After the tragedy, corpses were scattered all over the mountain valley. What was even more horrifying was that most of the corpses weren't complete. Broken off heads seemed to be leaking rubber balls, as they had their own trail of blood. There were fresh bloodstains on the rocks and boulders at the bottom of the valley. Bodies with their limbs cut off lay quietly in the narrow gullies of the mountain valley like hacked-off tree trunks.
The moon shone serenely down on this scene from hell. The souls that had not yet scattered in death were drawn along the cliffs of the mountain valley, gathering in a spiral that shimmered in and out of existence. This spiral was slowly and carefully absorbed by a sharp weapon, glittering with brown light.
The Demonslayer's Edge currently lacked its dazzling sheen as it hovered silently above Han Shuo's head, like a faithful follower guarding its master. Its brown rim did not glow under the moonlight. However, it emitted a strange combination of light and killing intent around Han Shuo as the clouds of souls drifted by.
Spots of light shone like the stars within the bloody red killing intent. The shining stars swayed and danced like little elves, slowly blossoming into a charmingly beautiful light for a moment before finally coalescing into the dark brown Demonslayer Edge.
The power of two thousand dead souls wasn't weak at all, their combined power was immense. Han Shuo was able to absorb sixty percent of this soul energy, and the Demonslayer Edge absorbed the remaining forty percent. As the main instigator behind the scenes, Han Shuo's random eavesdropping had caused the leaders of the various powers in the Valley of Sunshine to speculate in fear. It had also created an opportunity for Han Shuo to break through the Bloodlust Realm and make the flames of battle dance along the entire length of the Demonslayer's Edge.
There were clouds of red mist that were so dense that they could not dissipate. They enveloped Han Shuo tightly, twisting into bizarre knotted strands. His skin was glowing with a deep red light from within the mist, and the bones all over his body were emitting crunching sounds. A terrifying air of death and a killing aura constantly alternated between weak and strong states. Han Shuo's tough, handsome face trembled in an abnormal manner.
He maintained this state from nightfall to sunrise. As the sun rose, it discovered a valley that was gradually covered in a crimson fog. As dense as fog can be, it actually covered more than half of the sky above the mountain valley. Impervious to sunlight, it only added to its crimson hue. The entire mountain valley looked as if it had been placed in the middle of a bloody hell. With the corpses scattered throughout the valley, this halo of bloody mist made the scene even more desolate, evil, and terrifying.
For the next three days, the powers in the Valley of Sunshine were confused and fearful day and night. Bloody clouds were still constantly changing into different shapes in the mountain valley. Faint shadows began to drift out from the back of Han Shuo's neck, gradually merging with the bloody clouds. Devil heads then slowly took on a clearer shape, their appearance abnormal, terrifying and ferocious.
Mist and clouds of blood merged with the shadows. Finally, after five days, twelve uniquely shaped but equally sinister and ferocious monsters took shape. Some had spiky heads and sharp claws, others had thick rows of shark-like fangs, and some even had thorny barbs all over their backs. These twelve fierce demons were all different in appearance, but they possessed a similar presence, Han Shuo's unique presence.
They all possessed Han Shuo's unique presence because they were created from his body. The little skeleton, the earth elite zombie, and the wood elite zombie that were hiding in a ravine didn't make any unfriendly moves towards the grim demons because of this familiar presence.
Seven more days passed. The shapes of these twelve capering monsters kept changing, and there were times when they even took on Han Shuo's appearance. The strangest thing was that on the fifth day, Han Shuo was surrounded by twelve exact copies of himself. On the last day, the twelve ever-changing 'things' reverted to their original fierce demon appearance before transforming into red rays and hiding inside Han Shuo's body.
Exhaling a soft breath, Han Shuo finally opened his fey-like eyes after all the fierce demons had hidden within his body. As he glanced around the mountain valley, where a foul stench was rising to the sky, he murmured, "Finally, the
"Separate Demon Realm!"
The mountain valley had shaken violently and collapsed under the massive explosion. All paths into the mountain valley were blocked. The only thing that could get in was the warm sunlight pouring down from the sky. During this time, the three dark creatures - the Little Skeleton, the Earth Elite Zombie and the Wood Elite Zombie - had dedicated themselves to guarding Han Shuo.
The forces in the Valley of Sunshine had sent out people to spy on Han Shuo shortly after the tragedy, but unfortunately, none of them were able to leave the place alive after being ambushed by the three dark creatures. The spies all turned into sad souls, just like the mercenaries in the mountain valley. In the end, even their corpses decayed quickly.
The stench in the mountain valley was truly unpleasant. Han Shuo frowned as his mind raced. He reached out to grab the hovering Demonslayer Edge beside him. The Demonslayer's Edge instantly turned into brown spots of light and disappeared in a strange way when it touched Han Shuo's hand. Utilising the art of the Demonic Ninth Heaven, Han Shuo tore through the air and left the mountain valley in the blink of an eye.
On a low mountaintop five miles north of the Valley of Sunshine.
Laureton of the Cairo mercenaries, Florida of the Rainbow Sickle mercenaries, Chief Adam of the House of Menlo, Katar of the Orc tribe, and leaders of various forces, including Trunks, who had just returned from his mission, had all been invited.
All the major powers in the Valley of Sunshine had gathered here today. All of them had ugly expressions on their faces, especially those who'd fallen victim to the mithril mine tragedy. They were all investigating the matter with the intention of taking furious revenge on whoever was responsible. They were here today to plan a strategy for the future of the Valley of Sunshine.
"Who did it?" Everyone had the same question in their hearts.
With the exception of the major powers who had suffered heavy losses, everyone who hadn't participated in the battle was a suspect. Even the minor powers who'd only come to watch and fled the quickest, thus suffering only minor losses, were suspects.
"Trunks, your Soul Destroyers didn't take part in this battle. Your mercenary group is the strongest among those who didn't participate. At the moment, only your Soul Destroyers are completely unharmed, while we are all severely damaged. Your strength isn't far from ours either. It seems that your group has benefited the most this time! I'm thinking, was it you who did this good deed? Florida of the Rainbow Sickles stared at Trunks as he spoke in a sinister tone, his handsome face full of menace.
Trunks was secretly pleased and had no idea how to repay the person behind the scenes. However, he kept a look of sadness on his face. Trunks had been faking long, heavy sighs when he heard Florida's words. Trunks stood up abruptly and slammed his hand down on the stone table, smashing it to pieces.
Trunks didn't even bother to look at the experts around him who were defending themselves against the stone fragments. He glared at Florida and said, "If you want to slander us with unfounded accusations, then let's fight to the death! Our Soul Destroyer group accepted a mission half a month ago. All the elite members, including myself, had left the Valley of Sunshine to handle it. Chief Laureton is the one who knows this best. Florida, everyone is here today. If you want to kill me, do it fair and square, no need for plots and schemes!
When Trunks smashed the stone table with a single blow, the silver aura emanating from his palm couldn't be missed by anyone. Everyone here was highly intelligent, who wouldn't know what silver combat aura meant to a swordsman? Thanks to his own efforts and the Rebirth Pill, Trunks had risen to the rank of a Great Swordsmaster. The blow was not only a demonstration of his strength, but also a warning to the leaders here to think carefully.
The Soul Destroyer mercenary group had recently been able to openly recruit experts. Coupled with the abundance of funds, Trunk's fame, and the mercenaries' previous foundations as members of Rainbow Sickle, the mercenary group had developed at an astonishing rate in a short period of time.
Perhaps the Soul Destroyers wouldn't have been noticed by Laureton and Florida if it hadn't been for the tragedy in the mountain valley. It was a pity that these forces had been dealt a heavy blow in the valley, their years of accumulated power destroyed in the blink of an eye. Their power had dropped so drastically that they had no confidence that they could easily swallow Trunks. Besides, the Soul Destroyers existed in the shadows. The various powers didn't even know where the Soul Destroyers' base was. This made them a power that was truly on par with the four major powers.
By displaying his Great Swordmaster level power in such a harsh manner, Trunks was directly provoking Florida. This level was obviously different from the one he'd used in the past.
Even though he practised thunder magic as well as light magic, Light Archmage Florida still hadn't fully recovered from the last time Han Shuo had wounded him. If he fought against Trunk, whose strength had rapidly advanced to Great Swordmaster, with his current strength and their previous bone-deep hatred, Florida had no doubt that Trunk would take the opportunity to tear him to pieces.
Therefore, Florida's cheeks twitched in anger as he glared darkly at Trunks before opening his mouth to speak in a stiff voice, "The most important thing now is to find out who is behind this. I have no time to fight with you!"
As these words rang out, the leaders in the Valley of Sunshine all understood one thing. Florida was afraid!