"Tsk!"
Souta clicked his tongue in annoyance. The experts of Murder Society decided to fight until the end when they realized that Souta was planning on controlling them. They preferred to die than let someone control them completely.
Their determination was just like those warriors in Athen's Champion.
Souta took out the transmission talisman and called Alice.
"Alice, can you hear me?"
"Yeah, loud and clear." Alice's voice sounded through the talisman.
"I want you to gather our force and surround the White Line City. If possible you can ask the Dragon Council for some help. They are our allies so even if it's little they will lend us some hands." Souta said in a serious tone.
"White Line City? You mean..."
"Yeah, the people that assassinated the envoy are probably hiding in that place. I want you to surround that city as soon as possible. Also, do it secretly. Don't let the other side notice you unless you have blocked all the escape routes. You can't be careless."
"Okay, I understand."
"Good. I'll head there as soon as I settle here. You can kill anyone who disobeys my orders."
Souta bid farewell and canceled the call. His eyes turned gloomy as he recalled the words of the experts from Murder Society.
Wingless Crow was a group that even the Murder Society was wary of. A famous assassin organization actually avoided an unknown cult.
It seems that this Wingless Crow was stronger than he expected.
'I'll report this to higher-ups. I'll lay low for a few days while completing missions from the legion.'
He already decided his next course of action. After completing Quest 1, he would return to Champion's Den and complete a few missions before he return here. After all, aside from this unexpected Chain Quest he still had other plans.
The Astros Squad was already a First Class Yellow Squadron. It was suitable to take some of the missions that he knew in the past. He also finished his preparation. If not for the Chain Quest, he would've headed there as soon as he finished the Tournament of Astros.
Chain Quest was an important source of skill points, attribute points, and cards for him. It's impossible for him to abandon it.
"As for the Wingless Crow... I just hope that they will let me finish this without giving me too much trouble."
...
After Alice received Souta's orders, she quickly mobilize the available experts of the Astros. She also didn't forget to send people to the Dragon Council to ask for some help.
"I'll be in charge of this operation. Isabella, gather the remaining members of the Noxious Corps and go to the White Line City to scout. Eztein will go there and lead the advance force." Alice quickly issued a command.
The Noxious Corps were trained assassins. Then, there's the advanced force that would surround the entire White Line City. They would isolate that place and prevent anyone from leaving. They also had permission to kill anyone who didn't follow their instruction.
They were prepared to destroy an entire city and massacre everyone in it if the city didn't cooperate with them.
"What about me?" Eilish asked with a smile.
"We need some people to guard our city. Doranjan and Elder Hanmi will also stay here." Alice explained.
"You're bringing Eztein and Elder Guan. That's two One Shackle Realms. It seems that the enemies this time isn't ordinary." Eilish smiled.
"Yeah, Souta also ask me to contact the allies of Ekatoe City. They will also help us so I think it's enough to handle everything hidden in White Line City." Alice nodded at her words.
"So Souta joined this so-called Dragon Council... And he said that we should be careful too. Although we could trust the council we shouldn't completely lower our guards against them, am I right?" Eilish tapped the table with her soft and slender finger. She then gazed at Alice and asked, "Are you going to bring the witches or the formal force?"
The formal force was the people that once belong to Eilish. They were her subordinate when she was still an underground ruler in the Earthen Core City back in the sub-world.
"As long as they passed the criteria, I'll bring them with me. Plus, Eztein already took twenty S-rank and seventy A-rank with him. We don't have a lot of people in Astros." Alice said with a sigh.
"Why don't you use the other forces in Ekatoe City? The Shimpan Family is quite strong considering that they had ten S-rank in their ranks. Also, if I'm not wrong, the family head broke through the Shackled Realm." Eilish gave her opinion.
In the past, Shimpan Family had grown stronger and Edward, the family head, reached the Shackled Realm. They were supposed to be the overlord of Ekatoe City if not for Souta occupying it.
"Fine, I'll bring some of them as insurance." Alice nodded.
They couldn't be careless. Souta knew the dangers of the current situation. In the game, millions of players took countless quests and eliminate various hidden organizations. Even though the players were bound by their level cap and couldn't match the experts in a one-on-one battle, they still had the advantage in numbers. So naturally, they demolished organizations left and right.
But now, there's no players... Who would help the folks of God's Continent in discovering the trails of those hidden organizations?
Plus, those organizations were backed by a more powerful group.
That's why they need to be careful. They weren't players that could respawn indefinitely. If everyone was a player, Souta wouldn't mind being reckless. After all, death wasn't a problem.
He wouldn't mind flipping the entire Hall Plains. Even if he died, he would just respawn after waiting for a countdown.
...
Dragon Council...
"Wait, Seventh Head is asking for assistance?" Fourth Head said in a loud voice.
"Yes, his subordinate contacted us. They want us to send some forces to the White Line City." Eight Head nodded at the Fourth Head.
"White Line City?! Could it be that he..." Fifth Head opened his eyes widely.
"Yeah, I think Seventh Head found the culprit behind the assassination." Jovi, Fifth Head, said slowly.
"We couldn't send a lot of people. We're still entangled in the battle for the three cities. We couldn't pull our forces and send it to the White Line City." Second Head said.
"Yeah, it would place us in a disadvantageous position." Fifth Head couldn't help but nod at Second Head's words.
"Then, leave it to me, I'll send my forces." Third Head suddenly said causing the rest of the Heads to stare at her.
"Eh, are you sure? If I think it's better if each one of us dispatched five Solidifying Realm experts." Nine Head said to Third Head.
There were eight of them here so if each of them sent five Solidifying Realm experts, it would create a huge force enough to threaten a city. And if they added them to Seventh Head's army, it should be enough to deal with the White Line City.
Plus, Solidifying Realm wasn't the only expert they were going to dispatch. It was just the highest experts that they could send. They didn't include the lower experts which were below Solidifying Realm.
So aside from those Solidifying Realm experts, each one of them could send ten to fifteen Liquefying Realm.
"There's no need. I'm supposed to assist him in finding the culprit anyway so it's within my limit." Third Head shook her head and rejected Ninth Head's proposal.
Ray, who was listening to their discussion, opened his mouth. "Are you sure about it, Third Head?"
"Mn." Third Head nodded. She pondered for a moment before she added, "I'll also go to White Line City."
Her decision surprised the rest of the Heads. In their opinion of her, Third Head was a woman that like to laze around. She didn't want to personally handle things herself.
But now...
She said that she would personally go to White Line City?!
"Seventh Head has Shackled Realm subordinate and yet he still asks for our assistance. It means that the enemy is far greater than he imagined." Third Head explained.
The rest of the Heads understood her explanation.
...
Shadows slowly approached the White Line City. They moved swiftly as they quickly traversed the woods and saw the famed city.
They were the Noxious Corps led by Isabella herself. When Franklin was gone, she was in charge of the corps.
'Alice said that there are powerful beings in this city. She said that I should prevent people from leaving this place.'
Isabella said inwardly as she glanced at the people beside her.
She divided the group and blocked all the gates of the city. The line of people outside the gate was forced inside and the Noxious Corps guarded it.
Of course, the guards resisted but Isabella and the rest already received a permission that they could use violence in this operation. They tightly locked the gate and waited outside.
Isabella and a few other S-rank were suspended in the sky observing the city.
'This... Shackled Realm...'
She narrowed her eyes as the undulation of power energy erupted throughout the city.
