GDK 521: The Shadow Warriors
Han Shuo suddenly woke from his contemplation and said with a somewhat awkward smile, “Don’t worry, I’m only interested in pretty girls like Hemanna and Sylph, I just had something on my mind earlier.
Nambrough heaved a sigh of relief and laughed. “Thank you for your help.”
“No need for such formalities, we haven’t broken out from the siege yet, have we?” Han Shuo turned back to look at the forces of Venomfang Castle pursuing him closely, and upon seeing some of the abyssal creatures at the perimeters of Shero regiment being slaughtered helplessly, he had to withdraw his skeletal staff and chant more incantations. Bone spears and acid bogs appeared one after the other, creating a blockade in front of the Triops pursuers.
He did not summon his sea of undead armies, nor did he tried to reverse the situation using demonic arts. All he did was exactly what he said earlier and held back the enemy for the Shero regiment.
“Very well. Hemanna, Sylph, the two of you will help our friend here. Take another hundred guards to bring up the rear, I’ll take charge of breaking out the encirclement,” Nambrough gave the order and, without waiting for Hemanna and Sylph to say another word, he flew directly to the battlefront. His arms weaved around like pythons, and wisps of dark smoke came shooting out from within, forcing the enemies from the Venomfang Castle who stood in his way to retreat.
Han Shuo was at the back, with the two pretty alien girls Hemanna and Sylph at his sides. The two young ladies stuck close to Han Shuo, working together with him to kill all their pursuers without mercy.
Blood splattered and severed limbs flew all around. The fight became even more violent with Han Shuo’s involvement. Each time he attacked, he would take the lives of several abyssal creatures at once. With the Demonic Blades in his two hands, HS wove a web of demonic light and sent them falling onto abyssal creatures. All those covered by it were chopped into bits.
The two beautiful girls at his sides, Hemanna and Sylph, kept sneaking glances at Han Shuo while they assisted him. Han Shuo at that moment became extremely attractive in their eyes.
Han Shuo looked pleased in the midst of the fierce battle, his attacks brutal and ruthless. Having two such lovely ladies at his side put him in an excellent mood, and he traded coy glances with the girls as frequently as he could.
With the addition of Han Shuo, Hemanna, and Sylph, the Shero regiment was successful in their attempt to break out. Han Shuo’s wide-area necromancy was a particularly great hindrance to the Venomfang Castle. After his Boundaries of Fear and Weakness were cast, the Venomfang Castle’s attacks became collectively slower. Due to the fear brewing in their stomachs, they were also clearly less powerful than before.
Rows of bone spears and acid bogs caused immediate destruction to the enemies from Venomfang Castle. The pursuing Venomfang Castle enemies had not even drawn near Han Shuo in all this time, and they had already lost six or seven hundred. That left the ones who had charged in front of him with great difficulty, but under the collective forces of Han Shuo and the two girls, they were very quickly reduced to bits. The hundred guards behind the trio didn’t even have a chance to lend a hand.
Things went on like that for a while, fighting and retreating. The party of Shero regiment guards led by Nambrough broke through the encirclement and left a path behind them. With that, everyone swiftly followed and cleared out of the area at top speed.
After breaking out from the encirclement, the regiment did not stop, but kept moving until they had long shaken off their pursuers far behind.
“My friend, I must thank you for your assistance, without which we would not have been able to escape the encirclement so easily,” chuckled Nambrough, who had returned from the front of the regiment only after he was certain that they were indeed safe.
His python-like arms had returned to their normal appearance, and only the hedgehog spines on his back remained. Although this alien race man cultivated in the element of darkness, he did not give off the gloomy and cold aura of dark magi like Candide. Instead, he was very bright and energized. Perhaps it was because his cultivation method was different.
At this time, Han Shuo and the two girls, Hemanna and Sylph, were flirting heavily in broad daylight. In this world where the strong were idolized, Han Shuo had gained the acknowledgement of the two girls without them realizing it. The two alluring girls from the abyssal realm were quite unreserved, throwing Han Shuo all of their many coy glances.
There was also the fact that Hemanna and Sylph were rivals, and the two of them seemed to have come to an unspoken agreement on treating Han Shuo as their new battleground, as though whoever won him over would have defeated the other. As such, both of them were extremely cordial and affectionate in how they treated Han Shuo. Han Shu was naturally living it up, chucking merrily the whole way.
Only after Nambrough’s voice was sounded did Han Shuo greeted him heartily, saying “You’re welcome, you’re welcome.“
Upon Nambrough’s arrival, the two girls behaved themselves a bit more, and no longer continued in their flirtations. Han Shuo knew that Nambrough was the sergeant major for the Shero regiment, and someone who carried some weight in War Demon Valley.
“Once we reach War Demon Valley, my friend, I’ll be treating you with the best hospitality. Hmm, also, if you’re interested, I can help introduce you to Lord Crosius,” Nambrough said in a very friendly manner. He seemed to have learned certain things about Han Shuo from Hemanna and Sylph.
“Well then, many thanks!” Han Shuo said, well aware that Crosius was the real master of War Demon Valley. The only way to obtain useful information about the deeper secrets of the abyssal realm, such as planar guardians and the like, would be to ask someone like Crosius.
“My lord, how did you end up running into Venomfang Castle’s forces over there?” Hemanna asked Nambrough with solemnity, no longer joking around or giggling.
The two girls Hemanna and Sylph were both highly talented young fighters from the War Demon Valley. Given that one of the two could have the honour of rising to the rank of sergeant major, Nambrough regarded and treated them highly. With a bitter smile he explained, “I was on an expedition to collect some medicine on Lord Crosius’s orders. I had most likely been discovered by scouts from Venomfang Castle. On our way back, we encountered three regiments that came to round us up and exterminate us. Fortunately, we met you two and Han Shuo, or it certainly wouldn’t have been so easy to break out from their encirclement.”
“So that’s the case. Recently the Venomfang Castle seems to have gotten cockier. I heard that they discovered an interplanar portal within their territories, and so demon king Golander sent several powerful fighters to Venomfang Castle just for that portal. Could it have been due to the arrival of those fighters that they would suddenly behave so boldly?” Sylph, the purple-eyed lady, suddenly remarked after thinking for a moment.
At her words, Han Shuo was greatly shocked. He turned to look at Nambrough to see if he was aware of the news. Han Shuo was finally certain that the cave where the space-time discontinuum zone had appeared was within the Venomfang Castle’s sphere of influence. As Han Shuo had arrived on this plane via the space-time discontinuum, he made sure to pay close attention to any information relating to it.
“Based on our information, that interplanar passageway has already been completely destroyed, and those powerful fighters sent by demon king Golander have most likely gained nothing from it. This was precisely how they intended to take over War Demon Valley, so they would have something to answer the demon king Golander with.
“Hmph, but our War Demon Valley has been under Lord Crosius’ control for so many years, and we’re not so easily taken care of. Don’t you worry, Lord Crosius has been planning for this for a long time coming, and we are not afraid of the people of Venomfang Castle,” said Nambrough with firm conviction, as he seemed to be in great awe of the master of War Demon Valley.
“But, it’s been said that this time the ones that have been sent here are demon king Golander’s Shadow Warriors!” Hemanna said with a rather concerned tone, frowning. “Shadow Warriors! Are you sure it’s Shadow Warriors?” Sylph was astounded, and the name seemed like a great taboo for her, as a flash of fear was visible in her eyes.
Even Nambrough’s face went purple and grew rather strained as he said, “That’s unlikely, Shadow Warriors are the trump card fighters of demon king Golander. They wouldn’t be sent all the way to Venomfang Castle for something so insubstantial?”
“I learned this from a high-level venomfang demon of Venomfang Castle I defeated and interrogated a few days ago. It can’t be wrong!” Hemanna looked deeply troubled, as though she was also very concerned for War Demon Valley’s safety. It seemed like these Shadow Warriors under demon king Golander’s command were extremely frightening to them.
“If that’s the case, then we have to return to War Demon Valley as soon as possible. I must pass this news on to Lord Crosius. The Shadow Warriors are not only incredibly powerful, but every one of them is a demon of the most depraved order. If they have come to Venomfang Castle, then this time our War Demon Valley will be facing some real trouble.” Nambrough’s face was just as grave, even somewhat fearful. It was evident that demon king Golander’s Shadow Warriors had a reputation which preceded them.
“Yes, we’d best report to Lord Crosius as soon as possible. If it really is the Shadow Warriors, we have to prepare ourselves. At the very least, Crosius needs to report this to Black Jade City,” Hemanna’s voice was heavy as she nodded.
Black Jade City was where the great demon king Manticole lived, which Han Shuo was well aware of. Hemanna’s words made it evident that she was not optimistic about the current strength of War Demon Valley, and hoped that Crosius could ask for assistance from his master Manticole.
“If it really is the Shadow Warriors, I’m afraid we may be too late!” Nambrough sighed, and then quickly added, “Head back to the valley at the fastest speed, I must report this to Lord Crosius immediately.”
