The armored vehicle kept stopping and starting along the way.
No more Ghost Kings seemed to appear near the convoy. Only ordinary people who had been hiding at home came running out for help when they saw the army.
It was noisy outside the whole time, with people constantly going on and on about their fears.
They must have encountered quite a few Ghost Kings and been forced to do all sorts of things. They had also witnessed terrifying scenes that they'd previously only seen on screens.
Everyone was in a bad mood.
I could tell that even the soldiers beside me, though they still stood tall and kept their gazes resolute, occasionally let their unease show.
They could probably face natural disasters and man-made calamities with unwavering courage. But when things from another world suddenly launched an all-out attack, it would take a lot of time and preparation to understand the way they existed.
What was more subtle was that this form of existence wasn't entirely new. Everyone had heard ghost stories at some point in their lives and had their own ideas about ghosts. Now that we were actually facing ghosts, those half-familiar, subtly different notions gave rise to a strange feeling.
My mind wandered for a while as I listened to the commotion outside, then gradually settled down again.
I lowered my head and saw the familiar words.
If Ye Qing had contacted me back then, I wouldn't have been sitting here, experiencing this strange atmosphere.
I might not have wavered.
But there was no telling.
I might have hated Ye Qing even more and wanted the Ghost Kings to take over the world outright.
Like those over-the-top villains in anime, who always had thoughts that left people speechless.
Or perhaps I would still have ended up