The Evolution Of A Goblin To The Peak

Chapter 1083: Incompressible

”The Obsidian Desert isnʼt backed by any Holy Lands or Large Countries, so they arenʼt as fortunate as we are. At the very least, we have Athenʼs Champion on our side, and behind Athenʼs 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, ”Whatʼs the Dragon Councilʼs response?”

”Theyʼve said that itʼs too risky to engage there, but theyʼve helped the people of the Obsidian Desert,” Alice replied.

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

”No, I donʼt want you to go. Who knows if someone might target you again?” Alice shook her head.

”Yeah, Iʼm concerned about that too. And Athenʼs Champion is still observing me, which is why they havenʼt assigned me to any missions, even though thereʼs 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... weʼll deal with it. We canʼt rely on them staying in their lines. Theyʼll 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.

”Howʼs the damage to the formation?” Souta asked.

”We canʼt repair it ourselves. Weʼd need to hire a formation expert capable of repairing it, but I doubt itʼll be easy. Our barrier formation isnʼt ordinary. Itʼs strong enough to even suppress Hero-rank individuals,” Torkez explained.

”Yeah, I donʼt 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 theyʼre at Seventh or Eighth Shackle, theyʼre still within its scope. In short, the price for such a formation wonʼt 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 Astrosʼ 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 Astrosʼ resources would be allocated to him. As for the portal to the Championʼs Den, Athenʼs Champion would handle it. They wouldnʼt 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 Yenxaʼs 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 didnʼt need to look to know who it was. He could sense someone approaching, even from several kilometers away, by the blood in their veins.

”Youʼre still here?” Alice said, glancing at him before sitting down beside him.

”Yeah, I donʼt want to forget them,” Souta replied quietly. ”It feels like I could forget them at any moment, and I donʼt 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 Imperiumʼs blessed children. She knew that she and the others wouldnʼt 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 Soutaʼs background. She hadnʼt 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.

”Youʼre really amazing...” Alice muttered.

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

”W-Whatʼs wrong?” she asked.

”I never thought Iʼd hear those words from you,” Souta chuckled. ”Have you realized that the ʼyouʼ 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, Iʼve met your grandpa in your memories. Since heʼs 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 donʼt recall much about my grandfather. I only know that he took me in when I was a child and trained me,” Souta said quietly.

”Iʼm 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 donʼt know his plan. He never told me anything. No, he doesnʼt 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 donʼt know his plan.”

”No, no, after that...” Alice urged.

”He doesnʼt need to tell me anything because the Battle World Online taught me everything I

need to know,” Souta explained.

”He doesnʼt 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 canʼt understand... No, the words coming out of your mouth are incomprehensible.”

”Donʼt tell me...” Souta narrowed his eyes.

He was speaking in normal language, but it seemed Alice couldnʼt understand it.

”It seems thereʼs 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 couldnʼt 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?”

”Thereʼs 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... Iʼm sure you donʼt need any of

that.”

”Yeah, I donʼt need any techniques at the moment. I still have a lot of things I havenʼt mastered yet,” Alice nodded in agreement.

Souta stood up from his position and stretched his arms. He glanced at the sky and said, ”Itʼs

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 Iʼll visit you

again in the future.”