CHAPTER 188: Inner Conflict

Han Shuo's "Demonic Ninth Heaven Art" was more than a little faster than the levitation spells the archmages could cast. Therefore, when he circulated his magical yuan during his flight, his speed was faster than anyone could imagine.

What's more, because he had previously used the Demonic Arts Of Assimilation to absorb the flesh, blood and soul of one of the knights, his injuries from the clash with Bob Ascher had completely healed. When he flew now, his speed was like a loose arrow. It flashed through the dark sky and disappeared from sight.

Lawrence and Belinda rejoiced inwardly as they closed in on Han Shuo, only to see his speed suddenly double and disappear from their line of sight.

Shaking his head with a wry smile, Lawrence was full of excitement as he became even more aware of Han Shuo's amazing abilities.

It was also at this moment that he made up his mind to recruit Han Shuo under his banner.

"Well?" Han Shuo slowed down after increasing the distance between himself and the other two.

"How did you do it?" Phoebe's voice was full of surprise.

"Hehehe, don't worry about it. The reason I can fly through the air is not because of necromancy." Han Shuo smiled as he explained.

Dawn was about to break after a night of hunting. The Kerlan Grand Canyon was bathed in the morning light as the sun slowly began to rise.

Looking back, Han Shuo noticed that the figures of Gilbert, Emily, Lawrence and Belinda were slowly approaching. As they caught up with Han Shuo, Han Shuo could also see a dense cluster of black dots in the distance.

Judging their distance, Han Shuo discovered that his group had maintained an ideal distance from the Gryphon Legion soldiers. Looking at the Kerlan Grand Canyon below them, Han Shuo encouraged everyone, "We will be able to take advantage of the complicated terrain within the Grand Canyon and use the accumulated snow on the trees to conceal ourselves. The Gryphon Legion soldiers won't be able to find us.

Everyone knew what to do without further instructions from Han Shuo. Everyone became even more enthusiastic as they charged forward. They actually reached the Grand Canyon before the soldiers caught up with them.

The Kerlan Grand Canyon was huge. The mountain ranges, lakes and forests within lay between the Lancelot Empire, the Kasi Empire and the Orcs. The orcs lived in the area to the west of the Kerlan Grand Canyon, and the border of the Kasi Empire was to the north. If you travelled a few days south of the canyon, you would find yourself in Zajoski City in the Lancelot Empire.

The orcs of the Lancelot Empire lived in a triangular region surrounded by the Kerlan Grand Canyon. This area didn't belong to either empire, and the Kerlan Grand Canyon was always the focal point of conflict whenever war broke out. However, in this particular geographical region, with members of both the Lancelot and Kasi empires, as well as orcs living among them.

They used this special geographical region to conduct mutually beneficial trade. The merchants and adventurers of all three nations coexisted peacefully in these cities and towns before the war broke out.

Of course, as refugees, Han Shuo's group had no intention of hiding in these places. They all landed as soon as they entered the Kerlan Grand Canyon. As someone who'd been running a merchant guild for a long time, Phoebe and the highly competent Emily immediately took control of operations. The two of them had a brief discussion and, having agreed on a direction, set off.

Much snow had accumulated on the densely packed trees, obscuring the sky almost completely. For Han Shou's group, this area was perfect for concealment, and the Gryphon Legion soldiers in the sky would have a hard time picking up their tracks once they took cover under the trees.

So when everyone landed, they deliberately moved to where the trees and grass were thickest. It wasn't the most comfortable for Phoebe to be in Han Shuo's arms right now, so he motioned for her to leave his grasp.

At first, Phoebe, the Swordmaster, moved her body back and forth in his embrace, seeming to greedily take in the warmth of his body, but when she noticed that everyone was leaving on foot, and Candice even seemed to look back at her with a trace of a smile, she finally tore herself away from Han Shuo's embrace, her face flushed.

The frosty winter wind pierced her bones. As mages, Emily, Angelica and the others were all wrapped in thick furs. They'd been exposed to the cold wind for so long under the night sky, and now they were all shivering with cold. So they all moved a little more slowly.

Seeing Emily half frozen and shivering, Han Shuo felt pained and looked around. He suddenly suggested, "We've already made it into the Kerlan Grand Canyon. There's a canopy of large trees here, and it will be difficult for the soldiers to find us. I think everyone's tired after today. It's not a wise decision to keep going. Why don't we find a hiding place to rest?"

Everyone agreed after hearing Han Shuo's words and Phoebe suddenly remembered something with a roll of her bright eyes. "I've walked these woods many times and I remember there's a hidden cave nearby. I've stored things there before, so we can rest there."

"All right, let's have a look around. It's best if we can find this place." Han Shuo was pleased to hear that.

Phoebe thought for a moment with a furrowed brow and pointed in a direction, "If I remember correctly, it should be in that direction. Let's have a look!"

When the group arrived, there was no sign of a cave other than a thick blanket of snow. Phoebe blinked and then said determinedly, "It should be here. It looks like the cave has been sealed off. We'll find out if we dig a bit."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Lawrence roared heartily. It looked like he trusted this younger sister quite a bit. He pulled out a long sword and stabbed hard at the spot Phoebe pointed to.

Seeing Lawrence go to work, Belinda and the other mages seemed to want to come to help. Han Shuo called out, "Wait, don't use magic. We should move the snow carefully. That way, we won't leave any tracks when we move the snow, and the soldiers will have a hard time picking up our tracks even if they land to look for us."

Everyone agreed with Han Shuo and it was up to Han Shuo, Phoebe and Lawrence to carefully dig up the snow and move it away.

"This was the place! Hehehe!" Phoebe shouted with joy as the snow was moved away and she thrust her sword forward.

Han Shuo and Lawrence looked at each other and moved a particularly thick chunk of snow away from the entrance, revealing a dark and menacing cave entrance.

Han Shuo took a peek and discovered that this entrance was actually the size of a basketball court. It was enough for everyone on their side to enter.

"Go in one at a time. Don't enlarge the hole, otherwise it will be too difficult to cover!" Han Shuo said, moving away from the entrance.

Angelica was the first to enter, her teeth chattering from the cold. Emily, Candice and the others followed one after the other. Phoebe and Lawrence were the last to enter, with Han Shuo bringing up the rear. He set up some branches at the entrance and moved some of the dug up snow to cover them.

When Han Shuo felt that all was complete, he walked into the depths of the cave after taking a look around. By this time, a fire had already been lit and the warmth spread throughout the cave. The originally cold cave had become a warm zone.

Thanks to the space rings, all mages carried some firewood with them during the winter, in case they needed warmth. All sorts of tents and soft carpets were also brought out at this time and placed next to the fire. Everyone settled comfortably into their equipment to rest.

Emily and Caspian could feel their limbs slowly thawing thanks to the fire. They sighed in relief as Emily slowly got to her feet. She made her way to the entrance and said, "I'm going to set up a camouflage boundary to prevent us being discovered here."

Caspian got up at the same time and walked with her, saying, "I'm going to help her.

As Emily and Caspian got up to set up the magical boundary, Belinda and Johnny's expressions became a little unnatural. Their eyes danced uncomfortably and they looked defensively at the mouth of the cave, apparently afraid that Emily and Caspian would do something to the cave entrance.

This was indeed the case. Han Shuo had started to walk back when he saw Emily and Caspian walking towards the mouth of the cave. He absentmindedly turned around and saw that Emily and Caspian had indeed placed something at the entrance of the cave out of caution.

Miss Belinda, you should pay us the fees you still owe us!" Just as Han Shuo looked on in astonishment, Candice was already looking at Belinda unhappily and speaking in an irritated tone.

They had all worked together before because they had a common enemy, and the relentless pursuit of the Gryphon Legion had made it so that they couldn't relax for even a moment. That was why they hadn't gone after each other for debts. Now that the threat from the Gryphon Legion had temporarily subsided, the existing conflict between the people was coming to the fore.

"You're lucky to be alive! Sorry, the Calamity Church has never been in the habit of paying our mercenaries!" Belinda's voice was quite soft as she glanced at Candice and replied noncommittally.

There was a clang as Candice's broadsword was drawn. She glared at Belinda, "I escorted you to Valen City! Not only did I not receive a single gold coin of my payment, you even tried to kill me! Looks like it's time to settle our debts."

"I think you're going to regret trying anything!" Belinda was obviously not afraid of Candice. She turned to Johnny and pulled out a scroll with the image of Ansidesi on it.

"The cave is only three metres high. Your golem won't be able to do much when it's released!" Candice snorted and walked over to Belinda. It looked like she was about to make a move.

Phoebe had been standing by Han Shuo's side and was basically a sister to Candice. When she saw that Candice was about to make a move, she drew her longsword without hesitation, a milky white aura already radiating from its tip.

Belinda had a look of disdain in her eyes when they lit up at Phoebe's milky aura, seemingly surprised.

"Huh, you're going to die!" Johnny's chest wound had been bandaged and was now covered with gauze. The sword in his hand sparkled with thunder and lightning, and he didn't seem any weaker than Phoebe.

"Give them their payment. You should have paid this, otherwise you'll die!" Han Shuo quickly assessed the situation and walked over to Phoebe's side with a cold face, looking at Belinda and snorting coldly.

Gilbert also cackled as he cracked his knuckles. Caspian and the Battlefire mercenaries were also on Candice's side. It looked like a fight was about to break out as soon as Belinda refused to back down.

Although Belinda's voice was soft, her temper was quite stubborn and she didn't show any fear at this point. She seemed ready for a hard fight.

"This doesn't seem to be the time for inner conflicts. Heh heh. Miss Candice, how much do they owe you? I'll pay it for you, so let's not argue about it now, shall we?" Lawrence suddenly stood up, much to everyone's surprise, and smiled to smooth things over.