CHAPTER 869: A Gathering Of Experts

Salas' followers fled the Pandemonium, trying to get as far away as possible.

The battle between Ossosa and Salas had caused tremendous energy fluctuations. Since they were both Overgods of similar strength, it would be a while before a victor emerged.

The terrifying wave of elemental energy had alerted many of the experts around the Fringe. They followed their senses and flew towards the pandemonium, hoping to find out what was happening.

The massive shockwave shook the earth and penetrated deep underground. Han Tu, who was digging a tunnel for the Pandemonians to escape, suddenly stopped moving and closed his eyes to sense. It took him no time to understand what was happening above the Pandemonium.

Han Tu and the others had begun their evacuation before Ossora and Salas began their battle. They were currently below a plain hundreds of miles from the Pandemonium.

"It looks like we might not have to run after all!" Han Tu seemed pleasantly surprised by something. He said to Goron, "I'll go back and take a look. You and your men stay here for now. Don't worry, I think Salas is too busy to deal with us now!"

"Why? What's happening?" Goron was confused. Although his strength was greater than Han Tu's, his sensitivity to the earth element wasn't as great and he couldn't feel the slightest undulations of the earth element.

"Salas and Ossora are fighting! With Ossora's help, Salas will be too busy to trample the Pandemonium!" explained Han Tu with a broad smile before flying to the other end of the underground tunnel.

Han Tu took no time to reach Han Mu, Han Huo, Rose and the others who were at the other end. He immediately informed them that Ossora and Salas were engaged in a huge battle.

Since they were deep underground and far away from the Pandemonium, they had no idea what was happening above the valley. Not even Han Mu could sense Ossora's soul waves. They were pleasantly surprised to hear the news from Han Tu and asked in unison, "Really?!"

Han Tu nodded his head in the affirmative and explained, "Only an expert in Ossora's realm could produce such an intense Earth energy wave when using Earth energy. He must be helping us!"

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go back and see," Han Huo said cheerfully. He also turned around and flew back towards the Pandemonium.

The battle near the Pandemonium produced an extreme amount of shockwaves and explosions. Experts in the vicinity with a strength above a certain realm could detect the energy fluctuation. In the entire Land of Chaos, there were only a few experts who could detect the disturbance from a great distance.

Every superpowered expert who detected the battle between two overgods through the abnormality of the elemental energies in the environment dropped whatever they were doing and rushed to the pandemonium.

*** Near a volcanic crater, Han Hao wore a calm face as he hid in ambush against a powerful force.

The power Han Hao commanded had increased greatly after he had subdued Polo. It had become greater than most of the powerhouses in the Fringe. There were only a few in the Fringe who commanded powers greater than Han Hao's.

"What should we do?" Polo, crouching beside Han Hao, asked very quietly.

In front of them was a group of experts who served Sovereign Logue. They were led by a Late-stage Highgod of Light. They were rather relaxed and not alert to their surroundings, as no Fringedweller dared to mess with them, until now.

Logue was known in the Fringe for his treachery. He was no less fearsome than the vengeful Salas. Normally, his followers could do as they pleased in the Fringe and no one would even think of attacking them. Even Polo, who had lived in the Fringe for many years, had never thought of attacking a follower of Sovereign Logue. Han Hao, however, decided to ambush one right after he had merged Polo's faction into his own.

"Kill," Han Hao ordered without hesitation.

Polo hardened his heart, turned and gestured. The Godhunters took his command and descended from the volcanic crater. The followers of Sovereign Logue were surrounded and attacked immediately, without a chance to talk.

"We'll kill this guy together. It'll be easy once he's dead," Han Hao shouted as he pointed at the arrogant looking Highgod of Light.

"Understood," Polo replied. He had learned to follow Han Hao's orders without question.

Han Hao and Polo stepped forward and, without a word, began to attack their target with full force. The Highgod of Light, as expected, tried to threaten them with Logue. However, Han Hao and Polo ignored his words and finished him off in less than half a minute. All of his troops were defeated by the Godhunters and their divine energy was consumed.

As the Godhunters revelled in the joy of consuming Divine Energy, Han Hao suddenly knit his brows. He raised his head to the sky and closed his eyes. Moments later, he abruptly opened his eyelids to reveal a pair of eerily glowing eyes. He ordered, "I'm going to give you all ten minutes before we start moving."

"But, Chief, that's not enough time for us to devour all their energy," said the confused Polo.

"Ten minutes!" said Han Hao firmly. He seemed rather impatient.

Polo had been in contact with Han Hao for some time, but he had never seen him so impatient. He understood that something important must have happened. With that, he made no further objections, but ordered his subordinates to make the most of the time.

Exactly ten minutes later, without saying a word, Han Hao took off towards the Pandemonium. His troops followed close behind.

***

Back in Pandemonium, the great battle was still raging. Ossora and Salas had not expected so many experts to gather around them.

Meanwhile, Ossora's purpose in fighting Salas had changed slightly. His goal was no longer just to help Han Shuo defend the Pandemonium.

Even though all Five Sovereigns were overgods, most people would still try to guess which one of them was the strongest.

Most Fringedwellers knew that Tyre was the strongest Sovereign, while the other four were roughly equal in strength. Because of this prejudice, the super-specialists from all over Elysium tended to join Tyre's army instead of the other Sovereigns. As a result, Tyre's power grew stronger and stronger.

If Ossora could defeat Salas, he would have proven to the world that he was stronger than Salas, Logue and Wasir. Then he could be known to the Fringedwellers as a power equal to Tyre.

The real reason the Five Sovereigns had fought constantly was for reputation. In the Land of Chaos, where might made right, a fearsome reputation was a great advantage, as it would make the would-be Fringedwellers submit to their rule, thus increasing their power.

Salas had squandered the faith of billions of his followers in the battle against Han Shuo a few months ago, and he had just expended a great deal of divine energy on the Pandemonium. For Ossora, this was the perfect opportunity to defeat Salas and gain greater infamy. Naturally, he did not want to miss this opportunity.

Salas was rather impetuous. If it had been Logue in such a situation, he wouldn't have fought Ossora, for it was clear to this treacherous lord, who knew how to restrain himself, that the odds were stacked against him.

But Salas did not care about such things. His mind was on vengeance. All those who violated his sovereignty would have to pay tenfold in blood.

For these reasons, it was unlikely that the two sovereigns would stop fighting anytime soon.

The great turmoil over the Pandemonium had attracted various experts in the vicinity. However, they dared not get too close to the battlefield, instead watching from a great distance. They could not see the battle clearly and could only judge the progress of the battle by the fluctuation of the elemental energies.

Battles between Overgods were extremely rare. Most ordinary godly beings would never have the opportunity to witness one in their lifetime. For a Highgod who wanted to advance to the next realm, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. By observing the battle between two Overgods, they could possibly become enlightened, gain a deeper knowledge of these energies, and possibly unravel some of the secrets of the Overgod realm.

Every Late-stage Highgod expert wanted to break through this almost insurmountable cultivation barrier. If they were to reach the realm of the Overgod, they would have even greater power, enjoy even greater benefits, and gain even more followers. The temptations were too great to resist.

So gods from every region of the Fringe had gathered around the Pandemonium to witness the world-shaking battle between two Overgods.

Some of the stringers had ventured into the Pandemonium and discovered that it was covered in corpses. They sold the news to the gods gathered near the Pandemonium, making a handsome profit. The Fringedwellers were surprised at what they had learned and began to discuss it with those around them.

All the dead were Salas' followers. Not one of the dead was from Pandemonium. Even someone without a brain could deduce what the information meant.

These observers suddenly became very curious and wary of the Pandemonium. They reminded themselves that they should not offend the Pandemonians, unless they wanted to cause themselves too much trouble.

A day passed, and the battle grew fiercer. The sky was filled with lightning that skittered about, while the land was as turbulent as the sea in a storm. Deafening explosions and powerful shockwaves kept coming from the region as lightning and earth energies collided in various forms every second.

On that day, a fat man with a faint, harmonious smile appeared above the pandemonium. His small eyes sparkled with wonder as he watched Ossora and Salas fighting in the distance.

A Highgod of Death sensed the changes in the energy of death in the area. Raising his head and looking around, he cried out in alarm, "It's Sovereign Logue! He's here!"

The crowd simultaneously raised their heads to look in the same direction and saw the beaming fat man. Their faces fell and they left the area without a sound, as if afraid to wake a sleeping monster.