Under the effects of the Godfall poison, Luca was incapacitated and unable to use the energy in his body. Several Highgods of Death swarmed around him, draining his divine energy. He could only watch helplessly as the Godhunters slowly killed him.
After Luca was killed, the rest of his minions soon met the same fate. As Polo had ordered, not a single one of them was spared.
The Godfall poison had played a significant role in Polo's swift and effortless victory in this battle. Luca and his forces did not realise they were being poisoned until it was too late. Without any ability to resist, they became living divine essences for the Godhunters.
With the massacre over, it was time to clean up the crime scene. Polo's Godhunters took out bottles of azure-blue powder and applied it to the wounds on the bodies. Within moments, the bodies would liquefy completely, leaving no evidence other than a puddle of bloody liquid.
Polo smiled with satisfaction and explained to the House of Han trio, "Hehe, thanks to these extraordinary medicines provided by Celestial Pearl, we have a much easier time doing our jobs."
Bollands glanced at the liquefied bodies and nodded his head indifferently. He said, "We would like to see Han Hao."
"The Chief is out of the area and His Lordship is in the middle of something. But if you stay in the Omphalos, you will have the opportunity to meet him in the near future," Polo replied in a friendly manner, as if he had transformed into another person.
"Very well then. Thanks for your help," Bollands replied.
"Haha, you're being too polite, we're all friends here, so there's no need to be so cordial." Polo was aware of Han Hao's relationship with the House of Han and he had considered himself a fringe member of the House. There was no way Polo would be complacent in front of Bollands.
"Be that as it may, we appreciate your help. All right, we will continue towards Omphalos, but we will be more careful. We probably won't run into any more trouble," Bollands said after thinking for a moment. Then he turned to Gilbert and Sanguis and said, "Let's get going!"
Sanguis and Gilbert nodded. With the remaining thirty or so House of Han guards, they parted company with Polo.
After getting some distance from Polo, Bollands turned to his companions and said, "Polo and the others are Godhunters. We House of Han must not be seen getting too close to them, or it will affect our business in every dominion.
"Yes, master must have thought of that, which is why he refused to clarify his relationship with Han Hao to the public all along," Sanguis said, nodding.
While Sanguis, Bollands and Gilbert continued their journey to the Omphalos, Han Shuo was still travelling with the main party. He had a feeling that something was wrong when the trio had not returned for days and he began to worry about them.
Han Shuo could determine the general location of the trio when they were within a certain distance, but Sanguis, Gilbert and Bollands were now far beyond the range of Han Shuo's senses.
Bollands, Sanguis and Gilbert might have decent strengths, but they were in the fringe where the strongest and most vile criminals of the Twelve Dominions congregated. The powers they possessed would only reduce their risk of being killed, not eliminate it.
Two more days passed, but the trio had still not returned to the company. Han Shuo began to get a little worried.
As he considered going out to look for them, he suddenly received a signal. With a single thought, a Demon General streaked across vast terrain in a northwesterly direction and stopped in front of a Godhunter camouflaged by the ground. The demon general then materialised and took on Han Shuo's appearance and asked, "What's going on?"
The Godhunter, who was a trusted aide of Han Hao's, did not answer but took out a scroll and handed it respectfully to 'Han Shuo'. After reading the message, Han Shuo understood what Sangui, Bollands and Gilbert had encountered and destroyed the scroll. The demon general then returned to his invisible state and disappeared.
Han Shuo, who was travelling in the middle of his party, knitted his brows and muttered to himself, "Hmm, I wonder if Luca had acted on his own or on Logue's orders..."
*** The Fringe, Osteoburg. The ground was littered with white bones and Wraiths could be seen wandering aimlessly. The intense element of death filled the atmosphere in the form of a thin mist. Aside from increasing their strength, Death Energy experts could cultivate faster in this place.
At the centre of Osteoburg was a castle made entirely of bones. Logue, one of the Five Sovereigns, lived in the eerie white castle.
At this very moment, Logue was sitting on a huge bone throne with a cold, dark face as he listened to a report from one of his followers.
"Luca has disappeared without a trace. We could not find a single trace of him in his area of activity," a burly Death Energy expert reported on one knee.
"Luca is probably dead." Logue groaned coldly, straightened in his seat and continued, "These few kids are definitely no match for Luca. Someone else must have killed him. Bryan is getting more and more out of control. It seems I must act sooner!"
"My Lord, from the first day this person entered the Fringe, he has done nothing but upset the system and many of the established rules! The Pandemonians are becoming more and more dominant, and many of the newcomers are joining the Pandemonians. They grow stronger with each passing day. My Lord, we cannot allow this problem to fester! The longer we wait, the harder it will be to destroy them," the burly man advised gravely.
Logue let out another cold groan. He gestured and instructed, "I am well aware of that. You are dismissed.
As the burly man left, Logue's expression immediately changed to a warm smile. He raised his head and said to the sky, "I've been waiting for you.
Suddenly a dark light shone down. The Fringe's strongest sovereign, Tyre, was standing in front of Logue and he immediately said with a grave expression, "Don't be hasty, Bryan, we have a bigger problem - I have received reliable information that the Hegemons are marching towards the Fringe. This is unlike anything we have faced before. At present, seven of the Hegemons have mobilised."
"What?!" Logue's face shook and he shouted, "The Godhunter Hegemons have always been divided and uncooperative, otherwise the Fringe would have fallen to them long ago. How? What could possibly unite them?"
"I heard that Bryan wiped out the Godhunter bases in the Darkness and Death Dominions. The two Hegemons consider him a threat to the existence of the Godhunter Alliance and want to destroy Bryan at all costs. Since his base happens to be on the Fringe, they thought they might as well conquer the Fringe while they were at it," Tyre said with a grimace.
"It's him again!" Logue got angry. Suddenly he slammed on the armrest of his throne, stood up and complained, "Ever since that guy came to the Fringe, he has caused us nothing but trouble. And now he has even made the Hegemons unite! This guy is a scourge that must be eliminated!"
"Don't worry about it yet, we have to deal with the Godhunter Alliance first." Without hiding his murderous intent, Tyre said, "I know you want him dead - so do I. But now is not the time. Even if we attack Bryan and succeed, the Godhunter Alliance will continue the invasion. And by then we will be too exhausted to defend ourselves.
Malicious, sinister lights glittered from Logue's small eyes. He nodded and said with a smile, "I have an idea - we can push him forward and let him take the brunt of the Godhunter Alliance's attack. Hehe, this will force him to go all out against the Godhunter Alliance. If he ends up getting killed, that's the best thing. If he wins, we can get rid of him without too much trouble. In short, we must not let him live!"
"That's a great idea!" Tyre grumbled darkly, "But can Bryan and his forces handle the Godhunter Alliance?"
"Isn't there Wasir and Ossora?" Logue smiled schematically and said, "The two of us just need to plan ahead and push the three of them to the front line. As long as they fight the Godhunter Alliance before us, we will be in a great position. Hehe, if all three of them end up dead, the Fringe will be ours!"
Tyre was silent for a moment before he suddenly laughed heartily and said, "It seems I made the right decision in coming to meet you!"
""Let us discuss and make a thorough plan. With the power and influence we have in the Fringe, we can easily make these three take the front line. And when that's done, Tyre, we'll split the Fringe in two - you'll have one side and I'll take the other!"
"Sounds good, let's discuss it..." Tyre and Logue began to plot.
A day later, Tyre left the Osteoburg with a big smile on his face. He went to a secluded place, set up layers of barriers around himself, and took out his magic mirror.
The image in the magic mirror twisted and distorted, gradually revealing a face that Han Shuo recognised. It was one of the Hegemons of the Godhunter Alliance - Dhaka!
"Elder brother, here's the deal..." Tyre had a relaxed look on his face as he told Dhaka every detail of his negotiations with Logue.
Dhaka nodded as he listened to Tyre. After a while, he replied with a smile, "After this battle, I will be in charge of the Godhunter Alliance and you will be the ruler of the Fringe. And until then, we brothers will join forces, open the way to Aethernia, and steal the Quintessences!"
"Hahaha, sorry Logue, but the Fringe will not be divided. It will be united - under my rule!" Tyre laughed out loud.