"Show me!!" Franklin yelled as he swung his fist infused with an overwhelming aura.
Bang!
George crossed his hand and blocked Franklin's fist. Then, he raised his foot and kneed his opponent on the stomach.
Ugh!
Franklin groaned in pain. He looked up as he saw his opponent move above him. Then, he felt a pain in his back as his figure crashed on the ground like a meteor.
Bang!!
George didn't stop. Layers of flesh covered his body as he threw several dozens of energy balls at Franklin's position.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
He suddenly opened his eyes widely and stopped firing energy balls. A ray of blueish energy abruptly came out of the smoke. It flew toward his position with insane speed.
Luckily, his reaction speed was honed to the limit so he managed to shift his body before the beam landed on him.
Bang!
The smoke was blown away as a loud sound echoed within. Franklin was standing with his body covered in wounds. Well, the wounds quickly disappeared in a split second as layers of flesh enveloped him.
"It's truly magnificent. The essence of battle is something really worth experiencing."
Franklin said with a faint smile. His mouth cracked widely almost reaching his ears.
...
Inside the guest room...
Souta was observing the envoy of the Mine Valley. He was a man with short green hair and tan skin. He was wearing a black coat on top of his white vest.
He introduced himself as Jeoban.
There were four people inside the room. Aside from Souta and Jeoban, Edward and his son were also present. They were the ones who brought the envoy here and they also wanted to accomplish something so that they could show to City Lord that they were useful.
"So... What did the Governor of Mine Valley want from me? If I'm not wrong, I didn't stretch out my hand from the nearby city and I'm staying here ever since I took the position." Souta said without changing his expression.
He wasn't afraid of this envoy. Jeoban only had a power level of initial A-rank and Souta already scanned him. So he was sure that this guy wasn't carrying anything dangerous with him.
"City Lord, I came here to deliver the message of the Governor." Jeoban bowed before he took out a letter. He raised it in front of Souta.
"Hmm..." Souta stretched out his hand and took the letter. He opened it and read the contents.
Jeoban stared at him while waiting for his reply.
Edward and Alan, the second son, didn't have any idea what was written in the letter. They simply stood at their position not daring to interrupt the City Lord.
Souta placed the letter on the side and glanced at the envoy. He slowly opened his mouth and asked, "Did the Governor say anything for me?"
"Sir, Governor Ray said that he hoped that you could support him with his endeavor. That's all." Jeoban answered respectfully.
"So if I wanted to know more... Then, I have to visit the Mine Valley." Souta muttered as he rubbed his chin.
The Governor of the Mine Valley was called Ray Faustin. He took the position four months ago and established a solid foundation in his territory.
According to his information, Ray Faustin was an ambitious man. He already annexed three of the surrounding cities around the Mine Valley. With this, Souta could guess that the Governor's target was the remaining cities including the Ekatoe.
But the letter said something... The contents of the letter said that Ray Faustin was inviting him to join the so-called Dragon Council.
Souta didn't have to answer immediately as Ray said that he should visit the Mine Valley first to attend the meeting of the Council. At that time, he would learn some information and he would decide if he wanted to officially join the Council or not.
He glanced at the envoy and said, "You can go now. My people will prepare a room for you so you can stay here for a night."
"Thank you for your hospitality, City Lord." Envoy Jeoban bowed respectfully before he left the room.
Souta glanced at Edward and Alan. He asked, "What do you think?"
"Governor Ray wanted to take over the entire Mine Valley. I think it's dangerous if you visit Bland City without any preparation. Ray Faustin had already taken three cities and this invitation must be because he learned that the other cities already planning to fight back. He wanted to know if there are people willing to work for him in the nearby cities by sending an invitation."
The one that answered was Alan, the second son of the Shimpan Family.
"I have the same thoughts as my son, City Lord. If we ignore the letter I think that we will incur the wrath of Governor Ray. Both choices are dangerous so we need to have a backup plan." Edward added.
"I see..." Souta nodded. He lacked information right now. The Bland City in Mine Valley where the Governor resides was tightly guarded.
In the end, if he wanted to know more he had to visit that place. It was risky but he had a reason. In the letter, Ray Faustin called him a warrior.
It's decided. He would visit Bland City but first, he had to talk to the warriors stationed in the post tower. It seems that the letter from Grain Leader Carmel had arrived.
Hmm?
Souta turned his head. He glanced in the direction of the arena. He could sense that the match had ended and the next match was starting. Unfortunately, he couldn't watch it since the Mine Valley had sent an envoy.
He stood up and waved his hand. "You can go back now."
He dismissed Edward and Alan before he left the room. He went straight to the post towers where the warriors were situated.
The warriors haven't left the Ekatoe since they still had something to finish here. Unlike him, the warriors weren't in a hurry to build the portal. They were building it step by step and they'll eventually finish it.
So once the portal once completed, the other warriors of Athena could come to this place since it would become a branch station. This portal wasn't connected to Athen's Champion in Champion's Den. Instead, it was connected to a portal to another branch of Athen's Champion close to the main city.
In this way, the legion could cut down the resources needed to build a portal. Information, the farther the portal to each other the harder it was to build and it would need an astronomical amount of resources. Even activating it would cost a lot ever since the increase in mana density.
He arrived at the post towers and arranged a meeting with the warriors staying there.
Inside a room...
Souta was seating in a comfortable chair and facing him were two warriors of the Second Grain Wise. One of them was wearing a light armor with a small crimson cloak on top of it.
The other one was a two and a half meter tall man with scar on his cheeks. His muscles were bulging out as he was only wearing leather armor. He had a great sword on his back and a pair of bear ears on the side of his head.
"Did he bring the bring the letter, Squad Leader Markov?" Souta asked. The tall man was a fellow Squad Leader from the Third Set Pallas Division.
The tall man looked at the warrior beside him and said, "Give it to Squad Leader Souta."
"Yes, captain." The other warrior nodded and took out a letter. He gave it directly to Souta.
Squad Leader Markov observed him who was opening the letter. He slowly said, "You realize the graveness of this right?"
Souta looked at Markov and nodded calmly. "Yes, this land isn't within the territory of Olympus."
"Be careful. Don't attract too much attention," said Markov.
"I know. That's why I don't have a plan to expand this city anymore. This city is enough for me." Souta replied while reading the contents of the letter.
After reading the letter, Souta burned it with his fireball.
He then glanced at Markov and said, "So... according to Chief Captain, he saw the Messenger of Gluttony in the subterranean world. There are other warriors who saw the messenger."
"Yeah, the higher-ups think that the Deadly Sins are behind the action of the Red Matter Association."
"It means that there is a chance that I would meet them in this land, am I right?"
"That's why the higher-ups want you to move slowly. If you met or found any clue about the Deadly Sins, you should report it immediately. They are lurking in the shadows controlling smaller organizations like the Red Matter Association."
"So the gods are on edge..."
"Yes, it's difficult for a god to move in this situation. If a god on our side suddenly makes a move, there's a chance that the gods on the other side will appear too. Also, what if the smaller organizations are a trap? If the god on our side moved and fell in that, we would suffer a lot."
Souta sighed after hearing Markov's words. He knew that if a god moved recklessly, then it would become a war between gods. That's the most dangerous as several dozens of countries would be destroyed in an instant.
At that time, he would have a hard time moving around. This wasn't a game anymore so he couldn't afford to die to test if he could respawn.
