Cecilia and the others were fully focused on dealing with the magical beasts attacking them. Only high-level creatures were left. They lunged forward, unceasingly releasing poisonous fluids and magical spells, skills they were undoubtedly born with.
At first, it had been a challenge for Cecilia and her group to defeat the beasts. However, after Han Shuo's Boundary of Weakness fell, the magical beasts slowed down tremendously in an instant. Cecilia and her team were then able to catch their breath, gather their mental strength, and use the situation to cast some magical spells, enveloping the remaining magical beasts in an abyss of suffering.
The flesh shields at the front, who had been standing upright and guarding the area the whole time, drew back their spears and hurled them straight at the beasts that were still crawling into range, their bodies and souls exhausted by the Boundary of weakness, impaling them.
"Thank you!" Cecilia shouted to Han Shuo who was at a distance.
"No problem! It was nothing," Han Shuo replied with a faint smile.
Even without the help of Han Shuo's Boundary of Weakness, Cecilia and her party would have managed to fend off the herd of magical beasts, but it would not have been nearly as easy. There was simply no way the knights and five swordsmen could have emerged unscathed as they did, had it not been for Han Shuo.
One swordsman brandished his imposing weapon of choice as he marched into the field of corpses. One by one, he stripped the magical cores from several high-ranking magical creatures. Delighted, he exclaimed, "What a harvest we have here!"
"Don't bother with the cores below rank three, they're not worth nearly enough gold coins. Besides, we better hurry!" Cecilia instructed from afar.
"Yes, my lady, it won't take long," a second swordmaster named Karey replied, raising his voice as he walked towards several magical beasts that had died a rather violent death earlier.
Han Shuo furrowed his brow, sensing someone lurking in the shadows. It was getting closer by the second, heading straight for the swordsman furthest away from everyone else. The figure emitted a queer but powerful aura. Han Shuo was certain that once the figure got close enough to the swordsman, the result would be certain death.
A sudden thought hit Han Shuo. With a heightened awareness, he focused on the creature hiding in the lush undergrowth. Han Shuo was standing next to Cecilia when he was reduced to a lump of black radiance and then simply disappeared without a trace.
Cecilia noticed that someone beside her was missing and turned abruptly, confused. "What? Where's Bryan?"
Meanwhile, Swordmaster Karey, who had been unwittingly collecting the Medusa's magical core, suddenly heard a faint rustle that made him jump. Without a second to spare, a ball of green smoke had rolled towards him. The green smoke engulfed him before he could react, like being swallowed whole.
In an instant, Karey felt as if his body was being held in a giant hand from which there was no escape. With such pressure on his chest, he didn't even have the breath to call for help and could only watch as they retreated deep into the bushes through the cloud of green smoke, further and further away from Cecilia and the others. Karey was filled with fear, not knowing what was happening. He feared the unknown, but there was nothing he could do. He would not move and could not speak. Karey became sullen, his heart slowly sinking.
"Don't worry, I'm right here with you. We need to find out where this thing is taking you," a familiar voice said.
Karey beamed. It was Han Shuo. Through Cecilia, Karey had heard of the terrifying power he possessed. And now, after seeing Han Shuo follow them undetected, Karey was reassured. Han Shuo was everything Cecelia had described and more.
The huge ball of green smoke rolled along, taking Karey with it. Only after nearly half a dozen li further into the Tarrag Canyon did the smoke begin to slow as they approached a muddy ground. Suddenly, the once static mud began to generate an immense pulling force, pulling Karey into it.
Han Shuo, who had been following, extended his five right fingers and five infinitely fine flashes of green light came out of them. With his eagle-like claws, he slashed at the mud like an animal.
The mass of mud exploded. Bit by bit, the mud skewered the sky above it as the ground began to tremble.
Karey was startled by the rumbling, knowing all the time that he was finished, that there was no escape. But at that moment, the bonds on his body loosened. Han Shuo stood grimly in front of him, green lights still shooting from his fingertips. Karey regained his mobility and tried to break free of the smoke surrounding him. The lump of green that had held him so tightly seemed to have lost its grip completely.
As a swordsman, Karey wasn't too weak himself. He crawled out in a hurry, hopped off the protruding mud, which now resembled pillars, and fled to the shore.
"Show yourself!" Han Shuo shouted at the muddy ground as he stood imposingly above it. The lights from his fingertips faded.
Immediately after Han Shuo regained his explosive energy, the ground settled. The mud stakes plunged back into the ground, revealing a human figure covered in mud from head to toe.
"Who are you?" the figure asked, its weak voice creaking, almost like a rusty hinge.
Han Shuo was incredulous. The voice he heard was undoubtedly that of an elderly woman. The figure was buried deep in the bushes, her face hidden from Han Shuo as he approached the mud.
"Who are you? Why did you attack me?" Karey replied before Han Shuo could answer.
With a swoosh, the figure flew high into the sky and swooped down on Han Shuo like a bird of prey ready to swoop down on its next meal. It made no reply, instead cursing, "How dare you interfere in my affairs! You mischievous child! I will slaughter you!"
Streams of green smoke poured from the old woman through seven openings that looked nothing short of menacing. Her appearance resembled that of the foulest spirit imaginable.
The green smoke in the air seemed to be drifting randomly through the air, but it was actually drifting rapidly towards Han Shuo. It began to move at several times that speed as it approached Han Shuo, trapping him effortlessly. The green smoke penetrated Han Shuo's body through the pores of his skin.
The old woman followed a few paces behind the smoke that flowed from her eyes and nostrils. As soon as the wisps of green smoke had attached themselves to Han Shuo, she began to let out the most disgusting laughter. A wave of strange energy erupted from her palm as she cursed Han Shuo.
Strands of green smoke entered Han Shuo's body, a sensation like millions of ants devouring his flesh and blood from within. Han Shuo's consciousness could clearly see every single abnormality on his body. When he saw that the old woman was covering him with her palm, Han Shuo coldly snorted and the demon infant inside his body began to suck.
The energy that entered Han Shuo's body, like a whale taking in water, flowed straight through him into the demon infant. After two rotations, a strange substance formed, apparently food for the demon infant. Only now did the palm of the old woman's hand reach the top of Han Shuo's head.
Her eyes filled with shock and confusion. The old woman seemed to have felt the unusual movements of energy through Han Shuo's body and screamed in terror. She tried to flee as fast as she could.
Han Shuo was directly below the old woman and began to smile. He looked up at her within arm's reach and threw a fist. In an instant, the knife-like Demonic Yuan poured through the centre of the old woman's palm. It destroyed the strange energy that had been brewing on her palm like a massive, earth-shattering dragon, and continued straight through her intestines.
A stream of blood poured from the woman's mouth. She had been beaten and sent flying into the sky. Her face was in pain, her heart filled with remorse. Damn it, why did I provoke this guy? After all these years of avoiding the Church of Light, just because of one moment of stupidity, I'm going to die at the hands of some stupid demon? And all for nothing, she thought with a sigh.
Before the old woman's body had even landed, Han Shuo flew over at lightning speed and grabbed her by her muddy, tangled hair. A whiff of demonic yuan flew into her body and subdued her. He then carried her down to the ground.
They had only fought face to face once, but she was badly wounded and taken alive. Unable to resist, the old woman's heart filled with depression and grief. She had no idea what the hell was wrong with the world. This young man might even be more terrifying than those of the Church of Light who had hunted her for so many years. This was unacceptable.
For this ferocious old woman, Han Shuo could show no mercy. He dragged her by the hair towards less muddy water and shoved her head in. A few scrubs later, the mud that had covered her face was mostly gone.
"Speak. Why do you attack us? Who are you?" Han Shuo demanded coldly, tossing her aside to pull out a clean handkerchief for all the dirt on his hands.
Report Chapter Comments