novelraw Chapter 268: I don’t care about the Mist World; I just want to be brothers with you forever
Chapter 268: I don’t care about the Mist World; I just want to be brothers with you forever
Profit is the initial motivator for all intelligent beings, whether human or ghost. Everyone comes and goes for gain. The promise of profits multiplied a hundredfold naturally gives rise to a frenetic cadre of ghost merchants.
Due to the distance between ghost cities and the threats posed by hell warriors, such ghost merchants are scarce. Only those with unique talents who are unfazed by distance and threats from hell warriors can achieve this.
Typically, these ghost city merchants are backed by the city lord’s mansion, because the venture is tied to their own interests. Unless the individual belongs to a major city lord, no one would easily break this unspoken rule.
Hence, Alexander had Louis notify the ghost city merchants, knowing that only the intervention of the city lord’s mansion could summon these traders from across the many ghost cities in Dark Hell.
"Do you intend to acquire enough weapons from them?" Louis inquired, puzzled. "Aren’t the weapons supplied by the city lord’s mansion sufficient? Although of lower grade, surely you aren’t planning on procuring ten million soldier-grade spectral weapons!"
"Indeed! With the mansion providing ten million weapons, and considering Dark Hell’s own strength, we have more than enough to deal with Endless Abyss. Those Ghost Foods, especially Imperial and King-level ones, need not be sold," Tony also chimed in with a suggestion.
Truth be told, everyone besides Alexander was concerned, especially regarding the Imperial-level Ghost Foods. In all of Dark Hell, there are only about thirty Imperials; each Ghost Food represents one Imperial member.
"Ten million is far from enough—woefully insufficient!" Alexander shook his head. "Within a month, we need to acquire at least one hundred million weapons, and even that number will not suffice."
"I understand now; I know what you’re planning to do," Louis said, momentarily stunned before nodding his agreement.
As Tony and Alexander departed from the city lord’s mansion, Tony remained bewildered. Not until they returned to the Fierce Ghost Association’s headquarters did Tony finally blurt out:
"Alexander, what exactly are you planning to do, needing one hundred million weapons? And still finding it insufficient! Even if Endless Abyss is powerful, we won’t fear them once we absorb this batch of Ghost Foods."
"Endless Abyss? I’ve never taken it seriously," Alexander replied with a dismissive shake of his head.
"Are you seriously planning on raising an army of a hundred million? The entirety of Dark Hell only has six hundred million ghost citizens. Don’t tell me you’re thinking of unifying the entire Third Ghost Realm?" Tony said incredulously.
"Tony, do you remember that phrase you used to say to me all the time?" Alexander did not answer directly but posed a question with a smile.
"Which one?" Tony paused, considering that he’d said many things to Alexander over the years.
"You said you’d conquer the world for me! Have you forgotten?"
Standing on the rooftop of the Fierce Ghost Association’s headquarters, Alexander surveyed the scenery as if he were back on the afternoon when the ghost street battle had just ended.
A drunken Tony, wrapped his arm around Alexander’s neck, and pointed to the street below, exclaiming, "Look! This is the world I’ve conquered for you! This street will be our turf!"
This time, Alexander pulled Tony close, pointed down from the rooftop, and said, "Jimmy Conway! You promised to conquer the entire horror world for me—not missing a single stone or grain of sand."
"Okay!" In an instant, Tony felt a rush of adrenaline surge to his head. In that atmosphere, Tony would dare to storm into any world Alexander pointed to, even a Mist World.
Filled with audacious spirit and boiling blood, Tony proclaimed, "Ha-ha! Forget a hundred million; give me four million soldier-level ghosts and twenty million Fierce-level ghosts, and I’ll level the entire horrific world for you!"
"Fierce?" Alexander looked up in surprise, "Ghosts below the soldier-level can also go to battle?"
Damn it! Tony, who was already fired up, almost stumbled and fell when he heard this.
Fierce ghosts are mainstays in ordinary ghost cities, while soldier-level ghosts are absolutely elite, the aces in the hole. Gathering a million soldier-level ghosts would make for the topmost force in any ghost city.
Except for powerhouses like Endless Abyss that rank among the elite in the entire horrific world, regular ghost cities can’t even gather a million soldier-level troops in total. Alexander had reached peak Versailles mentality.
Even ghosts below soldier-level can go to battle? The very question was so out of touch that it instantly extinguished Tony’s enthusiasm.
"Give me one month!" Alexander tightened his grip around Tony’s neck, saying:
"In this month, recruit at least one hundred million people for me. I will handle things at the City Lord’s Mansion. I want every battle-ready ghost in Dark Hell to become a member of the Fierce Ghost Association.
I’ll solve the Ghost Food issue for you. In a month, you’ll have an army of at least one hundred million soldier-level ghosts and an invincible force capable of sweeping across all the Ghost Realms."
"A hundred million soldier-level ghosts..." Tony gulped, astounded by the astronomical figure. Alexander had just promised a force potent enough to dominate the entire Ghost Realm.
Presently, the Fierce Ghost Association had a mere six million soldier-level fighters, but if they were to reach one hundred million—what then?
"What do you want me to do?" Tony asked, his face turning serious after the initial shock. Such a colossal force couldn’t be used for trivial tasks.
"It’s simple. In one month, declare war on the entire horror world in my name. I’ll provide the artifacts needed for travel between ghost cities. If we face top-tier cities like Endless Abyss, I’ll send reinforcements. My only requirement is that we unify the entire horror world within six months."
"Six months?" Tony’s eyes widened. "Alexander, what on earth are you trying to accomplish? Why the rush?"
In a single Ghost Realm, hundreds of medium and small-sized cities existed. Taking into account Alexander’s promise, power wasn’t the issue. But to control such a vast number of cities in such a short time would demand immense organizational and managerial resources.
The horror world, even after years of being consumed by the mist world, was still unfathomably large. The entire horror world, when taken together, has at least a hundred trillion ghosts—a staggeringly vast number.
Six months is really too short a time. Setting aside the monumental task of conquering every city, even the mere management of them presents a formidable challenge. Are we to expect one ghost to manage a million others?
"Just conquer it for me. I’m not interested in becoming some world leader; I have a different agenda," Alexander said, leaving no room for questioning.
"What agenda?" Tony narrowed his eyes, his intuition tingling, though he still dared not make any assumptions.
"A counterattack—to erase the mist world!" Alexander stated unequivocally.
"You’re insane!"
Although Tony had already suspected what Alexander was planning, he was still startled enough to shiver when he heard the words.
Spinning around, he gripped Alexander’s shoulders tightly and roared, "Are you trying to commit suicide? That’s the Mist World we’re talking about!"
"Ten thousand years ago, a Ghost God from the Horror World led numerous Ghost Saints into the Mist World and none survived. They were all annihilated."
"A few thousand years ago, Ghost Honor Maddy ventured into the Mist World, bringing back the Purple Guardian and the Ring of Wall-Breaking. With Karin’s help, he gained Forbidden Empowerment and led millions of Forbidden Ghost Emperors against the Mist, only to be defeated by six guardians."
"Even Karin, carrying the gravely injured Maddy, broke through the eighth Ghost Realm.She told everyone through her actions that the guardians had never taken us seriously!"
"A thousand years ago, the strongest Ghost Emperor created a horror instance and waged the strongest decisive battle in history against the Mist Instance, inflicting heavy damage on four guardians before falling at the hands of a White Guardian. It was the closest we ever came to victory!"
"But sadly, ever since then, the Ring of Wall-Breaking has been mostly destroyed. No one can grasp rule control anymore!
The owner of the Ghost Apartment tried to refine ghost pills but triggered heavenly punishment brought by the White Guardian and was easily slain! The greatest enemy of the Terror World has actually become its own heavenly punishment! It’s utterly ridiculous!" Tony lamented.
"It seems you haven’t held your Ghost King title in vain. You know quite a lot of secrets," Alexander teased before confidently declaring, "Just do as I say. I’ll handle the Mist World."
Alexander’s true reliance was a ghost pill plan, lacking only enough ghost corpses to be completely perfect.
And there was that one sentence from Selena: "The last chance!"
Clearly, neither the Horror World nor the real world could bear a second decisive battle. This time, regardless of whose sealed memories he carried, it would be the final gambit with the Mist World.
Whether it was Hades or Maddy, they had brought at most a few million followers. But the original terror instance consisted of thirty-six Ghost Realms, its population outnumbering the present by millions of times.
Just think, if Hades had led the entire Horror World, populated by billions upon billions, they could have filled the Mist World just with their sheer numbers.
Initially, Hades refrained from doing so because of the existence of forbidden power; even an endless horde of common ghosts would be unable to harm the malevolent ghosts of the Mist World.
Now, however, Alexander is just one step away from possessing the ability to grant forbidden power en masse.
Moreover, Karin and the Blood Queen are evidently on his side, along with an even more mysterious force—the graveyard power—about whom no information exists either in the Terrifying World or even the real world.
However, Alexander believes that these mysterious figures will undoubtedly emerge at the crucial moment.
And now,What Alexander intends to do is to confront the Mist World, exploiting numerical superiority.
Tony’s face is serious, clearly deep in thought and weighing his options.
A counteroffensive against the Mist World would have been enthusiastically supported thousands or even tens of thousands of years ago if led by someone of sufficient strength. But now, after so many millennia, the Mist World has shattered the courage of the entire Horror World.
If it were not Tony standing here, anyone else hearing of Alexander’s audacious plan against the Mist World would likely faint on the spot.
Thus, Alexander waits patiently for Tony’s decision without rushing him. Tony’s eyes remain fixed on Alexander’s face, apparently trying to determine whether he’s joking.
"Ever since the Blood Moon School, I sensed something extraordinary about you, something exceptionally familiar. The Ghost Restaurant, too, was your strategizing that allowed me to take my revenge. From that moment on, my life belonged to you! So..."
After a long pause, Tony extends his hand to Alexander: "I don’t care about the Mist World; I just want to be brothers with you forever. After all, I’m already a ghost—what’s left to fear? Let’s do it!"
Alexander extends his hand in return, and their hands meet, gripping firmly in mid-air.
....
Inside the Lord’s Mansion, the events that transpired didn’t create much of a ripple. Granted, an Ghost Imperial had died, but its impact on the entire Dark Hell was minimal.
Black Spirit Apartments were swiftly taken over by the Lord’s Mansion and were subsequently handed over to the Fierce Ghost Association for management. Nowadays, persuaded by Alexander, even the Prince-level and King-level ghosts from the Ghost Apartments have joined the Fierce Ghost Association.
Upon hearing Alexander’s ultimate goal, Tony completely unleashed his vigor, readying himself for a grand endeavor. After all, there was no need to worry about betrayals; their common objective was the Mist World.
The Mist World aims to devour both the Terror World and even the Real World, making it a mortal enemy of the ghosts residing in the Horror World.
As for the matter of the Endless Abyss laying siege, it too failed to stir significant commotion. After all, what the Endless Abyss wanted was a whole ghost city, not a wasteland.
The potency of the besieging force mattered little to the apartment lords; they were merely spectators. In their eyes, Dark Hell stood no chance against the Endless Abyss, and whoever emerged victorious would not affect them substantially.
Sending troops for support was mostly a symbolic gesture, aimed at preventing an open rift with the Lord’s Mansion. Those sent were not particularly strong underlings.
In contrast, the auction held by the Fierce Ghost Association drew far more attention than the siege from the Endless Abyss.