Chapter 461: Shadows of Possession

Not caring if it would startle Blood Nightingale, he let his abnormality show.

At that moment, Yenir rapidly sent a message, his heart gripped by sheer terror.

With his keen eyesight and spiritual senses, how could he not recognize what that thing was!

“Twelve Otherworldly Ghost Minions!”

“Damn it!”

“Minions! The very word ‘minions’ is problematic enough!”

“I was right! These Otherworldly Ghosts have been scheming all along! But it isn’t the lurking ghosts striking—it’s the people Yinglong brought in!”

With quick, labored breaths and lightning-fast instincts, Yenir connected all the clues and pieced together the entire sequence.

“Those stones are vessels for the Otherworldly Ghosts’ consciousness!”

“And these twelve Ghost Minions, completely devoid of thought, fight like wild beasts…”

“So the monsters’ will actually resides within the stones!”

“If my hunch is right, once the Otherworldly Ghost Monarch awakens, those Awakeners carrying stones will convert into ghosts and then deliver a fatal blow to Yinglong!”

“Compared to the ghosts cozying up to Yinglong, these controlled Awakeners are the real lethal weapons—capable of catching him off guard!”

“Exactly! It has to be that way!”

“Think about it—if I were an Otherworldly Ghost, placing a powerful ghost alongside an Awakener from the start would immediately raise suspicion.”

“Because brute strength draws too much attention…”

“And if more ghosts are sent in later, even a fool would notice how the system could provide such a barrage of formidable allies!”

“Thus, for the ghosts, there’s no need to conceal overwhelming power; a few token, weak ghosts would suffice!”

“After luring us here, they simply commit suicide to activate the stones—completely quelling any alertness!”

“After all, who would suspect trouble when all the NPCs are supposedly dead!?”

Clarity struck in an instant.

Once he grasped the core issue—even though some logic gaps and minor details remained—Yenir knew they were insignificant.

What did those twelve Otherworldly Ghosts, trapped on pillars, actually signify? And how exactly did they manage to transfer their souls into the Awakeners’ bodies?

Why do the lurking ghosts have to activate the stones by committing suicide? Why lure them here in the first place…

These details are utterly insignificant compared to the imminent crisis!

They’re probably just part of the backstory—secrets kept within the Otherworldly Ghosts’ inner workings!

We just need to nail down the core issue!

“Carrying the stone means being controlled by the ghosts, turning you into one of them!”

“Even if none of the ghosts end up possessing Blood Nightingale, it’s better to warn her about the twelve Ghost Minions…”

“After all…”

“Wait…!”

Just as Yenir, ever vigilant, stared at the about-to-awaken Ghost Monarch and prepared to change his plan,

a sudden thought pierced his mind.

“No…”

“If these ghosts possess their hosts and then join forces with the Ghost Monarch, how in the world did Yinglong survive in his previous life!?”

“Does Yinglong have a trump card? How can he possibly take on a Peak Third-Stage Ghost Monarch—and everyone else—singlehandedly!?”

“Or perhaps the one truly possessed is…”

“Boom!!”

Almost as Yenir reached that thought, with the death of the last Ghost Minion, the Otherworldly Ghost Monarch—once trapped within a massive steel pillar—instantly opened its eyes.

Within a colossal eyeball, as large as a car, an aura of merciless brutality erupted in an instant.

Under the glare of that crimson eye, everyone who looked was instantly frozen in place.

“So strong!”

It was far more potent than before!

Defiantly standing in mid-air, Yinglong, facing the Ghost Monarch head-on, suddenly whipped out the long spear he had at his back.

In that split second, a surge of blood-red energy exploded behind him.

King versus King!

“Boom!!”

As if their auras were colliding, two terrifying forces at their peak smashed into each other with such ferocity that even the transparent air began to twist and shudder.

Unlike Yenir, who had uncovered the truth, Yinglong exhaled in relief upon sensing the Ghost Monarch’s power.

Strong indeed! But not Fourth Stage!

And, much like the other ghosts, this Monarch seems to rely solely on raw physical might—no other special abilities.

The battle might become a grueling contest, yet victory might still end up on his side!

Not to mention, he remembered that mysterious NPC who swore he’d intervene in the end!

Now, his only worry was whether the Ghost Monarch possessed any other trump cards.

“Kill!”

A fierce shout rang out!

Without a moment’s hesitation, as the Ghost Monarch thrashed wildly against its chains, Yinglong bellowed, and the long spear in his hand erupted with dazzling crimson light.

“Blood Dragon Spear!”

Drawing on the enhancement effects of his equipment skills in one burst, Yinglong’s arm swelled dramatically.

With a tremendous surge of force, he thrust the spear forward, shattering the air at its tip as he lunged at the Ghost Monarch.

His full-powered strike seemed to conjure an actual blood dragon, its unstoppable roar echoing mightily.

At the same time, Zhang Yuan—the only one capable of matching Yinglong even slightly—channeled all his spirit energy to deliver a sweeping hundred-meter blade strike.

……….

“Dump the stone!?”

Hiding with the others, unseen by anyone, Blood Nightingale looked at the message from Yenir with unmistakable bewilderment.

The moment she saw it, she discarded the stone—even though she couldn’t fathom Yenir’s reasoning, she obeyed without hesitation.

But she couldn’t help wondering just what Yenir was planning.

Now, the final battle had officially erupted.

Yet the people Yenir had mentioned were still nowhere to be seen—it was as if he had abandoned the plan to back Yinglong.

“If we don’t strike now, when will we ever act?”

“Or is that bastard simply incapable of taking action?”

As everyone’s focus was fixed on the terrifying peak battle ahead, Blood Nightingale anxiously scanned the area, desperate to find any sign of Yenir.

She wasn’t Yinglong; she had no idea if he could overcome the Ghost Monarch.

If he were to lose, Yinglong, realizing he had no NPC backup, would undoubtedly flee without hesitation.

And when that happened, she’d be the unfortunate one…

….

Ignoring Blood Nightingale’s message, Yenir felt his emotions swirl into a complex storm.

Just moments earlier, he had been struck by a terrifying theory—one far worse than ghosts possessing Awakeners to attack Yinglong.

“Twelve ghosts…possessing…Yinglong…”

“Is it possible that the one who survived in his previous life wasn’t really Yinglong at all!?”

“It wasn’t a surprise attack after possession—it was outright control!”

“Once the battle reaches a boiling point, these twelve individuals will suddenly strike, grievously wounding Yinglong, and then let their Monarch possess his body!”

“Only this can explain the painstaking setup by the Otherworldly Ghosts—why every awakened ghost seems so ‘weak’ and devoid of thought…”

“That would also explain why these ghosts seem to know our identities, having stationed themselves around us right from the start…”

“This isn’t the system’s design—it’s the monsters in this Dungeon who have realized they exist within it!”

“They…want out!?”

“The disaster from twenty-seven years ago, the Core of the Otherworldly Ghost… what a coincidence…”

As his mind raced wildly, Yenir drew a deep breath, feeling as though he had finally brushed against secrets buried deep in his past life.

And just as he tried to connect all three together,

a sudden mutation erupted.

He saw two eerie green flashes suddenly appear on the body of the Ghost Monarch, which was being suppressed by Yinglong.

They were the unmistakable glow of the Legendary Suit.