Edilon and Fremi left to complete their task. Alice left too to arrange the potions and other things that they would need in the battle.
Souta was left in the room with Eilish, Franklin, and Eztein.
Souta casually glanced at them. Eztein was already at Three Shackles while Eilish and Franklin were both at Two Shackles. He needed them to increase their strength as soon as possible. They already have techniques, combat arts, and spells. The only thing they lacked was potions or pills that would stimulate their potential.
Eilish was close to Three Shackles. He didn't know what happened but her growth rate had suddenly increased. It must be related to the thing that happened when she met her brother.
If he remembered correctly, the lingering energy at that time was mysteriously strange. It wiped out both allies and enemies. It had Eilish's energy signature but at the time it wasn't her.
How?
The energy signatures were unique to each person. It was like a fingerprint of low-level beings.
Souta could change his appearance but he couldn't change his energy signature. Even the mana he stored in his parasite turned out to be the same one as his. His mana and best feram had the same signature. He didn't have best feram when he was at the second stage of evolution but his signature didn't even change after turning into a monster orb.
There was something wrong with Eilish but he couldn't see it even with his eyes. Even Eilish didn't have any idea what that strange energy was.
"Boss, what should we do now?" Eztein asked.
Souta snapped out of his thoughts. He glanced at Eztein and said, "I'm waiting for someone."
Eilish raised her eyebrows and asked, "Is it that man?"
"Yep, the hero from another world." Souta nodded.
"Hero? As in the hero that received..." Eztein was confused.
"It's different from the heroes of Imperium. The hero of god is the general term for a person that received a god's blessing. It's also different from the Hero-rank which is a term for a person who broke seven shackles and above." Eilish explained. "The hero we are talking about is just a man who wants to save the world or probably just like that. The kind of hero you read in books."
"Oh, I see... When did you meet this hero guy?" Eztein asked.
"Eilish and I went on a mission in a sub-world a week ago," Souta said.
"Does he have a parasite? If so, we can spar and not care about injuries." Franklin joined the conversation.
Souta glanced at Franklin, "Franklin, now is not the time for this. Vashno is a Three Shackles expert so he is strong. Battle... We have a lot of time later for this."
"I see..." Franklin nodded and went back to leaning on his chair.
Eilish stood up and turned to Souta. She smiled and asked, "I'll prepare a meal. Do you perhaps have anything that you want to eat?"
"I'll leave it to you. Anything is fine with me." Souta said.
"Okay," Eilish nodded and left.
Eztein looked at her back and asked, "Is there something wrong with her? She's not the type to cook."
Souta shrugged his shoulder.
After a while, Eilish finished cooking the food. The group ate together and after waiting for an hour a man knocked on the gate of the mansion.
"Vashnu's here..." Souta muttered. He already sensed Vashnl's energy on the gate.
Soon, the door opened and a man stepped inside. Eztein and Franklin observed this newcomer.
Souta smiled as he pointed at the vacant chair.
Vashno sat down with a serious look on his face. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves.
Souta pointed at Eztein and Franklin, "This is Eztein and this old man is Franklin."
Franklin nodded and Eztein waved his hand.
"Hello, I'm Vashno." Vashno introduced himself in a simple manner.
Souta fixed his posture and said, "Let's get down to the business. I've dispatched you here in advance to gather information about this country."
Vashno sighed and said, "You're right. This world broadened my horizon. Even this country alone already had people that surpassed me."
"Right?! That's why I felt too when I first arrived here in Imperium. I didn't even know that gods were real." Eztein raised his thumb.
"Eztein, let him talk," Souta said.
"Okay," Eztein replied.
Vashno continued, "Selnes Country is ruled by Five Master Clans; the Windi Clan, Botano Clan, Flaem Clan, Darkna Clan, and Methal Clan. There are other clans and strong families in this nation but the Five Master Clans are the ruling party. Each clan possessed a massive force that I've never seen before."
"The Head of the Botano Clan is called Paente. He is a powerful man but according to the rumors that I've heard, he is also kind and helpful to the citizens of the country.
"The Head of the Windi Clan is called Schine. He is the oldest among the clan leaders. They said that Schine came from the era three hundred years ago when the glory of the country was at its peak.
"The Head of the Flaem Clan is called Hono. She is the only woman among all the clan leaders. She came from a branch clan outside the nation. She rose to the position with the help of the demi families that she gathered in the past.
"Bezvin Darkna, the Head of the Darkna Clan. He rarely appears in public so I don't have much information with me. He is the most mysterious among all the clan leaders. Most of the time, his wife is the one who appeared in public to convey his words.
"Hoei Methal, the Head of the Methal Clan. He is the youngest clan leader. He is only 26 years old this year and it took him three years to rise to his current position."
The clans had connections to each other. Sometimes they would engage in a political marriage to strengthen their bonds.
Souta continued to listen to Vashno's report.
According to him, except for the Schine Windi, most of the previous leaders of the Five Master Clans were still alive.
Souta asked if there was any strange wisp of energy or energy concentration in this place.
Vashno shook his head, "I haven't felt anything like that."
Souta rubbed his chin. 'Hmm, then where will the Tears of Divine Might appear? I know that it appeared in the Selnes War in the game. As for the exact details, I know nothing about it.'
"There's still places that I haven't scouted yet," Vashno said.
Souta raised his eyebrows.
"The household of the Five Master Clans. It's hard to infiltrate their mansions since there are several layers of barriers. There are even runes across their walls. It is said that their mansions were built enchanted by their gods in the past." Vashno said.
"I see... If that's the case, then I can't blame you that you can't gather info about them." Souta rubbed his chin. "Okay, then just tell me the basic knowledge of these Five Master Clans."
Vashno slowly explained to Souta the structure of the Five Master Clans. The nation was divided into ten zones and each clan ruled two zones.
The mansion they were in was situated in the third zone, one of the two zones that the Botano Clan ruled. Botano Clan ruled over the third zone and fourth zone. This land was different from the rest. There were thousands of trees planted across the area and some of the trees even reached the height of one hundred meters.
Paente Botano, the Head of the Botano Clan, was an expert that used plant attributes. He was an expert that stood at the top of the country along with the other clan heads.
Vashno also explained the details of the famous All Filter Barrier Formation of the Selnes Country. The barrier filtered anyone who entered the land. The strong experts were thrown away while the weak were accepted. Only people who had the bloodline of the ruling clans could enter without feeling the pressure from the barrier. Although it could filter the people, it couldn't prevent a god from entering. A god was entirely a different being from mortals. This was the reason why the Selnes Country was called Impregnable before the Gods.
Souta and Vashno talked for an hour.
After that, the group left the mansion to walk around the city. The Blue Cross Squad tagged along with them. They looked around curiously.
The atmosphere of the city was lively even though a war was approaching. There were stalls everywhere and people of different ages wandered around the streets. Most of the houses were built in the towering trees across the land. There were even hanging houses on the branches of giant trees.
"Look over there, that tree is three hundred meters tall. It is the main attraction of the third zone and fourth zone. It's a tree called Yasmoin Tree." Vashno pointed.
Souta, Eilish, Franklin, Eztein, and the rest of the Blue Cross Squad looked over and saw a gigantic tree.
"Its branches can be used as a material to create an orange grade armor of weapon. The household of the Botano is situated in that tree." Vashno added.
"Hm..." Souta squinted his eyes and saw several barriers within.
Vashno was right. This was a place that he couldn't infiltrate. The defenses were right.
