Under the effects of the Godfall poison, Luca was incapacitated and unable to utilize the energy in his body. Several highgods of death swarmed at him and jointly sucked his divine energy dry. He could only watch helplessly as the godhunters kill him slowly.
After Luca was killed, the remaining few of his minions soon suffered the same fate. Just as Polo commanded, not a single one of them was spared.
The Godfall poison had played a significant role in Polo’s swift and effortless victory in this battle. Luca and his forces did not realize that they were being poisoned before it was too late. Without any capacity to resist, they became living divine essences for the godhunters.
After the massacre was over, it was time to clean up the crime scene. Polo’s godhunters would take out bottles of azure-blue powders and apply them to the wounds of the bodies. In just moments, those bodies would completely liquefy, leaving no evidence behind other than a puddle of bloody liquid.
Polo put on a gratified smile and explained to the House of Han trio, “Hehe, thanks to these extraordinary medicines provided by Celestial Pearl, we have a much easier time doing our jobs.”
Bollands swept his gaze across those liquefied bodies and nodded his head indifferently. He said, “We would like to meet Han Hao.”
“Chief is not in this area and His Lordship is in the middle of something. But if you will be staying in the Omphalos, you will have the opportunity to meet him in the near future,” replied Polo in a friendly manner as though he had transformed into another person.
“Alright then. Thank you for your help,” replied Bollands.
“Haha, you’re too polite. we’re all friends here, so don’t need to be so cordial.” Polo was aware of Han Hao’s relation with the House of Han and he had considered himself a fringe member of the House. There was no way that Polo would be smug before Bollands.
“Be it as it may, we appreciate your assistance. Alright, we will continue heading towards Omphalos but we will be more careful. We probably won’t run into any more troubles,” said Bollands after thinking for a moment. He then turned to Gilbert and Sanguis and said, “Let’s get moving!”
Sanguis and Gilbert nodded. With the thirty-something House of Han guards that remained, they separated with Polo.
After making some distance from Polo, Bollands turned to his companions and remarked, “Polo and the others are godhunters. We House of Han must not be seen going too close with them or it will affect our business in every dominion.
“Yes, Shifu must have thought of this issue and therefore declined to clarify his relationship with Han Hao to the public all along,” said Sanguis nodding.
While Sanguis, Bollands, and Gilbert continued their journey to the Omphalos, Han Shuo was still traveling with the main company. He had a gut feeling that something was wrong when the trio had not returned for days and was starting to worry about them.
Han Shuo could detect the general location of the trio when they were within a certain distance but Sanguis, Gilbert, and Bollands were now far from the coverage of Han Shuo’s senses.
Bollands, Sanguis, and Gilbert may possess decent strengths but they were in the Fringe where the strongest and most abominable criminals from the Twelve Dominion gathered. The strengths they possessed would only reduce the risk of them getting killed but not eliminate it.
Two more days passed but the trio still had not returned to the company. Han Shuo started to get somewhat anxious.
When he was considering looking for them, he suddenly received a signal. With one thought, a demon general streaked across vast terrains in the northwest direction and stopped before a godhunter camouflaged with the ground. The demon general then materialized, taking Han Shuo’s appearance, and asked, “What’s the matter?”
The godhunter who was a trusted aide of Han Hao did not reply but took out a scroll and respectfully handed it to ‘Han Shuo’. After reading the message, Han Shuo understood what Sanguis, Bollands, and Gilbert had encountered and he destroyed the scroll. The demon general then returned to its invisible state and vanished.
Han Shuo who was traveling in the middle of his company bunched his brows and mumbled to himself, “Hmm, I wonder if Luca had acted on his own or by Logue’s command… “
*** The Fringe, Osteoburg. The ground was covered with white bones and wraiths could be seen wandering aimlessly. The intense element of death filled the atmosphere in the form of thin fog. Other than amplifying their strengths, experts of the death energy could progress faster while cultivating in this place.
At the center of Osteoburg was a castle made purely out of bones. Logue, one of the Five Sovereigns, lived in the eerie white castle.
At this moment, Logue was sitting on an enormous bone throne and wearing a cold, dark face as he listened to a report of one of his followers.
“Luca has vanished without a trace. We could not find even single evidence of him in his activity area,” reported a burly expert of death energy on one knee.
“Luca is probably dead.” Logue coldly groaned, straightened his back in his seat, and continued, “Those few kiddos are definitely no match against Luca. It must be someone else who killed him. Bryan is getting more and more out of line. It seems that I must take action sooner!”
“My Lord, from the first day that this person entered the Fringe, he had done nothing but mess up the system and many of the established rules! The Pandemonians are becoming more and more domineering and many of the newcomers are enlisting themselves with the Pandemonians. They get stronger with each day passed. My Lord, we must not allow this problem to fester! The longer we wait, the harder it will be to destroy them!” advised the burly man gravely.
Logue let out yet another cold groan. He gestured and instructed, “I’m very much aware of it. You are dismissed.”
After the burly man left, Logue immediately changed his expression, putting on a cordial smile. He raised his head and said to the sky, “I’ve been expecting you.”
A dark light suddenly cast downward. The strongest Sovereign of the Fringe, Tyre, stood before Logue and he immediately said in a grave expression, “Don’t be hasty about Bryan, we have a bigger problem – I have received reliable intel that the Hegemons are marching for the Fringe. This is nothing like we have faced before. Currently, seven of the Hegemons have mobilized.”
“What?!” Logue’s face jolted and he cried, “The godhunter Hegemons have always been divided and uncooperative, or the Fringe would have fallen to them long ago. How? What could have possibly united them?”
“I heard that Bryan has wiped out the godhunter bases in the Darkness and Death Dominions. The two Sovereigns consider him a threat to the existence of the Godhunter Alliance and want to destroy Bryan at all costs. As his base happens to be at the Fringe, they thought that they might as well conquer the Fringe while they are at it,” said Tyre in a grimace.
“It’s him again!” Logue got furious. He suddenly slammed the armrest of his throne, stood up, and complained, “Ever since this guy steps into the Fringe, he just keeps on making us troubles and troubles. And now, he even made the Hegemons unite! This guy is a scourge that needs to be eliminated!”
“Don’t worry about that just yet, we need to deal with the Godhunter Alliance first.” Without concealing his murderous intention, Tyre said, “I know you want him dead – so do I. But now is not the time to do so. Even if we attack Bryan and succeed, the Godhunter Alliance will still carry on with the invasion. And by then, we will be too exhausted to defend ourselves.”
Malicious, sinister lights glinting from Logue’s little eyes. He nodded and smilingly said, “I have an idea – we can push him forward and let him take the brunt of the Godhunter Alliance’s attack. Hehe, with that, he will be forced to go all out against the Godhunter Alliance. If he ended up getting killed – that’d be the best. If he won – we could then get rid of him without too much effort. In short, we must not let him live!”
“That’s a great idea!” Tyre chucked sinisterly.“But can Bryan and his forces handle the Godhunter Alliance?”
“Isn’t there Wasir and Ossora?” Logue put on a scheming smile and said, “The two of us just need to plan ahead and push the three of them to the frontline. As long as they fight the Godhunter Alliance before us, we will be in great positions. Hehe, if all three of them end up dead, the Fringe will be ours!”
Tyre kept silent for a moment before he suddenly laughed heartily and said, “It seems that I have made the right decision in coming to meet you!”
“Let’s discuss and make a thorough plan. With the power and influence we have in the Fringe, we can easily make those three fight the frontline. And when this is done, Tyre, we will split the Fringe into two – you’ll have one side and I will take the other!”
“Sounds good, let’s discuss… “ Tyre and Logue began scheming.
One day later, Tyre left the Osteoburg with a big smile on his face. He went to a secluded spot, deployed layers of barriers around him, and took out his magical mirror.
The image in the magical mirror twisted and warped, gradually revealing a face that Han Shuo knew. It was one of the Hegemons of the Godhunter Alliance – Dhaka!
“Elder Brother, so here’s the deal… “ Tyre had a relaxed look as he told Dhaka every detail about his negotiation with Logue.
Dhaka nodded as he listened to Tyre. After a while, he smilingly replied, “After this battle, I will be in charge of the Godhunter Alliance and you will be the ruler of the Fringe. And by then, we brothers will join forces, open the path to Aethernia, and steal the Quintessences!”
“Hahaha, sorry Logue, but the Fringe won’t be split into two. It will be united – under my rule!” Tyre laughed out loud.
