Natural elves, dark elves, and earth elves-all were here, but John saw no sign of the Blues Family members.
According to Lincoln, Chris and the others were supposed to be imprisoned here too.
John couldn’t help but worry about the Blues Family’s safety.
The Shadow Clan soldiers hadn’t left yet, so, imitating Hamen’s manner, he barked, “Stop dawdling and get to work!”
He noticed that the elves were in rough shape, clearly subjected to relentless mistreatment.
It seemed that all Skyline Continent races here were suffering.
“Filthy lapdog!” hissed a cold female voice, followed by a spat of saliva landing at his feet.
It was Tanya, the dark elf.
John felt a flash of anger but quickly reminded himself-he was Hamen now.
Tanya’s disgust wasn’t directed at him, but at Hamen.
“Sister Tanya, don’t be impulsive,” whispered another elf beside her, casting a resentful glare at John as well.
He ignored them, urging, “Hurry up with your tasks!”
Tanya and the others hesitated, clearly thrown off.
Ordinarily, Hamen would be swaggering around, brandishing his stick and shouting threats, ready to hit and insult them at any moment.
“What’s with this guy today?” Tanya muttered in suspicion.
Bonnie stepped forward, speaking softly, “Let’s not cause trouble. Let’s just get to work.”
“Fine.” The women shot John one last icy glare before entering the herb garden to tend to and harvest the spirit herbs.
Once the Shadow Clan soldiers left, John discreetly followed the elves into the garden.
All around, the elves gave him hostile looks.
While the Skyline Continent humans lowered their heads in fear at his presence.
Ignoring them, he finally located Bonnie.
“Bonnie…” he started, only to be cut off abruptly.
“Get lost, creep, before you get what’s coming to you!” Bonnie snapped, her eyes flashing with anger.
A few elves crowded around, glaring icily at him.
“What? Do you need your Shadow Clan ‘daddy’ to protect you again? Come on, let’s see what you’ve got,” Tanya taunted, two daggers appearing in her hands, her gaze fierce.
Without the Shadow Clan’s suppressive energy, her strength hadn’t been diminished in the least.
“Creep?” John’s eye twitched, though he couldn’t help but agree with Bonnie’s opinion of Hamen.
Ignoring Tanya, he whispered, “Relax. It’s me, Godslayer.”
“What? You’ve got some nerve! You think you look anything like the real Godslayer? You’re not even fit to polish his boots!” Tanya spat angrily.
John frowned slightly, not offended in the least-if anything, he found her reaction amusing. “Tanya.” Bonnie gave her a sharp look, her curiosity piqued as she looked closer at John.
She too had noticed that “Hamen” was acting a bit…unlike himself.
Realizing no Shadow Clan soldiers were nearby, John quickly dropped his god-level disguise, revealing his true face.
Bonnie’s eyes widened in shock and delight, her disbelief clear. “My lord, it’s really you!”
Tears shimmered in her eyes, a hint of her pent-up sorrow and relief breaking through.
John gestured for her to keep quiet and then resumed his Hamen disguise to avoid drawing unwanted attention from the Shadow Clan guards.
Bonnie composed herself and threw a stern look at the gathering elves.
Everyone understood and quickly dispersed, focusing on their work.
“Um, Lord Godslayer, I… I didn’t mean to insult you…” Tanya muttered, her head lowered, unable to meet John’s eyes.
Her demeanor had completely shifted from earlier.
“Get back to work,” Bonnie commanded coolly.
Tanya stuck out her tongue playfully, then hurried off.
Bonnie sighed in relief, seeing that the Shadow Clan soldiers hadn’t noticed anything amiss, and whispered, “My lord, what brings you here?”
“I came to rescue you all. I’m sorry for what you’ve been through,” John said apologetically.
He knew Bonnie had entered Shadow Star ahead of him to help.
“It’s all right,” Bonnie smiled faintly and continued, “But, my lord, these Shadow Clan elites are strange and unpredictable. Please, don’t expose yourself. We’re safe enough here.”
She didn’t want John to take unnecessary risks.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it under control,” John assured her, then asked in a low voice, “What about the Blues Family disciples? Didn’t they enter the herb garden with you?”
“They escaped,” Bonnie replied quietly.
“Escaped?” John was surprised. “How did they manage that?”
The Blues Family disciples had grown stronger, but their highest rank was only ninth tier- not even as powerful as some of the elves. How could they have escaped?
Bonnie nodded. “I’m not exactly sure how they did it. Chris tried to get a message to me, but Hamen was watching too closely, so I had to let them go first.”
John frowned. This was Shadow Star, crawling with Hunters and powerful spirit beasts.
Rumor had it that even the weakest of these spirit beasts were at the seventh tier, with some reaching the strength of peak upper-tier gods.
Sensing his concern, Bonnie added, “Don’t worry, my lord. They’re probably safe. I received a message from Chris recently-just two words: Snow Mountain.”
“Snow Mountain?” John echoed, looking around curiously. All he could see was an endless plain; there were no mountains in sight, let alone a snow-covered one.
“Is there a snow mountain around here?” he asked.
Bonnie shook her head, indicating she didn’t know either.
“Never mind; first, let’s get you all out of here,” John decided. As long as Chris and the others were safe, he’d find a way to reach them in time.
He glanced at the Shadow Clan soldiers in the distance. They were grouped together in small clusters, entirely unconcerned with what was happening nearby.
Seizing the opportunity, John activated his World-in-Hand, instantly transporting all the
elves and Skyline Continent humans into it for safekeeping.
He then turned his attention to the entire herb garden, wondering if he could possibly transfer it into his World-in-Hand.
Deciding to give it a try, he activated his ability.
Buzz!
A massive surge of spatial power rippled through the area, immediately alerting the nearby Shadow Clan soldiers.
“What’s going on?” one soldier muttered, frowning as he eyed John suspiciously.
“Wait, that’s World-in-Hand! This guy isn’t Hamen. Stop him!” Realizing what was happening, the Shadow Clan soldiers rushed forward.
Unfazed, John simply absorbed the entire group of soldiers along with the entire herb garden
into his World-in-Hand.
He entered the World-in-Hand himself and promptly eliminated the Shadow Clan soldiers in
a decisive display of force.
The herb garden now appeared beside the Tree of Life within his World-in-Hand, yet there seemed to be no immediate changes to the space itself.
“Bonnie! It’s such a relief-you’re alive!” a few women rushed to greet Bonnie and the
others, delighted to see them safe.
John briefly explained the situation and didn’t linger. He exited the World-in-Hand.
Returning to the now barren area where the herb garden once stood. All that remained was a
lone teleportation array in the distance.
The unique atmosphere of Shadow Star-its oppressive aura filled with violence and bloodlust-gradually seeped back into the surroundings, engulfing the area.
Satisfied that there was nothing else of value nearby, he transformed into a Hunter and flew
into the sky, carefully scanning the vast landscape in search of the “Snow Mountain” Bonnie
had mentioned.
Yet, within a radius of thousands of miles, there was nothing but endless plains, swarming with Hunters and the occasional powerful spirit beast. There was no sign of a mountain range, let alone a snow-capped peak.
Frustrated, he knew Cand-Dragon and Chris’s group were the last ones he needed to rescue.
He’d have to find an opportunity to use Memory Extraction on the upper-tier god he’d
captured within his World-in-Hand.
Disabling his disguise, he summoned his Beast Clan avatar to merge back with his main body.
Meanwhile, back at the mine, everything appeared to be proceeding as usual.
The workers continued struggling under the weight of the ore.
And while additional Shadow Clan soldiers had gathered, they were stationed around the
mine’s perimeter, not entering directly.
John headed into the mine and found Quagmire and Dumas, quietly asking, “Have you ever
heard of a Snow Mountain?”
“Snow Mountain?” Both of them paused, a hint of bitterness in their expressions.
Quagmire replied, “Sir, where did you hear that? That place doesn’t exist.”
“It doesn’t?” John pressed. “Tell me everything you know.”
Quagmire looked confused but explained, “It’s just a legend. I suspect the Shadow Clan
started it to give us a false hope. According to the tale, Snow Mountain is a sacred place that the Shadow Clan can’t access-only strong individuals from other races can enter freely. Over the years, many desperate people have escaped in search of Snow Mountain. But not long after, every one of them was captured and tortured mercilessly. That Snow Mountain doesn’t
exist…”
John frowned deeply.
He didn’t believe this Snow Mountain was merely a legend.
And based on the message from Chris, it seemed they had already made it to Snow Mountain.
John suspected that Snow Mountain was likely a hidden secret area that required finding an
entrance to access.
Whether the Shadow Clan truly couldn’t enter remained uncertain.
He decided that tonight, once no one was watching, he would enter his World-in-Hand and use Memory Extraction on the upper-tier god Shadow Clan warrior he had captured.
For now, he and the others continued hauling ore without drawing any attention from the
Shadow Clan soldiers.
News of the herb garden’s disappearance didn’t spread until later in the afternoon.
…
Once again, several city lords gathered, their expressions grim and resentful.
Since the herb garden wasn’t technically a resource of the Shadow Continent, its disappearance hadn’t been detected immediately.
But the spirit herbs it contained were vital, even more scarce and valuable than Shadow Ore.
“We absolutely cannot let this go unanswered!” one of them said through clenched teeth.
A gray-robed man beside him spoke up as well. “I’ve investigated. Only two races have descended into our territory-members of the Witch Clan and the Nature Clan.”
“It must be the Nature Clan’s Overseer behind this. They’ve coveted the Immortal Herb Garden for a long time!” Another slammed a fist on the table in anger.
“Right. The Nature Clan is closely tied with the elves…” The group murmured in agreement, each casting suspicion on the Nature Clan, convinced they were the culprits.
“Boss, what’s our move? Say the word,” they all turned to the young man seated at the head
of the table.
The young man, frowning, tapped the table rhythmically as he considered.
After a long pause, he clenched his fist decisively and said, “Retaliate! But we need to be fully prepared-Nature Clan has three Overseers under their command, all at two-star strength.” “Don’t worry, boss. Over the past few days, we’ve mined over seven thousand units of Spirit Stone ore-more than enough to crush them,” one of them said excitedly. “That much?” the young man raised his eyebrows in surprise.