Dagmar had recklessly invaded the Omphalos, even in the presence of four Sovereigns. His greed and obsession with the Quintessence Shard had consumed all his reason, so much so that he was willing to sacrifice these elite experts of his and even put himself at risk of being seriously injured or killed.
It was obvious how angry and frustrated Dagmar must have felt after risking everything only to discover that the Quintessence Shard was not on Han Hao. His face went from excited to flushed red with anger and despair. He grabbed Han Hao by the collar and shook him violently, shouting, "Give it to me, give it to me!"
Han Hao wore an indifferent face as he stared at Dagmar who was having a fit. There was no trace of happiness, sadness, shock or fear. It was as if the person Dagmar had captured wasn't Han Hao, but a cold bystander.
"Hegemon, they are coming, hurry!" one of Dagmar's henchmen reminded him anxiously. From the loud shouts coming from the distance, it was obvious that experts from all over the Omphalos were gathering. They would be surrounded in a few moments.
"Han Hao, give it to me and I won't kill you. I promise I won't kill you!" Dagmar offered as he grabbed Han Hao. Desperation could be seen in his bloodshot eyes and heard in his voice.
"Just kill me," Han Hao replied without any emotion.
"You really want to die?" shouted Dagmar as his eyelids twitched. He debated whether to destroy Han Hao or force him to reveal the location of the shard.
"Hegemon, we have no time!" shouted Dagmar's henchman again. It almost sounded like he was crying. They had been in the Omphalos much longer than they had planned, and Dagmar still seemed completely unaware of how much time had passed.
"Fine! As you wish!" bellowed Dagmar. He gritted his teeth and gathered his divine energy to deliver the killing blow.
At that moment, an icy aura suddenly flooded every inch of the region. Streams of icy air came out of nowhere and instantly entered Dagmar, covering him in a layer of snow-white frost. The frigid energy had immediately made Dagmar's movements extremely sluggish, preventing him from fully activating the energy in his body.
Immediately afterwards, those cold air currents spread from Dagmar and towards his henchmen, shattering the incorporeal chain holding Han Hao and leaving a trail of frozen objects in its wake.
These cold air currents seemed to be alive. They affected Dagmar, his henchmen and even lifeless objects around them. However, for some reason, these frigid energies did not affect Han Hao, who was only centimetres away from Dagmar.
Han Hao was prepared to let Dagmar end the life of his surrogate. But the moment he felt that Dagmar had been frozen and the energy that was holding him was removed, he fled for his life at top speed.
Although Dagmar had plunged a hand into Han Hao's chest, it wasn't damaging enough to kill Han Hao. Dagmar's only target was the Quintessence Shard. When he discovered that the Quintessence Shard was not on Han Hao, he immediately pulled out the hand instead of completely destroying Han Hao's body.
However, even if Dagmar were to shatter every organ in this replica body, the replica Han Hao could still survive. This unique body created by Han Shuo, unlike an ordinary body, could continue to function without its organs.
"Dagmar! How dare you invade the Omphalos! Meet your doom!" a cold and chilling cry rang out. Sovereign Wasir was the first to arrive on the scene and he immediately freed Han Hao from Dagmar.
Wasir had reached Dagmar by the time he spoke. His massive Domain of Divinity instantly enveloped the region, causing the environment to suddenly plummet below zero Kelvin. Even the ground instantly froze, making eerie cracking noises.
Wasir's freezing energy wouldn't have entered Dagmar's body if he had been aware of his surroundings instead of being preoccupied with getting Han Hao to hand over the Quintessence Shard. But fortunately for Dagmar, he was also an Overgod, renowned among the Godhunter Alliance for his formidable strength. Although Wasir's freezing energy had injured him, it had also awakened him to the gravity of the situation.
After several cycles of circulating the energy of death in his body, Dagmar was able to remove Wasir's frigid aura from his body. With a wave of her hand, the Death Element in the Omphalos quickly gathered in the area. A thin grey mist appeared, neutralising the frigid aura and causing the temperature to rise slightly.
"Hegemon, run!" one of Dagmar's henchmen shouted loudly.
It was obvious that Dagmar had woken up now and understood the serious situation they were in. He could sense Ossora rushing to the scene. He also vaguely registered the auras of Tyre and Logue, indicating that they were not far away.
If Dagmar could not escape before the four Sovereigns gathered, he would most likely have to stay in the Omphalos forever. Dagmar gritted his teeth, pulled out a green crystal ball and shouted, "Leave your body! Get your soul inside!"
Dagmar's followers were thrilled. Without hesitation, they abandoned their divine bodies and flew their divine souls into the green crystal ball in Dagmar's hand. Immediately afterwards, Dagmar waved his free hand and released strands of his Death Energy into the now soulless bodies of his followers.
Suddenly, these divine bodies began to rapidly inflate like balloons as terrible energy brewed within them. Their shapes slowly rotated as their faces became distorted and unrecognisable.
Wasir, who had planned to do everything in his power to stop Dagmar, jolted when he saw the inflating divine bodies rising into the sky. He retreated suddenly, shouting, "Take cover!
Han Hao, who was not too far away from Dagmar, had immediately taken cover when he saw those bodies rise bizarrely into the sky. As a Death Energy cultivator, Han Hao could immediately tell that Dagmar was using Corpse Explosion on those Highgod Divine Bodies. He ran faster than anyone else.
And soon after Wasir's warning, the divine bodies of Dagmar's followers exploded violently, releasing an immense burst of Death Energy and tearing a hole in the domed barrier covering the Omphalos.
Dagmar, the green crystal ball in her hand, immediately flew through the small opening and escaped.
"After him!" shouted Wasir, after he had raised his head and looked at the sky.
Together with Wasir, three tracks soared into the sky at the same time. The barrier covering the Omphalos seemed to be no obstacle to them. They flew through the barrier and disappeared in a flash.
Han Hao looked at the sky and memorised the flight paths of the other three Sovereigns. After Wasir, Ossora was the closest to the scene of the crime, several kilometres away. Tyre and Logue were about fifty kilometres away. Han Hao did a quick mental calculation and concluded that Tyre and Logue should have been closest to him, not Wasir and Ossora.
Why would Wasir rush here so quickly? Why did he help me? Han Hao felt a little confused. He could tell that Wasir had gone out of his way to protect him. If Wasir had not got there in time, frozen Dagmar and untied him, this surrogate body of Han Hao's would have been shattered by Dagmar.
Wasir could have indiscriminately attacked Dagmar without thinking of Han Hao's presence, instead of selectively freezing Dagmar without affecting Han Hao, who was only inches away. Even if Han Hao had been injured or killed, the blame would have been on Dagmar, not Wasir. Han Hao was not aware of any friendly relations between Wasir and the House of Han. If anything, Wasir should be hostile to him, as Wasir was once defeated by Han Shuo at the volcano crater.
As Han Hao knitted his brows and pondered, Polo broke free from Dagmar's bone prison. With his own body still drenched in his own blood, he asked anxiously, "Chief, are you all right?"
Han Hao temporarily stopped speculating and calmly replied, "I'm fine. What about you?"
"Dagmar was quickly distracted and had stopped using his energy on us at the beginning of the attack. We only suffered minor injuries," Polo replied calmly. He did not seem to be in any pain. After living in the Fringe for so long and being a Godhunter, these injuries were too artificial to bother Polo.
"Good to hear. Let's get some rest," Han Hao said after nodding. Then he sat down cross-legged where he had been, even though the Sovereigns were still in pursuit of Dagmar.
Polo and the gang followed their leader's lead. They, too, sat cross-legged as if the wreckage were a gymnasium, stopping their wounds from bleeding and beginning to regain the energy they had just used up. They used their time to stabilise their injuries and regain their strength.
This was something they had learned from Han Hao after becoming his followers. It had become their standard to always keep their powers at peak condition, no matter where or when.
Han Hao thought that his replica body would be of no use and so did not join the Sovereigns in their pursuit of Dagmar. And from the fact that Dagmar had decisively used Corpse Explosion on the divine bodies of his top experts, Han Hao could tell that Dagmar must have more tricks up his sleeve.
Tyre and Logue did not rush to the scene immediately because they wanted Han Hao to be killed by Dagmar. As a result, the Sovereigns were unable to surround and trap Dagmar. Han Hao thought it likely that Dagmar would be able to shake off the Sovereigns' pursuit.
The surrogate Han Hao continued to analyse what had happened instead of healing his injuries, as the body had been prepared for disposal and the injuries were not life-threatening. Moreover, once the ordeal was over, Han Hao's secondary soul would leave this surrogate body and rejoin his main soul. So Han Hao didn't want to waste his efforts repairing this body.
Why would Wasir help me? Why was Ossora slower than Wasir? A series of questions flashed through Han Hao's mind as he pondered with a furrowed brow.
Time passed quickly and silently. After arriving at the scene, the Fringedwellers in the Omphalos discovered that Dagmar had disappeared and that Han Hao was sitting on the ground with debris all around him. When they saw that blood seemed to be flowing from his chest, their minds began to wander. Some of them had eerie lights in their eyes when they looked at Han Hao.
After growing and expanding his forces and territories in the Fringe for such a long time, Han Hao had lost count of how many Fringedwellers he had offended. On normal days, his enemies wouldn't dare touch him for fear of his awesome power. But it was obvious that Han Hao was now seriously injured. Even his henchmen were drenched in their own blood. It was a golden opportunity to strike.
The leaders of the major and minor factions were unaware of Han Hao and Han Shuo's relationship. They stood around and silently stared at Han Hao and his follower with fierce eyes.
"The Omphalos has its rules, and I don't recall any Fringedwellers breaking them. Hehe, do you want to be the first?" Polo challenged with a scornful grin after sweeping his eyes wildly at the onlookers.
Han Hao, meanwhile, said not a word. He closed his eyes as if they were too insignificant to threaten him.
Upon hearing Polo's remark, the crowd began to disperse quietly. They clearly realised that it wasn't a good idea to attack anyone in the Omphalos. It would mean making enemies with all Five Sovereigns, and that wouldn't end well for them, especially at such a sensitive time.
It did not take long for all the stalkers and onlookers to disperse, leaving Han Hao and his gang alone in the wreckage strewn with the body parts of the merchants.
But at that moment, a figure gradually appeared in the settling clouds of dust, walking leisurely towards Han Hao.
Polo smiled coldly and suddenly stood up. In a vicious voice, he said, "It seems that some people are simply not afraid of death! Polo had suffered only minor injuries and was a Late-stage Highgod. Apart from the Five Sovereigns and Han Hao, there was no expert in Omphalos he feared.
Besides, many of his comrades had suffered only minor injuries. Polo was confident of victory even if these scattered stalkers had attacked. This lone attacker stood no chance against Polo.
A tall, handsome man gradually emerged. The newcomer looked calmly at Han Hao, who had suddenly opened his eyes. Completely ignoring Polo and the others who were staring at him, he asked smilingly, "Are you Han Hao?"
"Who are you?" shouted Polo, ready to strike.
"Polo, stand back!" Han Hao suddenly ordered. After making sure that Polo and the others had understood his command, he looked at the newcomer with an emotionless face, nodded and replied, "I am Han Hao".
"Well, well, it seems you already know who I am. Excellent, I can save myself some effort," the handsome man said with a smile. Suddenly, an immense soul undulation spread out from his body and enveloped Han Hao in an instant.