The woman waved her hand, and the paper figures swarmed forward. Although they held paper knives, they were still lethal.
The mercenaries watched this scene, shielding the students and the archaeological team. They drew their weapons and fired at the paper figures.
Even as bullet holes appeared in the paper figures, they showed no fear.
Instead, they continued to advance.
The knives in their hands were thrown, piercing the shoulders of the mercenaries, embedding themselves firmly.
Blood flowed down the mercenaries' shoulders, but their gazes remained resolute, their steps unwavering.
In the live stream.
"Holy shit, are these made of paper? What the hell is this? This is more formidable than real knives."
"Are these things really made of paper? How can they not tear?"
"Maybe fire will work. By the way, can paper figures be 'awakened' by painting their eyes? I remember that's not allowed."
"I didn't even notice until you said it. Why didn't you say it sooner? I just saw it. Is this real?"
"We can only watch them fight. Talking more is useless."
"This is more terrifying than what we've seen before. The previous one at least had room for negotiation, but this has none at all. How can such a good-looking person be unwanted?"
...
Seeing the appearance of the paper figures, Zhou Lin's eyes narrowed, and he chanted an incantation.
"Funeral of Fire Sea."
An invisible flame descended, and the paper figures, unable to withstand the high temperature, began to ignite.
"Ah..."
The paper figures were engulfed in flames, and the entire house and courtyard were set ablaze.
The woman, dressed in red, watched Zhou Lin coldly, letting the flames consume her mansion.
The rockery in the courtyard and the fish pond were also ignited.
The mercenaries and students were shocked to realize the entire courtyard was made of paper, and everything within it was also paper. It was truly terrifying.
"Will they roast us alive later? The temperature is quite high."
The metaphysics professor looked at Zhou Lin with unease.
"No."
Zhou Lin also felt the temperature was getting too high. He took out a jelly shield and enveloped them.
The space instantly became comfortable.
After ten minutes of burning, the fire slowly subsided.
The woman, seeing her courtyard destroyed and her servants reduced to ashes, was filled with rage.
"Ah..."
The woman let out a great roar, and from the ashes, green lights appeared one by one, gradually emerging before everyone's eyes.
Zhou Lin was surprised to find souls within the bodies of the paper figures.
Could it be...
"The human skin lanterns at the entrance were made by you. You injected the souls of these things into these paper figures."
"You are despicable. Not only did you kill them and skin them, but you also put their souls in here. You deserve to die."
Zhou Lin's anger surged as he looked at the woman's face, his rationality being overwhelmed.
"They were just a bunch of lowly peasants. What's there to regret? Now, you people will suffer the same fate as them."
As the woman spoke, her aura intensified. Her black hair and the phoenix crown on her head were blown open. Her face became even paler, and her lips turned a deeper red, showing a tendency to become even redder.
A fierce wind whipped up around them. The souls felt the sensation of the wind and became fearful.
The sound of wailing ghosts emerged.
The soul-shattering cries made even the mercenaries and students feel uncomfortable.
"Why does this sound give me a headache? I also feel pain all over my body."
"Who are they wailing for? Damn it, listening to this makes me want to get angry."
"Fortunately, Captain Bai has already fainted, otherwise, this would be a problem."
The students found the sound unbearable. Not only was it unpleasant to hear, but it also caused physical discomfort.
At this moment, the unconscious Captain Bai was the most fortunate.
In the live stream.
"Oh dear, luckily I turned off the sound. Otherwise, this would be too much. It's worse than funeral wails."
"No, you can't say that. Is this funeral wailing? This is a wolf's howl, and it's worse than funeral wails. This sound expresses grievances, doesn't it?"
"I don't understand. Where did she get the souls of these paper figures? What benefit does she get from doing this? Is this woman crazy?"
"She's gone mad from missing her men. She's using every trick in the book."
...
Inside the tomb.
Zhou Lin watched as the soul bodies merged and formed a giant monster. No, that wasn't right. It wasn't a monster.
It was an emissary of hell.
Legend had it that in the underworld, there was a soul-reaping emissary, eight meters tall, holding a soul-reaping whip. It was said that with a mere flick of the whip, anyone struck would have their soul separated from their body.
And then be taken away.
But this was a real emissary of hell, so whether this imitation was real or not was unknown.
"You think too highly of yourself. You can summon an emissary of hell with just this?"
Zhou Lin sneered at the woman beside him.
"Whether it's fake or not, you can try."
The woman raised the flute in her hand and blew gently. The emissary of hell swung its whip.
"Oh no, it's coming! What do we do?"
The students, seeing the whip rushing towards them, instinctively cried out. The mercenaries reacted first.
"Get down!"
The mercenaries shouted. The students instinctively dropped to the ground upon hearing the command.
A gust of wind swept over their heads, and they felt a surge of fear.
"Be careful. Don't touch this whip, or your souls will be taken away."
After Zhou Lin spoke, everyone's hearts tightened.
They quickly got up and ran towards the side.
The emissary of hell behind them swung its whip, striking Gal.
Gal, who was running, suddenly felt a harsh lash on his back. He fell to the ground, and his soul instantly left his body.
It hovered in mid-air.
"Help me, save me!"
As his soul left his body, Gal felt a suction force behind him, pulling him back.
Hearing the cries for help, everyone looked back and saw that Gal had been pulled towards them.
Their hearts sank. Damn it, is this real?
Is it really soul-reaping?
"Run! Hurry!"