The Dawn of the New World Chapter 1504

Hao Xuan rotated like a spinning top more than 5 times circling around the breach, his blade cutting through rock, metal, and concrete as if it were made of paper.

The few structures that remained standing crumbled and fell in the blink of an eye, effectively burying the breach and blocking all physical access to the outside world.

Hao Xuan quickly walked up to it and upon sensing the weakness in its surroundings he shot back towards Liet's direction as fast as he possibly could.

By the time he arrived, Nae Shin was already standing in the doorway- sword at the ready. More than three dozen specters surrounded them from every direction. One would come flying in from the back while he was busy fighting the one in the front.

They hid themselves well within the sea of Yin energy, only revealing themselves for a second or two at a time before retreating.

Hao Xuan's brow furrowed, 'I have never heard of this level of coordination between specters. This is unnatural even for them...'

Nae Shin swung his sword like a madman, shooting out bursts of internal energy without any technique or skill behind it.

'What the hell is he doing?!'

"GET BACK INSIDE!" Hao Xuan roared.

His voice awoke Nae Shin from his dazed state and he quickly retreated near Liet.

"B-But what about the-"

Before he could even finish the sentence a specter shot out from his extreme left which was Nae Shin's blind side thanks to the injuries he had incurred previously. His reaction speed was far too slow to defend against the specter's claws but the moment the light of the flame revealed its form Hao Xuan appeared behind it like a ghost.

One swing of his blade cut through the specter, producing a bright blue light that momentarily blinded Nae Shin.

He stumbled back, tripping over a random piece of rubble that was lying on the ground. He was still far too weak without completely integrating the ancestral blade with himself. All he could do was look up and watch in wonder as similar blue flashes of light popped off all around him like fireworks.

Each flash indicated a destroyed specter and it only took less than a minute to get rid of all of them. Hao Xuan's silhouette flashed behind Nae Shin when he had taken care of the last one.

He looked back with some effort, "Are they...is it...over?"

Hao Xuan had to examine Liet's condition before answering. Only the whites of his eyes were visible, even when the eyelids were pulled back all the way.

"He's already gone over to the other side. I think it should have been done by now but it's taking longer than I would expect it to," Hao said placing the back of his hand against Liet's forehead, "He's ice cold!"

He glanced left and right, fidgeting as if there was something sharp in his clothes.

"What's wrong?" Nae Shin asked as an uneasy feeling also began to crawl up his spine.

"I don't know, it feels weird. It doesn't feel...comfortable, I guess?"

Nae Shin started looking around with him, pulling himself closer to the fire as he did so.

"M-Maybe there is another one of them still hiding somewhere?"

But Hao Xuan shook his head without even giving it much thought, "No, specters are not cognizant enough to do that out of nowhere. If anything it would have to be- wraith!"

He jumped to his feet, startling Nae Shin.

Hao Xuan let out a deep breath, watching as it created a misty white cloud even while standing right next to the fire.

"It's here!"

All he had to was say those words out loud to announce its presence and it might as well have been a summoning spell. A layer of vapor began to settle, freezing everything around them- even the firepit and its flames.

Hao Xuan's eyes widened as the frost even crawled up his legs, digging into his skin and flesh without any warning.

Nae Shin was able to protect himself with a barrier created by his internal energy while Liet was protected by a minor formation that he had scribbled down around himself for protection. Even though his mind was elsewhere, the formation would work automatically as long as it detected any danger to him.

But this was all it could do. Defend against just one of the side-effects a Wraith's presence would cause in the environment. If it attacked him directly there was probably little that could be done.

Hao Xuan flexed and twisted his body, destroying the frost that was pinning him to the ground. He looked around for anything suspicious before an invisible hand slowly pulled his head upwards.

It was right there, hovering at the highest point just below the ceiling.

Even while squinting Hao Xuan could barely see what it looked like so he asked Nae Shin.

"Describe it to me, what appearance does it keep?"

Nae Shin followed his line of sight and when he saw the wraith beads of cold sweat began dripping down his forehead.

"L-Like a half-rotten skeleton. Its eyes are b-black, and its heart is visible. I think it is wearing human souls around its n-neck and using their decaying energy as armor. Its hands are also covered in armor created by that same energy!" (Reference Image in discord)

***

Author's Notes:

All images are posted in the Official Discord.

Link: https://discord. gg / AHdSBFQ