The meeting of the Hegemons, led by Judas and Dhaka, is drawing to a close. Dagmar, Asser and Dhaka, the Hegemons of Death, Darkness and Destruction, will attack the House of Han's Pandemonium. Tuckamore and Judas, the Hegemons of Water and Light, will attack Logue. Regis, Miller and Isaiah, the Hegemons of Thunder, Wind and Earth, will attack Ossora. The remaining Hegemons would attack Tyre and Wasir.
It was obvious that the power of the Godhunter Alliance was far greater than that of the Fringe. If all went well, the Five Sovereigns would be defeated and the Fringe would fall into the hands of the Godhunter Alliance.
After the meeting, the Twelve Hegemons gathered their troops and split into five armies, marching into the Land of Chaos from five directions.
The Pandemonium faced Dhaka, Asser and Dagmar, three experts with overgod powers. Though Dagmar suffered tremendous losses in his last failed mission, Asser and Dhaka still have an army of experts at the top of their game. With Salas, a former Sovereign who knew his way around the Fringe, as their leader, it seemed that Pandemonium was destined to fall.
With Salas leading the way, the three Hegemons began to march towards the Pandemonium. After a while, Salas suddenly spoke: "There are all sorts of powerful boundaries protecting the Pandemonium. The valley is shrouded in an extremely poisonous mist all year round. It's very difficult to deal with. I suffered tremendous losses when I attacked the Pandemonium, even though Bryan was not around at the time. I could not even lay waste to the valley.
The real battle was about to begin and it was important that they knew as much as possible about their enemy and the situation on the ground. Salas filled the three Hegemons in on everything he knew about the Pandemonium. Dhaka and Asser listened intently.
Dagmar, however, was absent-minded. His viper-like eyes glittered with insidious rays. Before Salas had finished his briefing, Dagmar suddenly interrupted: "Salas, it's just a small valley. Even if there are a hundred times more barriers and seals, will they be enough to stop the four of us?"
"I am not sure. But back then, soon after I entered the valley, I was trapped by a bizarre energy for a long time. Salas used to be wary of Dagmar. But since Dagmar became obsessed with the Quintessence Shard, Salas began to despise him. He thought that Dagmar was no longer a formidable expert after he lost his ability to think rationally.
"A bizarre energy?" sneered Dagmar. He looked at Salas out of the corner of his eye and said mockingly, "Salas, are you making things up to hide the fact that you were too weak? How in the world can the defences of a valley trap an Overgod expert?"
Salas groaned and made an angry face. He replied, "I'm just telling you what I've experienced. It's entirely up to you to believe my words or not. But don't say that I didn't warn you when your followers were massacred.
"Dagmar, you were there when we fought Bryan at the Misty Sea. You should know that his cultivation is not the same as ours. Besides, you've known Han Hao for a long time and fought him recently. Han Hao also cultivates an energy that we are not familiar with, right? With a grave expression, he continued, "In this war, not only do we have to kill Bryan and Han Hao and destroy Pandemonium, we also have to avoid taking too many casualties. As you know, this Judas is a cunning fox. If we lose too many of our forces to the House of Han, we'll lose out when it comes time to share the spoils. So we better listen to what Salas has to say.
After hearing Dhaka's words, Dagmar put on an eerie smile and said, "Hmm, that makes sense," He turned to Salas and said apologetically, "Please continue, I will listen carefully, hehe..."
Salas nodded and thought for a moment before continuing, "The Pandemonium is extremely unusual. I'm telling you this so that you won't be taken by surprise and suffer heavy casualties. Apart from this base, I have discovered from my research that there is another base near the Pandemonium. Han Hao's Godhunters are stationed there. Although it's not far from the Pandemonium, its defences are not as strong..."
Dagmar's body shook when he heard Han Hao's name. An ominous sparkle circled in his eyes before he asked Salas, "What do you suggest?"
"Han Hao is near the House of Han. Since it is not so well defended, I think we should go to his base first and see if we can destroy it before going to the Pandemonium. Oh, and don't underestimate Han Hao's power. He has united every Godhunter in the Fringe. After the Five Sovereigns, he has the largest army!"
"Very well, we will go to Han Hao's base first." Dagmar seemed rather impatient. His main goal wasn't to destroy the Pandemonium, but to take Han Hao's Quintessence Shard. The Fringe was nothing in Dagmar's eyes compared to the Quintessence Shard of Death.
"Salas, you know the Fringe better than we do. Do you think we could get into trouble?" asked Dhaka with a knitted brow. Salas' suggestion was a deviation from his own plan. But after careful consideration, Dhaka didn't think that a short detour would cause any problems.
Never in a million years would Dhaka suspect that Salas had secretly sought out Han Shuo and even made a deal with him. After all, it was Han Shuo who had forced Salas out of the Fringe. From Dhaka's point of view, Salas and Han Shuo were irreconcilable enemies and it was impossible for them to work together. He felt that Salas was proposing this in his best effort to destroy the House of Han.
"I don't know if we'll run into trouble, but I'm sure their defences won't be as strong as Pandemonium's. If we can't even defeat this base, then there's no point in trying to invade the Pandemonium," Salas replied in a deep voice.
"What do you think?" Dhaka thought for a moment before turning to Asser and asking for his opinion.
"Sure, why not. We can take down this base as a warm-up and see if we can find Dagmar his shard in passing," Asser replied unenthusiastically, shrugging his shoulders.
"Wonderful! Hehe," exclaimed Dagmar. Asser had just become much more pleasing to his eyes.
"Alright, then we will go there first," Dhaka finally agreed to the slight change of plan. They started to ask Salas about the situation on that base while they changed their course.
*** Over at the Pandemonium.
Zovic, Romon, Rose, the five elite zombies, Bollands and every core member of the House of Han were assembled. Even Stratholme, Phoebe and the others, who had been busy assimilating cultivation memories from their crystal balls, emerged from their gymnasiums.
"Dhaka, Dagmar and Asser are heading towards us with their Godhunter troops. Besides the three Hegemons, we might also have to face Salas..." Zovic, standing next to Han Shuo, explained the situation with a serious look.
The atmosphere became solemn after the House of Han members were briefed. Even the usually carefree Gilbert became unusually quiet.
Dhaka, Dagmar and Asser were all Overgod experts. If Salas was among them, they would be facing four Overgods. The House of Han had never faced such a powerful force. Compared to these four, Hill and Sha-t'o they had met in Witherbone City were absolutely insignificant.
"This is the situation now," Han Shuo swept his eyes over the crowd and instructed, "As of today, the Pandemonium is sealed. No one will set foot outside without my express permission!"
"If we don't leave the Pandemonium, won't the Godhunters take a detour and head straight for the Omphalos?" asked the confused Ayermike, "From our agreement with Tyre and the others, isn't it our responsibility to guard this side of the Fringe? If we allow Dhaka and the others to bypass us and head for the Omphalos, the consequences would be dire!"
"Don't worry, Dhaka will come to the Pandemonium. His goal wasn't to take the Omphalos, but to destroy us," Han Shuo replied with a confident smile.
Ayermike nodded and asked no further questions. He had known Han Shuo for a long time and he could tell that Han Shuo had a plan in mind. He would have thought of every aspect a long time ago.
"Yes, so don't go looking for them. Instead, we will wait in the Pandemonium and let them come to us!" Han Shuo scanned the faces of his family clan members before he continued smiling, "But if they want to bypass us and head for the Omphalos, then let them. In any case, our members in the Omphalos should have evacuated by now."
Stratholme stared blankly for a moment before suddenly laughing and asking, "So you never bothered to defend the Omphalos?"
Han Shuo also laughed before replying, "So what if it is destroyed? With Han Tu and Han Jin, rebuilding the Omphalos is a piece of cake. As for the people in the Omphalos, why should I protect their lives? I don't care if they die. Hehe, only those strong enough to survive the slaughter are qualified to be the future servants of my House of Han!"
After hearing these words, the group immediately understood Han Shuo's true plan. It seemed that Han Shuo was planning to conquer the entire Land of Chaos.
"Um, Bryan, about the elixir you promised, how is it progressing?" Stratholme's heart itched. He smiled sheepishly as he said, "I have reached a higher realm state. I will advance to the next level as soon as I have enough divine energy."
"Don't worry, the raw materials for your elixir are on their way here. Hehehe, with all the godhunters coming our way, I can produce an endless supply of divine energy elixir for everyone," Han Shuo replied before calmly adding a few more instructions and advising them to be extra cautious. However, Han Shuo did not reveal much about his actual plan.
***
Over in a valley not too far from the Pandemonium, silhouettes could be seen weaving above three mountains. They seemed to be busy with something.
Standing on a cliff, Han Hao watched the activity on the three mountains and those shooting across them. From time to time, he would summon a follower and give them some instructions.
Enormous sigils of strange shapes had been carved into the three mountains. No one knew when they were carved, who carved them, or what they were for. Even Han Hao's followers had no idea. They simply followed Han Hao's instructions to pour barrels upon barrels of an extremely pungent and dark liquid onto the seals.
When the ink-like liquid came into contact with the sigils, it produced jet-black smoke. Miraculously, however, the black smoke doesn't dissipate or move with the wind, but remains around the sigils.
The inside of the mountains was excavated to form countless cavities. When energy crystals were placed in these cavities, the energy crystals would begin to glow in their unique, beautiful glow and begin to release their energy, which would flow through special circuits to every corner of the mountain.
Under the work of Han Hao and his followers, the atmosphere of the three mountains had changed drastically. It seemed spooky, eerie and dangerous.
"Are you alright?" Han Shuo suddenly materialised next to Han Hao. He looked at the wound on his chest and asked, "Zovic told me that you met Dagmar in the Omphalos? Did he do anything to you?"
Han Hao gestured for his followers around him to stand back temporarily before he replied, "It's all right. This replica body is meant to be disposable." After a short pause, Han Hao said, "Father, the first person to come to my rescue was Wasir."
Han Shuo stared blankly for a moment before smiling and nodding. "Excellent. It seems that Wasir is a reliable person in critical times!" Han Shuo thought for a moment before he knitted his brows and asked, "Tyre and Logue definitely wouldn't have intervened even if they were just nearby. Hmm, what about Ossora? Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?"
"Ossora arrived after Wasir. He seemed to come in a hurry and I can't see anything wrong with that. But still, somehow it feels like he was a bit late..." Han Hao replied.
"Hmm, okay..." Han Shuo thought in silence for a moment before turning to the people on the mountains and smilingly remarking, "Salas should be leading them here as we speak. Hehe, they'll love the big surprise I've prepared for them."
"Father, do you know a girl named Andrina?" Han Hao asked suddenly.
Han Shuo was stunned. He looked at Han Hao with an astonished look and replied, "Yes, I know Andrina. She is a good friend. How do you know about Andrina?"
"I fought her." Seeing that Han Shuo was still confused, Han Hao added, "I mean, my main body fought her in the Destiny Dominion. She is formidable. She possesses a divine weapon that probably belongs to a Fate Edict Cultivator..." Han Hao recounted his encounter with Andrina in detail.
After hearing Han Hao's story, Han Shuo was silent for a moment before he suddenly laughed and said, "She will comes to the fringe to find me? Hehe, that's wonderful! If she stays in the Pandemonium, I think even a Quintessence Overgod would think twice before attacking us!"