CHAPTER 688: Cruel Competition

The crossbow in Lager's hand was decorated with an elaborate design. Two gems, one red and one blue, were set into the ends of its butts. When the string of the crossbow was fully drawn, several dark threads, which seemed to be made of light, flowed from Lager's two hands into the crossbow. The pair of red and blue gems seemed to have the ability to amplify divine energy as the aura of destruction emanating from the crossbow grew more intense.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Another three arrows were fired in quick succession. After leaving the bowstring, the small arrows seemed to transform into three slender black snakes that slithered towards Han Shuo to viciously bite him.

Although Han Shuo could not reveal his practice of demonic arts, his sensitive consciousness and acute senses remained extremely useful. Although the three small arrows travelled in rather elusive trajectories, they were easily tracked and detected by Han Shuo's consciousness.

Han Shuo changed his stance immediately after the three small arrows were shot at him. He dodged the arrows by suddenly flying close to the ground and managed to close the distance with Lager.

Lager let out a soft, short chuckle, as if he wasn't afraid of Han Shuo's proximity. As soon as he saw that the three arrows had failed to hit Han Shuo, he quickly put down his crossbow and threw his right hand to reveal a double-edged battle-ax in his hand. The entire battle-axe was deep red in colour and emitted an intense stench of blood. Clearly, this was no ordinary weapon either.

They were both cultivating in the edict of destruction, and they were both in the same realm. Lager did not unfold his realm of divinity. He laughed out loud as he grasped the battle axe with both hands, imbued it with his divine energy and swung it at Han Shuo's skull. If the axe struck Han Shuo, his brain would surely crack and split.

Han Shuo's eyes narrowed slightly and accelerated again as he charged at the camp. His Avatar of Destruction returned to the form of the Demonslayer Edge and was held tightly in his hand. The Demonslayer Edge, filled with the energy of destruction, was sent straight towards Lager.

Han Shuo's Avatar of Destruction was formed using the Demonslayer Edge. All the divine energy of destruction and the energy of destruction were stored in the Demonslayer's Edge. Since Han Shuo's main body was still able to draw the destructive divine energy from within the Demonslayer Edge for use, to an outside observer, everything appeared absolutely normal.

Han Shuo secretly introduced a few strands of Demonic Yuan into the Demonslayer Edge and kept it deactivated until the moment it came into contact with the camp. Han Shuo believed that no one but himself would be able to tell that he had used demonic arts; not even Lager would be able to detect the small amount of demonic yuan mixed in with the energy of destruction.

You are dead! Lager sneered in his heart. The battle-axe he held in both hands, imbued with destructive divine energy, suddenly burst into a red glow. In an instant, an aura of complete and utter devastation erupted from Lager.

Han Shuo, on the other hand, had a calm and undisturbed expression on his face. The Demonslayer Edge in his hand did not glow, but it faintly emitted an aura of destruction. From this, the watching crowd understood that Han Shuo must have concentrated his energy.

Clang! A sharp metallic sound echoed through the valley. A shockwave of destruction spread from where the two had collided. It caused the huge scroll hanging in the sky to sway slightly, and the mixture of clouds and mist floating overhead to drift slightly.

The mixture of demonic yuan and divine destructive energy gushed violently into Lager's battle-axe through the Demonslayer's Edge. Since there wasn't too much of a difference between the two in terms of strength, after Han Shuo secretly added the energy of the demonic arts to his attack, he overwhelmed Lager!

Han Shuo felt a slight numbness in his right hand as he wielded the Demonslayer Edge. Lager, however, had to take several steps backwards as if pushed by an unstoppable force. Even his steps seemed to become unsteady.

Not giving Lager a chance to recover and make a comeback, Han Shuo moved even closer to Lager and unleashed several hundred Demonslayer Edge attacks in the blink of an eye. They were all aimed at Lager's head, chest, heart and all his vital organs. Lager had no choice but to retreat further and further, swinging his battle-ax back and forth, struggling to withstand Han Shuo's torrential attacks.

The battle-axe was known for its heavy weight and its ability to carry enormous momentum. However, it was clearly lacking in manoeuvrability. Although Lager could use his double-edged battle-ax as an effective main attack weapon, it was clearly unsuitable as a defensive weapon. Han Shuo's sword attacks, filled with the energy of destruction, were like dark raindrops falling on Lager, causing him immense pain. He had to strain every nerve to defend himself.

Chuck! Chuck! Lager's body was being stabbed and pierced. Fresh blood flowed from his stomach and wrists. He was clearly losing the fight and only had enough strength left to resist the attacks.

"How, how is it that he had so much energy in his first strike?" Lager was scared to death. He knew that the reason his situation had deteriorated to such a state was because of the first strike, an enormous force had entered his body through his battle-axe, throwing his divine energy into chaos. As a result, he was unable to organise an effective divine energy attack.

"Looks like I don't need to do this to Anli. I will just absorb your energy instead!" Han Shuo said as he stared at Lager. His appearance was frighteningly calm.

Lager, nervous and uncomfortable, could feel the number of wounds on his body increasing rapidly. The more he moved in defence, the faster he lost blood. He even felt a little dizzy from losing too much blood. He seemed even more terrified when Han Shuo's voice, which seemed to carry some strange energy, kept circling around his divine soul.

Han Shuo raised the Demonslayer's Edge, which emitted a glimmer of dark aura. He had overpowered Lager and was ready to deliver the final blow that would end his life.

Suddenly, in the windless valley, the huge scroll moved of its own accord and landed between Han Shuo and Lager, preventing Han Shuo from dealing Lager the fatal blow. The piercing blow of the Demonslayer's Edge struck the giant scroll that contained the method of absorbing the destructive energy. The mighty barrier above erupted, covering the surface of the scroll like water. Blocked by the barrier, Han Shuo's Demonslayer Edge failed to deliver the final blow to Lager, who had lost his head in fear.

"That's enough. You two will be on the same ship in the future, don't fight to the death!" Brovst's deep voice suddenly emerged from the pitch-black cave. As soon as he finished his words, the huge scroll swayed and rose back into the sky.

Lager took the opportunity to retreat far away, shielded by the scroll, and put a great distance between himself and Han Shuo. He looked at Han Shuo with an open smile, bowed politely and asked, "Thank you, my friend. What is your name?"

Han Shuo could sense the bone-deep hatred behind Lager's smile. However, Han Shuo did not feel the slightest bit of fear. He shrugged his shoulders and replied with a smile, "It is an insult to me that a bastard who could betray his saviour would know my name!" Han Shuo lost interest in pretending to be civil with such a scheming, heartless, shameless brute and cursed him without restraint.

Despite being called a bastard in front of the crowd, for some reason, Lager did not fall into a fit of rage. He simply let out a few hollow laughs and remained silent.

Han Shuo was very disappointed that Lager had not lost his mind and charged at him recklessly. Han Shuo knew that with Brovst's presence, if Lager did not actively attack him, he would have no reasonable excuse to finish Lager off.

"I will give you all one hour to prove your devotion to me. Don't waste the chance!" Brovst's voice sounded again from the dark cave.

After hearing these words, the crowd who had recently witnessed the drama began to show indecision in their eyes. Han Shuo secretly watched the people around him as he walked over to Anli, who collapsed to the ground step by step. Anli was obviously on his last legs, and by the time Han Shuo was about to lay his hand on Anli, he had used up all his life force and was completely dead.

The remaining divine energy in Anli's body was completely depleted, so Han Shuo could not absorb any more divine energy into his body. Han Shuo pressed his hand on Anli and using the Cauldron Spirit's energy in his body, he sucked Anli's divine soul into the Cauldron so that the Cauldron Spirit could transform him into a demon general. Even if Han Shuo didn't take his divine soul into the Cauldron of the Myriad Demon, it would just gradually dissipate between heaven and earth over time.

Han Shuo placed a hand on Anli and made it look like he was sucking in his divine energy.

Ahh!!! A loud scream of pain came from the distance. Han Shuo turned towards the source of the sound.

In a matter of moments, the entire valley had turned into a gruesome scene. Everyone seemed to have gone mad, attacking the people next to them. Those who had been secretly practicing the method of absorbing divine energy wanted to kill a person to prove their resolve. Meanwhile, Eunice and others who would never accept such a heinous act had no choice but to do their utmost to defend themselves.

Han Shuo sighed. He knew that under the threat of death and the temptation of rapidly increasing their strength, not many would remain unmoved. It was within Han Shuo's expectation that those in the valley would turn into a bloody battle for survival.

In Brovst's presence, Han Shuo had no way of preventing or stopping the gruesome contest before him. He could only watch indifferently, putting his own safety above matters of principle. There was nothing he could do about it.

It was fortunate that Han Shuo had chosen to take on Lager, a most thorny opponent, and demonstrate his strength and ferocity to the crowd. Therefore, at this moment, Han Shuo, who had his hand on Anli, was as relaxed and leisurely as Lager, who was fiddling with his crossbow. No one in the valley would come to provoke them.

Pitiful screams echoed through the valley again and again. Han Shuo remained crouched on Anli, secretly watching the bloody battle unfold around him.

Those who did not wish to join the Godhunters found themselves facing enemies who seemed to have gone mad in their attempt to devour their divine energy. Gradually, even they began to show signs of madness. Some of the lightly wounded unexpectedly turned their gaze to the giant scroll as they fled.

There were only a dozen or so in the entire valley who had remained truly unmoved. Eunice, of late stage Lowgod strength, was one of those stubborn ones. Her Uncle Barnett, under attack from several of the Death Energy divine guards who had previously worked for him, seemed to be furious and looked as if he might go mad at any moment.

The valley was in total violence and chaos! Everyone seemed to have gone mad. As things developed, even those who wanted to be Godhunters were clashing and fighting with each other. They had all lost their reason!

Brovst, who was silently observing the situation from his cave, had to repeatedly use his giant scroll to separate and stop the fights between those who wanted to be Godhunters, lest those who would become his followers be killed.

"Lord Brovst, could you give me Miss Eunice? He will not be one of us. When I'm done playing with her, I'll hand her over to your subordinates. Until then, I don't care if they want to play with her or kill her! Rahman, who had been giggling as he watched the situation from the side, asked as he bowed to the cave where Brovst was.

"You have done me a great service. If you are interested in this woman, do what you want!" Brovst did not hesitate to agree to Rahman's request. Having watched every action of everyone in the valley, he had long realised that Eunice would not submit to his command. Allowing Rahman to play with someone who would die sooner or later was just a waste of resources. Besides wanting Rahman to continue serving him in the future, it was only natural that Brovst would agree to the request.

"Thank you, Lord Brovst!" Rahman cheered and walked excitedly towards Eunice. He had a look of sheer depravity on his face.

Rahman was a midgod cultivating in the element of darkness, and practically no one in the valley could pose a threat to him. In addition to being Brovst's spokesman, those who wished to survive by becoming a godhunter automatically stepped aside, giving him an unimpeded path to Eunice.

By this time, Eunice, who had been forced to retreat further and further by the deranged crowd, no longer had the grand, distinguished demeanour she had always had. Her hair was dishevelled and her face was streaked with dust. She seemed to be in a miserable state. Her heart was filled with despair when she heard Rahman's request and saw him coming towards her. But she was determined to fight Rahman to the death.

"How dare you!" Barnett, on the verge of losing his mind, roared as he saw Rahman approaching Eunice with a lascivious smile. Sending death rays in all directions, he lunged at Rahman. Those who attacked him together were thrown about by giant bone flowers as he unfolded his Domain of Divinity.

"Lord Brovst, please help me!" Rahman said with the same expression as he raised his voice and asked.

The huge scroll in the air came down again. But this time, it did not simply block an attack like it had prevented Han Shuo from killing Lager. Instead, it came crashing down on Barnett. A terrifying energy of destruction erupted from the scroll. Barnett immediately fell to the ground and began to twitch violently from head to toe.

"Miss Eunice, who will save you now? All the time I've been in Fort Verka, you've been the only person I've ever liked. But what a pity, you were always so cold to me and made me long for you every day. Finally, finally, I get to taste your sweet, juicy body. Are you as excited as I am? Hehehe..." Rahman laughed as he approached Eunice. His body turned into several dark shadows and no one could tell which one was him.

Eunice, who had originally thought of fighting Rahman fiercely and hurting him with her death, suddenly discovered that she did not even have a target to attack. Grief rose from her heart as she sighed and thought to herself, "Forget it. I'll just kill myself so that I don't have to endure being defiled by such a disgusting being.