As Finn regained consciousness, the Ika Mask, which was stuck on his buttocks, began to wrest control of his body from Finn.
Unfortunately, since the Ika Mask only occupies Finn's buttocks, it cannot directly affect Finn's mind; it can only take control of Finn's lower body.
However, this does not prevent Ika from summoning his Shadowkhan Army. The Samurai Corps under Ika's command are all clad in armor, fully armed, and wielding sharp blades. As Tarak's personal guard in the past, their combat strength is self-evident.
The tall warrior emerged from the shadows, hoisted Affin, who was possessed by Ika, and swiftly sank back into the shadows under Tarak's control.
Also vanished were the Troll Clan, the Night Bat Clan, and the Ninja Corps, all of whom Shendu could control most. In that instant, they all broke free from Shendu's control and were once again directly led by Tarak, who held supreme power.
Tarak's abilities have clearly been enhanced. This is because while strengthening the country, Bai Sui has also indirectly strengthened good, which has forced the world to strengthen the power of evil in order to maintain the balance between good and evil.
The Shendu noticed the anomaly immediately, since the Shadowkhan who had been serving him had all disappeared at the same time. Although he didn't know who was responsible, the Shendu knew that something must have happened.
Valmont and his men slunk back to the White House, where, after being thoroughly scolded by the Shendu, they finally understood the root of the problem.
So he immediately contacted the Demon of Heaven, asking him to travel to the North and South Poles to retrieve the mask he had previously hidden.
As the youngest of the eight demons, Xiao Fung was used to being ordered around by the other demons, so although he grumbled and seemed somewhat unwilling, his body obediently headed to the two poles.
Things went much as the Shendu had predicted; the other side was indeed collecting masks as well. This meant that Xiao Fung only had time to obtain the mask of Bat in the Arctic, while the mask of Sumo, which had been placed in the Antarctic, had already been taken away.
After obtaining the mask, Shendu infiltrated the Night Bat Clan once again and gained control of them. However, the bat soldiers Shendu summoned lost control the moment they appeared and vanished into the shadows.
"These guys are quite interesting-looking," Xiao Fung remarked, looking with great interest at the bat soldiers who resembled him.
While the Shendu was still pondering the cause of this matter, upon hearing Xiao Fung's words, he casually remarked, "As you can see, there's now a higher level of authority directly controlling these Shadow Soldiers, so they're not very useful anymore. However, if you're interested, you can take this mask..."
Afterwards, the Shendu spoke with the demon Xiao Fung about information regarding the mask, instructing Xiao Fung to keep it safe to prevent anyone from summoning the evil that could corrupt the entire world.
Xiao Fung also knew about the balance between good and evil in the world, so he understood the importance of this matter. After earnestly agreeing, he was taken aback.
"That's not right. Because you don't have a body, you can't absorb the evil in the mask, but Bai Tsa and I can. As long as we absorb the evil inside, we can directly destroy the mask and prevent the other party from releasing all the evil, right?" Xiao Fung had obviously thought of another point.
"Hmm... that's true." There was a bitterness in the Shendu's words. Clearly, he had intentionally misled others to prevent them from discovering this. After all, he wanted to absorb all the evil from the masks after his body recovered, thereby strengthening himself.
After all, in the Shendu's view, if only he himself became stronger, although good would also increase due to the balance of good and evil, the other seven demons would ultimately suffer because of the difference in strength among the eight demons. He himself would not lose anything, and might even be able to enjoy the whole world alone after the other demons were sealed away.
Now that Xiao Fung has discovered this situation, it's clear that the Shendu's plan has fallen through.
So Xiao Fung absorbed all the evil within the mask. Although this evil was nothing compared to the demons that had transformed into evil throughout the world, it was still a tremendous amount of energy for them, who were currently sealed away.
For example, Xiao Fung, after absorbing the evil within a mask, has already clearly felt the seal on his body loosen, and the wind he can release has become even more powerful.
Upon discovering these masks, Xiao Fung immediately contacted Bai Tsa in California, located below sea level, and informed her of the discovery. After learning that these masks could restore strength and even break seals, Bai Tsa was also intrigued and joined the search for the masks.
Sure enough, through her search of the ocean, Bai Tsa actually found a mask on a shipwreck deep in the Atlantic Ocean. It was Manny's mask, which could summon mantis-shaped soldiers with scythe-shaped claws for slashing attacks.
However, none of this mattered to Bai Tsa, since Bai Tsa didn't need any shadow soldiers; what she needed was the evil within the mask.
"Ah, really, my power has truly been restored, and the seals surrounding me have weakened considerably." Having absorbed the evil from the mask, Bai Tsa swam freely in the ocean, completely oblivious to the enormous waves she stirred up in the Atlantic Ocean.
However, compared to the blind search by Shendu, Tarak possessed a certain sensitivity to the other masks. Although this sensitivity was not obvious, it was still much better than having no clue at all.
Sure enough, after Bai Tsa found the mask in the ocean, Tarak had successfully collected the other five unclaimed masks. However, this was of no use, since without collecting all the masks, she couldn't directly open the entire Shadow World and unleash all the evil within.
As for relying on those shadow soldiers to directly rule the world, Tarak isn't stupid. Even the demons, whom he considers invincible, can only cower within a single country and dare not expand their territory, clearly because there are forces in this world that they fear.
Therefore, Tarak didn't want to go out and risk his life, but he didn't do nothing either. He dispatched his five legions: the Hunter Claw Corps, the Shadow Eater Corps, the Alien Corps, the Samurai Corps, and the Troll Clan. As for the Ninja Corps and the Night Bat Clan, which had seized control from Shendu, they were limited in number because they lacked the support of the Mask's power and couldn't be resurrected after death. They were essentially one-time units, so Tarak only kept them as backups.
The troops sent out by Tarak successfully made contact with the European Union and gained a certain space and status by agreeing to serve the European Union.
In fact, the European Union didn't want things to be this way either. The extraordinary forces they could find were too weak to compete with the domestic magic community and the evil forces of the United States. Even India had found a great magician who cultivated his mind.
If it weren't for some high-ranking official refusing to work for the India government, the India would have used the slogan "John Bull's legitimacy is in India " to launch a counter-occupation of John Bull.
It can be said that the entire European Union feels helpless in the realm of the extraordinary. After all, although the Vatican, which they believe in, also has True Magic, it does not have a grandmaster who can hold the fort. In fact, the person with the highest True Magic attainment is not their pope, but an unknown priest.
When this was discovered, the entire Vatican almost expelled the priest from the church.
Although the European Union eventually found many supernatural beings, such as Werewolf, through a thorough search, the gap was ultimately too large compared to their own global standing.
Of course, no matter how careful the European Union is now, the news eventually got out and reached the United States.
There's no way around it; the United States has been monitoring the world for far too long, and no matter how careful the European Union is, they ultimately can't prevent it.
So the news that those masks had gathered in the European Union came to the attention of the Shendu and his group, which immediately caught the attention of Bai Tsa and Xiao Fung.
After some discussion, the two decided to unleash another tsunami, but this time they would change direction and direct the tsunami across the Atlantic Ocean toward the entire European Union.
United Kingdom was the first to be hit this time. It can be said that the whole of the United Kingdom was stunned when it saw such a tsunami, after all, they did not do anything to provoke the United States.
So while seeking help from within the country, the United States also contacted Tarak and others located in the European Union, hoping they could use their extraordinary power to stop the monstrous tsunami.
However, the Shadowkhan Army was powerless to fulfill such a request. After all, they were just a bunch of shadows and couldn't possibly stop a tsunami. But it wasn't entirely impossible, since Tarak currently had a Shadow Eater Corps under her command.
The Shadow Eater Corps Shadowkhan summoned by the Shadow Eaters are a group of miniature soldiers. Their only ability is to eat shadows. The more shadows they eat, the larger they become. If they were allowed to devour a large number of human shadows, they might eventually grow into a giant shadow soldier capable of withstanding a tsunami.
However, a person who loses their shadow will immediately fall into a deep sleep, remaining unconscious like a corpse. Even if they are exposed to light again, no shadow will appear. They can only wake up again when the shadow has completely returned to their body.
In fact, the British had considered this plan, but they tragically discovered that even if they devoted the shadows of everyone in the entire European Union to the same Shadow Soldier, they could not raise a Giant capable of withstanding a tsunami. Therefore, they had to give up and, while transferring personnel, sought help from home.
The idea behind the Shendu of the United States was not really to flood the whole of Europe. After all, they were afraid that such an action would directly anger Bai Sui and cause Bai Sui to seal them away now.
Their main purpose in doing this was to confirm the whereabouts of Tarak and the others by observing John Bull's movements. After all, Tarak and the others had been hiding themselves for safety reasons, and their ability to move in the shadows greatly reduced the accuracy of the United States special agents' tracking.
Having obtained Tarak and the others' exact location, Bai Tsa and Xiao Fung, who had previously been hiding in the tsunami and heading towards the European Union with the seawater, now deliberately dispersed the tsunami, making it weaker and weaker until it completely disappeared when it was still halfway away from John Bull.
While the whole of New York was celebrating his narrow escape, Xiao Fung and his crew had already successfully arrived on this land.
Relying on his current soul form, which allows him to pass through various objects, the Shendu flew directly towards Tarak's hiding place.
Meanwhile, Bai Tsa and Xiao Fung, one creating a massive Uzumaki outside John Bull's waters and the other whipping up a whirlwind in John Bull's sky, directly blocked both their escape routes by sea and air.
Tarak and the others are now trapped with no way to escape.
Although Tarak and the others immediately slipped into the shadows in an attempt to escape the demons' pursuit, the Shendu, in his soul form, was freed from the obstruction of a physical body and followed them directly into the shadow space.
Seeing the Shendu enter his space, Tarak was also somewhat angry. After all, in his opinion, even if the Shendu was a demon, he dared to enter his domain so blatantly, which clearly showed that he did not take him seriously at all. This was a disregard for him and a contempt for him personally.
Tarak then immediately ordered all his Shadow Soldiers to launch a collective attack on the Shendu.
Although Shendu in his soul form could also breathe fire, he was no match for the overwhelming number of Shadowkhan and was eventually trapped. Due to the immortality of demons, Shendu then endured a brutal and inhuman torture.
However, the Shendu's efforts were worthwhile, successfully delaying the arrival of Bai Tsa and Xiao Fung to provide assistance. Thanks to the Shendu's location, Bai Tsa and Xiao Fung easily entered this space.
Unlike the Shendu in his soul form, Bai Tsa and Xiao Fung began to absorb the evil within after entering, attempting to completely eliminate it.
Seeing that the newly arrived demons were destroying their foundations, Tarak and his generals immediately launched a counterattack.
However, Bai Tsa and Xiao Fung are both demons with physical bodies and are gradually breaking their seals, so dealing with these shadow soldiers is a piece of cake. In fact, the shadow soldiers cannot even break through Bai Tsa and Xiao Fung's defenses.
After all, they weren't like the Shendu had been almost completely stripped of his abilities; their combat strength was still considerable.
About half an hour later, all the evil in the entire Shadow Space was absorbed by Bai Tsa and Xiao Fung. Of course, they did not forget to use their bodies to help them hold off the Shendu, and they also used relatively forceful methods to infuse some evil into the Shendu's soul, so that the other party would not gain nothing.