Although Lydia Lien and Bella Liang have no eyes, I know very well that their expressions are grave. Outside the city walls, those nine figures—just one of them would be too much for me to handle, and now there are nine. I’ve seen their combined strength before. When they were human, they saved Yuna Ji twice, defeating fiends and demons with nothing but human resolve.
Yuna Ji sat with her head lowered, hugging her knees, seemingly lost in thought.
"What really happened in those hundreds of years when you were gone?"
Mr. Brown looked at Yuna Ji and asked, but she only shook her head, appearing utterly confused.
Yuna Ji was imprisoned in the Brahma Tower at Universal Temple by Master Leo Yuan. During her years as Victor Graves, working with humans and the undead, she was gone for hundreds of years. She avoided the ghostly kingdom she had founded, abandoning its inhabitants for a long time.
With a rush of sound, seven Ghost Souls appeared behind me, each dressed exactly like me, cloaked in mantles woven from the shed skin of transformation.
I muttered. Just now, I really sensed the power of darkness from Sebastian Zhao. The only ones with such power are the bastards from The Dark Banquet.
In my mind, I heard the slightly sinister voice of Wraith Ghost. I stood in silent contemplation—the battle was about to erupt, there was no time left to hesitate. Any extra fighting strength was a boon, but I still couldn't trust Wraith Ghost.
"At most, I can suppress five of them with my Asura form. The other four—Yuna Ji, Ethan Zhang, and you two—each take one."
Yuna Ji looked up at Mr. Brown, visibly surprised.
The situation was becoming clear: because the Rebel Legion existed, the Nether Hell had remained stable for so many years. But if the Rebel Legion were wiped out, all the inhabitants of Nether Hell would likely be plunged into frenzied combat.
Yuna Ji no longer had the power to restrain the force that exceeded her own limits by hundreds or thousands of times. Without control, everything would descend into chaos. To stabilize it, someone stronger had to take over War Absolute and suppress everything here—Yuna Ji simply couldn't do it anymore.
"Ethan Zhang, summon all your Ghost Souls. Even if you can't defeat them, your current deathbane aura can buy us time. I'll take out a few first, otherwise we don't stand a chance."
As Mr. Brown spoke, a crackling sound erupted. His body began to swell, his clothes shredded in an instant, revealing slabs of hardened muscle. Fury twisted his face; fissures appeared across his skin, glowing with fiery red light like molten lava, while icy blue radiance seeped from the cracks on his cheeks. Six arms slowly rose, his body hunched forward.
"This form is called... Wrathful Asura..."
With a thunderous boom, I felt an overwhelming surge of ghostly energy ripple outward. The tower beneath my feet split open, shards of stone and gravel lifted into the air. The power kept swelling. Below, the nine generals raised their weapons. At the front, Thunderfire—clad in pitch-black armor—crossed two massive axes, while Lona Long nocked an arrow.
I fixed my gaze on Mr. Brown. My job was to support him, to find a way to separate the nine generals so he could take out one or two first.
"Spirit Snake, Zhu Tang, Resentful Ghost, Wailer, Desire Ghost, Curse Ghost, Desire Ghost..."
With a rush of sound, seven Ghost Souls appeared behind me, each dressed exactly like me, cloaked in mantles woven from the shed skin of transformation.
In my mind, the slightly sinister voice of Wraith Ghost echoed. I pondered quietly—battle was about to erupt, there was no time left to think. More fighting strength was a boon, but I still couldn't trust Wraith Ghost.
"Ethan Zhang, my power isn't suited for prolonged combat. If I lose control, things could get very ugly."
With a flash, a figure darted over—two sharp clangs as Spirit Snake burst into wisps of black vapor. It was Sebastian Zhao; he must have seen through our strategy and came here first.
"Ethan Zhang, fall back for now."