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

"Two hundred and thirty million! Sold!" Alexander’s gavel struck down from the podium above.

"Did you do this on purpose?" Zane squinted at the Ghost King beside him, disbelief etching across his face.

"I have no idea what’s happening either!" The Ghost King looked equally stunned.

"Thank you, thank you for your graciousness!" The Ghost King who had secured the Screaming Nachos for a hefty sum of two hundred and thirty million, stood up to express his gratitude toward everyone around him.

Two hundred and thirty million! A princely sum, even for him. Research? A figment of the imagination!

It was merely the price he paid to win Alexander’s favor, after falling out of grace alongside Abigail.

Alexander, aware of the crowd’s motives, delayed the next item. Instead, he brought out more Screaming Nachos, ensuring each Ghost King could partake in the bidding.

Faces like Zane’s darkened; it appeared they would go home empty-handed today.

Finally, Alexander revealed the next item.

"Whoopee Pies! It’s a Prince-level Ghost Food Whoopee Pies!" Immediately, screams of recognition filled the air.

"Twenty million! I bid twenty million!" A voice rang out from below, belonging to a Ghost Imperial who had come with Abigail.

Twenty million was clearly not going to be the final price. It was simply a tacit agreement between the parties; after all, they had come to make amends, not wreak havoc. They wouldn’t go all in right away; the bidding was a dance, a series of maneuvers.

In the end, the Whoopee Pies were sold for a staggering five hundred million.

While it seemed counterintuitive that soldier-level Ghost Food had fetched two hundred million, and prince-level Ghost Food had only reached a mere five hundred million, there was context.

These Ghost Imperials were here to pledge allegiance, not to stir the pot. A spending spree of billions would be conspicuous even to a fool.

Still, even now, most people sensed something amiss. But it mattered little, as the moderate inflation only heightened the room’s electric atmosphere.

Soon enough, multiple Ghost Imperials had made their purchases, partaking in the extravagance.

Then the auction’s tone shifted. Instead of offering single types of Ghost Food, Alexander started auctioning bundles. This signaled to the bidding Ghost Imperials: "You’ve done enough."

Many sighed in relief; they had been willing to bet the farm but didn’t want to buy an entire warehouse of Whoopee Pies. Surely, there was room for some king-level Ghost Food!

The auction proceeded smoothly, perhaps influenced by the conduct of Abigail and her entourage. The final bids far surpassed initial estimates.

The last king-level Ghost Food sold for thirty-two billion, bought by Benjamin Imperial, marking the auction’s crescendo.

Alexander delicately placed an ornate bone tray on the table before him and dramatically unveiled the red cloth. Gleaming atop the snow-white tray was an oval-shaped Ghost Food that glowed like polished jade.

"The color, the patterns, and that incomparable aroma... Could this be...?" Gasps erupted from below.

"Yes!" A grin adorned Alexander’s face as he declared, "This is the pièce de résistance of today’s auction—a treasure that can create an Imperial-level powerhouse upon consumption! Imperial-level Ghost Food—Century Egg!"

The room exploded in uproar.

Wealth wasn’t a scarce resource among the ghosts of Dark Hell; they had come primarily for this Century Egg, a luxury reserved for the veritable tycoons of the ghost world—prohibitively expensive for common ghosts.

"Ten billion! I bid ten billion for this Century Egg!"

"Ten billion? You dare say that amount? Fifty billion! I must have this Century Egg!"

"This treasure is beyond your reach! I bid seventy billion, my entire worth!"

"Worth less than a hundred billion and you think you can afford a Century Egg? One hundred and three billion!"

...

The room reached a fever pitch, a cacophony of numbers and egos colliding in the air. This wasn’t just a luxury item; it was a Century Egg, a legendary treasure capable of transforming one into a Ghost Imperial.

The bidding became frenzied, each shout escalating the stakes to dizzying heights.

Finally, it was Abigail who broke the ceiling. With her slender leg perched on her chair and fire in her eyes, she yelled, "Nine hundred billion!" The crowd fell silent.

"Sold for nine hundred billion! Congratulations, Abigail Imperial, for acquiring the priceless Century Egg!"

Alexander’s gavel thudded onto the podium, an exclamation point on the pandemonium. He gingerly picked up the bone tray and extended it toward Abigail.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Abigail’s voice trembled with emotion as she delicately took hold of the treasured Century Egg.

She had prepared to expend her entire fortune to pledge loyalty, but in the end, she had not only kept her wealth but gained a treasure of incalculable value.

Was it worth it? Absolutely. How could you quantify the worth of an Imperial-level power? In a world where the birthing of a Ghost Imperial could take thousands of years, here was a shortcut.

All she had to do was to have someone she cared for consume the egg, and they would ascend rapidly to Imperial level.

Who wouldn’t consider it a bargain, even at the cost of countless ghost coins?

"Congratulations. Also... welcome aboard," Alexander said with a grin.

Boom!

Just then, an explosive sound echoed through the hall. The door to the auction room burst open with a thunderous kick.

A male ghost, radiating the majestic aura of a Ghost Imperial and wearing a face twisted in ferocious arrogance, strode in.

"Who’s Alexander? Who’s Edward? Show yourselves and prepare to die!" he bellowed.

His eyes swept over the room with cold disdain, as if he were the lord of all he surveyed. But then his eyes met the icy stares of more than twenty Ghost Imperials, over a thousand Ghost Kings, and tens of thousands of Ghost Princes.

His arrogance froze on his face as if he had been turned to stone. What the hell had he walked into?

"You’ve got some guts, crashing our party like this," Abigail said, her voice dripping with menace. The atmosphere was chilly, to say the least.

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding! Did I speak too loudly and give you the wrong idea? I’m here on an errand, sent by the Ghost Emperor to invite Alexander and Edward to the City Lord’s Mansion," the male ghost stammered, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead under the intimidating gazes.

"Is Alice calling for Alexander and me? Who are you? I’ve never seen you before," Edward stood up and asked.

"My name is Zephyr, and I serve under the Ash Ghost Emperor of Ash City," Zephyr introduced himself, before clarifying,

"It’s not Alice, the female Emperor, who wishes to see you, but the Ash Ghost Emperor of our Ash City. Alexander, Edward, you both must be aware of whom you’ve killed in the Mist Instance, correct?"

With a grand flourish of his hand, Zephyr conjured ethereal traces of ghostly energy that coalesced into a shimmering projection in mid-air.

The scene displayed was unmistakable: it was of Edward and Alexander, ruthlessly slaying the bald ghost in dining hall number nine.

"Alexander, Edward, you have the audacity to kill even a relative of our city lord. That’s quite the bold move," Zephyr shouted, although his voice belied the apprehension he felt among so many Ghost Imperials.

"That’s right; I killed him. But he brought it upon himself. If you seek revenge, come and get it," Alexander retorted without a moment’s hesitation.

"You think you’re worthy of our city lord’s personal attention? Our Ash Ghost Emperor has now formed an alliance with other city lords, a coalition of nine Ghost Emperors, all rallying for justice at the city lord’s mansion! I’ve been instructed to bring you a gift."

With a flick of his wrist, Zephyr summoned into existence a bloody arm, its sleeve adorned in familiar punk attire and a scorpion tattoo marking the flesh, and flung it toward Alexander.

"Purple-haired Ghost!" Recognizing the distinctive garb and tattoo, members of the Fierce Ghost Association glared, their eyes ablaze with rage.

Startled by the palpable fury, Zephyr recoiled and quickly added, "I’m just the messenger. Before heading to the city lord’s mansion, we paid a visit to the Fierce Ghost Association. Your choice to go or not to go is yours.

But know this: if our city lord does not see both of you by nightfall, he will personally obliterate all of the Fierce Ghost Association’s assets in Dark Hell. You dare kill a relative of our Ash Ghost Emperor? You’re asking for death!"

Though Zephyr’s words were brimming with bravado, he spun on his heels and departed with astonishing speed as soon as he finished speaking.

Clearly, he also feared the repercussions of staying, lest the wrathful ghosts of the Fierce Ghost Association descend upon him en masse.

"Alexander!" Zephyr had barely disappeared through the auction hall’s entrance when Tony shot up from his seat, his eyes bloodshot. "That’s the arm of the Purple-haired Ghost!"

"Wait, hold on! Don’t act rashly! I’ve just contacted my brother, and he said the situation has spiraled completely out of control!" Abigail stood up before Alexander could speak, urgently laying out the dire circumstances.

"My brother initially invited two Ghost Emperors with whom he has good relations, intending to stave off Lady Alice Emperor. Unfortunately, the leader of the Ghost Alliance found out. Worse still, he has a vendetta against you and Edward!

As a result, my brother was exploited, and now all eleven Ghost Emperors of the Ghost Alliance have been summoned.

Even if my brother wanted to intervene, it’s too late. Though he is one of the two alliance leaders, his power pales in comparison to Ash, who is an Inheritance Ghost Emperor."

In the horror world, Ghost Alliances are a common entity, somewhat analogous to earthly institutions like the European Union.

A ghost city’s stature isn’t solely determined by the strength of its lord; size, territory, and population are all contributing factors. In this world of horror, a city doesn’t have to be a megalopolis to house a Ghost Emperor.

Even a small city with a Ghost Emperor could be deemed a mid-size ghost city. However, such cities, unable to muster even a ten-thousand-strong ghost army, have no choice but to form alliances to fend off threats from larger cities.

The Ghost Alliance is precisely such a coalition, spearheaded by Ash and Liam.

This explains why Liam, a common Ghost Emperor of a mid-size city, dared to summon help against an Inheritance Ghost Emperor from a major city. But no one foresaw that Ash, another leader of the Ghost Alliance and a rare Inheritance Ghost Emperor of a mid-size city, also had a vendetta against Alexander.

On his own, Ash couldn’t muster the combined force of the remaining eight Ghost Emperors in the Alliance. However, leveraging Liam and the allure of a secret related to Ghost Food, Ash successfully rallied all the other Ghost Emperors.

So now, even if Liam had second thoughts, wanting to put a halt to the rapidly escalating situation would be futile.

"Tommy DeVito!" Tony’s eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Alexander. "The Purple-Haired Ghost and the Red-Haired Ghost have been with me for a long time. You’re my brother, and so are they!

I grew up a thug, and it’s only thanks to my brothers that I’ve achieved anything. I may not be a good man, and I know I’m no genius like Edward. But I swear on my wretched life, anyone who harms my brothers will feel my wrath upon their entire family!"

"Alexander, you mustn’t act recklessly! Ash is an Inheritance Ghost Emperor, and there are other Ghost Emperors from different cities. Even Alice might not be willing to completely sever ties with the Ghost Alliance for your sake!" Abigail quickly interjected, trying to defuse the situation.

"No more talk; get the message out," Alexander shook his head, cutting off Abigail’s attempts to persuade him further. His eyes rested on the severed arm on the ground and then moved to Tony, whose eyes were red with fury and veins pulsing on his temples.

"All forces friendly to me within Dark Hell, head to the city lord’s mansion and buy me an hour. All Ghost Kings of the Fierce Ghost Association, prepare for battle. And since Edward and I are the cause of this calamity, it’s on us to resolve it."

With that, Alexander turned his gaze toward Edward, a cold smile unfolding on his face. "Care to join me for a little trip? I could show you how to truly flaunt your prowess."

"Ha ha... What’s there to fear!"Edward burst into uproarious laughter.