CHAPTER 740: Believe It Or Not

From the edge of the valley, a small group of loudly chattering divine guards walked slowly towards the valley.

"His Lordship is very cautious and wouldn't leave any area unchecked. These Godhunters know that the three cities are hunting them. They should have fled far away long ago. How can they still be around?" grumbled one of the divine guards.

"Stop complaining. There's only one valley left. If it works, we can go home early. Besides, we're not the only group working overtime. Everyone else is searching too," replied another divine guard.

The divine armour on these divine guards did not belong to the City of Shadows. They were dark green and had a sword and shield carved into their chest, an emblem unique to the House of Tule of Mirage City.

The small group of ten was made up entirely of Mid-stage Midgods, except for the leader, a Late-stage Midgod. They cultivated in the energy of death, darkness, and destruction, except for one who cultivated in the energy of fire.

These people had no idea how treacherous the valley ahead would be. They walked closer and closer to the valley, complaining loudly about their work.

Through the demon generals' observations, Han Shuo noticed several energy towers disguised as large trees swaying slightly. A tiny pulse of energy was being covertly transmitted to the centre of the valley. Several blurry figures appeared in the distance and quietly approached the divine guards.

Andrina gently tapped Han Shuo's shoulder and whispered, "Those energy towers disguised as trees have delivered messages. These people are out of luck!"

Andrina had a special sensitivity to all things energy with energy crystal, which might have something to do with the energy she cultivated in. Han Shuo knew that Andrina could even control and manipulate certain energy towers and boundary towers within a certain range. Basically, as long as the mechanism or device was powered by energy crystals, she could temper with them.

Han Shuo nodded and replied thoughtfully, "Very well. They are from Mirage City after all. None of our business."

After hearing these words, Andrina understood that Han Shuo had no intention of warning these people. The Godhunters in the valley weren't anything these divine guards could deal with. If Han Shuo and Andrina did nothing, those who unwisely entered the valley would face certain death.

Soon, a person stealthily flew out of the valley. It was Taylin, whom Han Shuo had seen earlier. Taylin was a Mid-stage Highgod expert. Her arrival meant that their appointment with death had been booked with no cancellations.

Taylin quietly approached the group of divine guards, completely unaware of the dangers. She gestured with her hand. The Godhunters, who had been waiting in position, slowly surrounded her.

Ssss!

Suddenly, the sound of people moving quickly came from the thicket. Several figures suddenly emerged from the shadows and rushed towards the divine guards from Mirage City.

As expected, with Taylin's intervention, the battle was over in an instant. The pitiful wailing ended as soon as it had begun. The unfortunate divine guards of Mirage City died, their divine energies drained.

When all this was complete, the Godhunters sprinkled some powder on their bodies at Taylin's gesture. A moment later, their bodies liquefied and seeped into the ground. Apart from the faint scent of blood in the air, not a trace of evidence was left behind.

Han Shuo's eyes suddenly opened wide. He exclaimed in a low voice, "Those poisons the Godhunters are using seem to be similar to those made by the toxicologists at the Godswamp Pharmacy!"

Andrina's expression changed slightly. "You mean?"

"The Godswamp Pharmacy could be connected to the Godhunters. How else would they have acquired these poisons?" Han Shuo replied in a deep voice.

"I see. Have they all been killed?" Andrina and Han Shuo were extremely far from where the action was taking place. She could hardly see what was happening.

"Yes. Of course, this small group of divine guards had no chance against the large number of Godhunters. Let's leave now and go to Skyorchid Fort. We will inform Erebus about the situation in the valley. We need to gather enough forces before we attack the valley. Han Shuo and Andrina left in a hurry.

***Skyorchid Fort.

"Bryan, you are here at last. Come, come, let me introduce you, this is our highest ranking chief of the Divine Guards, Aobashi!" Erebus pulled Han Shuo in front of Aobashi and said smilingly, "This is the Bryan I have been talking about. He is now a member of my Third Corps and will help us find the Godhunters."

"Greetings, Lord Aobashi!" Han Shuo saluted smilingly.

Aobashi glanced at Han Shuo a few times before she smiled faintly and said, "I have heard great things about you. Welcome aboard!"

"And you must be Andrina?" Aobashi floated gracefully to Andrina's side, wanting to hold her little hands. She seemed to be much more affectionate towards Andrina.

Andrina knitted her brows and took a few steps back. She wore an icy expression and obviously did not want Aobashi to touch her.

"Ee?" A strange light flashed in Aobashi's eyes as Andrina avoided her. She giggled and remarked, "Well, it seems Erebus wasn't exaggerating. You are quite a shocker, little girl."

"You must be tired from your journey. Let me prepare your rooms so that you can rest," Erebus said in a friendly manner.

"No, no need for that. Let's get down to business," Andrina said coldly.

"Um," Erebus felt a little uncomfortable seeing Andrina take so poorly to his hospitality. He explained, "Well, we don't know where the Godhunters are hiding. We haven't been able to pick up their tracks, even after searching for so long, so there's no rush."

"Bryan knows where they are. You can start gathering an army. As soon as we have enough forces, we will leave immediately!" Andrina glanced at Aobashi and continued quietly, "You need to gather more experts than you and Erebus, otherwise we have no chance of defeating those Godhunters!"

"Oh?" Aobashi didn't seem to believe her. She asked smilingly, "Little girl, are you saying that the combined forces of Erebus and me are not enough to take care of those Godhunters?"

"No." Andrina shook her head and explained with a straight face, "I'm saying that even with Bryan, the two of you and myself - four Highgods combined - we would still have a hard time defeating them."

Aobashi was shocked by these words. She did not think that Andrina was talking nonsense, so she put on a solemn face and asked seriously, "What kind of situation are we talking about?"

"You should ask him, nobody knows the place better than him, except the Godhunters. After all, he's the one who discovered the base," Andrina said as she pointed at Han Shuo.

"Bryan, you discovered Godhunter tracks?" Erebus shouted in surprise.

Han Shuo nodded and said in a deep voice, "I have discovered a Godhunter Alliance base in a valley between the City of Shadows, Mirage City and Hushveil City. It is heavily guarded. As far as I know, there are three Mid-stage Highgods inside. They appear to be Brovst, Taylin, and Gallas. These three alone will be difficult to deal with. But based on my observations, these three are not the top bosses in the valley. I believe there is at least one Late-stage Highgod expert in the valley. That's why the few of us are not enough to defeat them and cleanse the valley!

"What!" both Erebus and Aobashi shouted at the same time.

Han Shuo nodded his head heavily and assured them, "I'm sure that's the case!"

Aobashi took a deep breath, but she still seemed quite startled by the news. She said quietly, "As far as we know, the leaders of the Godhunter Alliance are the three you mentioned. If the situation is as you said, we will have a hard time defeating them. This is a surprise! The Godhunters are more powerful than we thought!"

"Aobashi, I will send messages and ask the two from the other two cities to come over. We need to plan this properly," Erebus said in a deep voice.

"Yes, we should hope for the best but prepare for the worst. If what Bryan believes is true and we rush into the valley recklessly, we will be in for a very difficult time. We should let them join the operation," Aobashi agreed immediately.

In Mirage City and Hushveil City, there were divine guards who specialised in hunting Godhunters. It seemed that they were in contact with Erebus and Aobashi, who were working under the City of Shadows. If the divine guards from the other two cities joined the attack, they would have a much better chance of success.

Erebus immediately left the group and went to another building to deliver his message.

Han Shuo, Andrina and Aobashi were left to their own devices. Aobashi would ask Han Shuo about the surroundings and other details of this valley and Han Shuo would tell her everything his demon generals had observed. Aobashi looked serious, a sign that she believed Han Shuo's words.

"Bryan, I find it quite strange that you discovered the valley. Why is it that Andrina doesn't know much about the situation there, but you seem to have seen every part of it?" after hearing Han Shuo's explanation, Aobashi asked Han Shuo in amazement, her beautiful eyes fixed intently on him.

"I have my ways!" Han Shuo was not willing to reveal much about his demon generals to Andrina, let alone Aobashi whom he had just met.

Aobashi did not continue with the question after seeing that Han Shuo had no intention of answering it. However, it seemed as if her interest in Han Shuo had suddenly grown. She would try to read Han Shuo from various aspects, such as what material plane Han Shuo was from and how his friction with Avery started.

"You have to be careful with Avery. I have experience working with him and I know that he's not one to give up easily.

If he has you as his main enemy, he will not stop trying to bring you down. Now that he has gone into hiding, he must be planning something detailed to retaliate. You must be careful!" Aobashi gravely reminded Han Shuo.

***

Seven days later, Aobashi and Erebus' counterparts from Mirage City and Hushvil City arrived at Skyorchid Fort with their troops.

The one from Mirage City was called Blightsoar, a Mid-stage Highgod of Destruction. The one from Hushveil City was called Eugene, a Mid-stage Highgod of Darkness.

The two of them were very interested in the information and asked Aobashi for details. When Aobashi finally explained everything to them, the Hushveil City Highgod named Eugene began to eye Han Shuo suspiciously. He asked, "Is he the famous pharmacist from Celestial Pearl Pharmacy?"

"Yes. He's the man who discovered the valley," Erebus replied.

"He is only a pharmacist, how could he be qualified to take part in such a great military operation? Besides, we have been looking for them for many months and have found no trace. How could he know where they are hiding? Aobashi, Erebus, you should know that I trust you both, but this guy, I'm very doubtful of his words," Eugene said rudely in Han Shuo's presence.

Han Shuo wore an indifferent face and shrugged, "Believe it or not.

Han Shuo could sense that this Eugene was prejudiced against him from the first moment they met. Han Shuo had never met this person before and he had no idea what triggered Eugene's prejudice.

"Young man, are you giving me attitude?" Eugene furiously knitted his brows and said, "As a close friend of the Master of Godswamp Pharmacy, Mr Hassling, I have heard stories about you. It is you who have appropriated the assets of the Godswamp Pharmacy in this town.

Youngster, you are a black-hearted person!"

Ha!

No wonder! Han Shuo sneered in his mind.

Han Shuo replied, "Black-hearted? You would befriend a person who secretly refines poisons and deals with Godhunters?"

"Don't make irresponsible accusations," Eugene rebuked, "I know Mr Hassling well. His Godswamp Pharmacy has a good reputation in the Darkness Dominion and he would never do such a thing!"

Han Shuo scoffed, shook his head and remained silent.

"Eugene, it was the House of Sainte that confiscated the assets of the Godswamp Pharmacy in the City of Shadows. Do you have a problem with that?" Erebus shouted coldly.

"All right, that's enough. We are all here for the same reason, to get the Godhunters. We should be fighting the Godhunters, not each other!" Blightsoar mediated. "The Godhunters threaten the safety of our cities. The most important thing we need to do now is to hit them hard. We cannot do that without working together!"

"If you do not believe Bryan's words, your Hushveil City can stay out of this operation.

All I have to do is report to my City Lord and he will appoint another Chief of the Divine Guard to take your place. It's your choice," Aobashi said.

Of course, she would stand with Han Shuo and Erebus.

"I will go with you. I want to see if this boy is making things up!" Eugene groaned coldly and continued, "We know all about the Godhunters. I have never heard of the presence of Late-stage Highgods in their alliance, and I do not believe there are any!"

"Believe it or don't!" Han Shuo groaned coldly.

"Guys, less talk, more work. Let's gather our troops and head for the valley. If we can wipe out these godhunters, it can only be good news for our cities," Blightsoar said.

The few stopped arguing.

Erebus, Aobashi, Blightsoar and Eugene each led a brigade of divine guards.

The majestic army of four hundred gods headed for the valley with Han Shuo leading the way. They had traveled cautiously and solemnly. As they weren't separated, Han Shuo and Eugene had no chance to argue.

On the twelfth day, the army arrived at the edge of the valley.