"Oh, I forgot that I already sent my shadows to tail those people from Murder Society." Souta scratched his head as the oppressive aura around him vanished. Several skills that he casted suddenly disappeared.
Despite that, the sandworms and the others could feel their strength leaving their bodies.
Hermo and Casti subconsciously took a step back. Their power was getting lower and lower. They looked at their people only to find that they were experiencing the same thing.
"You!! Who the hell are you?!"
Hermo roared as he fiercely glared at Souta with a hint of fear in his eyes.
The feeling that more than half of his strength was suppressed was terrible. It was hard to describe but all of the training that he did in his life was a waste in front of this one humanoid monster.
Souta ignored Hermo's words. He glanced at Alexander and wondered when he would finish taking the so-called "key."
As if sensing what he wanted to ask, Alexander turned around with blood flowing out of his mouth. "Souta, hurry up and finish them. I will be able to get this key soon so the guardian of the key will appear too."
"Guardian?"
"Yeah, do you think that the creator of this place would depend on the sandworms to protect the key?! Anyway, you know what you have to do so I'll focus my entire attention here." Alexander wiped the blood on the corner of his mouth before he went back to his business.
"Oh, I see..." Souta rubbed his chin in understanding.
Sandworms would probably take the key if they knew its existence. Plus, in the previous trials... He saw a bunch of golems and projections so probably the guardian should be one of them. A machine programmed to do one thing was probably the best guardian than others. A golem or projection didn't have a mind of its own. It would only follow what it was programmed to do. The creator of this realm didn't need to worry about betrayal from them.
Guardian? He shouldn't think about it. He was getting excited as he imagined the power of the guardian. He shouldn't look forward to it. What if the guardian was just a little bit stronger then he would be disappointed.
Souta shrugged his head as he turned his head to the pitiful people waiting for his judgement.
"Well, well, well, what should I do with these guys?"
He smiled creepily causing everyone to flinch.
Casti gracefully bent her body forward and said respectfully, "Sir, please forgive us for offending you. If you don't mind, we will not bother you anymore."
She didn't even hesitate to bow her head. For her, it was going to help her survive then it doesn't matter even if she bow her head. Her life was all that matters to her.
Souta raised his eyebrows with interest. He didn't expect this woman to bow her head.
'She is the leader of the group, right? Sigh... Doesn't matter to me.'
He raised his hand and motioned them to leave.
"You can leave if you want but if you try me again know that I will not show mercy. Oh, I forgot..."
Suddenly the whole area turned cold. They could feel immense pressure coming out of his eyes.
"I can sense anyone within a diameter of twenty kilometers. If I sense anyone of you, don't expect that you will be able to step out of this land." Souta said.
"You fucker! Do you think you-" Hermo stopped in the middle of his sentence. He looked down and saw a black tentacle slithering around his leg. "Huh? W-What is this?"
"Ah, I'm done. I'm done." Souta sighed as he silently move his hand.
Several tentacles rose from the ground and strangled the people from the Thunder Hall. The sandworms weren't an exception. The black tentacles wrapped tightly around them as if trying to crush their bodies.
"N-No!" Hermo roared in horror. The black tentacle was slowly crushing his body from the inside out. He didn't even have the strength to resist so he could only watch this disgusting thing kill him.
Shinggg!!
Suddenly, a brilliant sword light flashed and the black tentacles around their bodies were sliced into tiny pieces.
Hermo fell on the ground. His forehead was full of sweat and his breathing was ragged. He glanced at the person beside him and sighed in relief. "I'm glad that I brought you here, Elder Monbi."
"Be careful, young master. That one is a fourth stage monster, a humanoid one. I don't know what type of ability it has but it seems that it didn't work on me, a Two Shackles Realm expert." Elder Monbi said.
"Elder Monbi?!" Casti was shocked. She heard of this powerful elder from Thunder Hall.
One of the three Two Shackles Realm of the Thunder Hall. Grand Elder, Patriach, and lastly Elder Monbi.
Originally, there were only two Two Shackles Realm experts of Thunder Hall but after the increase in mana density a few months ago, Elder Monbi broke through the shackles. This alone increase the overall might of the Thunder Hall several times.
'Didn't expect that he would come here with Hermo. So that's why I couldn't see the depths of his strength. He is Elder Monbi.' Casti said inwardly.
It seems that the Thunder Hall really doted on Hermo. If not, they wouldn't send a Two Shackles expert with him. Even she didn't have that kind of treatment.
"Young lady Casti, do you mind if we talk a bit?" Elder Monbi said.
"What do you want, Elder Monbi? As you can see, all of my men are affected by the pressure. We can't fight so if you want us to help you I'm afraid that I have to decline." Casti answered politely. She knew that she couldn't offend this powerful elder. Either way, she really couldn't fight the humanoid monster and Elder Monbi.
"Huh? What are you saying?"
Casti, Hermo, Elder Monbi, and the rest shivered when they heard the voice. They slowly turned their heads and found that Souta was standing in front of Elder Monbi.
"Did you gain confidence just because you're not affected by my ability? Is that it?" Souta asked as he put his face closer to the old man. He already knew that this old man was Two Shackles expert when he scanned them earlier. It's just that he wasn't a bit intimidated by a lone Two Shackles.
It's a different matter if the Two Shackles expert was Alexander. That guy had seven elements that reach higher levels than him.
"Y-You!" Elder Monbi was shocked. His eyes were widely opened as he slowly took a step back.
"Fall," Souta said as he stretched out his hand.
Elder Monbi couldn't handle it anymore. He quickly brandished his sword and slashed it diagonally.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Casti, Hermo, and the others couldn't follow their movements. They just saw the two figures vanish in front of their eyes before hearing several explosions in the air.
Without any warning, the two started a battle.
They were shocked. This was their first time seeing a battle of a Two Shackles Realm expert. It was frightening to the point that the energy waves from the clash alone made them fall to their knees. It was as if a heavy boulder was pressed on their shoulders.
Even without the pressure from that strange ability of that humanoid monster, they would still be pressed to their knees. It was the only thing they could do. Some of the weaker men in their group began to lose consciousness.
As expected, without their strength the energy waves of Elder Monbi knocked them out.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A figure fell from the sky and heavily crashed on the sands. It blows a large amount of sand that filled the air.
"Ehe~"
Souta charged as he swung his hand. Elder Monbi wanted to dodge but it was too late. Several strings of webs already restrained his limbs.
Bang!
Elder Monbi screamed as a huge cut appeared on his chest. Blood spurted out and it quickly turned into sharp blades that pierced his body.
Souta was about to punch a hole through the old man's chest when he sensed something. He slightly turned his head and saw that another fourth stage sandworm was behind him. But the one that he sensed wasn't this sandworm.
"So it's here..."
A wide smile formed on his face as a terrifying force gushed out of his body.
"Then, I don't need you guys to accompany me anymore. The real challenge is here."
Souta's grin seemed to reach his ears. Elder Monbi didn't know what he was talking about but he grew terrified when he felt the massive amount of energy that burst out of Souta's figure.
"W-What are you?!" Elder Monbi asked while stuttering.
Dark clouds gathered in the sky as thunder roared wildly.
Souta threw Elder Monbi to the side like a piece of garbage. Then, he flew into the sky and stop just below the dark clouds. He stared down with an excited expression.
"This energy fluctuation... This must be the guardian that Alexander was talking about! I'll start it with a bang to test my new tapped blood!"
