The Evolution Of A Goblin To The Peak

Chapter 1083: Incompressible



"The Obsidian Desert isn't backed by any Holy Lands or Large Countries, so they aren't as fortunate as we are. At the very least, we have Athen's Champion on our side, and behind Athen's Champion is the entirety of Mount Olympus. The Obsidian Desert, however, has nothing," Alice explained, her expression grave.

"Hmm..." Souta glanced down at Yuko, who was resting her head in his arms. He then asked, "What's the Dragon Council's response?"

"They've said that it's too risky to engage there, but they've helped the people of the Obsidian Desert," Alice replied.

Souta glanced at Alice and asked, "Do you want me to go?"

"No, I don't want you to go. Who knows if someone might target you again?" Alice shook her head.

"Yeah, I'm concerned about that too. And Athen's Champion is still observing me, which is why they haven't assigned me to any missions, even though there's a large-scale war happening in different places."

Souta started walking, with Yuko and Alice following beside him. He glanced at the people working to rebuild the city.

"The Obsidian Desert... we'll deal with it. We can't rely on them staying in their lines. They'll probably make a move once those people stabilize their position," he said, pausing before adding, "Also, we need to gather resources. Mana stones, coins, food... everything is gone. We need more resources to pay the assassins."

"Oh?" Alice raised an eyebrow, recalling the assassins she had hired before.

With the current state of the city, they had nothing to pay for it.

The three of them arrived at the northern walls of the city, where a passage led one hundred meters below the surface.

Souta, Yuko, and Alice found Torkez speaking with a group of witches. As soon as the witches noticed Souta, they immediately bowed and left the room, leaving him and the others alone.

This place was the core of the [Five Elements Barrier Formation], where mana stones were stored to maintain the power of the barrier.

"How's the damage to the formation?" Souta asked.

"We can't repair it ourselves. We'd need to hire a formation expert capable of repairing it, but I doubt it'll be easy. Our barrier formation isn't ordinary. It's strong enough to even suppress Hero-rank individuals," Torkez explained.

"Yeah, I don't know what those people sacrificed to breach our formation, but the cost is significant. If it were a formation that only affected S-rank or SS-rank, it would be easier. But our formation can even affect Hero-rank. As long as they're at Seventh or Eighth Shackle, they're still within its scope. In short, the price for such a formation won't be small," Souta nodded in agreement.

In the end, they had no other choice but to go to the Obsidian Desert. Souta owed Princess Iris and Prince Servon, so he would make sure to learn about their situation when he got there.

"Call Franklin and the others... We need to discuss this," he said.

Soon, they gathered for a meeting in a large room. Everyone at the top of Astros' hierarchy had convened to discuss the development of Astros and Ekatoe City.

Torkez was tasked with overseeing the rebuilding of the city, and most of Astros' resources would be allocated to him. As for the portal to the Champion's Den, Athen's Champion would handle it. They wouldn't spend a single coin on the portal.

Doranjan would continue his work with the monsters, while Vashno and Franklin were tasked with heading to the Obsidian Desert to gather information. Eztein would remain in Astros to train and prepare the soldiers.

Gragas and Isabella would focus on their research, while Souta and Kessa would journey to the Land of Vanko to conquer it.

As for Alice, she would take charge of the general affairs of Astros while he was away.

Once their plans were set, Souta dismissed everyone.

He sat back in his chair, staring at the ceiling with a deep sigh.

"The peaceful times are gone..." he murmured.

Shaking his head, he stood up and left the room, making his way straight to the graveyard. He visited Eilish and Yenxa's graves. Their deaths served as a harsh reminder to him-he could lose anyone, anything, at any moment.

He stayed at their graves for several hours, lost in his thoughts.

Night had already fallen, but Souta remained seated in front of their graves.

Footsteps sounded behind him.

Souta didn't need to look to know who it was. He could sense someone approaching, even from several kilometers away, by the blood in their veins.

"You're still here?" Alice said, glancing at him before sitting down beside him.

"Yeah, I don't want to forget them," Souta replied quietly. "It feels like I could forget them at any moment, and I don't want that. I want to carve them into my memories."

Alice stared at the grave. Speaking of memories, she remembered learning that Souta was one of the Imperium's blessed children. She knew that she and the others wouldn't be able to catch up to him. Only other blessed children would be able to. They would grow faster than anyone else.

The only thing Alice could do was try her best.

Even now, she was still surprised by Souta's background. She hadn't expected him to have such a connection, but it made sense. After all, Souta seemed to know so much-it was like he was a walking encyclopedia.

"You're really amazing..." Alice muttered.

She paused, feeling a shift in the air. Turning her head, she saw Souta looking at her.

"W-What's wrong?" she asked.

"I never thought I'd hear those words from you," Souta chuckled. "Have you realized that the 'you' from when we were still in school would never have said that?"

"N-No, it was just a compliment," Alice stammered, shaking her head before changing the topic. "Anyway, I've met your grandpa in your memories. Since he's a powerful God, he could perceive my presence even though I was only observing him in a memory."

"Oh, so you know...?" Souta raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"It was unintentional... you know?" Alice averted her gaze.

"Hmm... So, what did my grandfather say?" Souta asked, his curiosity piqued.

"He said you should go to the Mars Archipelago and find the remnants of the leshi Clan

there."

"Mars Archipelago, huh? To be honest, I don't recall much about my grandfather. I only know that he took me in when I was a child and trained me," Souta said quietly.

"I'm surprised, you know?" Alice remarked. "When I learned that your grandfather is the Patriarch of the leshi Clan... In the entire world, only a few people know about that mysterious clan. Just what is he planning?"

"I don't know his plan. He never told me anything. No, he doesn't need to, since his creation -the Battle World Online-has already taught me most of the things I need to be wary of."

"What did you say?" Alice asked, confused.

Souta looked at her and repeated, "I don't know his plan."

"No, no, after that..." Alice urged.

"He doesn't need to tell me anything because the Battle World Online taught me everything I

need to know," Souta explained.

"He doesn't need to tell you anything because... what?" Alice asked, still puzzled.

"The Battle World Online," Souta repeated.

"What?"

"I said, the Battle World Online..."

"I can't understand... No, the words coming out of your mouth are incomprehensible."

"Don't tell me..." Souta narrowed his eyes.

He was speaking in normal language, but it seemed Alice couldn't understand it.

"It seems there's some kind of power preventing you from understanding it. Did my grandfather do this?" Souta muttered as he rubbed his chin.

"Is this similar to the Archetype?" Alice asked.

Souta looked at her and felt that there were similarities. No matter how hard he tried to think

it through, he couldn't come up with an answer. In the end, he could only sigh. "Damn, it seems I really need to go to the Mars Archipelago to find out the truth. I originally planned to go, but now it seems I need to speed things up," Souta said, massaging his

temples.

Alice glanced at his face and asked, "Is there something I can help with?"

"There's nothing for now. You can take it easy. If you want to train, you can head to the

ancient ruins. We still have a part of it, and the environment there is great for training." Souta lowered his hand and looked at her face. "As for techniques... I'm sure you don't need any of

that."

"Yeah, I don't need any techniques at the moment. I still have a lot of things I haven't mastered yet," Alice nodded in agreement.

Souta stood up from his position and stretched his arms. He glanced at the sky and said, "It's

already dark. We need to head back."

"If you say so," Alice replied, standing up as well.

Souta glanced at the graves one more time before turning to leave.

"Eilish... Yenxa... and all of you who sacrificed your lives... I have to go now. But I'll visit you

again in the future."