Now, it seemed that the House of Han was struggling to win in every way. It wasn't that Pandemonium's defences were inadequate, nor was Han Shuo's strength insufficient to defend them - the opponent was simply far more powerful than they had expected.
Judas' offer sounded reasonable. At the very least, it was a surefire way to ensure that not all members of the House of Han would be wiped out. At the very least, Han Shuo's divine soul would be spared.
Wasir's sudden reaction was completely unexpected by Han Shuo. He looked at the brawny man without saying anything, instead feeling a little touched by Wasir's act of self-sacrifice in a moment of crisis in a surprising display of camaraderie.
The other Sovereign, Salas, only smiled resignedly. He didn't offer to sacrifice himself like Wasir, but he didn't immediately beg Dhaka, Judas and the rest for mercy either, for he knew better than anyone that the Godhunter Alliance never left a debt unpaid. Salas knew that even if Judas spared Wasir, he wouldn't let him go because he was a traitor to them.
"Bryan, think about it," Judas said with a pleasant smile, "I'm not like Isaiah and the others. I'm not going to plot against you here in secret. As long as you are truly willing to tell me the secrets of Pandemonium, I assure you that I'll leave your divine soul in peace."
"Judas!" Dhaka shouted, "The members of the House of Han do not include Han Hao! Everyone else can go, but not him! You saw him kill Dagmar yourself. I can't let this go unpunished in the name of Dagmar's subordinates!"
Stunned, Judas turned to look at Han Hao before nodding. He and Dhaka had taken it for granted that Han Shuo would already submit to them, so they were now going over the finer details.
Han Shuo's expression was as grim as ever as his eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, as if he was really struggling to make a decision. Moments later, he suddenly sighed and said to his unhurried opponents, "Since the moment I stepped into the spotlight, I've never submitted to anyone. Not then, not now, not ever!"
Dhaka's expression turned cold as he laughed. "Then this will be your death wish!"
"Bryan, you really should reconsider. We have experts here who are well versed in the intricacies of the soul. The moment we kill you, the secrets of your divine soul will still fall into our hands. Why bother?" Judas advised one last time.
"I'm the kind of person who does it even though I know otherwise!" Han Shuo spat.
Judas nodded and turned to Dhaka and Tuckamore. "Looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way. Too bad, we have to use up some of our power."
"That's even better. We'll be able to vanquish them once and for all to save us trouble later. That was my plan all along!" Dhaka turned to the injured Ossora and chuckled. "What about you, Ossora? What's your plan?"
"Hehe, you saw it yourself. He suddenly turned against me without blinking an eye. Of course I'm on your side." Ossora's injuries had stabilised somewhat. He turned to the Han Hao sitting in his bone throne and said, "Let me take care of the small fry. I'm still injured."
"So it is decided," Judas said before signalling Dhaka to join him in attacking Han Shuo.
Not to be outdone, Tuckamore and Asser attacked Wasir and Salas respectively. The temporary pause in their battle was now over. This time, Han Shou and the others did not have the upper hand.
The cross in Judas' hand emitted an incomparable holy aura as it radiated rays of the most purifying holy light to envelop Han Shuo, much to his discomfort.
Dhaka, the Destruction Cultivator, had been slowly regaining his energy since breaking out of the Sky Annihilation Formation. He formed a spear from the destructive energy, and it had a truly terrifying tip. It gave Han Shuo the feeling of helpless defeat even before it was thrust at him.
In an instant, Han Shuo calmed down and externalised his obstacles and pressures. His eyes returned to their former unmoving calm. With a wave of his hand, the Cauldron of Myriad Demons began to shoot at him from the crux of the formation, sucking in the vast yuan energy from the Sky Annihilation Formation. The energy poured into the Cauldron like a huge torrent.
With a single thought, he willed the Seventeen Flying Swords to emerge from his back. They streaked across the sky, leaving trails like meteorites as they executed the Deicide Slash. A demonic light glowed in the sky as the magnificent slash descended towards Dhaka.
Dhaka's expression changed, as if he hadn't expected Han Shuo to be nearly so terrifying. Those seventeen swords had gathered a ferocious amount of demonic energy and Dhaka had no choice but to withdraw his attack on Han Shuo. He countered with his full power, concentrating on his Lance of Destruction.
As the Cauldron of Myriad Demons swooshed over, thousands of demon generals circled above it. Gradually, the demon generals seemed to form gigantic, monstrous tentacles that stretched out in all directions. The yuan energy that Pandemonium had accumulated over the years was now within the Cauldron, increasing its power and allowing it to unleash such overwhelming force in one explosive burst. Rivers of evil energy surged down with the pressure of the ocean's depths.
"Amazing!" Judas exclaimed in surprise. He could feel even his evil-cleansing crucifix being pressured by the Cauldron. The inky torrent spiralling down even dimmed the glow of the Crucifix. It was obvious that even a divine artefact created by the God of Light wasn't as impressive as the Cauldron.
Ignoring Han Shuo, Judas poured his full power into the Crucifix, restoring it to its former glory. However, it still wasn't enough to counter the terrifying power of the Cauldron.
The Crucifix was only one of four divine artefacts created for the three Lightkeepers, not the weapon used by the God of Light himself, while the Cauldron of Myriad Demons was the lifelong treasure of the Exalted Demonlord. They could not be compared.
At that time, the Cauldron hadn't been used to its full potential, as most of the demon generals inside had been vaporised during the Great Battle of the Exalted Demonlord. But after so much time collecting divine souls, the Cauldron was beginning to regain its former power. Though it wasn't as powerful as it had been when it had served the Demonlord, it still wasn't something that a mere divine artefact could overpower.
Thanks to the power of thousands of demon generals, the inky black power came crashing down on Judas. The crucifix in his hand flashed on and off, its holy power quickly suppressed. The seemingly invincible crucifix had finally met its natural counterpart. Not only could it no longer release holy energy, but it was being corrupted by the evil energy coming from the Cauldron and was beginning to destabilise.
Judas went pale with shock. He hadn't thought it would end like this, even with such a precious artefact.
"Sacred Sanctuary!" he shouted, causing his body to glow with a blinding light that turned the nearest demon generals to ashes. Suddenly, the Demon Generals returned to the Cauldron, causing the inky black wave to dissipate and expose the Cauldron beneath it. It continued its descent with great force.
The Cauldron fell on top of Judas, causing him to stumble backwards for some distance.
Before anyone noticed, Judas was clad in a golden armour from top to bottom, even his head, leaving only two slits through which his wondering eyes could be seen.
"Holy Aurum armour!" Han Shou mused in surprise. He didn't know that Judas was a light cultivator who could use the Holy Aurum Armour. Why was he a godhunter instead?
It was said that only the most devout worshippers of the God of Light were granted a divine stigma on their soul, which they could use to manifest the Holy Aurum Armour by channeling the power of faith that came from the hundreds of millions of worshippers of the God of Light. The armour was capable of resisting all corruption by evil. Seeing Judas use it, Han Shuo was filled with questions. He even wondered if Judas was truly a Hegemon.
"Truly amazing!" Judas said in praise once he found a stable footing. Even after summoning the Sacred Aurum Armour to defeat the overpowering Cauldron, he still took quite a toll from it. The sheer power of it still baffled him, and the mere sight of the Cauldron made him excitement.
Dhaka, I don't care how you divide Pandemonium. All I want is that little trinket over there!" Judas said. It was as if he had found what he really needed.
"You cultivate light energy! Why would you need an evil divine artefact?" Dhaka had put a lot of effort into countering Deicide Slash, but he couldn't just let that comment stand. "You can have Pandemonium! I want that cauldron!"
Judas glared at Dhaka with a hint of malice despite his smiling expression. "First come, first serve!" he said before glowing brightly and charging towards the Cauldron, laughing maniacally all the way.