Larikson, Hofs and the experts they had brought with them gathered outside the Han residence. Although they had been steadfast and eager on their way to the residence, they were worried and hesitant when they arrived at their destination.
A bizarre and eerie dark cloud loomed over the Han residence, which was shrouded in a thick dark fog. None of the experts gathered outside could peer through the fog to see what danger lay ahead. The Divine Guards of Hushveil City had learned to fear the House of Han after suffering tonnes of destructive Energy Crystal Cannon blasts. They did not dare to charge ahead recklessly.
Even Hofs and Larikson immediately raised their hands, signalling their experts to stop when they saw the strange situation ahead. They wore dark faces as they used their divine souls to probe the Han residence.
After a long time, Hofs quietly exclaimed, "Something is wrong. My soul seems to be blocked by the thick mist. I can feel no life aura at all. That's impossible, I'm sure they're inside. They must have somehow blocked my soul's ability to sense!"
Larikson nodded and said, "Indeed. I cannot sense any life aura either. But I'm sure that those from the House of Han never left Fort Lasberg. According to my information, they have been defending the fort all along. Those who left the fort were all civilians".
Hofs knew exactly where Larikson's 'information' came from. He smiled as he said, "Wallace really is intolerant of competition. But that is a good thing, hehe. After I've wiped out the House of Han, I'm going to tell the public the truth. If Bryan is still alive, he will know the role Wallace played. By then, whether he wants to or not, he would have to fight alongside us!"
"Indeed. Wallace may plot, but so can we! Hehe, we may be the ones doing the dirty work, but Wallace's hands are no less bloody than ours!" Larikson obviously hadn't planned to let Wallace play the innocent bystander. He too had planned to drag Wallace through the mud.
"I did not expect the House of Han to go to so much trouble. Perhaps we need to be more cautious," Hofs said gravely as he stared at the Han residence directly in front of him, hidden under the thick dark fog.
"Let's try ranged attacks on it, like we did with the energy barrier earlier," Larikson suggested.
Hofs nodded and ordered his troops, "Get some distance away from the Han Residence and start bombarding it! Let's see if they can withstand even a single wave of our combined attack!
The divine guards of Hushveil City did not hesitate. As ordered by their City Lord, they sent a dazzling swarm of divine energy into the Han residence, hoping that it would reveal the situation beneath the fog.
Hofs and Larikson watched intently as the divine energy attacks fell into the dense fog. It was like a stone being thrown into a bottomless ocean. They did not hear any shrieks from any beings, nor did they hear the intense explosions that should have sounded.
Something's not right!
It was plain to all those gathered before the Han Residence that the thick fog was nothing as simple as it seemed. They were startled and started thinking about how they should preserve their own lives.
"You, you, and you, step inside and find the way in. It might just be a deceitful trick of the House of Han to keep us outside," instructed Hofs as he randomly selected a few of his divine guards.
Those Hushveil City divine guards who were selected as cannon fodders felt terrified and wretched but they carried out their City Lord's command. Very slowly and cautiously, they stepped into the fog. They immediately noticed that their senses were greatly affected with their eyes seeing no more than ten meters. Stepping on the flat ground felt like stepping on air. Everything around them seemed unreal.
Using their divine souls, Larikson and Hofs attentively observed the cannon fodders' movements. They were somewhat glad to find that the cannon fodders did not suffer ferocious attacks as they anticipated. However, they did not lose their guard and continued to observe the two's movements.
The few cannon fodders gradually made their way deeper into the Han residence. They walked and walked, but could not see a single structure or detect any signs of life. They could find neither a way in nor out.
Larikson and Hofs looked puzzled. They had watched those cannon fodder move through the aura of their divine souls and had estimated their location and movement. The two of them discovered that the cannon fodder was moving around a small area. And no matter how many circles they made, they did not venture any further into the residence.
Hofs, given his temperament, had been shouting and cursing for a long time. But it seemed that the cannon fodder he had sent out couldn't hear him. They continued to circle the same area. They could go no deeper, nor could they find their way back.
Soon Hofs grew impatient. He selected a few more of his divine guards and instructed, "You, enter from another side. There might be some kind of spatial barrier, so be careful. Don't be as useless as those fools who can't even find their way back."
"Don't worry, my lord. I cultivate the energy of space. If there is a space barrier in there, I can identify it and overcome it easily," assured one of the chosen divine guards before taking the lead and stepping into the mist.
Another group of cannon fodder attempted to enter the Han Residence. Somehow, once they had gone a certain distance, they all started walking in circles, as if they had lost their sense of direction. It was the same process as with the first batch of cannon fodder.
Hofs knew there was no point in sending more cannon fodder to the Han residence. He turned to Larikson and asked, "What do you think?"
"There must be some kind of space defensive barrier in there, and the expert who set it up must have a deep mastery of the energy of space. Otherwise your men wouldn't have been so clueless and trapped," Larikson said after a moment's thought.
"And?" Hofs looked at the experts Larikson had brought with him before he said in a deep, slightly annoyed voice, "Don't you think it's about time you made yourselves useful?"
Although Larikson and Hofs had come to besiege the fort together, only Hofs' divine guards had been placed on the front line. Larikson and his experts had mostly been observers. It was easy to see why Hofs wasn't too happy about this.
Larikson laughed mischievously, nodded and said, "Very well. He turned and glanced at a Highgod of Thunder standing behind him before instructing, "Kinu, try it. The energy of lightning can disrupt the Edict of Space. I believe that with enough bombardment of lightning energy, the energy barriers of space will be destroyed!
The Highgod of Thunder named Kinu bowed to Larikson. Without saying a word, he transformed into a bolt of thunder and shot into the fog. As he moved, thunder rumbled as tiny electric sparks slipped between the dark cloud as the energy of the lightning accumulated.
*** Inside the Han residence, Bollands commanded with a scheming, cold face, "Activate the Illusionary Scene Projector and lure them in!"
"I'll take care of it! Hehe, let's pull back the fog for now and save the guy with the lightning energy some embarrassment," Gilbert said excitedly before flipping the switches.
Of all the people in the meeting room, only Bollands, Sanguis and Gilbert were familiar with the large and small demonic formations around the Han residence. Before Han Shuo left the fortress, he had explained to them the powers of the demonic formations and how to use them. Since all three of them cultivated demonic arts, and some of their knowledge overlapped with the demonic formations, they were able to learn how to control the demonic formations.
Sanguis, Gilbert, and Bollands proceeded to temporarily disable some demonic formations and activate the Illusionary Scene Projector.
"Ladies and gentlemen, in a moment, the mist will dissipate and the Illusionary Scene Projector will clearly project our appearances in front of the attackers. Please pretend to be so scared that you shit your pants," Sanguis instructed as he set up the mechanisms.
"We got it," Emily replied with a slight smile.
***After shooting into the mist, Kinu activated the lightning energy he had accumulated above him. Bolts of lightning fell from the sky and bombarded every corner of the Han Residence.
Then, as if someone had flicked a switch, the thick fog that had enveloped the Han Residence suddenly began to dissipate. Even the dark cloud above the Han Residence began to waver, as if it might dissipate at any moment.
Like a veil being lifted, the buildings of the Han Residence slowly revealed themselves to the attackers. They saw the members of the Han family looking terrified, helpless and desperate. Some gazed foolishly at the attackers, while others tried desperately to flee. It was utter chaos.
The lifelike scene and perfect acting had deceived all the attackers, especially Hofs, who had been waiting for this moment. They assumed that the Highgod of Thunder had managed to destroy all the defences in the Han residence, and they did not smell a rat.
Hofs put on a wild smile and howled, "Charge! Kill them all!"