Chapter 43 Slaying the General

This was a ghost who had been a scholar in his mortal life. Having studied diligently while alive, his mind remained lucid, and after death, his soul retained a spark of spiritual light, clear and unclouded, even preserving his intelligence.

Among wild ghosts, entities possessing intelligence and memories were exceedingly rare.

Recognizing this, the leader valued him greatly and relied on him as a military advisor.

At this moment, these words instantly persuaded the leader. He nodded slightly, and grinding his teeth, he said, "We retreat! We shall fall back... Once the time is right, I will gather a hundred thousand fierce ghosts, achieve ultimate ghosthood, and return to exact vengeance for today!"

"The general is wise!" the ghostly advisor hurriedly said.

The ghost soldiers began to fall back, retreating toward the rear.

Just at that moment, battle cries suddenly erupted from all directions.

Led by Ruan Jing, hundreds of ghostly foot soldiers and over a thousand elite mortal troops charged out from their nearby hiding places, slamming into the flank of the ghost horde.

These elite troops had been lying in wait for a long time, specifically waiting for the right moment to strike.

Ruan Jing dared not charge directly into the main formation of the ghost leader. Instead, he led his men against the disorganized mob of criminal ghosts, instantly shattering the enemy's battle formation!

Not to mention the five hundred ghostly soldiers, even the thousand county soldiers wielded weapons smeared with cinnabar and other warding substances, which dealt massive damage to spectral entities.

However, the most eye-catching force was a small vanguard squad of ghostly soldiers. Though few in number, they were fiercely aggressive, consisting entirely of vicious, hardened ghosts.

Like the sharpest edge of a steel saber or the tip of a piercing arrow, they plunged into the vanguard, unstoppable!

"Thirty vicious ghosts... What a lavish display..."

Taking in the scene clearly, the leader was slightly startled. Even among his thousands of ghosts, he could not find fifty vicious ghosts, and those were scattered across various parts of his army.

How could they compare to this sight, where thirty vicious ghosts were concentrated for a single assault?

Driven by the impending crisis, the leader's ferocity was instead ignited. He roared, "Follow me!"

He prepared to lead his personal guards forward to intercept the thirty vicious ghosts; otherwise, his ghostly army would undoubtedly suffer catastrophic losses.

Right at that moment, Wang Zhenling's primordial spirit, enwrapped in the official seal, stirred the sea of fortune that floated like blazing flames above the entire Xiaji County. Like a soaring fire dragon, it plunged directly into the ghost horde!

"Boom..."

The fire dragon rolled across the field, and wherever it passed, nothing was spared. No matter what kind of ghost it was, under such overwhelming power, a mere graze was enough to seal its doom.

They would instantly be scattered into nothingness, their souls utterly destroyed!

***

The ghostly commander was frightened out of his wits, despite calling himself a general.

Yet he knew all too well that his true power fell far short of a genuine ghost general.

At the very least, one had to command ten thousand ghost soldiers to rightfully claim the title of a general!

And he was still a long way from that!

Now, as this fire dragon carrying the fortune of an entire city swooped down, even a true ghost general would likely be powerless to stop it.

Let alone an unqualified pretender like himself!

Seeing the fire dragon continuously charging toward him, the ghost commander could only retreat step by step, using his subordinates as shields to block its path in a desperate bid to escape.

He only hoped to hold out until the fire dragon's power was exhausted and dissipated, giving him a chance to flee for his life!

Yet at that very instant, the fire dragon suddenly opened its jaws and spat out a stream of golden light.

How blindingly fast it moved!

The leader barely had time for the thought to form; he had no chance to gather his ghostly Qi for defense.

The golden light had already pierced right through him, and golden runes began to crawl across his body.

In the blink of an eye, roaring flames ignited over the leader's entire form, swallowing him whole.

Following that, the golden light spun gracefully in mid-air, and the fire dragon swooped down, swallowing the golden light back into itself.

Only an observer with exceptionally high perception could have seen clearly that what had just been spat out was none other than the official seal of the Magistrate of Xiaji County!

Retracting the seal, Wang Zhenling's fire dragon swept across the field with a flick of its tail, obliterating dozens of nearby ghosts before soaring back.

The surrounding ghost soldiers were horrified, attempting to extinguish the flames and rescue their leader.

Yet no matter the type of ghost, the moment they approached the golden fire, rune-like flames would detach and attach themselves to the ghosts, consuming them entirely.

The ghost horde was instantly thrown into chaos. Struck by a sudden ambush and watching their leader burned alive, the formation completely collapsed, and the ghosts scattered in all directions!

Such a feat was, of course, beyond Wang Zhenling's own direct capability.

The ghost leader was at least an evil ghost, if not a malevolent specter, easily matching or perhaps even far surpassing Wang Zhenling's current strength!

Not to mention that the entity was backed by a formation of thousands of ghosts.

Wang Zhenling certainly did not possess the ability to slay such a powerful ghost amidst an army of thousands!

"That golden arrow was shot from Mount Wuji..." He had already recognized it.

***

Yet it seemed that the power residing within Mount Wuji was unwilling to show itself directly; apart from that single arrow, it made no further moves!

Wang Zhenling had no leisure to ponder further. He dispatched all his available troops to pursue and mop up the fleeing wild ghosts.

Though many ghosts escaped, they no longer posed a threat in Wang Zhenling's eyes.

As long as they were denied a place to hide, once dawn broke and the sun rose, they would all be reduced to ashes!

In the distance, the great deity Fangxiangshi, whom Wang Zhenling had encountered previously, held a golden longbow while guarded by a troop of divine soldiers, watching the events unfold over Xiaji County from afar.

"The Chen family has truly found someone quite capable to hold the fort this time..." Fangxiangshi remarked with a relaxed tone of praise.

"If we had gone ourselves, it would have taken us half an hour at most to wipe out all these filthy ghosts!" a divine soldier muttered with unconcealed dissatisfaction.

"It would be easy enough for us to show ourselves, but this is clearly someone testing the waters... Can we afford to expose ourselves so carelessly?"

Fangxiangshi said indifferently.

The divine soldiers were left speechless.

Indeed, this was the very purpose of Wang Zhenling!

Had Wang Zhenling not been guarding this place, an enemy's probe would have already exposed their situation completely.

And the affairs within Mount Wuji were of paramount importance, tied directly to the Divine Emperor's grand enterprise; not a single mistake could be tolerated!

"Let's go back. I imagine the person who cast this stone to test the waters must be bitterly disappointed by now..." Fangxiangshi smiled faintly.

He had originally expected Wang Zhenling to buckle under the assault, never imagining that not only would Wang Zhenling hold his ground, but he would even manage to slay the ghost leader.

Interesting, truly fascinating!

Without needing them to lift a finger, the person pulling the strings behind the ghost horde must be feeling thoroughly frustrated right now.

The group turned around and vanished into the darkness within a few steps.

When day broke, the various pursuit forces had all returned to the county town.

The crisis averted, the common folk from all the villages and towns returned to their homes!

Several months later, over ten thousand refugees were successfully settled in Xiaji County.

Meanwhile, other counties in Xiamic County had also absorbed varying numbers of refugees.