Chapter 48: Entrance of the Gale Army

The sixteen-eyed abomination, too, had its gaze fixed on the Soul-Stilling Banner. Its head even tilted slightly, as if mesmerized, watching the banner be waved around with rapt attention.

Despite their strength, White Mountain and Azure Water were drenched in sweat after only a short while of waving the banner.

However, the sixteen-eyed abomination no longer advanced. Its initial aggression and suspicion were gradually replaced by confusion. The banner had overridden every other signal of life and emitted a resonance that soothed rather than provoked. As its attention was fully focused on the banner, its soul energy was drained, and its already fragmented mind was dulled even further.

To it, the banner worked like a sedative, lulling it into a kind of daze.

After a moment, the thing even reached up and scratched the back of its head with surprising human-like behavior, then slowly turned around and ambled off.

It finally dissolved into black smoke, drifting upward to join the vast stream of departing wrathful souls.

Seeing this, the entire crowd exhaled collectively.

White Mountain and Azure Water lowered the banner and slumped down where they stood, drenched in sweat and panting for breath. Even that brief display had left them physically and spiritually exhausted.

By now, the wrathful souls emerging from the pool were all enormous in size, with fewer numbers and more space between them. This was nothing like the earlier swarms that surged out in tangled, borderless masses.

Some even had a following of lesser wrathful souls trailing behind them, these lesser wrathful souls appearing to be their retainers.

Seeing this, He Lingchuan immediately understood that these were the upper echelon of the dead. Just like among the living, the powerful never traveled alone; they always had underlings.

Thankfully, none of them had the sensitivity of the sixteen-eyed abomination, or perhaps they simply had no interest in looking down. One by one, cloaked in their entourages, they rose to the skies.

Once the last of them had vanished, the pool finally fell silent. No more wrathful souls emerged.

And just then, the light of the illusory barrier began to dim. Sun Fuping had not been exaggerating when he said it would not last long.

Seizing the lull, Nian Songyu leaned toward Sun Fuping and murmured, “It seems like they’re all gone.”

But Sun Fuping, ever cautious, shook his head and said, “Wait a little longer.”

While they remained safe under the barrier, the world outside Panlong City was anything but. The desert had become a maelstrom of wind and sand. There was not a single speck of stillness left.

The soul-masking powder still held, and through its veil, the group could clearly see that a towering column, formed from countless wrathful souls, surged into the sky. When it reached its apex, it split and fanned out in all directions like a mushroom cloud expanding across the heavens.

Each speck of black was a wrathful soul. And there were millions, riding the storm winds and scattering across every corner of the Panlong Desert.

The season of mad sand had officially begun. For the first time, the group had witnessed its true genesis.

In the span of half a day, this storm would blanket the entire desert, and in the months to come, it would blot out the sun and sky.

The entire expedition team quietly lowered their heads.

He Lingchuan turned and saw the heavy expression on He Chunhua’s face.

There were only a few days left before the ninth month. Most experienced travelers along the Hongya Route would have known to avoid the desert’s volatile temperament and have already fled, but still, triggering the season of mad sand early would surely cost lives.

At the very least, the relay stations that had not yet withdrawn would definitely be wiped out.

Yet they had only learned of Sun Fuping’s plan after entering Panlong City. And with his status far above theirs, how could they have opposed it?

Afraid that his father might be burdened with guilt, He Lingchuan whispered, “Father, are you alright?”

“Mm.” He Chunhua was staring blankly into the now-quiet pool. He added subconsciously, “Stay close. This is only the beginning.”

“Oh. Got it.”

For now, no more wrathful souls rose from the pool.

Everyone turned to State Preceptor Sun for instruction. While they stood watching the pool, Sun Fuping had not been idle. He was already crouched on the ground, using a tree branch to draw a talismanic array on the ground.

The array was large enough to encircle the entire group, and it was surprisingly simple in design.

The lines looked plain, but the longer He Chunhua watched, the more intrigued he became. He could not help but ask, “State Preceptor, is this a summoning array?”

“Mm-hm. Just in case.” Sun Fuping stood up, seeming to decide that they had waited long enough. “Alright, since nothing else is coming out of the—”

His words were cut short as, without warning, the calm pool erupted again. Another surge of wrathful souls burst forth.

But this time, it was clearly a military force. There were foot soldiers gripping blades and shields. Cavalrymen riding ghostly warhorses, lances in hand. They emerged in perfect formation, and even from several paces away, He Lingchuan could feel their overwhelming killing intent. A chill swept up his back, goosebumps rising unbidden.

The anguished wails, the venomous glares, it was all the same as those that came before. And yet, something about them felt different.

They did not appear stronger or better-equipped than previous soul armies. In fact, many of these soldiers looked gaunt. Some had arrows with mismatched, ragged fletching, colored with whatever feathers they could scavenge. The cavalry carried spears that looked like freshly carved saplings, rough with splinters and unpolished wood. Most of their armor was ancient and uneven, with mismatched plate sizes that were clearly patched and pieced together, probably scavenged or repurposed gear.

And yet, in their eyes, there was the unwavering resolve of mountain wolves. They appeared to be unyielding and merciless.

Even the frailest among them ran with a momentum that screamed unyielding charge, death be damned.

As the men from Heishui City faced them head-on, nearly all of them instinctively dropped their gaze and shut their eyes, unable to bear the sight.

This was not fear but reverence, awe born of steel forged in blood. Even seasoned soldiers who had held the desert at bay for years, and vicious outlaws who licked knives for a living, could not meet the gaze of these wrathful souls.

These were nothing like the others.

He Lingchuan clenched his fists unconsciously.

This has to be the Gale Army.

His guess was confirmed when a standard-bearer emerged.

A wrathful soul atop a dark red warhorse hoisted a blazing crimson banner. On it, written in bold, dragon-like strokes, was a single word: Zhong (钟)!

He Lingchuan’s heart swelled and twisted at once.

His own unit also carried a Zhong banner, but that was for protection. Their Zhong banner was merely a talisman against misfortune.

On the other hand, these men had carried it into battle.

This was the real Gale Army—the legendary dead.

He could hear the breath of those around him growing heavier. Everyone was stirred to the core.

He Lingchuan widened his eyes instinctively, hoping for a glimpse of those two legendary figures.

He could already see generals among the ranks. Did that mean Zhong Shengguang and the Red General might emerge too?

However, as his eyes darted back and forth across the endless stream of ghosts, he still found no trace of them.

Then, at that exact moment, Sun Fuping’s voice cut through the air, “The barrier’s failing!”

Nian Songyu and the others jolted. Looking over, they saw the illusory barrier flickering wildly. Its yellow glow stuttered like an old, moody pendant lamp[1] in a run-down attic, just like in the place that He Lingchuan had once rented.

He Lingchuan could not help but yelp, “Can’t it hold just a little longer?!”

This is the Gale Army! Alive or dead, they’re no less lethal.

1. These are those hanging lamps, by the way. ☜