GDK 938: Conspiracy

After the energies of the Five Elite Zombies were removed from the gymnasium, Scarlett, Bollands, Sanguis, and Gilbert could finally sense the presence of all those in it. After the soul-boundary deployed by Han Shuo vanished, the four re-entered the gymnasium together.

Gilbert and the others immediately congratulated Han Hao. Scarlett returned to Han Hao’s side and was no longer worried after seeing that he was very much alive.

Han Shuo felt content and he could not be prouder of Han Hao’s achievement. He believed that with more time, Han Hao could achieve even greater feats.

On the surface of the Pandemonium, Han Shuo’s main body slowly got to his feet. The Cauldron of Myriad Demon which had stabilized every demonic formation in the base returned into Han Shuo’s body.

Han Shuo was about to go back underground and ask Han Hao about his situation in detail. But suddenly, he turned his focus outwards, his senses pierced through the layers of mists shrouding the Pandemonium before he started scanning a mountain range nearby.

Han Shuo sensed a spot in the mountain range where the energy of lightning was much more intense than the surroundings. After withdrawing his consciousness from the gymnasium, Han Shuo immediately sensed the distant and faint anomaly which no ordinary expert could detect.

The Pandemonium was essentially a giant machine that gathers elemental energies from the environment, meaning that the elemental energies around the Pandemonium would always gradually flow towards the valley. But Han Shuo’s consciousness sensed that somewhere deep in the mountain range, there was a spot where the element of lightning was not drawn towards the Pandemonium and somehow, it was more intense than the environment.

With one thought, Han Shuo sent a strand of his consciousness to stealthily fly towards that anomalous region.

Upon arrival, Han Shuo detected that a mighty being was hiding there. The being emanated an aura that Han Shuo was most familiar with – it was none other than Salas!

Han Shuo let out a cold groan. His main body disappeared in a flash, piercing through the layers of mists and boundaries surrounding the Pandemonium without a trace. Han Shuo had memorized the terrains surrounding the Pandemonium down to the position of each rock. He could get anywhere within his territory with complete stealth.

Salas, O, Salas. How foolish of you to return here and try to probe my base! Hehe, I shall fulfill your wish and turn you into Salad! thought Han Shuo with a sneer on his face.

Salas had not only joined the G.o.dhunter Alliance Hegemons in ambus.h.i.+ng Han Shuo at the Misty Seas, but he was also working with the G.o.dhunter Alliance in their invasion of the Fringe. If Han Shuo could slaughter Salas before the impending invasion, the Fringedwellers would have a strategic advantage over the invaders.

It was obvious that Salas came to scout the Pandemonium in preparation for the upcoming war. It was only natural that Han Shuo, who had inadvertently found him, would not allow Salas to escape once more.

Salas who had concealed himself in that region carefully probed the situation around the Pandemonium using his divine soul. He understood that the Pandemonium was filled with all kinds of dangers and that Han Shuo should be inside. Therefore, he had been very cautious about it.

His divine soul was wandering and drifting around when suddenly, he felt as though a chilling wind was blowing towards his soul. Salas was jolted as his instincts told him that grave danger was up ahead. He instantly withdrew his divine soul.

A burst of soul-tremoring energy suddenly shot at him. Salas felt as though his divine soul had been stabbed by frigid icicles, threatening to freeze and trap his soul.

Salas’ divine soul was injured in no time. Fl.u.s.tered, he withdrew his divine soul back into his divine body as quickly as possible. In neither loud nor soft voice, he spoke, “Who is it?”

“Hehehe… “a peal of derisive, sinister laughter sounded from the distance and quickly moved closer to Salas. The sound was strangely terrifying.

Salas’ face jolted and in a deep voice, he said, “It’s you, indeed.” For whatever reason, Salas did not immediately try to escape but stood where he was, as though waiting for Han Shuo to appear.

“I did not expect that you still dare to return to my Pandemonium!” said the sneering voice that was moving closer and closer. An eerie breeze blew out of nowhere and Han Shuo’s figure abruptly materialized before Salas. With a mocking smile, he asked, “Salas, do you really think that it was by mere luck that I’ve defeated you here? Simply because you’ve used up some power fighting Ossora before I fought you?”

While mocking Salas, the demon generals emerged from Han Shuo’s body, blocking all possible escape routes of Salas’. Although Han Shuo had no idea why Salas did not immediately escape, he would not simply let go of the opportunity to trap Salas.

The thousands and thousands of demon generals had filled the s.p.a.ce around them as Han Shuo spoke. Individually, none of the demon generals could injure Salas who cultivated the lightning energy, a natural weakness of demon generals.

However, Han Shuo’s intention wasn’t to directly block Salas using the demon generals but to affect the movement of s.p.a.cetime using them, preventing Salas from using Portal Scrolls to escape. And Han Shuo knew that he could easily overpower Salas, giving him no chance to use his lightning energy against the demon generals.

“I know that luck had nothing to do with it. Even if I was in tip-top condition, I would still be no match against you,” Salas stared at Han Shuo with a serious look as he said, “And after our encounter at the Misty Sea, I’ve become even more certain that I’m absolutely no match against you.”

Han Shuo was rather surprised to hear that answer. He raised a brow, looked at Salas up and down with puzzled eyes, and asked, “Then? What do you come here alone for?” Han Shuo smirked and asked, “Don’t tell me that you really have a death wish?”

“Bryan, I did not come here to fight you,” said Salas firmly.

“Huh?” Han Shuo was a little amused and curious. With the s.p.a.ce around Salas now under the influence of the demon generals, it was impossible for him to escape. Han Shuo thought that there was no harm in taking some time to listen to Salas’ last words. “I flattened your Empyrean Peak and took your place in the Omphalos. But you are telling me that you don’t wanna fight me?” Han Shuo laughed and shook his head as though he could not believe what he had heard before he continued, “Well, now this is interesting! Tell me then, what are you here for?”

“I’m here to propose a collaboration!” answered Salas. But after thinking for a moment, as though afraid that Han Shuo wouldn’t believe his words, he quickly added, “There is no way that I can genuinely befriend the G.o.dhunters as after all, I’m not a G.o.dhunter. Besides, those G.o.dhunter Hegemons are unreliable. I have no way of trusting them. I know Tyre and Logue very well. They scheme against others all the time. There is no way that I would cooperate with them.”

“What about Wasir and Ossora? Their reputation in the Fringe is not that bad. Why didn’t you look for them?”

“I have dueled Wasir and Ossora. If they can’t even defeat me, how can I trust them?” Salas had a disdained look on his face as he explained, “I, Salas, have my own set of principles and conducts. Those who cannot defeat me are not worthy of my consideration. That is my way.”

Han Shuo became even more interested in the topic after hearing the explanation. He put on a big smile and asked, “Well then, how do you wanna cooperate? What can you give me and what can I give you?”

“I can give you all the information about the G.o.dhunter Alliance and lead them into your traps. They are not familiar with the Fringe and they will listen to my advice with no doubt!” answered Salas immediately as though he had prepared for it.

Then, after taking a short pause and taking a deep breath, Salas continued, “I wish to return to the Fringe. After this war is over, some of the Sovereigns will die. It could be Tyre and Logue, or Wasir and Ossora. Or perhaps even all of them. By then, all you need to do is give me a hand and acknowledge my position.”

“That simple?” asked Han Shuo.

“It’s that simple!” said Salas resolutely.

After thinking for a moment, Han Shuo bunched his brows and looked at Salas, “Why would I trust you?”

If Salas was sincere in cooperating with Han Shuo, he would have a better certainty of the outcome of the war. But as Salas and Han Shuo used to be enemies, there was a good chance that Salas might betray him during the critical moments. Making even the slightest mistake could mean altering the entire war. Therefore, Han Shuo dare not take Salas’ words easily.

“I also can’t tell you why you should. However, if you agree to my proposal, I can provide you with a few very critical pieces of information right now. It will help you understand the situation better and even give you some advantages!” replied Salas seemed somewhat troubled, as though he could not think of a way to prove his sincerity.

Han Shuo hesitated for a while before he nodded and said, “Alright, I will work with you. Now tell me about it.”

For some reason, Salas seemed to trust Han Shuo. Not worried that Han Shuo might eat his words, he immediately said, “Dagmar knows that Han Hao possesses a Quintessence Shard and he had been scheming to take it from him. He had brought all his experts from the Death Dominion over and he’s going all-in.

“In addition, I discovered that Tyre and Dhaka of the Destruction Dominion could be connected. Tyre had been unusually informed about every movement of the G.o.dhunter Alliance and Dhaka seemed to have spies in the Fringe. He knows too much about the Fringe.

“But the connection between Tyre and Dhaka is only my own speculation. I do not have concrete evidence yet. I’m telling you this so that you wouldn’t be caught surprised if it’s true. Right, don’t you think that the two have rather similar appearances?”

Han Shuo put on a surprised look. He recalled their faces for a moment and they did look vaguely similar to Han Shuo. He also recalled that both of them cultivated the energy of destruction. After thinking for a moment, Han Shuo said, “I think we have much to discuss… “

Salas was elated. It was obvious that Han Shuo was finally convinced that he was sincere. The two deployed layers of boundaries around them and held their discussion right in that spot. After hatching a conspiracy, Salas stealthily departed from the Pandemonium.