Chapter 1399 Entering the Shelter (1/2)
Han Sen waited at a camp near the shelter for two days, before the expedition was set to begin and they could leave for that enigmatic construct.
He was able to see the shelter faintly, from the distance the camp had been established. The entire time they were there, an eerie fog draped the serrated walls and ramparts, pooling over to drown the grounds they stood upon.
”Little Brother, when you are in the shelter, I advise you to stick close,” Mister Li said, approaching Han Sen. There was a surprising concern tinting his unusually gruff voice.
Han Sen replied, ”Yes, will do. We need to look out for each other in there; our numbers have diminished more than enough.”
The demi-god Xu Yanmeng chimed in, saying, ”Stick close so we can protect you, and you don't get in the way. That's what he means to say. You'll be a hindrance if you do anything more.”
”Oh, that is what he meant. It's nice to have a translator by his side. Thank you for the clarification.” Han Sen knew Mister Li's phrasing was an attempt at putting it lightly.
Mister Li smiled and said, ”Can the chatter. We work hard; all of us. We're in this together.”
Yu Xuan and his big sister Yu Miao led the humans across the still plains to the shelter and left them near the gate. Han Sen believed he'd be able to see things with a lot more clarity upon nearing the place. That turned out to be an incorrect assumption.
When they reached the shelter, another group arrived. Amongst them were that woman and her dog.
”Goddess, you're late,” Yu Miao said.
Before she responded, her dog snapped, ”A doggo is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.”
Han Sen observed the humans that had accompanied them, and he noticed that two of them were extra-strong. He believed they were also in possession of gemstone geno cores.
The dog sniffed Han Sen, then said, ”Pah! You guys crack me up. You've enlisted a human with a bronze geno core? You think he'll help?! Haha!”
”More people always equal a greater sum of power,” Yu Miao said, in surprising defense.
Han Sen then realized why Goddess and her dog had come to Shadow Shelter; he assumed they had gone there in search of Nan Litian. Little did they know, he was dead. Deeming Han Sen too weak, they hadn't bothered recruiting his replacement.
”A weakling in a group is a weakling still. Regardless, let's proceed,” Goddess said.
Yu Miao allowed the humans to meet and greet and ready themselves for entering the shelter. When the first streaks of sunlight beamed over the distant mountains that dressed the horizon, they could see the shelter a little more clearly, and some of the fog that spilled over the walls boiled off.
In total, there were nine going into the shelter; Han Sen included. Outer Sky Shelter's people consisted of Han Sen, Mister Li, Xu Yanmeng, and Old Qiu. Sacred Shelter contributed an additional five. Their names were Wang Zhao, Zhong Sanxiao, Yu Zhiyu, He Zhi, and Xiao Liuyu.
Mister Li was the leader of Han Sen's sortie, whereas there was a joint leadership for Sacred's collection of people, in the form of Wang Zhao and Zhong Sanxiao. There was a surprising amount of uneasiness creeping between the two teams, despite them all being humans and in a precarious situation that would require co-operation. It seemed as if there'd be fierce competition once inside.