Chapter 304: Memory search

“The boss, the boss is dead!” A bandit screamed when he saw the three bone spears penetrate Troda’s body.

When they saw Troda killed, as well as the advancing undead creatures and Brettel soldiers, the bandits lost all their morale. They were no longer fearless of death, and instead, suddenly felt an ardent desire to live. No one thought of exacting revenge for Troda’s death. Instead, they all fled in panic.

Using the bone staff to cast a necromancy magic spell that wrapped around the hazy green shimmering souls, Han Shuo solemnly chanted obscure incantations to extract the memories of these souls. After that was done, he put away the bone staff with a flourish. The souls turned into green wisps of 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 disposing of the corpse. Han Shuo let out a light breath of satisfaction after collecting Troda’s wealth and memories. He looked into the distance to see 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 take the front and start attacking the incoming bandits along with the soldiers.

Fulkin and the mountain people of Mount Tali also charged down from the mountain. They cooperated with the Brettel soldiers in order to surround and exterminate the Redbeard bandits, who were all one step away from a rout 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 to be defeated 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 to absorb the power of these souls. However, the Demonslayer Edge in his chest still silently absorbed this energy, a thing difficult to observe with the naked eye.

Standing high in the sky, Han Shuo discovered the little skeleton riding a huge, bizarre roaring porcupine and running down all the escaped bandits. The earth elite zombie, wood elite zombie, and ten evil knights were fighting together as they ranged from one stray bandit group to the next.

Han Shuo issued an order, and the little skeleton and zombie warriors in this area formed a battalion to collect the spoils of war from the bandits’ bodies. The undead creatures diligently searched every weapon, leather jacket, and even some fine clothes before piling them all up according to Han Shuo's instructions.

Han Shuo stopped supplying mental strength to the Canopy of Necromancy after the bandits had fled, letting it gradually scatter into 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 disintegrated.

There were no surprises left now that the big picture had been set in stone. In this battle, more than twenty seven hundred of the four thousand bandits had died. The rest had fled in a rag tag fashion. All the 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 had 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 assistance.” 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 Brettel City’s territory. It's my responsibility as the city lord to ensure your safety.” Han Shuo responded with a smile before adding, “I hope that acts as the start of a strong relationship. Brettel City is also your hometown, if you do not want to, you do not need continue living on Mount Tali.”

“Perhaps one day we’ll return to Brettel City, but it is 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 a powerful military strength.

Nodding his head, Han Shuo said smilingly, “You will see Brettel City change. Alright, we can stop here for today. I still have other matters 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 in the 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 the years hadn't been sold, but instead was hidden within a mountain with a bald top.

Troda had originally been a criminal in the Helon duchy. He had been released thanks to general amnesty when Helen Tina had succeeded the position. Upon being given his long lost freedom, Troda had become 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 vast wealth in a mountain not far from his hometown.

The current grand duchess of Helon duchy was Helen Tina, rumored to be an extremely charming woman. Despite her uncles coveting the position, this woman had displayed consideratble finesse in obtaing the position of grand duchess, becoming the only one to wield true power within Helon Duchy. None of the uncles who’d fought for the throne escaped her hand. She'd killed all of them upon succeeding the throne.

“Helon Duchy, humph!” Han Shuo snorted coldly. He traversed the dimly lit 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 heart for mercy under her command. Her Helon Duchy was the most frequent invader out of the seven grand duchies that regularly 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 horse, but Han Shuo only needed an hour using the Art of the Demonic Ninth Heavens.

Upon his arrival atop the 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 atop a fiery red phoenix, calm and at ease as she commanded her troops to attack.