dead.” Serena bit out each word, her eyes blazing with murderous fury.

Before, Serena hadn’t known the living dead were connected to Phoenixfield; she’d only pitied the Ghost Soldiers, thinking their fate unfair. But now, realizing every Ghost Soldier was a Phoenixfield soldier, her anger surged—she wanted nothing more than to destroy this mausoleum.

Everyone knew Phoenixfield were born warriors. If the Ghost General guarding the tomb was a Phoenixfield Grand General, his power would far surpass any ordinary commander. Even in death, emperors demanded the very best.

In the Former Dynasty’s mausoleum, tens of thousands were buried alive or sacrificed. Compared to that, the number of Phoenixfield dead wasn’t even that high.

“When a ruler orders his ministers to die, they have no choice but to obey. Countless have been buried with their masters since ancient times.” Serena slowly closed her eyes, forcing down her rage and thirst for blood.

The Former Dynasty was long gone—her anger couldn’t change anything now. She couldn’t exactly take revenge on Prince Nolan, who wasn’t even recognized by the old dynasty.

Besides, she didn’t even know which emperor had ordered this atrocity.

“Do you know when the Ghost General tradition in the royal mausoleum began?” Serena’s voice was choked with emotion; clearly, she was suffering inside.

Prince Nolan sighed quietly and drew Serena close. “I don’t know. It seems even the Phoenixfield Clan didn’t know. The emperor must have kept it secret—no one outside ever found out.”

“If the Phoenixfield Clan had known, they would have rebelled long ago.” Serena was certain—no one could stand by if they learned their family had been turned into living corpses.

The Phoenixfield Clan were loyal subjects, never ambitious for the throne. They might die on the battlefield, but that didn’t mean they could accept such a disgraceful death.

“This mausoleum is soaked in blood.” Such a grand structure must have taken countless lives to build—and those who built it all met the same fate: death.

“From now on, I will never build a royal mausoleum. My descendants, for generations, are forbidden to build them.” That was all Prince Nolan could do. The mausoleum of the Former Dynasty was already built; nothing could change the past.

“Mm.” Serena nodded softly, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and quietly steadied herself. When she opened her eyes again, aside from the redness at their corners, there was no trace of her earlier turmoil.

Serena pushed Prince Nolan aside and stepped forward alone to face the Ghost General. Calmly, she declared, “Since you are the Phoenixfield Grand General, and cannot choose your own future, I will decide it for you!”

As she spoke, Serena’s blade pressed against the Ghost General’s neck…