Chapter 281
Chapter 281
Holding the Soul-Guiding Lantern, I closed in on the Gold-Touching Captain’s corpse step by step. The Ghost Soldier Formation slowly retreated before me.
But at that moment, the Corpse Fiend unleashed another roar.
The earth-shaking bellow was like that of a mighty general leading a charge, its imposing might striking fear into every soldier.
The instant the Golden Mace flew from its hand, the Ghost Soldiers it struck dissolved into wisps of black smoke and vanished without a trace.
The Golden Mace returned to the Corpse Fiend’s hand. With a sweep of its long arm, the Ghost Soldier Formation charged toward me.
Fang Chuanzong’s fellow disciples, Senior Brother and Senior Sister alike, rushed forward to meet them!
By then, I had already reached the corpse.
It was kneeling on the ground with its head hanging limply. A huge hole had been smashed into its skull, and brain matter mixed with blood trickled down from the wound.
I pushed his head aside and spotted the Mojin Talisman still hanging around his neck. Grabbing it, I yanked with all my strength.
The instant I tore off the Mojin Talisman, I heard something slicing through the air above me, followed by Hui Yumo’s terrified warning.
“Sis, don’t look up! It’s dangerous!”
I ducked sharply. Something whistled past, nearly grazing the hair on top of my head.
Cold sweat broke out all over me. I knew exactly what it was — the Golden Mace!
After the Golden Mace missed, it wheeled around and came whistling back at me from behind.
The thing was clearly incredibly heavy, yet the Corpse Fiend wielded it with perfect ease. It must have long since become the Corpse Fiend’s Lifebound Artifact.
Unfortunately, my own Lifebound Artifact was trapped within the Nirvana Fire on Cangwu Mountain. If only Fengwu were still here…
No. There were no ifs!
Even without Fengwu by my side, I had to find a way to protect myself.
I raised my hand and bit into my middle finger. A bead of blood immediately welled up.
Forming a Sword Finger, I pressed it against the chamber of the Soul-Guiding Lantern and rapidly chanted an incantation. Then I spun around and swept my Sword Finger toward the incoming Golden Mace…
“Sis, dodge!”
Hui Yumo’s desperate cry came from the distance. Even as she fought, she still had to keep an eye on me, terrified that something would happen.
This time, however, I didn’t dodge. Instead, I rose to face the Golden Mace head-on. In Hui Yumo’s eyes, I was courting certain death!
But the next instant, as I swept my Sword Finger toward the Golden Mace, several Ghost Face apparitions suddenly burst from the chamber of the Soul-Guiding Lantern. Their hideous mouths gaped wide as they lunged at the Golden Mace and bit down!
The Ghost Face apparitions appeared so abruptly that everyone present froze in shock.
I, however, silently breathed a sigh of relief.
Just moments ago, I had remembered an Ancient Witchcraft spell recorded in the Witchcraft Notebook — the Ghost-Controlling Incantation.
I had used the Ghost-Controlling Incantation to command the Ghost Face apparitions within the Soul-Guiding Lantern and had them intercept the Golden Mace for me.
I had never believed that the Ghost Face designs on the Soul-Guiding Lantern were mere ornaments or decoration.
Sure enough, my gamble had paid off.
The Ghost Face apparitions clamped down on the Golden Mace. A sharp crack suddenly rang out, and their awful chewing sounded like heavenly music to my ears.
I heard Fang Chuanzong shout excitedly, “Beautiful!”
At the same moment, the Corpse Fiend let out a furious roar behind me, followed by the thunder of pounding footsteps.
The Golden Mace, now missing a third of its length after being devoured by the Ghost Face apparitions, returned to the Corpse Fiend’s hand. Enraged beyond measure, the Corpse Fiend charged straight at me!
After our brief victory came an even more brutal assault from the Corpse Fiend.
But this time, I wasn’t afraid at all.
I had realized that as long as I used it properly, the Soul-Guiding Lantern could unleash seemingly limitless power in my hands.
I simply needed to keep exploring and experimenting to discover that power.
My execution of the Ghost-Controlling Incantation just now had been spot-on.
It had cost me some blood, and activating the Ghost-Controlling Incantation had taken a great deal out of me, but it was enough to hold off the Corpse Fiend for a while.
The Corpse Fiend was my only target. I would leave everything else to Fang Chuanzong and the others!
I activated the Ghost-Controlling Incantation once more and raised my Sword Finger to meet the charging Corpse Fiend. Several Ghost Face entities immediately lunged at it, tearing and clawing.
This time, however, the Ghost Face entities remained manifested for noticeably less time than before, and they were slightly weaker as well.
It seemed my magical power still wasn’t enough to sustain them.
After the Ghost Face entities returned to the lantern’s inner chamber, the Corpse Fiend did not launch a third attack.
It stopped less than ten meters away from me and suddenly began roaring without pause, its mouth gaping wide.
Amid its roars, the Ghost Soldiers surrounding it dissolved into streams of black mist and flew into its mouth.
This was bad. It was devouring the Essence Spirit of the Ghost Soldiers to strengthen itself without limit.
As the Corpse Fiend continued absorbing them, its body swelled visibly.
Pustules bulged across its face, its back, and every other visible patch of skin.
It looked like a pus-covered toad.
Fang Chuanzong shouted, “Retreat! Senior Brother! Senior Sister! Retreat! Everyone, fall back! It’s poisonous!”
Everyone instantly withdrew, while the Corpse Fiend charged toward me one thudding step at a time.
With every step it took, the pustules on its body quivered. They gradually changed from milky white to grayish black, swelling larger and turning translucent as though they might burst at any moment.
My scalp prickled as I watched the Corpse Fiend draw closer. I had no choice but to activate the Ghost-Controlling Incantation again…
But just then, the protective qi beneath my feet abruptly went out.
I heard the various sects issuing orders again, trying to rally their disciples and reform their arrays. But they had already expended too much strength. None of them could hold on any longer.
The Corpse Fiend let out a sinister chuckle.
The sound came from deep within its chest cavity, eerie and distorted, yet everyone could hear the triumph in it — the absolute certainty that victory was already in its grasp.
“Meow!”
The next instant, a familiar feline cry pierced the night and shattered the stalemate.
I whipped my head around, only to find that the Black Cat had already landed steadily on my shoulder.
Its pointed ears stood tall, and the sparks dancing at the tip of its tail were especially conspicuous in the darkness.
Wasn’t the Black Cat supposed to be back at the Pawnshop?
What was it doing here?
Surprise and delight surged through me.
Then I heard the familiar sound of hoofbeats.
Clop… clop-clop…
I stared in disbelief toward the sound, but the heavy darkness obscured my view. My heart leaped into my throat.
Could it be him?
I wasn’t the only one who recognized those hoofbeats. The Corpse Fiend clearly did as well.
It slowly turned its head and looked to the southeast.
Clop… clop-clop…
The hoofbeats drew closer.
Closer and closer…
When the figure riding a tall warhorse, a broad saber hanging at his waist, finally emerged from the darkness, I nearly shouted with excitement.
Zhao Zixun!
It really was him!
Zhao Zixun sat astride the warhorse, with another figure seated in front of him… the Red Banner Child.
The Red Banner Child sprang up and landed firmly on the horse’s back, waving the Red Banner in his hands over and over.
The moment the Ghost Soldier Formation saw the fluttering Red Banner, it descended into chaos.
I looked up at the rain still falling steadily from the sky, and the corners of my lips lifted.
Heaven was on my side!
The Red Banner Child had been formed from the coalesced, vengeful souls of the unjustly slain on an Ancient Battlefield. With the Red Banner in hand, he manifested on dark, rainy nights — and wherever the Red Banner waved, the calamity of war was sure to follow!
He had arrived just in time!
I wiped the rainwater from my face, then hurled the Ghost Soldier Talisman I had torn from the Descendant of the Gold-Touching Captains high into the air and shouted, “Zhao Zixun, catch the Ghost Soldier Talisman!”