Fabian was a little confused at first. But after a while he was jolted by a sudden memory. He seemed pleasantly surprised.
"Where is Emily?" Phoebe asked in an urgent, trembling voice, her eyes fixed on Chester. Anyone could see that she was emotionally upset.
"Her Lordship has just returned from duty and is probably at headquarters right now discussing certain matters," Chester replied respectfully.
"Erm, Hagrid, the matter is closed as such. Please leave. I have some business to attend to and will be on my way," Phoebe said quickly to Hagrid, nodding and then not batting an eyelid at Hagrid or his men. She scurried towards the exit, as if she did not want to stay there a moment longer. As soon as she was out the door, she shouted, "Get me a horse!"
Phoebe was in a hurry to leave as soon as she got the letter from Emily, leaving the group of people looking at each other in dismay.
Hagrid looked crushed. You could see the shock and confusion in his eyes as he stared blankly at Phoebe's figure walking away.
"Goodbye," Chester said to Fabian after delivering the letter. He bowed to Hagrid and left silently.
Long after Phoebe and Chester had left, Fabian remained in a state of uncontrollable joy. The smile on his face could not have been brighter. It was obvious from his eyes that he was very emotional.
"Mr Fabian, what is going on?" Hagrid had obviously spotted the wide smile on Fabian's face. He was incredibly confused and couldn't help but ask. After taking a deep breath to calm his emotional mind, Fabian looked at Hagrid somewhat pitifully and said, smiling, "If I guessed correctly, the person our missus has been waiting for all these years has returned!"
"Impossible, didn't he die a long time ago?" Hagrid's face suddenly changed. A little disappointed he said, "Information from the Pope of the Church of Light cannot be wrong!"
Fabian smiled and said rather proudly, "Lord Bryan has lived a blessed life. It must be that the Church of Light's despicable plot against him has failed."
His face turned ashen like the dead. It was at this point that Hagrid knew there was no hope in his stubborn pursuit of Phoebe. Phoebe had rejected him so resolutely when Han Shuo was still missing. And now that Han Shuo had returned, what chance would he have of succeeding?
Everyone was shocked to hear the news of Han Shuo's sudden reappearance. As Han Shuo walked down the path, all the members of the Dark Mantle who knew his identity expressed their astonishment and respect through their eyes. They passed this astonishing information on to each other by word of mouth.
"The legendary figure of Dark Mantle has returned!"
"The pride of our Empire has returned!"
"The mighty Guardian has returned!"
All the members of the Dark Mantle who had received the information were instantly filled with hope and expectation in their hearts. They were truly proud of Han Shuo.
Five years ago, Han Shuo was the most prominent expert in the Lancelot Empire. He defeated two Sacred Rank experts at once, helped His Majesty the King to his throne, brought order to Brettel City, and neutralised Stratholme, the old monster of the Seven Grand Duchies...
These widespread but gradually forgotten folk tales began to make the rounds again due to Han Shuo's reappearance.
All the people who knew of Han Shuo's return felt that his reappearance would bring new changes to the empire, which had been going downhill for the past few years.
Walking through the gazes of adoration and amazement, Han Shuo made his way to Candide, one of the three heavyweights of the Dark Mantle.
Candide's sinister face was filled with disbelief and astonishment. Candide, who had become a dark Sacred Magus after five years, stared at Han Shuo for a long, long time before he finally said in a deep voice, "I thought you were dead!
Han Shuo chuckled before bluntly pulling out a chair and sitting down. He grinned at Candide who was trying to hold back the excitement in his heart and said confidently, "It's not that easy to kill me!"
Candide nodded in agreement. This Candide, who always had a sinister, cunning air about him, revealed a hard-to-beat smile of satisfaction on his face as he said, "It's good that you're back. That's all that matters."
"I have a rough understanding of the current situation within the Empire.
However, as for some of the more hidden matters, I still need to learn them from you," Han Shuo said smiling at Candide. He asked casually, "Other than some of the more obvious matters of the Empire, is there anything relatively important I need to know?"
"You should be aware of the general situation on the continent," Candide no longer regarded Han Shuo as one of his subordinates. He looked at Han Shuo and slowly explained, "Our empire could be considered quite stable.
It's just that the people are rather frightened. On the one hand, it's because of the crisis on the southern border. On the other hand, the Kasi Empire is closing in.
In the five years since you disappeared, our Empire has reached an agreement with the Druidic Order to cooperate. They had played a rather important role in the battle.
In any case, your three women are now dazzling figures in the Lancelot Empire. Their followers were everywhere.
Even when the Church of Light clearly stated that you were eliminated, the three of them wouldn't accept their words and persistently waited for your return. Young man, what kind of spell did you cast on them?"
Candide tirelessly explained to Han Shuo some of the things that had happened over the past five years.
Han Shuo felt quite guilty about Emily, Phoebe and Fanny. He was touched when he heard those words from Candide.
Five years was a long time, especially when the Church of Light had announced his own death. The bond between them was stronger than Han Shuo had expected, as the three ladies had waited for him from beginning to end.
"Congratulations, you have become a Sacred Magus," Han Shuo smiled and congratulated Candide sincerely after lamenting in his heart.
"This is all thanks to you. If it wasn't for the notebook you gave me back then, how could I have come to understand the true essence of the elemental energy of darkness and reached this new realm in just a few years?"
Candide openly admitted that it was all because of Han Shuo's help as he grinned at Han Shuo.
"These are the fruits of your own hard work," Han Shuo did not take credit. He laughed, "However, a dark sacred magus is only the starting point on the ladder of power. There's still a long way to go."
Candide wiped away his smile, took a quick glance at Han Shuo, and said seriously, "Why isn't the aura of a necromancer emanating from your body, but an intense killing intent? What actually happened back there?"
"Not much. The Church of Light schemed against me with their shameless methods. Hehehe, they thought I was dead long ago. But I'm lucky.
Not only did I not die, but I had a chance encounter," Han Shuo laughed deceptively as the desire to commit massacre shone brightly from his eyes.
"What realm are you currently in?" Candide asked solemnly after staring at Han Shuo for a long time.
Han Shuo shrugged his shoulders and said calmly, "When I'm free, I'll destroy the Church of Light! By then, you will know what realm I am in!"
The confidence that Han Shuo exuded as those incredibly arrogant words came out of his mouth left Candide stunned. After staring blankly for a long time, Candide finally forced a smile and shook his head.
He advised, "From the boldness of your words, I know that your strength must have increased. But the Church of Light is the most influential religious organisation on the Profound Continent. No matter how powerful you are, it is impossible to achieve this with the strength of one man. The days ahead are long.
Take it one step at a time.
Han Shuo smiled nonchalantly and made no reply. It was as if destroying the number one religious organisation on the Profound Continent was an insignificant, trivial matter.
After the two of them chatted for a while, Han Shuo smiled and said, "Emily has just returned.
"Go see her then." When Han Shuo stood up, Candide thought for a moment and said, "After you talk to Emily, you should go and see His Majesty. I think he will be very pleased."
"Got it," Han Shuo said with a dashing smile and was ready to leave.
"Wait," Candide interrupted suddenly. He hesitated for a moment under Han Shuo's gaze before saying somewhat awkwardly, "That, er, although you have been away for five years, Brettel City has grown richer and more powerful. Even the former Seven Grand Duchies could be considered Brettel City territory. Jack, Dorcas and the others are all your people and will only listen to your commands. It seems that Brettel City has turned into another country. Well, His Majesty is the King.
The Empire hasn't been in a prosperous state these years. As for your subordinates running Brettel City independently, um, that..."
Han Shuo gestured with his hand to stop Candide's babbling. He looked deeply at Candide and said kindly, "Say no more. I know what to do."
Candide was relieved. He nodded and said, "Very well. His Majesty the King could not be entirely at ease while you were away. But now that you've returned, he won't have to worry about that anymore. Yes, His Majesty seemed to have become more and more convinced of Grace the Astrologer's prophecy.
Simply put, the empire simply doesn't prosper without you.
Han Shuo was stunned and thought for a moment. He truly admired the late astrologer. The prophecy she had made right before her death was exceptionally accurate.
By now, Han Shuo had long known that the astrology Grace cultivated was indeed the most mysterious energy among the four great edict Forces - the Edict of Destiny. However, Grace had obviously not gained a deep understanding of the subject. She could only predict a certain destiny and did not even know the most basic method of using the Edict of Destiny.
Of the four great edict powers - destiny, space, destruction, and life - it was rather rare to find people who cultivated the edict of destruction and life. Cultivators of the edicts of space and destiny were even rarer. The reason for this was that these two edict Forces were simply too mysterious. Without the guidance of an expert, there was no way to figure out the cultivation method.
"Alright, Emily is here. I should go," Han Shuo briskly left and headed towards Emily's room.
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