Shaking her head, Candice rejected Lawrence's suggestion. She looked determined and admonished, "It's not just about the money!"
Candice clearly had the upper hand in this situation. With the help of Han Shuo and the writers, there was nothing Belinda and Johnny could do. It was obvious from Belinda and Johnny's equipment and weapons that the Calamity Church wasn't short of money. Belinda could easily settle this matter with a bit of money, so she was surprisingly stubborn this time.
"The Calamity Church is not someone you can threaten!" The scar on the injured Johnny's face became even more obvious with his anger. The longsword in his hand glowed with blinding electric light thanks to the power of thunder and lightning.
Just as Han Shuo was about to open his mouth, Johnny's body suddenly moved forward and charged at Han Shuo. He had a look of killing intent on his face and the long sword in his hand was like an electric dragon, exploding with the terrifying power of thunder and lightning, lighting up the somewhat dark cave.
"Be careful!" Phoebe and Emily were both shocked by Johnny's sudden movements and couldn't help but cry out in alarm.
A pile of white bones suddenly gathered in the air, forming a white bone shield that blocked the longsword that struck like an electric dragon. Two bone spears flew out viciously and crashed into Johnny's longsword, which was engulfed in lightning before it had a chance to hit the white bone shield.
A few small cracks rang out as the bone spears exploded. The longsword sparked angrily as it struck the bone shield under Johnny's thrust.
The white bone shield instantly shattered into many bone fragments as Johnny's thrust, despite being thwarted twice, still made a vicious impact on Han Shuo.
The Demonslayer Edge finally howled as it appeared. A metallic clang exploded through the air as a cold light flashed in Han Shuo's hands. Han Shuo grunted as he was pushed back a few paces. The lightning flashed once on Johnny's longsword before it abruptly died.
Johnny's impressive momentum finally slowed at this point, and as he tried to regroup for another attack, Caspian, Emily and Phoebe were already standing by Han Shuo's side, glaring at Johnny angrily.
"I don't think I'm your enemy, hmm?" Han Shuo steadied himself and circulated the magical yuan around his body, confirming that he hadn't suffered any harm, before casting a cold look at Johnny and asking weakly.
"You lied to us during the Bob Ascher operation and made us cannon fodder. Apart from distracting a few people for us, you didn't do anything else. Now that it's all over, don't think I don't know what plans you have in your heart. You're the one who deserves to die the most! Johnny grimaced as he glared at Han Shuo.
Since Bob Ascher was the head of the Gryphon Legion, Whether Han Shuo and Emily had concrete evidence or not, they had no right to condemn Bob Ascher to death, let alone participate in such an assassination attempt.
If Han Shuo and Emily had colluded with the Church of Calamity to kill Bob Ascher, there would've been severe consequences from the Dark Mantle. Not to mention that Han Shuo knew the exact strength of his intended victim and that it was impossible to kill Bob Ascher in Valen City. Only fervent religious followers would do something that involved such a high risk.
Nodding, Han Shuo smiled faintly. "Since things are out in the open, don't blame me for severing our relationship here. You've already made a move against me, don't blame me for doing the same."
Han Shuo turned to look at the ironically smiling Lawrence after speaking, "You still want to help them now?"
Spreading his hands, Lawrence took a few steps back. He smiled ruefully, "I was quite interested in the Calamity Church's golem and wanted to obtain the method to create one by peaceful means. Looks like that's not going to happen now."
Lawrence's words also confirmed Han Shuo's earlier speculation. For someone who only cared about his own affairs, he must have had something else on his mind to suddenly lend a helping hand to Belinda and Johnny. Lawrence's words were an obvious indication that he was on Han Shuo and Phoebe's side.
Nodding, Han Shuo smiled slightly at Lawrence. "Thank you very much!"
"Do you think you've got us?" Standing behind Johnny all the time, Belinda finally spoke up and took out the item she'd used to seal the golem. It looked like she was finally going to make a move.
"Hehehe, you won't get a chance to use this!" Han Shuo laughed for a long time and used the demon infant to manipulate the drop of blood essence hidden in Belinda. A mere thought was enough for the frosty air within the blood essence to enter Belinda's body. She felt her neck go numb and fell backwards in a dead faint.
"What, what have you done to her?" Belinda's sudden fainting shocked Johnny as he looked at Han Shuo in great panic.
"She'll live, but there's no need for you to live any longer. It's too dangerous to allow you to live." Han Shuo smiled coldly and suddenly opened his mouth to recite a necromancy spell. A hate warrior appeared out of nowhere along with three other zombie warriors who stood in front of Han Shuo.
Johnny knew that Belinda wouldn't be able to help him now that things had come to such a pass. He hesitated only slightly and immediately turned to run, trying to get out through the only entrance. Both Emily and Caspian suddenly began chanting, and several thick branches snaked nimbly around them, as did a cloud of black mist.
"You can't escape!" Emily chuckled and cast another spell. The cloud of black mist seemed to be some kind of restraint, as Johnny's body suddenly stiffened as it approached him. The flexible branches then wrapped around his body.
Johnny was a Thunder Swordsman indeed. He could barely move even when tied up like this. He struggled to raise the long sword in his hand and planned to chop off the branches that were holding him down. But the three zombie warriors and the hate warrior had already closed in on him.
A bolt of lightning flashed as the longsword sliced through the air, hitting the first two zombie warriors and sending electricity through their bodies. The slash of the longsword caused the two to come to an abrupt halt, never to move again.
As he struggled to draw the longsword and was about to make a move on one of the other zombie warriors, the hate warrior's club crashed down and connected with Johnny's sword-wielding right hand. The sharp sound of breaking bone rang out and the sword slid to the ground after a cry of pain from Johnny.
Han Shuo had been standing next to Phoebe and the others when he suddenly flashed up behind Johnny and used the 'Demonic Art of Assimilation' with his back to the others. He absorbed Johnny's screaming soul into the demon infant. When the demon infant had overcome Johnny's soul, it was as if Han Shuo had been greatly strengthened, and only then did he strike down on Johnny's back.
A thud sounded as the life drained from Johnny's eyes. He fell listlessly to the ground, a hollowed out handprint visible on his back.
After destroying Johnny, Han Shuo's demon infant grew noticeably and began to use the magical yuan to purify Johnny's soul, turning it into food for the demon infant. As a thunder swordsman, the strength of Johnny's soul was noticeably more abundant than that of the Gryphon Legion soldier. Han Shuo could clearly feel the demon infant grow and develop.
"He's dead." Emily slowly walked over when she saw that Johnny had died. When she saw Han Shuo standing there without moving and not searching Johnny's body for valuables as usual, she spoke up to alert him to the fact.
Han Shuo suddenly came to himself as he pondered over the changes to the demon infant. He continued to use the 'Demonic Assimilation Art' without changing his expression and nodded towards Emily. He pointed at Johnny, "Can you handle that? I need to rest for a while."
Han Shuo sat down cross-legged after speaking and focused his attention on the changes in the demon infant after it had absorbed Johnny's soul. The stronger the person was, the stronger its soul was. The power from Johnny's soul seemed to accelerate the demon infant's growth.
The Demon Infant was the foundation of the True Demon Realm. Han Shuo would only be able to break through to the next level, the Bloodlust Realm, after the demon infant reached a certain level. He would only need the power of the souls in this realm. Once the Demon Infant was strong enough to reach the Bloodlust Realm, it wouldn't need the energy from the souls anymore and could be used for greater purposes.
Just as Han Shuo was quietly training, everyone else was huddled together, chatting away. With Belinda captured and Johnny killed, there were no other suspicious characters in the cave. Candice had seen Belinda mysteriously taken out by Han Shuo and hadn't mentioned anything about compensation. She laughed as she chatted with Phoebe and Emily.
Lawrence and Phoebe finally had time to talk. Caspian was also reunited with Angelica after his long absence and could breathe a sigh of relief. Angelica sulked that he didn't want to describe the events of the last two days.
Han Shuo had been meditating with his eyes closed when he suddenly opened his eyes and raised his finger to make a "shushing" sound.
Han Shuo walked cautiously towards the entrance of the cave without saying a word. Everyone watched as he put his ear to the entrance of the cave, their relaxed emotions turning nervous again.
Footsteps slowly grew louder, approaching from the distance. The sounds of several people talking reached everyone's ears at that moment.
"The Kerlan Grand Canyon is so vast, there's no way we can find them after they escaped in here. What's the point of searching aimlessly?" A voice said.
"I know, but the chief is mad with rage this time. His two sons have been murdered, and someone had the audacity to try to assassinate him in Valen City. They even got away with it. The Chief has fought in the North and South all these years and has seen all kinds of situations, but he has never been humiliated like this. I don't think he will rest until he has caught and killed these people! Another responded with emotion.
"I have heard that so much has happened in Valen City because the Chief has offended those in the capital. If that's true, the Chief is in a lot of trouble, and I wonder if we will be affected as well.
"Don't worry, we were just following orders. Nothing should happen to us as long as we keep the bigger picture in mind. We're not the Chief's confidants either, and we should listen to the King's orders. We'll just follow the orders before any further developments".
"Come on, there's no place to hide here anyway, let's try somewhere else!"
The group passed the cave where everyone was hiding. They didn't discover anything unusual, and the sounds of their conversations became fainter and fainter before disappearing completely.
Two more groups of people passed by after that. Thanks to Emily and Caspian's actions, the entrance to the cave was well hidden. No one noticed anything unusual and didn't spend any more time there.
"All right, it's been a tiring night, everyone take a rest!" Han Shuo waited for a while and noticed that there was no further movement outside, so he turned and smiled at those inside.
Everyone sighed in relief and nodded before starting to meditate or fall asleep by the warm bonfire. Everyone rested for a day in the cave and spent a whole day recovering their strength. Han Shuo mediated all day, fully absorbing Johnny's soul and restoring his mental strength and magical yuan.
"It's night now, I think they've forgotten after a day of searching. We can leave now!" Han Shuo stood up.
Everyone else stood up as well and packed their belongings. Emily and Caspian took down the barrier at the door and the group left the cave.