New Emperor Of Ghouls

[Hmmmm ...You must be that little girl's father.] 

That announcement like voice ringed once more, freezing his blood flow.

"Who are you?" 

Zhong Yi's back was drenched in sweat, There shouldn't be existence that could enter his mind as they wish, even when his mental defences were that strong.

[Hahahah, you are not strong enough to know.]

"Then how do you know I am her father, for all I know, she could be anyone's spawn." His words may seem harsh, but these kind of dreadful thoughts plagued his mind like an annoying fly.

As soon as those words echoed out within his head, he regretted it. 

[HOW DARE YOU DOUBT THE YOUNG MISTRESS!]

The powerful voice was enraged. Zhong Yi could hear it and worried that he wouldn't be able yl get his answers. But once said, couldn't be taken back no matter what. His pride wouldn't allow it.

'Young mistress?'

[You undeserving ungrateful brat, Out of relation to her, I let you enter ahead of time against the madam's wishes. I even lured you here to complete my mission but now…]

The pause raised Zhong Yi's nervousness but it was hidden under his calm facade. But he knew this existence would be able to see through it. So he spoke the ruth.

'I took her in, treated her as my own, let my people recognise her as such' At this point, a mountain like pressure was slowly being lifted of his c.h.e.s.t.

His thoughts were directly read by this entity So whatever he thought or said would be heard. 

The uncertainty and frustration, he had bottled up inside him, surged forward like a tsunami. There was no one he could voice his problems too so he held them in till it reached a breakpoint.

The situation tipped him over the breaking point.

'I care for her like she's my own child, I treat like a princess, spoil her like she is my daughter .But there is always this little bit of doubt. That one question would always appear in my mind,'

Slowly, a gentle smile appeared on his face. His eyes dazed slightly as if he was remembering something. 

"How could I not love her like my own, the long smooth hair she always gets into a mess from playing with the other children. The mud stains that adorned her clothing from running around the village. Her excited eyes and warm hugs when she sees me coming back from outside the village. The mess she would always make when eating.

I want her to be my daughter so bad, But is she really? Tell me please!" The pleading in his voice conveyed his desperation, especially the glint in his eyes showing that he was on the brink.

Never in both of his lives had he wanted to know something as bad as this. 

[*SIGH* I cannot tell you, I wish I could but I swore an oath not to, but that girl's connection to you is real. Soon, this region will be infested by a quarter of those humans from this continent. In the future, you will learn the truth, but for now, gain strength and protect the young mistress or else]

The threatening tone at the end was like lightning had struck him.

'S-S-She is m-my daughter' all the frustration and uncertainty, instantly disappeared and was replaced by joyfulness. 

The joyfulness overshadowed his logical side. The questions he should've asked, were at the back of his mind right now.

Qi Long and Wu Lin stayed behind to see the expression of their majesty change from anger to frustration to happiness and to say they were confused would be an understatement. Naturally, they wouldn't question his majesty. He might be going through a dao trial or something like that 

"Captain, should we…" 

"We didn't see anything" Qi Long put a stop to any thoughts Wu Lin would've harbored about his majesty.

[Listen here brat, I can't stay anymore. My position has been compromised. I must leave. the monsters will fight each other to become leader and with the humans coming, the ancestral region will become a battlefield.

At your strength, there are a few monsters in this place that can truly harm you, you must be careful. Those humans can come back to life but you cannot. 

Now my mission is almost done. I was ordered to tell you, the pyramid in the middle of the region was brought by…..]

The voice was rushed, clearly from not having enough tine. Zhong YI could barely understand him with the words coming at him in rapid procession. He heard all of it till it stopped.

"Wait!, who brought it?a"

Despite his calling out, the voice never responded again.

'the answers I see should be in that tower and the defences should no longer be there.' Now he has more questions than ever.

Zhong Yi had a gut feeling that the pyramid had the answers to his unanswered questions.

'We must reach the tower before this place turns into a mosh pit. I might be able to recover some clues about Zhong MeI's mother,' thought Yan Zhong Yi unsure of what to feel.

Suddenly, he was struck by a moment of realisation. "That thing attacked us to draw us here? That's it. they want me to go there. The annoying question is who are they though.'

He didn't know that while it took seconds for his mental conversation to finish, an hour had passed already.

"The objective has changed. our hidden attacker had been identified as the leader of this region. That same leader has vacated their position, opening up a power vacuum for many to take advantage of. 

This is a massive opportunity for our people. A place like this for you to train, those massive blood banks waiting to be drunken.

This takeover will signify the start of our expansion to becoming an empire.

Some of you will lose your lives, some of you may even be crippled for the rest of your lives but know that you men will be able to make history and your names will be remembered for eternity!" 

The eyes of each and every ghouls blazed with a fierce light and astonishing amounts of killing intent.

"Wu Lin come here!" Called Zhong Yi.

Surprised, Wu Lin didn't reply until receiving a slap on the back of his head from his captain.

"Your majesty?"

"Go back to the village and call general Cheng here, give him this paper and wait for General Cheng to give you a job." 

Even though he said it, he made no gesture to reach for a paper as if knowing he won't need it.

"But, I want to fight. I want to be able to return home with my head held high and loudly proclaim to everyone in the village that I helped his majesty to claim this region."

Wu Lin argued with his majesty, not minding the consequences that may occur because of his actions.

Zhong Yi didn't mind. In fact, he wanted to test this boy's resolve. Someone who without the correct mindset would get everyone killed.

"You could die, you joined after the defence of mina village, so you haven't been baptised with the sight of comrades dying."

"I've seen blood before, I cleared hordes of monsters myself. i've seen others make mistakes and get hurt. I promise, I can handle myself." Raised Wu Lin, despite his small stature. He carried an aura that made him seem way taller. But it was still leagues away from Yan Zhong Yis.

"You promise me that you will not freeze at the sight of a brother dying, that you will have each and everyone of those men's backs and bring them back alive." 

Zhong Yi wasn't sure what made him pressure the boy like he was doing. He reminded Zhong Yi of a younger self, but one thing for sure was that this boy held the potential to be a powerful individual.

"I swear by my honor, to protect everyone here and bring them back whether they be alive o-or not!" Wu Lin screamed as loud as he could to convey his conviction in his task.

"Isn't that my job?" Qi Long's light hearted humour lightened the intense atmosphere.

"Shen Ming, you go and bring Feng Chen as well!" out of nowhere, a ghoul appeared next to Zhong Yi kneeling with one foot on the ground.

"yes, your majesty."

The other soldiers looked at Wu Lin in another light. Their original view was completely shattered.

"Alright men, line up" after Qi Long's command, the soldiers who finished preparing stood in line facing towards his majesty and the forest. He stood in front of all of them but a few steps behind Zhong Yi. 

"Finally, something challenging" muttered Zhong Yi to himself. Qi long heard and nodded to himself as well.

"Follow Me, we have quite a bit of land to cover plus the disturbances along the way" 

Zhong Yi took off in a sprint. Slow enough for the soldiers to maintain that speed for a long time whilst conserving energy and remaining vigilant

Shadows zoomed within the forest, leaping over logs, hopping from tree to tree moving in one direction.

They had been running for a while and hadn't encountered anything yet, which puzzled Zhong Yi.

When they hadn't entered the forest they were attacked so what changed. As a hunter, what would I do?

'Lure?'

"Qi Long, roll call."

"Roll call!" Echoed Qi long. This was something that General Cheng had come up with and implemented it in the army. The captain would call out roll call and each soldier would say their number out loud from their specific positions.

While the roll call seemed simple, there were numerous parts of it meant to catch out spies and enemies acting as soldiers. The numbers always changed after every mission. Better safe than sorry.

"1!"

"2!"

"3!"

"4!"

"5!"

"6!"

"7!"

"8!"

"9!"

"....."

"11!"

"12!"

"13!"

"14!"

"15!"

"16!"

"Number 10 respond!" Shouted Qi Long. 

"Brother Shi, Brother Shi where are you?" Wu Lin and the other soldiers soon started shouting noticing that a soldier was unaccounted for but didn't leave their spots.

"HELP ME!!" A tortured scream draw everyone's attention. It sounded so dreadful, that some soldiers internally cringed