Chapter 200: Dog eat dog (1/2)
Chapter 200: Dog eat dog
An explosion rang out from Elaine’s body as her profusely bleeding body suddenly exploded into bloody chunks as a momentous force vented in all four directions.
Two finger bones and three arrows of blood made directly for Han Shuo with ferocious and frightening power. In that critical moment, the quickly retreating Han Shuo immediately chanted out the spell for the bone shield and a pile of stark white bones immediately formed a white bone shield a meter wide and 1.5 meters tall that floated in the air in front of Han Shuo.
Cracking sounds rang out crisply as the white bone shield couldn’t hold up beneath the tremendous impact it had just received. It exploded into numerous bone fragments that flew every which way, as splendid as fireworks.
If it’d been anyone else, they may not have sensed the danger lurking in Elaine’s body and would’ve been caught unaware by this attack. They likely would’ve scrambled to face it. However, Han Shuo was perceptive and his thoughts moved quickly. A bolt of enlightenment had suddenly struck his heart and he’d felt the latent danger in Elaine’s corpse just now. This was why he’d barely been able to react and retreat in time.
Being in the true demon realm, Han Shuo’s brain had undergone a savage bout of training and the speed at which he could concentrate and release his mental strength at a speed far faster than ordinary mages. This was why he could chant out the white bone shield spell with such miraculous speed in such a crucial moment.
After retreating more than ten meters and the white bone shield now lying in broken fragments, Han Shuo had successfully evaded this obviously premeditated attack.
When he cast another glance at Elaine, there was nothing remaining apart from some fresh blood and chunks of flesh. A strong sense of bloodshed suddenly permeated through the air.
Han Shuo suddenly sensed a stifling feeling, and he immediately knew that this was bad. He’d been catching his breath but started circulating the magical yuan in his limbs without another moment’s thought.
The trickles of magical yuan made a circuit of his limbs as it wiped away the scent of blood that Han Shuo had just sniffed into his lungs. Han Shuo had been feeling a bit woozy and tired, but now felt strength surge back into his limbs.
A vicious plan, a devious enemy!
He went over what had just happened and was certain that the blood essence he’d placed in Belinda’s neck had been tampered with and transferred into Elaine’s body.
The enemy had then killed Elaine and used her body as bait, setting two traps to ensnare him. They’d first used a spell similar to corpse explosion. Elaine’s body had been filled with chemicals so that the moment her body exploded, her fresh blood, that was laced with chemicals, would become a second round of attack.
Such cruel methods that made use of a corpse could only be the brainchild of those fervent cultists of the Calamity Church!
Belinda must have been saved by others, or she would’ve never awoken from the shackles of the blood essence through her power alone. Han Shuo immediately planned on leaving this place when his thoughts traveled here, but two sets of footsteps started drawing close to where he was. One of them was heavy and the other soft. Han Shuo could judge from their weights that the oncomers were a male and a female.
A thought struck him as his mind raced furiously. He was weighing up what was the most appropriate method and best timing to handle the two.
However, he needed an opportunity to create the best timing! Han Shuo looked around and noticed that there was no good terrain to take advantage of, nor was there any good timing present. He couldn’t help but sigh in his heart!
Han Shuo’s originally upright body then suddenly softened to the ground. When his eyelids covered the sharp look in his eyes, his heartbeat and breathing became uncommonly calm. It was as if he were in a deep coma with no awareness whatsoever.
Two people gradually drew close. Belinda’s face was covered by her black veil as usual. Her bright eyes stared tightly at Han Shuo without blinking.
The other person was rather elderly as the tips of his hair was a gray brown color. Fine lines wizened his face like moats as he wore a thick, gray cotton jacket. He held onto a knobbed cane in his left hand as his gray white eyes seemed without energy. He walked slowly over, keeping an eye on the surroundings as well and paying attention not only to just Han Shuo.
“Wait, Belinda!” Just as Belinda was about ten meters from Han Shuo, the old man immediately called out with a low, raspy voice.
Belinda had been staring intently at Han Shuo when she immediately stopped upon hearing this call. She turned in confusion and looked at the old man, “What is it Master Edwin?”
The man called Edwin was from the Calamity Church. His gray white eyes circled the surroundings again and again before finally settling on Han Shuo. He rasped out, “There’s no blood on his body and there are no obvious signs of injury. He likely wasn’t injured by that exploding corpse. Judging from the distance, he may have fainted from the chemicals, but we need to be more cautious.”
“Then according to your opinion, what should we do?” Belinda not only stopped approaching Han Shuo after these words but actually started backing up until she was side by side with Edwin.
“Shoot an arrow into him. If he’s truly in a coma, he won’t have the slightest sensation of it!” Edwin responded.
Han Shuo cursed inwardly. This old fart was devious and vicious alright! He could come up with such a savage plan. This man gave Han Shuo a strong sense of danger, but from his body’s condition, Han Shuo was well aware that this person wasn’t a swordsman or a knight. He must be a marvelous mage despite his decrepit body, otherwise he wouldn’t be afraid to approach Han Shuo!
Belinda laughed softly and agreed when she heard Edwin’s instructions. She took out a bow and arrow and shakily notched an arrow to the string.
Belinda was noticeably not a marksman. Her two arms were shaking as her notched arrow shook in Han Shuo’s direction as well.
Because they were so close, Han Shuo could sense Belinda holding the bow and arrow even with his eyes closed. Her shaking hands made soft sounds when her arms brushed past her thick clothing. This made Han Shuo panic a bit as he weighed whether or not he should take the gamble.
If he suddenly exploded into action, he wasn’t confident in his ability to kill both of them given their distance from him and the fact that they were both on guard. Han Shuo didn’t know anything about what methods this Edwin possibly had either, so it was very unwise to take this risk in attacking.
Han Shuo hardened his heart in the moment that Belinda notched her arrow and decided to just take the hit no matter what. Han Shuo understood that they didn’t seem to want to kill him from their conversation. This was what caused him to make up his mind.
“Do it!” Edwin’s voice was low as he pressed Belinda.
“Alright!” Belinda agreed and released the arrow with a “whoosh”.
The arrow landed in the snow by his left arm as Han Shuo lay there nervously. It hadn’t touched him at all! It looked like Belinda’s shooting skills were beyond crap, which cause her to miss even at such a close range. “No worries, we have plenty of time, you’ll get the hang of it after shooting a few more arrows.” No emotion could be heard in Edwin’s voice as he spoke slowly.
His eyes lit up as he spoke and he focused on Han Shuo’s body, wanting to glean some clues from it.