Chapter 983: Undercurrents (1/2)
Strange figures could be seen moving about outside Omphalos, all of whom seemed to have hostile intentions. Obviously, they were godhunters. With the Sovereigns of the Fringe having hurriedly retreated and resigning the lives of the denizens of Omphalos to fate, none of them would survive the moment the Godhunter Alliance descended upon them.
Chaos broke out within. By now, they would die even faster if they tried to leave with the godhunters lingering outside. The denizens of Omphalos had been driven onto the brink of extinction and were helplessly awaiting their final judgment. There was nothing they could do about it, and that desperation had permeated throughout the whole place. All of them seemed lifeless and dispirited.
The only exception to that, however, were those in Celestial Pearl Pharmacy. The toxin brewers that Akley had recruited felt a sliver of hope thanks to the assurances for their safety. It was thanks to that tiny bit of hope that they had joined the group and handed over the recipes and knowledge they had spent much of their life researching.
These people saw their life's work as more important than their own lives. Even though Akley had promised that they would be fine, they didn't fully believe him. That was the reason they handed over their secrets to Akley for safekeeping.
After all, they wouldn't want their life's work to be lost from the world even if they didn't survive. In any other situation, they would never hand over their secrets to Akley, but with their deaths looming over them, each day that passed was a day risked not passing on the fruits of their labor. At the very end, they had come to terms with their possible demise.
Akley, naturally, was overjoyed to suddenly receive so much new knowledge. Even if those toxin brewers really ended up dead, the House of Han would be able to put their knowledge to use and propel Celestial Pearl Pharmacy to new heights. As such, he happily accepted their magnum opuses and had his men guard the secrets.
Soon, half a month passed. Gradually, the folks in Omphalos noticed that the frequency of godhunter sightings outside were increasing. They grew even more despaired as they awaited their doom.
Finally, the main army of the Godhunter Alliance and all the remaining Hegemons arrived at Omphalos. The leader of this excursion, Dhaka, kept telling them about the wealth that was hidden within. The other Hegemons didn't seem to doubt him one bit and were all intent on taking a huge share for themselves.
”Sir, we shouldn't head to Omphalos now. The Hegemons are already within. Our forces might not be able to match up with theirs,” Polo said with a respectful bow.
This wasn't even a fight he would consider if Han Hao had not decided to go through with it. While Polo didn't dare to doubt Han Hao, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were engaging in a futile effort.
”It's fine,” Han Hao said, not explaining much. ”We're not sending everyone there. I'm only taking a small team including you. We aren't going there to fight the Hegemons to the death. Instead, we're going to rescue the other members of our house.”
Polo's expression turned even grimmer when he heard not all of them were going to sortie. While he mocked Han Hao for his foolishness in his mind, all he dared to do was not. ”Alright. We'll do as you say, Lord.”
He didn't say anything else and proceeded to get his elite subordinates to coordinate with Han Hao on the plan.
......
Meanwhile, Logue and Tyre were jittering with excitement. Logue had never expected Tyre's plan to actually work out. He didn't know that Tyre and the current de facto leader of the Godhunter Alliance, Dhaka, were brothers. So, he really thought that the alliance had chosen to gather around Omphalos, giving him this hope of overturning the battle at the Fringe.