Han Shuo had been extremely busy these past few days, using Teleportation Arrays to travel across more than half the Lancelot Empire. Over those days, he had killed three Archmages, four Swordsmen, and one Great Swordmaster, all in the name of issuing challenges.
At first, the challenges went fairly smoothly. Han Shuo's age was so deceptive that his opponents often thought he posed no threat, and a few harsh words from him were enough to provoke them into angrily accepting. Later, however, his string of successful challenges earned him a fearsome reputation. When various powerful figures connected the identities of those he had killed, they began to form suspicions.
In the end, three powerful figures on the list suddenly vanished without a trace. Even the Dark Curtain's all-out search yielded no news. Whenever Han Shuo arrived in a city, all the powerful figures there grew anxious. Whether they had done anything to feel guilty about or not, every one of them feared that Han Shuo would come to challenge them, and they all vanished under the pretext of traveling.
They had little choice. After all, everyone who had died at Han Shuo's hands over the past few days had been an expert. Refusing his challenge would greatly damage their reputations, but accepting might cost them their lives. With no other option, they could only find excuses to hide.
When a Great Swordmaster died at Han Shuo's hands, the young expert Brian's fearsome and vicious reputation reached its peak. The remaining targets in the plan all disappeared, and, upon Candida's instructions, he could only return to Osen City to await orders.
"Lord Candida, it's not that I haven't tried. Those last three have simply vanished without a trace. It looks like we'll have to wait until you find them." In a