Chapter 945: On the brink of war (2/2)
***In the Destiny Goddess’ Shine.
The Goddess of Destiny’s figure gradually took shape and appeared in the shine. “Andrina, I’ve brought you something - it’s your favorite crystal!” a benevolent, graceful, and melodious voice sounded through the shine.
After a long while, the Goddess shook her head and laughed. She said to herself, “I guess I should have known, this girl could never stay put… But I think she wouldn’t venture too far this time. She would be quite safe with her new power.”
The Goddess cast her gaze to the Fringe. Her eyes looked as though a pair of astrarium with constellations of stars slowly revolving. It was as though she was an extremely complicated automaton instead of a living being with flesh and blood.
“O, Han Shuo, I hope you could unseal Aethernia with the energy He had left you…” murmured the Goddess as she gazed at the Land of Chaos.
***
Over at the Pandemonium.
Han Shuo who was in secluded cultivation suddenly had an uneasy feeling. He couldn’t help himself but exited his gymnasium, flew above the Pandemonium and gazed in the direction of the Destiny Dominion. He mumbled, “Could it be that Han Hao met an accident over there?”
Han Shuo always trusted the senses of his soul. He started weighing if he should head to the Destiny Dominion to have a look.
“My Lord, I have news,” it was at this moment that Zovic came to him and reported to him respectfully.
Han Shuo smiled and asked, “Is it from the Omphalos?”
Zovic nodded and replied, “There was a small mishap, but things ended exactly as Your Lordship has predicted. The Overgod of Death did not attack Young Master Han Hao. He had left the Omphalos and most likely had left the Fringe,” Zovic gave Han Shuo a quick summary before he explained everything in detail.
“The temptation of the Quintessence Shard was so great that it had destroyed every bit of rationality in Dagmar, drove him to do something as foolish as intruding into the Omphalos. Humph, if it wasn’t for Tyre and Logue’s deliberate stalling, Dagmar would have died in there!” Even though Han Shuo wasn’t anywhere near the Omphalos when it happened, he easily figured out the truth from Zovic’s recount.
“Many of Dagmar’s most powerful followers had their divine bodies destroyed. Even though Dagmar escapes with their divine souls, there is still a long way to go for them to regain their original strengths. After this incident, Dagmar is no longer a threat,” remarked Zovic smilingly.
“Never ever underestimate a man who has gone insane!” Instead of being as optimistic as Zovic, Han Shuo gravely instructed, “Pay special attention to Dagmar. An overgod who has lost his rationality could do things that we cannot foresee. Tell everyone to not leave the Pandemonium for now.”
“Understood!” answered Zovic solemnly.
“Alright. You are dismissed,” Han Shuo nodded and sent Zovic away. After he left, Han Shuo stared in the direction of the Destiny Dominion with his brows slightly bunched. He mumbled, “If Han Hao is alright, then what was that feeling about? Hmm… Andrina should be in the Destiny Dominion. Could it be that something happened to Andrina? That makes no sense. No one would dare touch her in the Destiny Dominion…”
After thinking for a long while, Han Shuo still could not come up with any possible scenario. He decided to stop thinking about it and go back to preparing his defenses against the Godhunter Alliance who will be invading very soon.
With the Overgod of Death now left the Fringe, the Godhunter Alliance had no reason to stall their invasion any longer and his Pandemonium would be fiercely attacked.
***
The day after, on a hazy bald mountain at the outskirts of the Fringe.
All twelve Hegemons of the Godhunter Alliance were gathered on the top of the mountain with their armies of godhunters scattered all around them. Those ferocious-looking godhunters that numbered in the tens of thousands had completely occupied the mountain.
Although the Godhunter Alliance had existed for eons, this was the first time that all twelve Hegemons had gathered. It was also the first time that they attacked any forces on a united front.
There, an old man with a compassionate face, wearing the bright white gown of a Church of Light priest, smiled and asked the Hegemons for their attention.
But he was interrupted before he could begin his speech. “Judas, why are you still wearing that stupid white-priest clothing? Haha, don’t tell me that you are still wishing to return to the warm embrace of the God of Light?” teased Dhaka as he looked at the Hegemon of Light with a mocking expression.
“If he could return to the God of Light, I would have long been summoned back to the Shrine of Ice!” sneered Tuckamore, the Hegemon of Water.
Judas seemed somewhat embarrassed. He put on a grimacing smile and explained, “It was the God of Light who had forsaken me. But deep in my heart, I still hope to serve Him. If He could forgive my sins, I might actually return to His side.”
“Hahaha, return to His side? To do what? Backstab Him again?” Dhaka laughed without the slightest scruple. He cupped his hands towards Judas in salutation and remarked, “I have nothing but absolute respect for you, Judas. Not only for the fact that you were once a Keeper of the Light, but that you are still alive despite having committed such an atrocious act. Truly, you are the most treacherous and strongest among us Hegemons.”
“You are flattering me,” said Judas humbly. He then turned and bowed towards an empty space and piously said, “Praise be to God of Light! I will strive to live for as long as possible, till the day the Quintessence leaves Your Body!”
“That’s enough. I have no interest in listening to your prattles. Let’s get moving already,” said Dagmar in an annoyed manner after letting out a cold groan from his white bone throne.
“O, Dagmar, Judas may be the strongest, but you are without a doubt the most heroic among us! To infiltrate and strike at the center of the Fringe all by yourself - that is indeed a boost to our morale. Haha, if we win this war, you would be all thanks to this meritorious deed of yours!” said Regis, the Hegemon of Thunder in a mischievous smirk. He added, “However, it would have been even more admirable if you had killed Tyre, Logue, and the other Sovereigns instead of running from them. Then we can just swoop in and pick up the pieces. Don’t you think?”
“Regis, you wanna fight?” Dagmar’s face turned dark and he challenged Regis, “I have defeated you four hundred years ago, and I can do it again today!”
“Let’s see about that!” Regis grinned and stood up. It appeared that he really wanted to duel Dagmar.
Throughout its existence, the Godhunter Alliance had been fractured mostly because of the hostility between the Hegemons. They would mock and ridicule each other and add salt to each other's injury.
“Hold up, not now. Let’s destroy those in the Fringe first. After we defeat our enemy, you may fight as much as you want,” said Judas smilingly. He raised his voice and said, “Alright, let's all get back to business. Now, how do we split the forces?”
“I’m taking down Bryan!” Dagmar let out another groan and leaned back on his throne. He had suffered enormous losses in the Omphalos but had failed to obtain the Quintessence Shard from Han Hao. He was determined to force Han Hao to reveal the location of the Shard and kill him.
Unlike the Overgod of Death, Dagmar had seen Han Hao use the Quintessence Shard with his own eyes. Therefore, even though Dagmar couldn’t find the Shard on Han Hao back in the Omphalos, he still had his eyes fixed on Han Hao. He will never stop until he obtains the Shard and kills Han Hao.
“Asser and I are close to Dagmar. We will join him in attacking Bryan and the Pandemonium,” said Dhaka as he cast a glance at Asser.
Asser nodded after Dhaka finished his words. They seemed to have agreed on it earlier.
“Really? Do you need three Hegemons to defeat the House of Han?” asked Tuckamore, the Hegemon of Water. He felt that Dhaka had the least workload and disagreed with the arrangement.
“Erm… The House of Han is very strong. I know that because I have fought Bryan before. Besides, Dagmar’s strength has now reduced. So it’s quite fair that the three of us take the Pandemonium together,” Dhaka was replying to Tuckamore’s question but his eyes were on Judas.
Judas thought for a moment before he beamed and said, “I think that makes sense. Tuckamore, considering that Dagmar had suffered a misfortune, let them go together.”