Chapter 730: Blood-Horn Shura
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Han Sen was in the midst of preparing for his journey. His road up to the Black Desert would most likely be free from trouble, but the difficulties would begin after he entered that land. He would have to cross that perilous region before he reached another human shelter where he could restock his provisions.
According to the Ares Martial Hall's predictions, should nothing too awry present itself, it would take Han Sen a month to cross the Black Desert. If troubles did arise, no one knew whether or not he would emerge from that place ever again.
Huangfu Pingqing advised Han Sen not to go, saying that his mother was in a big human shelter and that there was no danger there. Even if Han Sen wanted to give her something, he could have sent it via delivery. He didn't have to go in person.
But Han Sen knew that what he wanted to give his mother was not something he could easily trade; that was why he wanted to go there and visit her himself.
"Don't worry; I have a super pet. I will be fine." Han Sen smiled at Huangfu Pingqing while talking with her on the communicator.
Huangfu Pingqing merely sighed in response and said, "Do not underestimate that place. Our people have only traveled there once. A team comprised of one hundred people were sent in, yet only two made it out half-alive. Those who made it out weren't even sure how they did so."
"Their account detailed an encounter with a black dragon in the Black Desert. But another monster swallowed the black dragon up, and it looked like a phoenix. They spoke of mountains that moved, pits in the sands that consumed creatures, and worse. That place is far too dangerous for anyone to venture alone."
"How can dragons and phoenix exist in this world? This is not mythology; they are merely creatures. These beasts you speak of are most likely super creatures, at worst. And it's not like I haven't killed a super creature before." Han Sen smiled again.
"I know my attempts at swaying your resolve to go there are futile, but still, I would like you to think about it and perhaps reconsider," Huangfu Pingqing said.
"Senior, when I make it to the other side, await my report. I'll make sure to contact you and let you know of my success in making it through." Again, Han Sen smiled.
"Okay, if you're that determined, how about you transport some beast souls on my behalf?" Huangfu Pingqing asked, with a wry smile.
…...
After his preparations were complete, Han Sen brought along the silver fox and left the Goddess Shelter. He traveled in the direction of the Devil's Mountain, and once over, he planned to veer away and head towards the Black Desert.
But after arriving at the trail leading up and over the Devil's Mountain, he frowned. Immediately, he did not feel safe.
"I have walked this trail many times; there shouldn't be a threat. And I'm not Wang Yuhang, so I can't be unlucky enough to have misfortune befall me." Despite Han Sen thinking this, he opened up his Dongxuan Sutra to scan the surrounding environment for life forces. He wanted to see if there were any powerful creatures in the vicinity.
In the next second, Han Sen's face changed. He sensed the presence of many powerful creatures, all about. He could sense the force of these creatures, but he could not tell what they were.
Still, just sensing such life forces was enough to make Han Sen almost panic. The energies he sensed were greater than sacred-blood creatures, but not quite in the realm of super creatures.
Han Sen was more than surprised, because he had never sensed something like this before. Each of the energy life forces were different, but when he looked deeper, the forces seemed comparable to his own strength. The fitness of whatever awaited him had to be at least two hundred.
But this was a strange number; sacred-blood creatures don't reach such levels, and super creatures were never so low. Even the silver fox had a stronger energy reading.
There were more than twenty of these life forces, as well. Things were taking a strange turn.
"What is this?" Han Sen continued to scan his vicinity, and he noticed that the presences were approaching him quickly. Then, he saw some people appear before him from a nearby forest.
When Han Sen saw these people emerge, he could not help but shout, "Shura! How is this possible?!"
Han Sen saw that each person had a horn protruding from their head: the sign of a male Shura.
But Shura were unable to exist in this place, as they could not use beast souls. But as clear as day, Han Sen could see them clad in beast soul armor, wielding beast soul weaponry.
"What is this? What's going on? Why are there Shura here, in the shelter? Did the Shura figure out how to survive here in this world?" Han Sen was shocked. If what he was seeing was true, then humanity was assuredly doomed.
Quickly, however, Han Sen realized something was wrong. Although they had horns, similar to the Shura, their colors were off.
The horns of a Shura could be black, white, gold and purple—there were no red horns—which was what he was seeing now.
Yet, the horns of those he was observing now were clearly not decorations, or some strange accessory or apparatus; they protruded from the bones of their skulls just like the ones belonging to the Shura did.
If they were humans, they must have consumed super geno points. Otherwise, their energy would not be as strong as it was. They were much stronger than humans.
Whoosh!
One of the blood-horned Shura's let loose an arrow from a beast soul bow. The arrow flew directly towards Han Sen with frightening power. It cracked the air in two and approach him quickly.
Dong!
The adiraid appeared in front of Han Sen and broke the beast soul arrow. But this did not appease or make Han Sen any happier; if anything, it made him look glummer than ever. The power of the arrow was almost as strong as what Han Sen himself could achieve.
"Who are you people?!" Han Sen called out, eager to know whether or not they were Shura.
"We are the ones who have come to kill you," the man who fired an arrow coldly responded. He gestured with his hand, and he and his twenty-two blood-horned compatriots charged towards Han Sen.
On the other side of the peak, Zhao Lian was holding up a pair of binoculars. He was watching every little move with keen interest, and he recorded the results.
"First stage: Angel Gene Fluid versus a super pet. Let's see what happens." Zhao Lian looked excited, and he was eager to find out what was going to happen.
But Zhao Lian knew that these evolvers, despite having a fitness level of over one hundred and having consumed the Angel Gene Fluid, would still not have what it took to take down a super creature. Their primary target was Han Sen, after all.
But no matter how strong the super pet was, there was only one of it. It would not be able to protect Han Sen when he was surrounded.
"It is a shame, though. It is a shame that I must sacrifice Zhao Long and all his people on the account of cutting down that Han Sen. We should have loosed these warriors against a super creature." Zhao Lian felt sorry because the beast soul would disappear into The Empty upon Han Sen's death, and Zhao Long would not be able to test his mettle against the super pet.
The people who had consumed the Angel Gene Fluid were dead men walking, too. They could serve no purpose in the future.
Dong!
The adiraid swung her sword as Zhao Long and his people approached with firm haste. In a formation, they looked set to deal with the attack. The adiraid was a really powerful, oppressive force, but killing them in a short amount of time would be difficult.
Eight of the people with blood-horns surrounded Han Sen.