Chapter 84: See Who's A Master Of Concealment

"What, what are you doing?" Candice squealed in shock and suddenly stood up. Phoebe was about to undress for bed when she saw Han Shuo rush in. She was also startled and hastily pulled her clothes back on, looking at Han Shuo with a panicked expression on her face.

"Grover and the people from 'Shadow Ghost' are coming. Don't say useless things and think about what we have to do!" Han Shuo roared in a low tone at the two desperate women with a darkened face.

Candice was still vaguely suspicious when he finished speaking and was about to express her opinion with a war face, while Phoebe had an extremely serious face and admonished, "Listen to him, Candice, Bryan wouldn't be wrong!

Candice didn't believe Han Shuo, but she did believe Phoebe. Upon hearing Phoebe's words, she immediately pulled the broadsword from her back and nodded to Phoebe before suddenly dashing out like a ball of fiery shadows. Candice immediately let out a soft warning.

Phoebe didn't waste any time, grabbing a robe from the edge of the bed and throwing it over her. Her space ring suddenly brightened and a longsword, glittering with cold light, materialised in her hand.

Nodding to Phoebe, Han Shuo rushed out of the house and saw Candice standing outside giving orders in a low voice.

Using the vision of the original demons, Han Shuo closed his eyes and said, "Three people are approaching from the left, 130 metres away. Two warriors and a mage. The mage is the wind adept mage Ellis. An archmage with four warriors and an archer are approaching from the front, about 130 metres away. There are probably people from 'Shadow Ghost' on the roof. Several people are lying in wait in an alley 50 metres to the right, and they seem to be laying some sort of trap..."

As if watching from above, Han Shuo continued to describe the details of the rapidly approaching people. Candice hadn't believed it at first and would never have believed that he could clearly see the movements of the approaching people from so far away, but Phoebe had immediately asked Candice to arrange the people according to Han Shuo's descriptions as soon as she had left the room.

"Miss Phoebe, I hope you will make the preparations to retreat this time. In my estimation, even with you as a swordmaster , we may still not be their match. If the situation goes south, I hope you won't linger here, but no matter how dangerous it is, don't retreat to the right. It's a dead end!" Han Shuo suddenly opened his eyes and stared at Phoebe as he said gravely.

"Thank you, Bryan, I know what to do. You be careful too!" Phoebe trusted Han Shuo a lot and when she saw him warning her with such a serious face, she immediately understood that this time it would be a dangerous battle. She immediately nodded gravely at Han Shuo to show her understanding.

Taking a deep breath, Han Shuo willed the Demonslayer Edge out of the heart of his palm and checked the dagger concealed on his body and the steel needles strapped to his legs. He then drew a crossbow in his left hand and leapt up a nearby tree. The shadows of the house coincidentally covered his body completely. Han Shuo stared calmly to the left, not moving an inch.

"And that's how they came, everyone be careful and spread out!" As a swordmaster, Phoebe finally heard the footsteps and inwardly rejoiced that she could trust Han Shuo. She glanced at Candice at her side.

It was only now that Candice looked in shock at Han Shuo hiding in the shadows. She had never thought that Han Shuo would be so amazing. Not only could he detect movement from a distance of a hundred metres, but it was as if he had a pair of eyes in the sky, carefully deducing all the movements of the enemy.

Candice was a mercenary who had seen hundreds of battles. After a short period of shock, she looked at Phoebe and the two of them jumped up together. The two of them hid on either side of Han Shuo, also hiding in the shadows.

"Br... Bryan, can you slowly tell me the movements of the enemy so that I can inform the people below?" Candice was about a metre away from Han Shuo as she spoke in a low voice.

Han Shuo held his position without even a flicker of change in his expression, his voice low as he faintly summarised the details of the enemy's movement. Candice held a magical item in her hand and used it to give her commands to the mercenaries hidden in the courtyard.

The three from Grover's side, with Ellis in the lead, were the first to arrive. They paused on a nearby rooftop. Han Shuo and the others didn't move until the floating archmage appeared at the front door with the other experts from 'Shadow Ghost'. Only then did they hold their breath, focus their concentration and prepare to make a move.

No one saw how the Archmage moved, only that his body was completely wrapped in a black robe. He muttered a few lines of incantation in a barely audible voice, and suddenly violent magical impulses began to flow towards Phoebe's residence. The rooms began to shake violently, as if a great earthquake were taking place.

At the same time, the four warriors behind him quickly spread out. One archer moved to a roof on the side, watching the surroundings from a high vantage point. Ellis nodded to the two warriors after seeing the ground tremble and shake like a great beast awakening. The two jumped down and descended towards the courtyard.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh.

Five arrows suddenly appeared in the darkness, like five fierce vipers submerged in deep water. They sped towards the two descending warriors. The two had been hiding their movements and hadn't expected to be attacked so fiercely as soon as they jumped. They were shocked and frantically swung their swords to block the arrows.

Three of the arrows were shattered, one was dodged by both of them, and only the one that Phoebe had fired pierced one of the warrior's calves. As the two landed, they triggered the field that had been set up and three bolts of lightning suddenly appeared in the air. Under the lightning's glare, Han Shuo could clearly see several strands of metal wire as thin as hair tangled together. When the two of them landed, their ankles were caught in the metal wires.

The lightning crept between the metal wires, transforming the area into a brilliant silver net with strong electricity flowing through it. The bodies of the two people convulsed as they let out horrible howls. The one who wasn't injured reacted quickly after being electrocuted, thrusting out his sword to cut through the metal wires and escape. The other, with an arrow in his calf, foamed at the mouth and his hair was a scorched mess as he slowly fell into the metal net.

"This is bad, an ambush!" Ellis had been about to descend like the others, but suddenly screamed when he saw the two warriors had been hit, raising a hue and cry to warn the 'Shadow Ghost' killers who were attacking from the front.

The door shattered into four or five pieces with two loud bangs, and four warriors dressed in black rushed in. They began to search both sides of the courtyard. The Archmage floated into the courtyard, the magic staff in his left hand wrapped in his long black sleeves. The rooms on either side of him began to collapse with a violent earthquake.

Of the Battlefire mercenaries lurking in the neighbouring rooms, two died directly from the impact of the collapsing house. There were also three who had no choice but to rush out as well. They all held their weapons and stood in the courtyard. Han Shuo took a quick look around and noticed that only a senior swordsman, a thundermage and an archer were left.

The archmage waved the staff in his hand and another huge wave of magic rippled outwards. Three earth dragons suddenly erupted from the ground like pistons of ice, slashing at the three Battlefire members who had appeared. The senior swordsman and journeyman mage dodged in time, deftly sidestepping before disaster struck. The other archer raised his bow, gathered his concentration, and aimed at the archmage, but he didn't have a chance to release the arrow before the earth dragon rising beneath his feet crushed his chest. The force of the impact killed him instantly.

Calmly controlling his breathing, Han Shuo could clearly sense that Phoebe and Candice on either side of him suddenly began to breathe more heavily. It seemed that with the death of this person, the calm posture they had always maintained had completely vanished.

Then Phoebe and Candice both fired crossbow bolts at the same time, sending them flying towards the earth archmage who had released the earth dragons. The crossbow bolts had great momentum, but it was a pity that a wall of earth suddenly rose from the ground with a wave of his left hand. The crossbow bolts collided with the wall and did no damage to the killer.

"In the shadow of the great tree!" Ellis didn't disguise his voice this time and suddenly spoke in his original voice. The whooshing sound of a Windblade attack accompanied his voice.

Hearing the sounds of an impending Windblade attack, Phoebe and Candice immediately jumped from Han Shuo's side. Grabbing a longsword that glowed with a dazzling light, Phoebe rushed at the Archmage at full speed. Candice's broadsword flared with tongues of fire that licked at the sky, transforming her into a fiery elf in the darkness as she swiftly attacked Ellis.

Wielding a crossbow, Han Shuo didn't move as he lay hidden in the shadows of the large tree. He didn't even raise a hand to block the incoming windblades. Several of the wind blades tore through the branches of the tree and two more connected with Han Shuo's waist. But he gritted his teeth and took it all in stride, remaining motionless, even keeping his breathing and heartbeat at an amazingly steady pace.

Phoebe and Candice flew out of the tree, their battle flames fanned. Since the Earth Archmage had brought down all the houses with a massive earthquake as soon as he'd arrived, many of the traps set by the Battlefire mercenaries had been rendered ineffective. Phoebe, well aware of the horrors the Archmage was capable of, had him in her sights and immediately charged forward with all her might.

As Phoebe made her move, the two senior swordsmen of the Shadow Ghost immediately converged on the Archmage's location, presenting Phoebe with a combination of two melee and one mage. In the distance, Shadow Ghost's archer and Ellis also coordinated with the other two swordsmen, launching their attacks against those of the Battlefire mercenaries.

Candice brandished her broadsword, sending out a tongue of fire with each swing. The broadsword sent blinding light into the night sky, forcing the wind mage Ellis to constantly retreat.

Ellis' actions were extremely agile as he harnessed the power of the wind. As he quickly backed away, several columns of Windblade Tornadoes rushed towards Candice. As one of the journeymen swordsmen rushed to Ellis' side and joined forces with him to fight Candice, even the imposing Candice suddenly seemed to be under great pressure.

At that moment, whether it was Phoebe's side or Candice and those of 'Shadow Ghost', all had fully revealed themselves in the broken and battered courtyard. Only Han Shuo remained hidden in the darkness, still holding on after taking two direct hits from the Windblades. He waited for the best moment to attack.

Phoebe and Candice were both in unfavourable positions, but a few traces of expectation arose in their dejected hearts as they watched Han Shuo fail to materialise again and again. The two girls were both smart ladies and had already guessed that Han Shuo must be planning something despite his injuries. They all moved in unspoken unison, slowly leading their opponents towards the large tree.

After a short time, the struggling Phoebe and Candice had both gathered under the tree where Han Shuo was hidden, their movement cut off by the Archmage, Ellis and the other assassins.

"Beautiful Miss Phoebe, after a few fights, I admire your strength. However, this time you won't stand a chance. My deepest apologies!" Ellis laughed softly as the sky before him howled and roared at his words, forming a violent tornado. The broken branches and rocks around them were swept into the sky by this tornado as it moved towards Phoebe and Candice.

The Archmage said nothing as he stretched out his left hand and four high walls of earth rose from the ground, completely enclosing Phoebe and Candice in a cage.

The longsword in Phoebe's hand rippled with a blinding milky white aura, the light forming the shape of a cross. It sliced through a wall of earth as she leapt out with Candice. The swordsmen waiting at the side immediately began to attack Phoebe and Candice. Ellis had a sinister smile on his face as he focused his concentration and slowly manipulated the tornado to blow them away.

At that moment, a crossbow bolt suddenly pierced the air and shot towards the black-robed Earth Archmage. The archmage leaned to the side, and a swordsman beside him waved his hand to block the crossbow bolt. A bone spear then materialised out of thin air and shot towards the archmage with a sharp whistle.

The Archmage seemed a little irritated as he flexed his left hand slightly. The earth magic gathered again and a stone slab suddenly flew out of the ground, smashing the bone spear in half as it flew towards him.

The Archmage had just breathed a sigh of relief and was about to search for his enemy in the shadows when a terrible wailing sounded. Ellis, not far away, clutched at his chest and raised a terrified face to the top of the large tree. A sharp weapon burrowed out like a poisonous dragon, leaving a whistling sound in his chest.

Pfft.

An arrow of blood sprayed uncontrollably from Ellis' chest and Ellis raised his head to the sky. His knees suddenly gave way and he sank listlessly to the ground, pausing before falling stiffly backwards.