Chapter Seventy-Nine: Breaking Through the Barrier

The two remaining swordsmen, one an advanced swordsman and the other Phoebe, an intermediate warrior, were already enough to doom their enemies to certain death. Han Shuo’s turning around merely hastened their demise. With a flash from his spatial ring, Han Shuo gripped his crossbow, nocked a bolt, and aimed at one of them. As they suddenly tried to retreat, Han Shuo’s bolt had already been loosed, flying toward the advanced swordsman’s back.

The fleeing advanced swordsman had no choice but to turn and block. But by the time he shattered the bolt, Phoebe was already standing before him.

The little skeleton, who had just skewered the fire mage, leapt nimbly from the rooftop, clutching a pouch in its left hand. After a rattle of bones, it stood with its bone blade before the other intermediate swordsman.

As Han Shuo strode over with a cold sneer, the two swordsmen suddenly drew their swords across their own throats and fell to the ground.

“These are people from ‘Shadow Remnant.’ If they know there’s no way out, they always choose to end their own lives,” Phoebe said, shaking her head and sheathing her sword into her spatial ring, a crease of displeasure on her brow.

At that moment, the little skeleton went to the two corpses and began to expertly search their belongings. Once it had another two pouches hanging from its left arm, it happily walked over to Han Shuo, handing him all three pouches.

Smiling, Han Shuo patted the little skeleton’s skull, took the pouches, and after a single glance, cursed aloud, “Damn it, three paupers, and only about a dozen gold coins among them!”

Phoebe rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. She didn’t bother searching the corpses and said, “I’ve never seen someone as greedy as you. Don’t waste your time searching them. You won’t find anything. The ‘Shadow Remnant’ people never carry anything important when they go out on a job, so give up—they won’t bring you any riches.”

Hearing this, Han Shuo cursed again. After chanting a spell to dismiss the little skeleton, he grinned and asked, “Didn’t you leave with Grandfather Andrew? Why did you come back suddenly?”

“You’re hurt?” Phoebe exclaimed, quickly moving to Han Shuo. When she saw the bloody gashes where wind blades had cut him, her expression grew anxious. Her spatial ring flashed, and she produced bandages and medicine. With little hesitation, Phoebe said softly, “Hold still.”

Han Shuo was moved to see Phoebe show such concern—something rare for her. He stood there, dazed, watching as she carefully applied medicine to his wounds and bandaged him.

Once she was done, Phoebe tugged at Han Shuo, breathed a sigh of relief, and said, “You certainly know how to pick a place. This alley is surrounded by two mansions, but nobody’s home. Even with such a fierce battle here, no one came out—it seems the houses haven’t been sold yet. Still, we can’t linger. The guards here aren’t strict, but soldiers patrol from time to time. We’d better leave soon.”

“Let’s go,” Han Shuo agreed, following Phoebe northward through the city. On the way, he asked, “By the way, you never told me why you suddenly came back?”

Looking around to be sure they were alone, Phoebe lowered her voice. “In Grandfather Andrew’s carriage, he told me that Grover has been trading with the savage orcs, selling imperial weapons to them. This is a huge offense—if the empire finds out, they’ll never let him go. If I take over the business, there’s no way Grover can hide this. He’ll kill me before I can take control, or else once it’s exposed, not even his power will save him from imperial punishment. Once I learned this, I knew he’d come for you first. I was worried about you, so I left Grandfather Andrew midway to find you.”

Han Shuo nodded. “So that’s why Grover wanted us dead so quickly. Looks like as long as you have the evidence, Grover is as good as finished.”

“Exactly,” Phoebe said with a cold laugh, then sighed. “But now Ellis knows my strength. I’m sure Grover will try something again. If there’s another assassination attempt, even I might find it hard to handle.”

Han Shuo knew his own strength was limited. If even Phoebe was in danger, there was little he could do except rely on his sensitivity to assassins. After thinking a moment, he said, “I’ll leave for a while. Once I’ve recovered, I’ll come find you. Grover is our common enemy now—I know what I have to do.”

“All right. But whatever you do, don’t go back to Babylon Magic and Martial Academy. Now that Grover knows who you are, you’ll be in great danger if you stay there these next few days,” Phoebe warned after a moment’s thought.

Nodding his understanding, Han Shuo cautioned Phoebe to be careful, then left alone. The three demonic servants followed him silently until he reached the cemetery behind Babylon Magic and Martial Academy, and no further trouble appeared.

Back in the Death Cemetery, Han Shuo first cultivated his demonic arts. Under the circulation of demonic energy, his wounds felt cool and the pain diminished greatly.

After a night’s sleep, by noon the next day, he had gathered all the materials he needed. Eager, Han Shuo left the Death Cemetery and headed for the dwarven village, intending to ask the dwarven chief, Calvin, to forge the Slaughter Demon Edge for him.

The dwarven village lay in a small valley, its entrance hidden by towering trees. If Han Shuo hadn’t come with the dwarves once before, he’d never have found their home. Now, familiar with the way, he soon reached the village. Passing through the dense trees, a dwarven sentry with a sharp axe saw Han Shuo and greeted him warmly. “Oh, my friend, you’ve come again!”

Following the dwarf through a path lined with shrubs, Han Shuo entered the village. Calvin and Bennett, along with others, came out smiling to welcome him, and soon, fine wine was brought out.

The dwarves lived in wooden cabins of their own making, and some in hollowed-out tree trunks. The village had only about a hundred inhabitants, most of them women and children. Only a small number were able-bodied warriors.

Over time, Han Shuo had earned the dwarves’ sincere friendship. They were always generous with him—whenever he visited, they treated him to the best food and drink, which deeply touched him.

“Han, what brings you here this time?” Calvin greeted him with a laugh.

Han Shuo took out the materials Phoebe had prepared from his spatial ring and handed them to Calvin. “Elder, these are the materials you asked for, including enough black iron ore. Please, can you help me forge the weapon now?”

Calvin inspected the materials carefully, his face lighting up with delight. “Of course! With enough materials to forge a fine weapon, it’s a joyous occasion for us all. Don’t worry, Han—we’ll start work tomorrow. In about a week, your weapon will be ready, and I promise you’ll be satisfied.”

Relieved by his assurance, Han Shuo expressed his heartfelt gratitude. In the distance, he overheard a few dwarven women complaining softly, his keen ears catching every word.

“Winter is nearly here. Once the snow falls, we won’t have enough food. The chief has already dipped into our reserves several times to treat guests. If this goes on, I don’t know how we’ll make it through the winter!”

“Yes, and I heard that those damned ogres have been prowling nearby again. Looks like, to survive the winter, they’ll start raiding all around. If they find our village, we’ll have to move again. When will these days ever end?”

…

Han Shuo heard every word. He felt a pang of guilt—life for the dwarves was clearly much harder than he’d imagined. Yet every time he visited, they still treated him with their best. He couldn’t help but feel moved.

After a moment’s thought, Han Shuo sighed and said to Calvin, “Elder, don’t you consider me a friend?”

“Han, why would you say that? Have we done something to make you think so?” Before Calvin could answer, Bennett, who was fond of Han Shuo, cried out in surprise, looking at him in confusion.

Han Shuo shook his head and sighed. “Why do you worry about food and ogres, yet say nothing to your friend?”

“Han, it’s because you’re our good friend that we don’t want to trouble you. Besides, with your help, we’ve gotten a lot of ore. With that, we can forge many weapons—maybe we won’t need to fear those ogre brutes this year!” Calvin relaxed and smiled.

“No, Elder. Since you’re willing to use your winter stores to host me, as a friend I must do something in return. Don’t worry, I’ll go to the human lands and help you get enough food for the winter. Whatever else you need, I’ll help bring too.”

“That’s too much. Even as friends, we can’t trouble you. We’ve thought of buying supplies from the humans, but the journey through the Dark Forest is long and dangerous—there are magical beasts and hostile adventurers. That’s why we stay here. Han, if you helped us buy those things, it would cost you a lot of gold coins. We can manage if we try—we’ll make it through winter,” Calvin replied.

“It’s settled,” Han Shuo said firmly. “I’ll take care of the winter food and the ogre threat. You just focus on forging weapons—leave the rest to me.”

Han Shuo calculated quickly: with about a hundred dwarves, his spatial ring could easily carry enough food if he made a few trips. Buying from Phoebe wouldn’t cost much—just a small favor, and he was more than willing to help the dwarves.

“Thank you! For my children and the mothers in the village, thank you!” A dwarven woman, bringing fruit, overheard Han Shuo’s promise and, overcome with emotion, performed a deep dwarven bow of gratitude.

“Go on now,” Calvin chided gently, then turned to Han Shuo, equally grateful. “Han, we only know how to brew fine wine and forge weapons. We rarely deal with humans and have little gold. We’d like to repay you with our wine and some weapons—otherwise, I can’t accept your kindness!”

Han Shuo wasn’t after their wine or weapons, but knowing the dwarves’ stubbornness, he agreed in the end.

With Han Shuo’s promise of winter food, excitement swept through the village. Even Calvin, usually reserved, drank heartily with Han Shuo. The dwarves’ wine was indeed sweet and aromatic—far better than the best Han Shuo had tasted at the Buster Trading House the night before.

With the Slaughter Demon Edge in good hands, Han Shuo was in high spirits and enjoyed a raucous night with the dwarves. But because of his cultivation, demonic energy quickly sobered him once he left the village. He returned alert and vigilant to the Death Cemetery.

Before beginning his meditation, Han Shuo contemplated one more thing: to test the barrier that had blocked him from the deeper levels of the Death Cemetery, to see if his current spiritual power could break through.

Using the green orb to open the passage, Han Shuo focused his mind and charged in. A stabbing pain instantly filled his head, but, long accustomed to the agony of training with the green orb, Han Shuo gritted his teeth and pushed his demonic energy to its limit, forcing his way forward.

With a crisp “crack,” Han Shuo’s body tilted as he burst through the invisible barrier and tumbled down into the depths below.