Without the support of the Dhaka trio, the Godhunters were no match for the Han Guards. Their slaughter continued with no end in sight.
Rose, Romon, Sanguis, Zovic and Bollands, the elite of the House of Han, joined in the chaotic battle. Even Han Hao's subordinates, be they members of the Han household guard or his personal subordinates, used demonic battle formations to fight the Godhunters.
The invaders were completely outmatched. When Ossora arrived with his own men, it only served to hasten the demise of the Godhunters. They had no choice but to flee rather than wait for Dhaka and the others to return to help them.
By that time, they had already suffered heavy losses at the hands of Han Hao in the Three-Mountain Valley, and most of them have still not recovered from the injuries they suffered that day. Faced with the fearsome Guards, it was as if they had forgotten that their leaders were not with them as they fled.
As they ran, the warriors of the Han household gave chase. Using their familiarity with the terrain, they were able to ambush the fleeing Godhunters at many corners before dealing them another heavy blow.
It would have been a clean victory, however, had they not suffered an incident along the way. The guards repelling the invaders had believed themselves to be far superior to their enemies and had charged in recklessly, regardless of the risks.
They soon found that the initially confused Godhunters seemed to be gathering the courage to fight back. One by one, they lashed out like cornered rabid dogs.
Bollands, Sanguis and Gilbert fought at the forefront and were shocked by the change. They couldn't understand why the desperate Godhunters were suddenly fighting back with renewed fervour, regardless of their own losses. They were obviously no match for the warriors of the House of Han Guards , yet they seemed to have gained a newfound confidence to fight back. What was the source of their new fighting spirit?
Bollands sensed that something was wrong. Before the Godhunters could approach, he ordered, " Fall Back!
"Why? They've come to die and we're just fulfilling their wishes! Haha, I'm afraid we don't have enough of them to kill," Gilbert said as he gave Bollands a curious look.
"Something's wrong!" he replied, "Everyone, Fall Back , Now!"
"Gilbert, go!" Sanguis shouted as soon as he saw Gilbert start to argue. "There are reinforcements. I can feel a lot of killing intent coming towards us!"
Gilbert, now genuinely frightened, wasted no more time talking and retreated as he shouted, "Everyone, retreat! Stop chasing, it's a bloody trap!"
As soon as the guards heard Gilbert's warning, they turned back the way they had come. At that moment, many experts suddenly appeared from behind the fleeing Godhunters. The colour of their outfits made it clear that they weren't Dhaka's, Dagmar's or Asser's subordinates, although they seemed just as bloodthirsty. One thing was beyond question: they too were Godhunters.
"They're the ones chasing Ossora. Damn, didn't he just say that he managed to lose them?" Sanguis snapped as he glanced behind him.
Thanks to their timely reaction, their subordinates might have been spared. While the leaders might have survived the clash, the other ordinary warriors of the House of Han would have perished in the sudden onslaught.
Just the thought of that possibility made Sanguis want to curse Ossora for inadvertently leading those people into pandemonium. The least he could do was make sure he wasn't being followed before he got to Pandemonium.
"Quick, run!" Bollands shouted louder as he felt a huge presence behind him. There was definitely a Hegemon among the pursuers.
One look was enough to tell them that they were no match for the new invaders. Suddenly, a gentle breeze caused a person to manifest.
With a gentle smile, the Hegemon Miller created a wind barrier in front of Sanguis, Gilbert and Bollands.
The three men in front of Sanguis couldn't stop in time and rammed into the barrier, only to be repelled. None of them managed to break through.
Suddenly, a fierce tornado of the divine energy of an Overgod formed near them. The air itself became the sharpest of blades, ripping at the warriors' skin and flesh before tearing their bodies apart in an instant.
Sanguis's eyes became bloodshot, and he drew his blood-coloured sword, unleashing a beam five metres long that made the air smell of blood. Fresh blood seemed to flow around the sword itself, making it appear even more sinister. Sanguis's body turned into a bloody glow before merging with his sword and plunging into Miller's barrier at full speed.
With a ripping sound, a large hole opened in the barrier, allowing three people to pass through at once. Sanguis was the first through, with Bollands and Gilbert following. Some of their subordinates quickly noticed the opening and went in after them, escaping the wind barrier.
But several dozen others weren't so lucky. Before they could escape, they found that the hole had closed again. This time, the barrier had been reinforced with even denser wind elements, completely sealing off their escape route.
"Hmph!" Miller's expression was one of surprise, as he had not expected Sanguis to breach his barrier. Though he had casually constructed the barrier on the spot, it still wasn't something that could be easily damaged. Sanguis's ability to channel all the power of his momentum into a sharp point, to be unleashed in the shortest possible time for unparalleled destruction, broadened Miller's horizons.
With an even thicker layer of wind element reinforcing the barrier, Miller continued his assault with wind blades on the remaining warriors, turning them into bloody paste. Then he turned into a gust of wind, blowing through the barrier he had effortlessly created to catch up with Sanguis and the rest.
"What about the rest?" Gilbert roared as he left the barrier.
Bollands said nothing. His expression was deadly cold. He knew there were some warriors who wouldn't make it. Guards of their calibre wouldn't last a few seconds against Miller. Gilbert's concern was unwarranted; they would surely be dead by now.
Seeing Bollands remain silent, Gilbert could already guess what had happened to them. His eyes reddened as he decided to turn around and put up a desperate fight. Suddenly, his body stopped in mid-air; it seemed he would not retreat.
"Grab him!" Bollands said to Sanguis, before immediately reaching out himself. He and Sanguis each managed to grab one of his arms before flying back towards Pandemonium, ignoring Gilbert's protests.
"Little one, you have a truly unique power. Haha... stay and let us investigate what exactly it is!" Miller said from behind them. Suddenly, he surrounded the three of them with another wind barrier that couldn't even be compared to the one from before.
As soon as Sanguis saw the barrier, he turned around and glared at Miller. He knew that he wouldn't be able to break through the barrier this time, so he didn't waste any effort. It would be more productive to fight Miller. Even if he couldn't kill him, he could at least hurt him if he fought hard enough.
The moment Bollands and Gilbert saw Sanguis give up trying to escape, they knew they were at a crucial point. It was as if they had left the panic of earlier behind them as they focused their hateful gazes on Miller.
The other warriors stood quietly behind them. Not one of them showed the slightest sign of weakness or fear. They seemed completely calm, as if death was nothing more than an unpleasant inconvenience for which they had already prepared.
Miller was in no hurry to attack. He made sure to study their expressions before praising them, "As expected from elite troops such as yourselves. No wonder Dhaka and the rest crumbled like that. Now you have a choice. Either surrender your souls immediately and swear allegiance to me, or be killed by me right now!"
"Who could you possibly kill?" someone shouted from the depths of the area. A tear suddenly appeared beneath Bollands as a grim-faced Han Hao appeared with his bone spear. He glanced at Miller before turning to Bollands and the others. "You have no business here. Get back to Pandemonium from below!"
"Haha, I've heard a lot about your reputation, Han Hao. You certainly seem to be living up to it!" Miller said as he clapped excitedly. "But do you think you'll be able to protect them?"
"You can try!" Han Hao focused his full attention on Miller, aiming his bone spear at him as he would at a great enemy. The seven bone spurs on his back also began to tremble violently.