Emergency Situation: Water Ghost Invasion

Emergency Situation: Water Ghost Invasion

Emergency Situation: Water Ghost Invasion

Experts from several counties had gathered in the prefecture city. By order of the Prefecture City Inspector, they were to wipe out the water ghost dens together.

Yet who could have expected that only days after so many experts left home, these dozens of docks would be struck by disaster.

In the blink of an eye, an astonishing number of water ghosts had surged onto the dozens of docks in Changhe County. Concealed by the mist, they silently clawed their way up the slick embankments.

Within the fog, hundreds upon hundreds of humanlike silhouettes gradually flooded toward the streets. The people scattered in all directions, and immense panic began to spread.

At the County Yamen, Huang Shanqing's face was deathly pale. He tripped over the threshold and nearly crawled and rolled his way into the main hall.

"What is it?" Wang Tianxiong, the head constable, was still seated upright. Seeing Huang Shanqing's panicked state, he could not help but laugh. "How did you end up like this?"

The County Yamen stood on Changxing Street, at least one or two kilometers away from the docks. The moment Huang Shanqing caught sight of the water ghosts, he had rushed back without stopping for a moment.

"Boss, s-something... something terrible... water ghosts..." Huang Shanqing's face was pale as he gasped for breath.

Under Wang Tianxiong's suspicious gaze, he finally caught his breath and shrieked, "The water ghosts have come ashore!"

"Fuck!" Wang Tianxiong shot to his feet, grabbed the waist saber beside him, and strode out. Along the way, he roared at the yamen runners loafing about, "Grab your weapons and kill the water ghosts!"

It was not just the County Yamen. Within the time it took to drink a cup of tea, nearly all the remaining martial artists in the county had swarmed toward the docks.

The fog was so thick it nearly swallowed several docks whole. Countless blue-gray figures poured out of the white mist, their skeletons gaunt and jagged, their faces wrinkled like crumpled paper.

Li Zhiming's expression tightened as he swiftly gave the order. "Follow me and carve out a path first. Get the civilians still alive inside the docks out!"

The docks concerned the Li family's great enterprise, built through the toil of several generations. If they suffered grievous losses because of the water ghosts and the people were left without a livelihood...

The consequences were easy to imagine. Whether it was the county city or the prefecture city, neither would ever give them another chance to control river transport!

"Kill!"

Li Zhiming lunged forward in a great stride. His vital energy and blood nearly solidified around him, while the long saber in his hand continuously whipped up fierce winds. Every slash precisely took a water ghost's head.

The other Li family patrolmen and retainers followed close behind, finishing off any water ghosts along the way that still showed signs of life amid the scattered limbs and severed arms.

Several martial artists formed groups and followed Head Patrolman Li's example, clearing out the water ghosts emerging around the edges of the fog.

But the moment they came into contact, many of them realized something was wrong.

Huang Shanqing gripped an ox-tail saber. Relying on his vital energy and blood, which had just broken through to Minor Accomplishment, he locked onto a horrifying blue-gray water ghost, raised his blade, and charged.

Crack!

Sparks flew from the blade. With all his strength behind it, Huang Shanqing's ox-tail saber became firmly lodged in the water ghost's shoulder blade.

Panic flashed across Huang Shanqing's face. He desperately twisted the hilt with both hands, but still could not stop the water ghost from charging forward. That foul-smelling maw was about to tear into him.

Boom!

Wang Tianxiong suddenly burst from the fog and drove a heavy fist into the water ghost's forehead. Under that overwhelming force, its head exploded instantly.

Purple blood splattered Huang Shanqing's entire face. He swallowed hard and said tremblingly, "Th-thank you, Boss."

In that first clash alone, many people suffered the same fate. Cries for help rang from the mist, accompanied by the agonized shouts of martial artists.

Though these water ghosts appeared extremely clumsy on land, they used the fog as cover and their humanlike forms to emerge from every unexpected corner.

Most of the remaining martial artists from the various forces were first-stage practitioners of the middle and lower ranks. Caught unprepared, the majority suffered heavy losses.

"These water ghosts can only be killed by cutting off their heads! Ordinary blades and spears cannot pierce the skin on their bodies!"

Just as the martial artists began to show signs of collapse, people from the Four Great Families stepped forward one after another. The first to take the lead was a white-haired old man from Guo's Pharmacy.

His elegant scholar's robe was already soaked in purple blood. The world had once known him only as the pharmacy's renowned physician, calling him Doctor Song.

Seeing his vital energy and blood at the peak of the third stage, and the half-man-sized chopping saber in his hand dancing with terrifying force, the martial artists he had treated before were stunned beyond words.

With one slash, he killed two or three water ghosts. After relieving others from danger and finding a brief moment of leisure, Doctor Song stood brimming with heroic spirit as he directed the crowd.

"Spread out and widen the formation. Once these water ghosts come out of the fog, at least three of you must join forces to kill each one!"

Stone Wall Courtyard was almost at the western edge of Changhe County, quite far from the docks. Life here continued as usual, but the panic had spread over with several messengers bearing the news.

Lin Mo continued teaching the apprentices their stance training as usual, while Xu Changfeng and the others were still out killing water ghosts. Then a hurried set of footsteps came from outside the door.

"Patrolman Lin, something terrible has happened!"

A Li family servant hurried over to report. The moment he spotted Lin Mo, he rushed before him. Before he even had time to catch his breath, the words spilled from his mouth in a rush.

"Dozens of Li family docks have been invaded by water ghosts. Head Patrolman Li has already led people to the scene. He told us Li family servants to notify all martial artists and resist the enemy together."

"Alright, I'll go at once!"

Lin Mo turned around and instructed the many apprentices present, "Stay here. Do not try to play the hero by going over there. Water ghosts are not something you can handle."

With that, Lin Mo circulated his vital energy and blood and raced toward the docks in two or three wind-swift strides.

It was not only Lin Mo. Many martial artists living in the western part of Changhe County only learned the news now. One after another, they grabbed their weapons and hurried toward the docks.

If the docks fell, it would not be only the Li family that suffered. Their wives and children would suffer as well!

"To make dozens of docks fall in an instant... just how many water ghosts are there? A thousand? Ten thousand?"

As Lin Mo raced forward with all his strength, his expression grew grave, and doubts could not help but rise in his heart.

He had once led the village's young and strong men to eliminate water ghosts, but that had only been a small group of no more than thirty. They had also held the advantage of traps and terrain.

These water ghosts looked gaunt, their rib cages clearly visible, but once you ran into them, they were truly hard as iron...

"Martial artists who have only just entered the first stage probably won't be enough. At the very least, it takes first-stage Minor Accomplishment, perhaps even Major Accomplishment, and only then can they seize their weakness."

The thought had barely surfaced when the sounds of fighting drifted in from afar. The water ghosts had already crossed the docks and flooded into the streets.

At least three or four hundred martial artists from Changhe County had gradually joined the battle, yet they could barely maintain the situation. The battlefield had already fallen into a deadlock, and some civilians had not escaped in time and were trapped at the scene.

Suddenly, a shrill cry for help rang out.

"Save... save me..."

Outside a tailor shop less than ten square meters in size, its wooden boards more than half broken, three to five water ghosts had gathered. Lin Mo peered through a gap in the boards and saw a mother and daughter huddled inside.

Li Hao stood outside the door, his long saber chopping repeatedly at the water ghosts. Yet every blow left only pale marks, at most drawing a few streaks of purple blood.

"Damn it, why are these water ghosts so hard..."

He glanced toward the entrance from the corner of his eye. Seeing the wooden door about to shatter, panic gripped his heart. "Someone save them! Let me save them..."

Whoosh!

A monkeylike figure leaped past. Several tearing sounds rang out in rapid succession, and water ghost heads flew into the air one after another.

Li Hao's pupils suddenly widened. "Th-thank..."

Before the word of thanks could leave his mouth, he saw the man's face.

"Lin Mo, you're Lin Mo?"