Chapter 56: "Go. Let the Darkness Fall as Promised."
“Again?!”
Chen Fan’s face contorted at the cry. He whipped around, searching the city walls for any sign of the Female Ghostbeast—but saw nothing. Only then did he realize the voice belonged to Big Fish, who stood behind him, eyes wide with terror yet burning with a stubborn, almost reckless resolve.
He understood in an instant what Big Fish was thinking.
“Don’t rush. Don’t rush—”
Chen Fan seized Big Fish and spun, dragging him back toward the newly built Wall. He’d figured it out: these monsters were after him. If he ran anywhere else, he’d only be luring them away from the defenses.
If the Arrow Towers fell, even the new Wall wouldn’t be enough to hold the line.
“Don’t activate it yet,” he said, voice grim. “I haven’t had enough of life. If you use your ability now, I’ll die too.”
“Wait until I’m dead. Then activate it.”
Boom!
Chen Fan dropped into a crouch, pressing himself behind the battlents. The spot where he’d just stood erupted—stone obliterated as sixteen beams of ghostly green light fused into a single pillar, pulverizing the Wall and blasting through to the other side.
The Watchtower, caught in the blast, shattered and collapsed in a heap of rubble.
I’m really going to die here, aren’t I...
He peeked out, heart sinking as he stared at the sixteen Mourning Ghost Leaders beyond the walls. If they split again—thirty-two next? What are you, worms? How can you just keep dividing like that?
The Level 4 Arrow Bastion fired ceaselessly, emotionless, unleashing a steady hail of bolts.
“Huh?”
At that mont—
One of the Mourning Ghost Leaders took a bolt straight between the eyes and dropped.
Fifteen left.
But this ti, there was no further splitting. The remaining fifteen, shielded by lesser Mourning Ghosts, began to retreat—pulling back from the Camp.
They were withdrawing.
“Running away?”
Chen Fan blinked, realization dawning. They’d reached their splitting limit. Now, every kill was permanent. A wild grin broke across his face as he straightened, adrenaline coursing through his veins.
“Trying to run, are you?!”
“Now you’re scared, you bastards?!”
He spun, summoning another Level 4 Arrow Bastion and dropping it onto the Wall.
Arrow Rain Storm—he activated the skill again and again, burning through Ghoststones without hesitation, turning the ground around the Mourning Ghost Leaders into a slaughterhouse.
Two Arrow Bastions, firing with ruthless precision.
...
As the Mourning Ghost Leaders fled, the Mourning Ghosts still inside the Camp grew even more frenzied, battering the battered Wall and anything else within reach.
But Chen Fan no longer cared.
Those Leaders had to die.
If he let them escape to recover and return tomorrow, his Camp wouldn’t survive another siege.
Boom!
Boom!
The fleeing Mourning Ghost Leaders flung their Green Lanterns high, blasting the Wall with torrents of ghostly green light.
One.
Two.
Three.
Under the relentless arrow storm, their numbers dwindled. At last, the final Mourning Ghost Leader lurched forward, a bolt embedded in the back of its skull, and collapsed face-first to the ground.
“Dead!”
Chen Fan peeked over the battlents, fist pumping in triumph as he watched the last Leader’s corpse fall just outside the Camp’s boundary.
Now for the cleanup.
But then—
The instant the last Mourning Ghost Leader died, every single Mourning Ghost inside the Camp froze, life draining from their bodies as they toppled backward.
All dead.
Everywhere he looked, the Camp—ravaged by fire and destruction—was now carpeted with Ghostbeast corpses.
...
No one slept that night.
Chen Fan and his crew stood guard atop the ruined Wall until dawn. No one dared venture out to dig for Ghoststones—there could still be a Ghost Tide lurking in the Wasteland, waiting for them to drop their guard. Tonight, sothing felt off.
No one rushed to restore the Camp, either.
The damage was too severe. It would have to be rebuilt from the ground up. Better to wait for daylight and do a proper job—if another Ghost Tide struck in the anti, rebuilding now would be pointless.
Finally—
Dawn broke.
No one had slept, not even Zhou Mo and the others. The wooden houses within the walls had been destroyed, leaving nowhere to rest—so they took turns dozing in shifts, keeping watch through the endless night.
“Hah...”
As the Eternal Night receded like a spent tide, Chen Fan straightened at last, drawing a deep breath. He exhaled, letting all the night’s anxiety and dread flow out of him, then punched the air and shouted, “Let’s get to work!”
Crippled Monkey, Wang Mazi, and the others were already waiting, tools in hand and excitent shining on their faces as they charged out past the Wall.
Ti to dig up Ghoststones.
Ti to bleed the corpses.
The ground was littered with Ghostbeast bodies—this was going to be a harvest like no other!
“Wait...”
With the Eternal Night gone, visibility returned.
Chen Fan glanced beyond the Camp: outside, the Wasteland was strewn with Mourning Ghost corpses—easily over a thousand!
The Ghost Tide last night had been massive.
Most of those Mourning Ghosts had never even made it inside the Camp. The mont their Leaders died, they dropped dead as well.
He stood there, stunned for a mont.
Then, unable to hold back, he burst out laughing—louder and louder—dashing out into the rain, heading straight for the pile of Mourning Ghost Leader corpses, humming to himself. The losses to his Camp were already forgotten.
All those Ghostbeast corpses out there were worth more than his entire Camp put together.
...
“Treasure hunt, treasure hunt...”
“Find the treasure, treasure found...”
Chen Fan knelt beside the corpse of the main Mourning Ghost Leader, hands roaming eagerly. Of the sixteen Leaders killed, only this one still clutched a Green Lantern—the other fifteen had already crumbled to dust.
This Green Lantern was a Unique Treasure.
He didn’t even need to check the System Panel.
He knew at a glance this was a prize worth saving for last.
So people eat all the beef in their noodles first; others eat the noodles first. He was the kind who liked to save the best for last.
Usually, he’d leave looting Unique Treasures to Crippled Monkey, but with so many Ghostbeasts dead today, who knew if Crippled Monkey and the others could even finish dissecting all the corpses? It was a massive task.
“Huh?”
Chen Fan found sothing in the corpse’s pocket—a piece of Ghostskin, rougher than the one he’d gotten from the Female Ghostbeast, not as thin, but still unmistakable.
There were words written on it.
—
“Qianhou, hear my command!
You and your subordinates are to proceed to the Jiangbei Wasteland and destroy all city walls you find.
Pave the way for my arrival.
I will descend upon the Jiangbei Wasteland at the end of the Rainy Season, and with the blood of two cities’ worth of souls, ascend to beco Ghost King.
On the day of my ascension, I shall wed Qiuhui.
Go. Let the darkness fall as promised.
As one of my four great commanders, bring terror and despair to those pitiful ants cowering behind their walls!”
—
...
Chen Fan stared at the Ghostskin for a long, silent mont, his expression unreadable. Then he looked up, his gaze drifting toward Jiangbei City.
So... if he hadn’t shown up, that thing would have attacked Jiangbei City last night, wouldn’t it?
Talk about stubborn.
The boss’s orders were clearly just for show—what did my little Camp ever do to you? Did you really have to destroy every wall you saw? Even my Breeding Grounds weren’t spared?
What a hard-ass.
I wonder if Jiangbei City will reward for taking this hit for them.
I could really use so money right now.
Maybe I should just move.
Is it too late to relocate behind Jiangbei City’s walls...?
...
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