Both of the dark creatures had Han Shuo's essence, so they naturally felt a sense of kinship with each other. He could see the threads of empathy slowly blossoming between them.
The little skeleton and the earth elite zombie stared at each other, seemingly in the midst of a broken conversation. After a short moment, they both turned to stare at Han Shuo anxiously.
"Alright, I will send you back!" Han Shuo smiled slightly and replied as the two boys simultaneously expressed their desire to leave. With a spell, the little skeleton and the Earth Elite zombie disappeared without a trace.
After they left, the cemetery fell silent again. The ground fell silent, and with the birth of the Yin Demons, the Yin Demon Cave ceased to function.
Han Shuo looked around and realised that there was nothing of further significance in this place. He thought for a moment before walking towards a valley where the dwarves lived.
"Han! What brings you here?" As soon as he entered the dwarves' valley, these unsuspecting little dwarves showed their passion and showered him with a steady stream of friendly greetings.
The last time Han Shuo had come here, the dwarves had received a large amount of food and necessities from him. Now, all of them, old and young, were dressed in thick, cold-resistant, cotton-padded clothing, had cosy stoves to keep them warm, and an abundance of food to satisfy their hunger. Not even the freezing ice storms of mid-winter were frightening.
Along the way, Han Shuo could see the satisfaction and contentment on the faces of the dwarves. When these dwarves saw Han Shuo, their faces were filled with gratitude and welcome as they shouted to each other, spreading the news of Han Shuo's arrival.
"Uncle Han, this is for you!" As he made his way to the centre of the valley, a six-year-old snot-nosed dwarf child ran up to him with a sugar hawthorn stick in his hand. The child presented a piece of barbecued meat, roasted to a glistening perfection, in his soft voice.
"Thank you, dear child!" Han Shuo smiled as he bent down and patted the head of the dwarf child, who was only a few dozen centimetres tall, while taking the piece of meat with his other hand.
The adult dwarves surrounding them all smiled kindly. The atmosphere was extremely harmonious, showing the deep sense of goodwill they had towards Han Shuo.
As Han Shuo entered the centre of the village, he saw the familiar faces of the dwarf warrior Bennett and the village chief Calvin. He smiled and asked, "Elders. How have things been lately?"
"Dearest Han, you've taken away the cold this winter! Everyone has warm clothes and enough to eat. No one will starve this winter!" Chief Calvin's face was filled with gratitude. He turned to Han Shuo and expressed his debt using the dwarf etiquette.
In the beginning, Han Shuo hadn't helped these honest dwarves out of the goodness of his heart. . But the more he got to know them, the more he realised that these stubborn dwarves were actually very easy to get along with, and their generosity towards friends was incredible.
He had won their friendship at an unknown time, but the way they went about their business had also won them his goodwill. At first he'd only intended to use them, but now he treated them as good friends he could rely on.
"That's good, good! Let me know if there's anything else you need. I'm going back to the human world soon, and I'll be able to bring you whatever you need!" Han Shuo had a friendly smile on his face as he talked leisurely with Calvin.
Calvin waved his hands, touched. "No need, we can easily make it through this winter. We'll use our own efforts to repay you when spring comes. You know we're a hardworking species. Children must be brought up that way from a young age, and we must avoid instilling lazy habits in them.
Han Shuo nodded in understanding. "I see. Ah, yes. I had planned to ask you to refine some weapons and armour for me this time. Would that be inconvenient for you, elder?"
"Han, you speak like an outsider. We're friends, why would anything be inconvenient? Prey is scarce in winter, and there are very few places in the Dark Forest where we can move freely. Forging weapons is our hobby, it would be fun to use our idle time to forge more weapons. That is no problem at all. Calvin didn't hesitate at all when he agreed, and he looked quite happy as well.
"Really, Han. We've been wondering how to repay you for all this time. Asking us to forge weapons for you now means we no longer have to rack our brains." Bennett laughed heartily, expressing the dwarves' sincerity to Han Shuo.
When he saw that the dwarves were still filled with gratitude for Han Shuo bringing them food, as well as their desire not to take advantage of their friends, Han Shuo was a little embarrassed by the dwarves' kindness and honesty.
He had initially approached them with ulterior motives, and now he was rather embarrassed by their outpouring of genuine emotion.
"Mm, you don't need to do anything for now, because I haven't thought about what kind of weapons I need. I'll bring the raw materials next time when I think of what weapons I need!" Han Shuo said.
After leaving the Dwarven Valley, Han Shuo didn't stay in the Dark Forest, but returned to the Valley Of Sunshine through the Cemetery of Death.
When he retrieved the magical staffs and walked out of the room, he discovered that it was completely empty. He was a bit taken aback and unsure when everyone had left.
Han Shuo had completely handed over the affairs of the Soul Destroyer mercenaries to Trunks, and the affairs of money to Phoebe. Emily was in charge of all random Dark Mantle matters, and Gilbert was Phoebe and Emily's bodyguard.
The setting sun on the horizon set the clouds in the sky alight as dusk approached. The Cairo mercenaries were all over the valley, taking shifts to provide security, so Han Shuo wasn't too worried about everyone's safety.
Since he was the only one left in the shop and had nothing else to do, Han Shuo took out the thick tome of necromancy from the cemetery of death and slowly began to study it.
He'd used the lost art of the Canopy of Necromancy to great effect on their trip to the Rainbow Sickle hideout last night. If it hadn't been for the timely arrival of Light Grand Magus Ferguson, the dark creatures near the spell would have been able to continue to wreak havoc and destruction, displaying uncommon combat strength.
Even after absorbing the memories of the necromancer Clarendon from the Church of Calamity, there had been no knowledge of the Canopy of Necromancy. Nor did he have any knowledge of resurrecting corpses.
This meant that the Tome of Necromancy in the Cemetery was the pinnacle of necromantic magic. It contained a vast amount of knowledge and spells, including some that had been lost.
These items were extremely useful to Han Shuo. After receiving Clarendon's memories, Han Shuo's understanding of necromancy had already reached the level of an archmage. He was able to understand many of the obscure and profession-specific phrases in it and no longer needed to consult Fanny about anything.
Time always passed so quickly when he was studying magic. The sky had gone completely dark in the blink of an eye, and soft footsteps from outside jolted Han Shuo out of his reverie.
His thoughts raced as he sent the three Yin Demons flying outwards. His hasty surveillance revealed that it was Trunks and Gilbert returning together.
"Bryan, good news. I think you'll be very happy!" Trunks said happily as he walked in.
At first, Han Shuo was surprised. "What good news?"
"Do you remember Odysseus and the six others who adventured with you in the Dark Forest?"
"What about them?"
"I saw them enter the valley when I returned today. Their strength is extraordinary, and they have a deep relationship with you. Our band of mercenaries has just formed, and we need people like them. I think they'll want to join us if you invite them!"
Han Shuo was delighted when he heard Trunks' words, "Good news indeed. Odysseus and Gordon are two senior swordsmen, and Aphrodite is a water Archmage. The thunder journeyman mage and the elven archer Nia also make a strong team".
"If they join us, I think the strength of our group will be completed immediately. It looks like we are indeed very lucky, hehehe!"
"They seem to be protecting someone this time. I talked to them and they said they'll come by tomorrow and catch up with you. It looks like there will be no problems!" Trunks smiled.
Han Shuo's brow suddenly furrowed as he listened to Trunks. He looked at a tree not too far away and said softly, "Mister Edwin, since you're already here, come in and have a chat!