Part 1--------------|
At the same time that the Rebirth Pill helped Trunks reach the level of a Great Swordmaster, it also helped him reform his body, making his meridians more durable than those of a normal person. It was because of this that Han Shuo was able to use the demonic yuan energy to help him recover after they returned to the Soul Destroyer mercenary group's base.
As expected, when Han Shuo brought the severely injured Trunks back to the Soul Destroyer mercenary group's base, the mercenaries almost immediately felt the urge to fight to the death against the three powers once they understood the situation. Some mercenaries even rushed out in anger, only to be pulled back by Gilbert at Han Shuo's command.
Gilbert clearly had some standing among the Soul Destroyer mercenaries. Although the mercenaries were reluctant to be pulled back by Gilbert, they still succumbed to Gilbert's power.
This is to be expected. A mercenary band is also a place where the strong are worshipped. The person with the harder fist would be more persuasive. Within the Soul Destroyer mercenary group, even Trunks' strength was below that of the Dark Dragon Gilbert. Because Gilbert had been in the Soul Destroyer mercenary group for so long, the other mercenaries had long since understood his fearfulness and difficulty in working with him. At times, there was no difference between his orders and those of Trunks.
While Gilbert suppressed the impulsive mercenaries, Han Shuo immediately headed for the inner dwelling without hesitation. Without lifting his head, he instructed Gilbert, "Use cruel methods to torture these people for me. But keep them alive. When Trunks recovers, Trunks will finish them off himself."
After speaking, Han Shuo took Trunks inside, leaving Asa and the others behind, their legs pierced like skewers by the bone spears.
As Grant and the others looked at Asa and the others whose tendons had been severed and bones broken from head to toe, they still felt unresolved hatred in their hearts. As Han Shuo left, they followed Gilbert to each choose a victim and bring them into the dark and dank prison area. There was a whole set of torture instruments there!
When they brought Trunks into a bright stone room, Han Shuo sat cross-legged behind Trunks. His palms were placed on Trunks' back, slowly sending strands of demonic yuan energy into Trunks' body, gradually healing Trunks' damaged body.
The reason why Demonic Yuan Energy was more mystical than Battle Aura was that it not only possessed tremendous killing power, but could also have more wonderful uses through skilled manipulation. Helping the injured recover was one such use of Demonic Yuan Energy.
Trunks' current situation was that the tendons in his limbs were all broken. However, Trunks' combat aura still existed, and once Trunks' tendons healed, his strength wouldn't be affected. For a swordsman, snapping tendons meant that a person had become a cripple. Even stronger swordsmen wouldn't be a threat, so Asa and the others didn't do more than was necessary.
Regardless of the priests or alchemists on the Profound Continent, their achievements in treating the body and the meridians would still be below Han Shuo. Therefore, Han Shuo had a solution to a problem that was unsolvable for most people. Trunk's body, which had been reformed by the Rebirth Pill, was easily cleared of the disorder by the circulation of Han Shuo's demonic yuan energy.
As it treated the injuries, the demonic yuan energy became like gently flowing water, enveloping all the broken meridians. Han Shuo's consciousness entered Trunks body, slowly reattaching the broken meridians and then activating the excess energy from the Rebirth Pill to gather around the broken meridians.
Trunks' body was much stronger than an ordinary person's, but it was still far from Han Shuo's. So when Han Shuo treated Trunks' injuries, he didn't use a lot of demonic yuan energy. All he had to do was familiarise himself with the precision of the meridians and set things right skilfully.
As time passed silently, Han Shuo, who was sitting behind Trunks, didn't need to concentrate as much as Trunks' condition improved. The meridians just needed to be slowly nourished by Han Shuo's demonic yuan energy. Therefore, Han Shuo was able to divert his demonic yuan energy to other things.
The disappearance of Trunks and the experts of the three powers from the mountain cave was discovered by the next wave of people. The Three Powers were all confused, not knowing what had happened. Laureton, Florida and Adam Menlo had once again gathered to investigate further.
But no matter how much they guessed, they couldn't figure out how the extremely hidden cave had been exposed. In the end, after much deliberation, the three powers inevitably believed that there was a spy among their men, and inwardly wondered who among their men could be the culprit.
Without a doubt, the three experts understood that Trunks had been rescued and that it had to do with the Soul Destroyer mercenary group. The three powers, who had originally hesitated to act out of self-interest and all sorts of scruples, now knew that there was no turning back. Laureton and the other two were experienced people, and together they decided to attack the Soul Destroyer mercenaries immediately.
As things stood, trying to destroy the Soul Destroyer mercenaries without suffering any casualties by capturing Trunks clearly wouldn't work. Even though the three powers that had been fighting each other for so long knew that they would suffer more losses this time, they couldn't care less.
Under their orders, the Cairo Mercenary Band, the Rainbow Sickle Mercenary Band, the House of Menlo, and five or six other smaller mercenary bands, all driven by profit, quickly gathered more than six thousand people who brazenly set out for the Soul Destroyer Mercenary Band.
They had no choice but to stop when they reached the location of the Soul Destroyer mercenary band. The various leaders gathered together and began to discuss how to attack the Soul Destroyer mercenaries.
The terrain of the Soul Destroyer mercenary group was very special. It was located on a protruding wall below a precipice, like a piece of rock hanging halfway up a mountain. Seen from below, this place was nothing but a white sheet, completely hidden by fog. There was only one way to get there from the top of the precipice.
However, if you tried to enter from above, the Soul Destroyer mercenaries would naturally discover it. Therefore, attacking from above was an incredibly painful affair. It was certain that the losses of the few powers would far exceed their expectations.
As the saying goes, it was easier to climb a mountain than to descend it. The same could be said for fighting on such terrain. It was always extremely difficult to lay siege to a place. This was because the process of scaling the city walls was truly too painful.
However, while climbing the walls of a city, although it was extremely disadvantageous to face the attacks from above, it was still possible to raise one's head and face the sky clearly and use one's weapon to block the incoming attacks. On the other hand, when descending from the abyss, it would be difficult to deal with attacks from below, and it might even be impossible to see the situation below.
This was partly because of the fog, but also because they had to be more careful when descending, as a slip would cause them to fall to their deaths. It was a very wise decision for Trunks to find such a place as the base of the Soul Destroyer mercenary group. This place was difficult to attack, and if anyone tried to enter, they would have to pay an unimaginable price.
At that moment, even though Laureton and the others had captured Trunks alive, they didn't dare to attack the Soul Destroyer mercenaries rashly. However, now that Trunks had been rescued, they had no choice but to face this particular terrain. Even the method of entry had caused them to debate for a long time.
The three of them were all of the smart type and understood that whoever went down first would definitely suffer the most losses, so they naturally didn't want to be the first to go down. But the others weren't fools either. None of the powers were willing to lead such a suicidal attack. So when it came time to attack, the delegation suddenly stopped.
As they discussed, none of them were willing to let their subordinates go down first. Remembering that the Soul Destroyer mercenaries were not inferior to them, and that this was an easily guarded area, Laureton's head swam, not knowing what to do.
"How about we just stand guard over this abyss? They can't stay in their base all the time. Otherwise, food and water would definitely become a problem. As soon as they come out of their base, we can easily kill them with our strength. We would face ferocious attacks if we descended. However, it would be equally difficult for them to ascend. We can hunt them to death by blocking this position. Florida had a dark expression on his face as he proposed this malicious plan.
Everyone knew it was a useful plan. But it would turn the battle into a long war of attrition. No one could guess how much supplies the Soul Destroyer mercenary band had, and if they really wasted their time here, they were unsure if there would be problems at their own bases.
"You all also know that Gilbert is a Dark Dragon. Furthermore, the Soul
Destroyer mercenary group also has many mages who can use levitation magic. If they leave and use the spatial rings to transport supplies, there's no telling how much time we'll lose. I don't think that plan would work. Adam Menlo thought for a while before suddenly voicing his disagreement.
"In that case, what do you think we should do?" Seeing that his idea had been overruled, Florida's expression became even more unpleasant as he asked Adam Menlo.
Adam Menlo remained silent for a while, seeming to make up his mind. He raised his head to look at Laureton and Florida and said, "Our house still has a number of tamed flying creatures. If you add them to the present flying creatures, they can carry three hundred people at a time. If these three hundred people are the experts of our three powers, if they use large-scale killing spells when they arrive, they should definitely be able to hold out for a short while. After that, the flying creatures will continue to shuttle our men down. That way, I don't think we'll have to go through the slow process of descending.
Hearing his words, everyone was overjoyed. Florida was equally excited as he smiled and said, "Old man, you obviously have such a good method, why didn't you mention it before?"
Adam Menlo's expression darkened as his eyes twitched inwardly. These are the ones guarding my base, and I originally intended to use them to deal with you all in the end. If we really had no other means, why would I bring them out? Of course, Adam Menlo didn't say these words out loud, but just appeared calm and quiet.
"Hey, with this method, any problem can be solved. If we are able to destroy the Soul Destroyer mercenary band, your Menlo House's contribution will be the greatest. Come, come, let us carefully discuss how many experts each power would send. Laureton laughed refreshingly as he called out to the leaders of the various powers.
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After a full day and night, Han Shuo, who had taken Trunks inside the mountain, finally emerged from the cave. Gilbert, Grant and the others rushed over when they heard the news. As soon as Gilbert saw Han Shuo, he hurriedly inquired, "Master, how is Trunks?"
"Don't worry, after a month of rest, Trunks will be back to his old self!" Han Shuo comforted Gilbert. Soon after, his expression darkened as he said, "The three powers and other small mercenary groups are already nearby and are discussing how to attack us. They have six thousand men, we must be careful with them."
"We have one thousand seven hundred people here. Rely on the terrain advantage, they can forget about attacking us easily. Hmph, the leader was tormented by them to such a state. We must make them pay the price. Whoever dares to come down will die at our hands. Grant and Trunks had been friends for many years, even working together in the Rainbow Sickle mercenary group. He could not contain his anger and shouted loudly.
Han Shuo could understand Grant's anger. However, he still shared what he had heard, "The House of Menlo is sending their secret flying creatures. These creatures can carry down three hundred men at a time. If there are dozens of mages among those three hundred, large-scale killing spells would be a huge obstacle for us.
During that time, these flying creatures can bring down another three hundred people. At that time, the advantages of this place will be gone. Therefore, we cannot let our guard down and must be properly prepared. Otherwise, we would definitely lose this battle."
Upon hearing Han Shuo's words, Grant was shocked and suddenly calmed down. He knew that if it was truly as Han Shuo described, the one thousand seven hundred of the Soul Destroyer mercenaries would simply have no way of resisting the attack of six thousand people.
"What should we do then?" Grant asked somewhat worriedly.
"Master, Lania and I will transform into our true forms and exterminate them from the sky," the dark dragon Gilbert shouted viciously, preparing for a massacre.
"If it were only three hundred ordinary swordsmen, Lania and you transforming into your true forms would be enough. But there are many mages among those three hundred experts. The two of you wouldn't be able to withstand the attacks of so many experts. Besides, their goal is only to descend here. How many people can you and Lania stop from coming down? It's an idea, but it doesn't cover all the bases!" Han Shuo looked at the eager dark dragon Gilbert and calmly stated the facts.
"What should we do then?" This time it was the Hydra Lania who asked, the coquettish Lania and the lecherous Gilbert were truly a match made in heaven. When the two lascivious races bonded, their turbulent emotions left even Han Shuo stunned.
"Yes. Master, what do you think we should do?" Gilbert had a confused expression on his face as he asked Han Shuo bitterly.
"We will follow your suggestion, with Lania and you intercepting them in the air. I will also summon many gargoyles to help you. When they are about to land, the archers below will fire continuously. As long as the first wave of the strongest experts is killed, it would be difficult for them to win this battle. Han Shuo sneered as he replied to Gilbert.
Part 2 ----------------|
Laureton, Florida and Adam Menlo simply had no idea that their every move was being monitored by Han Shuo. They were still under the impression that their attack would be extremely unexpected and at least the first wave of flying magical creatures would be able to easily descend and cause huge problems for the Soul Destroyer mercenary band. They would then be able to bring down a steady stream of experts and win the battle in one fell swoop.
Unfortunately, they would never have guessed that Han Shuo was capable of knowing their every intention and was able to calmly take preventative measures to attack their 'hidden' descent head on. With a large number of gargoyles, Han Shuo was confident that he could deal a devastating setback to the first wave of experts.
Once most of the experts in the first wave were killed, it would not only have a huge impact on their morale, but the next wave of experts would also be afraid to descend on the flying magical creatures. With the favourable terrain, Han Shuo believed that the three powers would not achieve what they wanted this time.
The twelve mystical demons scrutinised every move the three powers made. Han Shuo methodically instructed Grant and the others to gather the mercenaries who were good at shooting and distribute the various bows and arrows. Even the spears and javelins were brought out in preparation for the first wave of experts on the flying magical creatures.
As time passed silently, Laureton and the others discussed for a long time. Finally, they decided that the three hundred experts in the first wave would protect dozens of valuable mages. The first wave could be described as the concentration of the strongest experts in the few powers, with the weakest swordsmen who were included in the first wave also reaching the rank of senior swordsmen.
The dead of night could hide their movements. At night, the fog would also become thicker, so the operation was expected to be a night mission.
As the full moon slowly rose into the sky, casting a soft moonlight, the high precipice was shrouded in white fog. Over two hundred harpies, frost eagles, griffins, pegasus and various flying magical creatures were formed into teams. They were gathered from the House of Menlo under the command of Adam Menlo.
The three hundred experts chosen from the various powers were ready and waiting for these flying magical beasts to appear. At the command of the leaders of the three powers, they all mounted the tamed magical creatures. Among them were the leaders Adam Menlo and Florida.
Florida was a mage himself and didn't need a flying magical creature mount. Adam Menlo rode his super-rank golden-winged roc, which had finally recovered after spending a great deal of resources on it. However, the feathers on the golden-winged roc were very sparse, making it look a little miserable.
The Golden-winged Roc was in such a miserable state because of Adam Menlo's protection. It was also because of Adam Menlo's endless hatred for Han Shuo that he made a move on Trunks.
Although Laureton could reach Berserk three times and his strength was higher than both Adam Menlo and Florida, he was still unable to fly.
Besides, they needed someone to control and organise things for the majority left behind. So Laureton wisely stayed behind to take charge, rather than join the first wave of attack.
Under the hazy moonlight, the flying magical creatures spread their wings, forming a screen in the sky that blocked the moonlight. Lifting his head as he watched the rising magical creatures, Laureton actually felt a little uneasy.
In fact, ever since Trunks had suddenly been miraculously saved, Laureton had been feeling uneasy. No matter how he looked at it, the Soul Destroyer mercenaries should have been in a frenzy after losing their leader, Trunks. He was aware of Dark Dragon Gilbert's strength, but since he had been in contact with Gilbert before, Laureton knew that Gilbert was just a subordinate and wouldn't be able to come up with any meticulous plans!
The reason why Laureton waited so long was because he firmly believed that the Soul Destroyer mercenaries would leave their natural stronghold and attack. At that time, they would be able to easily destroy the Soul Destroyer mercenaries. However, the Soul Destroyer mercenaries' ability to remain calm exceeded his expectations. Not only did they not leave their natural stronghold, but they even recalled all of their experts in the area.
When the news of Trunks' disappearance spread, Laureton was truly surprised. After much thought, he began to feel that there was another hidden hand within the Soul Destroyer mercenary group that controlled the ground. It was because of this hidden existence that the Soul Destroyer mercenaries were able to stabilise and slowly begin to organise their resistance.
"I must be thinking too much. It has reached an important time in Ossen City. This guy shouldn't have come," Laureton rubbed his head as he muttered to himself.
"Leader, it would be absolutely safe this time. The person you're worried about wouldn't show up. I received word yesterday that he's definitely still in Ossen City. It is impossible for him to appear in the Valley of Sunshine. Don't worry, we'll definitely be able to wipe out the Soul Destroyer mercenary group. Harris understood what Laureton was worried about. The reason why Laureton had decided to act this time was precisely because he was sure that Han Shuo was too busy to worry about the affairs of the Valley of Sunshine. Otherwise, Laureton might still be hesitating!
"I hope this is the case. Although Trunks was frightening, he's still not my main concern. Only that guy would be the most troublesome opponent. Ah, that's too bad. Trunks and that guy are real men. If Trunks' Soul Destroyer mercenaries had not become the greatest threat to our mercenaries, I might still be friends with them. Laureton sighed as he told Harris.
"That is their choice. When they first arrived in the Valley of Sunshine, the leader had already extended an olive branch to them, only for them to reject it. Now that things have come to this, Leader can't be blamed for acting ruthlessly. This is all due to their ambition to seize power from us." Harris knitted his brows as he reassured Laureton.
"Forget it, let's drop the subject. However, I sense that something isn't right. I hope Florida and Adam Menlo won't disappoint me this time." Laureton's bald head was illuminated by the moonlight. This meant that Adam Menlo's flying magical creatures were no longer hiding the moonlight and had already entered the foggy area.
"Everyone be careful. Even though they cannot see us, we must still be alert and watch out for any changes!" Adam Menlo said to the surrounding people on his super-ranked golden-winged roc.
"Leader, be at ease. We know what to do." The people of the House of Menlo smiled as they responded, clutching the magical staffs in their hands, ready to deal with any changes.
A short distance away from Adam Menlo's flying squad, Florida's eyes sparkled as he watched carefully for any possible anomalies. Then he whispered to his trusted aides, as if to discuss the details of the operation later.
As the wave of people passed through the dense fog, they reached an area where the fog was thinner. In a few hundred metres, they would have entered the territory of the Soul Destroyer mercenaries. A huge, indistinct shadow gradually appeared from the thin fog. Transforming into a dark dragon, Gilbert's lantern-like eyes stared at the three hundred intruders. Without saying a word, a dragon breath mixed with a fishy smell was shot out.
Now that he had evolved into a second class magical creature, the poisons in Gilbert's breath were even more terrifying. In such a humid environment, the power of the toxins was greatly enhanced. More than ten swordsmen and mages riding harpies were the first to be sprayed by Gilbert's breath.
They suddenly felt a crushing sensation in their chests, as if they were being crushed by a mountain. Apart from the harpies, who were also poisonous magical creatures, the humans were all dizzy with blood running from their noses and mouths. Aside from the poison, the power of the dragon's breath was equally terrifying. The harpies screeched loudly as they swayed, throwing more than ten people off their feet.
"Dark dragon! It's that dark dragon!" Suddenly, terrified cries could be heard. Some people had clearly spotted Gilbert.
"Hey, all of you who dare to enter my territory, die for me!" Gilbert's imposing voice echoed through the sky. With a swing of his neck, he unleashed a raging fireball that incinerated more than ten scattered magical creatures and humans.
"Attack, it's only a dark dragon, there's nothing to be afraid of!" Adam Menlo, who had just arrived, suddenly shouted loudly as the wings of the golden-winged roc beneath him suddenly unleashed a hurricane that covered an area of ten metres, deflecting Gilbert's fireball to the side.
Riding the golden-winged roc, Adam Menlo, holding a pike that glittered with silver light, charged at Gilbert like lightning. On the other side, a few mages who had calmed down were weaving spells together and firing them at Gilbert.
If it was just Adam Menlo, Gilbert wouldn't be afraid. However, just as Han Shuo had described, the first wave of attack that gathered the strongest experts of the three powers was definitely not something Gilbert could handle himself. Several spells of different types suddenly flew by, and Gilbert had no choice but to dodge the attacks and hide in the dense fog.
"Hmph, with only one dark dragon, what can you do!" Adam Menlo scoffed loudly, waving his hand and saying, "Our location is exposed, we need to get there quickly. We must not delay and give them the chance to prepare."
"Charge. After tonight, the Soul Destroyer mercenary band would disappear from the Valley of Sunshine forever!" Florida also shouted coldly, using floating magic to take the lead towards Adam Menlo's location. "Huhu... Huhu..." strange noises suddenly appeared from all directions.
"That's weird, what's that sound?" A mercenary said what was on everyone's mind as everyone looked around puzzled, not knowing what that queer sound was.
Suddenly, a dense crowd of creatures enveloped them like a dark cloud, as dense as a swarm of locusts. They saw thousands upon thousands of gargoyles, arranged in orderly lines, rapidly approaching the area.
Gargoyles aren't formidable undead creatures, and their individual fighting power was less than any of the flying magical creatures of the House of Menlo.
However, Gargoyles usually appeared in groups!
There was no way that just one or two would appear. This time, with his greatly improved mental energy, Han Shuo had summoned more than four thousand gargoyles at once, which truly seemed like a dense dark cloud.
Any living creature of that size would be extremely terrifying. Even to mosquitoes and ants, they would be the nightmare of stronger creatures once they reached scale. For gargoyles that individually had an extraordinary attack, they would naturally be more terrifying once they reached scale. As the surrounding gargoyles seemed to fill the entire space, the first wave of experts who had thought that their sneak attack wouldn't be detected were all stunned for a moment.
"Light Mages, cleanse these filthy existences for me!" Distracted for only two seconds, Florida was the first to shout orders as the Gargoyles approached.
After he shouted, Florida sprang into action, quickly pulling out his staff and casting a spell. A ring of light elements suddenly flew towards the swarm of gargoyles. The ring instantly turned thirty gargoyles into donkeys as it charged into the gargoyle swarm.
There were another seven light mages in this group of experts. Unwilling to be left behind, they all unleashed the light magic they knew as they saw Florida make his move. As each spell of light magic entered the swarm of gargoyles, they really did a lot of damage to the group of gargoyles.
However, the strongest Florida was only a Light Archmage. The stronger of the rest were only adept mages, while the weaker were only rookie mages. There was a limit to the strength of the light magic they could unleash, and the loss of two hundred gargoyles was negligible compared to their total number of four thousand.
"Idiots! Undead creatures may fear light magic, but other elements of magic were useful as well. Why are you all staring blankly over there, act quickly!" When Adam Menlo saw that the rest of the mages were just watching as the light mages acted, he cursed them angrily.
Adam Menlo's cursing made the people react suddenly, and the mages began to cast spells one after the other. Windmills, lightning and fire snakes whistled as they flew towards the gargoyles from all directions, suddenly causing the deaths of another four to five hundred.
By this time, however, the gargoyles had finally charged into their group. Groups of gargoyles scattered, clawing and biting at the mages. The magical creatures among them also spared no effort in fighting the gargoyle swarm.
Suddenly, the entire sky was filled with brilliant beams of light as a dark shadow flew about, accompanied by the occasional mournful scream as one person after another fell from the towering height, their bodies torn and their bones crushed.
"Wakaka, I'm back. I want to see how you can defeat me this time!" the Dark Dragon Gilbert shouted arrogantly once again, his huge body stretching out.
At Dark Dragon Gilbert's side, Hydra Lania was like a giant octopus, charging together with Dark Dragon Gilbert towards the experts being attacked by the Gargoyle Swarm.
""Florida, we meet again!" Han Shuo's voice suddenly sounded. Within another wave of gargoyles, Han Shuo had a dark expression on his face as he walked through the air towards Florida.
Behind Han Shuo, the numerous gargoyles whistled and danced fiercely as a huge undead flying creature slowly emerged from the gargoyle swarm. The majestic little skeleton raised its three metre long bone spear as it rode on the bone demon, following closely behind Han Shuo.
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