CHAPTER 401: The Alliance Base On Benefits

It didn't take much effort for Han Shuo to understand the situation through the mystical demons snooping around. The one behind this hostility towards Trunks and the Soul Destroyer was Florida of the Rainbow Sickle mercenary gang. The others included the House of Menlo and Laureton of the Cairo Mercenary Band.

There were no eternal friends in this world, only eternal favours. These words had summed up the situation perfectly!

In the past, when Laureton and Florida had competed for power, Han Shuo and Trunks had sided with Laureton. On the night that Laureton had been surrounded by the four major powers in the small mountain valley, Han Shuo had even helped him get out of there alive.

From then on, the Cairo Mercenary Band and the Soul Destroyer Mercenary Band had a close relationship with Laureton and Trunks, always working together. To outsiders, the Cairo Mercenary Band and the Soul Destroyer Mercenary Band seemed to have formed an alliance.

However, with the rapid development of the Soul Destroyer mercenary band and Han Shuo's glowing reputation in the Lancelot Empire, the Soul Destroyer mercenary group had become the fifth major power in the Valley of Sunshine. In the past few days, Trunk's killing of Butcher Gustav had caused alarm among the residents of Valley of Sunshine. Laureton and Florida, who had originally been the two most promising contenders for control of the Valley of Sunshine, had finally realised that the situation was delicate.

When one's own interests were threatened, friendship and alliance were as fragile as the oaths of politicians. Florida and Laureton immediately joined forces. Since Adam Menlo had been badly injured by Han Shuo earlier, he was more than happy to join in this long-planned, insidious scheme.

The result was that Trunks was ambushed by Laureton and the others on his way back from Janet's place, and the mercenaries with him were completely destroyed. Trunks himself was captured alive and imprisoned in a hidden cave in the belly of a mountain valley. The major powers had all sent their experts to watch over him.

They didn't kill Trunks right away because even though Laureton and the others coveted the wealth of the Soul Destroyer mercenary group, they didn't have much information about the detailed layout of the Soul Destroyer mercenary group's base. Therefore, they wanted to hear it from Trunks' own mouth before making their next move, which would also help reduce their losses.

However, Trunks' stubbornness was beyond their expectations. Under the rounds of torture and blackmail, he still hadn't revealed any of the information they wanted. As a result, his body was tortured black and blue until he was on the verge of death.

At the moment, in a mansion defended by the Cairo mercenaries in the Valley of Sunshine, the three powers were discussing when to launch their attack on the Soul Destroyer mercenaries. The Soul Destroyer mercenary group had existed in the Valley of Sunshine for a long time. Laureton and the others had known its exact location for a long time, even without Trunks telling them.

If they hadn't understood how dangerous the terrain in that area really was, they would have joined forces to wipe out the Soul Destroyer mercenaries instead of waiting until now to make their move. Over the past few days, the three powers had been sending people to scout the area. They had clearly seen the defensive layout on the surface and would be making their move in a few days.

The major powers in the Valley of Sunshine had been through repeated wars, and all parties had suffered a great loss of strength. After Han Shuo had killed Light Grand Magus Ferguson, the relationship between Florida and the Church of Light had been somewhat fragile. However, with the existence of the secret silver mine in the area, their relationship was slowly stabilising.

Because of Han Shuo, Calamity Church's Dark Grand Magus Edwin naturally wouldn't deal with the Soul Destroyer mercenary band. The Calamity Church and Edwin had originally cooperated with Laureton, but they had gradually drifted apart. Edwin had visited Trunks a few times to offer his help, but Trunks had refused his goodwill.

After Trunks' disappearance, Edwin of the Calamity Church had actually made some efforts to find out the truth about the situation. However, with the alliance of the three powers in the Valley of Sunshine and the mercenary group of the Rainbow Sickle backed by the Church of Light, Edwin didn't dare to act rashly even though he knew the truth.

The Twelve Mystic Demons had scattered, and the scenes they saw were constantly reflected in Han Shuo's mind. His demonic magic-enhanced brain methodically took in these images, analysing the content of the words and actions to gradually figure out what was going on.

Eventually, he figured out the exact location where Trunks was being held!

As the Dark Dragon Gilbert hovered in the sky above the Valley of Sunshine, puffs of white clouds drifted around him. The glorious sun shone down on the entire mountain valley, making even the Dark Dragon's pitch-black body glow in the sunlight.

Sitting cross-legged on Gilbert's back, which was much wider than a horse carriage, Han Shuo had his eyes closed as he gathered information. Suddenly, he slowly opened his bright eyes. As he looked down at the lush forest within the Valley of Sunshine, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"I must quickly resolve the problems in the Valley of Sunshine. My steps can't just stop at this place!" Han Shuo muttered.

The affairs of Brettel City, the seven grand duchies, the internal struggle in the empire, the incessant disturbances from the Church of Light, the secrets of the Cemetery of Death and the skeleton staff, the study of demonic magic and necromancy, the rivalry of the women. Too many things kept piling up, waiting for him to deal with them. Han Shuo now had the feeling that he wanted to be able to use the doppelganger technique.

Han Shuo's ever-increasing vision was proportional to his growing ambition and strength. Now that he had seen the various disturbances in the Valley of Sunshine, he felt that it wouldn't be too difficult to deal with them all. From the moment he learned that Trunks had been captured, Han Shuo had wanted to deal with all the matters in the Valley of Sunshine in one go.

"Go, fly down!" Han Shuo instructed Dark Dragon Gilbert, showing him the exact location.

"Master, you found Trunks?" Gilbert couldn't help but ask suspiciously when he saw that Han Shuo, who had closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time in the air, was suddenly showing him a location.

"Of course, the direction we're heading is where Trunks is being held." Han Shuo replied before urging, "Alright, hurry up!"

In the depths of a dark, gloomy mountain cave, Thunder Archmage Asa was still tirelessly torturing Trunks. Trunks had been roaring madly, but after the violent electric currents had passed through his body and Asa had pressed a burning piece of red iron on his body, Trunks couldn't stand it any longer and had fallen unconscious.

But Asa clearly had no intention of letting Trunks off easy. Every time Trunks fainted, Asa was sure to wake him up mercilessly. After a few rounds, Trunks was on his last breath, unable to roar. His unfocused eyes carried a deep-seated hatred as he calmly stared at Asa, his eyes containing a light that frightened Asa.

Asa's guilty conscience quivered in fear of Trunks' deep-rooted hatred. But this guilt quickly turned into an even more maddening torment as the burning red iron pressed against Trunks' chest again. Trunks could only open his mouth wide in agony, not even letting out a single moan. His face twisted into a terrifyingly ferocious expression, like a demon emerging from the eighteenth level of hell.

"Lord Asa, you should stop now or he might die!" A swordsman named Trulla came over with a frown, reaching out to grab the burning iron Asa was clutching.

Asa's face darkened, he glared at Trulla and said in a displeased manner, "Trulla, my business isn't something your House of Menlo can care about!"

"I have no interest in taking care of you, but Trunks' life is to be preserved. This is the decision agreed upon by all three leaders. No matter how you torture Trunks, I have no problem as long as he doesn't die. But if you kill him, we will be guilty of negligence. Do not cause us any trouble!" Trulla wasn't afraid of Asa and put the iron back in its original place, as he said coldly.

Some of the wounds on Trunks' body were starting to rot, and pus was oozing from his neck and chest. Trulla, who was standing nearby, involuntarily covered his mouth as he smelled the nauseating odour, fanning himself in disgust, "F*ck! Can you stand it? Forget it for today. Wait until his body gets better before you play with him again. Otherwise everyone will object."

By the time Trulla had said this, he had lost his patience and left. A few members of the Cairo mercenary band looked at Asa in annoyance. One of them said, "Asa, your Florida has also agreed. You should be more content, don't break the rules."

The rest of the people in the cave all wore annoyed expressions. Even the Rainbow Sickle mercenaries stationed here with Asa persuaded him not to make a fuss. After thinking for a while, Asa turned his head to look at the unconscious Trunks on the verge of death, the anger in his heart subsiding a little.

With so many people trying to stop him, Asa didn't dare to act recklessly on his own, lest he incur the wrath of others. He understood that his position in the Rainbow Sickle mercenary band was no longer as secure as it had been since his father Gustav's death. What was even more disgusting was that the bandit group had split up after his father's death and hadn't stayed under his command. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to stay with the Rainbow Sickle mercenaries and suffer the humiliation.

While Asa was drowning in hatred, the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard from outside. The footsteps were faint at first, but gradually became clearer.

"Who is it?" The still unhappy Asa shouted loudly, "Since you've already come, don't you know to give your name?"

The sound of footsteps still approached slowly. But the person didn't answer. Asa couldn't help but curse again, "F*ck, are you mute? Don't you know how to talk?"

"Something's wrong!" Trulla frowned, suddenly pulling out a long sword as he said to the people next to him.

"Only we know this place, what can go wrong? You're too suspicious. Don't those guys always deliver our food at this time? It must be them!" Asa took the opportunity to say a few words to Trulla.

The footsteps were still coming. There was a strange rhythm to the sound of each step, and it struck fear into the hearts of the people. It was as if a demon was slowly approaching, its ghastly, huge mouth hidden in the darkness, ready to bite into your neck at any moment.

Trulla cast a scornful glance at Asa, thinking that this bandit's son was indeed not a true mercenary. Be it the Cairo Mercenary Band or the House of Menlo, they were both strict and well-disciplined organisations. There would be no such thing as coming without a signal.

"Brothers, be a bit careful. The situation is a bit strange!" Trulla grabbed his long sword and warned the people on his side.

Some experienced mercenaries from the Cairo mercenary band didn't need Trulla's reminder and had already gathered cautiously. Even Asa's group of Rainbow Sickle mercenaries had broken away from the other two powers.

At this critical moment, since the three powers had only joined forces for profit, they still trusted only their own people, not the false allies who reluctantly cooperated for the sake of profit. The Valley of Sunshine was just such a place. They were enemies, past and future. But for now, they stood together peacefully in the face of a common enemy.

Tap... tap... The footsteps were getting closer, getting clearer!

Trulla looked at the fire mage next to him and said, "Cast a flame!"

As the fire mage heard Trulla's command, a fire snake meandered into the passage, the brown-grey wall clearly visible as it glided through.

At this point, even Asa knew that something was wrong. He stared raptly at the only entrance. The members of the Cairo mercenary band had a tacit understanding among themselves as they formed a square formation, ready to face the incoming attack at any moment.

As their attention was focused on the single tunnel, a series of clear, crisp sounds suddenly rang out from Trunks' location behind their backs. Everyone who had their eyes glued to the tunnel turned around to look when they suddenly heard such loud sounds breaking the silence.

Right next to Trunks was Han Shuo with the Demonslayer's Edge in his hand and a dark expression on his face as he cut off the iron chains from Trunks' body. The durable iron chains, made from the recently mined mithril, shattered with each crisp sound. The thin chain that pierced Trunks' shoulder blade was also carefully removed by Han Shuo.

Trulla's group, who had suddenly turned around, didn't know how Han Shuo had gotten in. There was only one tunnel where they'd heard the sound of footsteps coming from inside the cave, and they'd all focused their attention there. However, they hadn't actually seen anyone come out of the tunnel!

However, Han Shuo had indeed appeared out of nowhere, as if he'd been standing there all along. His sudden arrival was so eerie that it made people feel extremely annoyed.

When they saw Han Shuo appear, all of the people who were guarding the valley in the mountain cave felt their hearts tremble for a moment. They saw that Han Shuo had pretended that he didn't see them and was only concentrating on breaking Trunks' bonds with a dark expression on his face. Unconsciously, a feeling of terror couldn't help but gradually form in their hearts.

Even though Han Shuo hadn't been present in the Valley of Sunshine, stories of him had been spreading throughout the valley. The people in the mountain cave, including Asa and Trulla, were all experts in the three powers. Not only did they know about Han Shuo, some of them had even witnessed Han Shuo's actions with their own eyes.

Right now, in this narrow belly of the mountain, Han Shuo had appeared silently like a ghost, only to silently remove Trunks' bonds. The unseen oppression was as heavy as a mountain, causing their hearts to pound with fear.

Asa's lips were dry. He had once had his hand chopped off by Han Shuo. Back in the mountain valley, he had witnessed Han Shuo's every blow as he beat Ferguson to death. When Han Shuo left, the stories about him didn't disappear, but were spread throughout the Valley of Sunshine by the mercenaries who travelled far and wide. In particular, the story of Han Shuo's beheading of the Dragon Knight Celt became even more exaggerated.

Asa was well aware of the relationship between Han Shuo and Trunks. He watched with a sombre expression as Han Shuo worked to unbind the dying Trunks, an icy chill suddenly spreading through his entire body. Asa's mind spun rapidly and he suddenly came to a very wise decision after watching Han Shuo for only a dozen seconds.

Whoosh! Asa was the first to rush into the tunnel to leave the cave, fleeing without a fight!

"Damn bastard!" Trulla turned to take a quick look and cursed Asa's shameless cowardice. Shortly after, he also felt a bit frightened, gripping the long sword in his hand tightly as he put on a strong front and looked coldly at Han Shuo, "Count Bryan, this has nothing to do with you. You can't dictate the affairs of our Valley of Sunshine. If you leave now, we won't stop you. Otherwise..."

"Ah? Asa, why are you already back?" Without waiting for Trulla to finish, the Fire Archmage next to him suddenly cried out in surprise.

Trulla was stunned. He didn't reprimand his subordinate for cutting him off at the point where he had found the courage to make the threat. Trulla promptly turned around to see Asa with a bitter expression on his face as he actually returned step by step. Tapping, tapping... The footsteps in the cave still echoed in everyone's hearts and even got heavier!

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