novelraw Chapter 278: To repay a favor
Chapter 278: To repay a favor
Is this... an offer of allegiance? Alexander was stunned, and apart from Emperor Kui, who maintained his composure, everyone else looked equally baffled.
The Blood Queen!
While few had ever seen her in action, everyone knew she was an immensely powerful entity. Just because no one had witnessed her abilities didn’t mean she had never exercised them. Rather, those who had were no longer among the living.
Although unspoken, it was common knowledge that the Blood Queen was one of the guardians of the Mist World, her status akin to that of Karin.
"Do you not wish for it?" the Blood Queen asked softly.
"Of course, I do! We at the Fierce Ghost Association warmly welcome your joining!" Alexander promptly nodded in agreement.
"I knew my little brother would agree!" The Blood Queen’s face lit up with a smile again as she took her place behind Alexander.
The blade made of coagulated blood that had been hovering ominously near Alexander’s throat dissipated slowly.
How could he refuse?
Setting aside the fact that she’d just saved his life, there was also her terrifying power and status to consider. That blade at his throat made it abundantly clear: refusing her could very well mean the end of him.
The Blood Queen’s initial video still loomed large in everyone’s memory. Alexander had already surmised the purpose behind James’s deliberate death at the Ghost Restaurant instance.
Once one understood the essence of the "forbidden power"—an emotional energy that wields control over mental states—James’s aim became clear.
His death at the Ghost Restaurant, fortuitously caught on camera and made into a cautionary tale, was clearly orchestrated with the Blood Queen to gather emotional energy and study the forbidden power.
The failure of this plan evidently led to the subsequent massacre at Blood Moon Town to create ghost pills.
Even though he grasped the backdrop of those past events and knew that the Blood Queen would probably not turn against him, the video had haunted him and countless others for years, almost becoming a psychological shadow for selected individuals and even ordinary people.
Therefore, despite knowing he wasn’t in immediate danger, Alexander still felt a twinge of fear.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is now time to discuss matters among us," Alexander said, casting his eyes toward the ghost Emperors brought by Ash, who were now paralyzed with fear.
What kind of formidable existence had they provoked?
The entire Dark Hell—whether it was the city lords or the apartment lords—would have been enough cause for concern had they all allied against them. But now even the Blood Queen had joined the fray.
Dark Hell had always been reputed as an anomaly, but this was beyond anyone’s wildest speculations: a single chosen one individual wielding such bizarre influence.
The seven ghost Emperors turned their gazes toward Liam, who seemed to be the natural candidate to speak up. After all, with Ash’s demise, the reins of the Ghost Alliance had fallen into the hands of Vice-leader Liam.
Moreover, Liam’s sister had made it clear that she intended to follow Alexander, suggesting that he might be more amenable to negotiation.
"Ah, Mr. Alexander, what should we do about us?" Liam spoke, resigned to be the one to break the ice.
"You have two choices: either submit, or..." Alexander began, glancing at the Blood Queen beside him.
"Alexander, do you like my dress?" The Blood Queen asked with a sugary smile. "I think it’s not quite red enough."
The comment sent shivers down the spines of all the ghost Emperors present. Not red enough? They would be the dye! The nightmarish scene of Ash’s death still replayed in their minds.
But to submit was out of the question. These were all city masters, and none were willing to bend the knee to another, let alone an Outsider.
"Mr. Alexander, let us discuss this," Liam suggested before retreating to confer with the other ghost Emperors. After a moment, he returned.
"Mr. Alexander, it’s impossible for us to simply submit to you! Even with the Blood Queen and Emperor Kui here, if we were determined to escape, you could not keep all of us. Moreover, our deaths here would only unite the many ghost cities under the pressure from Dark Hell."
Alexander frowned slightly. What he truly sought was not these ghost Emperors. He had enough high-level fighters. What he lacked were ghost—numbers.
War in the world of terror was never about the elite few battling to the death; the foot soldiers were expendable cannon fodder. Removing Ash, there were eight medium-sized ghost cities, each with a population ranging from several million to tens of millions.
All told, we were talking about potentially billions of people. Should they join Alexander’s forces, his campaign in the world of terror would advance significantly.
"So, what’s the plan?" Alexander decided to ask after a moment’s hesitation.
"It’s simple. Mr. Alexander, your rapid expansion, even going so far as to use a relocation card worth a hundred billion ghost gas, shows your ambitions are not small. Let us see Dark Hell and evaluate your strength," Liam concluded.
"What do you propose?" Alexander pressed further.
"Endless Abyss!" Liam replied without hesitation, clearly having planned this in advance.
"We’ve heard that Endless Abyss is marshalling forces for an assault. It’s the strongest city in the Third Ghost Realm, and they’ve recently annihilated another major city. Now, they’re launching a large-scale attack and have even allied with other cities. It’s obvious they’re committed to victory."
"If Dark Hell can’t even withstand the first wave of attack, then it’s evident you can’t even protect yourselves. However, if you can repel the first wave, we will unconditionally join Dark Hell and obey your commands. We could even jointly pressure other ghost cities in the alliance to submit to Dark Hell."
"Agreed!" Alexander immediately responded without any hesitation. "I accept your terms, but only for this one instance. If you fail to uphold your end of the bargain, just as I took Ash City, I can take yours."
"Understood, understood," the ghost Emperors quickly assented.
Having reached a decision, Alexander wasted no more time. He let them go and returned to his base with the members of the Fierce Ghost Association.
Surprisingly, the Blood Queen was unusually obedient, doing exactly as told, which was a relief for Alexander.
What was even more unexpected was that not only did Abigail express a desire to join the Fierce Ghost Association, but even Emperor Kui did the same.
Along with Kassadin and Edward, who could be considered half-members, it appeared that Alexander had, rather unwittingly, come to rule nearly all of Dark Hell.
In the following days, Alexander was busy managing the affairs of the Fierce Ghost Association while contemplating whether to enter the Mist Instance. His primary concern was that Endless Abyss would launch their attack while he was inside.
However, with Edward’s arrival, Alexander no longer had to agonize over his decision.
"Alexander, news from the City Lord’s mansion," Edward reported urgently. "A portal has opened not far outside of Dark Hell. It’s most likely the forces of Endless Abyss. The City Lord has commanded the army to assemble and face the enemy."
The army of Endless Abyss had indeed arrived.
Outside of Dark Hell, about fifteen miles away, three towering portals stood amidst the barren land. Legions of ghost soldiers poured out of these portals like a flood.
To ordinary soldiers, weapons was a luxury, and some even wielded weapons they had scavenged. With armies numbering in the tens of millions, not every ghost city could afford to fully outfit its troops.
That said, most of these battalions were clad in resplendent armor—created from ghostly energy and costing next to nothing.
They served mostly as a uniform to ease identification rather than offer real protection. The forces emerging from these three portals wore three different sets of uniform armor.
The army from Nether World was draped in flamboyant red battle garments, while the soldiers from Undead City donned an orderly dark green attire.
The troops from Endless Abyss, however, wore pitch-black armor, strikingly similar to that of hell warriors—clearly a calculated imitation. At first glance, they were quite intimidating.
From the trio of massive portals, armies surged continuously, as if the ocean itself had been let loose upon the desolate land.
Nether World and Undead City each dispatched an awe-inspiring force of 15 million. Most of these were Ferocious ghosts, with only around two million of Soldier rank.
On the side of Endless Abyss, a staggering ten million soldiers emerged, all uniformly of soldier level, and their commanders were at least of the ghost-general rank, which was nothing short of alarming.
At the rear of this oceanic army stood a handful of individuals—high-ranking officers from Nether World and Undead City.
Their portals were adjacent and had been activated slightly earlier, allowing them to gather first. If Alexander were here, he would be astonished to recognize some familiar faces.
At this moment, facing the staggering assembly of forty million soldiers from three great factions, JUWEL—who was once the number-one author on Happy Street, a man who labored every day.
And now the Ghost Emperor Ares of Nether World—showed no trace of the grandiosity one might expect from a commander of such an enormous force.
Especially when he laid eyes on the terrifying spectacle of Endless Abyss’s ten million-strong army. Logically, as part of an allied force, Ares should have been thrilled at the strength of his companions.
After all, a stronger ally would minimize his own side’s losses. But right now, Ares bore a countenance fraught with worry.
This was a difficult situation.
His gaze shifted to those beside him. Apart from the ghost emperor and a few imperials he had brought along, there were also representatives from Undead City, including its city lord, Callum, accompanied by a ghost emperor and several imperials. Their strengths were more or less comparable.
When his eyes met those of Undead City’s Lord Callum, he was surprised to find a similar look of concern. Ares and Callum’s eyes met in mid-air, and Callum was the first to speak.
"Lord Ares, back when you chose a life of degradation, writing novels that nobody read and making hardly any money, living like a vagabond, it was quite a story. Now that you’ve become the Inheritance Ghost Emperor, leading the millions-strong army of Nether World—your experience is nothing short of blood-pumping!"
Ares’s face instantly darkened. Why did Callum have to reveal his dismal past?
"Lord Callum is no slouch either!" Ares responded with an icy snort. "I’ve heard that you were once chased for miles in the wilderness by a hell warrior and nearly got caught. You were even so scared you wet your pants."
Now it was Callum’s turn for his face to sour; he hadn’t expected the tale of his wet trousers to have gotten out. Reflecting on what he’d just said about Ares, he realized his own tactlessness and quickly tried to amend it.
"Ghost Emperor Ares, don’t misunderstand! I’m actually a fan of yours! I really enjoyed your book ’Demon Angel.’. The plot is captivating and engaging. I am a loyal reader of yours!"
"Really?" Ares paused, slightly incredulous, but then immediately blurted out, "How do you know the title of the novel I wrote?"
Gossip about an Inheritance Ghost Emperor could spread fast; that Ares could accept. But for Callum to know the title of his work—that was off-kilter.
Were it another author who had ascended to the status of an Inheritance Ghost Emperor, it wouldn’t be unusual for people to dig up and read their old works out of curiosity.
But who was Ares? He was a relentless writer, toiling away at his computer every day, striving to publish dozens of Chapters daily, completing a book in a single month.
Over the years, he had written so many books that even he had lost count. So, how did Callum know?
"As it turns out, I also hail from Dark Hell, although I left earlier than you did. I had visited Happy Street, but fate didn’t grant us a meeting," Callum explained, smiling at Ares’s apparent bewilderment.
"You’re from Dark Hell too? If that’s the case, why did you join forces with Endless Abyss to attack Dark Hell? Do you hold a grudge against them?" Ares inquired.
"Not really. While I’ve had disagreements with some there, I was the one forced into betrayal first, so I can hardly blame them," Callum shook his head, gazing in the direction of Dark Hell as he continued:
"I harbor no animosity, but rather a debt of gratitude. I was gravely injured back then. Had it not been for someone healing me, I would have perished on Happy Street.
Even if I had managed to escape, a gravely injured me would have been easy prey for a hell warrior. It was thanks to a physician on Happy Street, who not only treated me without expecting any compensation but also kindly healed my injuries."
Hearing these words, a glimmer of excitement lit up in Ares’s eyes. He eagerly asked, "The physician you’re talking about—was his name Charles?"
"You know him? His medical skills were truly extraordinary. He healed my injuries effortlessly and didn’t even charge a cent," Callum replied excitedly.
Then, as if recalling something, he added, "The only issue was the subpar quality of the materials he used. I always felt an emptiness in my body until I became a Ghost Emperor."
"That’s not Dr. Charles’s fault. It’s that unscrupulous clinic owner who substituted inferior products! I later made inquiries, only to find out that the clinic had been destroyed by furious evil ghoss! Even the ground was dug up; they left nothing behind," Ares explained.
"Serves them right! Those profiteering villains! They tarnished the reputation of Dr. Charles. If it were me, I wouldn’t spare them either!" Callum retorted indignantly.
"I heard Dr. Charles, whose real name is Alexander, has joined the City Lord’s office and is now the President of the Fierce Ghost Association. Callum, your leading this grand army in alliance with Endless Abyss is actually for..." Ares began, his tone tinged with a probing curiosity.
"I was about to ask you the same! Your Nether World has always stayed out of these ghost city conflicts. Why have you come this time?"
Their eyes met, a tacit understanding passing between them.
The corners of their mouths tilted ever so slightly, and in a synchronized utterance, they both exclaimed, "To repay a favor!"