Chapter 116 - Follow My Lead

Old man Lofey thought all the incidents well. 

"It all started with that Mafan. But there is really something there that men covet for years with those skeletons and those spirits guarding the place. Unless, those aren't guardians but the ghosts of those dead men." He mumbled to himself, trying to assess the nature of the enemies they were facing. 

Then he thought of Nianshi and Xinyi. "I never expected little brother's wife was also a Chiangda. I defeated the spirits with my fire, but they defeated it with those green swords. What type of swords are they?" He thought deeper and couldn't grasp what it was but suspected that thing was fatal against those spirits.

However, there were questions lingering in his mind more than the rest. "Where is Mafan? Was he inside or not? If he's in there, was he able to get away from those spirits?"

He couldn't stay still. He looked up where the sun was, time is running out. He stood and gathered the Chiangdas, including Nianshi and Xinyi.

"I'm sorry for causing the deaths of our comrades, but I'm sure there is something in there that Mafan is after. I want us to find it first and keep it safe."

Then he looked at Nianshi and Xinyi. "Kind Sir and Madame Lei, how did you defeat the spirits? Were your green swords the real reason those things disappeared? Do you have any idea how to defeat them?" 

Nianshi, sitting on a boulder, didn't look up to the general but softly answered. "I noticed that they are attacking people who are not Chiangdas. They only attacked the governor and the lady later." Nianshi went silent for a while and continued. "My sword is special, and it can hack anything made out magic. At first, I never expected it to kill those spirits, but I suspected they were made of magic with their glowing blue light around them."

"What's with the blue light? And where can we find more of that sword?"

"For ghosts to emit blue light is not normal. I've seen a lot of ghosts in my life, but they don't possess those glowing blueness. I suspect this blue light resulted from magic." He breathed deeply, thinking of the late Sorceress. "About my sword, it was a gift to me by my first master, so I can't tell where to find more."

"About my sword, it is… also a gift." Xinyi lied, hesitating to speak about the Hutyuns and that she only copied Nianshi's sword in her mind. "But about those spirits, I think they are cursed."

"How can you tell?" Ming asked.

"I can feel the hatred from them…" The men watched her, eagerly waiting for the explanation and made her feel self-conscious. "Sorry, but I can't tell why, just feel it." 

She was about to say the ghouls hatred toward her but couldn't explain it to them since she wasn't sure yet. What she remembered was she could hear those spirits wailing but in a soft voice, saying, "Kill her for killing us," while those spirits' dark eyes became piercing red, staring at her. 

Ming only shrugged. The rest didn't say a thing, but General Lofey wanted to know the nature of the swords and the truth about the blueness Nianshi mentioned. He looked at the soldiers, feeling their depression. They had to win against these ghosts and get the stone to lift his men's spirits, making the deaths of their comrades meaningful.

"Can you show me your sword?" he said to Nianshi. Xinyi was thankful he didn't ask hers.

Nianshi placed his palm in front of him and a sword came out of nowhere, shocking the Godingans. He handed it over to Lofey. "It's wholly made of emerald stones. If the Wag stone can cancel magic, this can cut through anything made of magic."  

Lofey smoothed his fingertips on the sword and felt hot. He formed a ball of fire on his palm and let it float in front of him. He swung the sword on the ball and the fire dispersed. "This is a deadly sword against Chiangdas." He returned it to Nianshi.

"It is, but I seldom use it."

"May I ask why?"

"Because it's useless against non-magic. Look." He made a slice on the grass and it didn't make a cut. The grass only bent. 

"Hmm, I get your point." Lofey said it as a statement. He wished to have more of those for his men could use but didn't say so. "Thank you, Sir." 

He looked at the whole group. "Let's all make a killing. My plan is simple…" He shared his plan to them. Afterward, "Since you agreed, then let's go to our men and kill those evil spirits."

The general stood in his full height in front of the depressed soldiers.

"I want to apologize for insisting to go in and caused the deaths of our comrades."

Silence…

"But we have a bigger cause which is catching Mafan from getting a very important object inside that mine." He pointed at the entrance where ghouls stood. "We cannot afford to give up now. Who knows how long these things will wait in the dark. The sun is almost down and we don't know how strong these things might be at night. We have thought of a solution and go back inside. We cannot let our comrades' deaths go to waste. 

"We are soldiers, we fight for peace and we fight for those who can't. We won't give up until we die. We will continue to stand while evil lurks in places we know of. Be strong! We became soldiers because of this.

"Follow my lead. This time, we'll be victorious and avenge the death of our comrades and stop that Mafan from taking what he shouldn't have." He shouted at the top of his lungs as he raised his sword up in the air. It made a resounding *ting* as he unsheathed it.

On that point, some men stood up and nodded to one another, until one of them shouted. "We are soldiers! We fight for justice." The rest stood one by one and echoed the words in excitement. Everyone rung out the phrases as it uplift their spirits.

"For our brothers and fathers!" Tyriece cheered. The whole group chanted with him, and their confidence came back. Ming looked over General Lofey and gave him a 'good job' nod. The old man smiled and cheered along.

Today they had learned that there were greater enemies that they still had not known, but they knew they couldn't give up because this was their life, a soldier's tale.