"Senior Heili!"
"Senior Heili!"
"Hmm...?" Heili slowly opened her eyes feeling a slight headache. She pushed herself into a seating posture and held her head. "W-What happened?"
She glanced at the young man with a questioning look. She could see that the youth was covered in wounds but his condition was better than hers.
"I think someone attacked us, Senior Heili. I just woke up and found that a lot of apprentices had died. Even some of the senior brothers..." Souta said before he lowered his head and bit his lips while clenching both of his fists. His body was trembling from rage.
"Attack us?!" Heili widened her eyes and she forced herself to stand up. She swept her eyes across the littered carriages and burnt corpses.
By the looks of it, this apprentice was telling the truth. Someone placed a trap and it led to the destruction of all the carriages that they brought. Not just that, they even suffered serious casualties.
Their allied groups were in a similar situation. The Hundred Face Alliance took a huge blow this time and they didn't have any idea about the culprit.
"Where's Instructor Chun?" Heili asked in a coarse voice.
"Instructor Chun is talking to the instructors of our allied groups. They are trying to find the cause of it." Souta answered her question in a trembling tone.
There were seven schools that went to Burluk City this time to recruit new blood. They wanted to strengthen their forces instead they were ambushed and fell into the trap of their enemies. The loss was quite huge as some of the senior apprentices had died.
The instructors of the seven schools stood side by side, gazing at the small pit on the ground. The pit was emitting a white vapor with a strange fragrance. It was hot and cold at the same time. The pit was half frozen and half burnt.
"Freezing Flame skill...? From Ardous City, the Green Vine Pavilion."
"An overlord wanted to uproot us?!"
"Even if it's an overlord, they can't easily take the Hundred Face Alliance! The entire alliance is much stronger than a lone overlord organization!"
"We should go now. The evidence is here so we'll need to return and inform our masters about this."
"We can't fight them head-on since we lose too much this time. We'll need to return and tend to our injuries."
The instructors talked to each other. They had no idea that the culprit behind the ambush wasn't the Green Vine Pavilion. Instead, it was the Murder Society, an enormous organization that they couldn't fathom with their minds.
The instructor helped the survivor apprentices pack their things. After an hour, they immediately left the area even though most of them were heavily injured. They had no choice. They didn't know when will the enemy attack them.
Four days passed in a flash.
After settling in the headquarters of the Mince Hand, he spent some time familiarizing himself with the school rules and regulations. Then, he received a small residence. He told the other apprentices and instructors that he was going to enter a secluded training for a while.
This excuse was good since he received the basic techniques of Mince Hand. It was natural to practice it first and he would consult them later if he had any problems. It would take him at least three weeks to grasp the techniques of the Mince Hand. After that, he could become an inner apprentice of the school and participate in those exclusive lessons.
Swoosh!!
In truth, Souta didn't enter seclusion in that small residence. It was just an excuse he made up so he could travel back to Mine Valley.
After interrogating the people from Murder Society he finally had an idea about the unknown enemy.
He couldn't help but recall what happened at that time.
"Murder Society... I think I need to know if your organization killed the envoy of Mine Valley." Souta said while staring at the miserable woman with a blank look.
"Ugh... Umm... Ahhh..." The woman couldn't even speak as her entire jaw was gone. Blood was gushing out and her tongue was hanging.
"Tsk! Useless." Souta turned around and walked towards the barrier. He grabbed the barrier and slowly crumpled it until it was completely gone.
Boom!
This type of barrier could only handle an attack up to the Peak Stage of Liquefying Realm. It was nothing compared to the barrier in the Tournament of Astros.
The experts that attacked the other groups were shocked when the barrier was shattered. Before they could regain their senses, Souta stretched his hand and covered them in webs.
Dealing with Liquefying Realm experts was easy even without using his strength. They were like ants in front of him that he could accidentally kill if he wasn't careful.
In truth, not killing these people was harder than killing them.
"Okay, I want to know who attacked the envoy of Mine Valley," Souta asked with his hands behind his back.
The experts of the Murder Society were kneeling in front of him. Their bodies were bound in the thick special web. No matter what, they wouldn't be able to free themselves from these webs unless they had a power of a One Shackle Realm.
The experts glared at him with murderous eyes. They couldn't win against Souta but they weren't afraid of him. The organization backing them wasn't to be trifled.
"You're done! Keke, you actually attacked us, the Murder Society..." A person that looked like the leader of the group said with a laugh.
"So Murder Society isn't the one who killed the envoy?" Souta raised his eyebrows.
"Of course. Let me tell you something brat! You couldn't hope to fathom the extent of our organization! You will die and your comrades will be hanged in the headquarters!" The leader laughed madly.
"Talking about the organization backing you... Is the Murder Society great? Why don't you just tell me if you know who kill the envoy or not?" Souta scratched his head in annoyance. He placed his hand in his pocket and took out a small badge. "Take a look at this. If you're going to show off the organization behind you then you should consider who you are talking to first, right?"
"This...?" The leader and the others were stupefied when they saw the badge in Souta's hand. They started to tremble as their face slowly turned pale.
"Athen's Champion. I'm a Squad Leader in a God's Legion. I don't want to do this but you guys kept mentioning that you have a backing." Souta sighed while looking at their expression. "If you answer me from the start this wouldn't happen, you understand?"
"Now tell me what I want to hear." His tone turned cold as the leader and the rest felt a chill run down on their spine.
They finally realized why Souta didn't care about the Murder Society. Souta had the backing of a God's Legion which was countless times stronger than their organization. What they didn't know was that it was hard to mobilize those high-ranking warriors. Once they left Olympus' territory, the other Holy Lands and Large Countries would be wary of them, carefully observing the movement of those warriors. It was especially hard for god level to move in the current situation.
Well, these people didn't even know that so there's no need to explain it.
"T-The Murder Society didn't kill the envoy... It's the Wingless Crow..." The leader said with a pale face.
"Wingless Crow?" Souta raised his eyebrows. It's the first time he heard it.
"I-I don't know... We're just low-ranking members of Murder Society. That cult is a mystery to us too... But I know that they are in cahoots with the White Line City's overlord..." The leader paused for a moment. "I only heard it from the higher-ups. That cult wanted to take over the Mine Valley. That's why the Murder Society didn't interfere with the affairs in that piece of land."
"Even the Murder Society is wary about that unknown group?!" Souta was dumbfounded. From his understanding, Murder Society was one of the strongest organizations in the entire Hall Plains.
And they were connected to White Line City. He visited that place before he went to Bland City. It seems that he needed to show a little bit of his strength.
"Those Wingless bastards are insane! They aren't afraid to die, saying that it is the will of their god! They will do everything to accomplish their goal!" The leader continued. It seems that the Murder Society didn't have a good impression of those crazy cult bastards.
'Cult? They are worshipping a god! Those people are troublesome to deal with. They will make all sorts of excuses just to accomplish their goal.'
Souta turned gloomy. He had dealt with various cults in the past and it was very troublesome. Negotiation was impossible unless Souta had faith in their god.
"Okay, I've heard everything. Now, lower your defenses and open your pores." Souta said to them with a frosty look.
"Y-You, I've told you everything! W-What are you planning to do?!" The leader was agitated.
