TLC: Hedonist

Tyre and Logue met up outside of Omphalos. Though the casualties suffered at the battle at Osteoburg were heavy, it wasn’t enough to truly end someone as scheming as Logue. He used those Fringian factions who had submitted to his authority as cannon fodder to take the brunt of the blow. The ones who had perished defending his Osteoburg were mostly from those factions while most of Logue’s elites had survived.

Tyre however was completely different. Having known Dhaka and the Godhunter Alliance’s plans all along, he left the Shrine of Destruction in advance without losing a single soldier.

After the huge blow he suffered, Logue was so dejected that he considered dropping out of the upcoming battle in the Fringe entirely and head to the Dominions of Space or Destiny to sit the chaos out. But before he could, he received an invitation from Tyre for a last-ditch fight in the hopes of being able to make a comeback at Omphalos.

Logue had wanted to refuse at first, thinking that they didn’t stand a good chance against the Godhunter Alliance, but after hearing what Tyre had to say, he changed his mind. Instead, he regrouped his forces to join up with Tyre with the intention of putting up one last fight against the Godhunter Alliance at Omphalos.

Tyre and Loue had their subordinates spread word that Omphalos contained the most untold riches in all of the Fringe, especially the wealth belonging to all the businesses of the Sovereigns there, especially all the black crystal coins, in an attempt to lure the Godhunter Alliance to Omphalos.

“Tyre, are you really certain that you’ll be able to wipe out all the Hegemons?” Logue asked pessimistically at a mountain peak far away.

The ever-resolute Tyre seemed to be in rather good shape. Feigning an air of absolute confidence, he smiled. “Logue, don’t you worry. There are a million tonnes of weapon-grade energy crystals buried beneath Omphalos, my personal stash that I’ve gathered over the years. As long as the Hegemons enter, I will be able to use an energy tower to detonate all those energy crystals and wipe the Hegemons and their men out in one go.”

Weapon-grade energy crystals were a type of crystal containing highly concentrated energy of remarkably high purity. A million tonnes of them exploding at the same time would be able to wipe Omphalos out completely in almost an instant. That kind of destructive power would be on-par to an all-out attack of a Quintessence Overgod and it was sure to be something even the Hegemons wouldn’t be able to survive.

After hearing Tyre’s plan, Logue cursed so hard that even his ancestors would roll in their graves. How he could be oblivious to such a large stash being piled up in Omphalos right under his nose was a mystery to which there was no answer. Thankfully, he was standing on the right side this time around, or he could be one of the unlucky few Tyre was trying to blow up.

“There are still some toxin brewers and merchants in Omphalos. What do you plan to do about them?” Logue asked while he secretly cursed Tyre for his ruthlessness.

Tyre’s lips curved into a smirk. “Those toxin brewers don’t know their place. It was only a matter of time before they perished at Omphalos, so we might as well let them accompany the Godhunter Alliance on their final journey. Besides, we need them there to be our live bait. If there’s not a single living soul in Omphalos, the godhunters wouldn’t fall for this trap that easily.”

“Hehe, let’s hope this works out!” Logue laughed as he nodded, not the slightest bit concerned about the lives that were at stake either.

......

Meanwhile, the Hegemons were all feeling rather down in the weather. After they left Pandemonium hastily, they rallied their men and began a frantic retreat from the Fringe. Not a single trace of greed remained in their distraught minds.

The power Han Shuo had shown in Pandemonium had been far too terrifying. He had single handedly erased Ossora from existence and made it look as easy as lifting a finger. This kind of power was beyond comprehension of these Hegemons from the Divine Dominions. They were frightened to their cores.

Apart from that, they feared the God of Death Nestor’s return as Han Hao had activated the Quintessence Shard of death. Having known about Nestor’s exploits in the Fringe, the Hegemons immediately knew that Nestor would be coming to Pandemonium when the Shard’s aura was released into the environment without restrain.

To think that Hegemons like them that reigned superior to most people would be just as fearful for their deaths like their subordinates... They had a primal fear for Overgods with Quintessence, who would easily be able to wipe them out. Taking Nestor’s imminent arrival and Han Shuo’s power into account, the only rational move was to flee.

The one among them who left most unwillingly was Dhaka. He had plotted the longest with Tyre to take over the share of the Fringe that should belong to the Godhunter Alliance and made lots of preparations for their shared goal, yet now, he had to leave empty handed. He knew that he would regret this for the rest of his life.

As such, when he received word about Tyre, he decided he would keep what he had just experienced in Pandemonium a secret. Instead, he claimed that they obtained a huge victory there and managed to deal a heavy blow to the House of Han, but Han Shuo still managed to escape.

The reason he told him that was he knew his younger brother’s personality. If Tyre found out that Han Shuo’s abilities had soared, he would know that he would gain nothing by attacking the Godhunter Alliance at Omphalos. That meant that there was nothing for him to gain by going against such a powerful being like Han Shuo, and he was far from the type to squander his resources with no benefit to gain for himself.

Dhaka was the one who had most to gain from obliterating the Hegemons at Omphalos. He would be able to consolidate the Godhunter Alliance’s power for himself and be its de facto ruler. Taking that into consideration, Dhaka decided to hide the truth from his younger brother, Tyre.

After their discussion, Tyre sent his men to spread rumors of the wealth in Omphalos, which soon reached the retreating godhunters. Judas from the Dominion of Light was nowhere to be seen, so they assumed he had fallen to Han Shuo at Pandemonium. With Judas gone, Dhaka was now the most influential Hegemon. After gathering up the other Hegemons, he told them about the hidden wealth.

The dejected Hegemons’ greed were stoked by Dhaka’s rumor. Seeing that was the case, Dhaka doubled down on it while the iron was still hot. Thanks to the tempting black crystal coins, the Hegemons decided they would raid Omphalos of the Sovereigns’ accumulated wealth before leaving the Fringe.

Before they came to the Fringe, they had long heard that Omphalos was a mysterious place which charged a hefty entrance fee to every god that seeked to enter it. The gods that had come to the Omphalos from the Twelve Divine Dominions were mostly from wealthy families. It went without saying that they brought a lot of black crystal coins with them before hiding out in Omphalos.

The rumors combined with Dhaka’s encouragement managed to lift the spirits of the dejected Hegemons to fight once more for the hidden riches of Omphalos.

......

After he parted with Han Shuo, Han Hao gathered his subordinates. The godhunters that served him had an aura unique to godhunters, which sometimes allowed them to elude the Godhunter Alliance’s pursuit.

There were too many godhunters in the Fringe, but thanks to the fact that the elite godhunters from the Twelve Divine Dominions were split up through the chaotic battles, Han Hao’s men managed to slip through the cracks. They scattered and spied on the Godhunter Alliance per Han Hao’s instructions, secretly paying attention to Logue and Tyre’s actions.

“Chief, we received word that the Godhunter Alliance is consolidating their forces for an attack on Omphalos. Rumor has it that the Sovereigns have a huge stash of wealth there, among which include lots of divine essences,” Polo reported as he bowed.

Back when Polo received Han Hao’s order in Pandemonium, he immediately retreated with the other godhunters through the underground tunnels to the underground palace that Han Jin and Han Tu built. He was completely oblivious of the incident with Isaiah, Regis, and Miller. Most of the godhunter troops under him were not harmed in the slightest.

“Did you find out what Logue and Tyre are up to and where they are?” Han Hao asked.

Bowing even deeper than before and revealing a trace of anxiousness, Polo replied, “Not yet. We’re still trying our best to gather more information. Our informants haven’t sent word back yet.”

Back then, Polo would smile and joke around with Han Hao as they used to have similar status. They were even friends to some extent, so he wouldn’t fear Han Shuo like his subordinates.

But now, he felt that Han Hao was completely different than before thanks to a great power within him that he could sense from time to time. Polo felt like he would be instantly annihilated by that kind of power without being able to put up the slightest resistance.

He didn’t know that Han Hao now had a Quintessence, but he could feel its fearful effects all the same, which caused him to no longer act as casually as before. Now, every word he spoke was filled with the utmost respect.

Han Hao also knew what prompted the sudden change in attitude. It hadn’t been long enough since he obtained the Quintessence, so he wasn’t able to control its power perfectly yet, which manifested as a leak that Polo felt. It wasn’t something he could control for now.