Han Tu undoubtedly came from the crack in the ground. However, Bollands, Gilbert and Sanguis only glanced at it, with no intention of going through it.
"You should go!" Bollands said, pointing to the warriors behind him. Most of them had been trained by Bollands and would never hesitate to do as he commanded. Without hesitation, they jumped into the crack in the ground.
Miller's smile faded as a gentle breeze blew from his palm. A barrier formed over the crack in the ground and the warriors who had entered were sent bouncing back out.
"When I say no one leaves, I mean it!" Miller approached Han Hao menacingly, his every step causing a small whirlwind to form, eventually covering the entire area.
Han Hao blinked as the seven bone spurs shot out of his back towards the wind barrier over the crack. With a loud crack, a hole was ripped in the barrier.
"Go, now!" Bollands yelled. The warriors quickly leapt into the crack, leaving none of their own behind. This time there was nothing to stop them.
"You three too, go!" Han Hao said without even looking back. A red glow shone in his purple eyes as he stared at the approaching Miller. Specters emerged from the bone spear in his hand and gathered around him.
"Han Hao, we're not leaving!" Gilbert said stubbornly, "We can't watch you die for us! If we're going to die, let's all die together!"
"Hahaha, well said. You should all die together!" Miller grinned and struck without warning. Strong gusts of wind shot out of nowhere at the three of them, enveloping them completely.
With a flick of his hand, he used the cold wind to form a sharp, saw-toothed blade and slashed at them. The blade spun at high speed and covered the whole of Han Hao. The sudden surge of Miller's power showed off his abilities as the Overgod of Wind. Only those on the same level as him could stand a chance against him; those weaker than him would undoubtedly be trapped by the strong winds.
"How dare you little fries act so arrogantly?" Miller sneered. He didn't consider Bollands and the others his equal. Even Sanguis, who had broken through the barrier he had erected, deserved the slightest bit of caution. He didn't think Sanguis could really fight him on equal terms.
Though he continued to taunt them arrogantly, Miller was actually paying close attention to Han Hao, who was currently being trapped by the saw-toothed wind blade. As far as he was concerned, Han Hao was the only troublesome one among them, but even then, he was someone Miller didn't need to use his full strength against.
Suddenly, Miller's expression changed. "What?!"
Loud wailing and screaming could be heard from Han Hao's direction as a gigantic silhouette formed. The figure clawed and bit at its surroundings, destroying everything in its path.
The blade formed from Miller's wind energy shattered into countless fragments as soon as the figure bit down on it, dissipating the wind element that made it up. They could never reassemble into the solid blade again.
At the same time, Han Hao's bone spear opened its wide, hideous mouth, resembling a hellish dragon that had emerged from its prison in the abyss for the first time in eons. It radiated endless hatred and killing intent as it closed in for a bite.
Miller's expression was grave. There was no longer any hint of underestimation coming from him. He knew now that Han Hao was his equal.
Suddenly, Miller's body began to spin rapidly, forming a huge tornado with him in the centre. The tornado stretched into the sky, covering an area ten kilometres across. All the vegetation and rocks were crushed and absorbed into the tornado.
Miller was now at the eye of the storm, constantly feeding energy into his colossal creation that threatened to engulf everything. Not only did it suck in everything it could, it even managed to pull in Han Hao's bone spear.
Sounds of screaming and howling could be heard from within the tornado. The moment the bone spear entered, the tornado began to slow down, as if it was using all of its power to move a mountain.
"Go, now!" Han Hao shouted as he sent out his bone spur to dissipate the wind energy binding them. Bollands and the others were quite shocked by this development.
"I'm not his equal yet, so I can only hold him back for a while. I can't defeat him!" Han Hao explained before charging into the rift himself.
Bollands and the others did not hesitate to follow. If Miller was someone even Han Hao admitted he couldn't defeat, then the three of them didn't stand a chance. They had no choice but to run.
The moment they hit the ground, the crack above them closed again. There wasn't a trace of it left.
At the same time, the bone spear that Han Hao had thrown into the tornado suddenly weighed much more than before and sank into the ground. One by one, mounds of earth filled the tornado, spreading the power it channeled to the point where the tornado could no longer sustain the spin.
The bone spear fell straight onto one of the hills before disappearing beneath it like a drop of water in the ocean. At the same time, the terrifying energy that had previously filled the tornado was nowhere to be found.
With the bone spear gone, it took the power of the earth with it. The hills that had sprouted instantly lost their support and crumbled to the ground. Miller's body could be seen once more. He looked thoughtfully at the ground and praised, "It seems that this is thanks to the man called Han Tu. The House of Han really do have some interesting cultivation techniques. Fortunately, this time they used some very interesting devices. Otherwise, my journey would have been wasted.
*****
Back underground, Gilbert said, "Han Hao, where's your weapon? Did you throw it away?" He knew how important the bone spear was to him. Seeing it left on the surface made him feel quite worried.
Han Hao turned and said, "It's coming."
Before Gilbert could react, the bone spear suddenly burst out of the muddy wall beside them and landed in Han Hao's hand.
"Han Hao, how many have we lost?" Bolland's expression was cold and grim. Those who had followed them weren't the only ones who had left Pandemonium. Surely there were more who hadn't escaped Miller's slaughter, considering that even they had barely made it.
"More than fifty were killed, but most of them were mine. Most of yours are fine, so don't worry," he replied calmly after a moment's thought.
Bollands was shocked and wondered why most of the casualties were Han Hao's, although something seemed to occur to him later. After some hesitation, he said, "Thank you!
Han Hao nodded without saying much as he quickened his pace to head towards the Pandemonium Underground Palace.
After a while, they arrived at a large stone room within the palace. The Five Elite Zombies, Stratholme, Zovic and Rose had gathered there. They all seemed to be in a rather foul mood.
When Hao Hao arrived, he asked, "Where are Ossora and the others?"
"They are in the guest room not far from here," Stratholme said. After some hesitation, he said, "What the hell is wrong with this Ossora? Why didn't he make sure he wasn't being followed and lead the pursuers here? We lost a lot of people. Rose and Zovic barely made it back alive, thanks to all the digging Han Tu did."
"Guest room, huh? It's inside the underground palace, right?"
"Yes." Stratholme found Han Hao's reaction a little odd. Back then, Ossora had saved Pandemonium from being destroyed by Salas. And this time, he had come with reinforcements to help them in their time of need. If anything, they should be welcomed inside.
"Who was it that brought Ossora here?" Han Hao asked coldly, "Didn't I instruct him to stay above ground before I left to find Gilbert and the others?"
"Ossora was the one who said he wanted to come in for a look. He saved Pandemonium back then and has a good relationship with Bryan, so there's nothing inappropriate about it, is there?" Phoebe said with a furrowed brow. She also found Han Hao's attitude a little off.
"The Underground Palace is the home base of the House of Han! Father said not to let outsiders in! Let me ask you this: do you think Ossora is an outsider?" Han Hao said, glaring at Phoebe coldly. Then he turned to Zovic and ordered, "Get Ossora out of here. Either he stays somewhere above ground or in the mountains where Goron and the others are."
"Isn't that rude to our guest?" Phoebe snapped.
"There's something fishy about Ossora! Given his power, there's no way he wouldn't have noticed the pursuers following him! The fact that he didn't mention it when he met us shows that he's planning something!" He paused to take a deep breath. "Zovic, what are you waiting for?"
Zovic glanced at Phoebe. Seeing that she was seriously considering Han Hao's accusations, he hesitated.
Deciding that he would rather insult Phoebe than Han Hao, he left immediately.