"Heh, crying won't do you any good."
Suddenly, all of us realized something was wrong. My cousin was still pressing down on the little ghost, laughing and joking as if nothing had happened.
"Hurry, run!"
Justin Huang yelled, charging forward and swinging his fist. With a heavy thud, green blood sprayed from the little ghost as its chest was smashed into a pulp.
A cacophony of screams erupted from all directions. These little ghosts, like monkeys, dropped to all fours and dashed at us from the bushes and cracks between rocks. There were so many—a dense, shadowy swarm stampeding in the moonlight.
There were thousands of them, packed so tightly together that they formed a writhing, endless mass.
"Run!" In an instant, we all started running. Justin Huang charged ahead, taking giant strides, but we were stunned—the little ghosts around us moved faster and faster, closing in to surround us.
"Get your asses up here!"
Justin Huang suddenly stopped and stretched out his thick, long arms. Without a second thought, we all scrambled onto him.
Hugh Thompson and I sat on his left arm, my cousin took the left shoulder, Miles Mao was on the right shoulder, Dalton Fang and Mason Yu sat on the right arm, and Rufina Howard clung to Justin Huang's neck.
A dark, suffocating swarm of little ghosts closed in from all sides.
"Hold on tight!"
We clung tightly to Justin Huang, his powerful, stone-like muscles bulging beneath our grip.
"We're moving!"
With a thunderous stomp, Justin Huang launched himself forward like a cannonball. Another explosive step, and he accelerated again, but the little ghosts had already swarmed in from every direction, blocking our escape.
"Ethan, clear a path!"
I shouted, thrusting out my hand as streams of Deathbane Aura spilled forth. Immediately, the others began chanting spells—flames, lightning, black Deathbane Aura, pale green spiritual light—all at once, exploding into the swarm of little ghosts charging at us.
Severed limbs and green blood splattered over us. The way forward opened for a moment, but little ghosts from both sides lunged at us again.
"Westsea Spirits, Southwind Spirit, surging waves..."
Suddenly, Rufina Howard quickly extended two fingers, each holding a long white talisman. A surge of golden light burst out in front of us, and the path ahead opened with a sweeping whoosh.
With a rush, two pale blue barriers like seawalls surged out on both sides of us.
With a hiss, the moment those little ghosts touched the water, they vanished instantly.
Ah… Justin Huang roared, seizing the opportunity to stomp the ground repeatedly, leaving small craters as his speed increased. At last, we escaped the encirclement of little ghosts, and the road ahead turned into a crossroads.
Looking back, the little ghosts didn’t pursue us. Instead, they hovered several dozen meters behind, seeming afraid to come closer.
Ha! Not daring to chase us now, huh? See how powerful we are! My cousin shouted excitedly.
Damn it, cousin, it’s all your fault! If you’d finished off that little ghost right away, would we have had so much trouble?
Justin Huang slowed down. Mason Yu gripped the Celestial Chord Sword, which, at the crossroads, began to sway left and right as if searching for direction.
With a howl, the sound of wolves echoed from far away. We all looked ahead as a cloud of dust rose in the distance.
Something’s coming. Everyone, be careful.
Justin Huang spoke, and we all quickly got off him. Sweat kept streaming from Mason Yu’s forehead as the Celestial Chord Sword seemed to keep searching for direction.