Han Shuo's words meant that there was nothing left to discuss. It's a fight to the death!
At that moment, Han Shuo felt his hand being held tightly by Rose's. Han Shuo turned to her and saw her eyes filled with gratitude and a few other rarely seen emotions. Perhaps the enormous pressure and stress had caused these emotions to surface.
Han Shuo smiled and said in a soothing voice, "This is what I should do. You are mine after all."
"Thank you!" Rose said in a low voice, a seldom seen smile appearing on her flawless face.
Bertha, seeing that there was no room for negotiation, began to laugh maniacally. She said, "Outsider, do you really think we are afraid of you? Even the Fringe has its rules. Do you really think you can just come in here and mess with all of us? We won't let you leave this place alive!"
Han Shuo had no desire to talk to Bertha. With an impatient face, he instructed Han Hao, "Little Hao, kill her for me!"
Without saying a word, Han Hao immediately charged at Bertha with his bone spear in front of him and made an attack on her. Bertha only had Mid-stage Highgod Strength, and she didn't stand much of a chance against Little Skeleton. She was overpowered by Little Skeleton and found herself on the back foot as soon as they began to fight.
Buzz was furious. He was not the kind of character who would easily accept defeat. When he saw that Han Shuo had failed to appreciate their kindness of five million black crystal coins, he finally couldn't hold back any longer and roared, "You think you can defeat us all by yourself? Ha, let's see who's the last one standing!"
With those words finished, Buzz charged forward, not at Han Shuo, but at Han Hao.
Having seen Han Hao kill his Mid-stage Highgod disciple with ease, Buzz knew that his wife Bertha, who was also a Mid-stage Highgod, was no match for Han Hao. Buzz had no choice but to help Bertha to fight Han Hao. Otherwise, he knew that if Han Shuo attacked him, he would be too busy to help Bertha and she would probably be killed.
Han Shuo reacted quickly and flew into the space between Bertha and Buzz. After intercepting Buzz, Han Shuo raised an index finger and moved it from side to side. He said with a grin, "No, no, no, you fight me!"
This time Han Shuo did not use his swarm of demon generals. Instead, with a single thought, the seventeen flying swords flew out of his body. They flew crisscrossing, making eerie, terrifying and deafening whistles. They unleashed strands of terrible and vicious demonic energy, corroding everything around Buzz. Now he really had no time to help Bertha.
When Rose saw Han Shuo and Han Hao fighting their enemy, she wanted to go forward and help them. However, she was afraid of leaving the Five Elite Zombies to fend for themselves. So in the end, all she could do was stand on the same spot and watch the father and son with burning eyes.
Han Shuo and Han Hao would have no trouble defeating Buzz and Bertha one-on-one. Both father and son possessed more power than the husband and wife. It was to be expected that they would win in a duel, no matter which of the couple they were pitted against.
The five elite zombies were completely relaxed. The five of them smiled as they watched Han Shuo and Han Hao fight while making comments. They were unperturbed and acted like non-participants.
With his miraculous bone spear, Han Hao had enveloped Bertha in layers of grey clouds of death. The seven bone spurs on his back wobbled as if they were about to shoot out for the kill.
Bertha was horrified. It was only then that she realised how terrifying the teenager was. She could feel the bizarreness of Little Skeleton's death energy mixed with an even more terrifying and sinister energy. As green lights continued to shoot out of his bone spear, Bertha felt her divine body grow weaker and weaker.
Bertha knew that if she didn't do something to change the situation, she would soon be murdered by the emotionless teenager. Although Bertha did not know Han Shuo's true strength, from the strained look on Buzz's face, she could tell that Buzz was in a similar situation as herself.
No! At this trend, both of us will get killed! Rose you fucking whore, how did you manage to seduce such a terrifying fella! cursed Bertha as she used all her strength defending and racking her brain for a solution.
Suddenly, Bertha exerted all her strength and managed to temporarily free herself from Han Hao's constant bombardment. She took the little time she had to shout, "My friends out there, we are in this together! We need to work together and kill these outsiders – these disruptors, or they will erode our footing in the Fringe!"
Those forces who had been observing seemed tempted but they turned indecisive when they recalled Han Shuo's miraculous and terrible powers. They were weighing if they should risk their own lives for a chance to repossess their valuables.
"I only want them dead! As long as you kill them, I will pay you five million black crystal coins! Five million black crystal coins, in addition to the valuables and crystal coins they have, is more than enough to share among all of you! My fellow Fringedwellers, don't hesitate any longer! If they don't die, our future in the Fringe will not be secure!" Bertha hastily offered the bounty when he saw that the Observers were still hesitating.
Five million black crystal coins was a huge amount of money for most of these people. It was a sum that had taken Buzz and Bertha decades to save. These cold and distant observers were tempted by Bertha's very generous offer.
Suddenly, their eyes lit up and they cast their hungry gazes at Han Shuo and his party. The lure of five million black crystal coins had made many of them forget the terrifying power Han Shuo had just displayed. They were willing to gamble with their lives.
Some of the forces had realised that what Bertha had said was true. If they did not take the opportunity to kill Han Shuo and his gang, it would be much harder to do so in the future. Besides, it was not in their interest to let a troublemaker like Han Shuo get away with disrupting their business.
The forces that had retreated far into the distance once again tightly surrounded Han Shuo and his party. It seemed as if they were determined to slaughter Han Shuo and his gang with their superior numbers.
There were also a few forces that stayed where they were. They weren't part of this deception, they were just there out of curiosity. Haruli was one of them. He was tempted for a second when he heard the five million black crystal coins offered by Bertha, but in the end he decided to stay, more interested in seeing if Han Shuo could do anything against such overwhelming odds.
"Now he's in big trouble. Even though he's very strong, it's unlikely he'd stand a chance against so many experts," remarked the Omphalos guard who had repeatedly warned Han Shuo.
"Brother, let's kill these Disruptors!" shouted the leader of one of the larger forces. Like a rock on a hill being pushed, the twenty or so gangs, made up of a thousand or more of the most notorious criminals of the fringe, began to charge at Han Shuo, Little Skeleton, Rose, and the five elite zombies at the same time.
In normal days, these bandits and criminals would be at odds with each other, and it would be impossible to see them unite against a single party. The whole region was filled with a deadly atmosphere as they murderously charged towards a common enemy.
Buzz was under great pressure as he fought Han Shuo, feeling that he could lose his life to the seventeen flying swords at any moment. However, when the situation suddenly changed, when those supporting forces made up of a thousand or more wild gods decided to help him, his confidence soared. He couldn't help but laugh maniacally and shout, "Hahaha! You are so dead!"
Han Shuo retreated decisively from Buzz as these forces began to advance. As he flew back towards Rose and the five elite zombies, he released the thousands of demon generals from his body. The Demon Generals flew out in their immaterial form and spread out in all directions.
Han Hao and Han Shuo had linked their minds, and they simultaneously retreated back to the Five Elite Zombies. Although Han Hao only needed a dozen more seconds to kill Bertha, he gave up on attacking Bertha without hesitation.
The Five Elite Zombies had surrounded Rose in the middle when they saw that the tide had turned against them. They stood in a pentagonal formation, quietly waiting for Han Shuo and Han Hao to return.
Suddenly, the invisible demon generals that had spread out all around transformed into their material form and launched a surprise and ferocious attack on the Fringedwellers. Meanwhile, the demon generals that had been created using the souls of the Highgods were able to attack while remaining invisible. They did not produce even a trace of shadow as they attacked the Fringedwellers' divine bodies.
Miserable screams and wailing began as soon as the swarm of demon general attacked. With several demon generals attacking each Fringedweller at once, those below Highgod Strength would quickly die as their divine bodies were devoured. The Demon Generals that had tasted flesh would become even more ferocious and thirsty for blood. Their energy would also be temporarily increased, making them more deadly to their next victim.
In an instant, fifty to sixty gods would perish in the Demon General's Heaven before they even got close to the five elite zombies. Their bodies were also shriveled and frozen in a horrible state.
The twenty-odd forces were made up of experts who had cultivated all kinds of energies. Those gods who cultivated the elements of water and fire soon discovered that extreme cold and heat were effective in driving the demon generals away from their divine bodies. The gods who were good with soul energy also realised that soul attacks were effective against the bizarre lifeform.
It took a while, but the Fringedwellers eventually discovered the weaknesses of the Demon Generals and learned to defend themselves effectively against them. As a result, the Demon Generals could no longer split up to maximise their kills. They had to form large groups and attack individually. This reduced their lethality.
At this time, Han Shuo and Han Hao had finally flown back to Rose and the five elite zombies. As soon as they entered the circle, the Five Elite Zombies, who had long been in position, immediately activated the Penta-elemental Undead Formation.