Crackle... pop...
The starry nebulae that dotted the combat aura transformed into a dark beam that merged with the Demonslayer's Edge. The previously black and dull Demonslayer Edge suddenly exploded with a pillar of bloody light, the terrifying killing intent condensing into clouds of bloody mist, with thin red lightning crackling within.
The divine weapon in Celt's hand, Starry Sky, suddenly flew out of his hand and landed abruptly in the glow of the clustered mist within the bloody cloud. With small points of cold light flashing from its body, it clashed continuously with the bloodthirsty Demonslayer Edge.
The two fighting weapons gave off an aura of violence. Within the multicoloured light, increasingly loud explosions echoed, causing nearby plants and animals to be knocked over by the sounds before the waves spread to other areas.
Han Shuo remained hidden in the darkness, feeling all of his magical yuan surge towards the fierce Demonslayer Edge. Very concerned, Han Shuo immediately sat down cross-legged and circulated his magical yuan, trying to provide more power for the Demonslayer Edge to utilise.
Celt groaned in pain, his veins bursting from his forehead. The combat aura in his body ravaged his wounds as it circulated, causing Celt to spit out another mouthful of blood.
The golden dragon had originally thought it would be impossible to escape. For a moment, he was unable to react as he saw the starry combat aura engage in battle with a bloody-red weapon. The dragon sat, staring distractedly at the light-filled sky, and slowly began to feel that the bloody-red weapon looked a little familiar.
"It's that man, that madman!" After staring for a while, the golden dragon finally remembered and roared in surprise.
"Rumble..."
The sky rumbled as if with thunder, and the sound of a great explosion passed by as rays of light criss-crossed the magnificent sky, and the divine weapon "Starry Sky" turned tail and retreated towards Celt.
Celt was actually kneeling on the ground at that moment. It looked like he'd used up too much combat aura in too short a time. He was shaking like a leaf, as if suffering from an epileptic fit. The blood flowing from the corners of his mouth turned to white foam; he looked as if he might collapse at any moment.
"I will kill you!" The golden dragon finally found his chance. Without thinking about why Han Shuo had appeared, he charged at Celt like a madman.
Celt could barely stand. He had been weakened to a critical point. Seeing the blood covered golden dragon charging towards him, Celt used his trembling hands to throw out a magic scroll. The lifesaving scroll transformed into a mass of silver light, enveloping Celt and releasing powerful magical impulses.
Crap. It's another priceless spatial magic scroll!" Han Shuo cursed under his breath, his attention calmly focused as he manipulated the Demonslayer Edge that flew straight towards Celt's neck.
Consumed by the flash of blinding light, Celt let out a mournful shriek. Great waves rippled through the area as if it had been torn in half. By the time it settled, Celt's body had vanished without a trace, leaving only his left ear on the ground.
When the golden dragon arrived, all he found was Celt's left ear. He didn't find anything else. Even Han Shuo's Demonslayer Edge had been called back into his body after that single blow.
"Kill me! I only hope that after you kill me, you'll also kill this despicable human!" Standing where Celt had once stood, the golden dragon reached out and grabbed Celt's ear, shouting at its surroundings as it stuffed it into its mouth.
In the Dark Forest, strength was everything. In the cruel Dark Forest, the strongest won everything, while the weakest didn't even have the right to live. These were the rules that had been tacitly agreed upon between the higher magical beasts and the humans.
The Golden Dragon had now reached its weakest point. Without a space magic scroll to save its life, and having already witnessed Han Shuo's callous cruelty, it had correctly predicted that Han Shuo would treat it like another beast of prey and kill him. That was why he had said those words.
"Celt's loss of an ear won't affect his strength at all. This time, he has only exhausted his combat aura and suffered a few injuries. When I fought him, not only did he recognise my weapon, but he also managed to sense my presence. I've already discovered that Celt's has joined forces with the Redbud Knights. We have a common enemy now, so I don't think killing you would be the wisest idea.
Han Shuo slowly stepped out of the shadows and spoke calmly to the golden dragon. Seeing that the golden dragon had become quiet, Han Shuo continued to speak: "Besides, I feel that you're a dragon that I should befriend. I greatly admire your bravery and devotion. As such. I feel that a friend like you is far more valuable than your magical beast core."
"Thank you. You have won the respect and friendship of me, the Golden Dragon Sidrick!" According to the etiquette of the dragon race, the golden dragon Sidrick expressed the highest level of respect to Han Shuo.
"Sidrick, I feel that your best course of action right now is to properly tend to your wounds. That despicable knight named Celt will definitely not let us go now that he has regrouped with the Redbud Knights. However, the Dark Forest is very large, so it shouldn't be a problem for the two of us to disappear. On the contrary, their group is large and easy to spot. Once your wounds have healed, we can deal with them together.
The golden dragon trembled every time he tried to speak. Han Shuo could see that he would collapse at any moment. Since that was the case, Han Shuo had offered this thought to Sidrick after thinking about the situation.
"I will return to my race. After I recover a bit, I'll bring my fellow dragon warriors and kill every one of those despicable ambushers who dared to offend me." The golden dragon swore solemnly. Then he spoke respectfully to Han Shuo once more, "There is a Dragon Valley in the deepest parts of the Dark Forest. In the future, be it you or your sons and descendants, if you ever need me, Sidrick, you can always come to the Dragon Valley to find me."
"I'm sorry, I really can't stand it any longer. I'll take my leave now."
As if afraid that Han Shuo would renege on his promise, Sidrick managed to force out a friendly smile after saying these words. He transformed back into his draconic form and flew towards the deepest recesses of the Dark Forest. It seemed that his injuries weren't minor; he probably wouldn't be able to recover anytime soon.
Mature dragons of the dragon race would usually leave the Dragon Valley and take up residence on a mountain or by a river, gradually building up their wealth over the long course of their evolution. Some dragons preferred to live alone, while others preferred to live in groups. Han Shuo had learned a little about the Dragon Valley from some of the Dark Mantle's intelligence reports, but he had never gone there to explore for himself.
The golden dragon Sidrick had indeed come from the Dragon Valley! Looks like his influence wasn't to be sneezed at. The reason why Han Shuo had let Sidrick go was because he wanted to use the dragon's power against Celt, although he had never thought that Sidrick had come from the Dragon Valley. Han Shuo thought that since Sidrick had been able to leave alive, if Celt didn't leave the Dark Forest quickly and a group of dragons from the Dragon Valley found him, then one of the continent's ten great troops of knights, the Redbud Knights, would disappear forever.
With the commander of the Redbud Knights injured and the Grand Fire Magus Marceau missing, this time the plan to plunder the underground world would likely be seriously delayed.
After following the trail and discovering the Redbud Knights, Han Shuo discovered that the Redbud Knights had been prevented from making good time. Everyone was frantically gathering at the central tent to tend to Celt's injuries. The central tent was surrounded by rows of knights, with a few powerful mages setting up magical boundaries nearby. Hiding in the shadows, Han Shuo watched them, realising that it was impossible to assassinate Celt at this time.
Even the ground beneath Celt had become as hard as steel due to the effects of the Boundaries. When the Earth Elite Zombie returned after failing to penetrate the enchantment, Han Shuo immediately gave up on the idea. Seeing the Redbud Knights set up camp, apparently wanting to get Celt's injuries under control first, Han Shuo understood that their planned raid into the underworld would be suspended until further notice.
After watching for a while, Han Shuo spotted the traitorous Druid Kassel returning with nothing to show for his efforts, both of his hands empty and a look of anger on his face. It was obvious that he had failed to capture Cecilia and Emily. Only after seeing this did Han Shuo really relax. He didn't stick around, but flew straight to the Cemetery Of Death .
Han Shuo spent a night resting in the Cemetery of Death, and the next day, he used the transportation matrix to return to the city lord's residence in Brettel City.
As he walked out of the secret chamber in the city lord's residence, Han Shuo was deeply moved by the depth of magic. Yesterday, he'd been thousands of kilometres away in the Dark Forest, fighting for his life. He'd appeared here after using the Transportation Matrix, skipping a long journey and arriving with a single thought. Even the technologically incomparable Earth couldn't do this, but this magic- and martial-skilled Profound Continent could.
After leaving Brettel City for a few days, Han Shuo suddenly remembered his prisoner, Helen Tina. He happened to remember that Helen Tina hadn't eaten for two days. The secret prison in the city lord's residence had never really been used to lock people up. After Han Shuo had tied up Helen Tina and thrown her in there, he hadn't even told anyone about her. Therefore, he believed that no one had brought her food.
Han Shuo rushed to the prison to take a look when he remembered. He found Helen Tina, with a pale complexion and pale cheeks, her belly distended and constantly rumbling as if a bird was calling. Indeed, Helen Tina had starved to death over the past two days. Had Han Shuo returned any later, it was likely that this enchanting beauty would have starved to death.