Chapter 966: Real Submission?
Isaiah and the other two were shocked. They had planned to take out Han Shuo one go. But seeing him willing to negotiate all of a sudden, they were reeling from the whiplash.
“I was just testing the three of you to see if I had a chance in taking back Pandemonium. I’ve seen that you three are indeed rather powerful, so my desire to fight back has completely vanished. I’ll cooperate with you properly now,” Han Shuo explained with a bitter look.
The three gave each other odd looks. While they didn’t immediately fight back at Han Shuo, they didn’t dare to believe him entirely either. This time around, they didn’t surround him, but chose to stand against him from the same side instead. After all, he was able to break out of their encirclement so easily, so they would rather not waste their energy.
“Bryan, you are stronger than we’ve expected. However, I believe you were only able to break out of encirclement by making use of the advantage afforded to you by the terrain,” Isaiah said solemnly, “Even if you escape from our grasp, you won’t be able to save your family and friends within. Tell us what we want to know, or we’ll do all we can to wipe out those that are inside the secret chamber!”
“It seems that this secret chamber shares the same power source as the trap that’s keeping Dhaka and the other two held up. If we didn’t want to negotiate with you, we’d have broken through the chamber already. If the three of them would’ve come out by now. Then, there is no way the House of Han would survive!” Regis coldly said. He had been quite unhappy about the shocking attack he had just experienced.
“Don’t force us to do that!” Miller snapped.
“Sure, sure.” Han Shuo raised both hands to show that he understood them fully. “I’ll do as you please. Tell me. What do you want to know? What do you want to get?”
Seeing Han Shuo so cooperative, Isaiah smiled and nodded. “It’s simple. We want to know everything about Pandemonium, all the seals, barriers, energy tower layouts and how to use them. Also, tell us in detail about the three seals that are keeping Dhaka, Dagmar and a.s.ser occupied.”
“Oh, I see.” Han Shuo took a deep breath and said, “Sure. We’re leaving the Fringe in the first place, so I have no qualms leaving Pandemonium to you.”
“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Isaiah looked to Regis and Miller, signalling them to be careful of Han Shuo lest he fought back again.
With their previous experience, they wouldn’t trust him so easily now. As far as they were concerned, Han Shuo was quite a threat to them and had the power to back it up. The slightest careless mistake could result in them being gravely hurt and disrupting their plans.
“Come with me then. I’ll lead you to a place where you’ll get to know everything,” Han Shuo said before he immediately walked out.
“Wait!” Isaiah called out. When Han Shuo turned back, he laughed and said, “You sneaky little b.a.s.t.a.r.d, do you think that we will just go where you tell us and get trapped like Dhaka? We’ll do it here and here only! We have something that can scour your memories.”
Regis and Miller stared at Han Shuo unmoving, constantly on their guard for a sudden, fatal strike.
“Oh?” Han Shuo smiled and nodded. “Good. I wonder what you have that can scan my memories.”
“This is it–a soulsphere!” Isaiah took out a fist-sized purple sphere with a smooth, jade-like surface. The sphere looked a little foggy within. Soulspheres were special items that could only be made by elite cultivators of the energy of death. Within them were strong, soul vortexes that could generate a huge force to retrieve the memories of anyone it was close to.
While it could retrieve the memories, it wasn’t safe to use at all. The slightest mistake could wound someone’s soul and stupefy them.
Han Shou’s expression changed as he shook his head. “That won’t do. The side effects of soulspheres are too much. It’s too dangerous. With you using it, I can’t guarantee my safety, so I won’t do it!”
“There’s no need to waste time with him, Isaiah!” Regis growled as he looked at the secret chamber beneath them. “Let us just break the chamber and kill them all! Who cares about Dhaka, Dagmar and a.s.ser? By the time they come out, they’ll all be dead!”
Miller smiled and looked at Han Shou, whose expression s.h.i.+fted. “What’s the point of all this? When those three come out, you won’t be able to protect your family no matter how strong you are. By then, there’s no saying if you’ll be able to escape Pandemonium alive. Isn’t cooperating with us much better?”
Miller and Regis were playing the standard good cop, bad cop shtick. It seemed that their words were working. Han Shuo’s expression grimmed as his the veins on his forehead pulsed. In the end, he firmed his resolve and reluctantly said, “Alright. I’ll do as you say!”
“That’s better.” Isaiah smiled and secretly signalled Regis and Miller. Smiling and careful, he held the ball and walked to Han Shou, constantly on guard and gradually handing it to him.
After Han Shuo received the soulsphere, he seemed rather anxious and hesitant, as if there was a war going on in his mind. Moments later, he sighed deeply, as if he had let go of every shred of resistance. “Here goes nothing!” He held the soulsphere out in front of him before two soul beams connected with the sphere.
All of a sudden, the fog in the sphere glowed eerily. Isaiah and the rest laughed out loud at the same time.
“Even as powerful as you are, you have no choice but to follow suit!” Regis said as he zipped in front of Han Shuo, sending out lightning bolts that formed into a net that bound him. Isaiah and Miller flanked Han Shuo in the meantime and deployed a restrictive barrier around him, completely sealing off the energy in his body.
“The moment the soulsphere finishes recording his memories is the moment of his death,” Isaiah said with relief, “I’ve tinkered with it beforehand. The moment he connects with it, n.o.body apart from an OverG.o.d will be able to break free from the power of the soulsphere! What a shame, for such a talented youth to be ruined by us.”
“Spare me that fake tragedy of yours,” Miller said, chuckling as he looked at the waves in the sphere that represented Han Shuo’s memories with satisfaction. “This trip was worth it. With his memories and Pandemonium, we’ll be able to find out what weird energy he cultivates and make a similar place to Pandemonium!”
They laughed heartily from their triumph.
But all of a sudden, a cry could be heard from the distance. Wasir came rus.h.i.+ng out coldly from the heavy fog. When he saw the soulsphere and the bindings on Han Shuo, he snapped, “What did you do to Bryan?”
“Wasir, was it?” Isaiah gleefully said, “You have no business here. If you leave now, we won’t bother with you. Oh, by the way, make sure to leave Glacial Peak with your subordinates because we will be taking over this place soon enough.”
Miller and Regis snickered, for Wasir alone wouldn’t be their match. If not for the fact that they had to pay attention to Han Shuo, they might’ve had Wasir stay to toy around with him first.
“Wasir, where are you going?” somebody yelled from the distance. Soon, that person was revealed to be Salas.
“Salas, you’re also a Sovereign of the Fringe. Why did you help the G.o.dhunter Alliance?”
“Since when did you take me seriously?” Salas said, “Darn it, ever since i left the Fringe, you people look like you serve the kid now! I’ve been operating in the Fringe for years, yet none of you cared about our old dealings at all. Since that’s the case, why should I worry about you?”
As he yelled, Salas attacked Wasir without mercy.
“Haha, Salas is here too!” Isaiah knew him and his dealings with Dhaka and the rest, so they weren’t too shocked that he was there.
Miller and Regis found it rather interesting and watched them fight. Miller asked, “Salas, want us to give you a hand and deal with this fellow?”
“I couldn’t have asked for more! Darn it, Dhaka and the other b.a.s.t.a.r.ds fell for Bryan’s trap, leaving everything on me! I’m breaking off from them for good! If you don’t mind, I am willing to join your side to fight against Dhaka!”
As he said so, Salas used his full force to push Wasir towards the three of them.