Eru Empire...
Esquin was sitting on his throne with a calm look on his face.
A Seven Circle Officer stood at the side and reported, "My Lord, you've given the assault team the Cancelling Rune. It will dispel the barriers in the Selnes Country for a moment. One of the obstacles in our army's path will be gone."
"Hmm..." Esquin closed his eyes. After a few moments, his lips slowly parted, and he said, "From what I could see, they have used the Cancelling Rune in tandem with the one inside there. I have given them the right to act freely, and they've already exceeded my expectations. I expected them to simply use it, but it seems that they've made quite a plan with it."
"They will take care of it, My Lord. The assault team are all excellent individuals. They will certainly take down the enemies. The Bruim Principality and Fedru Republic will fall too," the Seven Circle Officer said.
Esquin glanced at the Seven Circle Officer and asked, "What about the task that I've given to Freygus?"
"I don't have any news about him, My Lord," the Seven Circle Officer bowed down.
"I see... Freygus. If nothing has happened, then he should be able to initialize the bloodstones that we've collected before," Esquin muttered. "The only problem with this is the Vampire Clan. I guess that we will confront them soon. I wonder how powerful their Vampire Lord is."
...
Hero-rank.
Souta recalled that there were six Hero-rank warriors in the camp of Olympus, far beyond the Selnes Country. It was situated in the north, close yet far from the three battlefields which were Selnes Country, Bruim Principality, and Fedru Republic.
The God of War, Ares, even sent two of his Guardian Beasts.
If Olympus could send six Hero-rank experts, then the other Holy Lands could do the same.
So after careful thought, it made sense that a Hero-rank was secretly watching the war in Selnes Country.
Although it wasn't from Olympus, the angels were currently their allies, so there was no need to worry.
The angel glanced at the man clad in red armor. His wings flapped, and he traveled several kilometers in less than a second.
Whoosh!
His figure stopped before the man.
"You're not a direct subordinate of Gluttony. You're the leader of the Red Fang Corporation, Prandel. It's a huge merchant group, so I didn't expect that you, Prandel, are under the rule of the Deadly Sins."
The angel said in a calm tone. The golden light around his body was bright and warm. It gave a comforting sensation to the people who bathed in it.
Prandel frowned and viciously threw a powerful punch.
"A battle angel like you wouldn't understand!! You will die!!"
Boom!!
The two Hero-rank experts confronted each other. A powerful shockwave that pushed everyone away swept across the entire field. They ascended into the sky, fighting at high altitude.
Well, it was all thanks to the angel. Prandel didn't care about the deaths of people weaker than him, but the battle angel cared about them. They were a hundred kilometers above the surface.
Boom!! Boom!!
Souta and the rest glanced at the battle before they continued flying to Selnes Country.
All of them felt heavy at this moment. Even Hero-rank experts had started to fight in this war.
What's next? God?
Just thinking about it made their scalps shiver. Even the All Filter Barrier Formation would collapse once that happened.
"We'll separate! Our target is the first ten experts! Those guys are the strongest, so brace yourself!" Genzu shouted as he informed everyone who was flying towards the country.
"Are you in a hurry? I clearly saw that the barriers aren't disabled from the outside. Someone must've opened it from the inside. In other words, there's a traitor among us," Shen Yao said.
"Traitor... I know, but there's no time to think about it. We just have to fight for now," Genzu replied.
Souta and the rest of the representatives of the large faction grew silent. They already had a suspect in their minds. It must be one of the Five Master Clans.
...
Alice turned her head and glanced at the sky. She saw Souta and the rest entering Selnes Country.
"We have to go back too... As soon as possible," she said.
"I know..." Eztein nodded.
The situation was extremely dire. Selnes Country had been breached, and the enemies were attacking on both sides. Their job right now was to follow Souta and the rest inside the city to combat the enemy. There were people who were going to deal with the enemies on this side.
Boom!!
A powerful aura spread out, and the sea parted. A lone figure rose, exuding brilliant light.
It was Eilish.
Eilish looked at the changes in her body before she observed her surroundings. It took her a while to break her third shackle.
"I've broken through..." She muttered.
"Hey, Eilish! We need to go back now!" A familiar voice sounded behind her.
Eilish turned around and saw Eztein and Alice. She flew towards the two and asked, "What happened?"
"I don't have time to explain everything. I can only say that Selnes Country has been breached. The enemies are all over the city," Eztein said.
"What?!" Eilish was surprised.
"Yeah, we need to go now and organize our forces once we enter the country," Alice said.
Eztein looked at Alice and Eilish. "You two can go now; I'll go with Vashno. Franklin is deeper into the battlefield, so you should go first."
Alice glanced at Eztein for a few seconds before she nodded. "Okay, I understand. Everyone from the Athen's Champion should go back to Selnes Country and assist our leader. The Hammer's Guard and War Company will hold the enemies back."
...
Bang!
Souta landed on top of the wall, causing the floor beneath his feet to crack. He slowly stood up while patting the dust off his clothes. Then, he observed the city with his own eyes.
The destruction that the enemies had caused was already extensive. The soldiers of the Five Master Clans that remained in the country were currently battling the enemies.
The monsters from the river were also fighting the Army of Gluttony. If Souta was right, he heard that almost all the monsters in the river around the country were part of Selnes's defense.
Genzu and the others landed in different parts of the land to suppress the enemies. They encountered the top experts of the Army of Gluttony, the ten people who first entered the country, who were the most dangerous.
"I wonder what their goal is..."
Souta muttered. He raised his hand and flicked his finger.
Whoosh!!
Hundreds of blood spikes rose from the ground and attacked the forces of Gluttony in the area.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In an instant, more than twenty experts who were causing trouble in this area were killed. They were just S-ranks, so they weren't a match against Souta.
Souta floated above the ground while observing his surroundings. He stayed for a while as various soldiers entered the country.
The battle started inside this land.
It became chaotic as various explosions and energy surges erupted at the same time.
"What's their objective...? Or maybe, they just wanted to destroy this land like any other," Souta muttered as he stared at the sky.
Soon, the barrier closed, and Souta heard the system notification indicating that he completed the quest.
Ding!
[Congratulations on completing the Quest 'All Filter Barrier Formation']
Ding!
[Quest Triggered!]
[Cancelling Rune]: The inside of the barrier has been modified. Participate in the battle to destroy the device that contained the Cancelling Rune. Time limit: 1 hour
Reward: 10,000,000 experience points, 15 free attribute points, and 8 skill points
Souta narrowed his eyes after seeing the contents of the new quest.
Swoosh!!
A pillar of light shot through the sky and connected to the barrier around the country. The barrier emitted faint sparks, and something changed within.
At this moment, no one could leave the barrier. The interior had been modified.
Previously, everyone could leave through the barrier, and if they wanted to enter, they had to pass through the gate. But it was different now; no one could pass through the barrier and leave the country. Even the gate was blocked.
'As expected... Gluttony is a master of runes, so he must have provided his subordinates with a rune to handle this barrier.'
Souta felt that this was within his expectations. Under normal circumstances, no mortal could break the All Filter Barrier Formation.
"So I just need to destroy that device?"
Souta muttered as several doppelgangers emerged from his shadow. The doppelgangers dashed through the air.
The device was quite far. The entire country was huge, and it was divided into ten zones. Judging from the scenery of the land, he was in Zone 6, a territory under the rule of the Methal Clan.
Souta knew Zone 5, so he wouldn't mistake this land for Zone 5. The land of the Methal Clan was just beside the land of the Botano Clan.
Not even a minute had passed when Souta sensed a feedback.
Huh?
All of his doppelgangers were destroyed in an instant.
"My doppelgangers could even rival a Four Shackles expert..."
Souta slowly turned his head and saw a lone figure walking in the street.
It was a tall man with dark skin, green eyes, and long crimson hair. His body was covered in dark golden armor that was emitting a strange light.
Souta smiled and said, "You're here... I thought I would be able to destroy where the pillar of light was coming from, but it seems that you guys put an expert to guard us."
