On Elysium, a citizen was expected to be humble and respectful to the Overgod of the Dominion in which they lived. Han Shuo's behaviour can be considered blasphemy against the Overgod of Darkness. It was a serious crime. If he was found guilty, it could have a direct impact on Han Shuo's prospects in the City of Shadows.
Therefore, when Han Shuo saw the sneer on Ralph's face, an uneasy feeling rose in his heart.
As expected, when the religious ceremony ended and everyone raised their heads and rose to their feet, Ralph immediately shouted, "Lord Bryan, how dare you behave with such impiety as not to kneel on the ground! As a follower of the Overgod, such an act of disrespect to the Overgod is unforgivable!"
Wallace, who was about to make an announcement, seemed somewhat taken aback by Ralph's assertion. He turned to sweep his eyes over Han Shuo, knitted his brows and asked, "Bryan, is it true?"
"I did not expect Lord Ralph to be such a vengeful man. I am very disappointed that Lord Ralph has decided to make such a grave slander against me over a small quarrel we had two days ago!" Of course Han Shuo will not admit it. If Han Shuo was tainted with the bad name of blasphemy, it could easily be used against him and cause him untold trouble in the future.
"Lord Bryan, you really have a talent for lying through your teeth. You had the audacity to commit the sin, so don't be such a coward to admit your deeds!" shouted Ralph coldly as he stared intently at Han Shuo with his piercing eyes. It was as if Ralph was trying to make Han Shuo nervous through overwhelming pressure. Wallace, Andre and the others present had sharp eyes. They could detect even the slightest bit of discomfort on Han Shuo's face.
But unfortunately for them, Han Shuo's mind was more steadfast than they could ever imagine. Not only did Han Shuo not show the slightest feeling of guilt under Ralph's piercing eagle eyes, he even managed to put on a perfect act of having been wronged. He glared at Ralph angrily and replied, "Lord Ralph, we both know which one of us is actually lying. you have no conscience?"
"You! You are lying through your teeth!" Ralph shouted immediately. He had not expected Han Shuo to be such a good actor.
Han Shuo sighed, shook his head and said disappointedly, "I always thought Lord Ralph was a principled and truthful man. I really did not expect you to make such a ridiculous slander against me just because we had a small argument. Truly disappointing!"
"Oi, Ralph, do you really have to make such a fuss over something so trivial?" said Erebus in a loud voice. Erebus soon realised that all eyes were on him. So he explained, "A few days earlier, Bryan and Ralph had a little argument over at Lord Aobashi's campsite!"
"I don't think Lord Bryan is one to lie!" said Casper, the Patriarch of the House of Kinson.
The other two patriarchs immediately nodded and echoed this sentiment, implying that Ralph was making a false accusation against Han Shuo. Ralph was perhaps the most hated man in the City of Shadows. The three patriarchs loathed Ralph and would take any opportunity to bash him. But instead of criticising Ralph directly, they remarked that Han Shuo was a trustworthy person.
Wallace looked back and forth between Ralph and Han Shuo, his eyebrows furrowed. After thinking in silence for a moment, he said, "Ralph may have been wrong about what he saw. All right, let's move on and not dwell on this little misunderstanding!"
Although still filled with anger, Ralph was silent after Wallace's announcement. He knew that Wallace was actually defending him.
Han Shuo still had that innocent look on his face. His eyes were filled with sadness and disappointment as he looked at Ralph. Those who didn't know better might even think that Han Shuo felt sorry for Ralph for the way he had behaved!
In his mind, however, Han Shuo was laughing his head off. From the attitude of the three great patriarchs, Han Shuo could tell that Ralph was certainly very unpopular. Moreover, the fact that not a single member of the Sainte family had uttered a word in defence of Ralph was proof that Carmelita's words were true - even the members of the Sainte family disliked this loyal dog of Wallace's!
Han Shuo was relieved to hear that Ralph was so unpopular. He knew that if he were to come into actual conflict with Ralph, this would be an advantage he had over Ralph.
With that, the uproar died down. Wallace finished the rest of his speech and began to explain the rules of the competition.
With the exception of Han Shuo, who was new there, all the participants knew the rules like the back of their hands. In fact, Wallace's only target audience was Han Shuo. But fortunately, Han Shuo had long since had Aobashi and Erebus explain the rules to him. When Wallace saw Han Shuo nod his head to indicate that he already understood the rules, Wallace sped up and quickly finished the necessary speech.
Each Divine Guard Corps was represented by a company. The company could not be more than one hundred men strong, and there could not be a Highgod among them. Although it was forgivable to cause accidental injury and death, premeditated killing was strictly forbidden. Each company could cause no more than five deaths.
The duels between the chiefs would be preceded after the competitions between the companies. The targets set would be different for each centenary. Sometimes the seven companies would race to a goalpost, fighting and obstructing each other along the way. Sometimes they would have to hunt magical beasts and collect the most magical cores to emerge victorious.
But this time the competition was a little different. Wallace had hidden a number of divine essences in the eastern part of the Soaring Cloud Mountains. The divine guards had seven days to find them. They were also allowed to loot from other teams. However, these were no ordinary divine essences. Wallace and Andre had cast spells on them so that once they were removed from where they were hidden, they would emit a unique and perceptible energy fluctuation.
During these seven days, the companies could search for the divine essences, steal or loot from each other. When the time is up, the company with the most divine essences will be the winner. It was also worth mentioning that the companies were not allowed to cooperate with each other, and while two companies were fighting, no third company was allowed to intervene.
These two rules were actually added specifically for Aobashi and Erebus. Wallace and Andre knew that Erebus was overly fond of Aobashi. If the First and Third Corps joined forces, one of them would surely be the victor. It was to prevent this scenario that such a special rule was added!
After quickly explaining all the rules and objectives of the competition, Wallace ordered the companies to march towards the easternmost part of the Soaring Cloud Mountain Range.
Before Kiffan left, Ralph whispered something into his ear. Kiffan nodded repeatedly. Before his company began to march, he gave Barnard a cold and sinister look in the distance.
The Divine Guards of the Second Corps had as much expression as a stone, but they radiated an intense killing intent. Their glances at others were extremely fierce. It was as if they were beasts scanning their prey. Compared to the divine guards of other corps, those of the Second Corps were far more fearsome. Their imposing demeanour was incomparable.
The Divine Guardians of the Fifth Corps, on the other hand, were very relaxed - so much so that the crowd had trouble processing what they were seeing. There was a constant roar of laughter from the Divine Guards of the Fifth Corps. They did not show the slightest nervousness before a major competition. If you didn't know better, you might think they were on a sightseeing tour!
Compared to the other participants, especially those of the Second Corps, the Divine Guards of the Fifth Corps simply seemed too outlandish. Wallace, Andre, the three Great Patriarchs and the Divine Guard Chiefs were all confused. They had not expected that these Divine Guards, who had seemed so solemn and serious earlier, would become the opposite when the time came to fight!
Among the observers, only Han Shuo wore a satisfied smile. When the other participating teams arrived at the Soaring Cloud Mountain Range, Han Shuo instructed the divine guards to stop their preparations, relax and loosen up. He even allowed the divine guards to drink and have fun so that they wouldn't be affected by stress. These divine guards had gone through the Eight Desolation and Torment Formation. Han Shuo was not at all worried about their abilities. The only thing he was worried about was that he might have put too much pressure on them. Seeing his divine guards smiling and laughing as they walked towards the competition arena, Han Shuo was no longer worried about that.
The nearly seven hundred strong divine guards departed on Wallace's orders.
The easternmost part of the Soaring Cloud Mountain Range was only a day's journey away from their starting point. Once the divine guards had departed, Wallace and Andre began to set up the sand table that had been placed on the central viewing platform. Wallace was holding a space divine device. Threads of divine energy continuously flowed from it and fell onto the sand table, which represented the eastern part of the Soaring Cloud Mountain Range. It was bizarrely synchronised with the energy towers in the area.
After running around for a while, Wallace suddenly stuck the space divine device in the centre of the sand table, causing an intense fluctuation of spacetime around the sand table. Then, a glass-like space energy barrier formed like a dome covering the sand table.
Under Han Shuo's attentive gaze, the scene on the sand table changed. The flora and fauna on it became intricate and lifelike. A moment later, another space-time fluctuation came from the sand table.
When the fluctuation stopped, Han Shuo saw that the sand table had zoomed in on the easternmost region of the Soaring Cloud Mountain Range. Everything that happened in that region was clearly projected onto the table. They could even see the troops moving across the table like little ants.
"This space divine device is connected to the energy towers in this region. With this device, we can watch everything that happens over there without moving a step. Not only will we be able to keep an eye on them and make sure no mishaps happen, but we will also be able to tell which team has the strongest divine guards," Wallace explained to the crowd, smiling, after everything was set up properly. He seemed very pleased with himself.
As expected, the crowd began to praise how wonderful and miraculous the divine device was, taking the opportunity to implicitly fawn over Wallace. Han Shuo, however, felt rather uneasy. If he had known that Wallace had such a device, he would not have given such despicable orders to Barnard. He didn't want anyone there to see Barnard carry out his orders, because that could get him into trouble.