Most of those gathered around Han Shuo had been involved in the deception and had been tempted by Bertha's offer. They had been killed or had fled.
But there were several forces that decided to stay even after Han Shuo had displayed his intimidating power. Most of them had some kind of trick up their sleeves.
For example, they could be followers of the Five Sovereigns. Or perhaps they were confident that they could escape from Han Shuo.
Under Han Shuo's attentive gaze, the leaders of these forces exchanged glances. One of them broke the silence, "I mean no harm. I just came here as a passive observer. Lady, gentlemen, if you are interested, I can introduce you to Lord Logue. I think Lord Logue will be very interested in you."
It was clear from his words that he was a follower of Sovereign Logue. The reason he had stayed until now was to try and recruit Han Shuo and his party for his master.
After he had made his offer to Han Shuo, the other forces took their turn and made similar offers. They represented the other four Sovereigns - Tyre, Ossora, Salas and Wasir. They asked Han Shuo to consider their offers and promised that he would get everything he wanted in the Fringe - if he agreed to their offer.
The Five Sovereigns had been fighting each other for many years, and they would spare no effort in recruiting the true top experts. Just now, Han Shuo had demonstrated his extremely brave strength. If he were to join one of the five sovereigns, he would definitely disrupt the status quo and make one of the sovereigns much more powerful.
Han Shuo had long expected them to have the support of the Five Sovereigns, otherwise they wouldn't have stayed to watch so fearlessly. Han Shuo smiled and shook his head, refusing straightforwardly, "I apologise, but I have no intention of submitting to anyone. I believe that the fringe is big enough for me to live without being beholden to anyone. Thank you for your offers."
These representatives nodded calmly, but they did not continue to try to persuade Han Shuo to join them. They had all seen Han Shuo's arrogant and unyielding temperament. They could tell that Han Shuo was not the kind of person who would bow down to others and had little hope of success to begin with. After Han Shuo declined their offers, they said their goodbyes to Han Shuo.
Haruli bowed very slightly to Han Shuo and he also left with his men. Moments later, there was not a single living being left around Han Shuo and his party. All that accompanied them were the bodies lying everywhere.
"Rose, didn't you say you still had some friends here? Let's go visit them. We don't have enough experts at the moment and need to recruit as many as we can!" Han Shuo said to Rose after everyone had left.
"Okay, let's go," Rose nodded, ready to lead the way.
"Wait!" a scream suddenly came from the nearest Omphalos checkpoint. In an instant, the Omphalos guard that Han Shuo had been reminded of repeatedly appeared.
Han Shuo had a somewhat favourable impression of this person. Han Shuo smiled at the hastily arriving person and asked in a friendly manner, "How can I help you?"
"You want to hear news about Kage, right?" he replied in a low voice.
Han Shuo was stunned. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "How did you know about that?"
"The Stringer you asked about is one of us. He told me about it," he quietly explained to Han Shuo and continued, "I will give you this information for free: Kage has just left Empyrean Peak and should be heading back to his base. If you wish to find him, now is the time."
After finishing these words, the guard smiled at Han Shuo, said nothing more and returned to the Omphalos.
Han Shuo was at a loss for words and couldn't understand why the guy would be so nice to him. But when he heard that Kage had left the Empyrean Peak, Han Shuo immediately changed his plans. He wanted to kill Kage before he did anything else.
"Father, I don't think this guy gave us Kage's whereabouts for nothing. He might want us to kill Kage and then leak the information to everyone," Han Hao said shortly after the Omphalos guard left.
Han Shuo smiled faintly and nodded in appreciation. He thought that his firstborn was indeed not as naive as the Five Elite Zombies.
After careful consideration, he thought that Han Hao's suspicion was very likely. The Fringe's Five Sovereigns hated each other. This guard probably didn't work for Salas. If he leaked the information after Han Shuo killed Kage, Han Shuo would most likely be hunted down by Salas' forces.
Based on the strength that Han Shuo had shown, if Salas' gang were to hunt down and fight Han Shuo, even if Han Shuo ended up dead, Salas' forces would have to pay a considerable price. This would be a desirable outcome for them.
"No problem, we will kill Kage anyway. But when the time comes, be extra careful so that no one suspects us. Hehe, we will eventually have a confrontation with the Five Sovereigns, but now is not the time!" Han Shuo's ultimate goal was to rule the Land of Chaos. However, since Han Shuo had yet to break through to the Skybreak Realm in the demonic arts, he had no confidence in fighting the Five Sovereigns.
"Understood," Han Hao replied with a nod. Then suddenly, Han Hao suggested, "Father, how about you leave the matter of Kage to me? You can go about your business."
Han Shuo stared blankly at Little Skeleton for a moment. He thought about it, knitted his brows and replied, "You should have no trouble defeating Kage in a solo fight. But what if he travels with other experts?"
"Then I will bring Little Earth with me. With Little Earth, I can launch a sneak attack anytime, anywhere. I will finish Kage in the shortest time possible and then escape with Little Earth. That's enough," Han Hao said confidently.
Han Hao was notorious in the Death Dominion for his ferocity and ruthlessness. Not only did he possess extraordinary strength, but he was also calm and decisive in his actions. In the past five decades, he had rarely lost a battle. Han Shuo thought about his words for a moment and nodded with a smile.
Han Shuo knew from experience that it was by letting his children face dangers and challenges on their own that they would grow the fastest. Besides, Kage only had Mid-stage Highgod strength. With the power that Little Skeleton had shown, it shouldn't be too difficult for him to kill Kage. And with Han Tu around, he could attack and retreat with ease, so Han Shuo wasn't too worried about his safety.
"Little Earth, come with me," Han Hao said after turning to Han Tu.
Han Tu seemed somewhat agitated. He put on his innocent smile and said to Han Shuo, "Bye, Father!"
"If you can't find me, look for me at the Omphalos in a month," Han Shuo said to Han Hao.
"Yes, Father," Little Skeleton nodded and left with Han Tu.
"Let's go. We will look for your friends," Han Shuo said after turning to Rose.
Rose said nothing and began to lead the group, flying towards the southwest. Han Shuo, Wood Elite Zombie, Water Elite Zombie, Fire Elite Zombie and Metal Elite Zombie followed behind her.
After three days, Han Shuo and his party appeared at an Everglade covered in poisonous mist in the southwest of the Fringe. They had been wandering aimlessly. Air bubbles floated up to the marshes and mud, lingering on the surface for a second before bursting and releasing poisonous gases into the atmosphere.
The plants and animals that live in the region are usually toxic in some way. Throughout their journey, countless rare and bizarre plants had tried to pounce on Han Shuo and his party without warning. However, these plants had always been stopped by Han Mu.
"Damn man, the plants in this region are so damn stubborn. I have to expend more energy than usual to control these plants. I'm lucky to have the Viride Leaf. Otherwise, I would have used more than half of my energy just to disperse them," Han Mu complained. He was angry that the plants in the Everglade would dare to challenge his authority.
All plants in the universe survive on the Yuan Energy of Wood, while the Wood Elite Zombie was born from it. Therefore, he could use the Wood Yuan Energy naturally found in his body to control all kinds of plants. Although they were made up of the same energy, those plants belonged to existences of a much lower level than Wood Elite Zombie's, because their souls had not yet developed self-awareness.
Normally, any being that survived on the energy of wood would not be able to resist the control of Wood Elite Zombie. When in a forest, Han Mu could fuse his energy with every tree and plant. He could use them to attack, or he could use their wood energy to restore his depleted divine energy.
This was also the reason why a Wood Elite Zombie's strength would increase many times over when he was in a large forest. Even a Highgod might not be able to defeat him. However, the plants living in the Everglade, perhaps corroded by the toxins, would become very stubborn and unyielding. They would refuse to simply obey Han Mu's command, and he would have to use more energy than usual to control them.
"Rose, where does your friend live?" Han Shuo had expanded his consciousness but found no sign of life. This made him quite confused.
"I don't know the exact location, but he should be around here. He is a unique race and of all my friends, he has the strangest temperament and the greatest strength. It's been many years and I don't know if he still lives here," Rose replied. She knew that wandering aimlessly around the Everglade would not be effective, but she could think of no better way to find her friend.
"Let's just keep looking and hope we find something," Han Shuo remarked.
The group continued to look around. They had spent another day, but it had been fruitless. Then they came to the largest swamp where huge bubbles were rising to the surface. Han Jin's face suddenly shook. He pointed to the swamp below him and excitedly said to Han Shuo, "Father, there is a very strange metal underneath. I have never seen it before. I'm going to check it out!"
After finishing these words, Han Jin jumped into the swamp.
But before Han Jin entered the swamp, a monstrous arm that seemed to be made of steel suddenly shot out and grabbed him. It dragged Han Jin into the swamp!