In the Great World Imperium, a piece of news spread quickly like a wildfire and it shocked the whole world. It brought fear and at the same time woke up everyone to realize that the Zodiacs were back after a decade of laying low.
They didn't know where it started but everyone has heard the news to bring terror and fear.
The contents of the news were about the confrontation of Zodiac Leo, the Leader of Zodiac, and various gods and deities all over the world.
The people all over the Giza Continent and God's Continent started to panic. They had to deal with the demon invasion and now one of the Bringer's of Calamity has demonstrated an unrivaled strength once again.
But then the news was vague and only gods knew what really happened in the confrontation.
More than 20 gods have worked together yet they didn't even manage to defeat Leo. Everyone knew that they couldn't defeat Leo but killing him was an entirely different matter. Defeating him and making him flee was easier than killing the notorious Leader of Zodiacs.
But in the end, all of them failed.
Leo's god power alone could already rival the top powerhouses of gods like Jade Emperor and the Pope of True God's Holy Kingdom.
In the battle, Leo summoned fifteen god level undead and two hundred demigod level undead. He used these indestructible undead to hold the unknown gods from other continents like Mars Archipelago and Vulcan's Ring.
Then, he fought the main gods of the Giza Continent and God's Continent. Each of these gods had powerful universal grade weapons and artifacts. They thought that they already cornered Leo but at that moment Leo used his Cosmic Authority that symbolizes his zodiac sign.
What they fear had already happened. Leo successfully mastered his Cosmic Authority and he alone toyed with more than 20 gods. He didn't suffer any injuries yet his opponents were already bleeding and some of them had lost their limbs.
Knowing that they couldn't do anything to Leo without enough preparation, the gods decided to retreat.
It was a huge victory for Leo, who earned the nickname Terror of Giza decades ago.
At the same time, the God's Will and Deadly Sins had already finished their preparation. They were ready to launch an overwhelming attack once the Great Barrier had opened up.
They will raze everything until they find their goal.
Although several bad news was circulating around the world, one good news had appeared and it gave everything a breather for the impending war.
The demon army had stopped advancing. They just stayed in their conquered lands for a while as if waiting for the orders of higher-ups. No one knew when they will start their invasion once again but it gave everyone a time to prepare.
Just like that every force in the Great World Imperium has started to prepare even those hidden monster lords and gods start planning for the unknown future ahead of them.
Somewhere in the Forest of Eternal Light...
A small girl with a long chestnut color hair that was tied in twin tails was seating on a throne with a serious expression. She was wearing a revealing dragon armor that mostly covered her private parts.
She was Raeshka, the Monster Lord of Destruction.
In front of her was a humanoid creature with a furry lower body and a pair of goat horns on its forehead. Its eyes were pitch black even the color of its sclera was black.
If Souta was here he would recognize this strange creature as the Great Lumb. The one who always gave a special quest to the players in the game.
The Great Lumb opened its pitch black lips and said, "It has begun once again. I can feel it. The foreign power is growing stronger just like in the old times. This foreign power will stop an administrator like me from working. In ancient times, this power blocked all the vision of that clan."
"Ieshi Clan?" Reashka asked as she tilted her head.
"Yeah, the Ieshi Clan. It's not only the Ieshi Clan that suffered in this foreign power, the Vajra Clan, the Asura Clan, and Three-Eye Tribe also suffered from this foreign power. All their unique abilities were rendered useless so they were massacred." The Great Lumb said.
"Hmm... Speaking of Ieshi Clan, I met a monster before that called himself an Ieshi. Do you know anything about him?" Reashka asked.
"No, I don't know everything. We, the Great Lumb, are just an artificial creatures created by this universe to prevent anyone from breaking the laws." The Great Lumb paused for a moment before it added, "In my record, there are exactly one hundred thirty five thousand and three hundred fifty two people that have Ieshi in their name. Having the name Ieshi doesn't necessarily mean that they are a part of the once Great Noble Clan that everyone respected."
"Although I'm old, I still didn't know what happened in that war twenty thousand years ago. Do you have the authority to pass down the information you have?" Raeshka asked.
"Yes, I have an authority to pass down the information except for what happened twenty thousand years ago. Everything regarding that Great War is blocked. Do prepare and every kind of treasure will awaken once again once they've sensed the foreign powers. All the sealed ones will be unlocked to prepare for combat. You will see the resources from twenty thousand years ago will bloom once again in this era. Everything is needed for preparation... The Great Combat Lumb will replace me..." The Great Lumb started to turn into tiny particles of light.
...
"Where have you gone this whole night?" Amanda asked.
"It's nothing. I just gathered information and it was fruitful." Souta replied to Amanda.
"Fruitful?" Amanda looked at him with doubt in her eyes.
"Yeah, so Yenxa you will stay here for a while. You will protect our belongings here."
Souta nodded and said to Yenxa who was silent on the side. Then, he turned to Amanda and took out the piece of paper that he got from Eilish.
"Here, this place should be connected to the Witch Clan so we will head there to verify if this is true or not. But prepare yourself, we don't know the danger hidden in that place."
He explained to her the details of his plan. This expedition should be fruitful and he already expected that there's danger. The rewards wouldn't be that high if this quest was easy.
"I understand. So my family is really connected to the central continent..." Amanda muttered.
"Hold on, do you still remember where's your clan location?" Souta asked.
"No, I could only vaguely remember the brutal incident decades ago." Amanda shook her head.
"Prepare yourself. We'll head out tonight." Souta squinted his eyes and left the room.
...
Eilish, the ruler of the underground world of this city, was an influential person and he didn't have any idea about what she was planning. She gave him information about Witch Clan yet she didn't even know what was hidden in that place. Maybe, she's trying to use him to test that place before she made a move.
Well, he will know it after he explored the place.
The place was quite near in Earthen Core City. It was just ten kilometers away from the city and it was hidden beneath the two mountains there.
"It seems legit..."
Souta muttered while looking at the contents on the paper in his hands.
"It's dark..."
Turning his head, he saw two mountains on the horizon. His objective this night.
Then, he turned his head in the opposite direction and looked down on the city. He was above the walls that protected this city from any harm.
While Amanda was preparing, he came here to think through about the recent information that he received.
"I think that Amanda is ready now."
Souta said to himself as his figure disappeared on top of the walls. He could only hope that he could complete the Quest 2 with this small expedition.
While he was here, Franklin and the rest were slowly expanding their influence in the south continent. The south continent was weaker than the central continent but they still needed to be careful. They didn't want to make any big move that will gather the attention of the people in the central continent as it will foil his plan.
Alice would handle it in his stead. He trusted her.
...
Souta came back to the inn and just like what he expected, Amanda was thoroughly prepared for the expedition. She finally found a clue to her clan after all these years so she was anxious and excited at the same time.
She had an idea that she could find clues in the central continent but she was too weak and her forces weren't enough. That's why she didn't dare to step foot in this land.
The central continent was too much for an Extermination Realm like her.
"Let's go," Souta said to Amanda.
"I understand." Amanda nodded as she put the hood on her head.
After giving Yenxa an order to stay vigilant, the two left the inn.
The hidden base of the Witch Clan was ten kilometers away from the Earthen Core City. It's not too far for Souta and Amanda but they decided to take it slow. They would gather the attention of other people if they increased their pace and moved using their energy power.
