"Hurry, kill that madman!" The fallen swordsman screamed out.
"Shut up!" The swordsman, who had been walking towards Han Shuo, suddenly turned his head and stared coldly at the man behind him, saying with a stilted voice, "I'll kill you too if you keep yelling nonsense."
The person on the ground suddenly froze and used a completely foreign look to look at his companion. He asked in confusion, "Fronze, what's wrong with you?"
Fronze, who'd pulled his sword out and was walking towards Han Shuo, had a look of excitement and greed on his face. His gaze was only focused on Han Shuo as he opened his mouth to say with excitement, "I'm going to be rich. You better not get in my way, or I'll let you die along with him."
The person on the ground finally understood what was going on now. Fronze had now been drowned by his greedy heart and had no thoughts for his companions in his mind now. What was left was just his desire to strike it rich.
His brain prickling with pain, Han Shuo was slowly awakening from his demonic state, after experiencing a short period of haziness, Han Shuo remembered everything that had happened just now and immediately understood the urgency of the situation.
"The trophies that were harvested from the Medusa and the Fruit of Dagmar will all belong to me very soon. Go to hell you evil, crazy madman!" Fronze's gaze locked tightly onto the space ring on Han Shuo's hand as he said with a dark look of excitement.
Fronze raised the longsword in his hand as soon as he'd said this and stabbed it towards the completely listless Han Shuo. It looked like Fronze planned on taking Han Shuo's life first, before taking the space ring to analyze the contents inside.
Han Shuo swiftly chanted an incantation, and a bone dagger abruptly blocked the sword in Fronze's hand when it stabbed towards Han Shuo's chest.
"Actually, I'm a necromancer!" Han Shuo looked bizarrely and muttered coldly at the shocked Fronze.
The bone dagger pushed forward as Fronze backed up involuntarily, startled. A little skeleton, wearing an enormous eye patch over one eye, swiftly approached Fronze with its bone dagger. The heroic little skeleton killed the previously injured combatant amidst a wave of metallic clangs.
The other heavily injured swordsman, who had been calling out for Han Shuo's death earlier, naturally met the same fate. The little skeleton also killed him when the order was given.
Starting from the moment that this group of people had appeared, they'd used base and despicable actions to deal with Han Shuo. They hadn't shown any kindness through it all. Han Shuo wasn't a naive innocent child and naturally understood that an eye for an eye was the most appropriate downfall for them.
The appearance of the little skeleton saved Han Shuo from impending death, and completely upended the original situation. The bone dagger wielding little skeleton adeptly maneuvered the three bodies and collected all the valuables from their corpses, helping Han Shuo store them within his space ring.
Of the three, only the thunder adept mage had some valuable belongings, which included an expensive magic staff. There was also a few hundred gold coins as well as two or three level three and four magical creature cores. Apart from a subpar quality sword and some broken bits of gold coins, the two swordsmen had nothing else on them.
Sprawled listlessly on the ground, Han Shuo's reasoning had immediately sunk into the midst of violent bloodlust when he entered the demonic trance. It was impossible for him to wake up before the magical yuan in his body and energy had been exhausted. This time, not only had Han Shuo fully expended his magical yuan after entering the trance, but his body had also suffered from various sorts of injuries. This was one of the times he'd been most heavily injured. He was even worse off than Odysseus, who'd suffered a blow from the manticore.
It was a good thing that Han Shuo's tenacity was something that Odysseus couldn't hope to measure up to. Therefore, although Han Shuo was as hideous as a ghoul right now, and his body was so weak that it couldn't support him standing, Han Shuo still understood the condition of his body within his heart and knew that even without the aid of any medicine, he would be able to recover within a short period of time.
Han Shuo hadn't revealed his identity as a necromancer all along because concealing some of his strengths would be able to save his life in critical moments. If it wasn't for the fact that he'd still had some mental strength he could use when facing his attackers this time, he'd be hard pressed to escape death. If these people had known that Han Shuo was also a necromancer beforehand, then the conclusion of the battle would likely not have reached this current level.
He chanted out another incantation as several zombies and skeletal warriors suddenly appeared around him. They raised their weapons and surrounded Han Shuo, planning on handling any possible changes that might happen.
After waking up, Han Shuo immediately connected with the original demons and confirmed through them that Trunks, Aphrodite, and the others had already regrouped and were searching for him in this area.
Now that Han Shuo was incredibly weak, he couldn't move and couldn't speak loudly, but had large amounts of dark creatures that he could make use of. After giving his order, the little skeleton created a large disturbance and sent shrubbery and grass flying everywhere.
"There's movement over there, let's go check it out!" Trunks' ears were quite sensitive and immediately detected the disturbance. After pointing out its direction to the others, he brought the group to rush towards where Han Shuo was.
Having just summoned those dark creatures, Han Shuo immediately sent them back to the other dimension with his mental strength again. Trunks and the others arrived in front of Han Shuo after a short while, with Trunks leading the group.
"What happened to you?" Trunks exclaimed and immediately ran towards Han Shuo.
Han Shuo looked incredibly bedraggled as he was scorched and charred all over. Many parts of his body had been burnt by huge flames, and his entire face was a blackened mess. It was impressive that Trunks could still recognize Han Shuo.
"I'm fine, just didn't think I'd meet this group of people halfway through." Han Shuo's voice was a bit feeble as he said softly after laughing ruefully.
"It's my oversight this time. I was surprised by your unconventional tactics and let down my guard for a moment. That's why this situation developed, but it's not a big deal, things like this happen everyday in the Dark Forest. I've long since grown used to it all." Trunks breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that Han Shuo was still alive and shrugged his shoulders.
Gordon and the others all asked after Han Shuo, with Aphrodite saying afterwards, "Looks like things are as Caspian said, Trunks is a good man. At least Trunks only wanted the spoils of battle from the twin headed dragon last time and didn't attack us from the start. He also didn't say he wanted to kill us or have ideas to dirty us. I finally understand Caspian's words after comparing Trunks to these people, I thought he was joking at first."
Everyone recalled their encounter with Trunks after Aphrodite's words and then thought of what these people had done. They suddenly felt that Trunks was rather kind.
"I'm actually not as you think and I've been constantly changing. When I first arrived in the Dark Forest, I was once as simple as all of you and once trusted the companions by my side, but after continuous operations, I came to the realization that apart from myself, I can trust no one within the Dark Forest. The dangers that exists everywhere mean you must harden your heart to face everything around you. Otherwise, whenever you possess emotions of kindness or weakness, it may very well lead to your death." Trunks shrugged and explained dashingly.
"What happened to you just now?" Nia asked Han Shuo with some trepidation after hesitating for a moment.
Everyone's gazes flicked to focus on Han Shuo after Nia's question, seemingly waiting for a reasonable explanation from Han Shuo. After all, his methods just now had been a tad ruthless. His expression had been greatly different from usual, giving rise to these questions from those assembled.
"The martial arts technique I'm training causes me to sometimes sink into a frightening stupor when I suffer from a strong shock because it's not yet fully complete. I'm very sorry that I've caused concern for all of you because I was so enraged earlier. I don't wish to be like this either, but this isn't something that I can currently control." Han Shuo was unable to explain anything to them with regards to sinking into a demonic stupor and could only explain it in this fashion.
"So that's the case. You were very scary just now. If you can't control this type of martial arts technique, then you should give it up while you still can. If you continue on this way, then that might give rise to unpredictable consequences." Aphrodite looked sincerely at Han Shuo and spoke a few words of concern.
Han Shuo naturally paid no heed to her persuasion. If sinking into a demonic trance was something that could be controlled, then it wouldn't be called a trance. A demonic trance like that wouldn't happen so easily. It would only occur when a practitioner reached a certain realm, and would be triggered because of a particular mental state as well as other reasons. To Han Shuo, he could only remain vigilant against this occurrence, but wouldn't give up training demonic magic just because of this.
"Alright, we should get Han away from here first and discuss other matters after reconvening with Odysseus." Trunks first stared a bit strangely at Han Shuo and then spoke to Aphrodite.
Trunks' suggestion was met with unanimous approval. Gordon and the other two swordsmen made a simple stretcher, raised Han Shuo up, and walked towards where Odysseus was.
Along the way, Han Shuo learned from Trunks that this group of people seemed to be the personal guards of the McGrady Guild. Trunks had kept chasing them and killed many until he saw that they'd joined up with more guards. He detected that the other side's strength wasn't something that he could withstand alone, and doubled back because he was concerned about Han Shuo's condition.
Han Shuo had once heard of the McGrady Guild as well. It was a merchant guild that had a similar level of power to the Boozt Merchant Guild. Phoebe had fretted a bit over this guild previously. It was said that this guild specialized in the business of smuggling and sold all sorts of contraband between various countries. It had tight relations with the nobles of all countries.
The McGrady Guild didn't belong to the Lancelot Empire, but rather belonged to the Brut Merchant Alliance that had been founded by mercenaries and merchants. The reputation of the Brut Merchant Alliance wasn't much and they had only recently started operations within the Lancelot Empire. They'd caused a slight bit of loss to Phoebe's Boozt Merchant Guild.
The injuries on Han Shuo's body were so severe that they could be deemed too ghastly to look at. If such heavy injuries were on any other person and they were subjected to the hardships of making fast time on the road, they would've surely cried out, but after half an hour of being jolted on the bumpy road, Han Shuo lay on the stretcher with simply dressed wounds and never made a sound. This made everyone greatly admire Han Shuo's astounding ability to endure pain.
Not only was this the case, Han Shuo actually had the strength to continuously talk to Trunks and ask him for more information regarding the McGrady Guild. It was as if the grave injuries on his body, which caused the others' scalp to tingle with numbness whenever they looked at him, weren't something that he was enduring at all.
When everyone jointly dug out a cave and moved aside the boulders blocking the entrance, Gordon walked out with a wide, lopsided grin. Gordon finally couldn't hold it in and looked at Han Shuo with a look of insatiable curiosity and asked the question that was on everyone's minds, "Han, what kind of monster are you?"
Laughing involuntarily, Han Shuo's tolerance of pain and agony had already reached monstrous levels. He truly didn't know how to respond to Gordon's question. He could only laugh ruefully and shake his head, saying, "I'm just a bit more thick-skulled than you guys."
When Odysseus came out and Nia recounted all that had happened, the greatly recovered Odysseus listened with a pounding heart and was incredibly astonished by everyone's encounters.
"Nia, I think I should go back now. My grandpa must be getting worried." Angelica realized that no one was paying attention to her here, tilted her head, and thought for a moment, then spoke up in her boredom.
Nia smacked her forehead in sudden realization when she heard Angelica's words, "I almost forgot about you. Let's go, I'll take you to your grandpa's. It's too dangerous in the Dark Forest, so don't randomly run around next time."
Nodding, Angelica smiled sweetly and bid everyone farewell. When she got to Han Shuo, she waved her hand and said, "Goodbye bad guy!"
"Nia, will you be alright just by yourself? Gordon, you accompany her." Odysseus frowned and said to Nia.
Shaking her head, Nia smiled, "No need, captain. Her grandpa is just nearby. I'll yell if there's a situation."
She left swiftly with Angelica after speaking and vanished out of sight within a blink of an eye.
"I think my promise to you has been fulfilled, and that it's time for me to leave." Trunks looked at Han Shuo and opened his mouth to speak to him.
After spending a certain amount of time together, Han Shou had discovered that Trunks wasn't as bad as outside rumors made him out to be. At least, his actions during this struggle didn't make Han Shuo feel uncomfortable. Han Shuo had even unconsciously started viewing Trunks as one of his companions, and was a bit unused to the situation now that he heard that Trunks was going to leave immediately.
"Be a good Samaritan to the end. Look at how heavily injured I am now! You should stay and take care of me for a little bit at least. It won't be too late for you to leave once we're clear of this dangerous territory!" Han Shuo looked at Trunks as he joked.
"This wasn't what I promised you before. To be honest, our agreement should've terminated ever since you had the Fruit in hand. Helping you against enemies afterwards was already extra service. Don't be too greedy!"
"Look at me being injured now and Odysseus not being able to move. It'll be quite difficult for the rest of the group to walk safe and sound out of this dangerous area. I don't think you'd be so cruel hearted as to just leave us, right?"
Trunks was silent for a while after these words and finally opened his mouth to say, "How about this Han, promise me one thing and I'll protect you guys and help to get you to a relatively safer area."
"What thing?" Han Shuo was startled as he asked Trunks.
"I won't say what it is for now, but just remember that you promised me."
"Aren't you afraid that I'll renege on my word? Heh heh, I'm not a person of my word!"
"I believe you!" Trunks looks deeply into Han Shuo's eyes as he carefully pronounced each word.
Han Shuo suddenly quieted down and exchanged a look with Trunks. Although he was still grinning cheekily, he nodded and responded, "Alright, I promise you!"
Odysseus looked at the two with a look of gratification, suddenly feeling in this moment that these two people were similar in many ways. They both had mysterious origins and were both strong. Their personalities were similar in that they were calm and composed when the unexpected happened, and they showed no hesitation when they should make a move.
Just as Odysseus was staring at Han Shuo, Han Shuo too was looking at Odysseus. He thought for a moment and said to Odysseus, "You ventured into the Dark Forest this time for the Fruit of Dagmar. I know that you had no high hopes originally and didn't seem to value the Fruit as much as I did. As friends, I'd like to ask you Odysseus, do you really need the Fruit of Dagmar?"
"Not really. Our main goal in entering the Dark Forest was to increase our strength. Of course, if we were lucky, we would also gain some items of value. I think by now, we've completely attained our wishes. The Fruit of Dagmar was just a vague goal, we didn't think that we'd really be able to acquire it. Normal people go mad if they eat this fruit so we have no use for it. We've only lightly promised someone that we would come and try our luck." Odysseus also explained seriously when he saw Han Shuo's face full of gravity. He then looked at Han Shuo with befuddlement, "Han, what are you asking this for?"
Breathing out in relief, Han Shuo smiled and nodded his head, saying, "Because I want to claim the Fruit of Dagmar for myself. The martial arts technique I'm training in confuses the mind like I mentioned. I can improve this condition with the Fruit of Dagmar, so if you don't really need them, I'd like to keep all three for myself, but I can compensate you with gold coins!"
"Then take it all for yourself, heh heh. We've already received too much. You've given us the twin headed dragon and Medusa core. These will be enough to trade for gold coins. If you need the Fruit of Dagmar, then take all of them. There will be less meaning in all of this if you talk any more about reimbursement." Odysseus smiled dashingly and said sincerely to Han Shuo.
Aphrodite, Gordon, and the others all indicated for Han Shuo not to stand on ceremony and said that they didn't really need the Fruit of Dagmar.
"Then alright, I won't hold back then." Han Shuo really did need the Fruit of Dagmar in the demonic realm of "molded spirit" and thus he didn't make any more hypocritical protestations. He accepted decisively and happily.
In the next couple of days, the group traveled back on their original path, with Han Shuo's original demons scouting the way and under Trunks' protection. They planned on leaving the depths of the Dark Forest as soon as possible.
Han Shuo had originally been so weak, that he had to rely on others carrying him around. He could actually get down from the litter after a few days. A pair of slender arms and pristine as jade cheeks were revealed after the old skin had scabbed over and shed from his originally severely burned arms and cheeks. There wasn't the slightest traces of burns to be found.
The burned parts of his body and charred bits of his hair also returned to normal after a few days. The miraculousness of this made Odysseus and the others once again wonder, "What kind of monster are you?"
His magical yuan also recovering swiftly, Han Shuo carefully put away the Fruit of Dagmar during this process. He planned on consuming them when he was quietly alone after returning to the cemetery of death. The injuries within his body also recovered speedily with the circulation of the magical yuan. Han Shuo's injuries quickly healed with the passage of each day.
On this day, Han Shuo's original demons detected the passage of a large group of people in the distance traveling with earth dragons. He discovered the adept mage Leon within this group and suddenly discovered that these people were part of the McGrady Guild.
Counting the days and the distance they'd traveled, Han Shuo discovered that they were nearing the area where the forest trolls resided. He suddenly remembered those renowned robbers and villains were still waiting for instructions from their great Datara. Connecting the dots to those McGrady Guild guards and the despicable acts they'd committed against him, a slightly chilly and cruel smile grew involuntarily on Han Shuo's lips.