?


    Souta and the rest were walking when an unknown man stood in front of them. This man was in a butler attire and every movement that he made was refined.


    "I''ve been expecting you, I''m Torne, a Butler from the House of Botani." The butler made a respectful bow to the group.


    "House of Botani?" Souta raised his eyebrows.


    "Yes, Sir. The House of Botani is one of the ruling parties of the Selnes Country. We''ve already reserved a mansion for you to use." Torne exined.


    "I see..." Souta nodded. Then, he nced in the direction where the Hammer''s Guard and War Company went. "What about them?"


    "You don''t have to worry, Sir. All the reinforcement from the Holy Lands is the guess of our country. You will receive our utmost hospitality. It''s just that the ce will be different to avoid shing with other Holy Lands and also to protect the country." Torne said.


    The reinforcement of the Holy Lands was going to stay in different ces across the country. They would be near the walls so that when an ident urred the experts from Holy Lands would be able to provide help immediately.


    Souta nodded. He nced at the warriors of Athen''s Champion and said, "Let''s go."


    He turned his head and nced at the building far from him. After a few seconds, Souta shook his head and continued to follow Torne.


    ...


    In the building, two people were having tea while ncing outside the windows. One of them was a seductive woman with crimson-colored hair while the other was a middle-aged man with purple-colored skin and a pair of pointed ears.


    They were Hono, the Head of the em n, and her trusted aide, Arche.


    Hono ced down the tea in her hand and said with a faint smile, "Olympus had arrived and they are quite strong..."


    Arche nced outside and replied, "The Berserk War Axe Genzu and Blood Lightning Monster, huh?"


    "Well, the others are pretty strong too but those two are in a different league. They made quite a name in the past few months. Are they exaggerating the rumors or not?" Hono took a sip of her tea.


    "Berserk War Axe. He participates in the extermination of the Dark Mantle Corporation, defeating two of its executives. He stopped the civil war in the Halst Republic alone. He massacred the Tyrant Bandit group which took over several countries, dyeing the entirend in red. He only had a fewbat arts but no one could underestimate him. Unlike us, he only mastered low-tierbat arts but those low-tierbat arts became his foundation of strength and he mastered them to the point of sublimation. If given more time, he will be an envoy of the God of War, Ares." Arche said everything he knew about Genzu, the Berserk War Axe.


    "I''ve heard that he is hot-tempered, is it true? Also, I''ve heard that he once shed with a hero candidate of Asgard. The hero candidate of Balder, the God of Light." Hono said.


    "No, that man is not a hero candidate. The man that Berserk War Axe fought is the Lumen Harvin. Lumen is the title given to the people that received the God of Light''s blessing." Arche exined. "Asgard tried to convert this information people a lot of people knew the truth. The Berserk War Axe defeated Lumen Harvin even after using the blessing of the god."


    "What a terrifying man," Hono nced at Archer and asked, "Can you defeat him in a battle, Arche?"


    Arche thought for a while before he answered, "I don''t know. If the rumors aren''t an exaggeration then I have a high chance to lose."


    "Then, what about the Blood Lightning Monster?" Hono asked.


    "I don''t know too... Blood Lightning Monster just recently gained fame. He''s the neer in the Athen''s Champion." Arche paused for a moment before he answered, "He participated in dozens of battles. His name was first heard when he subdued the Nine-Headed Hydra, the monster that God Hercules sealed before he ascended. The nickname Blood Lightning Monster was created when he stopped a god''s vessel from awakening the god''s real body. He couldmand lightning and blood to tear the entirend called Hall ins. In that battle, he gained the title Blood Lightning Monster."


    "I heard about that battle too... We can even see the red energy pir that reached outer space even from here. I don''t know anything about the sealed god but some people said that several gods appeared at that time afraid that the awakening will bepleted. No one knew that the Blood Lightning Monster will be able to stop the n of a god from the inside.


    "Unlike other monsters, the Blood Lightning Monster didn''t rely on his traits to fight. It was said that he was a master of spells andbat arts and was extremely versatile in all types of battles. A lot of people said that he is an invincible fourth stage monster. Among all the fourth stage monsters in the world, he is the only one."


    Hono said.


    The rumors about the Blood Lightning Monster were terrifying and exaggerated. But there was truth to it or else such rumors wouldn''t spread in the first ce.


    "Even after that incident, he showed why he is the only one..." Arche said with a serious look.


    Hono agreed with Arche''s words. "Yeah, the other Holy Lands wanted to take a piece of Hall ins so they sent their forces but... All of them were repelled by Blood Lightning Monster. Ordinary peak fourth stage wouldn''t be able to guarantee to defeat a Four Shackles expert yet Blood Lightning Monster could guarantee it."


    She paused and stared outside. "After seeing him today, I''m sure that he''s a step closer to our level. It''s almost as if he is a fifth stage monster now. A monster who could only defeat Four Shackles will not enter my eyes."


    "Blood Lightning Monster is rumored to be a bloodthirsty monster that drinks the blood of all the creatures he killed. He''s a vicious monster under Goddess Athena''s name. If he reached the fifth stage, there''s a high chance that he would be one of Goddess Athena''s Guardian Beast." Arche added.


    "Guardian Beast... It''s simr to the status of the heroes of the god. No one could order them except for the god that they served." Hono paused for a moment before she added, "Unfortunately, our gods are gone. If we had a god, you will probably be a hero, Arche."


    "There''s no need to think about it. For now, a lot of forces from the Holy Lands had gathered in our nation. We should prepare tounch an attack." Arche said.


    Hono nodded, "Our nation still has the barrier but we have to prepare... The Holy Lands had sent quite a strong force so we should be able to hold the Army of Gluttony for a month or so. Even if he can''t do it, we''ll rely on the barrier. It will be safe here unless someone who could ignore thews appeared, a god."


    Hono narrowed her eyes as she stared at the cup of tea on the table. "Our n has the weakest foundation in this country. We need to get stronger."


    In some other ces, the news about the arrival of the Olympus forces had reached the people''s ears. Even the forces of the other Holy Lands in Selnes Country have heard of this news.


    "The Olympus is here!"


    "The Berserk War Axe and Blood Lightning Monster are here! These two represented Olympus in Selnes Country!"


    "It''s getting interesting..."


    "A lot of famous people have gathered in this ce."


    Powerhouses across the country talked to each other. Even those from the Holy Lands were observing the newly arrived group. Some even found this funny, some were filled with hate, and some felt nothing.


    Heido and Santu were strong too but they weren''t strong enough. They were Four Shackles experts but Souta and Genzu defeated dozens of Four Shackles in their previous battles. Some of them were even stronger than these two. So most of the focus was on Souta and Genzu.


    ...


    Souta sat down on a sofafortably. The warriors of Athen''s Champion had settled down in this huge mansion with Butler Torne''s help.


    While they were walking before, Souta naturally sensed the gazes of dozens of powerful people. He chooses to ignore them. It was the same on the other battlefield so he was used to it.


    There was nothing he could do.


    He was too eye-catching.


    Most of the things that he did were absolutely stunning.


    Souta opened his eyes and nced around the people within this room. Alice, Eztein, Eilish, and Franklin were here along with the two Four Shackles of the Sixth Grain War. Aside from him, these two were the strongest in the entire Sixth Grain War.


    Souta crossed his legs and smiled, "Okay, it''s time to do our job."


    He pointed at one of the Four Shackles named Fremi and said, "Squad Leader Fremi, asked three to four squads to gather information. Even the rumors gather it."


    Then, he pointed at the other Four Shackles named Edilon. "Go outside and wait for the squads that we''ve sent to scout ahead. If they are in trouble, save them."


    Edilon and Fremi nodded at his words.


    Souta then nced at Alice and said, "Arrange all the potions that we''ve brought. We have to prepare now in case an attack from the enemy suddenly urred."


    Tomorrow, he would meet with Genzu, Heido, and Santu to talk about their n for the uing battle.