"Knights of Light, kill him immediately! This person and this dark creature cannot be allowed to remain in this world!" Ferguson's expression was grim as he shouted in a low voice.
The group of knights who had just surrounded Han Shuo and were about to take him alive were taken aback by this sudden change of heart. However, they only paused for a second, still intending to carry out Ferguson's orders.
Up on the cliff, Edwin wasted no time in shooting down towards Han Shuo with Belinda. He planned to save Han Shuo at any cost and get to the bottom of why this dark creature was so unafraid of light magic.
At the same time, Han Shuo suddenly opened his eyes and cast a cold glance around his surroundings, revealing a bizarre smile.
He chanted a simple necromancy spell, and the little skeleton that had been at his side all this time vanished without a trace as a beam of black light pierced the sky.
"Farewell, everyone!" Han Shuo smiled as the little skeleton disappeared.
The bloody-red light that had been circling around Han Shuo suddenly shot into the sky after his words, and a huge explosion rang out.
Increasingly loud explosions, with Han Shuo's position as the epicentre, began to shake the ground and sky. The entire valley shook, and the knights closest to the centre were blown to pieces, blood and flesh flying like shrapnel.
Edwin and Belinda had been rapidly descending when they saw the sudden explosion from below, accompanied by the deafening blasts. Waves of evil, blood-red light blasted towards their position in the sky, shocking them both.
Edwin slammed on the brakes, skidding as he used the levitation spell to grab Belinda. They floundered around in the sky, trying to avoid the light, and then cast urgent glances at the enormous change down below. Stunned stupefaction filled their faces as they looked down in disbelief.
When the dust settled, a huge hole six metres deep and ten metres wide had appeared where Han Shuo had been sitting cross-legged. A thick layer of blood slowly drifted out, along with dark red clouds of air. All that was left was a pockmarked surface and the mangled bodies of several knights beside the hole.
Han Shuo had vanished without a trace, and no matter how grimly those who remained searched, they couldn't find a single trace of him.
Taking a deep breath, Ferguson suppressed his anger and said, "Stop searching. I don't know how he did it, but he's gone!"
What are we supposed to do now?" Thundermage Asa asked respectfully as he faced Ferguson.
"I need to know everything about this person as soon as possible. As detailed as possible!" A trace of rare fear coloured Ferguson's tone as he looked back at Asa.
"Understood! We'll do it immediately! Asa replied.
Female archer Maxine roughly understood why Ferguson had lost his composure at that moment. The appearance on the continent of someone who could turn the situation around in such a way meant that it could have nightmarish consequences for the Church of Light.
As an important figure in the Church of Light, Ferguson would be sure to use every means at his disposal to eliminate this possibility before it even arose.
"Well done, boy, he's got some moves to make such a miraculous escape!" It was a good thing that Edwin had stopped his descent. Otherwise, he might have gotten caught up in it as well. He was delighted to see Han Shuo's miraculous escape and couldn't help but compliment him.
"Master Edwin, this person is an enemy of our Calamity Church. Clarendon died at his hands, and he even killed Johnny!" Belinda couldn't help but speak up when she saw Edwin's attitude change 180 degrees.
"What do these grudges matter as long as he's willing to work with us! All people have weaknesses and we can give him whatever he needs. Never mind that Ferguson's peculiarities have been discovered today, the Church of Light will try to kill him at all costs. Ferguson himself will help us to get this person to work with us! Edwin laughed heartily and took Belinda higher into the sky, slowly leaving the mountain.
There was a lake with a thick layer of ice about ten li away from the valley of Rainbow Sickle Mountain. On this frosty winter's day, the lake had been frozen into ice cubes, its smooth, mirror-like surface glistening in the moonlight.
But a bolt of red light streaked across the sky, plunged down from the heavens like a shooting star, and slammed violently into the solid ice.
The lake exploded outwards as a huge crater appeared on the mirror-smooth surface. The lake's waters began to gush through the cracks in the ice as the ice began to crumble under the impact.
In the next breath, a slender figure shot out of the crater. Han Shuo was soaking wet as he landed on a piece of ice that hadn't cracked. He immediately sat down and began to catch his breath.
After about fifteen minutes, Han Shuo opened his eyes and breathed lightly. Dark red, muddy air floated out of his pores like a string and vanished with the gusts of the cold winter wind.
Han Shuo rose from his cross-legged position and changed into a dry shirt. He took to the skies once more, gathering his bearings before flying swiftly towards the Valley of Sunshine.
Having fully grasped all of Chu Yang Lan's memories and reached the Realm of Bloodlust, Han Shuo was now able to skilfully utilise some secret arts.
The Bloody Explosion Shield was an escape art. It was usually triggered with blood essence to create a series of explosions, allowing the cultivator to move his body and escape from the place of danger in the ensuing sound and chaos.
However, most cultivators wouldn't use this method, which consumes a lot of blood essence, if they didn't have to. This was because once it was cast, the cultivator would use up a lot of energy from consuming blood essence, and he would find himself in a disadvantageous situation.
However, that hadn't been the case this time. After reaching the bloodlust realm, Han Shuo's body had naturally produced a violent killing aura after participating in the massacre in the mountain valley. The aura had naturally attracted the fear and resentment of the mercenaries he'd killed and concentrated it in his body.
The stronger this power became, the harder it was to control. This impending lack of control was what had caused Han Shuo to immediately prioritise the recovery of his mind, even in the middle of the battlefield. After suddenly waking up in the middle of his recovery, he had immediately understood that he was surrounded by a group of experts.
At the moment, the violent aura around him was still disorderly and difficult to control. In this moment of danger, he suddenly remembered the 'Blood Explosion Shield' and a thought struck him. He turned that aura into energy and used the energy he'd absorbed as the basis for casting this art.
Not only had he created a commotion that shook heaven and earth, brutally killing several knights who hadn't had time to react, but Han Shuo had also casually escaped the encirclement of the various knights. At the same time, he had been able to release a power that was out of his control, and he hadn't harmed himself at all.
When he returned to the Valley of Sunshine, Han Shuo felt that his body had once again been miraculously tempered in the slaughter of the Rainbow Sickle mercenaries. Perhaps it was because he'd cast the 'Blood Explosion Shield' and consumed the random, disorderly power, but there was a tiny bit of pure power left at the very end that had miraculously been absorbed by the magical yuan.
"It looks like adventuring is needed to speed up the pace of improvement!" Han Shuo couldn't help but mutter to himself as he felt the changes in his body thanks to the fight against the knights earlier.
The metallic sound of the battle caused Han Shuo to pay close attention to his surroundings. Coming to a halt in mid-air, he began to carefully examine the situation around him.
With his brain fully developed from his magical cultivation, Han Shuo was quite familiar with the layout of the nearby terrain, having memorised the entire map. Listening carefully, he quickly realised where the sounds were coming from and where he was.
The clashes were coming from the House of Menlo. This matter might even have something to do with Trunks and the others.
"I should take a look at the strength of my unknown troops." Han Shuo muttered to himself and changed his flight path, heading for the Menlo territory.