"Report, boss, no abnormalities around, we can act anytime!"
The marmot, sent out to scout for intelligence, reported to the Seven-Colored Egg.
The Seven-Colored Egg nodded, "You did very well. Now we just wait for the opportune moment..."
As it was speaking, it suddenly felt something was off.
Its companions beside it were unusually quiet.
The marmot in front of it also widened its eyes, trembling its paws, and looking at it.
The Seven-Colored Egg sensed trouble.
Turning around, it saw a giant human face.
Its hair was greasy and shiny, its face bore a scar, and it was stubbled.
There was still some un-wiped oil stain at the corner of its mouth.
Its pitch-black eyes stared directly at it, without a trace of white visible.
It looked like a behemoth crawling out of a dark corner.
"Hehehe, so many little snacks delivered right to my door."
The giant face exhaled through its nose, its gaze shifting away from the Seven-Colored Egg to the other spirit beasts.
Marmot, fire fox, little calf...
Finally, its gaze settled on the fattest little calf.
"It starts with you."
A giant hand reached out and grabbed the stunned little calf.
In the Ghost Market, with the daily management of the ghost officers, instances of ghosts killing each other were rare.
At least, not openly.
But once they left the underworld, the outside world had no such rules and regulations.
The conflicts between ghosts were always direct and brutal.
They didn't have the favorable environment of the underworld; they could disappear at any moment, or be devoured by the strong.
As for whether they would digest well after being eaten?
They would devour first!
And this group of little fellows in front of him, in the eyes of the scarred man, were like a flock of skinned lambs delivered to his doorstep.
Weak and plump.
If he felt like it, he could even cook them, which would surely make them even more delicious.
...
Seeing the man pick up the little calf and leave, completely ignoring them.
The Seven-Colored Egg's mind was constantly issuing a dangerous red warning.
No! No!
"No!"
The Seven-Colored Egg shouted, the entire egg streaking with a red tail light, charging forward like a meteor.
It directly collided with the man's wrist.
"Damn it!"
The man hadn't expected these little things to have such attacking power. His wrist hurt, and his fingers loosened, causing the little calf to fall to the ground.
The little calf landed on its rear and finally reacted.
Using all four paws, it quickly escaped from under the man's feet.
"Here they come! He's here!"
The marmot shrieked and burrowed into the ground.
"It's the bad guy!"
The fire fox arched its back, baring its teeth at the man as it retreated.
"He's going to eat us! Help!"
The hedgehog curled up, turning itself into a ball of spikes.
For a moment, the scene became chaotic.
No matter how well they had rehearsed and prepared, when the moment truly arrived, the companions who had never been on a mission before still panicked.
Some fled, some bared their teeth, some hid, and some cried out in their hearts for their master's help.
They had completely forgotten what they were supposed to do.
After its successful attack, the Seven-Colored Egg was about to order everyone to form up and proceed as planned.
But when it turned around, it saw this scene.
On one side were scattered allies, each looking out for themselves, and on the other was the menacing bad guy—the mission target.
If this continued, they would be finished sooner or later!
For the first time since gaining consciousness, the Seven-Colored Egg felt anger.
It was as if a flame ignited in its heart and exploded in an instant.
"All of you, stop—!"
An invisible deterrent spread outwards from the Seven-Colored Egg as the center.
The voice seemed to become a command, cold and stern...
Yet it carried an irresistible force.
In an instant, all the companions stopped their actions.
The marmot stopped burrowing, the little calf stopped running.
The fire fox stopped retreating, and the hedgehog unfurled, revealing a pair of beady eyes.
Even the man behind the Seven-Colored Egg paused for a moment, momentarily dazed.
But when he came to, he became enraged.
He lunged towards the Seven-Colored Egg.
"You little things are really troublesome. Since that's the case, I'll deal with you first!"
The Seven-Colored Egg, however, didn't look at him. As if it had eyes in the back of its head, it dodged with a leap.
Its shell was covered in red patterns, as if flames were burning.
It looked at its companions and continued to issue orders, "Take out your weapons and deal with this bad guy fiercely!"
"Don't forget what your mission is!"
Saying that, it first condensed a dark cloud and hurled it at the man.
The cloud landed on the man's arm and then fell to the ground.
"Hit him!"
"Hit him!"
The little calf walked back, and the fire fox also took a step forward.
The marmot poked its head out, and the little hedgehog stood up.
At this moment, they seemed possessed, suddenly gaining courage.
They shouted in unison, "Hit him!"
The scarred man sneered, "What can you guys do to me with your meager attack power?"
The cloud that the Seven-Colored Egg had thrown just moments ago had no harmful effect on him.
If he hadn't been careless just now, he wouldn't have been hit by the Seven-Colored Egg and fumbled the little calf?
"Little ones, lie down obediently now, and I might sprinkle a little more cumin on you, otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?"
The little calf spat and put on the two golden horns its master had prepared for it.
The fire fox let out a few threatening growls and pulled out a wolf-tooth mace it had brought from home.
"Come on! Even though my legs are weak, I'm not afraid of you!!"
The marmot also dug around and pulled out a trident that its master had discarded at home.
The hedgehog, after rolling over, actually pulled out a pair of nunchaku.
It was said that these were used by its master for performances at the annual company meeting.
It danced with them a few times in place, exuding great spirit, and said:
"Hoo! Hah!"
...
The spirit beasts were each armed.
Although they were weak and small, their masters were strong!
Even those discarded weapons, no longer used by the ghost officers, were not to be underestimated.
Besides the dense Yin energy surrounding them, there were wisps of aura from the ghost officers, which invisibly added a layer of pressure.
The scarred man felt something was wrong and instinctively took two steps back.
Before he could run, he heard the Seven-Colored Egg give an order:
"Go!"
The next moment, the little calf with golden horns charged forward first.
"Don't underestimate the calf's explosive power!"
"Roar—"
The man felt a sharp pain in his leg and was sent flying backward, his head swimming.
With a "bang," he landed in a sheep pen not far away.
As soon as he opened his eyes, another wolf-tooth mace smashed down.
"Hmph—!"
The scarred man clutched his stomach in pain.
The meal he had just eaten almost came back up.
"Ah—!"
A trident flew over, piercing his leg and sticking into the ground.
"I'm here!"
The hedgehog descended from the sky and directly struck the man's face with a nunchaku.
The scarred man's eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
As the leader of these spirit beasts, the Seven-Colored Egg raised a paper effigy and threw it directly.
"Deal with him!"
Upon receiving the order, the paper effigy immediately rushed forward, forcing out the ghost possessing the scarred man, and then quickly packed it up.
Giving it no chance to retaliate!
...