The Evolution Of A Goblin To The Peak

Chapter 1088: Missing case



Deadman City.

The members of the Deadman were all wiped out by Souta and his allies-except for Undead Eater. Souta had wrapped him in webs and left him to Franklin for interrogation.

Half a day after they raided the city, Souta had obtained valuable information from Undead Eater.

"According to the information he gave, this city was already destroyed before they took over," Franklin reported, recounting everything Undead Eater had divulged.

A week ago, they had planned to attack this city, but when they arrived, the city was already in ruins. They had no idea who had destroyed the capital of the Palleo Kingdom. The status of the Royal Family remained unknown, as their bodies were never found among the dead.

"Hmm..." Souta rubbed his chin, considering various possibilities.

There was a slim chance that the Royal Family was still alive.

Suddenly, a sound rang in his mind.

Ding!

[Quest Triggered]!

[Find]: Find the captured Palleo Kingdom's royal family and rescue them.

Rewards: 8 skill points, 10 free attribute points, and 100,000,000 experience points.

'What?' Souta raised an eyebrow in surprise. He hadn't expected to trigger a quest this time. Moreover, the quest suggested that the Royal Family was still alive-they were just being detained by an unknown person or possibly an organization.

Souta glanced at Franklin and said, "Contact the base. Tell them to send people here to bring back all the materials. Also, inform them to notify the Dragon Council. If they're interested, they could send a team here."

After speaking, Souta tossed a transmission talisman to Franklin.

The people they had rescued needed to stay in the city for a while, so Souta forbade them from leaving. He instructed the members of his Grain to thoroughly investigate the city for any clues regarding the whereabouts of the Royal Family.

The Obsidian Desert was vast, making the search for the Royal Family a daunting task.

Who knew if they were even still in the desert?

Souta and the others waited for reinforcements from his city and the Dragon Council. They would take the resources from the Deadman and also arrange a place for the civilians to stay in Hall Plains.

On the third day since arriving in the Obsidian Desert, Souta and his group finally left Deadman City.

Before they departed, Souta cast [Doppelganger] and scattered the duplicates in every direction. With his current best feram and recovery abilities, maintaining the doppelgangers for an extended period was no problem for him.

'My main goal here is to gather resources, but it seems I need to complete my quest first,' Souta thought inwardly.

The Obsidian Desert was vast, and as they passed through dozens of villages and towns, most of them were occupied by strange organizations. The highest combat level among these groups was only A-rank, which seemed weak in Souta's eyes.

He didn't bother with them unless they went too far, such as massacring innocent civilians. Otherwise, Souta simply ignored them.

This desert stretched endlessly, filled with nothing but sand. Most of the resources that could be gathered had already been claimed by the top factions. There was nothing of value in the small villages and towns, especially since they didn't even have experts at the Shackled Realm.

Eventually, Souta's group reached a massive city known as Birth Camel City.

Like many other cities, Birth Camel City had suffered an attack but managed to repel the organizations that assaulted it. However, their losses were high, and the current atmosphere in the city was far from lively.

Souta, Vashno, Franklin, and the warriors of Athen's Champion gathered in a room they had rented.

The night had fallen, and it was dark outside.

"Grain Leader, something feels off about this city," one of the warriors said.

"Go on," Souta prompted.

"I spoke to a few locals, and they told me that the city lord's people took all the corpses. Even the locals who lost their loved ones in the attack never saw their bodies."

"Did the city lord cremate the bodies?"

"No, all the dead bodies are just... gone."

"That's really strange." Souta rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I actually wanted to investigate the city lord's mansion, but I discovered that it's surrounded

by several detection runes, so I refrained from entering," Franklin explained.

"Also, this city is under the rule of the Red Sand Republic, but after the chaotic events a week ago, Birth Camel City declared its independence," Vashno added.

The chaotic situation had occurred when various forces attacked countless cities across the continent. The Obsidian Desert's top faction was also targeted by hungry organizations hiding in the shadows.

"I've learned that several organizations are preparing to fight for the inheritance of the Serene Palace. From what I gathered, the Serene Palace has a huge amount of resources stored in its vault," Vashno said.

"We'll deal with the Serene Palace. It's better to destroy the factions fighting for it," Souta

narrowed his eyes.

Those factions reminded him of the people who had invaded Ekatoe City, trying to align themselves with the Deadly Sins. He would demolish them without hesitation.

"However, we need to investigate this city too," Souta said, turning to a few members of his Grain. "Allan, take a few people and investigate the Serene Palace first. Let me know if a major

battle is about to take place."

A warrior named Allan nodded.

The next day, Allan and a few warriors left the group.

Souta, Franklin, Vashno, and the remaining two warriors walked through the streets. Despite Birth Camel City having recently been attacked, there were still many people coming in and out of the city, especially mercenaries looking for work.

"What are we going to do now?" Franklin asked.

Souta didn't respond immediately. Instead, he glanced at Vashno and asked, "What do you

think? High profile or not?"

Vashno shook his head, replying, "It's better to investigate in the shadows. We can't disturb the enemy or they might not reveal themselves."

"That's good. I'll go to the city lord's mansion while you investigate the people under the city

lord's command," Souta said.

"Yes, sir."

The group split up and went in different directions.

Souta arrived in front of the mansion. He could see dozens of runes placed all around. Most of

these runes were for detection, but they weren't a problem for him.

He stepped forward, carefully hiding himself in the shadows. Souta moved through the

darkness without anyone noticing.

He managed to enter the mansion without causing a commotion. As he was about to proceed,

he felt something. His eyes narrowed as he turned his head.

"One of my doppelgangers got destroyed...?" Souta muttered under his breath.

Sure enough, there were still many dangers lurking in the Obsidian Desert. It was likely as

dangerous as the Red Matter Association.

He shook his head and refocused on the task at hand. Souta entered a room and began scanning the papers, looking for any useful information. After a while, he hadn't found anything unusual. Everything appeared normal.

'It seems I really need to capture this city lord,' Souta thought inwardly.

...

Somewhere in a dark room, a man with long white hair tied at the back sat in a chair, a cup of

tea in his hand. Opposite him sat a chubby woman, holding a piece of meat.

"How is it?" the man asked.

"I guess he took the bait. The Deadman vanished a few days ago, so the Blood Lightning Monster is here," the woman replied.

"I see... Then, proceed as planned." The man nodded. After a moment, he asked another question. "What about the other side?"

"Oh, you mean from Aaru? It failed. Omari Adel broke through to Hero-rank and killed his way out. He became famous overnight," the woman answered. She swallowed the meat in her hand and glanced at the man before her. "Why not send a Hero-rank?"

The man shook his head. "There are already Hero-ranks sent there, but they were intercepted. Also, most of the Hero-ranks from the Gluttony Army are on the main battlefield." They weren't part of the Gluttony Army. They were just an organization under it, so they didn't have the authority to alter the Ruler of Gluttony's arrangements.

The total number of Hero-ranks in the Gluttony Army was fewer than in the Holy Lands.

That's why the Ruler of Gluttony carefully planned his attacks and even unsealed an ancient Monster Lord to divert the Holy Lands' attention.

It was already a blessing that the Holy Lands weren't united. On top of that, there was the looming danger of the demon army, watching from the sidelines.

Ekatoe City.

Torkez was floating in the air, watching as people worked on constructing houses and

buildings.

"Sir Torkez!"

He turned his head as he heard someone call his name. Torkez descended to the ground and

stood in front of a warrior.

"There's a letter for Grain Leader Souta," the warrior said, holding out the letter.

Torkez took the letter and asked, "From whom?"

"Lady Echidna," the warrior replied.

Torkez' eyes widened. He carefully placed the letter in his pocket and turned to the warrior.

"Thank you. I'll give this to our leader when he returns."