Pale, gaunt faces, vacant eyes, and an aura of death clinging to their bodies—for a split second, Serena Feng’s mind flashed to the word “zombie,” but she immediately dismissed the thought.
Still, Serena was certain that these living dead before her—even if they weren’t zombies—had been created through poisons. In any case, they weren’t ghosts.
The ghost-corpses they’d encountered in Ghost Forest must also have been made with special poisons and formations. She’d seen Victor Phoenixfield use a ghost formation against her before, though it wasn’t nearly as powerful as Ghost Forest.
Serena shared her theory with the group. After a moment’s thought, everyone understood, and their fear of the living dead and ghost-corpses eased.
“If they’re not ghosts, we don’t have to wait for daylight to act.” Sean glanced at Prince Nolan, who thought for a moment and gestured for Sean to continue.
Sean looked at the living dead, who kept their distance because of the torches and lamplight, and said, “These living dead aren’t ghosts, but they were definitely refined with yin-poisons. They hate light and fear fire—we can try attacking with fire.”
“Let’s start by lighting a ring of fire,” Prince Nolan agreed without hesitation. Before acting, he had Snow Wolf, Serena, and the three most seriously wounded stand in the center. Using them as the core, they lit a fire circle big enough for twenty or thirty people. As soon as the flames rose, the living dead retreated in eerie, perfectly synchronized steps.
“These living dead seem like soldiers?” The night was too dark for Serena to see clearly, and their ragged, filthy clothes hadn’t touched water in centuries, making it impossible to tell their original color. Otherwise, Serena would have noticed sooner.
“Ghost Soldiers,” Prince Nolan said after a pause, his cold, hard features showing rare concern. “Further ahead, we’ll probably encounter a Ghost General.”
Legend had it that the Ghost General was once a great general in life. After death, his murderous aura was so fierce that his spirit refused to disperse, lingering in the world.
The Ghost General’s combat power was extremely high—he could even command the Ghost Soldiers.
“These Ghost Soldiers aren’t just living dead—they’re the Former Dynasty’s tomb-guard army.” Prince Nolan’s expression grew grave, tightening everyone’s nerves. Serena, seeing this, deliberately lightened her tone: “So does this mean we’ve reached the imperial mausoleum? Is the graveyard just ahead?”
“Yes.” Prince Nolan’s face relaxed slightly. “Since they’re Ghost Soldiers, there’s no need to keep fighting. Tomorrow, we’ll seek out the Ghost General.”
As long as they found and captured the Ghost General, the Ghost Soldiers would be leaderless and retreat without a fight.
“Perfect. We can finally rest tonight.” Sean swept his robes aside and sat straight on the ground.
Prince Nolan knew Sean meant to take second watch through the night. The second half was always tougher, so knowing Sean’s good intentions, Prince Nolan didn’t refuse. He drew his sword and walked to the edge of the fire circle.
“Rest first.” He said this to the Eighteen Riders.
Prince Nolan and Sean would take turns on watch, making sure the fire circle never went out. As long as the flames burned, the Ghost Soldiers wouldn’t dare approach.
So both sides confronted each other like this. Serena took out enough water and burnable alcohol, then leaned against Snow Wolf and fell asleep.
Lately, for some reason, she’d been feeling especially tired and sleepy. As soon as Prince Nolan and Sean agreed not to move, Serena just leaned on Snow Wolf and drifted off…
Prince Nolan glanced over, then withdrew his gaze. After a day of rushing around, even he was exhausted, let alone Serena. The fact that Serena could fall asleep now was a good thing.
The fire crackled and popped. The Ghost Soldiers quietly kept watch outside the fire circle, making no move to attack. They looked harmless enough, but Prince Nolan didn’t dare relax his guard.
Because if the fire went out, the Ghost Soldiers would instantly rush in and tear them to pieces.
So both sides waited each other out until the next day, when the sun finally rose…
They’d thought the Ghost Soldiers would retreat when the sun came up, but to their surprise, though the Ghost Soldiers disliked sunlight and still feared fire, they could still move under the sun.
“So they really aren’t ghosts.” Sean realized there was no shortcut—they’d have to fight head-on.
“We’ll cover you—go find the Ghost General,” Sean said to Prince Nolan.
The tomb-guard Ghost Soldiers numbered at least ten thousand, if not hundreds of thousands. Sean knew they couldn’t keep fighting forever. Finding the Ghost General and having him order the Ghost Soldiers to withdraw was the best solution.
“Mm.” Prince Nolan nodded, and with a flick, his flexible sword instantly straightened into a razor-sharp blade.
The Eighteen Riders didn’t need further instructions—except for the three most seriously wounded, the rest all drew their blades and charged out of the fire circle, hacking toward the Ghost Soldiers outside…
The Ghost Soldiers weren’t illusions or spirits—they were real, living dead. Every slash echoed with the sound of breaking bones, but they felt no pain and shed no blood. Even with limbs severed, they kept fighting, like numb, wooden puppets.
“Go for the head.” Once Prince Nolan found the trick—decapitating them with a single stroke—he saw that without a head, the Ghost Soldiers couldn’t move.
The Eighteen Riders caught on instantly—one slash per ghost, just like chopping radishes. The number of Ghost Soldiers around them dropped fast…
Serena had wanted to help, but seeing them handle it so easily, she decided not to waste bullets. She stood with Snow Wolf in the center, doing her best not to cause trouble for anyone.
The Ghost Soldiers moved slowly. Thanks to Prince Nolan and the others’ efforts, they soon carved a bloody path through the horde.
“Keep up!” Prince Nolan led the charge. As Serena and Snow Wolf reached the center, Prince Nolan gathered his energy, leapt into the air, and sprinted forward, stepping on the Ghost Soldiers’ heads as he went.
Prince Nolan was heading out to hunt down the Ghost General. Serena hadn’t planned to follow, but suddenly her heart started racing and the Phoenixfield King’s Command Token she wore against her skin seemed to burn hot. Frowning and sure it wasn’t her imagination, Serena grabbed a Rider’s blade and said to Snow Wolf, “Follow me.”
She wasn’t sure if she was imagining it, but she kept feeling there was a link between the Phoenixfield King’s Command Token and the Ghost General. The Ghost General must be close by, secretly commanding these Ghost Soldiers to attack them.
“Awooo…” Snow Wolf let out a disgruntled howl, but seeing Serena slashing at Ghost Soldiers, it resigned itself and swung its claws to clear a path for her.
“Careful,” Sean called out, glancing over. Seeing Serena fight so fiercely, he realized she didn’t need his help, so he focused on dealing with the Ghost Soldiers in front of him.
“I’m going in to take a look,” Serena said, and headed straight forward.
Sean knew Serena wasn’t the type to stir up trouble or act thoughtlessly. If she was going in now, she must have her reasons. Not only did Sean not try to stop her—he even helped clear her path.
Serena forged ahead, fearless among the Ghost Soldiers. Any that blocked her way, she cut down without hesitation.
These Ghost Generals, in a sense, were no longer living beings—they were dead things.
As Serena pressed forward, she didn’t notice that the Ghost General blocking her path hesitated for two or three seconds when she appeared. And the other Ghost Generals didn’t dare attack her at all…