Chapter 369 367-Simple
A circle of monstrosities surrounded Ethan and the two women.
Lana and Daphne instantly shifted into combat mode, their bodies tensed, ready to strike.
Ethan's lips twitched slightly, having forgotten about the Serpent Eye Cult.
"So, you finally came out?" the priest approached Ethan, the octopus on his neck flailing wildly.
"You really are patient, huh!" Ethan rolled his eyes, somewhat speechless.
The Serpent Eye Cult members were truly outrageous. Didn't they need to cultivate?
The priest's mouth curled up slightly, his face contorting in a horrifyingly grotesque manner: "To catch you, I'd be willing to wait a hundred years."
"What if I had died in the Santos Tower?"
The priest's breath hitched, then he said in frustrated anger, "That would have been even better."
Ethan shrugged nonchalantly. At that moment, King, who was tied up nearby, called out loudly, "Master, you finally came out."
Ethan looked over at King, who seemed to be in decent condition, though he had several wounds on his body.
What was key were the female members of the Serpent Eye Cult around him, who looked at King as if he were a treasure.
A peculiar expression crossed Ethan's face. King hadn't been... by the cult members...
The priest, already harboring anger towards Ethan, was now eager to see him slain.
"Chitter chatter— (Attack him!)"
At its command, all the Serpent Eye Cult members lunged at Ethan.
Lana and Daphne's eyes tightened, ready to act, but Ethan produced the Grip of the Underworld in his hand, uttering words in the language of the Wraiths:
"In the cover of the dark night, I summon you, my Wraiths. Rise from the abyss of hell, come forth into this world. Your bodies have perished, but your souls still burn with endless hatred and pain."
"Hear my call, my Wraiths. Let me feel your power, let me command your will. You are the instrument of my vengeance, the weapon to destroy my enemies."
"...."
As Ethan's incantation grew louder, the surrounding air started to become oppressive.
Suddenly, a beam of black light shot out from the Grip of the Underworld, striking the ground directly.
The earth then began to tremble. With the shaking intensifying, countless fissures rapidly spread across the ground, as if the entire land was collapsing.
A chilling aura emerged from the cracks, enveloping the air.
Then, one by one, pale hands stretched out from the fissures, struggling to climb out.
These hands were skeletal, their skin like rotting leather, and their nails sharp as blades.
The priest halted in his tracks, his eyes filled with shock. He could sense a mysterious power beginning to awaken.
Though each force was minute, their sheer number was overwhelming, instilling a sense of despair.
"Such power..." The priest's eyes widened, the tentacles around his neck almost stiffening.
Following this, more Wraiths crawled out from the fissures.
Their bodies were incomplete; some had only half a torso, others just a skull...
Their eyes were hollow and lifeless, yet they emitted a suffocating terror.
Some Wraiths were composed of black mist, their eyes flickering with green flames.
These Wraiths let out piercing wails, their voices sounding like demons from hell.
Lana and Daphne were equally filled with shock.
Especially Lana, who was aware of Ethan's powers, but never knew he possessed the ability to summon Wraiths.
Where did this power come from? Lana's mind flashed back to the eerie black castle.
Members of the Serpent Eye Cult, witnessing such a horrific scene, lost their will to fight:
"Chitter chatter---"
They tried to flee, but the Wraiths gave them no chance.
Neither did Ethan.
With the Grip of the Underworld in his mind, he pointed at the Serpent Eye Cult members, commanding the legion of Wraiths to pounce on them.
The Wraith Legion surged forward like a dark torrent.
Soon, the cult members were surrounded, and the Wraith Legion swarmed them.
The Wraiths roared terrifyingly, brandishing their weapons, launching a fierce assault on the cult members.
The members of the Serpent Eye Cult were disorganized and lacked the will to fight.
Seeing his followers trying to escape, the priest bellowed:
"Chirp-gurgle--- (Those who fear death shall perish, carve a path of blood)"
The priest took the lead in a valiant resistance, using all his might.
The tentacles around his neck acted as swords and knives, engaging in a fierce battle with the Wraiths.
Seeing this, the cult members had no choice but to fight desperately.
The number of Wraiths seemed endless.
They kept surging forward as if they would never cease.
The cult members gradually became exhausted, even the powerful priest was wounded, bleeding from several injuries.
The Wraith Legion showed no signs of stopping, ignorant of life and death as they pressed forward.
Watching his followers diminish, the priest realized the hopelessness of the situation.
His eyes shifted as he plotted his escape.
He released a viscous liquid from his body, sticking the Wraiths together, then stepped forward, attempting to flee swiftly.
Lana pointed at the priest and exclaimed, "It's trying to run away—"
Ethan's expression remained calm as he spoke softly, "Don't panic, it won't get away."
At the same time, he inwardly sighed at the dilemma of Wraith Magic.
Without using Forbidden Spells to summon powerful Wraiths, it was still ineffectual against those who had reached the Cocooning realm.
After all, Wraiths couldn't fly, and the swift ones could easily escape.
He had employed Wraith Magic primarily to test the strength of the Wraith Legion, but seeing its effectiveness, there was no need to continue.
Ethan took out his Blasphemous Spear, with Thunder, Flame, and Frost – the three Languages of Nature – flickering on it.
The soul of war also enhanced the spear.
The Blasphemous Spear radiated a brilliant light.
Activating the Unerring Rule, Ethan hurled the spear. It shot like a missile, piercing directly into the priest's body.
Light emanated from the wound as the priest's body continued to race forward with inertia, then suddenly, with a loud "bang," the priest's body exploded, leaving not even a trace of flesh behind.
Seeing their priest dead, the remaining members of the Serpent Eye Cult lost even more of their will to fight.
Under the relentless assault of the Wraith Legion, the cultists soon ceased to breathe.
With no target to pursue, the Wraiths howled towards the sky, creating a sinister and eerie scene in front of Santos Tower.
Ethan slightly swung the Grip of the Underworld in his hand, causing the ground to tremble again.
The Wraiths, like puppets with their strings cut, collapsed into a pile of bones that scattered on the ground before being swallowed by the earth.
In front of Santos Tower, apart from the mutilated bodies of the Serpent Eye Cult members and patches of blood, there were no other oddities left.
Ethan freed King, who knelt before him, eyes blazing with fervor: "Master, congratulations on the further enhancement of your strength."
Ethan didn't respond, instead striding towards City 32: "Let's go back, time waits for no one."
King, undeterred by the lack of response, dutifully led the way for Ethan.
As Ethan's soul servant, even if Ethan ordered him to die, King would not hesitate.
On the way, Lana kept her head bowed, seemingly deep in thought.
Ethan was the first to break the silence among them, initiating the conversation: "You want to ask where my Wraith Magic comes from?"
Lana lifted her head, her eyes sparkling: "Ah? Oh, yes. I was curious..."
"You mentioned before, the gold-etched skull emblem in my hand is a mark of the trialist of the god. That black castle is where trialists of the god receive their inheritance. I obtained the Wraith-related inheritance there."
Ethan didn't hide anything; for Lana, there was no need for secrecy.
Lana realized the truth and said with a somewhat downcast mood, "That's great for you! Your strength has increased, while I'm still stuck in the same place."
"No, you won't be," Ethan consoled, "There's still plenty of time. You'll find your opportunity."
As they conversed along the way, they unknowingly arrived at the territory of the Mother-Child Wraith Tree.
The trunk was twisted and deformed, as if warped by some malevolent force.
The bark was a dark red, covered with uneven lines that looked like distorted faces.
The branches stretched out to form a strange and twisted canopy.
Sparse and malformed leaves covered the branches, deep black in color, wide and thick like the palm of a hand.
Each leaf was etched with blood-red lines, flickering with a sinister glow, creating a sense of horror and unease.
The Mother-Child Wraith Tree stood just as it had before, unchanged.
But Ethan's situation had changed significantly since his last visit.
Back then, his strength was modest, barely at the peak of the 9th rank according to the Deityforsaken Land's ranking.
Now, he was a 10th-rank powerhouse, having grasped the Cocooning realm and holding half of the Law of Wraith in his hand.
Standing beside the Mother-Child Wraith Tree, he sensed something entirely different than before.
Wraiths fluttered around the tree, filling the sky.
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