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

Ash found the whole situation amusing, but how could Alexander not feel the same?

The translocation card had already been activated, its radiant light enveloping the entire city of Ash. Soon enough, Ash would be teleported directly into Dark Hell.

When that moment arrived, members of the Fierce Ghost Association would shatter the keystone of the ghost city, causing Ash city to vanish into oblivion, absorbed into the dark depths of Dark Hell.

The "Inheritance Emperor" seal would, naturally, lose its potency. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Some major cities had become vast wastelands, terrifying in scope, for this very reason. From Alexander’s perspective, Ash’s actions were laughable.

Alexander had come early, fearing some sort of calamity, especially since the Purple-haired and Red-haired ghosts were still in the enemy’s grasp.

"Where are my people?" Without paying attention to the disdainful smile on Ash’s face, Alexander was the first to ask.

"Your people are right here!" Ash waved his hand, and a dark orb twirled in his palm. The figures of the Red-haired and Purple-haired ghosts materialized on the ground in front of him.

As soon as they appeared, they collapsed, both arms broken at the root, fresh blood flowing out in a sorrowful stream. Their legs were grotesquely twisted, clearly having been shattered.

"Bastard!"

"How dare you harm our brothers? You’re courting death!"

...

Upon witnessing the appalling state of their comrades, every member of the Fierce Ghost Association present glared at Ash with murderous intent, as if they wished for nothing more than to rush forward and engage in a fight to the death.

In an instant, Alexander’s figure flashed, appearing in front of the injured pair. He stuffed two pieces of "Ghost Food" into their mouths and raised his hand, signaling the crowd to hold their impulses.

A torrent of ghostly energy coursed through their bodies, rapidly healing their wounds, even their shattered limbs reassembling with surprising speed.

"Truly valuable stuff," Ash noted, staring intently at Alexander, his eyes shining with a greedy glint.

"And the others?" Alexander looked up, locking eyes with Ash as he asked coldly.

"They’re dead, nothing but low-level grunts!" Ash responded, nonchalant.

In this Horror World, where laws were a foreign concept and might made right, Ash claimed his actions were to avenge his relatives. Yet, his motives were far from pure; he was consumed by his desire for the Ghost Food. .

In his eyes, killing off a few members of the Fierce Ghost Association was a small matter.

But Alexander saw things differently.

An outburst of turbulent ghostly energy erupted from him as he pointed his Underworld Sword at Ash.

"You want to fight me?" Ash looked at Alexander in disbelief.

"I... am different from you," Alexander declared unwaveringly, his sword tilted toward the sky.

"All members of the Fierce Ghost Association, hear my command. Are you willing to join me in slaying the Ash Ghost Emperor?"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

Shouts reverberated through the heavens, each member of the Fierce Ghost Association stepping forward, their fighting spirit boiling over.

Within the association, Alexander held more than just the title of Honorary Vice President; he commanded far greater respect and authority than Tony.

A large portion of the regular members, discounting those who joined during the recent rapid expansion, had an affinity rating over 50 with Alexander.

Such a score signified a relationship akin to true friendship. Members would unswervingly execute orders as long as they weren’t exploitative or contradicted their own core values and beliefs. Hence, Alexander wielded an indomitable influence within the organization.

From the moment he became involved in shaping the Fierce Ghost Association’s trajectory, he’d been highly concerned about personnel losses.

Driven by his internal designs—and perhaps even an obsession—he and Edward had swept through Ash City, leveling it against its formidable opposition.

By all accounts, Alexander should not have been the type to act rashly or take risks, especially not in a situation like besieging the Inheritance Ghost Emperor that would inevitably cause heavy casualties.

But absolutes rarely exist in the horror world. A life without passion, without fervor, is hardly a life at all.

Edward was the first to step forward, icy tendrils spreading from his feet. "Count me in, Alexander. After all, I’m half a member of the Fierce Ghost Association, aren’t I?"

The second to make a stand was Kassadin. "And me! I may not be a part of Fierce Ghost Association, but I am your brother, Alexander! When a brother faces trouble, how can I stand aside?"

"Since that’s the case, let your sister lend a hand too," added Emperor Kui, stepping up as well. For her, with millions of Devil Babies at her disposal, even the Inheritance Ghost Emperor couldn’t truly threaten her. She had the audacity to act freely.

Ash felt a tingling of apprehension at this point, looking at the throng of individuals ready to throw down their lives in conflict with him. The ghostly aura around him intensified, and the luminescence of the Emperor Seal in his hand flared up as he yelled at the crowd:

"Have you all lost your minds? You’d risk your lives against me, an Inheritance Ghost Emperor, over a few expendable members?"

"Inheritance Ghost Emperor? As I said earlier, your city is gone. Did you not hear me?" Alexander’s eyes drifted towards the distant horizon as if sensing something extraordinary.

"What do you mean by that?" Ash felt a knot of unease tighten within him. Alexander had said something similar before.

Before Alexander could answer, a thunderous roar filled the air. In the distance, lights flared across the sky as a massive city materialized from thin air and began its slow descent to the ground.

"What is that?" The unexpected and shocking event left everyone dumbstruck.

Gazing at the descending city, Ash felt a wave of familiarity wash over him. A smile broke on Alexander’s face, "That is... your city."

"My city?" Ash was befuddled.

Before he could put the pieces together, a heart-stopping sensation rippled through the very core of his being. The next moment, the Inheritance Emperor Seal in his palm emitted a faint but ominous crack. A minuscule fissure appeared on its dark surface.

"No!" Ash’s eyes widened in disbelief, his face contorted in a display of fear and horror he had never shown before. His ghostly aura began dissipating rapidly.

Crack... crack...

The sound of splintering emanated as hairline fractures rapidly spread across the surface of the Emperor Seal, spiderwebbing their way throughout its entirety.

Ash Ghost Emperor could hardly afford to consider Alexander; he clasped the crumbling Emperor Seal between his desperate hands as if trying to forestall its inevitable disintegration.

But all efforts were futile; the seal could not hold onto form, crumbling into ash-like dust. A wisp of smoke spiraled gently from between his fingers, scattering on the ground below.

"Damn you! What did you just do?" Ash’s eyes glowed a fervent red, locked onto Alexander.

"I merely took a little stroll around your Ash City and seized it while I was at it," Alexander shrugged, his voice tinged with icy disdain. "You mess with my brothers; I destroy your city. Sounds fair to me."

"Fair? Fair your ass!" Ash’s eyes widened in disbelief. His inheritance Emperor Seal had turned to ash, and yet Alexander spoke of fairness? He was infuriated.

He had killed only a hundred men, and even before that, Alexander was unaware that his people had been slain.

And what had Alexander done? Left him alone to conquer a city? No, not merely conquer— he’d taken the entire city with him!

If one sought trouble with Alexander, they ought to have known something about him, especially about his illustrious deeds and the moniker "Dark Hell Blackbeard."

But this? This was daylight robbery!

As an inheritance Ghost Emperor, his power vastly exceeded ordinary Ghost Emperors, and the source of this power was the Emperor Seal he held. Now that the city was destroyed, naturally, the Emperor Seal was destroyed too.

For those accustomed to power, the rapid dissipation of strength was a torment far worse than death. It was akin to an accomplished boxer contracting a degenerative disease, slowly losing all sensation.

"You damn thief! I’ll kill you! I swear I’ll kill you!" As his ghostly energy drained away, bringing him to the brink of losing his status as an inheritance Ghost Emperor, Ash’s eyes blazed crimson as he charged towards Alexander.

Kassadin and Edward immediately stepped in front of Alexander.

The dissipation of ghostly energy wasn’t instantaneous; even if Ash were to fall from his status as an inheritance Ghost Emperor, it would still take a second or two. In this rage-fueled moment, that was more than enough time for Ash to execute Alexander.

Both Kassadin and Edward clearly understood this, and their immediate intervention was an attempt to buy Alexander just enough time to activate his spatial abilities.

With these abilities in play, Ash would be left with little choice but to stand by helplessly. Once reduced to a mere Ghost Emperor, with the likes of Emperor Kui and a host of Imperial Ghost Kings on their side, entrapping Ash wouldn’t be a tall order.

Even Abigail, who hesitated for a moment, had now joined the ranks of those guarding Alexander. Emperor Kui, however, stood still, his gaze shifting past Ash.

Rushing forward at incredible speed, Ash suddenly felt a chilling sensation envelop him, as if a shadow of impending death loomed over his entire being. He instinctively halted, casting a glance over his shoulder.

A droplet of crystalline, ruby-like blood had appeared out of nowhere behind him, suspended in mid-air. It refracted the cold sunlight, rendering it eerily seductive.

A voice as enchanting and sensual as the dusk itself wafted through the air:"Dare to harm my man, and you don’t even bother to ask for my consent?"

The drop of crimson blood began to wriggle and expand, materializing into a beautiful woman made entirely of blood. As she solidified, the blood dripped languidly down to form a stunning red gown.

"The Blood Queen," Ash stammered.

Without him even noticing, his power had already dropped to that of an average Ghost Emperor, merely at the mid-term level. Though his descent had halted—indicating this was perhaps his true strength—he had no time to consider this.

His eyes were fixed on the woman in the radiant red gown, his body quivering subtly as fear gripped his very core.

"I remember you! I met you in the Mist Instance before! However..." The Blood Queen’s face bore an enchanting smile, her voice melodious but tinged with an inexplicable chill, "You shouldn’t have tried to harm my man."

Ash began to tremble more violently, as if enduring some boundless agony. Alexander looked closely and was horrified to discover that blood was oozing from every pore of Ash’s body—hair and sweat glands included.

"The Blood Clothes actually intervened personally!" Kassadin exclaimed, turning back to Alexander in astonishment. "Alexander, how influential are you, really? That’s the Blood Queen!"

Realizing his slip of the tongue, Kassadin quickly added a few words.

"Of course," Alexander responded, not having expected the Blood Queen to appear but not showing any surprise. He casually added, "I just happen to have quite a few friends."

Friends? More like extraordinarily powerful figures!

If anyone else had boasted this way, the hot-tempered Kassadin would have likely slapped them. But coming from Alexander, it made perfect sense.

"Blood Queen, spare... spare me!" Ash, enduring unbearable pain, managed to rasp out.

"Sorry, but Alexander wouldn’t agree," the Blood Queen shook her head, her face lighting up with a radiant and sweet smile. "So, I suggest you just die..."

As her words trailed off, there was a loud explosion. Ash was instantly vaporized into a cloud of bloody mist.

This mist seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand, swiftly contracting toward the Blood Queen before being absorbed into her red gown, making it even more gorgeously enticing.

Having done this, the Blood Queen walked over to Alexander as casually as if she had just taken a sip of water and stood in front of him.

"Blood Queen, thank you for your assistance," Alexander quickly expressed his gratitude.

The Blood Queen simply offered a slight smile, took Alexander’s arm as if playfully, and said, "My darling, it seems I’ve got nowhere to go. Your Fierce Ghost Association appears to be quite expansive; how about you take me in?"