Besides the demonic miasmic cloud that enveloped the Pandemonium, there were all sorts of even more deadly demonic formations deployed all around. If Salas were to infiltrate the Pandemonium, there would be hell to pay. As for his followers, they would not stand a chance.
"Good, good! Hahaha, they are all coming! This is wonderful!" exclaimed Han Mu excitedly.
"Hehe, Salas trusts his strength too much. He seems to think that there are no defences that he cannot destroy!" remarked Han Tu as he watched the stationary Salas through the spatial refraction mirror.
Salas immediately stopped bombarding the Pandemonium as the toxin miasmic cloud enveloping the valley dissipated. Hovering high in the sky, he watched coldly as his followers attacked the Pandemonium.
As the veil of miasmic lifted, the serene and heavenly Pandemonium was revealed to their eyes. They saw the magnificent buildings that had been erected, with towering green trees covering every inch of the valley.
Without the miasmic cloud, Salas could see the valley clearly. He found no intricate boundaries, no large arrays of power towers. Without those things, the valley shouldn't have much defence left. The Pandemonium should have crumbled like a piece of paper against his overwhelming forces.
All signs pointed to the toxin miasmic cloud as the only layer of protection. Without it, Pandemonium was like a naked beauty tied to a tree, defenceless and powerless against her attackers.
Salas had not joined his troops in advancing on the Pandemonium because he was somewhat wary of Han Shuo. He had witnessed Han Shuo survive the Demonic Calamity on his Empyrean Peak and the scene had left a lasting impression on his mind. Salas wanted to conserve as much energy as possible to deal with Han Shuo who might be hiding in the valley.
These followers of Salas descended into the Pandemonium. But as they descended, they noticed that the clear and unobstructed view had suddenly turned into a hazy atmosphere, and the visibility had drastically decreased.
The magnificent structures and beautiful scenery they saw from afar were actually created by an illusionary formation. They had been deceived. And now that they were inside, it would be too late to do anything, even if they realised it.
It was not long before Salas' troops lost their bearings. They found themselves surrounded by chilling winds and blood-curdling screams. Suddenly they realised that they had entered another dimension and that their comrades were missing...
Some of them managed to land on the valley floor, but the vines that grew there surprised them and entangled them like thousands of snakes. Their leaves cut like blades and had a jade-green sheen, as if they contained poison...
Others found themselves at the centre of a fierce thunderstorm. Then, out of nowhere, clones of themselves attacked them with sheer ferocity. Those who did not have strong minds and wills immediately collapsed. The enormous pressure would cause them to lose their minds and sink into madness...
Countless wondrous demonic formations were activated. Sala's troops were trapped inside these formations. Many of them were unable to react to the bizarre attacks from another universe and quickly lost their lives.
The most pitiful screams echoed from the pandemonium. Anyone listening would feel their blood run cold.
"Wahahahahah..." Beneath the Pandemonium, the Five Elite Zombies rolled on the ground laughing. They took great pleasure in watching these people fall into their traps and be slaughtered.
Rose, Romon, Zovic and others saw the intruders being massacred by all kinds of bizarre energies inside the demonic formations through the spatial mirror in front of them. They were pleasantly surprised.
"Indeed, the power Master possesses is beyond the limits of our imagination!" said Romon admiringly.
"So we were worried for nothing after all! Hehe, in the future, if we run into any danger, all we have to do is return to the Pandemonium and we will have nothing to fear. No one can touch us while we are inside this sanctuary!" said Goron. Any signs of fear he had expressed earlier were now gone.
"After this massacre, the experts under Salas' command will dwindle even further. Even if he manages to conquer our base, he will be the weakest of the Sovereigns. Haha, serves him right for insulting our master!" said the cunning Zovic, beaming from ear to ear.
Through the spatial mirror before them, they could clearly see everything that was happening in every corner of the Pandemonium, including Salas' followers being slaughtered one by one. Even the Highgod Fringedwellers could not resist the bizarre attacks from the numerous demonic formations.
"There, what are they doing?" asked Rose, pointing to a group of Fringedwellers trapped in a fantasy land. They were attacking empty spaces like rabid dogs.
"Wait, are they killing each other? What's going on over there?" Goron was also puzzled by what he saw in another demonic formation. These Fringedwellers, who should be comrades, were fighting and killing each other as if they were mortal enemies. Twenty or so Fringedwellers entered the demonic formation, but only six remained. Most of those who died in the hallucination formations were killed by their best friends or even their own relatives.
"Hehe, those formations have an energy that confuses the mind. You will never understand their actions without being there yourself," Han Mu explained before smiling and suggesting, "You can go inside after this is over. Then you will see why they act the way they do."
"You know what, I think I'd rather not know. I get goose bumps all over my body just looking out of the spatial mirror. I don't want to risk killing all my subordinates," Goron replied, waving his hands from side to side. He dared not court death after witnessing the strange, diabolical nature of the Pandemonium.
"Haha, you are a reasonable one, Goron!" sneered Zovic.
"I just don't want to die horribly," Goron replied with a bitter smile.
***
Although those beneath the Pandemonium were relaxed, Ossora, who had been secretly observing the valley, could not be more astonished. Despite being some distance away, Ossora could make out the general situation in the valley. The troops were being slaughtered by all sorts of mysterious energies in the Pandemonium.
Although Ossora was one of the Five Sovereigns, he knew nothing of the wondrous demonic arts that came from another universe. Everything he saw in the Pandemonium was beyond his comprehension. No matter how carefully he observed the Valley, or how hard he tried to decipher it, he was still nowhere near understanding the mystery.
The only thing he could glean from the pandemonium was that souls were being harvested at every moment. It was a symphony of miserable screams played in prestissimo.
The longer Ossora watched the Pandemonium, the more impressed he became with Han Shuo. He knew that even his own underground palace, which he had spent thousands of years building, did not possess such miraculous defensive power. Han Shuo had only been in the Fringe for a few years, yet he was able to turn the valley into a deadly meat grinder capable of shredding a thousand Fringedwellers. That was more than enough proof of Han Shuo's power.
Ossora became even more determined not to get on Han Shuo's bad side. He thought that he should use this crisis to gain Han Shuo's favour.
If Ossora could see what was happening in the valley, then surely Salas, who was standing much closer to it, could as well. Salas had taken a breath after 'destroying' the toxic miasmic cloud. Soon after the invasion had begun, he heard pitiful screams coming from his men, but it didn't bother him because it was normal to lose a few lives.
But when the miserable screams became louder and more frequent, coming from all parts of the valley, Salas raised an eyebrow. Only then did he realise that something wasn't right. He scanned and examined the valley and was surprised to find it filled with all sorts of unknown energies. These bizarre energies arranged themselves and moved in strange orders, forming all sorts of wondrous attacks and quickly slaughtering his troops who were in the valley.
Salas was greatly alarmed. Most of his troops had now entered the Pandemonium and he could no longer bombard the valley with his thunderbolts as he had done before. Anger filled his mind as he shouted from above the Pandemonium, "Everyone retreat!
Unfortunately for Salas and his followers, while it was easy to get into the Pandemonium, it was extremely difficult to get out. Salas's troops were currently trapped inside various demonic formations, which they could only leave by their own death. They were so busy dealing with attacks from 'themselves' that they couldn't even hear Salas' scream.
Therefore, no matter how hard or how much Salas shouted from the sky, none of his troops left the demonic formations. In fact, they were dying at an increasing rate. The Pandemonium was littered with corpses!
Having come to this, and for lack of a better option, Salas descended into the valley.
Salas was an expert with Overgod strength. Those demonic formations that relied on the energy of demon generals could not defeat the lightning energy that adorned his divine body. They could not harm Salas in any meaningful way.
The hallucination-inducing demonic formations, however, had the same effect on Salas. They took Salas to the land of fantasy in a fraction of a second. But having ascended to the Overgod realm, Salas' mind and willpower were extremely resilient, far surpassing those of his followers, not to mention that his Overgod soul was nothing like a Highgod soul.
For these reasons, Salas was able to defeat the demonic formations in no time. He destroyed them one by one. Three demonic formations were soon destroyed.
"Well, time for me to shine!" said Ossora. He smiled faintly and stealthily flew closer to the Pandemonium.