Salas and the three Hegemons reassembled in the centre of the Misty Sea. They all had dark faces. The four Overgods had been setting up their traps and barriers around the Misty Sea for days. They had even rehearsed their combined forces against Han Shuo.
But despite their long, careful planning and preparation, despite having Han Shuo right in their palms, Han Shuo had still managed to slip through their fingers. If the outside world found out about their failure that day, they would have no reputation left.
In the end, Salas had managed to dodge the Deicide Slash and had not wasted a single energy in resisting it. As the Orbs of Destruction destroyed the barriers in the sky, Han Shuo had let the seventeen flying swords return to his body so that he could escape with them.
"This is all your fault, Salas! If you had not retreated, there was no way he could have escaped!" As soon as the four Overgods reassembled, the masked man on the white bone throne angrily began to blame Salas.
Salas was not in a good mood either. He scolded, "That's easy for you to say when you never even fought him. If I had taken that blow directly, I would need at least hundreds of years to recover from the injuries!
The Hegemon of Destruction named Dhaka looked at Salas before turning to his fellow Hegemons, nodded and said gravely, "Dagmar, Asser, this boy is definitely not easy to kill. Now is not the time to point fingers. What we should be doing now is to be thinking of a way to finish him off as soon as possible!"
After hearing these words, Dagmar, the Hegemon of Death, seemed to remember that they still needed Salas' knowledge of the Fringe for their invasion plan, so he did not berate Salas any further. After a moment's thought, Dagmar knitted her brows and said, "This boy is indeed as cunning as a fox. Since the four of us failed to kill him today, it will be much harder to kill him in the future. But I still do not understand - when he escaped, he had a dozen hallucinations. All the hallucinations are indistinguishable from a real god, and they even gave off divine auras, as if they all possessed souls. I cannot understand how he managed to deceive us.
Dagmar, Asser and Dhaka turned to Salas. Of the four, Salas knew Han Shuo best and naturally they would look to Salas for answers.
"He cultivates a bizarre energy that seems to allow him to manipulate souls. I don't know how, but I'm sure he could transform the souls he controls to take on his appearance and aura," Salas pondered for a moment before continuing, "Compared to the last time I met him, his strength has improved. Even now, I have no idea what kind of energy he is cultivating. If we don't kill him soon, I'm afraid the day will come when it will take all twelve of your Hegemons to kill him."
"Given his temperament, I doubt he'll let you go so easily, especially after what you tried on him today. Have you thought of a counter-measure, Salas?" asked Dhaka with a serious face. He felt that Salas was not exaggerating, and he vaguely sensed that Han Shuo was becoming the greatest threat to the Godhunter Alliance.
"He can run and hide, but not from those he cares about. They all live in a place in the Fringe called Pandemonium. If we lay siege to that place, he will have no choice but to come out and fight," Salas replied after a moment's thought.
"Wonderful. As long as he has people he cares about, he is vulnerable!" Dagmar grinned darkly and said, "Well, we are going to invade the Fringe anyway. We could finish him off on the way. Salas, you remember what you promised us, don't you?"
"If I cannot have it, then no one will. Go ahead and destroy it. I do not care," Salas replied. As a former Sovereign, Salas had a good understanding of the Fringe's terrain and distribution of forces. With his help, the Godhunter Alliance's invasion of the Fringe will be smooth as butter.
"Very well. I will contact the other Hegemons and discuss how we are going to defeat the Fringe," said Asser, the Hegemon of Darkness.
The four Overgods had a brief discussion and left the Misty Sea, which was no longer misty.
*** Han Shuo breathed a sigh of relief after escaping the trap set by the four overgods.
Had Salas not dodged his 'Deicide Slash' and taken the blow directly, Han Shuo would have had a very difficult time escaping their barriers. Once the four barriers were compressed to a certain degree, with the energy in his body being bound by four Overgod energies, Han Shuo might not even be able to use Demonic Blood Disassembly to escape.
Of the four Overgods, Han Shuo could sense that Salas was the weakest. The three Godhunter Alliance Hegemons possessed extremely formidable strengths. This was especially true of Hegemon Dhaka. His true strength might not be weaker than the Sovereign Tyre of the Fringe.
Had it not been for Han Shuo's use of psychology, his exploitation of Sala's fear of him, his clever use of the Pearls of Annihilation to trigger Dhaka's Orbs of Destruction, and his sacrifice of a few spirit demons, Han Shuo's life might have ended on the Misty Sea that day.
"The Godhunter Alliance is indeed a force not to be reckoned with. If Salas has joined them, they will surely try to invade the Fringe. It seems that the peaceful days of the Fringe will soon be over," Han Shuo muttered to himself after thinking about Salas' appearance with the Hegemons. He thought he should return to the Fringe as soon as possible to prepare for the impending war.
"Oh?!" exclaimed Han Shuo in surprise. He suddenly felt a familiar life aura in the distance.
Han Shuo had now left the Death Dominion and was making his way through a remote region towards the Space Dominion. He was currently on a huge mountain range between the Space and Death Dominions. When Han Shuo detected the pulse of this Life Aura, he felt it calmly for a moment. Joy suddenly appeared on his face.
Han Shuo could now remember the soul signature of those he had met, and he could detect the energy wave that a soul naturally emitted within a certain range. This was one of the countless abilities of consciousness.
Han Shuo was delighted because the soul signature he had detected belonged to Donna!
Han Shuo also detected many life auras around her, but he didn't care. Without thinking, Han Shuo immediately flew in her direction. Donna seemed to be entering the Death Dominion from the Space Dominion and was travelling in the exact opposite direction to Han Shuo. Therefore, Han Shuo reached her in no time.
"Ahem..." Han Shuo suddenly appeared in front of Donna. He looked around at Felder, Dolores, and the rest of the Lavers family. He seemed rather awkward.
The House of Lavers had been in decline since the day Han Shuo entered the City of Shadows. Not only were they driven out of the City of Shadows, but they also had to flee from Larikson shortly after taking refuge in the City of Gorging Clouds because of Han Shuo.
It was as if Han Shuo was the curse of the Laver Family.
It was obvious that the members of the Lavers Family were not having an easy time. Not only Donna, but every member of the family clan seemed tired and exhausted. Their eyes, however, still sparkled with ambition. It was as if their bodies were driven by some unknown force of will.
But the Lavers became desperate when Han Shuo suddenly appeared. Felder, who was leading his family clan, was startled and stepped back in fear. With a bitter smile, he said, "Truly, I did not expect you to find us on such a remote path. This seems to be the end of us Lavers."
Unlike Hofs and Wallace, the House of Lavers, who had been hiding in the Phantasia City of the Space Dominion due to its proximity to the Fringe, had managed to learn a thing or two about Han Shuo's exploits in the Fringe. They were also aware of the shocking news that had recently come out of the Death and Darkness Dominion. They knew how terrifying Han Shuo's current strength was.
Felder was on his way back to the Darkness Dominion to take Hofs' place as the new City Lord of Hushveil City. He was full of hope and thought that his Laver family would finally have a fresh start. But now Han Shuo had found them and it was all over. He felt utterly defeated.
Except for Donna, every member of the Laver family looked at Han Shuo with frightened faces. Some of the weaker ones even wet their pants and begged, "Please, please spare us! Look at us, we haven't lived a day without misery. Have you not punished us enough? Please let us live!"
"Don't beg him, even if we die, we will die with honour!" scolded Felder. With a determined look on his face, he said to Han Shuo, "It is indeed me who attacked you with Larikson at the Soaring Cloud Mountain Range. I know you've found out. Come, continue and destroy us. I won't flinch!"
Han Shuo sighed lightly and replied, "Let bygones be bygones. I won't harm your House of Lavers. I was not looking for you on purpose. I just happened to be passing through this area and felt Donna's aura, I just wanted to talk to her. There's no need to be so nervous.
Felder was astonished and seemed confused after hearing these words. He looked at Han Shuo in confusion and asked, "I don't understand. With your power now, you could wipe us out in a heartbeat. Why would you let us go now?"
"All this time, I've never initiated any hostility towards your House of Lavers. I only reacted to your attacks. If Avery hadn't kept trying to kill me, I wouldn't have killed him. And I never asked the House of Sainte to chase you out of the City of Shadows - it was Avery's attempt to kill Carmelita that led to that. I have always been fair to your family clan, and I say that with a clear conscience. For a variety of reasons and circumstances, Han Shuo had not been able to have a discussion with Felder. But now he could finally justify his actions to his victims.
"Bryan, let's talk, alone," Donna suddenly suggested.
Han Shuo took a deep breath and nodded his head. He and Donna walked into one of the jungles in the mountain range.