Reborn As A Ghost: Time To Build My Undead Army!-Chapter 1711: Sudden Confrontation

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"Those aren't 'people' anymore," Arthur said, his eyes glowing with cold resolve. "They're monsters we have to kill to protect real people from their claws. Aberrant beasts."

"A-Ah… I guess you're right…" Melianna sighed. "I just wish we didn't have to fight. Even though they're intelligent like us, there's no reasoning with them. How can anyone become like that? Completely abandoning everything that matters…"

"Upbringing, life experiences, and many other things," Nia replied quietly. "Back in my hometown, there were terrible people too."

"Yeah, even gods were like that," Celes nodded. "We had to fight them! But we won, all thanks to Stepmom!"

"Stepmom?" Melianna asked, tilting her head.

"Maria," Arachne answered. "She's my mama too."

"And mine! I was her daughter first…" Nyx added.

"Hmmm? No, I was first!" Arachne protested.

"No, me!" Nyx cried.

"Me!" Arachne shot back.

The two girls kept bickering over nothing, making Partner even more irritated. She had been told to watch them while the others went inside the sect building.

"Hey, that's enough! Stop fighting over nonsense!" Partner sighed heavily. "You're both Maria's daughters. Arguing about who came first or who she loves more is pointless. It's wrong, okay? She would be really upset if she heard you."

"Oops… sorry," Nyx muttered.

"Ahh… I guess…" Arachne nodded.

"Heh," Nia giggled, making Partner narrow her eyes.

"What?" Partner asked.

"I didn't realize it before, but you've grown a lot, Partner. That was actually pretty mature of you. Well done," Nia said with a warm smile.

"What do you mean 'actually'? I've always been mature!" Partner huffed, which only made Nia laugh more.

"Heh," Arthur allowed himself a small smile as he watched everyone interact.

It was chaotic, but this was his family. And though he rarely said it out loud, he loved them.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, he felt something.

A strange presence.

No… several presences.

His senses screamed warnings straight into his mind and soul. He glanced around; nobody else seemed to notice.

Why could only he feel them? Were they hiding their auras with some kind of technique? 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

If that were true, he shouldn't be able to detect them either.

Unless it was because of this new "Physique" that kept growing stronger ever since he arrived in Murim.

"Two… three… four… five powerful sources of energy… Wait, this is…!"

Arthur had no time to warn the others. Four crimson lights flared around the entire territory, rising like towers of blood energy before linking together into a massive dome of translucent red light.

A powerful formation barrier.

"What is this?!" Partner demanded, looking around.

"A barrier!" Nyx shouted.

"It's a formation!" Arthur growled. "We have to warn my sister! Everyone, inside the—"

BA-DUM!

A sudden, sharp pain stabbed through his heart and spread across his body. Arthur dropped to one knee, glaring up at the sky.

"Uncle!"

Nyx rushed to his side, the others right behind her.

Celes immediately began healing him, easing the pain a little, while Partner, Nyx, Nia, Arachne, and the fox siblings stared upward at the figures now emerging.

"Hah! Told you they'd come back."

"How painfully predictable."

Dozens of crimson eyes appeared within the barrier, releasing an overwhelming pressure—the same crushing force once felt beneath the Low Heavens, now twisted and amplified by a vicious curse.

Arthur's eyes widened as he recognized the fusion of Murim Ki and the Blood Energy unique to vampires.

It was obvious what was happening. The figures descending were accompanied by three foreigners whose appearance stood out sharply in this world: silvery-white hair, red eyes, pale skin. They wore elegant, non-Murim clothing—white blouses, tight red leather pants, black boots or red heels—looking like nobles from a medieval kingdom.

Only three were vampires. The rest were Murim cultivators from various clans, their Ki unmistakable.

"Poison Ki… Blazing Ki… Metal Ki… Damn it! The Murim Alliance!" Arthur spat.

"It's them again?!" Nyx groaned, pushing back against the pressure with her own power. "Uncle, can't you resist it?"

"It's not that simple. Don't fight it too hard, or you'll get hurt!" Arthur warned, forcing himself to his feet.

"Hurt? I'm perfectly fi—ugh…!" Nyx clutched her head, blood trickling from her nose.

Celes quickly noticed her energy was being drained by the formation.

"Does it hurt? Don't worry, it'll be over soon~!"

Arthur realized this wasn't just a suppression technique. It was a vampiric formation, designed to weaken and siphon away their lifeforce.

"Ugh… ngh…!" Celes swayed, headaches pounding.

"Celes!" Melianna caught her son before he fell.

"Ugh… brother… I feel sleepy…" Melianna whimpered.

Ferleen panicked. "This is bad! It's draining all our energy! We can barely use skills—there's heavy interference!"

"It's annoying…" Arachne muttered.

"What kind of twisted formation is this?!" Partner snarled. "Ugh, bastards!"

RUMBLE!

Partner roared, her aura exploding outward in a protective wave around everyone. The formation tried to drain it too, but it managed far less than before.

"Wait—who's that redhead?!"

"A vampire? Where did she come from?"

"She's helping them? What's wrong with her?"

The three vampire leaders looked utterly baffled by Partner—a vampire standing with their enemies.

Of course, they had no idea of her true origins. She was born from a reanimated human skeleton, evolved through a unique System into a zombie, then a ghoul, and finally various types of vampire. It was completely beyond anything they could imagine.

"I'm breaking that barrier!"

Partner summoned her two Dream Weapons—massive Shadow and Blood Spears—fused them into a single colossal lance and hurled it skyward.

BOOOMMM!!!

The impact shook the entire formation. Tremendous cracks spread across the dome as Partner poured everything she had into the strike while shielding the others.

"She's trying to destroy the formation!"

"What kind of power is that?! Who is she?!"

"Those spears are incredible artifacts! They're neither Immortal Treasures nor Sanguine Relics…!"

The vampires groaned, unleashing their Blood Auras to reinforce the barrier. The other cultivators poured their Ki into stabilizing it.

The pressure intensified. The ground trembled and began to shatter.

"Damn it!"

Partner screamed as her fused weapon cracked and was flung back down, shattering into countless fragments.

"Fuck!"

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