CHAPTER 201: Hurry, Old Dog!

Grunting under his breath, the Dark Grand Magus Edwin soared into the sky like a willow branch whipping into the air. As he did so, Han Shuo's sharp, knife-like palm sliced through the air.

Stuck in Edwin's heart, the Demonslayer's Edge seemed to be under the pull of an immense force, flying violently out of his body and into the air.

Fresh blood dripping from his back, Edwin's expression was an ugly grimace as he chanted a spell. Another hand of death appeared in the air and began to descend on Han Shuo like a mountain. An enormous aura covered Han Shuo's body, making it very difficult for him to breathe.

A thought grew in his mind as the Demonslayer's Edge flew towards Han Shuo like a rainbow. He suddenly activated the 'Demonic Ninth Heaven Art and shot through the huge aura surrounding him as the hand of death reached his head. He fired at Florida's fleeing group.

As the second blow missed, Edwin moved away from Han Shuo. The speed with which he flew towards the horizon was clearly much faster than Archmage Emily.

If the opponent had been Florida, Han Shuo might have been able to meet him head on. But Edwin was a dark grand magus. Such potential was certainly enough to overwhelm Han Shuo. So as soon as the situation turned ugly, he had to retreat immediately.

"Treacherous little brat. Your death is certain!" Edwin shouted hoarsely from above. Unexpectedly, he completely ignored Belinda as he shot straight at Han Shuo.

Defeating him was out of the question, but as for escaping... The flexibility and speed of the 'Demonic Ninth Heaven Art' immediately showed its power, gradually increasing the distance between Han Shuo and Edwin.

Suddenly, a group of about ten people appeared in front of him. Florida floated in the air, his long hair billowing. Below him, a few elite members of the Rainbow Sickle Mercenary Band sprinted through the thick bushes at lightning speed.

This time, Rainbow Sickle's target had only been Han Shuo on his way from the Valley of Sunshine. Therefore, they had only mobilised a few experts. But who would have thought that they would be so unlucky as to run into Edwin, someone with a grudge against Florida's grandfather, and end up in such a miserable state.

Even though they were fleeing in the same direction, Han Shuo's speed had clearly outpaced Florida's group. The fact that he would be able to catch up with these people had also been part of Han Shuo's plans.

Coldly laughing, Han Shuo approached them from behind, using the flexibility granted by the art to comfortably hang onto the bodies of Florida's group. With Han Shuo's chant, lance after lance of bone spears pierced Florida like arcs of electricity flashing in the air.

"Damn it!" Florida, in the midst of running for his life, suddenly heard the whistling sounds of bone spears breaking through the air. He turned his head back to see a sinister-looking Han Shuo looking down at him with a cold smile. At that moment, Florida couldn't help but curse.

A ball of eye-blinding light shot out of Florida's staff. A Radiant Slash spell was unleashed, pulverising the three bone spears. At the same time, the difference between the levitation spell and Han Shuo's art was revealed. They had both cast spells, but Han Shuo's speed hadn't been affected at all, while Florida's originally fast speed had decreased by a third.

A strange wind sound quickly approached from the distance and Han Shuo understood that Edwin was quickly catching up. With a mocking smile on his lips, Han Shuo slowed down once more, clinging to Florida's trail like a ghoul. He chanted the bone spear spell again as another three bone spears flew out.

Florida wasn't afraid of Han Shuo, but he was overly afraid of Edwin. If it hadn't been for Edwin's pursuit, Florida would have definitely stopped and used his considerable skills to fight Han Shuo. However, he obviously didn't want Edwin to catch up with him because of Han Shuo. Therefore, all he could do was to continue his defence and keep slowing down his speed.

"Chief, we'll stop him for you, get out of here!" At that moment, some of the Rainbow Sickle experts in front of Florida suddenly stopped as one of them shouted loudly.

They'd all just witnessed Edwin's strength. If they stayed, they might be able to stop Han Shuo, but they'd never be able to defend themselves against Edwin. Saying those words at this moment meant that they'd already made their plans to die.

"All right, I'll take revenge for you!" Florida was indeed a ruthless person. Even though he was a bit pained, he still accepted their suggestion firmly, glaring at Han Shuo ferociously before turning around and charging forward.

Two crossbows suddenly locked onto Han Shuo as the sharp eyes of two mercenaries gave Han Shuo a tingly feeling of danger. Two sounds pierced the air as two bolts brought a terrifying airstream with them. They shot towards him with a speed and accuracy beyond Han Shuo's imagination.

The rapidly advancing Han Shuo had to quickly retreat. He didn't dare to take another step forward. As he did so, some of the archers drew their bows and aimed at Han Shuo. Their skill was in stark contrast to Belinda's methods just now. Since Han Shuo had already taken to the sky, it was difficult for him to avoid the danger from below and he had to retreat once more.

Han Shuo hesitated and planned to change direction immediately. At that moment, the Rainbow Sickle mercenaries below him suddenly panicked. A milky white combat aura suddenly shot out from their midst as Trunks appeared on the back of his manticore. He waved his sword around with a cold expression, forcing the mercenaries back so that they had no energy left for Han Shuo.

"Trunks!" Up in the air, Han Shuo was stunned by the commotion below and couldn't help but dive down to shout in joy.

"Fly through the air to continue harassing Florida. I'll take care of those traitors on the ground who should have died a thousand, ten thousand times over! We'll talk when we get back to the Valley of Sunshine!" Trunks threw his head back and flashed a brilliant smile. The charming, handsome Trunks was attacking the Rainbow Sickle experts from the back of his manticore.

"Trunks, don't bully others to death!" The expert who had spoken before suddenly glared at Trunks.

"Bully others to the extreme? Haha! The old chief was so good to you and none of you said anything after that animal Florida took control. You just followed him blindly. How dare you say those words to me now!" Trunks laughed as if he'd heard something funny, but his smile was colder than the frosty night wind and his tone spoke of a hatred etched deep into his bones.

Edwin's figure approached, drawing a cold laugh from Trunks. Trunks raised his head once more and urged Han Shuo, "Bryan, hurry and go. Use this opportunity to kill Florida!"

"All right, that old monster behind us is a tough bird. Run away as soon as he gets close and don't meet him head on!" Although Han Shuo didn't understand why Trunks hated Florida so much, he guessed that it must have something to do with the Rainbow Sickle mercenaries. The experts here seemed to know Trunks, which meant that there was some kind of relationship between them.

Han Shuo realised that he wouldn't be able to match Trunks' strong faith in him if he didn't give chase right away. He shot through the air like lightning and headed for Florida. Edwin also arrived shortly after Han Shuo left.

He glanced down and didn't linger when he noticed that both Florida and Han Shuo were gone. He followed Han Shuo's trail and seemed completely unconcerned about Trunks and the Rainbow Sickle mercenaries below.

Han Shuo had already gotten a taste of Florida's abilities earlier, he definitely wouldn't be able to live in peace if he didn't die. The place of extreme water was in the valley, so he would have to stay here for a while. If Florida didn't die, he would have no end of trouble in the future. Even if Phoebe hated him for it, Han Shuo had to kill him!

The flying skill of a demonic cultivator allowed Han Shuo to slowly catch up with Florida, even after he had stopped halfway, as he circulated his magical yuan to the utmost.

As the bone spears whistled through the air once again, Florida almost wanted to spit blood in anger. He now knew that Han Shuo wanted to go down with him and let them both die for Edwin. In his irritation, he really wanted to stop and fight Han Shuo to the death.

"What do you want? If that old monster Edwin catches up with us, neither of us will be able to escape!" Florida roared angrily at Han Shuo as the scene from earlier repeated itself; Florida used the Radiant Slash to shatter Han Shuo's bone spears.

"Hehehe, I feel like dying with you today!" Han Shuo had an incredibly refreshing and relieving feeling after letting go of the depressed feeling he'd felt from being suppressed by Florida for the past two days.

Even if Edwin caught up with them, Han Shuo was confident that he could use his magic to escape. With Han Shuo's understanding of mages, he could also be sure that Florida wouldn't be able to maintain his flight for too long, and that was why he had done this.

"Crazy, a damned madman!" Han Shuo's words finally caused Florida to start cursing.

Because Florida and Han Shuo's speed had slowed down, Edwin's figure appeared behind them at that moment, his strange cackling travelling towards them first.

"Hurry up, old dog! I'm waiting for you!" Han Shuo even had time to laugh wildly and look back at Edwin, egging him on with his words.

"You better pray that I don't catch you, or I will make you regret that you ever lived!" Edwin was absolutely furious at the mention of "old dog". Even the injury on his back seemed to throb with more pain after hearing that.

Han Shuo had long since removed the arrow that Belinda had shot into his calf, and now his resilient body was showing its capabilities. His blood had stopped flowing from the wound, and apart from a little pain, there was no effect on Han Shuo's movements.

When the three bone spears shot out again, Florida had to reach out and defend himself. Han Shuo used this time to cast a dark mist spell. It was night at first, and there was no other light in the sky except for a crescent moon. When the dark mist spell appeared again, it shrouded Han Shuo and Florida in a patch of darkness in which even one's own hand couldn't be seen.

"Damn!" Florida unleashed a blinding light from his staff, but it only managed to illuminate a small area around him. He struggled to defend himself against the bone spears, slowing his flight speed even more.

"Kid, I'll take your life first to pay back some of your grandfather's debt to me!" Edwin had finally caught up with them, but Han Shuo slipped away like a puff of smoke and disappeared in the direction of the Valley of Sunshine, leaving only Florida, who'd been blocked by the three bone spears.

Han Shuo would not be stupid enough to cover his tracks from a dark grand magus. If the mental power of such a freak covered everything, even someone who was truly dead would be revealed to him. Therefore, Han Shuo could only use the advantage of his speed to leave this dangerous place as quickly as possible, leaving Florida to bring up the rear.

As Han Shuo's figure slowly faded into the distance, the dark mist magic also began to dissipate. As Florida saw the clear moonlight reappear in the desolate night sky, he was also greeted by the sight of Edwin, who was so enraged that steam spewed from his face.

"In the name of the God of Light, bind all darkness, Shackles of Light!" Florida panicked when he saw Edwin and didn't think twice before casting the light spell, Shackles of Light.

Bands of light sparkled with clean, pure light and rolled under the bright moonlight, surrounding Edwin. The ribbons of light were filled with the purest elements of light and had an enormous restraining power.

"This little fellow has such a high understanding of light magic at such a young age. He will surely be a thorn in the side of the Church of Calamity in the future. It looks like I can't allow you to leave alive today!" Faced with the shackles of light, the Dark Grand Magus Edwin neither panicked nor became desperate, and his angry, scowling face from earlier regained its calm.

He chanted a dark spell and waved his staff at the approaching Shackles of Light. A boundless surge of energy seemed to rip through everything as it shredded the two bands of light closest to him.

Suddenly, the remaining bands of light formed into a single strand as lightning bolts began to spark and crackle all over the bands of light. The Binding of Light had originally only been able to restrain enemies, but it had suddenly transformed into an enormously powerful killing machine in the space of a second, attempting to tear Edwin to pieces.

"Heh, you've got some skills, being able to combine Thunder Magic with Shackles of Light. Edwin shouted softly as he was completely enveloped in the dazzling flashes and bright light.

An inky black magical shield covered Edwin, and three Hands of Death appeared in the air, grabbing the Shackles of Light. They tore the bonds of light apart with brute force, and the violently sparking lightning found it utterly impossible to harm the Hands of Death.

"Pfft." Florida spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and then ran blindly away, seemingly unwilling to spend another moment there.

The fusion of Light and Thunder magic had obviously gotten out of his control, and he'd been hit with the backlash of using too much magic. This had resulted in immediate and significant injury. However, Edwin had easily broken through such a powerful blow, showing that the differences in their strengths were indeed too great to overcome. Florida knew it would be difficult for him to escape death if he stayed a moment longer.

Although Edwin had broken Florida's spell, it had taken him some time to do so. When Edwin cleared away the remnants of the spell, he discovered that Florida had disappeared again.

At that moment, Florida was wobbling in the sky, having expended too much mental energy. However, the valley had finally appeared in front of him, and he'd soon be able to make it to safety.

No matter how much the Cairo and Rainbow Sickle mercenaries were at odds with each other, the Cairo mercenaries still had to follow the rules of the valley. So once Florida entered the valley, whoever tried to kill him would face the attacks of all the assembled powers.

Add to that the fact that most of the Rainbow Sickle Band were stationed within the valley, and Edwin would be unable to do anything to Florida once he made it inside.

However, when he saw the edge of the valley, Han Shuo's coldly smirking figure appeared and blocked the path he needed to take, obviously not planning on letting him get in alive!