The household of Botano Family was really hard to infiltrate. It consisted of several layers of barriers and even runes of detection were all over the field.
No mortals could set up this place. It was really left by their gods. The restriction was so profound that only gods could probably achieve it.
"Botano Clan, huh?"
Souta glanced at the giant tree one more time.
"Grain Leader Souta."
Souta turned his head and saw Leilus.
"We'll go separate ways. I'll inform you if we discover something." Leilus said.
"Okay," Souta nodded.
"Thank you." Leilus saluted before he left along with his squad.
Souta and the rest continued to walk.
They walked for thirty minutes and found a forest. It has a land area of ten square kilometers. It was part of the third zone and fourth zone. The experts from the Botano Clan were the ones that were maintaining the scene of the two zones.
Greenery.
It was the one word that came into Souta's mind after seeing the land that Botano Clan ruled.
"Vashno, is there an underground organization in this country?" Souta asked.
"Yeah, it's called Durim Corporation and they have connections to the Five Master Clans. If they don't, then they will not be able to stay longer in this country." Vashno answered.
"I see... Do you have a way to contact them? I want to see it for myself." Souta said.
"They are situated in the fifth zone, in the Great Konsta Colosseum."
"Fifth zone?"
"Yeah, Methal Clan ruled the fifth zone and sixth zone. The Durim Corporation is the shadow leader of the Great Konsta Colosseum. They are the ones that secretly manage the affairs of the colosseum." Vashno explained.
"Then, let's visit this colosseum," Souta said.
Great Konsta Colosseum.
It's the biggest colosseum in the entire nation. It has a diameter of nine hundred meters and could fit tens of thousands of people at the same time. The entire place was built using high-class materials that could somehow withstand the battle of the Shackled Realm experts.
"We're here."
Souta and the rest looked down at the vast field. People were fighting on the stage and a large number of audiences were cheering on both contestants.
"Most of the nobles of this country are gambling in this place. Tons of money are circulating in this place everyday." Vashno explained.
"Can anyone become a fighter?" Franklin suddenly asked.
Vashno glanced at Franklin before he answered, "Yeah, anyone can register. Fighters receive a certain reward once they defeat their opponents."
"I see..." Franklin nodded and smiled wickedly.
Eztein widened his eyes when he saw the look on Franklin's face. "Hey, don't tell me...!! You are planning to..."
Franklin looked at Souta and asked, "My Lord, can I join the battle?"
Souta sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Do what you want, just don't kill any people for now."
"I understand..." Franklin bowed. "Then, I'll go now."
Franklin walked away while Souta, Vashno, Eilish, and Eztein were staring at his back. He didn't care about it. He already received Souta's permission so he would join the battle.
Souta placed his hand on Eztein's shoulder and said, "Follow him, you're stronger so prevent him from causing trouble."
"Ehhh!!" Eztein dropped his shoulders. "Boss, why did you agree? I don't want to babysit an old man..."
"You'll get used to it," Souta said.
"Sigh... Fine..." Eztein nodded weakly. He was tired of that old man's shit. He was causing trouble everywhere. It happened a lot of times in the dungeon and labyrinth.
Eilish smiled and said, "You can also join the battle. Bribe the manager to let him fight you in the arena. Then, you'll be able to beat him up however you want."
Eztein turned his head and the corner of his mouth slowly turned upward. "Oh, that's a good idea."
He suddenly remembered something and lost his energy once again. "But I don't have any money right now. I left most of my money in Astros."
Souta ignored Eztein. He took Eilish and Vashno with him, leaving Eztein alone. He already gave his order to Eztein. He should know what to do.
While Vashno was explaining the Durim Corporation, Souta suddenly stopped and turned his head.
In front, a group of people were walking and their aura was very well hidden. But it couldn't escape Souta's eyes that could see all the truth and differentiate it from fake.
The leader of this group was a woman with a tall figure, who looked like in her late twenties. She had long black hair flowing on her back. She was wearing a dark red qipao and her hands were clad in two dark gauntlets that have the appearance of a dragon. Her face was covered in a white veil so only her gem-like eyes were visible.
Souta continued to walk. His mind was thinking about the overall situation of the current war.
That woman was powerful. If he remembered it correctly, her name should be Shen Yao. She was a powerful expert from the Heavenly Court also called Heaven's Palace.
Souta didn't think that he would meet Shen Yao in this place.
Shen Yao would become one of the heroes of Goddess Nuwa also known as Empress Wa, the Mother Goddess of the Heavenly Court. Shen Yao received the blessings of one of the most powerful gods in Heavenly Court and broke all the ten shackles reaching the Freedom Realm. An existence that didn't have any shackles, restraints, or limiters in their bodies.
In the game, when Souta was doing missions, he once clashed with Shen Yao. He was weak at that time and got defeated. Later on, he worked with her together and fought when the titans rampaged in Olympus.
'The Heavenly Court dispatched her here... It seems that the situation is worse than I imagined.' Souta rubbed his chin. He narrowed his eyes, 'If that's the case, then I should check the forces of the other Holy Lands.'
So she was here at this point in time.
He didn't expect it.
Shen Yao's group passed Souta's group. Both of them seemed to sense the power in each other.
A man walked beside Shen Yao and whispered, "Lady Shen Yao, that man is the famous Blood Lightning Monster."
Shen Yao looked at Souta's back before she replied, "I see, no wonder I felt a strong energy coming from him. So he is the Blood Lightning Monster, the so-called strongest among all fourth stage monsters."
The group continued to walk.
"The mission this time will be harder than I imagined. A lot of experts from other Holy Lands appeared. Blood Lightning Monster of Olympus, Naruse Ichimon of Takamagahara, Omari Adel of Aaru, and Asfrith Beiner of Asgard. There are strong experts from other Holy Lands too. The angels even deployed a group of powerful battle angels."
Shen Yao turned her head and stared at the sky.
"Perhaps it is really related to this barrier. Is the battle going to happen inside this country? The chances aren't high but it could still happen since the Holy Lands deployed most of their top-notch experts of this level in this land. As for the other countries, they didn't have this barrier. The Holy Lands... Maybe, they already predicted that the Army of Gluttony has a way to breach this land but why haven't they told the masses yet? Is it because they aren't sure? I don't understand what the gods are thinking."
...
In a small room, Souta, Eilish, and Eztein were sitting on a sofa. There was a table in front of them and across it was a chubby man with messy dark hair.
"I'm Sande, people also called me Dark Hider. It's my pleasure to meet you, Grain Leader Souta. I didn't know that you would visit me today so I haven't prepared a better reception for you. Plus, I just received a guest a few minutes ago." Sande introduced himself politely.
"Guest? Is it Shen Yao?" Souta asked.
"Oh, so you know the Priestess of the Fist, Shen Yao?" Sande smiled.
"I don't really know her, I just heard of the rumors about her," Souta replied calmly.
There was nothing to talk about Shen Yao since he supposedly didn't know her personally. She was pretty famous so it was natural for him to hear rumors about her just like how other people knew him even though Souta hadn't met them.
"Since that's the case, let's get back to the business," Sande said with a smile. "Grain Leader Souta, you're probably here for the same reason as the Priestess of the Fist."
With those words, Sande placed a pile of papers on the table. Then, he placed his palm on top of it.
"This is the information that I could give you about the Five Master Clans. Some of the information here isn't even made to the public. Our organization only knew this because we've been working with them secretly for many years. The question is how much would you pay for it?"
Souta smiled and said, "Tell me, how much do you want?"
