Souta was standing in front of a cell staring at the dried-up bodies inside it. Each body lose the luster of their skins and it looked like they didn't have blood anymore. They were dried and a purple liquid was dripping out of their eyes, mouth, nose, and ears.
These were the corpses of the three City Lords that they captured.
The poison that was used was a higher grade than what Yenxa could create. Even though the three City Lords were heavily injured, a normal poison wouldn't work on them. A poison that could kill Solidifying Realm would only make them a little dizzy.
'Is there someone with a poison ability among the enemy? The probability is high.'
Souta turned around and went to the other cell. The elite soldier who was manipulated to poison the City Lords was imprisoned here. Even though he was manipulated, he still couldn't escape the punishment. Well, it was only light punishment and it wouldn't harm him.
His eyes emitted a dim light and it slowly changed its form. It looks like it transformed into countless bright stars.
'It's still here. Yeah, one hour hasn't even passed yet since he was charmed so the lingering energy is still here.'
He could see a very thin line of energy attached to the soldier's body. It was too thin that it made experts hard to distinguish it from the mana in the atmosphere.
From its look, the energy would completely dissipate within the next hour.
Souta stepped forward, close to the railing, and stretched out a hand. He memorized the energy signature within it before it completely disappeared.
The energy signature was fragmented. But he still managed to memorize part of it and it was enough for him. This was a clue that would lead him to the culprit.
Souta sighed and a smile formed on his face.
In the game, players didn't even know how to recognize energy signatures. Of course, they couldn't even feel the mana density so this experience was novel to him. Souta hasn't experienced this in the game.
In the end, Battle World Online was just a game and this was a reality. It was similar but there's a difference between the two. The phenomenon didn't occur in the game yet it happened here. The breaking of rules and increase in mana density was new to him.
Also, it seems that the Shackled Realm experts here were stronger than in the game. After fighting dozens of Shackled Realm, Souta concluded that this was the case.
Even Saya couldn't talk in the game. Yet in reality, the sword had consciousness. She brought huge benefits to him and the Archetype wasn't in the game.
They had difference but it was still connected.
"Souta, I'm here to report." Amanda walked beside him.
"How is it?" Souta asked.
"Franklin, couldn't find the culprit. We found the culprit's trail but it disappeared outside the city." Amanda reported. She then lowered her head. "I'm sorry. It's due to our negligence that the enemy managed to manipulate the soldier."
"It's fine. The enemy this time is a bit tricky." Souta waved his hand. It's not a huge loss, at the very least they gained an idea about the enemy's ability.
The enemy was a bit cautious and bold. He didn't expect the charm ability and he was in the meeting room. The energy fluctuation from the ability must be small that his senses neglected it.
After some time, Souta returned to the meeting room. Ray and the rest were still planning the next move of the Dragon Council. They had to thoroughly plan how to conquer the three cities left behind by the three City Lords.
When he entered the room, they looked paused and looked at him.
"How is it, Seventh Head?" Ninth Head asked with a smile.
Looking at her bright smile, Souta almost mistook her for a child but he knew that her stature was small because of her being a dwarf. If he didn't see her muscle, he would believe it if someone told him that she was a thirteen-year-old child.
"It's pretty good." Souta smiled as he strode forward and ruffled her hair.
Ninth Head slapped his hand and glared at him. "Grrrr, Seventh Head, today, you're my arch-enemy!"
"Hahaha, okay, okay," Souta laughed as he sat down in his seat.
"Don't treat me like a child! I'm the overlord of Deer Mane City, a twenty-nine-year-old beauty!" Ninth Head gritted her teeth while emitting a fierce aura.
Souta ignored her. He stared at Ray and said, "I want to investigate the culprit."
Ray and the rest turned serious. Even Ninth Head who was to skin him turned quiet, waiting for him to finish his words.
"I'll leave occupying the three cities to you. As for me, I'm going to focus my forces on identifying the enemy. Just don't forget to give my share once you occupied the three cities." Souta said.
Ray nodded at his words. "We could do that. We'll gather the attention of everyone in the Mine Valley so that you could freely move behind the scene. But you have an idea about the culprit, right?"
"Yeah, I have some inkling about it. Murder Society." Souta said in a low voice.
Everyone turned silent when he heard his words. Their eyes constricted as if they heard an unbelievable news.
"It seems that everyone here knows about the Murder Society." Souta laughed. "Don't investigate them. Murder Society is just a primary suspect so I will investigate them with fewer people. If a lot of people suddenly tried to find the Murder Society, I'm sure that we will gather their attention. What if they aren't the culprit? Then, everything will be in vain and we'll gain another enemy. So it's better if we minimize the investigation to a small group of people."
"I understand Seventh Head's reasoning. Murder Society is a huge organization active in the central. We didn't want to make an enemy out of them." Jovi said.
"I'll help you."
Ray, Souta, Jovi, and the rest turned their head and looked at Third Head in surprise.
"There are Nine Heads. Leaving the risky investigation to Seventh Head alone will be too much. So two Heads will investigate this matter while the rest will focus on the three cities." Third Head explained. After saying what she wants, she closed her eyes and rested her head on the table.
"Third Head has a point. I'll approve of this. Shall we cast a vote right now?" Eight Head glanced at everyone.
The voting occurred and everyone approved of letting Souta and Third Head investigate the enemy behind the scene.
The meeting continued and everyone voiced out their opinion regarding the three cities. Souta and Third Head's city would be quiet this time and the forces of the other Heads would focus on gathering the attention.
If the enemy wanted the entire Mine Valley to fight each other. Then, the Dragon Council would simply follow the arrangement to conquer those cities. It was to make the enemy think that everything was going according to their plan. Well, even if Dragon Council wasn't aware of the enemy behind the scene, they would still try to occupy those cities due to the resources it possessed.
After that, Souta and Third Head talked about their aim. Third Head would investigate the matter inside the Mine Valley while Souta would seek information in the nearby area outside. He also told her that if she found the culprit, she could contact his subordinate in Ekatoe City. The same for him, if he discovered the culprit he would send her information.
After the meeting, Souta called Amanda and asked about Franklin's whereabouts. She said that Franklin haven't returned yet and he was still trying to find the enemy.
Souta decided to leave Franklin alone. He could sense him due to the parasite and parasite queen's connection.
Souta chose to go outside the Mine Valley. The culprit must be just in the area near the Mine Valley. It should be easier for him to find them since he knew the mana signature.
If he didn't find anything in two weeks, he would postpone this quest first and return to Ekatoe City. He had other important matters to attend to. At that time, he would leave the investigation to his people.
Three days had passed quickly...
Two brown-cloaked figures were walking in the barren land. They were Souta and Amanda.
"It's here," Souta muttered.
In front of them was a small city. A city filled with numerous people.
"I thought that it's chaotic beyond the Mine Valley, but looking at it, it seems peaceful." He said in a low voice.
Amanda couldn't help but nod her head. According to their information, cities were being plundered and people were massacred.
"Let's find out." Souta grinned before he continued walking. Amanda simply followed him.
The two already changed their appearance in case an accident occurred.
It was called Burluk City. It has a high population ranging from two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand. For a city of this size, this number was already huge.
A bunch of people were walking on the streets and various stalls were erected on the roadside.
What surprised Souta was there was a recruitment post here.
