Bang!!
A huge sound echoed as a five-meter-tall monster slammed a giant rhinoceros to the ground. Blood splattered everywhere as the rhinoceros' eyes lost their luster. Just like that, a peak fourth stage had died.
The one who killed it was a giant humanoid monster armed with a huge club. This was Gerxuzs, the Uncontrollable.
"It's weak..."
Gerxuzs spat in contempt. This peak fourth stage rhino was far weaker than the goblin he fought in Lerna Island. For him, no fourth stage monster could give him trouble except for that one. He was decimating every peak fourth stage that he met left and right and only left high level fourth stage and below.
He didn't even know that the fourth stage goblin that he fought before wasn't even a peak level nor high level. Souta was only at the intermediate level yet he could clash with the top peak fourth stage.
Gerxuzs frowned and left the territory of the rhinoceros. Souta's combat style was unusual for monsters. Several combat arts and spells boosted his strength by a certain degree and different skills were used to pressure Gerxuzs. The gravitational field and the other skills that lowered his ability a little bit did a great job of keeping him in check. If he didn't focus his attention on his surrounding sometimes shadows would emerge from the ground and attack him.
It was an unforgettable battle for him. A monster with the combat style of humans and demis. It was far more dangerous than any of peak fourth stage monsters that he saw before. Truly magnificent beyond compare.
"It seems that I need to hunt some humans or demis and learn their skills... It would be fun to hunt that goblin after that..."
...
Athens's Champion.
Souta's group returned after a huge harvest. Souta reported the completion of his mission. He also didn't forget to report the warriors that perished on Lerna Island.
What shocked him the most was that his feat had already traveled to this place. The warriors had heard about him subduing the legendary Nine-Headed Hydra.
"I didn't believe it at first but..." Carmel chuckled as he glanced at the sleeping snake coiled around Souta's left arm. The aura around it gave him pressure. The rumors were true. Souta really subdued the Nine-Headed Hydra.
"Somethings happen..." Souta smiled and didn't explain clearly. It's better to leave these things to their imagination.
"Anyway, the contribution you earn in this time is huge. I think that you will be able to promote your squad soon." Carmel changed the topic.
"Thank you," Souta said politely. He looked up and asked, "Grain Leader, what about the selection of the other Grain Leaders? Is it complete?"
"Yes, new Grain Leaders have emerged and they will become the pillars of our Third Set of Pallas Division." Carmel nodded. "We wanted to celebrate it but the situation isn't good. So the higher-ups send some of the new Grain Leaders away for a mission."
"In the Ruin Battlefield?" Souta asked.
"Yeah, that place became much worse than before. Our legion collaborated with Hell's Paradise, Hunter Bowl, Grains of Land, and Maiden's Heart to occupy one region in Ruin Battlefield." Grain Leader Carmel said. These four were organizations of the gods of Olympus.
Ruin Battlefields were the worse place on God's Continent. There were countless opportunities but the danger it possessed was something that normal people couldn't imagine. A bunch of countries were vying for these lands. There were no ordinary people living in that place. Only experts could last long and fight for various opportunities it possessed.
In every Ruin Battlefield, Zeus dispatched one god to guard their occupied territory to protect their interest. The other Holy Lands were the same.
It was a place where battle never ends.
"I see..." Souta nodded in understanding. He eyed Carmel and carefully asked, "Grain Leader, what about the reinforcement to Hall Plains?"
"Hmm... Six warriors accepted the mission. You can expect to see them soon in your territory." Grain Leader Carmel answered.
"Their strength?" Souta asked.
"Passable. Just one squad. We're still waiting for other warriors to accept the mission."
"Thanks..."
"Don't be like that. If what you reported is true then something is really happening in that barren Hall Plains. A Blood Sacrifice for god... Just what are they doing..." Carmel narrowed his eyes.
Souta chatted with Carmel for a few minutes before he left the office. He completed his mission and quest, and he also harvested a lot in this expedition.
Souta went back inside his room and set up a barrier. He glanced at the system and saw that he had a total of 24 skill points. To promote his class he had to level up one spell to ten and one combat arts to ten. The [Dark Menace] already reached level 10 so it was time to improve his [Shadow Damager] spell.
With a single breath, Souta consumed the skill points he earned to level up his [Shadow Damager]. Instantly, 20 skill points disappeared.
*Ding!*
[You've leveled up Shadow Damager to level 6]!
This spell helped him a lot in his battle against Gerxuzs. By attacking Gerxuzs' body and his shadow, Gerxuzs received double damage.
Souta couldn't help but look at all the spells that he had.
Spell(s):
Tier 1: [Fireball] Level 1, [Ice Shot] Level 1, [Mud Slide] Level 1, [Light Heal] Level 1, [Agility Boost] Level 1, [Strength Boost] Level 1, [Shadow Spike] Level 1, [Shadow Bind] Level 10, [Shadow Ball] Level 10
Tier 2: [Gravitational Ball] Level 10, [Dark Cloud Hunting] Level 10, [Dark Shooting Ray] Level 1, [Doppelganger] Level 10, [Shadow Damager] Level 6
Souta had a total of fourteen spells. He could cast all the tier 1 spells he had without relying on the system. Even if the mysterious system suddenly disappeared Souta could still cast the tier 1 spells.
Fourteen spells... It wasn't enough. He lacks skill points. Plus, he used the previous skills points he had to complete the body parts in the legacy. The Archetype and Thirteenth Sign were different from Saya's Archetype. The Archetype in the Legacy was completely compatible with him as it provides him with a body that could exert 100% of its power, unlike the [Archetype: Vajra Extremity] which got stuck at 49%.
Souta looked at the combat arts that he had and sighed. It wasn't enough. What he need was fifty spells and combat arts to activate another hidden function. A function that let Blood gain strength to fight higher-level beings.
Souta closed his eyes and began his energy circulation training. Best feram flowed throughout his body smoothly with the help of [Star Veins] and it slowly refined his bones and muscles.
On the next day, Souta's group departed.
...
Dragon Council.
"We've taken the White Line City... This piece of news shocked the entire Mine Valley. They didn't expect that we would take the White Line while everybody was fighting for the three cities." Ray, the First Head, pinched the bridge of his nose.
"The Wingless Crow is too crafty. We didn't know that they are behind the assassination. Now that we've taken the White Line City, the other organizations didn't hold back at all." Jovi, the Fourth Head, swept his eyes across everybody. "The Shackled Realm experts from other cities had begun to move. They hell bent on plundering any resources in those three cities."
"What I'm worried about the most is those organizations outside the Mine Valley. If we fight an all-out war they could seize this chance to take over our land." Eight Head said.
This was the reason why they were trying to avoid an all-out battle. There's probably another organization eyeing the Mine Valley just like Wingless Crow. The Wingless Crow wasn't an ordinary organization as it possessed dozens of One Shackle Realm and the leader strongly reached the level of Two Shackle Realm.
"What about I go ahead to fight for one of the three cities?" Second Head suddenly said.
The rest of the Heads turned their attention to Second Head. Second Head grinned and explained, "I'll fight an all-out war while you guys watch out the organizations outside the Mine Valley. Set up a post and connect it to each other to prevent a large army from approaching our land."
"Then, our force will be scattered around the Mine Valley..." Sixth Head said, full of concern.
"No, we'll follow Second Head's proposal. I'll use my army set up a defense and scout around the Mine Valley. They couldn't probably detect people above Solidifying Realm but it is enough to detect a large army." Ray said. "They wouldn't try to invade with just dozens of One Shackle Realm. An expert of that level would have trouble if they got surrounded by an army of Solidifying Realm."
"Then, we'll have to sacrifice our people?!" Ninth Head pursed her lips, clearly dissatisfied with Ray's words.
"We have no choice. It's not that we'll fight them directly. We'll simply use this to intimidate them so that they wouldn't rashly invade our land." Ray explained.
"Our choice. How about we cast our vote now? We'll wait for Seventh Head's vote but we'll take our vote now." Fourth Head said.
