Dhaka had never expected something like this to happen right after they stepped into the thick fog. After calling out a few times with no response, he knew that something strange had happened to Dagmar and Asser. They wouldn't just disappear.
He thought about it; the three of them weren't even that far apart. Their sudden disappearance put Dhaka on even higher alert.
He had intended to find the other two before going any deeper, but before he could scan the area with his soul to locate them, he noticed that he had been enveloped in a thick layer of seemingly harmless smoke. It was as if he had fallen into a quagmire, constantly sinking and about to be submerged at any moment. His limbs felt a thousand times heavier than before. It took more than ten times as much strength just to raise his arm.
As the smoke enveloped him, it entered his body through his pores. Not only did he feel much heavier, he also began to feel numb. The smoke definitely contained some form of poison.
Even so, it was unable to do him any real harm. Dhaka smiled as he allowed the energy of destruction within his body to erupt from his body, destroying the poison that had entered it and forming a barrier over his body at the same time.
Suddenly, the weight of the smoke was lifted and he regained control of his body.
As one of the Twelve Hegemons of the Overgod Realm, Dhaka was renowned for his martial prowess. The Edict of Destruction had always focused on powerful attacks, and Dhaka was willing to do anything to become stronger. A minor setback like this wouldn't be able to defeat him.
After emerging from the poisonous smoke, he used his soul to try and locate Dagmar and Asser. However, his mastery of it was still inferior to Dagmar's. He felt his soul sense being prevented from spreading too far by a strange body of air. He couldn't even cover the hundred metres around him, let alone find Dagmar and Asser in the whole of Pandemonium.
Luckily Bryan is not in Pandemonium. Otherwise he'd have taken the chance to sneak up on one of us, he thought as he slowly made his way into the depths of Pandemonium.
...
Meanwhile, near the centre of Pandemonium...
"Dhaka is truly impressive. He was hardly affected by the fog. I guess my master was right. The outer defences might work against normal Highgods, but not those in the Overgod realm," Gilbert said. As he watched Dhaka shake off the effects of the mist from the spatial mirror and break through some of the barriers within Pandemonium, he was quite impressed.
"Any expert who reaches the Overgod realm is a terrifying being. Dhaka, Dagmar, and Asser, the Godhunter Hegemons, are people who have risen to stand on a mountain of corpses. We can't afford to underestimate people like that! Bollands said with a straight face. After a moment, he looked at Han Hao and said, "Since he's charging in with such force, I'm afraid most of the formations won't be able to stop him. Do you think we should lead him to this place instead?" He pointed to an area that looked like a small hill.
When the five elite zombies saw Bollands pointing at the spot, they seemed a little taken aback. However, they didn't say a word, only looking at Han Hao.
As the leader of the Fringe-dwelling Godhunters, Han Hao was well trusted by Stratholme, Phoebe and the rest of the House of Han, although he did not spend much time with them.
Han Hao looked at the place with a contemplative gaze. After a moment of thought, he said, "Very well. I'll go there myself and lead him there."
Han Jin said in surprise, "Big Brother, let someone else do it. Over there is Pandemonium's most terrifying formation. Father had warned us that the formation doesn't distinguish between friend and foe. Anyone who enters the area will be attacked indiscriminately, and the formation will never stop working as long as there is a sign of life within it and the energy within Pandemonium hasn't been used up!"
"That's fine," he said. He said nothing more before turning to leave.
"Wait!" Although Scarlett didn't seem too worried at first, she sensed something was wrong after listening to Bollands and Han Jin.
Han Hao turned to her and said, "I'll be fine!" He left immediately after that.
Just as he was leaving, everyone noticed through the magic mirror that Dhaka was activating his divine energy to the fullest, forming Orbs of Destruction to be sent indiscriminately all over the place. Some of the formations were more or less destroyed by the chaotic bombardment, while others could barely operate at full capacity.
Unlike Dhaka, Dagmar and Asser had entered Pandemonium with extreme caution, despite their initial bravado. They were so cautious that they took only small steps, unlike Dhaka, who destroyed almost everything he came across.
"These two are also a great threat. They didn't go all out because they didn't know the situation yet. Once they're out of the fog and no longer under its influence, they'll be sure to destroy everything in Pandemonium like Dhaka did," Bollands said calmly.
"Don't worry. They'll soon encounter the Infernal Psychedemon Formation. They will be held there for some time at least. Once they leave it, the Skysunder Lightning Formation will be waiting for them. So there's no need to worry about them," Han Jin whispered to Bollands.
"Great!" Bollands' voice was raised a little to attract the attention of the others. "Everyone, let's get ready. As soon as Han Hao leads Dhaka to this place, we'll leave Pandemonium immediately through the underground tunnel. The subordinates of the three are waiting outside, and I want to use the power of our household to deal them a heavy blow while the three are in here."
""Of course!" Sangius said loudly, "Since these Godhunters have a death wish, we should oblige them!"
"Sangius, tell the guards to get ready. But wait for my signal. Don't bring them into battle through the underground tunnel until I say it's clear, okay?" Bollands warned, knowing how reckless Sanguis could be at times.
"Don't worry, I know what to do!" Sanguis said before impatiently leaving with Gilbert.
...
Inside the valley, all sorts of formations were covered in fog. Han Hao flew past them like a ghost, armed with his bone spear.
A few demon generals stealthily flew out of his bone spear and sneaked up to Dhaka, who was destroying everything in the distance, to watch his every move.
Han Hao had memorised all the formations and energy barriers Andrina had used along the way, thanks to his impeccable memory. He hurried towards Dhaka.
An insidious aura was present throughout Pandemonium. Whenever the formations were activated, the killing intent they radiated would send a shiver down the spine of those within them, affecting the energy in their bodies as well. However, Han Hao did not hate this place. In fact, he found it quite comfortable. The environment was ideal for his cultivation of the demonic arts.
His bone spear swayed in his hand, shooting out a dark beam from time to time, all the while emitting an eerie wail. But it was so quiet that you wouldn't hear it unless you really listened.
Gradually he reached the place Bollands had spoken of; he could sense the danger as he approached. The demon generals he had sent out were careful to avoid the area, and the countless souls contained within the bone spear seemed to want to leave as well.
"You can go anywhere you want in Pandemonium, but there's one place you have to be very careful about. Even you shouldn't enter it! That place will destroy anything that enters it, whether it's friend or foe! Feeling the fear coming from the souls in the bone spear, Han Hao remembered Han Shuo's warning to him before he left. He stopped at the edge of the area without taking a single step. He pondered for a moment before pressing the spear into the ground at his feet, infusing it with some strange runes and energy.
Then he let go. The bone spear slowly sank into the ground until only a small part of it was exposed. It then began to emit grey smoke.
After a moment's hesitation, Han Hao left empty-handed and ran past the various formations back to where Dhaka was. Soon he was there, and he immediately sent a surge of soul energy towards him.
Suddenly, in the middle of his rampage, Dhaka felt a pain in his head and immediately noticed Han Hao's presence. The physically strong Dhaka was a little weak against soul attacks, so the full force of Han Hao's soul energy strike was enough to make Dhaka feel his head splitting with pain.
He hastily stopped his wanton destruction and focused his attention on resisting the soul attack. As he did so, he noticed that the soul energy that had penetrated his consciousness had vanished in the next instant. Not far from him, Han Hao looked a little panicked as he tried to flee.
"Hmph, you came to die, didn't you?" Dhaka grinned and couldn't wait to give chase. He wasn't a cultivator of the Edict of Death, so even if Han Hao had mastered the power of the Quintessence Shard, he would still be immune to its effects.
Therefore, while Dagmar was afraid of Han Hao, Dhaka was not.