CHAPTER 357: Collecting Debts

Chaos, the situation had descended into utter chaos!

The seven grand dukes had originally gathered here in the Sakamimir Valley to deal with Brettel City. But for some reason, all these old grudges and new hatreds had erupted, with all the parties attacking each other and turning the whole thing into a shambles.

At first, they'd just been sneaking around at night, murdering members of the enemy duchy. But as the deaths mounted, the Seven Grand Dukes lost all sense of logic as they began to deploy their armies. It had gone from a meeting to discuss an alliance to a battlefield.

"What actually happened here?" Red Archbishop Kosse was suffering from a bad headache as he questioned Nehem Beige in the duke's tent.

Nehem Beige's headache wasn't much better. A wry smile was on his face as he spoke to Kosse: "The Seven Grand Duchies have accumulated too many years of deep bone hatred, and a small fuse is enough to ignite the bonfire. Even I am at a loss to contain it."

"Aii, it seems that we really can't rely on these people. Oh well, could it be that Burt Zili from the Duchy of Boulet has been up to some dirty tricks in secret? He's from Calamity Church. I don't think he'd approve of anything happening to this city lord Bryan. Kosse asked Nehem Beige.

"I don't know, it's possible. But it's a complete madhouse now, and it's completely out of my control. It seems we will have to change our plan." Nehem Beige heaved a long sigh and replied.

"Forget it, I will think of another way." Kosse replied helplessly.

On the flat plain of the Sakamimir Valley, the seven grand duchies, who'd always been enemies, had suddenly gone from secret assassination to open battle. Han Shuo had only thrown a small stone behind the scenes, and he hadn't expected the deep-seated hatred between the seven grand duchies to run so deep.

As he watched the area around the Sakamimir Valley turn into a battlefield, he no longer paid any attention to the situation here. Instead, he chased after Helen Tina, who was returning to the Duchy of Helon.

Of the seven Grand Dukes, Helen Tina was the first to become discouraged. At the very beginning of the battle, she'd realised that this alliance had gone down the drain. At that moment, the Helon Duchy had just gone through a civil war, and its strength was at its weakest. Therefore, Helen Tina made the wise decision to leave the valley immediately and return to her duchy.

After two days on the road, Helen Tina gave an order for the army to camp in a small mountain valley. After ordering the guards to watch the area, Helen Tina and Firewind went to bathe at a small hot spring.

"It seems that only when they see death in the face do they shed their prejudices!" Helen Tina lay lazily in the hot spring, talking angrily to Firewind.

The Fire Phoenix had returned to her original body. She stood at the edge of the hot spring, cleaning her magnificent feathers as she spoke in human tongue, "We don't need to worry about them, just let them face the consequences of their own actions. The way the situation is developing, they definitely won't be able to fight against that ruthless city lord."

"Right, I still owe that Brettel city lord six hundred thousand gold coins. Aii, this demon. What should I do?" Helen Tina asked the Fire Phoenix with a worried expression on her face.

"Delay it further. Our duchy has just been through a civil war, and all the wealth is concentrated in the hands of the aristocrats. If we take six hundred thousand gold coins from our treasury to pay him, I'm afraid the Duchy of Helon will officially be in trouble." The Fire Phoenix was also helpless as she advised Helen Tina.

"But this demon is not a generous, forgiving person. The longer we drag this out, the more I'm afraid he'll cause trouble for us." Helen Tina knew that Han Shuo wasn't a nice guy. She understood how terrifying his power was, so she was truly afraid that he would make a move against her.

While Helen Tina and Firewind were talking, a faint ripple spread from the outside to the opposite end of the hot spring. A shadow appeared silently like a ghost in the darkness on the other side of the hot spring. Then it suddenly stopped and stood still on a protruding rock.

"Hehe, you seem to understand me well, I'm truly honoured. That's right, this demon has come here today to collect the money, so pay up!" The sinister shadow in the darkness suddenly opened its mouth to speak.

Helen Tina, who'd been bathing in the hot spring, let out a deafening scream. This familiar voice had been the object of her resentment for so long. Helen Tina didn't need to see the person to know that Han Shuo had arrived.

Still screaming, Helen Tina hastily ducked her smooth shoulders into the water, afraid that Han Shuo would see her white, bare skin. The Fire Phoenix, who'd been cleaning her fiery red feathers, also let out a shrill scream. It flapped its wings and shot towards Han Shuo.

The fire phoenix flapped her wings once, sending a huge flame rolling straight towards Han Shuo. However, Han Shuo didn't wait for the fire phoenix's flame to approach. The spring water right in front of Han Shuo suddenly gathered into a water screen under the influence of magical yuan and surged back at the fire phoenix in a huge wave. It enveloped the flame it had shot out.

The hot spring water turned into a curtain of water, instantly extinguishing the surging flame. Not only that, but the fire phoenix was dragged onto the hot spring and turned into a drenched, sad-looking chicken.

Without waiting for the angry fire phoenix to rise in anger, Han Shuo immediately cackled, "If you value the lives of your subordinates, don't be in such a hurry to make a move.

As these words fell, Helen Tina shouted at the fire phoenix who was fluttering her wings and about to continue attacking Han Shuo, "Big Sister Firewind, don't!"

Hearing this scream, Firewind immediately stopped. She flapped her wings to fly out of the hot spring and landed next to Helen Tina before yelling angrily at Han Shuo, "What did you do to them?!"

Helen Tina was a woman, so when she came to bathe in the hot spring, all the guards around her had to be female. The strength of these female guards wasn't bad, but Helen Tina knew that Han Shuo's power was even more terrifying. She was worried about her life, and she knew that Firewind wasn't Han Shuo's opponent, so she stopped Firewind as soon as she heard his words.

"Nothing, let's just go about our business!" Seeing Helen Tina's body shrinking under the hot spring, Han Shuo first asked with a smile, "Grand Duke Helen Tina, your skin really isn't bad. Hehe, but you still owe me gold coins, shouldn't you pay them back already?"

"You, you demon, shut your devious eyes!" Helen Tina shouted before saying, "I don't have that many gold coins right now. Wait a while, I'll pay you back. Don't worry, I won't renege on my debt.

Both Firewind and Helen Tina were experts with fire. That was why Han Shuo had chosen this hot spring to show himself. With this hot spring, ordinary fire magic was basically useless. Upon hearing Helen Tina's words, Han Shuo said smugly, "Your Grace, lying is a bad habit. I've been here for a while, and I've personally heard your conversation. I think you should just take out six hundred thousand gold coins and pay me back."

"You, you've been here for a while?" Helen Tina was stunned before she yelled loudly, "Then you have seen me bathe. You despicable demon, sooner or later karma will visit you!"

"Eh... Let's not talk about it. Less nonsense, hurry up and pay or I'll come into the water!" Han Shuo was a bit embarrassed at first. To be honest, he'd seen Helen Tina's body from head to toe through the Yin Demon and even had a physiological reaction. Now that he heard Helen Tina scream about it, Han Shuo was embarrassed to the point of rage, so he could only scream over her.

Helen Tina was so angry that her entire body was shaking. Hearing Han Shuo speak so unreasonably, Firewind would have given up her life to attack him had it not been for the still rational Helen Tina holding her back.

"Then come down if you wish. You're a demon who's already spread the bad news. Nobody would want me now anyway, so just kill me. I won't pay you any gold coins." Helen Tina was going mad from Han Shuo's torture. Her mind now blinded by rage, she disregarded all propriety and shouted at him.

As she spat out these words, it felt like all the resentment she'd been holding in for so long was pouring out like a torrent. She stood up in the hot spring and displayed her perfect body in front of Han Shuo as she continued to vent, "Look! If you want to look then look! Just kill me, haven't you tortured me enough? How many evil tricks do you actually have, show me all of them!"

Once a woman went mad, it was basically impossible to reason with her. And that was exactly what Helen Tina was like at the moment. Ever since she'd returned from Brettel City, she had suddenly discovered that her whole world had changed. It was all because of Han Shuo's appearance that her life had been turned upside down.

All the previous looks of respect and admiration had turned into looks of contempt and disdain. Even the originally loyal citizens treated her as if she were an unclean woman, as if a violated woman didn't deserve to be the Grand Duke of their Helon Duchy. Helen Tina, who'd always been quite proud, had to endure a lot of grief and feelings of utter helplessness during this time.

Now the culprit who'd caused all of this was standing right in front of her, aggressively threatening her, trying to push her to the point of death. Helen Tina could neither fight nor escape. She simply had no way of dealing with Han Shuo, always fearing that he would take the lives of both her and the Fire Phoenix. Her rational mind had finally broken down.

In the face of this onslaught, Han Shuo was more than a little stunned. His eyes wandered up and down her perfect, stunning body. He took a few more glances at her full peaks and the grassy land below her belly, where a few glistening drops of water still lingered. Han Shuo secretly swallowed. Looking at Helen Tina's fierce stance, fearless in the face of death, he didn't know what to do right now.

"I just want you to pay back the money. You shouldn't want to die over every little thing. There is hope as long as you are alive, I don't want to kill you." Han Shuo glanced rudely over Helen Tina's body again before looking into her eyes and saying with a dry smile.

"Because of your appearance, my life has lost all hope!" Helen Tina shouted angrily as she glared at Han Shuo.

"I can't stand it, Helen, don't stop me, I will risk my life with him!" The Fire Phoenix looked up to the sky and let out a scream. It struggled to free itself from Helen Tina's grasp, its entire body blazing with fierce flames as it shot desperately at Han Shuo.

Seeing the Fire Phoenix flinging herself angrily, Han Shuo's palm lightly tapped the surface of the hot spring. He circulated the magical yuan before raising his hand. One by one, curtains of water rose from the hot spring and rolled towards the fire phoenix.

The furiously rushing Fire Phoenix was hit by five or six water curtains and swept back into the hot spring. Han Shuo laughed sinisterly and shot towards the Fire Phoenix, smugly saying, "It's a good thing I chose this place, otherwise it would be a bit of a hassle".

"No. I beg you, don't kill Big Sister Firewind. Demon, I'll give you the gold coins!" Helen Tina burst into tears and screamed loudly when she saw Han Shuo shoot through the air towards the Fire Phoenix.

Han Shuo only wanted to catch the fire phoenix. He hadn't expected Helen Tina to care so much about her. He smiled happily and said, "Very good, I won't kill her. Give me the gold coins."

"Helen, don't give him the gold coins. If you do, Helon Duchy will really get out of control!" From inside the hot spring, the fire phoenix that was flapping its wings and about to fly up suddenly shouted.

Han Shuo was about to silence the fire phoenix when he suddenly felt several powerful presences approaching. He furrowed his brow and let the Yin Demon investigate them. Han Shuo's face changed to a stern expression, "Perhaps your Helon Duchy is already out of your control!"

Helen Tina's heart received another shock at these words. She stared at Han Shuo and said, "What do you mean?!"

"There are people coming. One of them is a general in your army. I can see that the incoming people must belong to your Helon Duchy. It looks like you're in trouble." Han Shuo looked at Helen Tina.

Helen Tina and the Fire Phoenix exchanged glances. Helen Tina seemed to come to her senses when she was confronted with something she could actually handle. She turned her back on Han Shuo and went ashore to put on her clothes.

The Fire Phoenix also rose from the hot spring to return to Helen Tina's side. After putting on her fiery red magic robe, Helen Tina walked over to face Han Shuo. Her entire body radiated a refreshing light after bathing, giving him a feeling of overwhelming beauty.

"Demon, what exactly did you do to my guards?" Helen Tina asked as she stood face to face with Han Shuo.

"Nothing. They are all outside. I just glided past them to get in here and cast a soundproof spell around you. But you can't fight these people, I'm sure of it!" Most of these female guards had the strength of journeymen and senior swordsmen. There were twenty-seven of them in total, and they were about three hundred metres away from the hot spring where Helen Tina was.

These female guards were useless against Han Shuo, who could cross the sky and tunnel through the ground. In fact, he didn't even need to attack them as he could just silently go underground and enter the hot spring area without disturbing any of the female guards.

"Protect the Duke!" Suddenly, the sounds of fighting and the surprised screams of the female guards echoed from around the hot spring.

When the sounds from outside reached this place, Han Shuo knew that the enchantment had been broken. After that, the sounds of fierce fighting quickly approached and three female guards broke through the trees with panic on their faces. The leader, a middle-aged woman, cried anxiously, "Your Grace, Ferrodias has rebelled. He has led the people here to attack you! We can't stop him. Your Grace, hurry and escape!"

At that moment, Helen Tina and the Fire Phoenix were standing with the three female guards. Helen Tina took out her magic staff and asked with a panicked voice, "How much longer until they reach this place?"

"Hehehe, we're already here, aren't we?" The smug voice of a middle-aged man suddenly rang through the air. Then an earth rider riding a warhorse in full armour suddenly appeared alongside thirty knights and six mages.

A middle-aged man with long brown hair rode in front. His body was quite strong, so this must be the Ferrodias the woman had just mentioned. As soon as he appeared, he led his people straight to Helen Tina. He bowed respectfully before saying with a smile, "Your Grace, you are completely surrounded. The Knights of the Duchy of Helon no longer need you, so just tie your hands and be prepared to be captured!"

Helen Tina's pretty face flamed with anger. Her finger rose to point at him, accusing and angry, "I never thought you would dare to betray me. When you were a civilian, it was I who let you join my knights. From civilian to count, it was I who gave you everything, and yet you betray me!"

Ferrodias shook his head and said, "It is not I who have betrayed you, it is your people who have betrayed you. I can only bow to public opinion. Your Grace, there is no need to resist, otherwise you will see more unpleasant things."

Raising the staff in her hand, Helen Tina said angrily, "I won't grant your wishes!"

With these words, Helen Tina was about to cast a magic spell to burn the traitor to death in front of her. However, she had not completed the spell when the middle-aged guard beside her threw out a huge, glittering ash-grey net. The net caught Helen Tina and the Fire Phoenix by surprise as it enveloped them.

Helen Tina finished the magic incantation, only to find that her fire magic had had no effect. The grey net above her head had sealed off all her magic.

"Aunt Wellie, even you have betrayed me?" Helen Tina's heart sank in sorrow. She looked desperately at the aunt who'd looked after her since she was a little girl.

The middle-aged woman took a few steps back indifferently, her voice cold as ice, "Helen, accept your fate.

"Hehehe, Your Grace, I advised you not to resist or you would find yourself in some embarrassing situations, but you didn't believe me." Pausing for a moment, Ferrodias smiled again, making Helen Tina even more desperate as he said, "I will hand you over to Grand Duke Benedict Sackville. Even though you are no longer a virgin, This person is still willing to take fifty thousand gold coins for you. But of course, in his hands, I'm afraid you will no longer be a goddess of his heart, but just a slave under his feet. Haha!"

At that moment, a polite voice rang out. "Everyone, you seem to have forgotten my existence!" Han Shuo stepped out, grinning at the traitors surrounding Helen Tina.