Tyre hadn’t noticed that someone was spying on him when he produced the magical mirror to contact Dhaka.
As soon as the image of Dhaka, leader of godhunters, materialized upon the magical mirror, Tyre quickly asserted, “Elder brother, there’s been a change of situation!”
“What’s wrong? We are still in the process of forming an invasion plan over at my side. Why do you seem so frantic?” Dhaka, inside the magical mirror, raised a brow and replied in his deep voice.
“One of the Overgods just came to the Fringe! Us four Sovereigns nearly got wiped out!” It seemed as though Tyre had yet to recover from the shock of being visited by the Overgod of Death. A tinge of anxiousness was laced in his voice as he spoke hurriedly.
“An overgod nearly killed you? What exactly happened?” Although slightly taken aback, Dhaka did not seem too concerned. He had misheard or misunderstood Tyre.
“I did not say an overgod, I said, The Overgod!” stressed a perturbed Tyre.
“What?” Dhaka freaked out, finally realizing how truly pressing the problem was. He exclaimed, “What are they doing in the Land of Chaos?”
Tyre gave a wry smile and recounted to Dhaka their encounter in detail.
Dhaka’s face grew more and more solemn as he listened to the narration. After a long while, he suddenly broke out in a depraved chuckle and muttered, “Hahaha, I know why he has come to the Fringe! Haha, that’s too bad for you, Dagmar, but I guess now you’ve got no hope of ever laying your hands on that thing!”
Dhaka continued cackling for a moment before turning serious again. “There’s no need for concern at all, the Overgod of Death is not after you Sovereigns. Alright, I will get my people to postpone the invasion until the Overgod is done with His business here. His presence in the Fringe brings too many uncertainties to us both and could affect the outcome of our masterplan.”
After saying those words to calm Tyre, Dhaka revealed to him about the Quintessence Shard on Han Hao.
Tyre was surprised by the revelation, but he also felt envious. He grumbled, “They are such lucky bastards!” He took a short pause before adding, “Bryan alone is already a real pain in the arse; and now with that Han Hao possessing a Quintessence Shard, he’s going to be an even greater scourge!”
“You must not reveal this information to anyone. Only me, Dagmar, and Asser know that Han Hao has a Quintessence Shard. Only, me, Dagmar, and Asser know about this. If this gets leaked, our relationship could risk being exposed. Even as we speak, some are getting suspicious of me for being too cognizant of happenings within the Fringe. To ensure that our masterplan succeeds, we need to be mindful of our every move,” warned Dhaka in his deep voice.
“Got it,” Tyre nodded before he smilingly remarked, “The Fringe may be vast, but I don’t believe it will take the Overgod of Death long to go through the names Logue gave him. Han Hao will eventually meet his doom!”
“Yes, and all we gotta do is sit and wait! And keep an eye on Han Hao. Once he is dead or the Overgod of Death leaves the Fringe, notify me immediately and we will proceed with the invasion. When this is over, you will command the Fringe while I command the Godhunter Alliance. With our powers combined, we will have a real shot at entering Aethernia!” said Dhaka.
Tyre nodded and smiled. He then casually exchanged a few more words with Dhaka about the current situation before ending the call.
…
Located not too far from Tyre was a wisp of smoke that gave off not the slightest aura of life. It wafted undetected into the distance.
After moving a hundred miles from Tyre, the wisp of smoke stopped and gradually morphed into Han Shuo. After spying and surveilling Tyre for nearly half a month, Han Shuo finally confirmed Salas’s suspicion – Tyre, a Sovereign, and Dhaka, a Hegemon, were in fact brothers. Han Shuo was astonished by the discovery.
Had Han Shuo remained oblivious to this fact when the war broke out, he would be in a dire situation. Both Tyre and Dhaka cultivated the energy of destruction. Given that Tyre was the strongest Sovereign in the Fringe, Dhaka, his elder brother, should possess even greater strength. The combined power of the two could be even more formidable than the combined might of Wasir, Ossora, Logue, and Salas.
Han Shuo was fortunate to have been tipped off by Salas which led to his discovery this day. With that knowledge, Han Shuo could now make the necessary preparations before the treacherous brothers dealt him the blow. What’s more, Han Shuo could even make use of this information when scheming against them.
With a plan in mind, Han Shuo didn’t stay further and promptly returned to the Pandemonium.
The biggest challenge before him right now was not the Tyre and Dhaka brothers but Nestor, the Overgod of Death, who had come to the Fringe. Han Shuo was aware of the reality that although his strength had been improving by leaps and bounds, he was far, far from being a match against the Overgod of Death.
As Han Hao was among the names Logue reported to the Overgod, it meant that Han Hao’s life was now in great danger. Given the mighty power of the Overgod of Death, it would only be a matter of time before he located Han Hao hiding in the Fringe. Han Shuo had to somehow find a way to keep Little Skeleton alive in the little time that was left.
He returned to the Pandemonium at top speed and immediately summoned Han Hao. Without delay, he informed Han Hao of this dire situation, then added, “We need to find a solution or he will find you eventually!” After taking a short pause, Han Shuo continued, “You said that you’ve integrated with the Quintessence Shard. If the Overgod of Death were to stand next to you, would he be able to tell that you have it?”
“Yes,” Han Hao nodded after thinking for a moment.
Han Shuo felt a great headache. He was certain that the Overgod of Death was now searching high and low for the death energy cultivators Logue had named. Once he was done probing them, eventually, Han Hao would be the last person remaining on his list. The Fringe was limited in size but the might of the Overgod was not. It wouldn’t be long before He came knocking on their door.
Even though the Pandemonium was defended by layers upon layers of demonic formations, Han Shuo doubted that it could stop a Quintessence Overgod. With nowhere to hide and no way to fight, Han Shuo had no idea how to keep Little Skeleton alive.
Han Hao, seeing the anxiousness on Han Shuo’s face, thought for a moment before he suggested, “How about I leave the Fringe and hide in other Dominions temporarily?”
“You can, but that will only be a temporary solution. If that guy can’t find the Shard in the Fringe and realizes that you are coincidentally missing, you will be His number one suspect. And when that happens, you will be in an even more dire situation,” explained Han Shuo, grimacing in frustration.
Han Hao did not reply but carefully thought about it for a while. And indeed, he could not come up with a good solution to the crisis. There was no way to truly resolve it unless he and Han Shuo could suddenly raise their strengths to the level of a Quintessence Overgod. As rapidly as Han Shuo had been progressing in demonic arts, he would still need centuries if not millennia to get to that level. And although Han Hao had just fused with a Quintessence Shard, it was still impossible for him to fight the Overgod.
Even if Han Hao mastered using the Shard’s energy, there would still be no way he could fight the Overgod with the Quintessence. Han Hao racked his brain and he too could not come up with a solution
“We need more brains to work on this so that we can come up with a solution as quickly as possible!” remarked Han Shuo before immediately summoning those who knew about the Shard’s existence. When Bollands, Gilbert, Sanguis, Scarlett, and the Five Elite Zombies were gathered at the underground gymnasium, Han Shuo hastily briefed them about Han Hao’s dire situation before he gravely said, “Things are looking grim and we don’t have much time, which is why I have called for this brainstorming session. Please try to come up with a solution.”
The atmosphere turned tense after the people realized the gravity of the situation. Just like Han Shuo, they bunched their brows and racked their brains for ideas.
In this universe, an Overgod with the Quintessence was practically invincible. Save for other Quintessence Overgods, no existence in the universe could come close to even fighting them. And now, with this terrifying being hunting and searching for Han Hao, with the futility of fighting Him, Han Hao could only try to run or hide.
But even if Han Hao temporarily left, after crossing everyone off his list and not finding the Shard in the Fringe, the Overgod of Death would immediately consider the missing Han Hao as the primary suspect. By then, the Overgod would focus on hunting and killing Han Hao.
It seemed to be an impossible challenge. A day went by in the blink of an eye. Although a few seemingly workable ideas were proposed, they were all dismissed after a round of scrutiny.
Gradually, the discussions started to die down. The impatient Gilbert was starting to get restless. He argued that they might as well stake it all and fight the Overgod.
“He can kill you with a lift of His finger. You can try but you will die without a doubt,” Han Shuo replied to Gilbert with a disapproving face.
“I’ve already died once anyway, I don’t mind dying once more!” rebutted Gilbert.
“His expertise is in the soul. If he kills you, he will be sure to annihilate your soul. And by then, no amount of power can bring you back to life. You will be dead permanently,” said Han Shuo after snorting and rolling his eyes.
“That guy is adept in the energy of souls. If you die this time, you won’t be able to retain your soul temporarily like you did the previous time. Once he destroys the seal of your soul, I won’t be able to resurrect you anymore no matter what, and by then, you will be finished for real!” Han Shuo glimpsed at Gilbert and snorted coldly.
“Senior, that reminds me – can Han Hao separate his soul from his body and possess another body? This body of his had fused with the Shard. But if you forge him a new divine body and let him possess it, the Overgod wouldn’t find any trace of the Shard on him, right?” Bolands’ eyes lit up as if inspired by Gilbert’s words.
Han Shuo was jolted and he opened his eyes wide. Immediately, he turned to Han Hao and asked, “You’ve been practicing demonic arts and your soul is different from an ordinary being. Are you able to separate your soul from your body?”
Han Hao thought about it for a moment and vaguely attempted it. He nodded, “I think I can.”
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