As long as you have the courage, fierce ghosts go on maternity leave.

As Hurricane looked up, he saw several figures emerging from the depths of the canyon.

Leading the way were the Medusa ghost princess, crowned with green snakes that he had seen at the previous Anlan banquet, and a mechanical ghost, a being with metallic bones that resembled a robot, brandishing a long spear.

Trailing behind them were Alexander and a number of other chosen ones.

"You... you’ve actually joined forces?" Hurricane’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Have Anlan and HongMu lost their minds? They’re supposed to be enemies to the end. This is the final factional battle, and yet they’ve allied!"

It wasn’t just Hurricane who was confounded; both the Medusa and the mechanical ghost princes were equally puzzled.

After all, the winner of this final factional war would earn the right of succession and potentially gain vast hidden support, widening the gap between the factions forever.

Normally, it would be impossible for two warring sides to join forces, especially when Anlan’s side was clearly weaker. Unless they waited for the two opposing factions to exhaust themselves in mutual destruction, forming an alliance now would only delay the inevitable defeat.

But that was under normal circumstances!

When the Medusa and mechanical ghost princes arrived at the heart of the canyon, they saw wounded chosen ones from both sides celebrating over the corpses of the ghost princes of Hurricane’s faction.

Nearby, a chosen one from Anlan’s faction was tearfully holding the body of HongMu’s ghost prince, shouting, "Why did you sacrifice yourself to save me?"

Moved by this scene of seeming friendship and brotherhood, and nudged by Alexander’s slick persuasion, the two ghost princes were duped into attacking Hurricane’s forces.

"Enough talk. Since your faction, Hurricane, is the strongest, who else would we ally with if not you? Kill him, and it’ll be a great achievement!" Alexander interrupted before anyone could engage in pleasantries. Sword in hand, he charged forth.

Although the Medusa ghost princess wasn’t aware that Anlan regarded Alexander as valuable as Edward, she had seen how much importance Anlan placed on him.

Seeing Alexander rush into the fray, she hesitated for just a moment before following. One reason was to build rapport with Alexander, who was important to Anlan, and more critically, killing Hurricane would indeed be a monumental triumph.

As Alexander and Medusa charged, the other chosen ones naturally hurried to follow. Left standing was the mechanical ghost prince, who, despite his many questions, had no choice but to join the assault.

The ghost prince Bai was immensely strong, even surpassing Medusa and the mechanical ghost prince. When he counterattacked, ice rapidly spread from the ground. Spears of ice surged up like earth spikes, nearly impaling the chosen ones.

However formidable, Bai was but one person, lacking any form of backup. Aided by the two ghost princes and dozens of chosen ones, Bai soon met his end at the hands of the Medusa ghost princess.

With Bai’s death, all that remained on the battlefield was a single black crystal. Several chosen ones, including Daigo and Mebana, who had been teleported there by some protective mechanism, stood beneath it.

Hurricane sat on his throne of bones, his expression grim. According to the rules of factional warfare, he couldn’t leave his seat, and thus could only watch as Bai fell. He had lost, no question about it.

In stark contrast to the irate and begrudging Hurricane, both the Medusa and mechanical ghost princes were elated.

"The crystal is mine! Don’t even think about snatching it!"

"Damn you, that crystal should be mine!"

Both princes had their eyes turn red, each wanting to take credit for shattering the crystal.

"Hold on!" Alexander quickly intervened, smiling, "Let’s not destroy the crystal just yet. If we do, then everyone from Hurricane’s faction will be disqualified, and how will we get to kill Hurricane then?"

At these words, not just Hurricane himself but also Medusa and the mechanical ghost widened their eyes in disbelief.

Alexander had previously spoken of killing Hurricane, but they had dismissed it as mere rhetoric to boost morale. After all, these were the adopted children of the dark hell’s city lord! Killing the empress’s adopted son would certainly have dire repercussions.

Most people were unaware of the true dynamics within the lord’s house and believed that relationships between potential heirs were generally harmonious. Certainly, in the eyes of many, Hurricane seemed closer to Louis than Alexander did.

"Do you have Miss Anlan’s approval for this?" The Medusa ghost princess looked coldly at Alexander, questioning seriously.

"Of course. In fact, it was Miss Anlan who asked me to do this. The next move is yours."

Wasting no more words, Alexander reached into his pocket and hurled a Voodoo doll, crafted from hair, toward the Medusa.

"That treacherous woman Anlan! To think she’d even give you this!" Seeing the Voodoo doll, Hurricane couldn’t help but curse.

Holding the Voodoo doll in her hands, all doubt vanished from the Medusa ghost princess’s mind. Channeling her ghostly aura, she flung the Voodoo doll into the air. Suspended in mid-air, it began to emanate an eerie black aura that grew increasingly potent.

Conversely, Hurricane also radiated a ghostly aura, but his was entangled in a strange gray mist, and his energy started to wane rapidly. The aura around the Voodoo doll soon reached the level of a ghost prince, while Hurricane’s energy plummeted at an alarming rate.

This was her chance.

Like a bolt of lightning, Medusa sped towards Hurricane, her myriad tiny green snakes hissing as they lunged at him. A weakened Hurricane would never survive her attack.

"Damn you, you think I’m afraid of you?"

Realizing he was on the brink of death and no longer caring for the rules of the game, Hurricane activated his ghost bead.

Five ghostly figures appeared in front of him—each different, male and female, and even including a chubby-faced ghost doll. But they all exuded the overwhelming aura of ghost princes.

Boom!

All five ghost princes attacked simultaneously. Being Hurricane’s last resort, their power was naturally extraordinary. Medusa coughed up blood and was sent flying backward.

"That wretched woman, Anlan, actually gave you the Voodoo doll. She really intends to kill me through you! Since I’ve already broken my mother’s rules and can’t be the heir, neither should they have an easy time! Starting with you."

"Do you think you’ve already won?" The corner of Alexander’s mouth curled into a sly smile.

"What, with these five ghost princes—my strongest subordinates—their combined talents are enough to kill a regular ghost king. Do you still think you can turn the tables?" Hurricane’s eyes scanned over his minions as he spoke coldly.

"Care to make a bet? Your five ghost princes will die right now," Alexander said, his face still adorned with a subtle smile.

The next moment, the "extremely loyal" chosen ones standing behind these ghost princes sprang into action.

Thrust! Thrust! Thrust!

The sound of blades piercing flesh resonated. Each of the ghost princes was impaled by at least two blades.

Normally, these chosen ones would only possess the power of soldier-level entities; injuring a ghost prince should have been a herculean task.

However, they had obtained too many treasures by now, including substances like corpse oil specifically designed to counter ghost princes.

In an instant, the flesh of two ghost princes withered rapidly, killing them. The other three were also in dire straits; the blades that pierced them had been coated with something akin to corpse oil.

Their auras deteriorated quickly, and their strength diminished before they were promptly exterminated by the chosen ones.

"Do you really want to kill me? I am the grand prince of the City Lord’s Mansion. Do you know the consequences of killing me?" Hurricane roared, his eyes red with fury.

Alexander, followed by a chosen one, slowly advanced. Meanwhile, the Mechanical ghost prince began to retreat discreetly within the crowd.

These chosen ones were insane. That’s the grand prince of the City Lord’s Mansion! Winning was one thing, but killing him? Not to mention the City Lord’s Mansion, would the ghost kings who secretly supported Hurricane let this go?

As Alexander continued to approach, a hint of madness appeared in Hurricane’s eyes: "If you want to kill me, then let’s all die together!"

With that, Hurricane violently pulled out a transparent, glass-like orb and smashed it on the ground. Inside the orb was a white crystalline substance.

As the orb shattered, the crystalline substance instantly transformed into a white mist in the air.

"Haha... let’s all die together! This is the residual energy of the Abandoned Emperor Stone. None of us will survive!" Hurricane’s hysterical voice echoed, his eyes filled with malevolence as they locked onto Alexander. After all, the Voodoo doll had come from Alexander’s hands.

However, Alexander’s face betrayed no sign of panic. Instead, he wore a triumphant smile.

The next moment, the chosen one standing behind Alexander placed a hand on his shoulder. "Shift Shadow!" a voice announced.

Following Alexander all along had been a chosen one endowed with the "Shift Shadow" talent.

Faced with the City Lord’s son, Alexander had prepared in advance, although he hadn’t expected Hurricane to bring out an energy crystal from the Abandoned Emperor Stone. For Alexander, the method mattered little; he had been ready for anything.

Upon the use of the "Shift Shadow" talent, a brilliant white light erupted from both the chosen one and Alexander. Also glowing with this radiant light was—the Mechanical Ghost Prince, who had been sneakily trying to escape.

For the "Shift Shadow" talent to work, a pre-existing mark had to be placed on the target. During their journey together, there had been plenty of opportunities. The Mechanical Ghost Prince, upon learning of this talent, had even asked for such a mark to be placed willingly—never suspecting it would be used in such a manner.

The metallic face of the Mechanical Ghost Prince froze for a moment. Then came a raspy, frenzied curse, "Alexander, goddamn it, fuck! Son of a—!"

The Mechanical Ghost Prince desperately tried to escape, but it was too late. The white crystal instantly transformed into a spreading fog, quickly engulfing Hurricane and the Mechanical Ghost Prince who were closest to it.

The chosen ones swiftly retreated, thankfully far enough away to escape the effects. The white fog began to thin and eventually dissipated.

Where it had been, the Mechanical Ghost Prince and Hurricane remained frozen in their last postures, their eyes vacant. They were as still as statues, lifeless monuments to their own undoing.

This all reminded Alexander of the horde of ghosts that had followed the Hell Warrior.

"Boss, let me take revenge!" Daigo’s eyes were red as he looked toward Alexander.

Alexander knew exactly what Daigo wanted to do. After a brief hesitation, he gave a nod.

It would be a bit troublesome, but Daigo had already paid a high price, especially considering his traumatic experience, which had resulted in—quite literally—an expansion of his horizons and an unexpected cure for his years-long constipation.

"Thank you, Boss!" Drawing two blades, Daigo charged at Hurricane.

Ghost Technique—Twin Blades of Mincing!

Eventually, Alexander expended quite a bit of effort to transform the minced flesh on the ground into food for ghosts. When he reached the Mechanical Ghost Prince, he found that the figure had completely turned into a ghost corpse.

That’s when a realization suddenly struck Alexander. The status of these two ghosts was markedly similar to the evil ghosts that trailed behind the Hell Warrior.

What controlled those evil ghosts following the Hell Warrior? Could it be a bell?

If that were true, it would be astonishing, especially since he had such a bell in his possession. Yet, how far could he control them?

If he could control them fully, Alexander wouldn’t mind seizing an opportunity to snatch a horde of evil ghosts from the Hell Warrior. After all, regardless of how the Hell Warrior managed it, the power of those ghosts was at least at the Emperor Ghost level.

If this idea was viable, Alexander could potentially gain a host of Emperor Ghost-level minions. Even if the chances were slim, the prospect filled him with immense anticipation.

Sadly, the Mechanical Ghost Prince in front of him, who was only at the prince level of strength, had succumbed to the white fog’s power and perished. Any further experiments would have to wait for a later opportunity.