"Hey, what are we doing here?" Eztein whispered to Franklin.
Vashno glanced at the two of them and didn't say anything.
The three of them were inside an old store with various artifacts and potions hanging around. They were at the fifth zone near the fourth zone. The fourth zone was just a few meters away. Still, this land was under the rule of the Methal Clan.
As for why they were inside this old store...
Well, Franklin said that he sensed something in this direction and they arrived here.
"I don't know but I'm sure that I felt something here. It gave me goosebumps for a second." Franklin replied to Eztein.
"Hey, I think we should go back now. Souta asked us to return." Vashno said to the two.
"Wait, I just want to verify if it's true or not," Franklin said.
"You're not allowed to fight. You just got beaten in the tournament yesterday. If you want to fight again then do it when the enemy arrives." Eztein said.
"I didn't use my full strength and for your information, you got beaten too," Franklin said calmly.
"Me? Did I get beaten? Didn't you see that I only used one hand against that man? I gave him a handicap!" Eztein rebutted.
"Souta said that if you're going to create trouble. I can force you to return, he will punish you." Vashno said.
"I know, just give me a few minutes," Franklin said.
The lady at the counter stared at them who were talking to each other in a low voice. The lady was wearing an apron and worn-out clothes underneath it. She had tan skin and long dark red hair that was tied in a bun on the back of her head. Her face and clothes have dirt on them.
"Hey, are you going to buy something or not? You're just chatting here." The lady said.
"Please wait for a moment, my friend here couldn't decide," Vashno said to the lady in a polite tone.
"Sorry, this old friend of mine has alzheimer's disease. He forgot what he wanted." Eztein said to the lady with a fake laugh.
"I don't have a disease, Eztein. I can still fight ten of you at the same time." Franklin said.
Although it was loud, his voice was protected by a barrier so only Eztein and Vashno could hear it.
"Don't say that, do you think that I couldn't beat you, old man?! I can fight twenty of you at the same time! Let's hurry up and get out of here! The boss will get mad and we will face punishment!" Eztein raised his voice.
Vashno sighed looking at the two. He turned to the lady and said, "I apologize for the interruption. I'll get these two out of here. We'll return later after we make sure what we want to buy."
With those words, Vashno stretched out his hands and grabbed Eztein and Franklin on the collar of their clothes. He carried both of them and hurriedly left the store.
These two were bothering other people's work and he couldn't take it anymore.
The lady rested her chin on her palm as she stared at the door.
"What's wrong with those three? It's not like I couldn't hear them. I wonder what group they belong to... Don't they realize that a battle is happening outside the country?"
The lady sighed and looked at the windows.
"Sigh... Business is good. People are buying potions and artifacts. It means that a war is going to occur. A storm. I just hope that it doesn't bother me."
Vashno brought the two outside and released them causing the two to fall on the ground.
"You bastard!!" Eztein cursed.
"Let's fight!" Franklin said.
Both of them stared at Vashno.
Vashno sighed and said, "Don't you realize? You're bothering other people's business. If she reported us then the guards would come to capture us. It's a trouble and Souta will not like it."
"Tsk!" Eztein clicked his tongue.
Franklin stood up and patted his clothes.
Vashno grew silent and turned his head to glance at the old store.
That...?
She heard them even though the barrier they created couldn't block an attack, she still made to hear their conversation.
He calmed himself. It's not good to tell these two. It's better to tell it to Souta first since there's a large possibility that these two would cause trouble.
"We need to move now."
Vashno said.
...
The battle outside the country has ended.
The Alliance army and the soldiers of Selnes Country defeated the enemies. There were a few casualties but they still won the first clash.
Throughout the entire time, Souta and the rest of the representatives just stayed in their positions. Their senses were maximized and if a powerful enemy appeared, they would be able to react on time. In the end, the experts of the enemy didn't make a move. They simply watched before they left.
Schine raised his hand and said in a loud voice, "We won the first battle! We annihilated our enemy but our war isn't over yet!"
He swept his eyes across all the soldiers on the field.
"Our enemy this time is the Deadly Sins! We will not cower in fear! We will not go down without a fight! We will fight until the end!"
The soldiers raised their weapons and shouted. Their voices echoed throughout the entire area.
The army slowly moved forward and set up a camp two kilometers away from the country. They would slowly push forward and keep the battle away from their nation. Ahead of this land, the entire field was cleaned up, so they didn't need to worry about causing the death of ordinary people. They would be able to use any type of wide-range spells or combat arts.
S-rank could easily kill B-rank much less those ordinary people who didn't have any resistance on their bodies.
Souta talked with Santu, Heido, and Genzu. They decided that Santu would stay in the camp while Souta, Heido, and Genzu would return to the Selnes Country.
Santu wasn't alone. A bunch of warriors would accompany him. From the Sixth Grain War, Edilon, a Four Shackles expert, would stay along with dozens of warriors from the legion. Genzu and Heido would also leave some of their men at the camp. Santu was free to order them since he was the highest-ranking officer.
Five Master Clans and the other factions would do the same.
Soon, they finished setting up the camp, and various mages erected different types of barriers in the area.
This was just the beginning.
If they continued to win the battle, they would be able to move the frontline far away from the Selnes Country, closer to the Eru Empire. When that happens, the higher Shackled Realm experts on both sides would move. By higher Shackled Realm, it means that those who at least broke seven of their shackles.
The group returned to the city.
Souta, Genzu, Heido, and the Heads of the Five Master Clans along with representatives of the other factions didn't rest. They started a meeting as soon as they returned to the country.
Schine looked at the people from the Holy Lands and asked, "What's the current plan of the Holy Lands?"
Souta glanced at Genzu and Heido, asking if they contacted the base camp of the Olympus.
Genzu saw turned to Heido and Souta did the same.
It seems that he was the one who sent his men to deliver the intelligence to the base camp.
Heido whispered, "The higher-ups said that they will give you full authority over the matter in this nation. If you have any problems you can consult with Genzu. Genzu is also an experienced commander."
"I see..." Souta nodded.
At this moment, Naruse, the Shrine Maiden of the Dragon God, raised her hand.
"My superior said that we have to push the frontline. We can take it step by step after the battle in Bruim Principality and Fedru Republic died down. They said that they already checked the land ahead so we slowly pushed the frontline." She said.
Shen Yao nodded at her words, "My superior has the same idea. We can't stay in this country for a long time. We have to slowly push the frontline and gain the upper hand in the battle."
Paente, the Head of the Botano Clan, glanced at them and said, "We can do that but we have to win the next battle. The second wave of the Army of Gluttony's attack will happen soon. If we can't overwhelm them then we can't move forward."
Hono, the Head of the Flaem Clan, agreed with his words. "Patriarch Paente is right. A normal win isn't enough. I'm sure that there will be Shackled Realm experts in the next wave but we still have to crush them. If we had huge casualties then we couldn't afford to push the frontline."
Omari Adel smiled and said, "We'll see it tomorrow. The Holy Lands are strong but we have limited manpower."
Some of them were dealing with various organizations like the Red Matter Association.
Some of them were observing the movements of the demons in case they attacked too.
There were also battles in the Ruin Battlefield.
Most of the gods were watching the Eru Empire since Gluttony's real body appeared instead of his clone. All of the gods of the Eru Empire have been killed and a lot of Large Countries were getting restless.
Even the mighty Eru Empire had perished so those Large Countries started to think what if they were the ones in the position of the Eru Empire?
Would they be able to defend themselves?
"That's fine with me. We can't just simply push the frontline because we want to. We have to do it step by step." Souta suddenly said.
He understood what they wanted but he also had another goal in coming to this place. It wouldn't be good if he went away from the country.
