A man with short gray hair was observing the battle in the sky above the Ladros City with sharp eyes. He had a thick beard and mustache with the same color as his hair. He was the City Lord of the Ladros City, John Mos Rinsy.
Even though that battle in the sky was fierce he still couldn't feel Bargan's energy. He could only feel the dense energy of his opponents. Well, he knew the reason why.
Normally, the mini sun that Bargan created would be enough to turn any ordinary people in the city into ashes, no, even D-rank and C-rank would die. But none of it happens.
Why?
Because Bargan was controlling his energy not to cause distraction on the city.
"Activate the city barrier. Bargan wouldn't be able to defeat those people if we got in his way." The city lord instructed his assistant. He then looked at the city which suffered a heavy blow from these people.
The city became a battlefield. The teachers of the Ladro Institute were working together to fight those people who were wearing black robes. Each one of the people wearing black robes possessed a strength greater than S-rank.
"Protecting citizens is our top priority. Squad One to Four go and help the citizens to evacuate in a safe place. Squad Five to Ten go and help the teachers in fighting those people that are wearing black robes." The city lord paused for a moment before he added, "I'll go too and commander of the city guards will come with me. The citizens need our strength at this moment."
Their opponents were strong so the forces of the Ladros City needed to work together. They also needed to contact the neighboring city to send reinforcement.
He knew it very well. The forces of the Ladro Institute weren't enough as some of the strong teachers followed Azrim to the Royal Capital.
They were short on people.
...
The ground continued to vibrate as the teachers of the Ladro Institute worked together to fight the seven-circle officer of the Seven Deadly Sins. Every moment a few citizens will get caught up in the battle and died just like that.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Even in the Ladro Institute Souta could feel the shockwaves of the battle around the city. Then, a familiar sound rang in his head.
*Ding!*
[Quest Triggered!]
[Battle in the Ladros City]: A group of officers of an organization called Seven Deadly Sins launched an attack on the Ladros City, a city under the rules of Hebrei Kingdom. Help the forces of the kingdom in pushing the officers of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Rewards:
One-circle officer = 1,000 exp
Two-circle officer = 2,000 exp
Three-circle officer = 3,000 exp and 1 free attribute point
Four-circle officer = 5,000 exp and 2 free attribute points
Five-circle officer = 10,000 exp, 1 skill point, and 5 free attribute points
Six-circle officer = 20,000 exp, 3 skill point, and 8 free attribute points
Seven-circle officer = 50,000 exp, 5 skill point, and 15 free attribute points
Seven-circle officer(with blessing) = 80,000 exp, 8 skill points, and 30 free attribute points
Oi! Oi! This means that the Seven Deadly Sins sent out a large force to attack the Ladros City. Luckily, there's no eight-circle officer, or else it would become a disaster.
An eight-circle officer was the people of Seven Deadly Sins that could literally bring disaster in any land. They were dispatched if the Seven Deadly Sins were going to take down gods. Other than that, they were not going to show themselves in other missions.
"I just finished dealing with the nobles... These people really didn't want to give me a time to rest." Souta said as he gritted his teeth.
With his current strength, Souta wouldn't be able to fight five-circle officers and above. He could only fight the six-circle officers before because he drunk two monster potions. Even with that, he almost died at their hands.
'What are you going to do?' Saya asked him.
'Me? I'm going back to legion to organize our group.' Souta replied to her as he placed his hand on the handle of the vajra sword.
Suddenly, he saw a barrier slowly covered the entire city leaving Bargan and the other seven-circle officers on the outside. The defensive capabilities of this barrier were so high that it could last thirty minutes under the mad attack of a god-level powerhouse.
More than thirty monster orbs of a fourth-evolution monster were activated. The energy inside these monster orbs was used to create the barrier around the city.
This barrier wouldn't last that long. One day was the maximum time before the barrier drained all the energy in the monster orbs. This was for emergency use and the time has come to use it.
"This way Teacher Bargan would be able to fight those people without minding his surroundings," Souta muttered and he saw another barrier formed around the Ladro Institute.
"What the-" He widened his eyes as he looked at the barrier covering the institute. Black balls formed behind him and Souta launched himself in the sky.
Swoosh!
He thought that he would be able to get out of the barrier but he was wrong. He was too late. The Ladro Institute isolated itself and he was stocked inside the institute along with other students and teachers.
Or so he thought...
*Ding!*
[Quest Triggered!]
[Barrier]: A group of people hijacked the barrier device of the Ladro Institute. They have some intention in the Ladro Institute. Break the barrier device and free the students and teachers from the Institute.
Rewards: 20,000 exp, 10 free attribute points, and 8 skill points
Another quest high-level quest! Souta stopped moving as he looked at the quest that he just received. This quest was different than the quest before as this one had fixed rewards. As long as he breaks the barrier device he would be able to receive the rewards.
Still... He would fight an enemy higher than his current level. This maybe the first time that he will fight someone seriously since he gained the [Soul Blood Earring].
'You're shaking, Souta.' Saya's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
Souta took a deep breath to calm his tense muscles. He was nervous and he couldn't help it. The five-circle and above could kill him.
'Don't worry, Souta. I'm your partner. If you can't handle it then leave your body to me. I will fight them in your stead.' Saya calmly said to him.
"Thanks. I'm fine." Souta said as he looked down at the institute as he slowly descended on the highest building. He then took out the transmission talisman and called Lumilia.
"Hello! Souta! Where are you?!" Lumilia's voice was full of concern as she asked him his position.
Souta smiled before he replied, "I'm fine. Can you tell me where are you and what's the situation there?"
Lumilia and the rest of the Dark Oculus Legion were in the South Gate of the city. They entered the city before the barrier was erected leaving the monsters outside the city. Right now, they were helping the citizens along with other adventurers.
Bryan, Brando, Cluster, Yanagi, and Souta weren't with them. Some of the core members of the legion weren't with them.
"I get the gist of your situation." Souta paused for a moment before he added, "Listen Lumilia, I'll leave the commanding position to you. I'm inside the Ladro Institute and as you can see I'm stuck here."
"Yeah, I can see the barrier around the institute." Lumilia nodded her head.
"I'm going to find the barrier device and break the barrier here."
"Why would you do something like that?"
"Some organizations took the barrier device and isolated the institute. I don't know their objectives but I guess that the Deadly Sins are here to retrieve the bloodstone."
'Even in ancient times, this level of organization is powerful enough to dominate a whole country.' Saya's voice sounded in his mind.
"So prepare yourself Lumilia. This is not the whole force that the city is going to face. They will come down to us without doubt." Souta said sternly.
"I understand. Be careful, Souta." Lumilia said with her voice full of concern.
"You too. I'll go there once I've finished my objective here." Souta said to her as he canceled the connection. He placed back the talisman in his pocket before he stood up.
"I'll finish this as soon as possible."
He dashed towards the direction of the control room.
...
"It's complete!"
The four seven-circle officers that were casting a large teleportation spell grinned.
The enormous magic circle above them glowed brightly.
Ohm!
Bargan looked at it with a gloomy expression. "I'm too late." He muttered as he turned to the six people around him. They were full of injuries and blood. Their clothes were in tottered.
Their looks were in contrast to him who didn't have an injury in his body.
Three of them were releasing energy that surpassed their level of energy. Their power increased by several times and they managed to hold Bargan for a few minutes.
"I didn't expect that three of you have the power of blessing. You've managed to catch me off guard. Well, I'm mad right now."
