GDK 750: Don’t make it too bloody
Sanguis, Bollands, and Gilbert were currently the strongest in Celestial Pearl after Han Shuo. Of the three, Bollands had been working in the Third Cords and were therefore the most experienced. Although Sanguis was the strongest among the three, he lacked real-life experiences and need to be further tempered. Gilbert and Han Shuo could communicate via telepathy, which could be useful in certain situations.
Han Shuo decided that rather than bringing a ton of people for the mission, he would just take the very best few with him.
Han Shuo had delegated all other tasks to his family clan members. He believed that the Celestial Pearl will do just fine while he was away and that they would move into the former Lavers Residence soon.
Fort Lasberg was located near the edge of the City’s influence and rather close to Hushveil City and Darksoul City. If one were to head north from Fort Lasberg, after crossing vast oceans and expansive mountain ranges, one would set foot into the Destruction Dominion.
Of the numerous forts under the City’s influence, Fort Lasberg was the biggest in size and had some of the most abundant natural resources in the surrounding. Other than being a little far from the City, Han Shuo couldn’t find any flaws to complain about.
After half-a-month, Han Shuo, Sanguis, Bollands, and Gilbert arrived at Fort Lasberg. As the official documents had yet been issued, Fort Lasberg was not yet the House of Han’s. Erebus’ men were in charge of running the fort for the time being.
Han Shuo did not immediately look for Erebus after arriving. Instead, he went strolling around the Fort with his three apprentices. Fort Lasberg currently housed approximately five thousand in population, with most of them being basegods. Lowgods and midgods were also present but highgods were rarely seen.
The Elysium was vast and large number of gods live there and yet, they lose to mortals when it comes to population size and density. Although Fort Lasberg was larger than the territories of Lancelot Empire, it housed merely around five thousand gods compared to at least several tens of millions of mortals living on Profound Continent.
The situation of most cities on Elysium were similar to that of Fort Lasberg. They never live as densely as the mortals on low-level material planes. Even the City of Shadows housed just tens of thousands of people. It was said that the most populated city on Elysium had two to three hundred thousand gods, a number that pales in comparison to cities of mortals.
After strolling around Fort Lasberg and learning its condition, Han Shuo and his apprentices finally headed to Erebus’ temporary residence at the center of the Fort.
The residence, as with the Fort, originally belonged to the House of Lavers. The buildings were tall and massive. It was many hectares in size and occupied more land than the Lavers Residence in the City as the land price here was cheaper, not to mention the lower population.
Although this residence of the Lavers’ occupied a larger tract of land than that in the City, it was far behind in terms of facilities and decorations. There were no energy towers and boundary towers covering every space, nor were there sophisticated boundaries that protects the gymnasiums from intense bursts of energy. The interior of the buildings were not sumptuously decorated but rather minimalistic in style.
Erebus was abnormally delighted by Han Shuo’s arrival. He led the four into the biggest room of the residence before he said smilingly, “The City Lord have bestowed Fort Lasberg to your House of Han. You, Bryan, is the real host and master of this residence. I’m just a visitor who is staying here for a few days.”
“My House of Han have yet to receive the official documents. Until then, Fort Lasberg is under your command!” replied Han Shuo smilingly.
“Bollands, now that Bryan has returned, are you really going to leave the Third Corps?” Erebus asked after turning to Bollands smilingly.
Before Han Shuo left to refine his demonic weapon, he had arranged Bollands to work under Erebus. Unlike Ayermike Cotton and Stratholme the old monster, Bollands’ strength would improve the more he kills. Butchering a god would cause his killing intent to condense into substance, forming an energy similar to demonic yuan and divine energy, allowing his strength to soar.
Bollands was an infamous assassin back on the Profound Continent he originated. He was a professional in the art of murdering and had assisted Erebus in eliminating countless enemies during his service in the Third Corps. He was such a good helper that even Erebus felt somewhat reluctant about Bollands leaving the Third Corps.
Bollands wore an emotionless expression and nodded. He said, “It is my Senior who taught me every skill I know and asked me to work at Third Corps. Now that he has returned, I must leave the Third Corps and go back to him.”
“Bryan, why are you always so lucky?!” Erebus said enviously.
“You know, I have the Goddess of Destiny’s blessing!” Legend has it that the Goddess of Destiny controls the fate of others. From Aobashi and Erebus’ account, Han Shuo had certainly won the favor of the Goddess. Therefore, these words Han Shuo said was half joking and half true.
“Alright, let’s get to business. I know your objective in coming here as Lord Andre has previously told me a thing or two. I have been paying attention to a mountain relatively far from Fort Lasberg and my men had went to scout it. I did get some useful information from it,” Erebus’ face turned solemn and said in a deep voice, “The mountain doesn’t belong to any city. It is between Hushveil City and Darksoul City. The incident began when a few divine guards of our City hearsay that an enormous energy crystal deposit was discovered in that area. Andre then sent his men to scout out for information, but they have not returned any news even till now. They have probably met their demises.
“It was then that Andre informed me about it. As I happen to be around the area, I dispatched a small squadron for scouting. Based on the news that came back, an enormous energy crystal deposit is definitely present!”
“Other than that, did you find any useful information?” Han Shuo smiled mischievously as he said, “You should know the City Lord’s intention. I must take over the crystal deposit in order to take the Fifth Corps. The three major family clans must have started exercising their power and resources, which surpasses mine. If your don’t have sufficient information for me, I doubt I could find it before they do!”
“I have confirmed the exact location. Other than forces from our City of Shadows, there are divine guards from Hushveil City and Darksoul City. I’m sure that by then, conflicts are unavoidable. Be mentally prepared!” Erebus thought for a moment and continued, “You shall learn the details of the situation from Anito. Just get in touch with him when you are there.”
“How do I contact him?” asked Han Shuo.
“That, you don’t have to worry, Bollands should know how!” Erebus put on a smile and said, “Although you too have worked at our Third Corps, you haven’t spent much time with us. Bollands, however, have learned our ins and outs. He did actual labor here, rather than just tagging along for the credits like a certain rascal!”
Han Shuo turned to Bollands and saw that he nodded. Bollands indeed knew how Third Corps’ agents communicate on the field.
“Well then, I shall get moving. Hopefully I’ll be the first to be there!” after obtaining useful information from Erebus, Han Shuo decided not to stay longer than necessary and quickly depart for his destination.
Erebus knew that the sooner Han Shuo get there, the better. Therefore he did not ask him to stay and said smilingly, “Good luck on the journey. Hope you will come back with good news!”
“The Fifth Corps will be mine when I return!” said Han Shuo laughingly. His relationship with Erebus was deep and therefore he wasn’t scrupulous in speech. After mastering the Avicii Godslaying Sword Formation with his seventeen flying swords, Han Shuo had sufficient confidence in his strength. Han Shuo believed that he could take over the crystal deposit successfully if they do not run into any mishap.
“Master, what are we going to do?” Gilbert asked after they left Fort Lasberg with Han Shuo.
“That depends on the situation there, but our end goal is to take over the crystal deposit. Energy crystals are some good stuff. They are universally in demand in very city with gods!” replied Han Shuo.
After travelling around Fort Lasberg, Han Shuo discovered that although the Fort was great at producing all kinds of ores, there were plenty of room to improve in terms of defenses. He found that the number of energy towers and boundary towers available to be deficient. In order to upgrade the defenses, Han Shuo would need a large amount of energy crystals. Occupying this enormous energy crystal deposit that had yet to be claimed by anyone will be useful to serve the purpose.
The party of four travelled for five days and in the evening, arrived at the mountain Erebus pointed them. Immediately, Han Shuo deployed his demon generals. He noticed that there were many gods in the mountain.
Bollands discovered several unique symbols on a few big trees soon after arrival. He thought about it for a moment before going to Han Shuo and said respectfully, “Senior, come with me!”
Han Shuo knew that Bollands had discovered Anito’s message and followed Bollands along with Sanguis and Gilbert.
In one of the caves in the mountain, Han Shuo saw Anito. A small squadron of divine guards was usually ten men strong. However, Han Shuo saw just three people beside Anito who looked dispirited. His clothing was dirty and torn. There was also some blood stains on his chest. They seemed to have suffered great losses.
Sadness disappeared from Anito’s face when Bollands came into his view. Then, when he saw that Han Shuo too had come, his face lit up with delight. He even exclaimed, “Lord Bryan has come!”
The three divine guards beside Anito knew Han Shuo’s name. Dispiritment lifted from their hearts and gladness appeared on their faces.
“Anito, what happened? You seemed to have been severely injured!” Han Shuo asked puzzlingly with his brows bunched.
“It’s those from Hushveil City and Darksoul City. Six of our comrades were killed!” Anito said angrily.
“The most abominable of them is that guy called Eugene, who partnered with our City to raid the godhunters. Unexpectedly, he would lay such vicious blows against us just to get his hands on the deposit!” a divine guard named Deco said furiously. Han Shuo had seen him around Erebus when they went to assault the godhunter’s base.
“Eugene?” Han Shuo was stunned for a moment but a cold grin soon appeared on his face. “How unexpected, an acquaintance!” Eugene had been mocking and ridiculing Han Shuo throughout the raid of godhunters. He was prejudiced against Han Shuo because of his close friendship with the owner of Celestial Pearl, Hassling. Han Shuo did not expect that he would lay his deadly hand on divine guards from the City of Shadows.
City of Gorging Clouds, Darkwater City, Dark Stone City, Mirage City, Darksoul City, City of Shadows, and Hushveil City were the seven major cities of the Darkness Dominion, ranked from the most powerful to the weakest.
Although all seven cities served the Overgod of Darkness, they were independent from one another. There existed competition and minor frictions with each other. Although there had never been any all-out war between the cities, minor clashes had never ceased between them.
The seven cities bordered each other and therefore it was common that some conflicts would arise in territorial claims. It was common for a few divine guards to perish. The seven City Lords were all fine with such minor conflicts and insignificant casualties. After all, the clashes between smaller family clans in opposing cities were much worse, where massacre of an entire family clan was often the outcome.
All three Overgods of the Death, Darkness, and Destruction Dominions considered benign competitions as helpful in promoting their servant’s fighting power. As long as the conflicts doesn’t jeopardize the stability of their Dominions, they would just ignore them and let them be. It was only when major conflicts that could severely impact the overall strength of the Dominion arises that the Overgod would step in.
Conflicts due to claims of natural resources were common occurrences in the Darkness Dominion. Wallace who had dispatched Han Shuo for the task wouldn’t care less what Han Shuo did. All he cared was that in the end, Han Shuo wields control over the deposit.
“Tell me the whole story,” asked Han Shuo in a deep voice.
“Eugene and his divine guards are also here. There are many deposits on this mountain. We claimed a relatively big deposit in the name of Lord Erebus. But before we could extract the ores, Eugene came and asserted that they had discovered the deposit first, demanding that we leave. When we wouldn’t, they attacked us. We lost three of our comrades to them!” Anito said angrily.
“Eugene must still be holding grudges at Erebus for being impolite to him and therefore took advantage of the situation to vent it on us!” remarked Deco. He had seen the friction between Erebus and Eugene during the raid on godhunters. As Aobashi and Blightsoar were there, Eugene had no choice but to hold grudges in silence. He dared not to clash against Erebus.
But the situation now was different. As Wallace made the task of occupying the deposit as a competition to decide the new Chief of Fifth Corps, Erebus did not come over in person. With Erebus absent, Eugene had no qualms about attacking Erebus’ divine guards.
“Which deposit is Eugene at? Show us the way!” Han Shuo said calmly after learning the whole story.
“Lord Bryan, Eugene have brought around fifty divine guards with him. Isn’t our forces a little too small?” replied the startled Anito, “I have reported the situation to Lord Erebus. We were instructed not to do anything rashly and to wait until other competitors from our City arrives before attacking Eugene.”
“Nope, just the few of us is enough,” Han Shuo said proudly. If he was to wait for other competitors to join him, even if they then managed to take down the deposit, disputes would arise when it came time to divide the spoils. It was in Han Shuo’s best interest not to let any of his competitors lay any claim on the deposit.
“What are you being so wordy about? Just do whatever my master asked and cut the crap, “ yelled Gilbert bluntly.
“Anito, lead the way!” said Bollands in a menacing voice. He was giving off a murderous air!
After having worked in the Third Corps for seven years, Bollands had developed friendships with many of his comrades. Eugene’s deeds of killing his former comrades had enraged him. Bollands had killed many divine guards from other cities and possessed extremely intense killing intent. After practicing demonic arts, he grew more and more murderous and bloodthirsty. Other than Han Shuo, absolutely no one could keep him in control!
Anito was well acquainted with Bollands and knew that this old fellow is cold-blooded, bloodthirsty madman. He was somewhat terrified at Bollands and replied in a trembling voice, “Alright then. But you need to be careful. Eugene, our opponent, is a highgod!”
“Eugene is nothing against my master,” remarked Sanguis coldly.
Sanguis, like Han Shuo’s apprentices and women, held blind faith towards Han Shuo. They believed that there is nothing he cannot do. Although Sanguis had never met or know Eugene, he was confident that Eugene would lose against Han Shuo!
Bollands and Gilbert both nodded their heads at Sanguis’ remark, agreeing with his words.
“Well then, come with me!” said Anito. For whatever reason, when Sanguis shot a glare at him, Anito felt an even greater pressure than from Bollands. In his eyes, Sanguis, Bollands, and Gilbert were all ferocious, ruthless characters. As Anito had never seen the fierce side of Han Shuo, he couldn’t understand how Han Shuo, someone who always wear a smile and polite toward others, could keep the three monsters in check.
Soon enough, with Anito leading, the party arrived at an enormous cave.
“Eh?” a divine guard who worked under Eugene guarding the cave entrance smiled sinisterly and asked, “You still have the guts to come back? Do you think that Lord Eugene was too merciful in not killing all of you the last time?”
“Haha, they have come back to die!” another divine guard said laughingly. They obviously did not take any of those comers as a threat.
Anito turned to look at Han Shuo as though pleading for help as he said, “Lord Bryan?”
“Oh no, you have brought in backup. Haha!” the divine guard exclaimed in a ridiculing manner as though he had not noticed Han Shuo until Anito spoke.
“Senior, shall I?” had it been before, Bollands would had charged ahead long ago. But now that Han Shuo was with him, he will ask Han Shuo for instructions. He dare being disrespectful to Erebus and even Wallace the City Lord. However, he will never be rude towards Han Shuo or go against his wishes as he knew that everything he had was bestowed upon him by Han Shuo!
Han Shuo still wore a warm and calm smile on his face as he nodded at Bollands. He said, “Go ahead, but don’t make it too bloody!”