After subduing Pegasus and Graeae, Han Shuo gave them the task of looting all the valuable goods inside the Ice Shrine.
Pegasus and Graeae had naturally developed a keen eye for valuable treasures over the years. After implanting seals in their brains, Han Shuo had gained absolute authority over their life and death, and therefore had no fear of their disloyalty.
The two of them were truly afraid of Han Shuo. They wore sour faces as they flew across the frozen mountains in search of valuable goods for Han Shuo.
If they hadn't met Han Shuo, they would have remained untouchable characters on the Profound Continent - that was the Biter. Perhaps this was the treatment they deserved for their misguided intentions when Han Shuo declared that he was badly injured.
Ayermike Cotton, the expert who helped found the Lancelot Empire, had truly taken Han Shuo as one of his own and worked for him sincerely after learning of his ambitions to unite the entire Profound Continent under the Lancelot Empire. Han Shuo had always shown Ayermike Cotton the proper respect, unlike the way he had treated Pegasus and Graeae, shouting orders without considering their feelings.
While the two hung their heads in despondency and chased after Han Shuo, Han Shuo and Ayermike Cotton chatted like two old friends until the end of the day.
"You mentioned earlier that a god from the Shrine of Ice had manifested here. What kind of power did he have?" Ayermike Cotton was extremely curious about the visitor from the Shrine of Ice. He had lived on the Profound Continent for a long time, and had long known how powerful the Shrine of Ice was.
"He's a midgod. Very powerful. If it wasn't for the fact that he couldn't use his full power and got hit by my sneak attack, I'm afraid I wouldn't be here talking to you right now," Han Shuo explained with a slight smile.
"I really didn't expect that comer to be a midgod. What a horror." Ayermike Cotton was frightened. He, too, was familiar with the ranking of the gods and what it meant to be a class lower.
"He had underestimated his opponent. It serves him right that he lost," Han Shuo chuckled.
"You destroyed the foundation of the Ice Shrine on the Profound Continent. Surely they won't leave it at that. Have you thought of a back-up plan in case these people cross the material planes and come here in person?" Ayermike Cotton wasn't clueless. He had been around for centuries.
Han Shuo remained silent, even though the question had been bothering him for a long time. Han Shuo had learned a lot from Bechymos, including the fact that it was possible for gods from high-level material planes to come to him via an interplanar transportation matrix. In the last battle, the only reason Han Shuo had been able to sneak up on that Midgod Emissary, injure his soul, and force him to retreat was because the Emissary had manifested using Tiana as a medium. If the Midgod Emissary were to personally travel to this plane using an interplanar transportation matrix, Han Shuo knew that he wouldn't have the slightest chance of victory based on his current strength.
"I haven't found a solution yet. This problem is really giving me a big headache." After some time, Han Shuo finally shook his head and sighed helplessly.
"Sigh, I guess that's a bridge you can only cross when you come to it. Let's hope he doesn't actually come here physically," Ayermike Cotton was just as helpless. His powers were limited and he couldn't think of a solution to Han Shuo's problem. All he could do was comfort him verbally.
"Don't worry, there is always a solution," Han Shuo said, pretending to be relaxed. However, his mood was becoming more and more serious.
As far as Han Shuo knew, there was really no one else on the Profound Continent who could pose a serious threat to him, other than the Primordial Dragon fulfilling its role as the planar guardian. In fact, he wasn't even afraid of the Primordial Dragon. However, there were countless experts from other material planes. If a midgod from another plane had descended on the Profound Continent, Han Shuo probably wouldn't have lived to breathe another whiff of the atmosphere. Han Shuo had offended the Spider Goddess Rose the last time. And now he had injured a midgod of the Shrine of Ice. There might very well be a day when they decided to settle their scores. This pressure was really getting to Han Shuo.
"So what do we do next? Do we continue to the Church of Light's Sacred Mountain?" Ayermike Cotton, who knew Han Shuo's plan, couldn't help but ask.
After a moment of hesitation, Han Shuo shook his head, forced a smile and said, "Let's postpone that for a while. I have been injured on this expedition. Who knows what kind of secret weapon might be waiting for us on the Sacred Mountain. I really have no confidence in my ability to handle the situation if the same thing happens over there. Hmm, let's go home first. When I have recovered from my injuries, we will wipe out the Church of Light. I can use this time to think about how to deal with the potential crisis in the future.
"Sure, I've missed the Lancelot Empire a lot. A lot must have happened in the Empire in the past five hundred years while I was imprisoned by the Primordius Dragon. I wonder if the people and royal family of Lancelot Empire still remember me? When talking about the Lancelot Empire that he had helped to build, Ayermike Cotton would always feel a sense of satisfaction. This was also one of the reasons why he was so kind and sincere to Han Shuo after learning that Han Shuo was carrying out his unfinished business.
Ayermike Cotton considered Han Shuo to be one of his people, mainly because he was from the Lancelot Empire. Furthermore, Han Shuo was an expert with enough strength to make great contributions to the empire. The two of them had common interests. On top of that, Han Shuo's temperament was very much to his liking, so it was only natural that Ayermike Cotton's attitude towards Han Shuo had improved so drastically.
Pegasus and Graeae did not let up while Han Shuo and Ayermike Cotton talked. Soon, the two had collected every item of value from the Ice Shrine. Pegasus took the lead as the two approached and stood in front of Han Shuo. He cupped a few space rings in his two hands and respectfully presented them to Han Shuo, "It's all in here. Some of the items are quite good. Please inspect them, my lord."
Han Shuo did not take the space ring. Instead, he smiled at Ayermike Cotton and said, "The Shrine of Ice has been in operation for many years and of course they would have some interesting items. But, you know, at my level of strength, most material artefacts are just junk in my eyes. Besides, I have injuries that I need to treat. I will have to ask you to process them for me."
"That won't be a problem. I'm pretty good at things like that. Hehe, back during the years of military campaign I had destroyed many small nations and did so quite often," Ayermike Cotton said as he put on a rather sinister and mischievous smile.
"Thank you then. All right, let's get out of here. I expect news of the destruction of the Shrine of Ice will soon spread across the continent. The Shrine of Ice has always been the most fundamental power of the Kasi Empire. Its destruction will definitely deal a heavy blow to the Kasi Empire. I believe they will be powerless against our Lancelot Empire from now on." Despite being injured, Han Shuo was still in a great mood after taking his revenge on the Ice Shrine.
"That's right. Without the Ice Shrine, the Kasi Empire will surely fall into great chaos. The only reason this nation has been so firmly under the control of the House of Pillon is because the Ice Shrine has acted as a deterrent. Now that the Shrine is gone, the House of Pillion will have a bumpy road ahead if they are to maintain their grip on the Kasi Empire," Ayermike Cotton was very familiar with the Kasi Empire. It was immediately clear to him that a power struggle would soon take place in the Kasi Empire.
" Let's go," Han Shuo said. The group of four left the Ice Shrine unperturbed and returned to the Lancelot Empire by the way they had come.
As they passed through the Dragon Valley in the depths of the Dark Forest, Han Shuo hesitated for a moment and decided not to scout for the Primordial Dragon in case it had returned to the Dragon Valley. He kept his cool and steered clear of any reckless stunts.
As they approached the Cemetery of Death, Han Shuo's two avatars separated from his main body. Both of them then entered the Cemetery of Death to recover from the injuries to their bodies. Han Shuo's main body, having cultivated in the demonic arts, had a recovery speed that far exceeded that of his two avatars. By the time they passed through the Cemetery of Death, his injuries had basically healed. Therefore, he did not need to enter the cemetery and instead brought Ayermike Cotton, Pegasus and Graeae to Sunshine Valley.
This time Han Shuo did not stay in Sunshine Valley for long. He went to talk to Jasper and the others, letting them stay in Sunshine Valley for the time being and continue to familiarise themselves with the Profound Continent. He then had a brief private talk with Trunks before taking the trio of basegods to Ossen City in the Lancelot Empire.
Ayermike Cotton had been away from Lancelot Empire for too long, and he missed his homeland. So as not to cause any trouble in Lancelot Empire, Han Shuo did not reveal Ayermike Cotton's identity to anyone. Besides, Ayermike Cotton wasn't one for vanity. Five hundred years ago, he had received everything he needed. He was even worshipped as a god back then.
The reason for Han Shuo's decision to return to Ossen City was to greet Lawrence in person and further discuss the plan of all-out attacks on other nations, while allowing Ayermike Cotton to revisit the capital.
Once in Ossen City, Han Shuo placed Pegasus and Graeae in the Dark Mantle, making them the two most fearsome assets of the secret organisation. They would be responsible for some of the Dark Mantle's most dangerous and difficult missions. The presence of these two basegods in the Dark Mantle would ensure that any shady dealings of the Lancelot Empire could be carried out successfully.
For example, during a war, the two could be used to get rid of the commanders and leaders of the opposing forces, or perhaps to cast a formidable magical matrix - things that would determine the final outcome of a battle in an instant. It was impossible for Han Shuo to do all these things personally. Their presence could save Han Shuo a lot of time and effort.
Han Shuo would only bring experts from the Abyss realm to this world as a last resort. After all, the Abyssal creatures didn't resemble the humans on the Profound Continent. The arrival of Abyssal experts on this plane would surely cause unimaginable panic among the people of the Profound Continent. Han Shuo had no desire to become a public enemy of the entire Profound Continent.
But in any case, with the power Han Shuo currently possessed, not to mention the powerful experts under his control, even without using his Abyssal Experts, it wouldn't be too difficult for him to achieve world domination.
Shortly after Han Shuo had settled Pegasus and Graeae into the Dark Mantle, and Ayermike Cotton had sorted through the vast amount of goods received from the Shrine, people from the Church of Calamity who had travelled great distances paid Han Shuo a visit.