Athen's Champion, the main base of Athena's legion in Champion's Den.
Vandal was sitting in his office while staring at the man in front of him. The man was none other than the Grain Leader of the Tenth Grain War, Carmel.
Vandal removed his eyes from Carmel and glanced at the paper files on the table. "Blood Sacrifice in Hall Plains? That's not a good sign..."
"I've dispatched several squads to help Squad Leader Souta in his investigation," Carmel said.
"The overall might?" Vandal turned his eyes at Carmel.
"One Third Shackles and two Second Shackles. The rest are First Shackle Realm." Carmel paused for a moment. "The others are on their way too. I think they will arrive in Hall Plains tonight."
The second batch had the same might as the first batch of warriors. One Three Shackles, two Two Shackles, and the rest were One Shackle Realm experts. The threat level of Blood Sacrifice was high and sending a batch of Solidifying Realm would be useless. So all the warriors that were dispatched were all Shackled Realm.
"I sent the Sixth Grain War leader." Vandal suddenly said.
"What?!" Carmel was a little bit surprised but when he thought about it carefully, this made sense. "Then, the Sixth Grain War Leader...?"
"Yes, they went to Hall Plains but on a different route. They are a separate force to surely destroy the threat of Blood Sacrifice." Vandal nodded.
When Carmel heard these words, he breathed a sigh of relief. With a Grain Leader in Hall Plains, things would be easier for other warriors. The power of a Grain Leader wasn't something anyone could underestimate, after all. They were elites that honed their skills through countless life-and-death battles.
Knock!
Carmel and Vandal turned their heads at the door.
"Come in," Vandal said.
The door slowly opened and a warrior stepped inside. He bowed to Carmel and Vandal before he reported. He reported that all the warriors that were dispatched had arrived at Hall Plains safely. They would not contact anyone in the next few days since they would start their investigation.
"I will wait for their report." Vandal stood up from his seat.
...
Boom!
A loud sound echoed as a figure flashed through the sky with insane speed. The Heiro Kingdom appeared in Souta's vision and it made him smile. He felt a strong presence in that place which made his blood boil.
"Here I come!"
Souta increased his speed once again. A terrifying aura exploded out of his body. It greatly increased his speed.
The people on the ground just heard a loud booming sound and felt the horrific aura that loomed above them. The next moment the aura disappeared as if nothing happened. They looked up and saw nothing but they knew a terrifying monster just passed by in their area. The pressure before was so heavy that it made ordinary people faint instantly. Only C-rank and above could handle it. Luckily, it quickly disappeared or else even C-rank would not be able to handle a few seconds of exposure.
...
Ugh!
The King kneeled as he coughed a mouthful of blood. He lifted his head and looked at the old man floating in front of him.
Lord Dramus glanced at the King before he turned his attention to Princess Yaniesvyl. "It's useless to run. The entire Heiro Kingdom was sealed by me before I initiate the attack. The fact that you didn't notice it means that you lack the ability to oppose me."
Princess Yaniesvyl looked up trying to sense how the kingdom was sealed, but she haven't detected anything. It feels normal but the enemy had no reason to lie to her. Even if she tried to escape she knew that the enemy could easily capture her. The difference in strength was huge. She didn't have the strength to fight back and she didn't even have the power to escape. If the gap in strength was a little bit smaller, she would have escaped even if she couldn't defeat the enemy.
Argh! The King forced himself to stand up. Blood was dripping out of his mouth as he slowly raised his sword.
"Oh, still want to fight me? If you didn't have the protection of that armor set, you would be long dead." Lord Dramus was amused.
"I'm the King of Heiro Kingdom! I must stand before my enemies! I will not cower in front of my subjects!" The King declared in a strong tone.
"What an admirable king..." Lord Dramus laughed. "Unfortunately, I have to end this farce now."
He raised his hand. A huge concentration of energy swirled around his palm. The force sucked all the winds in the area as dozens of light dots appeared around his hand.
Princess Yaniesvyl turned pale. The level of energy that she was seeing right now was beyond her capabilities. No one in the entire kingdom has the power to block this attack. If the old man was alone then there was a chance but the old man had comrades too. His comrades were fighting the other high level experts of the Heiro Kingdom.
'I will die! No, he will capture me! He wanted to kill my father first!'
Princess Yaniesvyl stood up as she tightly gripped the sword in her hand. She stepped forward and glared at Lord Dramus.
"You still have some use so you can't die." Lord Dramus said as he stretched out his other hand. He waved it and a force erupted that blew Princess Yaniesvyl to the wall.
Bang!
Princess Yaniesvyl groaned in pain. She opened her eyes and found flames wrapping around her limbs, preventing her from moving.
"N-No... Father..." She looked at her father who was facing the overwhelming Lord Dramus.
"Die!" Lord Dramus grinned widely. He raised his hand above his head and a ball of energy expanded above his palm before it shrank in the next second.
BOOM!!
A deafening sound exploded followed by the sound of broken glasses. The entire atmosphere suddenly changed and everyone was forced to look up. All the experts that were fighting outside the palace paused as they stared at the semi-transparent fragments that fell from above.
Even the civilians who were trying to hide couldn't help but turn their heads in the sky. The broken fragments kept falling before they turned into tiny particles.
"What's happening?"
Princess Yaniesvyl and her father were confused. They looked at Lord Dramus and found that he was also shocked at this. It seems that this wasn't within his plans.
"H-How?" Lord Dramus muttered to himself. He couldn't believe that the barrier that sealed the entire kingdom was shattered. No ordinary force could break the barrier.
He narrowed his eyes as he observed the broken fragments. There's no doubt about it. The barrier was destroyed.
'Who?'
There were only a few people capable of destroying his barrier in the entire Hall Plains.
"Huh?"
Lord Dramus noticed a silhouette in the sky. It was too high so he couldn't clearly see the appearance of the person.
Princess Yaniesvyl and her father followed Lord Dramus's line of sight and saw the silhouette of a person.
A few moments later, the person in the sky descended. It was a humanoid creature with dark green skin and a pair of red eyes.
It was Souta.
"It's you!"
Princess Yaniesvyl opened her eyes widely as she recognized the appearance. Souta didn't even change his appearance this time so she recognized him. Also, even if Souta changed his appearance she would still be able to recognize him once she felt his energy signature.
The King didn't have any idea about it.
"Souta, you're here... It means that the ancient ruins..." Lord Dramus was surprised when he saw the appearance of the person.
Souta wanted to say something but the old man's words surprised him. He examined the old man with his eyes before he asked, "You recognize me?"
"Souta, City Lord of Ekatoe City, Ninth Head of the Dragon Council, Leader of the Astros Squad, a warrior from the Tenth Grain War Third Set of Pallas Division, a peak fourth stage monster of Athen's Legion, and recently called as Master of Hydra..." Lord Dramus said. "You've vanished from our radar so I didn't expect that I will meet you here in Spring Land."
"It seems that you did your homework very well." Souta laughed lightly. "So you should know why I'm here..."
"That's right... We've investigated the Nine Heads of the Dragon Council after the downfall of the Wingless Crow branch in Mine Valley, and see what we discovered. The Athen's Champion extending their hands out of the Olympus' territory. We've already taken notes of all the threats inside the Hall Plains so you will be dealt with soon." Lord Dramus said.
"You know a lot of things..." Souta stared down. His monster orb started to pump energy throughout his body. The atmosphere started to change as the entire ground trembled rapidly. "You have to tell me everything that you know."
"It's not your time but you came knocking at our door. It seems I have to take you down along with the Heiro Kingdom." Lord Dramus faced Souta.
Both of their energy collided causing sparks to fly out in mid-air.
