Dagassi had relayed Sha-t'o's words clear. The House of Han must surrender every last bit of their secrets to the House of Kiaran within three days. Otherwise they will be destroyed.
Emily, Phoebe, Stratholme, Bollands, Sanguis, Gilbert and other core members of the Han family gathered to discuss how to respond to the ultimatum. They all wore sombre and serious faces.
By now it was clear to Stratholme that the missing House of Han guard must have been kidnapped by the House of Kiaran. Otherwise, Sha-t'o wouldn't have known of the existence of these remaining demonic battle formations.
Emily and Stratholme exchanged glances. They both knew that there was no longer any need to conceal the matter. Stratholme told the group about the disappearance of one of their guards before saying solemnly, "It seems that Sha-t'o must have learned some of the secrets of our family clan from the guard. Otherwise, he wouldn't have suddenly demanded that we give up all our secrets in just three days.
"I've personally trained every one of our guards and I'm absolutely certain that they wouldn't say a word," Bollands said confidently after a moment's thought.
Before being recruited into the House of Han, the guards had to pass thorough background checks and all sorts of personality tests. They would then be trained and tempered mentally and physically through various methods. These guards would put the interests of the House of Han above their own lives.
And indeed, the House of Han guard who was abducted did not speak a word despite being tortured. He had even bitten off his tongue. That was the loyalty of a House of Han guard.
"Sha-t'o cultivates the energy of death. As a Late-stage Highgods, his mastery and understanding of the soul would be beyond our imagination. Fanny, who cultivates the energy of death, explained, "I believe in the loyalty of our House of Han guards. But when a person dies, their memory and soul don't disappear immediately. Given Sha-to's strength, it wouldn't be too difficult for him to extract some information from his soul.
The group immediately understood what must have happened after hearing Fanny's explanation.
"It seems that this is as much time as we can buy. If Sha-t'o has learned the secrets of our House of Han from the soul of the Divine Guard, then he will never let us go. No matter what we do, our only way out is death," Emily said after giving a desperate sigh. As things stood, even the optimistic Emily saw no hope of survival.
Bollands, still wearing the same calm and indifference on his face, suggested in a firm, determined voice, "Then we will wait no longer. We will strike tonight and take as many casualties as we can!"
Bollands had been very calm all the time. It was he who had kept Sanguis and Gilbert from doing anything rash. He had followed Emily and Startholme's strategy to buy as much time as possible. He even endured an insult from Sha-t'o. Surprisingly, he was also the first to suggest a kamikaze attack.
Sanguis and Gilbert, who had long been prepared for such a move, had fierce gleams in their eyes. They seemed strangely excited after hearing Bolland's words.
Emily nodded firmly. In a determined voice she said, "Tonight is the night! We will give our lives to inflict the greatest losses on the House of Kiaran. The House of Han may be destroyed, but we won't go down without a fight! She seemed to welcome death with open arms.
Emily looked at the faces of everyone gathered before she suddenly smiled and said, "But know that we will not die in vain! Bryan will avenge our deaths - it is only a matter of time. He will kill all those who were directly or indirectly involved!"
"Let us disperse and have a short rest. We will assemble before dawn and strike as one," said Bollands. As the instructor who had trained every House of Han guard, he was best placed to coordinate an attack like the one the House of Han was about to launch.
The core members of the House of Han quietly dispersed to take their possibly final charge. Bollands then immediately assembled the House of Han captains and informed them of the plan and strategy to be followed.
*** While the House of Han quietly prepared, Sha-t'o, the patriarch of the Kiaran family, went to see the Lord of Witherbone City at his mansion. He revealed to City Lord Hill the information he had extracted from the soul of the House of Han guard.
Hill was rather annoyed at first, thinking that there was no need for him to be informed of every little detail. But when he heard that Han Shuo had killed many of Larikson's Highgods and even forced Larikson and Felder to flee, his annoyance turned to shock. He put on a grave face and said to Sha-t'o, "Tell me everything you know about this guy!
There had been many rumours about the House of Han in the City of Shadows that had reached the ears of Sha-t'o and Hill. However, they weren't the kind of people to trust unverified news, and they didn't know many of Han Shuo's secrets. Therefore, Sha-t'o and Hill had not considered Han Shuo a potential threat from the beginning.
They might not believe in rumours, but they had absolute faith in the memories of this Guard's soul. Sha-t'o told Hill all the previously unknown secrets about Han Shuo. They both noticed the deep seriousness in each other's eyes.
Hill took a deep breath as he fiddled uneasily with his bone armrest. In a low voice he said, "The House of Han cannot be allowed to live. Not only do we have to make sure they are all dead, but we have to find a way to pin the blame on someone else. Damn it, this guy turns out to be more terrifying than the rumours about him. If he comes to Witherbone City and finds out the truth, our city will surely be weakened!"
"I have given the House of Han a three-day deadline, and I will use that time to get things in order. Those from the other Dominions are on their way here. As long as we plan everything carefully, it's possible to make a scapegoat out of them," Sha-t'o revealed his treacherous plan.
"Good, you have done well. When it is all over, you will be well rewarded!" said Hill happily. He was pleased with Sha-t'o's performance so far.
But suddenly Hill's eyebrows knitted together. He turned to the divine guard who had just burst into the room and asked in an annoyed voice, "What are you so anxious about?"
"City Lord, the Kiaran residence is on fire! They seem to be under attack!" the divine guard replied hastily.
Sha-t'o had been wearing a modest smile after being praised by Hill. But when he heard the distress call, his face froze for a moment before instantly turning to anger. He shouted, "How dare they attack! I will tear every last one of them to pieces!"
Then, without even saying goodbye to Hill, Sha-t'o left and hurried to his Kiaran residence.
Hill knew that Sha-t'o was worried and was not offended by his lack of manners. He too rose immediately from his white throne and followed behind Sha-t'o.
Hill's divine guards inside his mansion were unaware of the attack on Kiaran's residence. When they saw Sha-t'o rushing through the corridors with Hill following, they thought that Sha-t'o was fleeing from Hill. Misunderstanding the situation, some of them aimed their divine weapons at Sha-t'o in an attempt to intercept him.
"Do not fire! Let him pass!" shouted Hill as he saw his divine guards raise their weapons. His voice echoed throughout the mansion.
*** At the same time, an extravagant outsider had just entered Witherbone City through one of the city gates.
"Hey! Stop right... Never mind!"
Han Shuo did not bother to let the divine guards check his divine tablet. He simply swooped through the checkpoint in a flash. The divine guards manning the city gate were about to chase after Han Shuo when they suddenly saw the large amount of black crystal coins scattered on the ground. They pretended to see no intruder and hastily helped themselves.
After entering Witherbone City, Han Shuo grabbed a random midgod on the street and shoved a bag of black crystal coins into his hands. He hastily asked, "Where is the Kiaran Residence?"
The midgod was annoyed that Han Shuo had dragged him out of the blue. He was about to curse when he felt something hard and heavy in his hands. As he lowered his head and looked, his face went from frowning to beaming from ear to ear. He immediately pointed in one direction and happily replied, "All the way to the east!
As soon as he finished these words, Han Shuo disappeared as if he had just vanished. Were it not for the bag of black crystal coins in his hands, the Midgod would have thought he was hallucinating, for Han Shuo moved so quickly that he did not even catch him leaving.
*** At the Kiaran Residence.
Taking full advantage of the element of surprise, the House of Han managed to flatten more than half of the structures in the residence in a short time. Many of the Kiaran family's guards were killed before they could react.
With many of the Highgods and Divine Guards unprepared and out of position, the House of Han was unstoppable. They split into many small groups, forming ring formations to destroy and kill anything and everyone they saw. The flustered and confused House of Kiaran guards were ruthlessly slaughtered.
In less than fifteen minutes, a hundred or more of the House of Kiaran were slaughtered. Meanwhile, the House of Han guards had suffered only a few injuries.
But the tide soon turned against them. Once the great number of House of Kiaran Highgods had assembled, and the Hill's Divine Guards stationed around the Residence began their counterattacks, the House of Han was pushed back.
As the City Lord's mansion was relatively close to the Kiaran Residence, Sha-t'o, the patriarch of the Kiaran family, soon returned to his residence. The City Lord of Witherbone City had also appeared after Sha-t'o. Seeing the two Late-stage Highgods, every member of the House of Han understood that their end was near.