CHAPTER 792: I Accept My Defeat Wholeheartedly

"I don't believe it!" Ralph replied in a loud voice before saying to City Lord Wallace, "There must be at least one Highgod among these three!"

After hearing Ralph's accusation, Wallace knitted his brows and turned to look at Han Shuo.

"My House of Han doesn't have that many Highgods yet. Before entering the arena, all participants must be examined by the House of Sainte. If any of them have Highgod strength, they won't be allowed to enter. I think Lord Andre can confirm that," Han Shuo said smiling as he nodded at Andre.

"Bryan is right, I'm responsible for screening the participants. They had all put their divine energy into a crystal that measures their strength. If these three are allowed to enter, they cannot be Highgods," Andre said firmly.

The crystal that measures one's divine energy could detect a Highgod from the fact that a Highgod's divine energy concentration was different from that of a Midgod. However, since Bolland and Sangui hadn't cultivated in the fundamental energies of this universe, the crystal wouldn't be able to detect anything even if they had Highgod powers. As for Gilbert, his cultivation of the Element of Darkness was only in the Lowgod Realm. They managed to pass the test easily.

With Andre's assurance, Wallace had no more doubts. In an indifferent tone he said, "Then it is settled. I will hear no more of this accusation.

Ralph and Batúk were stunned, their faces filled with confusion. They knew that Andre wouldn't lie in this situation. That left them with only one possibility - none of the three in question were Highgods. But wasn't it equally unthinkable that only three Midgods could unleash such terrifying power?

After hearing Andre's reassurance, the group's gaze returned to Han Shuo. Their eyes were filled with doubt and astonishment. They could not understand how Han Shuo's Divine Guards of the Fifth Corps could be so superior!

The battle did not pause while the observers had their little argument. On the sand table, Bollands, Sanguis, and Gilbert had broken through almost all of the Seventh Corps' defences and reached the area where the brightly glowing Divine Essences were kept.

For Bollands, Sanguis and Gilbert, plundering the divine essences from the Seventh Corps wasn't that difficult a challenge. In fact, as far as they were concerned, the Seventh Corps had lost the battle the moment they came into sight.

The Divine Guards of the Fifth Corps followed closely behind the vanguard trio. They handled any attack from either flank with ease. They, too, had moved into the centre, protected by the Divine Guards of the Seventh Corps.

"Surround them!" Bollands shouted coldly. The conical formation began to transform. The Divine Guards of the Fifth Corps behind him spread out and surrounded the Divine Guards of the Seventh Corps.

"Do not kill!" Bollands reminded his divine guards once more. Then he nodded to Sanguis and Gilbert.

The divine guards of the Fifth Corps began to bombard the area with dense ranged attacks. Covered by their comrades, the trio charged deeper into Seventh Corps territory. Bollands and Sanguis were at the forefront. Intense killing intent radiated from their bodies. Sanguis's Blood Crystal broadsword erupted in a blinding blood-red glow. All the divine guards of the Seventh Corps who were around him could not circulate their divine energies normally because their blood was moving chaotically.

As the broadsword amplified the power of Sanguis's Bloodgod Mantra, his skin and eyes turned blood red. The divine guards who came near him automatically retreated in fear when they noticed their blood moving abnormally.

Bolland's flying sword glowed with a cold radiance. Bits of star-like sword radiance sparkled as it forced the defending divine guards to retreat.

Both Sanguis and Bollands specialised in the cultivation of demonic arts, so they both possessed a bizarrely terrifying aura that was unique to demonic art cultivators. On top of that, they were both overflowing with raging murderous intent. It was more than enough to scare the divine guards of the Seventh Corps.

After much charging and barging, Sanguis, Bollands and Gilbert finally reached the divine guard responsible for holding the divine essences. When they pointed their swords at him, he most cooperatively handed the divine essences to the trio. His eyes were clearly shining with respect.

The companies in the Soaring Cloud Mountain Range were just sparring with each other. Since they were all divine guards of the City of Shadows, they wouldn't go all out and fight to the death. The Divine Guard had watched how easily the Fifth Corps had broken through the layers of defence his comrades had erected. He knew there was no point in resisting any longer.

Sanguis received the divine essences and nodded. Sanguis immediately cupped his hands politely and said, "Excuse me!

The Divine Guard seemed rather surprised. He hastily replied, "No problem, no problem!" From his point of view, Sanguis, Bollands and Gilbert had no reason to be so polite to the opponent they had defeated.

After being around Han Shuo for so long, Sanguis had managed to learn some of his sophistication. He learned when to be overbearing and domineering and when to be worldly and mannerly. Sanguis did exactly what Han Shuo would do in this situation.

When the divine guard saw that Sanguis was about to leave right after taking the divine essences, he hastily shouted, "I hope you can beat the Second Corps!"

"Don't worry, we will make the Second Corps crawl under our feet!" exclaimed Gilbert with a wild smile.

"Cut the chatter and get moving!" ordered Bollands as he started off. Sanguis and Gilbert quickly followed.

The Seventh Corps company knew they were no match for the Fifth Corps. They did not fight in vain, but watched as Bollands, Gilbert and Sanguis left with their divine essences.

***

Back at the centre of the Soaring Cloud Mountain Range, Batúk sighed, shook his head and remarked, "I accept my defeat wholeheartedly!

From start to finish, Fifth Corps had held the upper hand over Seventh Corps. Tino and his company were on the defensive throughout the battle. When Batúk saw that the Divine Essences had been taken and that his Divine Guards of the Seventh Corps seemed to be unharmed, though difficult, Batúk finally let go of his stubbornness and gave in.

"Please don't be upset, Lord Batúk. It was just luck," Han Shuo comforted him with a friendly smile.

Any fool could see that the Fifth Corps had overwhelmed the Seventh Corps, and luck had nothing to do with the outcome. It was clear to the crowd that Han Shuo was humble. Batúk's heart felt a little better to see Han Shuo remaining polite and humble instead of being an arrogant prick. He forced a smile and nodded, but said nothing.

Erebus suddenly stepped forward and patted Han Shuo on the shoulder. He said, "You amazing fellow, you never fail to amaze us!" Then, after a short pause, Erebus glanced sideways at the dark-faced Ralph and exclaimed, "So it turns out that you weren't making some baseless claim back at Aobashi's camp!"

Aobashi, who had been standing next to Andre, suddenly appeared next to Han Shuo. She said, "Bryan, defeat the Second Corps! I'm rooting for you!"

Han Shuo nodded with a calm smile and said confidently, "Don't worry, my Fifth Corps will surely emerge victorious against the Second Corps!"

"Humph!" Ralph, standing nearby, gave them a cold, angry look and groaned.

It was clear to the observers that of all the companies in the arena, only those of the Fifth Corps stood a real chance against those of the Second Corps. The reason Ralph had been able to maintain such a strong foothold in the City of Shadows despite being so unpopular was because his Second Corps was the strongest in team combat. If Han Shuo's company could defeat Ralph's in the competition, it would be a huge blow to Ralph.

Everyone in the audience was either very rich or powerful or both. But the vast majority of them loathed Ralph. These people would love nothing more than to see Ralph suffer a crushing defeat. Their eyes were filled with malicious glee as they looked at Ralph.

"The Second and Fourth Corps have begun to fight!" exclaimed Rugersey suddenly.

The group immediately turned their attention back to the sand table. Through the miniature arena projected onto the sand table, the spectators could clearly see the company of the Second Corps charging directly at the Fourth Corps with menacing force. The Second Corps had always been ruthless and brutal in competition. Even if they did not (usually) kill their opponents, inflicting serious injuries was far from uncommon.

All of the Divine Guards of the Second Corps, led by Kiffan, were among the few who had been to the bloodiest battlefields and returned - the fittest to survive. They always inflict injuries when they strike. It did not take long for them to break the arms and legs of a large number of the divine guards of the Fourth Corps.

Accidental injuries were bound to happen when Divine Guard companies fought each other in competition. In order not to make the fighting too restrictive while keeping things relatively benign, it was written into the rules that intentional killing was forbidden, and each team was limited in the number of accidental deaths they could cause. However, it was also made possible to cause non-fatal injuries.

One of the main reasons why the Second Corps was so unpopular was that they inflicted unnecessary injuries on their opponents in every single Centennial contest.

It was clear to all that the Second Corps was much stronger than the Fourth Corps. With such a huge advantage in strength, the Second Corps could easily take the divine essences without harming anyone. However, it was the exact opposite of what they would do. These Second Corps Divine Guards had been taught in their cruel and inhuman training to disregard the lives of their own comrades. In their eyes, they had been very polite in causing only a few injuries.

As the number of wounded Divine Guards grew, Camilla's face grew darker. The Chief of the Fourth Corps had a trembling, clenched fist as she held back the anger in her heart and continued to watch the battle unfold on the sand table. She hated Ralph to her bones!

Batúk's company had been in a similar situation just moments ago, but Han Shuo's Fifth Corps Divine Guards had not injured a single one of Batúk's Divine Guards. Camilla became even more angry as she remembered this, while Batúk was secretly glad that he was not Camilla.

"Every – freaking – time!" exclaimed Erebus softly. He remarked as though talking to himself, "This guy just has to injure others even though it is clearly unnecessary. I'm afraid that if there ever comes a day that he loses power in the City, everyone will add insult to his misfortune!"

Han Shuo thought about Erebus' words and couldn't help but turned to take a look at Ralph. He thought, <i >This guy is a lunatic. I better be prepared just in case if that happens and he does something in madness.

As expected, the Fourth Corps was no match against the Second Corps. After ten minutes of wounding the Fourth Corps divine guards, the Second Corps left with all of their divine essences.

The Second Corps then went on to continue their rampage and raided Rugersey's Sixth Corps and Erebus' Third Corps. Although the Third Corps was stronger than the Sixth and Fourth Corps, they were still no match against the Second Corps. They were also defeated by the Second Corps after dozens of their men were wounded.

Rugersey, Camilla and Erebus had dark faces. Their eyes glittered with anger as they glared at Ralph. But Ralph was unperturbed.

At that moment, the company of the Fifth Corps suddenly changed direction and advanced rapidly towards the company of the Second Corps.

Wallace, Andre, Rugersey, Erebus and all the spectators immediately widened their eyes and focused on the Fifth Corps. They were looking forward to the battle between the Fifth and Second Corps!