Even though the members of the House of Han had all evacuated the Han Residence, the demonic formations surrounding the Residence remained operational. Every once in a while, dying shrieks of agony and helplessness would play from the demonic formations.
Larikson and Hofs were both trapped in a formation that attacked them psychologically. When their worst fears struck their minds, they would have to use every bit of their willpower to resist. In such a situation where their divine souls were under constant attack, Larikson and Hofs had no extra time to even find out what was happening to their underlings. They put all their focus on resisting their worst nightmares.
Having reached the late-stage highgod realm in their cultivations, both Hofs and Larikson had minds much more tenacious than that of an average god. They had been able to resist the onslaught of their worst nightmares, albeit barely. Meanwhile, those midgods around them with weak minds were driven to insanity. They were unable to resist the psychological attacks and ended up killing themselves.
Time flew. A few days passed without a moment’s notice. The yuan energies in the Han Residence were nearing exhaustion and the demonic formations weakened before shutting down one after another. A number of fatigued Hushveil City divine guards re-emerged from the formations. They were just inches from death but survived by mere luck.
Gradually, the yuan energies were completely exhausted. The power source for those demonic formations around the Han Residence was finally all used up.
The thick mist that shrouded the Han Residence had vanished long before that. Every region and structure in the Han Residence was laid bare under the bright sun.
Those buildings were surrounded by towering stelae and plants which were covered with people who had died under horrifying circumstances. They were Hofs’ divine guards from Hushveil City. Some were without limbs or heads, or were deformed or twisted beyond their natural range of motion. Some bled from every orifice and their bodies looked as though they had been freeze-dried.
There were a thousand Hushveil City divine guards that came to assault Fort Lasberg but by now, less than three hundred were left. Moreover, those three hundred who luckily survived were all tired and drained of energy.
Hofs took a moment to process the scene of utter devastation around him. A mixed feeling of sadness and rage swelled from his heart. This was definitely not the outcome that Hofs desired. Feeling completely lost and helpless, his mind was vacant and he did not think of pursuing his targets.
Those divine guards from Hushveil City who were incredibly lucky to survive seemed as though they were bordering on insanity. Their eyes were hollow with fear and horror. At the moment, they were all huddled closely together and trying their best to recover some divine energy.
Larikson was very astonished. He did not expect that those bizarre energies would kill so many of Hofs’ men. However, Larikson did not feel the least bit of sadness because none of his highgods had been killed.
“Kinu, go with your men and search around. See if those from the House of Han are still inside,” Larikson kept silent for a moment before he commanded in a cold voice while winking at Kinu.
Kinu had served Larikson for a long time and could decipher Larikson’s actual instruction. He nodded knowingly and immediately began executing the command. They started flying towards the tall and large buildings and began a thorough search.
With the strength that Larikon possessed, after the demonic formations stopped functioning, he could instantly sense that there was no one in the Han Residence except themselves. His real goal wasn’t to look for any remaining members of the Han Family but for any remaining treasures.
Hofs, still drowning in grief and pain, came to his senses upon hearing Larikson’s command to his underlings. He knew what Larikson was up to. Suppressing the anger in his heart, he shouted, “Search the Residence! Kill anyone you see and bring everything valuable back here!”
Those exhausted Hushveil City divine guards immediately got up to execute Hofs’ command with frowns. They flew all around the Han Residence at high speed like a swarm of bees around their nest.
Ten minutes later, Kinu and those Hushveil City divine guards returned with disheartened faces. It was obvious that they had come back empty-handed.
“My Lord, not a single person, energy crystal, nor black crystal coin was left. Those damn members of the Han Family took everything with them!” reported Kinu upon returning to Larikson.
Phoebe and the others had started moving their assets since receiving intel that Larikson and Hofs were going to attack them. It was obvious that they wouldn’t leave the two with a single valuable item. By now, the only valuable item left in the Han Residence was the demonic formation that had run out of energy. Unfortunately for Larikson and Hofs, they did not know how to utilize demonic formations. Even if they relocated everything in the Han Residence, they would never be able to use it as a defense.
One man’s treasure could be another man’s trash. To Han Shuo, Sanguis, and Bollands, who were well-versed in demonic arts, the materials in those demonic formations were very useful. But to Hofs and Larikson, those items were completely useless.
“They couldn’t have gone far. Hmph, I’m sure that Wallace must have deployed his forces as well. Those fuckers won’t be able to leave the City of Shadows that easily!” Larikson coldly groaned and continued, “They must be running for the Death Dominion. After them!”
With so many of his troops now dead, giving up was no longer an option for Hofs. Even if not for himself, he had to murder every last one of the House of Han as justification for the remainder of his divine guards. Besides, those of the House of Han could be escaping with a mountain of black crystal coins. Hofs would never let Larikson enjoy the wealth alone.
Although many of his troops had perished, Hofs was still confident that he could defeat the House of Han. There were still many highgods on his team while there wasn’t a single highgod expert in the House of Han. Hofs was certain that if he could force the House of Han to fight square on, he could claim victory with just those few highgod in his team.
“Pursue them!” Hofs commanded his troops. The attackers who had suffered great losses in Fort Lasberg went on another march, rushing in the direction of the Death Dominion.
*** Inside a bottomless valley a great distance from Fort Lasberg, Ralph was wearing a dark face as he waited for the latest scouting information.
A shadow shot across the sky before it stopped in front of Ralph. He knelt on one knee and respectfully reported, “My Lord, I have received intel. Those of the House of Han are indeed heading for us!”
Ralph was elated. He put on a cold grin and said, “Excellent. Our waiting here has not been in vain.” After taking a short pause, Larikson asked, “Right, what’s the situation like over in Fort Lasberg? With Larikson and Hofs attacking the Fort, even if the Han Family has managed to escape, they should have suffered great casualties, right?”
The man shook his head and replied, “We do not know the exact situation in Fort Lasberg. Before Larikson and Hofs came, all the civilians were forced to leave the Fort. We have tried inserting some scouts but they could not enter the Fort. They only heard the tremendous rumbles from those energy crystal cannons.”
“Hehe, that is wonderful. The House of Han seems to have gone all out to resist!” Ralph put on an evil grin and continued, “But against a thousand Hushveil City divine guards and a large number of highgods, even if the House of Han wasn’t exterminated, I reckon there would only be a few who have managed to escape!”
“Your Lordship is indeed the wisest. I believe that those riches the House of Han has gathered all these years must be on those escaping few!” flattered the divine guard.
“It is the City Lord who is wise!” Ralph praised Wallace respectfully before he instructed in a cold, evil voice, “Get ready, block in the path of their airship, intercept them, exterminate the remainder of them! Hehe, we are going to shift all the blame onto Hofs and Larikson. By then, even if Bryan returns, he will only go after the two while we will stay clean!”
Larikson understood that his troops were still shocked by Han Shuo from the last competition between the Seven Divine Guard Corps. Even though Han Shuo had disappeared for a few years, they were still afraid of Han Shuo. Ralph had said so to puff up his divine guards’ confidence so that they wouldn’t be constantly worrying about the consequences when butchering the members of the House of Han.
And it seemed that Ralph’s method was very effective. His divine guards seemed energized and motivated after hearing that they wouldn’t have to suffer any consequences or worry about Han Shuo seeking them for revenge.
*** While Ralph and his divine guards were getting into position for an ambush, Phoebe and the others on the airship were on high alert, constantly monitoring their environment as they travelled. While leaving the City of Shadows, they tried their best to avoid the civilians and other beings. They were worried about running into bandits.
“There are people gathered in the valley ahead!” exclaimed Sanguis suddenly before he explained, “I can sense the flow of their blood. They are all very excited. It seems that they are targeting us!”
“Go around them,” commanded Emily decisively. She said, “We need to leave the city as soon as possible. We don’t have time to engage them.”
“But they wouldn’t let us,” Sanguis frowned. “They are approaching us already. It must be us that they are after. I wonder which side they are affiliated with.”
“Although the airship saves us energy, it has limited speed. Running from them is not an option,” said Stratholmerather gravely. “Get ready for battle!”
“Disembark from the airship, and get into battle position!” commanded Phoebe and Emily simultaneously.
A swarm of figures flew down from the titanic airship. The seven hundred or so troops arranged themselves methodically. Divine weapons were drawn as they waited for the arrival of their enemy.
All seven hundred of the divine guards had been very carefully filtered before admission. Having been tempered in the hellish Eight Desolation and Torment Formation and trained by Bollands in the mountain ranges nearby Fort Lasberg, these divine guards were not just deadly but also mentally tenacious. They did not feel the slightest fear as they waited for the unknown enemy.
Phoebe, Emily, Bollands, Sanguis, GIlbert, and Stratholme were at the front for the troops. They felt a sense of pride when they turned around and saw how dauntless these elite guards of the House of Han were. They also held great confidence in the capabilities of their troops.
A few minutes later, the Second Corps divine guards led by Ralph gradually revealed themselves from the front of the Han Family.
Ralph had brought the majority of his Second Corps divine guards. Six or seven hundred of them marched into appearance in a tight, dense, formation. Ralph wore a cold face and glared at Phoebe and the others with hostile eyes. He asked in a strange manner, “Ladies, gentlemen, where are you all going? What are you up to, bringing such a grand party?”
“You!” shouted Phoebe accusingly. She did not anticipate that it would be Ralph blocking them from leaving. It appeared that Wallace had not just tacitly approved of Larikson and Hofs’ attacking Fort Lasberg, but he had also sent Ralph to make sure that they succeeded.
“This is the territory of the City of Shadows, and your House of Han are citizens of our City. I wonder what you all could be up to, bringing every member of the House of Han towards the Death Dominion.” Ralph seemed to have thought of some excuses ahead of time. He sneered, “Hmm, could it be that your people are going to betray the City of Shadows? It must be so. But fortunately, I happened to run into you. Otherwise, I wonder how greatly you would have harmed the City of Shadows!”
“Happened to run into us? Hahaha, what a joke!” Stratholme said mockingly, “So it’s mere coincidence that you have come to this remote, desolate mountain area thousands of miles away with most of your Second Corps divine guards at the right time and place to block our way. You call that a coincidence? Haha, yeah right.”
Ralph knew the excuse was lousy but he did not care. He coldly groaned and continued with his speech, “However, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and won’t make things difficult for you. Turn around now and return to Fort Lasberg. I will immediately inform Lord Wallace of the incident. His Lordship will investigate the matter thoroughly and hand you a fair judgment.”
Ralph took a short pause before he continued in a cold, threatening voice, “But if you insist on leaving the City of Shadows, hehe, don’t blame me for doing my job!”
“Wallace? Is there even any integrity left in him?” Phoebe was usually an outspoken person and she did not have the patience to continue the charade with Ralph, “Don’t fucking act righteous and noble in front of me. I know that Wallace has sent you here to kill us. But let me tell you, we are not returning to the Fort to die.“
“How dare you speak so rudely of the City Lord! It only shows how determined you are to betray the City of Shadows!” Ralph gestured and commanded his troops, “Leave none of these traitors alive! Kill them all!”
Phoebe and the others knew Ralph’s purpose the moment that he appeared. He had no intention of letting those of the House of Han live right from the start.
“You think you can defeat us, Ralph?” Sanguis could no longer hold back his anger. His eyes glowed red as he said, “My Master may not be here, but I can defeat you just as simply!”
Upon finishing those words, Sanguis charged at Ralph. A mist of blood spread out from Sanguis’ body while the broadsword made of Bloodcrystal glowed in his hand. His momentum soared as he flew towards Ralph like a blood-red meteor.
Ralph, who had come here with confidence, suddenly froze. He had long scouted out the strength of the House of Han. The only true experts were Han Shuo and Rose and both of them had disappeared a few years before. Without them, there wasn’t a single highgod in the House of Han. It was for this reason that Ralph was so confident that he could intercept the House of Han with his troops.
However, when Sanguis started flying towards Ralph, he was shocked. He suddenly detected that the intense blood aura on Sanguis contained an extreme amount of energy. Ralph felt a sense of threat from this sinister, bloodthirsty aura. It was obvious to him that this energy was greater than that of a midgod!
Although Sanguis, Bollands, and Gilbert could only defeat midgods a few years ago, the three had made breakthroughs since then and they now possessed the strength to fight the highgods in this universe.
Sanguis, Bollands, and Gilbert had to abandon Fort Lasberg because both Larikson and Hofs possessed late-stage highgod strengths and Larikson had a few highgods with him. This force was much greater than the three. There was no way that they could defeat so many highgods with their current strengths.
Ralph, however, was just a mid-stage highgod. Sanguis could put up a fight against an expert on that level.
“Locke, Walter, I will handle this kid. You guys will handle the rest!” shouted Ralph before he charged at Sanguis who was emanating a formidable aura.
Lest Ralph fail in the covert mission, Wallace had temporarily placed two early-stage highgods under Ralph’s command. The two were Wallace’s trusted aides that he kept secret from the public for missions like this. He wanted to make it absolutely certain that the House of Han was exterminated and nobody would suspect him.
Following Ralph’s command, two experts emerged from those Second Corps divine guards. One cultivated the energy of darkness while the other cultivated the energy of earth. They were both early-stage highgods.
Bollands and Gilbert exchanged glances and shot forward simultaneously to intercept the two trusted aides of Wallace. Although Bollands and Gilbert were not improving as rapidly as Sanguis was, they still made breakthroughs at a much faster rate than Phoebe and the others. Against two experts who had just entered early-stage highgod realms, Bollands and Gilbert were able to put up a fight, albeit with difficulty.
“Defenders of the House of Han, march forth! Show them who are the strongest guards!” commanded Phoebe.
The number of divine guards Ralph brought was around the same number as that possessed by the House of Han. But this didn’t mean that they were evenly matched. The House of Han had demonstrated in the last competition between the Seven Divine Guard Corps that they were the strongest in team combat strength.
Those divine guards had been trained for just one year when they defeated the elite troops of the Second Corps. The House of Han divine guards now had been trained for many more years in the Eight Desolation and Torment Formation. The Second Corps had no chance then, and even less now.
