Chapter 304: Memory search
When they saw Troda killed in addition from the undead creatures and Brettel soldiers, the bandits lost their fighting spirit. They were no longer fearless of death, and instead, suddenly felt an ardent desire to live. No one thought of getting revenge for Troda, they all fled in panic.
Using the bone staff to cast a necromancy magic spell that wrapped around the hazy green of the souls, Han Shuo solemnly chanted obscure incantations to collect the memories of these souls. He flourished the bone staff awhile later. The souls turned into green smoke and drifted away.
The gargoyles dragged Troda’s body over to Han Shuo. He relieved Troda’s corpse of his space ring before promptly throwing the corpse away. Han Shuo let out a light breath of satisfaction after collecting Troda’s wealth and memory. He looked to the distance to see that the chaotic battle still going on.
A portion of the heavily injured Redbeard bandits rushed towards Faulke. The soldiers who’d been shooting arrows from a safe distance were shocked and frightened as they switched gingerly from bows to broadswords and spears under Faulke’s orders. Faulke arranged for the hundred plus experienced knights to be out in front and started attacking the incoming bandits along with the soldiers.
Fulkin and the mountain people of Mount Tali had also sprinted down from the mountain. They cooperated with Brettel soldiers to surround and exterminate the Red Beard bandits, who’d were all dejected due to the death of their leader.
Han Shuo firmly grasped the situation through the three yin demons. He knew for sure that the bandits were doomed for defeat this time. The undead creatures were still slaughtering the bandits as per his orders. Having reached the separate demon realm, Han Shuo no longer needed the power from these souls. However, the Demonslayer Edge on his chest still silently absorbed this energy that was difficult to observe by the naked eyes.
Standing on a high altitude, Han Shuo discovered the little skeleton riding a huge, bizarre roaring porcupine and running all the escaped bandits down. The earth elite zombie, wood elite zombie, and ten evil knights were fighting together as they scurried around, hunting down bandits.
Han Shuo issued an order, and the little skeleton and zombie warriors in this area squatted down to collect the spoils of war from the bandits’ bodies. The undead creatures diligently searched out every weapon, leather jacket, and even some fine clothes before piling them up according to Han Shuo’s instructions.
Han Shuo stopped supplying mental strength for the Canopy of Necromancy after the bandits had fled, letting it gradually scatter to the wind. The earth gradually absorbed the Acid Bog puddles under the sunlight. The skeletons in various weird postures suddenly let out cracking sounds and collapsed.
There were no surprises now that the big picture had been set in stone. In this battle, more than twenty seven hundred out of four thousand bandits had died, the rest had fled in a bedraggled fashion. All spoils of war had been collected from the corpses, which Han Shuo ultimately handed over to Faulke’s management.
Nearly two hundred of Brettel City’s new soldiers died from the bandits’ savage attacks in this battle, while Fulkin had only lost only fifty of his people who’d rushed down from the mountain. This showed the weak power and incompetent abilities of the soldiers in the battlefield.
“Noble Sir Count, thank you for your help.” When the battle was settled, Fulkin went over to Han Shuo and bowed to pay his respects and gratitude.
“No need to stand on ceremony. Mount Tali is part of Brettle City territory. It’s my responsibility as the city lord to ensure the safety of your lives.” Han Shuo responded with a smile before adding, “I hope this is a good start. Brettel City is also your hometown, I don’t think you must continue staying on Mount Tali if you don’t want to.”
“Perhaps one day we’ll return to Brettel City, but it’s not yet the best time. Sir Count should understand our concerns.” One battle wasn’t enough to assure Fulkin. He wouldn’t dare to take the risk before Brettel City could display powerful military strength.
Nodding his head, Han Shuo said smilingly, “You will see Brettel City change. Alright, we can stop here today. I still have other things to handle.”
Paying no more attention to Fulkin, Han Shuo went over to Faulke and told him to clean up the battlefield. He then left for direction of the Helon Duchy by himself. Han Shuo had received the information about Redbeard Troda’s hidden location from the latter’s mouth. In addition to some miscellaneous crystal cards inside the space ring, the jewelry and ores that Troda had pillaged over years hadn’t been sold, but hidden within a mountain with a bald top instead.
Troda had originally been a criminal in the Helon duchy. He was released thanks to general amnesty when Helen Tina succeeded the position. Troda left the prison and returned to his long lost freedom, becoming a bandit. Even though he’d been making a mess everywhere over the past several years, he was still obsessed with his hometown. He’d hidden the wealth at a mountain not far from his hometown.
The current grand duke of Helon Duchy was Helen Tina, rumored to be an extremely charming woman. This woman had obtained with finesse the grand duke position that her uncles had coveted, becoming the true power holder of Helon Duchy. None of the uncles who fought for the throne had escaped from her hands. She’d killed them all when she’d succeeded the seat.
“Helon Duchy, humph!” Han Shuo snorted coldly. He traversed the dim sky while secretly thinking about when to make a move on this duchy.
Even though Helen Tina was a woman, the army there had no hearts for mercy in her hands. Her Helon Duchy was the most frequent invader out of the seven grand duchies that invaded Brettel City.
Helon Duchy was seven hundred li to the northeast of Brettel City. It’d take a day to travel by a fast galloping horse, but Han Shuo only needed an hour using the Art of the Demonic Ninth Heavens.
Upon his arrival at that bald-headed mountain, Han Shuo saw a large scale battle campaign that involved four grand duchies in full swing on that precise mountain. The person who Han Shuo had been secretly cursing, Helen Tina, was valiantly sitting on a fiery red phoenix, calm and at ease as she commanded the troops in an attack.