Siege

Han Sen touched the scabbard and picked it up. It felt comfortable in his palm, but it was quiet like it was dead. There was nothing more special about it.

Han Sen didn't think 什le scabbard would be a completely dead object, though. It might not have given off an anima卜like sensation or possessed a knifemind anymore, but its soul was still there. It couldn't have been completely dead.

There had to be a reason why the scabbard was so quiet. Han Sen could not discover what that reason was, though.

He put the scabbard away and then went to examine the statue, but there was nothing of particular note.

The lake had stopped bubbling and become peaceful again, and there was no sign of a knife that belonged with the scabbard. There was only the scabbard itself.

"Shouldn't there be a knife for this scabbard? What kind of knife could suit this sort of scabbard, I wonder?" Han Sen thought to himself. And as he did, something crossed his mind. "Was a whole knife supposed to be stabbed into this statue? Perhaps someone took the knife."

Han Sen's mind returned to the words "super gene" on the neck of the statue. The person who had carved those words might have been the one who had taken the knife.

But that was merely a wild guess. There was nothing going on now, anyway, and so Han Sen thought it would be a good opportunity to catch his breath for a minute. He flew away from the lake and returned to the grapevines.

He picked up the Archangel Bone Arrow, then gathered some grapes to sate his hunger. He also wanted to get back to searching for the xenogeneic fruits.

The fruits on the grapevines were better than ordinary fruits, so he picked a few of the big grapes and ate them ravenously. They tasted very sweet, and he ate a whole bunch of them, all at once. He felt much better after that.

There was no more turmoil or chaos along the way, and Han Sen walked to the edge of the oasis without seeing any further sign of Yisha. Where she had fled to, he could not tell.

After resting for a bit, Han Sen went back into the oasis to look for the xenogeneic fruit.

Han Sen wanted to leave Demon Grave in case he met Yisha again. At least while in there, he had an advantage over her. If she followed him out, though, the deified Yisha would be able to kill Han Sen with ease. So, he had to get out of there now, with haste.

First, Han Sen planned to scour the oasis for xenogeneic fruit. If he couldn't find it, he'd have to get going before Yisha could stop him.

But even if he did leave before Yisha did, the biggest problem was that he'd be leaving without Mister Ji. He didn't think those of Demon would let him walk away so easily.

Han Sen couldn't worry about that at the moment, though. He had to leave first.

So, Han Sen walked around between the grapevines. Eventually, he found a grape that looked like agate. Han Sen picked it up and pocketed it

Han Sen looked over the whole area of grapes and found some green ones and red ones, and then nothing else.

Han Sen didn't stay any longer, though. He walked right out of the grape area, wanting to leave the oasis. Unfortunately, he could see clouds of yellow sand rising up ahead, out in the desert.

Many creatures were now approaching the oasis. They were coming from the direction that Han Sen would need to go to exit the place. After having a look, Han Sen noticed there were many races amongst them. There were those of Demon and those of the Rebate. There were some Han Sen could not identify, either.

Half of the races were there now.

"Weird. Mister Ji said that only a few members of higher races could enter here based on the agreement. So, why are there so many? Did Yisha get these people to come and deal with me, once she escaped?" Han Sen frowned, wanting to hide away in the oasis first

Even if they weren't coming after him, their presence would be dangerous for Han Sen.

Han Sen started to move, but a member of a higher race amidst that group had exceptional vision. Before Han Sen could retreat into the oasis, the man shouted, "Hey kid, stay where you are! Answer our questions and we won't trouble you. Otherwise, don't blame us for what might happen. Unless you think you can escape us all, of course."

"What do you want to ask?" Han Sen asked coldly, keeping his distance.

"Were you the person accompanying Luo Ji?" someone from Demon asked Han Sen.

"Yes." Han Sen nodded.

"Where is he now?" the members of Demon asked, looking happy.

Han Sen didn't hesitate to tell them about Luo Ji running off when chaos ensued. He made no mention of Yisha, though. "Okay, take us to him," the Demon said.

Han Sen frowned. "I only know he went that way. I don't know where precisely, so it would be pointless for me to go."

"We told you to take us to him. Stop talking crap." The higher race that first spotted Han Sen looked annoyed.

He was afraid Yisha was still out there somewhere, so he didn't want to go and find Mister Ji with them.

Han Sen ignored him and kept walking.

If they had been outside, any of the people present would have been stronger than Han Sen. But within Demon Grave, everyone's body was suppressed and nearly equalized. Therefore, Han Sen was not afraid.

When the bird-face-looking higher race man was ignored, it enraged him. He shouted and pulled out a wooden stick to try to hit Han Sen. The wooden stick looked familiar. It looked like the wooden weapons the Chaos used. It must have been an item retrieved from this place.

But Han Sen ignored him and continued walking. The man attacked, and while the wooden stick moved like a striking dragon, it didn't even manage to brush Han Sen's clothes.

Those of the higher races looked surprised, but they didn't want to let Han Sen go. They all surrounded him and drew their weapons. Han Sen noticed that those weapons had all been carved from wood. They were originally Chaos weaponry.

"Take us to Luo Ji and you'll be rewarded. Otherwise, no one here will let you go," the Demon said, trying to bluff.

Although Han Sen was curious why they were in such a rush to find him, he was more afraid of Yisha getting into position to intercept him at some point down the road. He did not answer, and instead rushed forward.

The higher races were angered. They swung their weapons, wanting to drop Han Sen.

So, Han Sen pulled out the scabbard and held it like a sword. Then he summoned his swordmind.