Those Fringedwellers gathered around the Pandemonium vanished in just moments. They had witnessed the battle between Salas and Ossora and saw Han Shuo drive Salas away using his sinister energy.
Soon, except for Ossora and Han Shuo, there weren’t any other beings in the Pandemonium.
Han Shuo smiled and again thanked Ossora, “I really appreciate your assistance. Without your help, the Pandemonium wouldn’t have survived until now.”
“Haha, you’re welcome. We are friends, and friends should help each other!” shrugged Ossora courteously.
Back in the Omphalos when Ossora first met Han Shuo, although Ossora had been polite, he was nowhere near as friendly as he was now.
The Fringe was a place where the strong were honored. The last time that they met, Ossora did not consider Han Shuo as his equal and, therefore, unavoidably, his arrogance as a mighty Sovereign would appear directly or indirectly when interacting with Han Shuo. But this time, Ossora did not show even the slightest pride when speaking to Han Shuo. By chasing Salas away, Han Shuo had demonstrated that he possessed the strength to challenge any of the Sovereigns, therefore Ossora started treating Han Shuo as an equal.
“In any case, I owe you one!” insisted Han Shuo before suddenly turning his eyes to the center of the Pandemonium and flying over.
Simultaneously, the Cauldron of Myriad Demon, in the form of greyish smoke, flew out from Han Shuo’s body and towards the monolith at the center of the Valley.
Tens of thousands of wisps of thin grey smoke emerged from the monolith and flew into the Cauldron that was suspended in the air. They were the divine souls of Salas’ followers. After they lost their lives to the powerful demonic formations in the Pandemonium, they were sucked into the monolith and temporarily stored there so that the Cauldron Spirit could collect it later.
Ossora instantly sensed the circulation of those bizarre energies. He stared at the hovering Cauldron in astonishment while secretly guessing the miraculous uses and energy of the strange-looking divine weapon.
In Ossora’s eyes, every bit about Han Shuo was filled with mystery. Even now, Ossora still couldn’t figure out what the energy was that Han Shuo cultivated. He was also very curious to know how Han Shuo had the ability to force Salas to flee in disarray. Ossora wished to unravel the secrets of the unfathomable Han Shuo.
As the strands of soul energy flowed into the Cauldron, Han Shuo appeared calm and chatted with Ossora, “So, after today, do you think that Salas can still stand tall in the Fringe like before?”
Ossora stared blankly for a moment before he softly chuckled and replied, “Unless Salas can somehow prove that he can defeat both of us, his reputation in the Fringe will take yet another nosedive. And most importantly, he fled from the battlefield all by himself, leaving his followers behind. I believe most people will think twice before enlisting themselves to serve a Sovereign like him.”
Han Shuo laughed out loud. He seemed to be in a savory mood as he said, “It ain’t gonna be easy for Salas to recover. I’m starting to doubt if he’ll even come back for me!” Han Shuo knew that he could defeat Salas even at his full strength. Salas likely also knew this. Therefore, Han Shuo doubted if Salas would be so reckless as to dig his own grave.
“Salas will have trouble maintaining his grasp on the Fringe. Bryan, the Omphalos has always been under the joint management of us Five Sovereigns. If Salas were to fall, would you be interested in filling the void?” asked the beaming Ossora.
Thanks to the unique partnership between the Five Sovereigns, the Omphalos had remained a very unique place in the chaotic Fringe. As the trading hub of the Fringe, almost every business and transaction was taxed, earning their managers a hefty revenue.
It was clear from those words of Ossora’s that he wanted Han Shuo to overthrow Salas’ position and take his share of the Omphalos.
“Of course!” Han Shuo would never let such a great treasure slip through his hands. He put on a mischievous smile and said, “I’ll be visiting the Omphalos soon. I wonder if anyone will try to charge me an entrance fee.”
“Very well. I shall take my leave,” said Ossora. He was going to handle things related to Salas.
“Alright. Thanks a lot, Ossora! I will remember your favor,” assured Han Shuo smilingly and he watched Ossora leave.
Then, after Ossora’s figure vanished, Han Shuo put on a scheming smile and mumbled to himself, “Ossora, Ossora, how considerate of you!”
Several minutes after Ossora left, the Five Elite Zombies, Rose, Romon, and Zovic emerged from the Pandemonium’s underground palace. They were glad and relieved to find that the Pandemonium had suffered only minimal damages.
“Father, you are finally back!” exclaimed Han Jin excitedly.
“Where is Salas? Father, where did he go?” asked Han Huo immediately after he came out of the underground palace.
“He scuttled! I believe that even after he recovers fully, he will think twice before trying to attack us again,” Han Shuo put on an unruffled smile and said to the party, “From today onwards, you will be afraid of no one in the Fringe!”
Even without Han Shuo’s explanation, the Five Elite Zombies, Rose, and the others could sense that something was different about Han Shuo, although they couldn’t name it specifically. The new Han Shuo seemed as intimidating as a great mountain and as enigmatic as the sea.
Although they could not point out exactly what had happened to Han Shuo, they knew that Han Shuo must have made yet another breakthrough in his cultivation and his strength must have taken yet another giant leap.
Han Shuo wasn’t one to give empty words or exaggerate. When he said that they had nobody in the Fringe to be afraid of, it meant that he was no longer afraid of the Five Sovereigns.
“Father, you mean you now have enough power to fight the Sovereigns?” asked Han Mu excitedly.
Han Shuo smiled and replied, “That’s right.”
“Wonderful!” Han Huo burst into a wild laugher and said, “Then soon, we can stay in the Omphalos for as long as we want. No one is going to collect fees from us!”
“Alright, let’s not talk about that now. Where are Goron and the others?”
“Don’t worry, Father, they are just fine, hiding in the evacuation tunnel I made. I think they will soon realize the situation here and come back,” explained Han Tu.
“Excellent.” Han Shuo looked around before he said, “The Pandemonium is not destroyed, but still, it is damaged to some extent. Alright, let the six of us work together and repair our Lair!”
Han Shuo took a short pause before he grinned and said, “I suppose I should further enhance the Pandemonium’s power. Then, if there comes another day that Salas or another Sovereign comes to destroy the Pandemonium, hehe, he must first peel his skin off!”
When Han Shuo built the Pandemonium’s demonic formations, he was still in the Omen Realm. And now that Han Shuo had entered the Skybreak Realm, he possessed greater power and a more profound understanding of demonic formations. This meant that the Pandemonium would become even deadlier than it was now.
“Wonderful!” cheered the Five Elite Zombies in one voice. They were in high spirits.
The father and sons then spent another period repairing and revamping the Pandemonium. They worked together tirelessly to make the Pandemonium more and more terrifying…
***
“Say what?” asked Han Hao as he stared at a stringer beside a lake.
“Salas was defeated. That outsider called Bryan defeated Salas. They all left the Pandemonium!” replied the unlucky stringer in a terrified voice. He was shivering as he was surrounded by a large group of ferocious godhunters.
After sensing the disturbance over at the Pandemonium, Han Hao dropped all his tasks and started rushing to the Valley. And when he was a third of the way into his journey, he came across this stringer who was selling the latest news about the Pandemonium. Han Hao’s subordinates easily captured the stringer and brought him back to Han Hao.
“Tell me everything in detail and I will not kill you,” Han Hao was pleasantly surprised by the news. Hearing that Han Shuo had defeated Salas, Han Hao knew that his father had made a monumental breakthrough. He was more excited than anyone.
“Salas tried to invade the Pandemonium and his forces suffered heavy casualties before they could capture it. They found no one inside the…” The shaking stringer knew that this was his last hope for survival. He tried to calm himself down and explained everything he knew to Han Hao.
Han Hao patiently listened until the stringer was finished talking. He nodded and instructed his subordinates, “Let him go.”
“Chief, this guy cultivates the energy of darkness. May I…?” one of the godhunters asked Han Hao while staring at the stringer, drooling.
“Spare me! Spare me, Sir! I’ve told you everything I know! Please!” the frightened stringer wailed tearfully as he knelt before Han Hao.
Han Hao gestured at the stringer and said, “You may leave,” before glaring at the darkness energy subordinate and reprimanding, “One must do as one says!”
“Understood, Chief,” replied the godhunter as he lowered his head.
“Turn around. We will be visiting Salas’ warehouses!” commanded Han Hao. He was no longer heading for the Pandemonium. He set his eyes on wiping out the remainder of Salas’ forces and plundering the wealth Salas accumulated through his countless years of reign over the Fringe.
