Having finally increased the distance between himself and Bob Ascher, and seeing that he was about to leave the danger zone, Gilbert complained when he heard Han Shuo's instructions to turn back. "Honoured Master, even the mighty Gilbert cannot take on an entire Gryphon Legion! We'll surely be discovered if we return to the city like this!"
"Shut up and fly back to the hotel. We need to pick up whoever we need to pick up." Han Shuo snorted slightly as he spoke to Gilbert.
In his dark dragon form, there wasn't much room on his back for people to stand on. Han Shuo wouldn't be able to carry them all at once, so he began to think about what he should do.
As his mind raced, Han Shuo's sharp eyes saw the Gryphon Legion soldiers patrolling the skies as Gilbert returned from the outskirts of Valen City.
Gilbert was such a big target that it was impossible to sneak back into the hotel. Han Shuo thought silently for a moment before suddenly saying, "Gilbert, land immediately as the Gryphon Legion has not spotted us yet. We'll return to the hotel on foot."
Under Han Shuo's orders, Gilbert didn't say anything stupid and travelled stealthily at a low altitude, with everyone disembarking one after the other. Once everyone had dismounted, Gilbert's huge body gradually shrank, shrouded in a dark aura before transforming back into the tanned, handsome young man.
"When we were in Asher's mansion, we wore masks. Now that we've returned in our true form, it's likely that they won't be able to recognise us." Han Shuo looked over at Emily as he spoke to her.
"Right, but if a group of strangers suddenly appear at the same time and are somehow discovered by the people of the Gryphon Legion, we will definitely arouse suspicion. I think we should split up, that way the others won't think we acted together!" Emily looked at her group as she spoke.
"Alright, let's do it then. Everyone should be familiar with the way back. We'll split into two groups, and if there's any danger inside the hotel, we'll meet at the block behind it." Han Shuo nodded in agreement with Emily's plan.
As soon as Han Shuo had spoken, Phoebe immediately moved matter-of-factly to Han Shuo's side. As a magical pet, Gilbert naturally couldn't be separated from his master. With the situation developing like this, Emily quickly looked at everyone and spoke again. "Since things are like this, I'll be with Miss Candice and Elder Caspian."
"Elder Caspian has already entered the city, so we need you to use magic to adjust his characteristics. Otherwise, it will be extremely easy to recognise him." Han Shuo warned. Then he turned to Phoebe and Gilbert and said, "Let's go."
Valen City was currently even more chaotic than it had been on the day of Clark's assassination. The head of the Gryphon Legion had used the Kasi Empire's invasion and assassinations as an excuse to seal off the entire city. The men of the Gryphon Legion were whistling through the skies, interrogating every stranger as soon as they appeared.
Under Han Shuo's sensitive eyes and ears, his party of three concentrated on taking small, winding paths. They ducked under the shadows of the eaves, avoiding many of the Griffon Legion's troops along the way.
Regardless of whether it was Gilbert or Pheobe, they were both extraordinary characters. Since Han Shuo's brain had developed, his powerful ability to remember things was fully utilised during this return journey. There were all kinds of complicated small passageways in Valen City, and it seemed like there was a map imprinted in Han Shuo's heart. As Han Shuo made his way back, he moved erratically in all directions.
In the end, even Phoebe felt that they were getting further and further away from the hotel. If she didn't know how mysterious Han Shuo was, she would definitely have wondered if Han Shuo knew where he was going or not. After going through many small streets and taking a few twists and turns, the back door of the hotel suddenly appeared in front of her eyes.
Han Shuo had actually managed to completely avoid the Griffon Legion in the air and the soldiers on the ground. By using a few smaller, more complicated paths, the three of them were actually out of danger when they appeared at the hotel's doors.
"This is too amazing!" Phoebe couldn't help but exclaim as she saw Elaine's hotel, lights dancing in her eyes as she complimented Han Shuo.
"Honoured Master, I'm super dizzy. How were you able to memorise such complicated streets?" Gilbert also looked at Han Shuo in disbelief.
Pointing at his head, Han Shuo chuckled. "I'm just that good!"
It was as if he hadn't said anything with that statement, but even if he had explained the part about his brain being developed, the two of them probably wouldn't have understood it anyway, so he didn't bother.
Han Shuo took a deep breath after speaking and focused his gaze on the hotel. His eyes sparkled with a dark gleam and his sensitive ears also turned towards the hotel.
Contrary to his expectations, there was nothing out of the ordinary in the hotel. Han Shuo heard that everything was normal inside. There were no panicked sounds of fighting, nor were there any sounds of interrogation from the Gryphon Legion soldiers.
"You and Gilbert go over there first, I'll find Lawrence and tell him to leave the city immediately!" Han Shuo spoke to Phoebe next to him.
Phoebe's stunning face turned to him as she reached for his hand. She gripped his broad, rough hands tightly and said softly, "Be careful!
"Don't worry! Nothing will happen to me!" " Han Shuo said with a smile and turned to Gilbert, "Protect her well if anything happens!"
Han Shuo was like a shadow in the dark night after he spoke. He melted into the darkness and disappeared without a trace.
On his way to Lawrence's place, Han Shuo heard a bizarre noise. He quickened his pace and landed on a branch. Han Shuo saw a disguised Lawrence, Lucky and the two swordsmen he'd seen earlier heading towards the hotel with Belinda and Johnny from the Calamity Church.
Coughing lightly, Han Shuo called softly from the tree, "Lawrence!
The group below was terrified by Han Shuo's cough. They all grabbed their weapons and swung around to look up into the tree, almost sending out attacks as they turned.
"Bryan, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you have left town by now? We saw you take the dark dragon out of the manor and leave Bob Ascher behind!" Lawrence spoke in confusion.
"We came back. Stop talking and gather at the hotel. We will leave immediately. You can't stay in Valen City for another second." Han Shuo had no time to explain anything and reacted carelessly, landing on the ground and gathering with Lawrence and the others.
As he approached, Han Shuo discovered that Johnny had not only taken a blow to his buttocks, but there was also a large pool of blood on his chest and it looked like he was quite badly injured. Although Belinda still had her veil on, her eyes weren't as sharp as before. She looked a little weak and had probably been wounded as well.
Lawrence and the others had only been involved in logistics and clean-up. They hadn't participated in the actual battle, so they were in relatively good spirits and no one had been injured. What Han Shuo didn't understand was why he was with Belinda. Han Shuo hadn't introduced them to each other, so they shouldn't know each other.
Hesitantly, Han Shuo couldn't hold back the questions in his heart. He looked at Lawrence and then at Belinda, "How do you two know each other?"
"Oh, we discovered that our two groups were going the same way when we were retreating earlier and ended up walking together!" Lawrence looked at Han Shuo noncommittally and explained weakly.
Belinda also nodded, "It is because of Mr Lawrence's help and the fact that so many of his men were following you that we were able to make it out."
"So that's the case!" Han Shuo still felt that things weren't that simple, but since Belinda and Lawrence had the same story, he couldn't get anything else out of them.
Just as Han Shuo and Lawrence were almost at the hotel, Han Shuo could hear a group of Gryphon Legion soldiers interrogating Elaine inside. He could hear her hearty laughter from a distance, seemingly not caring about anything.
However, his superior vision saw that while this group was talking to Elaine, another soldier seemed to have received some instructions and secretly left the hotel, walked quickly towards the road, waving his hand at the two Gryphon Legion soldiers hovering in the sky.
"Damn, we must have been made!" Although he didn't know why, Han Shuo knew that Elaine's hotel was no longer safe. Calling out softly, he didn't bother to cover his tracks any more as he headed for the hotel like a bolt of lightning.