The growth rate of Astros was getting faster. The combat arts, spells, and techniques that Saya provided helped the Astros in promoting their power level faster. The only thing that was lacking was a huge amount of resources. Pills, potions, or medicines to improve one's rank.
Isabella's Poitioneer Department still needed to grow. Right now, the only thing that they could provide was pills and potions for C-rank to increase their speed in achieving B-rank.
Souta and the others listened to Elder Hanmi's report.
The Feral Corps had improved too. The Red Dragon finally reached the fourth stage and a few second stages advanced to the third stage.
364 second stages, 12 third stages, and 4 fourth stages. As for the first stage and non-evolved they weren't included.
Doranjan, Yuko, Red Dragon, and the newly joined Devouring Alligator.
Souta wasn't included in the 4 fourth stage monster. Even though he was still in the fourth stage, his strength was abnormal. He was far stronger than the four of them combined.
The Feral Corps was strong. This army of monsters was getting stronger at a fast rate.
Monsters, humans, and demis.
All of them could be found in Astros.
What army of goblins? Souta laughed at himself. He couldn't help but remember the time when he was weak wondering about the formation of his army of monsters. Right now, he had various races under his command. The largest group was monsters and witches.
It's been a year since he established Astros and the organization has grown stronger. They participated in a few battlefields. The most recent one was in the central region of Hall Plains. A lot of people died in the war but in the end, they still won.
Souta looked at Alice and the rest. He said, "Tomorrow, I will depart and participate in the war. I'm sure that you've heard about the army of Gluttony, right? I'm going to fight in the frontline. A few of you will follow me to the Selnes Country."
Alice, Eztein, Franklin, Eilish, and Kessa would follow Souta along with the dozens of squads from the Sixth Grain War. After all, Souta was a Grain Leader and he volunteered to participate in the war this time. Honestly, even if he didn't volunteer, he would still be dispatched to the battlefield but the only difference was the chosen battlefield. It would be better if he volunteered and chose the battlefield himself.
Alice and the rest nodded at his words.
Gragas, Elder Hanmi, Doranjan, Yuko, and the rest would stay. Souta would bring Kessa with him so he needed someone to guard the city while he was gone. It wouldn't be good if all the top experts of Astros disappeared.
"A war... I'm getting excited." Old man Franklin grinned widely.
"Tsk, old man, you're too troublesome," Eztein said.
"Prepare yourself," Souta said sternly.
At this moment in time, Souta had no idea that the Selnes Country was different from the other two places. The only thing that he knew was that a mythical grade would appear, the Tears of Divine Might. It's not that a mythical hasn't appeared in the Imperium before, it's just that the Selnes Country was a little bit more special than the rest.
Selnes Country, Fedru Republic, and Bruim Principality would be the three places where the Gluttony's Army would first clash against the forces of the Holy Lands.
The demons and the other Bringers of Calamity would watch Gluttony fight against the Holy Lands, waiting for an opportunity to gain benefits. Some of the Holy Lands wouldn't participate, their role was to watch for the predator eyeing the battle. They wanted to prevent the demons or other Deadly Sins from joining the battle.
"Dismiss."
Isabella, Elder Hanmi, Gragas, and Torkez left the room to do their things while Souta, Alice, Franklin, and Eztein entered Saya's inner consciousness. They just returned from training but they would train again.
They would participate in war. There's nothing wrong if they could increase their strength by a small margin.
A few hours later, Eilish arrived in the room and joined the rest. She would participate in the battle too.
It's peaceful even though a war could erupt at any moment. The Hall Plains was peaceful at this moment compared to the other lands, after all, Souta had already resolved the problems of this land.
On the next day, Souta and the other four exited Saya's inner consciousness. Their strength didn't increase largely but their skills were better than before. They honed their combat arts so that they could use it better in battle.
"A war..." Alice muttered. She glanced at Souta and asked, "The whole world is changing, can we keep up with it?"
Souta looked at her before he answered, "We have no choice."
He laughed and added, "Don't worry, We're strong. We're not weak anymore."
Eztein glanced at Eilish and noticed something. He asked, "Hey, old lady, are you going to break your shackle?"
Souta, Alice, and Franklin turned to Eilish. They noticed that her aura was stronger than before. It was on the verge of reaching Three Shackles.
Eilish shook her head. "I can't do it. I need a little bit more time."
Souta scanned her with his [Galaxy Eyes]. He noticed that one of her shackles was full of cracks. It was leaking a wisp of smoke that slowly entered Eilish's body.
"Do you want to stay here and focus on breaking through?" Souta asked.
"No, I will participate in the war. I will find an opportunity to break through in the war." Eilish answered.
"I see..." Souta nodded.
The Astros would gain another Three Shackles after or in the middle of the war.
"How about we spar? Maybe, it will help you stimulate your potential." Eztein smiled devilishly.
He could still remember that this bitch drank several of his wine back in Champion's Den. Even in the tournament, he was defeated by this bitch. But it was different right now, he was actually stronger than her. He was Three Shackles while she was still at Two Shackles. He wouldn't be satisfied if he didn't beat her once.
Eilish's expression darkened. She glared at Eztein.
"Oh, a spar! Let me join too!" Franklin said.
"Shut up, old man! Battle is the only thing that comes to your mind!" Eztein shouted.
Souta stood up, ignoring the commotion. He opened the window and looked at the peaceful city of Ekatoe.
"I don't know what will happen in the war but I'm thoroughly prepared."
He tightly clenched both of his fists and a blood-red light sparks around his arms.
...
Bang!!
Sounds of explosions echoed in the area. The ground shook as if it was about to collapse. Various buildings had fallen, taking the lives of ordinary people.
Boom!
The deafening sound echoed once again. Hundreds of figures clashed in the sky causing the void to vibrate. Their energy swept in all directions.
The sky was dark and the ground was dyed in red. The stench of blood was thick and countless corpses were scattered across the entire land.
Several kilometers away, in a small city, a boy and a girl were hiding in a small room. The vibration on the ground caused them to flinch.
The boy hugged the girl tightly. Both of them were trembling in fear as the battle grew stronger and stronger every second.
"M-Mom... D-dad... T-they..."
The girl muttered as she tightly grasped on her brother's clothes.
The boy covered his sister's mouth as he tightly clutched the pendant around his neck. The pendant was emitting a dim light that created a barrier around them. It was protecting them from the energy pressure in the atmosphere.
Even though the boy was scared, he still had to act tough in front of his sister. He was the big brother so he couldn't show her that he was scared.
"Mom and dad are fine..."
The boy whispered. He could see the scene just outside the room. There were two corpses lying in the pool of blood.
A man and a woman.
Their eyes were lifeless.
They were his parents.
"My Lord!!"
"My Lord!!"
Esquin, who was sitting on the throne, slowly opened his eyes. He held his head and muttered, "That dream again..."
He turned his head and asked, "What's the matter?"
The man who was standing below the throne answered, "We're about to face the first resistance of the Holy Lands. What should we do?"
Esquin looked ahead and his gaze pierced through the walls, seeing the movements of his army. After a while, he opened his mouth, "Just attack, if they sent high-ranks then dispatch our high-ranks too. We are not afraid of starting the battle of the high-ranks."
"I understand, My Lord!" The man bowed. He then retreated to convey the words of his god to the army.
Esquin was left alone in the throne room.
He rested his chin on his hand and laughed, "I'm waging a war... What a funny thing, I've become someone I hate the most, a leader."
His expression turned gloomy as he stared at the sky, the beyond where he cultivated his soldiers.
"When the war ends, the leaders will shake their hands. An old woman will wait for her son. A wife will wait for her husband. A girl will wait for her father. It's pitiful."
Esquin closed his eyes.
"And I became someone who did the same... The things that I dislike about myself have increased again. Truly laughable."
