Chapter 260: Adding fuel to the flames (1/2)
Chapter 260: Adding fuel to the flames
“This mithril mine is within the Rainbow Sickle mercenary band’s area of influence. It now belongs to our Church of Light. All of you please leave!” The light grand magus Ferguson floated in the air. He wore a pure white magic robe that shone with splendor. His left hand held a magic staff that emitted a dazzling light. He gave off an inviolable, sacred bearing.
All of the light magical elements in the valley converged towards his magic staff from all directions. Ferguson’s presence was becoming stronger and stronger. A brilliant curtain of light burst out of the magic staff in his hand, illuminating the moonless valley.
A small river was quietly flowing in the center of this valley, a few li wide. Big rocks of strange forms surrounded the whole river. The mountain wall was covered in a green, thick carpet of ivy-like vines.
The four great powers in the Valley of Sunshine, the Cairo mercenary band, the Rainbow Sickle mercenary band, the House of Menlo, and the Katar orc tribe, had all gathered here. They had divided the valley into four sections in order to occupy it. In addition, a dozen or so smaller forces were scattered in groups here and there. All of them had come here driven by greed.
Han Shuo had originally wanted to hide his traces. As soon as he heard the loud rumbling, he released the three yin demons to circle and scout the valley. After obtaining a clear understanding of the situation through the yin demons, he knew that this was a key moment in the valley, since all the forces were no longer hiding in secret.
“Let’s go. No one will notice us as long as we’re a bit careful.” Han Shuo shouted lightly, leading Gilbert and Trunks. The three cautiously slipped through several forces to a remote corner in the valley before hiding behind a large boulder.
“Mr. Ferguson, the person who discovered the silver mine was a merchant from our House of Menlo. Therefore, the mine naturally belongs to us.” Adam Menlo, head of the House of Menlo, said blandly, his face heavy as he glared at Ferguson.
Adam Menlo was a skinny old man rumored to be a sky rider. He was riding on the super rank magic creature Golden-Winged Roc, holding a golden spear in hand. He looked very heroic.
Dozens of experts from the House of Menlo were behind him. The entire group was riding on exotic, odd magic creatures, their hands grasping superior weapons or magic staffs. They all stared at Ferguson in an unfriendly manner.
“Ferguson, it’s not your Church of Light’s turn to be arrogant in this Valley of Sunshine. Our Cairo mercenary band is the true master of this place, everything here belongs to us.” The bald, robust Laureton shouted in a bell-like voice. His right hand wielded a huge battle axe in demonstration.
This battle axe showed no reflection under the light magic, as if it contained a mysterious force within. At a glance, the handle seemed rusted all over, as if it had been through many years of life.
Similarly, the elite mercenaries of the Cairo mercenary band were standing behind Laureton. He was evidently also determined to take control of this mithril mine. The chief of the Katar orc tribe stood on another side. He was roughly two and a half meters tall and carried a huge totem pole on his shoulder. The warriors of the tribe behind him were similar from their bodies to weapons.
“Looks like this battle is inevitable!” Han Shuo curved his lips into a devious smile as he said to Trunks, looking at the four great powers having their tit for tat in the central part of the valley.
“Mm, but why are Janet and the Butcher’s bandit gangs not here?” Trunk first nodded then asked somewhat suspiciously, “Logically speaking, they should have gotten the message. I didn’t expect that they wouldn’t even come for a piece of the pie.”
“They’ve actually come already. They are just hiding like us. Heh heh, these bandits didn’t dare to expose themselves, so they’ve just been hiding.” Han Shuo pointed in the direction of the Katar orc tribe chief and said, “There’s a huge rock in the mountain valley behind them, the Butcher’s bandits are over there.”
“Over there, within the ivy bush about a li behind the House of Menlo is Janet’s gang. However we shouldn’t go hunting for her for the time being. Let’s look at the situation first before deciding.”
“Understood.” Trunks replied.
Since the valley was limited in size, the parties here had only brought a portion of their elite forces. The number of people from each faction wasn’t too large. All of the powers in the light and dark had gathered here with the intention of taking the mine. The situation was an imminent stalemate in every corner and direction of the valley. At this moment, no one dared to make a move. Even Laureton didn’t dare to act first, avoiding the inevitability of becoming a target for the other forces.
After quarreling with each other for a while, the four great powers were still stuck in a battle of glares and curses. Even the lackeys only waved their weapons around like props. They hadn’t officially started the fight. Obviously, they were still having some apprehension about each other.
“These people are so troublesome. Why can’t they just make a move? I’m already so tired from looking at them.” Gilbert observed for a while, but the bunch was still quarreling nonstop. He couldn’t help but complain.
“Where is the mine? I’ll give them some impetus.” Han Shuo thought for a bit then looked to Trunks and asked.
“There’s a hidden underground cave over there at that overgrowth. Rumor has it there is silver inside, and even a very small amount of mithril.” Trunks answered as he pointed at the place where the four great factions were standing.
His heart jumped as Han Shuo suddenly had an idea. He laughed devilishly, “I have a way. This time, I must make Florida suffer continuously!”
Han Shuo’s group saw Florida upon moving forward. His injuries had been completely healed after half a year’s worth of recovery. He was currently in high spirits as he stood behind his grandfather Ferguson, and whispered something to Asa.
Asa and Maxine had tried to assassinate Han Shuo during his last trip to the Valley of Sunshine. Marco’s right arm had been cut off in the end, and he barely escaped with great embarrassment. He seemed to yet to recover, as his face was pale without the color of blood. Even though the severed arm had been reconnected, the spasming of his fingers indicated that some aftereffects were present. His arm might never recover its original flexibility.
The little skeleton and earth elite zombie appeared after a necromancy chant. After being refined by demonic magic, the earth elite zombie no longer had the original appearance of a zombie warrior. He didn’t look much different from a human.