I walked over to Rachel Lan and stared at her abdomen. Suddenly, my gaze couldn't help but drift upward. Rachel Lan blushed and covered her chest.
"Ethan, what are you doing?"
"No, it's not that, um..."
Only then did I realize that Rachel Lan had been taken away by the ghost from our courtyard—the one John Chou killed instantly before.
I stared at Rachel Lan in shock, my mouth agape.
"Yes, Ethan. At that time, I was unconscious, and that ghost brought me in. Later, when I arrived in the Ghostrealm, the thing inside my belly became even more restless."
I looked at Rachel Lan's abdomen again. As we spoke, with a splat, the fake Rachel Lan wrapped in white gauze suddenly dissolved into a pool of dark purple liquid, slowly sinking into the ground.
We stared in astonishment as Snowy walked over, gazing blankly at the black-purple liquid on the ground.
"Brother, this stuff seems... a bit off."
"What's going on?"
Snowy looked as if she was desperately thinking, then shook her head.
All the dark purple liquid sank completely into the ground.
Dawn was approaching. We had to find a place to hide, and then figure out where the others were.
The two of us and one ghost went straight down the stairs, heading south. Rachel Lan looked pale and extremely weak, as if she was enduring something.
"Are you okay, Rachel?"
I asked, and Rachel Lan nodded without saying anything. She seemed to be deliberately avoiding my gaze, and when I recalled what just happened, my cheeks burned with embarrassment.
Just then, with a loud boom, as we were about to step onto a street to the south, we saw a huge cloud of dust rise from where the city was cut off in the distance. It looked like a building had collapsed, the commotion was enormous, and if you listened closely, you could hear the rumbling.
"Is someone over there?"
I was about to head over when, suddenly, Snowy shouted.
"Sister, are you alright?"
I turned my head and saw Rachel Lan collapse to the ground as if drained of strength. I rushed over and, together with Snowy, helped her up. In the distance, the rumbling sounded again.
"Ethan, I'm fine. I just need to rest for a bit."
I shook my head, set down my backpack, and took out some food. Rachel Lan swallowed and then began to eat.
Looking north, the commotion was enormous. I felt uneasy. Earlier, I'd already told Rachel Lan about the situation of our group.
"Ethan, trust everyone a little more."
I responded with an 'oh,' then crouched in front of Rachel Lan. After a moment's wobble, she climbed onto my back. Carrying her, I walked toward the east, where the noise was still continuing.
Rachel Lan was very light. Carrying her on my back, I didn't feel even the slightest bit of weight.
"Snowy, remember this: if things go wrong, you take Rachel and leave first. I'll figure something out."
"Got it, brother."
The sounds grew clearer and clearer. Sure enough, there were signs of buildings collapsing and damage.
We were getting closer; bits of rubble flew toward us, and there were already more than a dozen ruined houses ahead.
A loud shout rang out, followed by screams. It was Justin Huang—I recognized him. He had already reached the dust-filled area. I set Rachel Lan down and gave her a quick instruction.
"Watch the situation. If things go wrong, leave first."
With that, I plunged into the dust, searching. Sure enough, after only a few steps and passing a few ruined houses, I saw a tall figure. His powerful fists smashed through the attacking ghost soldiers, turning them to ash.
Suddenly, I noticed a group of ghost soldiers on Justin Huang's right, armed with crossbows. I immediately rushed toward them.
"Justin Huang, watch out..."
As I spoke, I immediately released my Deathbane Aura, directing it toward the ghost soldiers. The aura turned into black spikes, stabbing at them.
A giant round hammer came straight at me. I didn't dare take it head-on. After taking down a few ghost soldiers with my aura, I dodged to the side. With a bang, the hammer smashed into the ground next to me, scattering shards of stone.
"Ethan, you're here!" Justin Huang recognized me. He picked up a large rock and threw it at the ghost general in front of us, then ran over.
The ghost general before us wore armor with the word 'general' on it. He was burly and wielded a massive hammer. With a swing, he shattered the rock Justin Huang had thrown.
"Ethan!" Justin Huang shouted. I seemed to understand his meaning and released my Deathbane Aura, directing it toward him.
Sure enough, the ghost general swung his hammer and dispersed my aura. Justin Huang had already charged over; my move was just to attract the general's attention.
With a shout, Justin Huang's fist—big as a sandbag—struck the ghost general's arm. With a bang, the ghost general was sent flying, crashing into the ghost soldiers and scattering them everywhere.
"Justin Huang, how did you make such a commotion?"
I asked, and Justin Huang burst out laughing.
"No choice. Only by making a big scene can everyone gather. Didn't you come as soon as you saw it?"
I responded with an 'ah,' smiled, and nodded.
With a bang, the ghost general got up as if nothing had happened. The sound of horses neighing cut through the dust, and we saw countless ghost soldiers coming from the north. Leading them was another ghost general, riding a horse and wielding a long sword, charging straight at us.
"Looks like we've got trouble. Damn, why are there so many?"
Justin Huang muttered. I glanced at him.
As we spoke, the ghost general charged at us on horseback, the long tip of his sword scraping along the ground, sending up sparks. The clattering sound grew closer and closer.
"Careful," Justin Huang said, grabbing my hand and pulling me aside. With a rumble, the ground split open. I stared in shock—just a moment ago, the ghost general was still far away, but in an instant, he'd appeared right in front of us.
I raised my twin Deathbane blades as Justin Huang charged at the ghost general on horseback.
Blades flashed. Justin Huang reached out, trying to grab the ghost general's long sword. The general deftly lifted the blade and slashed at Justin Huang.
I shouted and swung my twin blades at the horse beneath the ghost general.
With a swish, two strips of white gauze grabbed Justin Huang and me, dragging us northward. It was Rachel Lan.
With a bang, the hammer-wielding ghost general smashed the spot where I'd just been standing.
"Ethan, Justin Huang, let's go! Otherwise we'll be surrounded."
Rachel Lan shouted urgently. Ghost soldiers surrounded us from all directions, following the gestures of the two ghost generals.
"To the Wraith Palace!" Rachel Lan shouted urgently.
I let out a cry, and then we began to run. Without a word, Justin Huang hoisted Rachel Lan and me onto his shoulders and sprinted away. Snowy floated up, and we all headed north.
"Isn't going back..."
"It's fine, Ethan. Based on my observations these past few days, the only place in Wraithhold that no ghosts approach is the Wraith Palace. They all seem to fear something there, and not a single ghost is inside."
Rachel Lan spoke as the shouts and battle cries behind us continued without end.
At that moment, a sharp screech echoed from the sky. We looked up in shock—a ghost general was flying toward us on a giant black bat with red eyes, moving at incredible speed.
The moment he saw it, Justin Huang let out a loud shout, stomped the ground with his right foot, and shot forward with a crash as the ground caved in beneath him.
With a rumble, as I looked back again, rubble and bricks flew into the air. The ghost general wielded a large blade, and the commotion behind us seemed to be his doing.
The giant black, red-eyed bat caught up with us again.
"These ghost generals are really strong."
Justin Huang muttered.
"Serpent of the Void, dance! Qiu Qi Ning Yue, wood and earth unite... arise..."
A shout came from our left—it was Mason Yu. He held the Celestial Chord Sword in one hand, reaching out with the other. The ghost general behind him was closing in on us.
Suddenly, something emerged from the ground—a black serpent with a gaping maw. It swallowed the ghost general in one bite, bat and all.
"Ha!" Mason Yu charged toward us, brandishing the Celestial Chord Sword.
The serpent behind him looked like a silhouette. Justin Huang stopped abruptly and turned around. I felt it too. Sure enough, with a bang, the shadowy black serpent shattered. The ghost general raised his large blade and slashed at us.
"Catch!" Justin Huang shouted, tossing Rachel Lan behind him. I stood up, raised my Deathbane sword, stepped on Justin Huang's arm, and leapt over.
A tremendous pressure rushed toward us.
"Dodge, you idiots!"
Mason Yu shouted, brandishing the Celestial Chord Sword and charging toward us.
With a bang, Mason Yu used the Celestial Chord Sword to block the ghost general's blow. With a crash, the ground beneath his feet split open—the force was immense.
A powerful gust slammed into me. I raised my Deathbane sword and stabbed at the bat's head beneath the ghost general.
A shrill, agonized screech rang out as black blood spattered everywhere. With a crash, the bat hit the ground. Justin Huang grabbed the ghost general's neck with one hand, shouted, and slammed him into the earth with a thunderous roar.
Mason Yu clutched his arm in pain. Just then, with a whoosh, a lightning-fast arrow shot through the air and pierced Justin Huang's arm.