956: Far Too Fearful
Stratholme, Gilbert, and the others snickered as they watched the godhunters halting after taking each step forward and being overly cautious. The previously tense atmosphere turned much more relaxed.
“At this pace, they will need another day before they will actually step into Pandemonium. Haha, these godhunters are really funny. It’s not like we have any formidable defensive measures at the outer perimeter,” remarked Stratholme as he chuckled.
“They are terrified!” Ayermike pointed at a group of godhunters in the spatial mirror and said, “Look carefully at this bunch. There are still wounds visible on their body and their footsteps are rather disordered. Even their movements seemed awkward and unnatural. It is obvious that they were heavily injured from the last attack!”
The House of Han members had heard a thing or two about Dhaka’s misfortune in the three mountains near Han Hao’s base. They couldn’t help but take quick glances at Han Hao and felt a sense of awe when they thought about how half of their opponent’s army perished just like that.
The one standing in the chamber with them was Han Hao’s main body. His secondary soul that possessed his surrogate body had now rejoined his main soul and body. The current Han Hao was at his peak condition and stronger than he ever was. Although he was still no match against Dhaka or Asser, he had absolute confidence in defeating Dagmar who was also a cultivator of the energy of death.
“They wouldn’t attack for at least another day. We don’t have to be too worried for now,” remarked Bollands after he calmly evaluated the godhunters’ movement and distance.
“Humph, I hope they will all die! These degenerates should be cleansed from the universe!” shouted Andrina hatefully.
For whatever reason, Andrina was extremely hostile towards godhunters. If there was a magical button that could somehow obliterate every godhunter in the world, she would smash it without any hesitation. She would get triggered if she heard anything remotely related to godhunters and would proclaim about eradicating them.
Han Hao took a quick glance at Andrina and made a mental note to have his followers keep as far away as possible from the peculiar little girl. She knew just how terrifying Andrina was and that none of his followers was Andrina’s match.
Besides, Andrina was the daughter of the Destiny Goddess, a close friend of Han Shuo’s, and recently became Han Jin’s lover. Even if Andrina murdered a couple of his followers in rage, there would be nothing that Han Hao could do. He also thought that he should talk to Han Jin to prevent his sister-in-law from killing his followers.
“Let’s get ready. It’s time to activate all primary formations,” said Bollands after taking a moment to assess the situation.
“Okay!” answered the Five Elite Zombies. They took a look at Han Hao and left the chamber.
There were dozens of demonic formations of varying sizes around Pandemonium. Some of them would consume Yuan energy at an astonishing rate even when idle, especially those demonic formations with extremely terrifying power. Although Pandemonium had collected a considerable amount of Yuan during the past many years, it was not unlimited. Therefore, to save on their reserves of Yuan, most of the demonic formations were deactivated until the last possible moment.
Although the army of the Godhunter Alliance was now right outside their turf and they would be attacking soon, they could still wait a little longer before activating the energy-guzzling formations. But considering that Han Shuo was currently not around, the Pandemonians dare not take any chances.
Han Hao left soon after the Five Elite Zombies exited the room. Andrina thought for a moment before quietly catching up to Han Jin.
During the recent days, Andrina was always seen with Han Jin. It was as though the two were inseparable. Not only were they attracted to each other, they seemed to be able to help each other advance their cultivations, as if they knew each other better than they understood themselves.
“Everyone get ready. Order the House of Han guards to station in every region. We must utilize not only the power of the demonic formations but also the power of our army. Dhaka, Dagmar, and Asser are all experts in the overgod realm. Any of them are many times more powerful than the combined might of Hill and Sha-t’o of Witherbone City. We must not let our guard down,” ordered Bollands in a grave face after Han Hao and the others left.
The House of Han members understood the gravity of the situation. They stopped their giggling and went back to work.
***
Outside Pandemonium, Dhaka, Dagmar, and Asser were discussing on how they should attack Pandemonium. Dagmar proposed that they would bombard Pandemonium in a burst of energy to destroy all the boundaries and defenses.
Dhaka thought that they should be more methodical. They should survey and probe the environment as much as possible before attempting an exploratory attack. And if it failed, they would inform other godhunters and call for backup.
Asser, meanwhile, had an entirely different approach. He suggested that the three of them should explore Pandemonium by themselves. With their overgod power, no matter the trap laid, they should be able to easily escape. Their combined might should be more than enough to handle both Han Shuo and Han Hao.
The three each held on to their own views firmly. They were unable to reach a consensus.
It was only until a full day of discussion that they finally agreed on testing the defenses of Pandemonium. They ordered all their remaining army to assemble right outside the thick fog that shrouded Pandemonium.
Following the cue of the Hegemons, the three groups of godhunters simultaneously launched ranged attacks towards the thick fog.
Bursts of colourful energies were launched into the air. They followed a parabolic trail and fell into the thick fog. A deafening rumble sounded from behind the impregnable veil as brilliant radiances of all colours erupted.
….
After a long while, the rumbles had subsided and the flashes died down but the three Hegemons did not get the result they wanted. In fact, they did not get anything. They heard no miserable shrieks and no House of Han members scuttling to escape the bombardment. They didn’t even know if their attack had caused any damage or casualties.
“Dagmar, even you cannot sense any soul undulations?” asked Dhaka, astonished.
By now, the immense hatred had vanished from Dagmar eyes. He had temporarily set aside his thirst for vengeance. In a deep voice, he said, “I can sense a force that’s preventing my soul from sensing anything far beyond the thick fog. It’s just like being blindfolded. My soul is unable to sense if there’s any dead there. In fact, I can’t even sense the slightest presence within.”
Asser’s expression changed at hearing that. He immediately recalled their experience back at the three mountains. “The situation is off. I’m afraid we’ve fallen for a trap once more. We must be extra careful under such uncertain circumstances!”
“Let’s go in to look, the three of us.” Dagmar finally agreed to Asser’s initial proposal after some hesitation.
Dhaka had already talked to Tyre about this beforehand. He had intended to take advantage of the battle going on at the Fringe to take control over the Godhunter Alliance. He had thought that with the combined strength of the three, they would easily be able to destroy Pandemonium. Little did they know they would lose up to half of their men before they even get to engage the Pandemonians.
It was because of that that Dhaka no longer dared to gamble with his men’s lives, for they were what he was counting on to maintain any semblance of power in the alliance. He didn’t want to take any more risks now, but if he didn’t even enter to check, all their attacks now would be a waste of energy. That was why he had no choice but to make his decision.
Asser agreed with Dhaka and turned to Dagmar. “I’m sure the three of us won’t have any trouble going in.”
At that moment, Dhaka suddenly felt some undulations coming from his space ring. He didn’t make a sound and instead secretly used his soul to check the message left on the magical mirror.
After a while, his face glowed with joy. “Come, let us check this place out for good. Ideally, we’ll be able to destroy the defenses boundaries altogether. Hmph, I doubt Pandemonium is actually as formidable as it looks!”
“Why the sudden change of tone, Dhaka?” Dagmar asked, taken aback by the sudden change in attitude.
“I received word from a credible source that Bryan’s not in Pandemonium right now. Haha, it seems that he’s gone to Glacial Peak. There’s no way he’ll be able to make it back that quick! We should destroy all he has built here and lay in wait for his return before wiping him out!”
Dagmar and Asser suddenly turned and looked at each other before asking Dhaka suspiciously, “Are you sure?”
“A hundred percent!” replied Dhaka confidently but without explaining the source of his information. He put on a mischievous smirk and said, “Come, let’s go!”
Dhaka then took the lead and stepped into the thick fog confidently and without any hesitation. Dagmar and Asser hesitated for a bit but they decided to trust Dhaka and followed behind him.
As soon as they entered the thick fog, they noticed that their senses were greatly affected. Not only were their visions heavily obstructed, even their divine souls could not extend far.
“Everyone be careful, this is a perilous place. But as long as we three stick together, nothing should go wrong,” said Dhaka after his fellow Hegemons also stepped into the fog.
Dhaka heard no response even after waiting for a long while
“Dagmar! Asser! Where are you? Why aren’t you talking?” shouted the startled Dhaka. He heard nothing but the echoes of his own voice that were reverberating louder and louder as though they were amplified by something. Then, as though triggered by his voice, an unknown energy suddenly swarmed towards him.