Quincy and Chrison, two of the strongest godhunter factions in Ronson Canyon, had been utterly annihilated in today's battle. The deaths of the two meant that it would be difficult for the two factions to reunite. The godhunter leaders who had left earlier would definitely take this opportunity to recruit the remaining godhunters into their ranks.
After today's battle, Tanai's godhunters in Ronson Canyon would no longer dare to make an enemy of the Han family.
Corpses were strewn all over the mountain peak. The Han family guards boarded their airships with cold and emotionless expressions. They silently waited for orders from Phoebe, Statholme, and the others.
It was only at this moment that Phoebe and Emily turned their attention to Khitan and Scarlett. Emily smilingly walked towards them and thanked them, "Thank you so much. If it wasn't for your kind reminder and help, we would have died here today!"
"You're too kind. I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do," replied Scarlett hastily. She did not dare to put on airs.
"Chief had instructed us before he left. This is what we are supposed to do!" After witnessing the Han family's formation, Khitan realized that Han Hao must have a close relationship with the Han family. Khitan's attitude towards Quincy and the others changed to one of humility.
"Has Han Hao really become your Chief?" Emily bunched her brows and asked Khitan, who was rather reserved.
Khitan was rather stunned. He did not understand why Emily would ask such a question. After staring blankly for a moment, Khitan honestly answered, "Yes. Ever since Chief came to Ronson Canyon decades ago, he has been leading us on expeditions in this region. After a few decades, Chief has become the most powerful faction in Ronson Canyon. Those guys that we encountered today were all defeated by Chief. If Chief were here, not even Quincy and Chrison would dare to attack us! "
Emily wore an astonished face. She did not expect that the strange Little Skull could have evolved to such an extent. A person who could dominate so many godhunter factions in Ronson Canyon was no ordinary person. Emily knew that.
"Unbelievable! It's really him!" Lisa sighed. Back in the Babylon Academy of Magic and Force, the Little Skull Han Hao had sneakily attacked her at night. Lisa had a deeper impression of this strange undead creature with seven bone spurs than anyone else.
"There's nothing strange about it. That guy has been very powerful since a long time ago. It's just that you guys don't know about it!" Dark dragon Gilbert had a smug look on his face as he chuckled, "You guys don't spend much time with Master, so you definitely don't know how treacherous that fellow is. Back in the Dark Forest, he was already sneaking up on others with Master every day!"
Gilbert had been with Han Shuo for a long time. As he had signed a completely unfair contract with Han Shuo, Han Shuo did not hide anything from him. Therefore, Gilbert knew more than Emily and Fanny about the strength and intelligence of the Little Skull Han Hao.
"Erm … then, where is he now?" asked Phoebe. She did not know much about the relationship between the Little Skull Han Hao and Han Shuo.
"Chief is in the Fringe," replied Khitan immediately. He did not suspect the Han family at all.
"If that fellow is in the Fringe, then Master must be in the Fringe as well!" said Gilbert smilingly.
"Let's leave the Ronson Canyon first. We'll talk after we get out of here," interjected Statholme. Statholme the old monster suddenly interjected. He was worried about Hofs and Larikson's return. As they were not out of danger yet, he had to ensure the safety of the Han family.
After hearing Statholme's reminder, Phoebe and Emily immediately realized that it was not the time to ask questions. The two ladies nodded and Phoebe said, "Thank you for your help. The Han family will remember this favor. However, we have some urgent matters to attend to and cannot stay in the Ronson Canyon any longer. Let us meet again in the future! "
"Then I shall not disturb you any further!" replied Scarlett with a faint smile. She nodded at Khitan and excused herself.
Khitan did not say much. As a godhunter, he could not get too involved with the Han family as it would only bring unnecessary trouble to the Han family. Besides, with Quincy and Chrison dead, Khitan had to deal with the aftermath of their deaths. Therefore, Khitan merely reminded Scarlett to be careful and left with her.
With the deterrence of this battle and the reputation of Little Skull Han Hao in the Ronson Canyon, the Han family's airship did not encounter any more obstacles in Tanai's journey through the Ronson Canyon. Ten days later, the airship finally crossed the Ronson Canyon and entered the territory of the Death Dominion.
Not long after the Han family's airship entered the Death Dominion, the pursuers led by Larikson and Hofs finally caught up to the Han family's airship.
However, this time, Larikson and Hofs did not get what they wanted. Several large family clans in the Death Dominion had sent divine guards to escort the Han family. On the day when Larikson and Hofs finally caught up to the Han family, the divine guards from the Death Dominion had already met up with the Han family.
Larikson and Hofs were so angry that they could vomit blood but there was nothing they could do. Although the Dominions of Darkness, Death, and Destruction had always been on good terms, they still had to abide by certain rules.
This was the Death Dominion. Even though Hofs was the City Lord of Hushveil City and Larikson was the City Lord of the City of Gorging Clouds, they dared not disobey the rules set by the Overgods of the three Dominions. They could only watch helplessly as the Death Dominion's divine guards escorted the Han family away.
After arriving at the Death Dominion, the Han family finally escaped from the City of Shadows. They no longer had to live in fear.
… …
* * * At the Sainte Residence in the City of Shadows.
City Lord Wallace wore a gloomy face as he listened to Ralph's report. When Ralph finished narrating the situation, Wallace coldly shouted, "Trash! All of you are trash!"
"Please forgive me, Your Lordship. I have done my best!" Ralph knelt on the ground in fear and tried to find an excuse for himself. "I really did not expect that Hofs and Larikson would not be able to inflict any damage to the Han family even though they had brought so many people with them. Even those fellows named Sanguinar and Bollands clearly possess highgod strengths …"
"Shut up!" Wallace shouted in a low voice. He took a deep breath to calm himself down before he said, "It seems that the Han family knows what role I played in this incident. Now that they have all arrived at the Death Dominion, there's nothing I can do about it!"
"Your Lordship, that … that … Brian has been missing for so many years. He might have died long ago. There's no need for us to worry about him …" said Ralph cautiously as he stealthily sized up Wallace who had regained his composure.
"You think I'm worried about Brian?" Wallace sneered and said, "That's right! Brian is indeed a young and talented man. It's not easy for him to possess such strength and temperament at such a young age. But I have seen too many young and talented men like him. The more talented they are, the sooner they die. Even if he returns to the City of Shadows, what could he possibly use to fight me? Do I need to fear him? "
"Then …" Ralph put on a puzzled face and tried to ask.
"Sigh …" Wallace let out a soft sigh and scratched his head in a rather annoyed manner. In a rather bitter voice, he said, "Although there's nothing to worry about that youngster, he has a close relationship with the daughter of the Goddess of Destiny. Back then, His Lordship had instructed me to treat Brian well. Those two are the real headaches …"
Ralph's face jolted upon hearing those words. To him, the Goddess of Destiny and the Darkness Overgod were existences that were out of his reach. Besides, he had no idea what relationship Han Shuo had with the Goddess of Destiny. This was the first time he had heard about it and it had given him quite a shock.
"Help me invite Larikson and Hofs. I want to have a good chat with them!" instructed Wallace after thinking for a moment.
Ralph complied respectfully, and retired to take care of this obscure business for Wallace.
A few days later, Larikson and Hofs reconvened at Fort Lasberg. They met at the location where the Han family used to live.
When Larikson and Hofs heard the secret that Wallace had told them, they felt a headache coming on. Larikson and Hofs cursed Wallace in their hearts. They thought, Why are you only telling us about such an important matter now? Aren't you trying to set us up?
The three then began to conspire about the matter regarding Han Shuo at the location where the Han family used to live. Unfortunately, as the three did not know much about Han Shuo, they did not manage to come up with anything useful. They only came to a temporary agreement regarding the Han family. They agreed that once the Han family and Han Shuo returned to the Darkness Dominion, the three parties would join forces to kill Han Shuo.
After the discussion was over, Larikson and Hofs left Fort Lasberg. Wallace, on the other hand, was in no hurry to leave. After hearing about the conflict between Hofs and Larikson and the Han family, Wallace became very interested in the strange demonic formations the Han family used.
Wallace stayed in Fort Lasberg for more than a month. He wanted to find out how these seemingly ordinary stone pillars and trees could perform such miraculous functions. Unfortunately, he knew nothing about demonic arts and his month of exploration was fruitless.
In the end, Wallace had no choice but to give up on his exploration. He sent his men to destroy all traces of the demonic formations the Han family left behind. Even Fort Lasberg was reclaimed by Wallace. It no longer belonged to the Han family.
To the public, Wallace blamed Hushveil City for everything that happened to the Han family. He strongly criticized the actions of Hushveil City and made it clear that he would pursue the matter to the end.
However, Hushveil City did not take any action against the Han family.
Those in the City of Shadows who were aware of the matter criticized Wallace and the House of Sainte for their actions. They made it clear that Wallace had driven the Han family out of the City of Shadows and caused the overall strength of the City of Shadows to plummet.
After Aobashi and Erebus returned to the City of Shadows and learned about the situation with the Han family, they were rather disheartened. The two knew their own limits and did not voice their opinions on the matter. They only passively responded to the order to hunt down the Han family and oppress the Han family.
However, when Andre and Carmelita learned of Wallace's actions, their reactions were no longer as mild as Aobashi and Erebus'. The two of them were related to Wallace by blood and therefore did not need to be so careful with their words. They quarreled with Wallace for several days straight in the Sainte Residence.
Naturally, Wallace would not reveal that he had played a dishonorable role in the matter. He placed all the blame on Hofs and Larikson, claiming that he had no knowledge of the matter. Andre and Carmelita, of course, were not people who could be easily fooled. As high-ranking members of the House of Sainte, they could tell from certain signs that Wallace had played a role in the matter. They had quarreled with Wallace many times.
But no matter how big an incident was, people would gradually forget about it as time went by. After a while, the City of Shadows gradually calmed down. Other than the disappearance of the Han family's Celestial Pearl Pharmacy, everything seemed to have returned to normal.
But Wallace knew very well that the estrangement between him, Aobashi, Erebus, Andre, and Carmelita due to Han Shuo and the Han family was not something that could be erased with the passage of time!
…
* * * In the Omphalos at the center of the Fringe.
Han Shuo had no idea what was happening in the City of Shadows tens of thousands of miles away. He was still concentrating on dealing with the difficult problem set by Tyre, Logue, and Wasis.
Tyre, Logue, and Wasis had made it clear that they did not mind Han Shuo becoming another person with real power in the Omphalos. However, they also said that they needed to consider the opinions of the hundreds and thousands of shop owners in Tanai. As long as the majority of the shop owners were willing to allow Han Shuo to enter the Omphalos, they would immediately hand over the Monarch Shops that belonged to Salas to Han Shuo.
How could Han Shuo not know what the Three Sovereigns were planning? The Three Sovereigns were so famous in the Fringe that not many shop owners dared to offend them. With the Three Sovereigns' instigation, most of the shop owners submitted to them and expressed that they were not willing to allow Han Shuo to enter the Omphalos.
Han Shuo had his men tally the number of shop owners who were willing to allow him to enter the Omphalos. He discovered that the number of shop owners who were willing to allow him to enter the Omphalos was only about twenty percent of the total number of shop owners. Furthermore, this was under Ossora's instructions. Two out of ten was far from the standard set by Tyre, Logue, and Logue. There was only so much that Ossora could do for Han Shuo. Han Shuo would have to figure out a way himself.
It was at this point that Han Shuo realized that Tyre, Logue, and Wasis had not spent so many years in the Fringe for nothing. Under their influence, most of the shop owners believed that Tyre, Logue, and Logue were more terrifying than Han Shuo. Therefore, none of them dared to disobey the Three Sovereigns and secretly oppose Han Shuo.
Han Shuo pondered for a few days in Tanai. Then, he went out alone and left a message on a cliff outside the Omphalos.
A day later, a stern-looking man arrived at the cliff, took the message left by Han Shuo, and left without a sound.
Seven days later, in an enormous cave thousands of miles away from the Omphalos, the Little Skull, Han Hao, received the message from the man.
After reading the message, Han Hao remained silent for a moment. Then, he glanced at his subordinates and calmly instructed, "Gather all company captains. I have orders!"
"Yes, Chief!" The subordinate respectfully retreated and, following Han Hao's orders, brought the company captains in charge of each area to Han Hao.
A few days later, the company captains from each area gathered in the cave. Han Hao took out a scroll, pressed it on a cliff, and ordered, "Here is a list of names. Intercept all the shops' goods before they enter the Omphalos. But remember, don't start a massacre. Just kill one or two people to intimidate the Omphalos. "
Polo put on a surprised face and asked, "Just looting? Why can't we start a massacre? "
Han Hao shot a glance at Polo and said in an indifferent voice, "It will be difficult to clean up the mess if everyone dies." Without further explanation, Han Hao waved his hand impatiently and ordered, "Carry out the order!"
Polo did not ask any more questions. He nodded and was the first to leave with his men. The company captains in charge of each area recorded the names on the scroll and left in silence.
Over the next few days, godhunters from all over the Fringe suddenly gathered near the Omphalos and surrounded it.
After all, the Omphalos was just a valley. Most of the goods and materials sold in the Omphalos had to be imported from the outside world. Even poisons required sufficient medicinal ingredients and magical beast venom to be produced. Therefore, there were always quite a number of shops in the Omphalos.
Although it was chaotic outside the Omphalos, those shops had their own ways of doing business. Every time they entered the Omphalos, they would spend a large amount of money to hire a large number of guards or pray for the protection of the Sovereigns' subordinates to prevent themselves from being captured by the fiends.
Although it wasn't entirely safe for those shops to leave the Omphalos and they would often get robbed, it wasn't too frequent. That was because those fiends in the Omphalos also needed the Omphalos to have enough goods for them to purchase. They knew that if they went too far, the Omphalos would be left empty-handed and they were afraid that the Sovereigns would investigate.
But this time, things were a little different.
Over the past month or so, the goods and materials of the shops in the Omphalos had been plundered by unknown forces one after another. During this period of time, none of the goods and materials of the shops in Tanai could enter the Omphalos. The robbers were very unyielding. No matter how many guards they had or whether they were under the protection of the experts of the Three Sovereigns or not, they would not hesitate to rob them.
As long as one didn't resist, the robbers would be considered friendly and wouldn't resort to harsh measures. But if one tried to solve the problem by force, one would find that the robbers would bare their fangs and show no mercy. Moreover, there were many people lurking in the dark, waiting to kill them.
After the caravans of the two groups of shops were slaughtered, the caravans of the other shops learned their lesson. They could only admit that they were unlucky to run into these fiends and obediently handed over all the goods and materials they had.
Initially, they thought that the unknown force was just too poor and wouldn't continue robbing the Omphalos for too long. After all, the Omphalos was a disaster for the Fringe.
But they soon found out that they were wrong.
One month, two months, three months … The unknown force was still blocking the entrance to the Omphalos. They continued to attack the caravans and destroy the order of the Fringe.
However, after a period of observation, they gradually discovered a strange phenomenon – the caravans that supported Han Shuo's decision to enter the Omphalos had all survived the disaster. Not a single one of them was harmed.
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