Netherworld Retrograde

The Spinal Bone Greatsword in Duke Yu Huo's hand—that Returning Creature forged from countless wailing souls, wrapped in undying resentment—let out a scream that broke through the limits of matter under Yang Chen's plain, no-frills punch.

Crack!

It wasn't a crisp snapping sound, but the grating crunch of bone splitting, mixed with the shrieks of souls being violently torn apart, instantly drowning out all the noise on the Battlefield!

This also signaled Duke Yu Huo's defeat!

Faced with Champion Yang Chen, empowered by the Coordinated Vein Array, even a Returning Duke as strong as him had his fighting spirit beaten out of him.

The Spiritual Energy of a huge number of strong fighters fused into one, pushing Yang Chen's combat power beyond that of a Peak Dominator.

Although the quality of his Divinity still lagged behind a Supreme, the quantity was tremendous and just short of a qualitative leap, but it was already enough for him to tear apart an Overlord Weapon with his bare hands.

A Peak Dominator able to battle a Supreme—is this what a Champion is?

Now, only two choices lay before Duke Yu Huo.

Grab a Marquis, refine it into an Overlord Weapon, and keep tangling with the Champion. Wait for the massive Yin Soldiers scattered outside to return and reinforce him, wait for that Shadow Soldier Marshal who sat in command of another core ghost, who had also reached the edge of Supreme strength, to lead his Legion over!

Then, fight to the bitter end against the Champion and Champion Team One until one side was completely turned to Death Light or forced to retreat.

The result would be that win or lose, the Legion he had painstakingly built would be utterly destroyed!

The collapse of the core ghost would cause his level to plummet.

His foundation would be wiped out, collapsing like a sandcastle. Its tier would drop sharply from the peak of Supreme, possibly even falling to the level of a Duke, losing the Power and protection of a Returning Noble.

Even worse, he would be fully exposed to the eyes of other covetous Returning Nobles. Those greedy "companions" would be like sharks scenting blood, tearing apart and devouring what remained of his forces. What awaited him would be something more drawn-out than death itself: struggling at the bottom and living in eternal vigilance and squalid survival.

Everything back to Zero, or even worse!

The second choice was to voluntarily abandon this foundation and immediately shatter his own ghost!

Like a gecko's broken tail, like a hero cutting off his own arm!

His own level would plunge, he would no longer be able to maintain Supreme Strength, and his combat power would drop. But he could still preserve something, and the Legion he had forged would still be in his hands. In the future, when he rose again, he would at least have some capital. The roots might be damaged, but his vitality would not be lost!

Thus, Duke Yu Huo made his choice in an instant.

Run, he had to run!

Only a lunatic would keep butting heads with a Champion. Once I recover, I'll lead a million Shadow Army back to settle the score with you!

If it were in the past, he might still have had the bloodlust to clash with Humans: either win everything or lose everything!

He was a twisted embodiment of the obsessions of countless Life after death, once filled with an extreme thirst for battle.

This was also what led him step by step up to the heights to become a Grand Duke among the Returning Souls!

But now, all he could think about was preserving himself, getting out of this disaster that came out of nowhere.

Duke Yu Huo let out a shrill scream.

In that voice were despair, fury, and humiliation!

He knew he had been dragged into some kind of conspiracy.

By some existence, through some method, he had been pulled onto a Battlefield with the Human Champion.

"You damned beast, don't let me find you!" Duke Yu Huo cursed in his heart as he pulled away in an instant, his figure blasting backwards.

The next moment, the entire ghost silently shifted and cracked—he had begun to split his own ghost of his own accord.

Hoping to separate himself from the Human Champion.

And the Returning Souls sensed this subtle change even earlier than the Humans.

There are two kinds of ghost: one kind permeates a portion of the Physical World, a Domain that appears briefly in order to drag a target into a different space.

Just like the ghost that Li Ye and the Heavy Knights had encountered in those years.

The core ghost, however, was different. It was a symbol of a Returning Soul's level of strength. A Returning Soul without a core ghost was like water without a source; it would slowly dry up and disappear.

Now that Duke Yu Huo's core ghost was starting to change, it signaled that Duke Yu Huo intended to abandon this core ghost.

This made the Returning Souls even more terrified. If even someone as strong as a Duke had to break his arm to survive, how could they possibly resist?

Many Returning Souls with clear thoughts fled in the chaos of the Battlefield, using other Returning Souls or Yin Soldiers as bait while they themselves hid in every kind of corner.

In a patch of withered forest, eerie yet soaked in Ghost Energy, a Returning Soul with the appearance of a Human female quietly slipped into a section of tree trunk.

As a Returning Soul, a thing that comes back after death—

They are extremely hard to sense and perceive. As long as she got through this frontal assault, she might just survive.

She stilled herself completely, turning into a dead object—or rather, a Returning Soul was a dead object to begin with.

She heard the soundless war cries of countless Yin Soldiers, followed by the crisp shattering of battle formations under Heavenly Soldiers' feet. The silent Heavenly Soldiers slaughtered the Yin Soldiers with no word spoken.

She heard the despairing shrieks of Returning Souls, those older and stronger than her, screaming in agony as they were destroyed.

She heard footsteps… footsteps drawing nearer from afar, light but firm.

This filled her with panic and unease.

Fortunately, the footsteps gradually moved away, as if lured off by other Returning Souls.

Good, I can live, I can live!

the Returning Soul thought, but in the next instant, the tree trunk before her was ripped apart. A Human woman looked down at her with a cold sneer. "Didn't hide well, did you?"

Seeing that beautiful face, the Returning Soul let out a howl of despair.

She had more than once played cruel games of hide-and-seek with her Prey (Humans).

Her favorite thing was to let the Prey feel safe, then suddenly appear before them and give them the greatest possible Fear and despair, savoring that delicious emotion.

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