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n

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nEach zone had one special structure:

nThe north had the Northern Library, written in Ocean Elves' language.

nThe south had the Beast Stadium, written in Ancient Werewolf demi language.

nThe east had the House of Herbs, written in Monster Treant language.

nThe west had the White Pavilion, written in Centaur language.

nBased on this, they concluded that in the past, each zone was populated by specific species. The White Pavilion and Beast Stadium were already accessible, so there was no need to find keys for them. However, the Northern Library and House of Herbs were closed, so keys were required to open them.

nAccording to their recent discoveries, both closed structures shared the same set of keys.

nAlexander drew circles on the maps created by the scouts, indicating the locations of the keys. He then projected the appearance of the keys so everyone would know what to look for.

n

"These are the locations of the four keys. As for the exact locations within those areas, I don't have that information,

" he explained.

nAt the same time, Souta heard a familiar sound in his mind.

n*Ding!*

nFour Keys: Find the four keys and open the Northern Library and House of Herbs

nRewards: 3 skill points, 5 free attribute points, and 1,000,000 EXP

nBased on the rewards, he guessed that this was an easy quest for him. They should be able to find the four keys if they thoroughly search the areas Alexander had indicated.

nStill, Souta didn't expect to receive another quest during this expedition. It seemed that his decision to come here was right.

n

"We don't need to waste much time, so we should split up and find the keys. However, remain vigilant-there's no telling how many traps might still be active,

" Alexander said.

nThe group nodded in agreement. Each team chose one of the keys to search for and then departed.

nSouta's group teamed up with the Eight Head's group. They decided to search for the key in the south, located in the Beast Stadium. The exact location of the key was unknown.

nSoon, the group arrived at the Beast Stadium. It was massive, with a seating capacity of two hundred thousand.

n

"The atmosphere here is different from the outside...

" Eilish commented.

nIt's natural, since this place was built to withstand the fights of high-level experts. Dozens of runes were carved into the walls, emitting a strange energy into the atmosphere.

nThe group looked over at the massive ring at the center. Eilish walked to the side, entering a

nroom.

nSouta glanced at Elder Hanmi and said,

"Take some people and search the other areas of this place.

"

nAfter saying this, he followed Eilish with a few others.

n

"Hmm... I see, so this is a control room,

" Eilish muttered.

n

"Control room?

" the Eight Head asked, entering the room.

n

"Yes, this is used to set up the stage before the fight begins,

" Eilish explained.

nSouta looked over and saw dozens of devices with words he couldn't understand. He asked,

"So you understand these words?

"

n

"It's not that hard. If you have free time, you can study various languages from different tribes. They aren't that complicated. The structure of a third-tier magic circle is several times more complex,

" Eilish smiled.

n

"Never mind. I'd rather use my time to train,

" Souta shook his head.

n

"So, how do we use it?

" the Eight Head asked.

n

"Let me activate it first,

" Eilish said before she pressed a button.

nOhm!

nA large amount of mana erupted in the center of the stage, causing the whole stadium to vibrate. An intricate pattern lit up on the ground as a transparent layer expanded from the center of the field.

n

"What is this?!

" the Eight Head was a little shocked by what happened.

n

"It's been enhanced. The stage can now accommodate a higher-level battle,

" Eilish explained.

nAt the same time, a witch arrived and reported to Souta. The message was simple: the key they were trying to find was hidden in the stage, specifically protected by the guardians of this place.

n

"Guardians?!

" the Eight Head raised his eyebrows.

nSouta turned his head. He had already scanned the area but hadn't sensed anyone else in the stadium besides them.

n

"So, where do we find these guardians?

" the Eight Head asked.

nNo one knew the answer.

nThe group decided to split up and search the stadium.

nHalf an hour later, they all reconvened in the control room. The group pieced together the information they had gathered and concluded that the guardians weren't living creatures. The only way to manifest these guardians was through the control room.

nEilish stood in front of the devices, examining them one by one. Not just her, but even those

nwho understood the language were beside her.

nSouta and the rest waited for their findings.

nAfter a while, Eilish said,

"We've got it.

"

n

"The key?

" the Eight Head asked.

n

"No, the guardians. We understand how to spawn them. There's a pattern to this and it's quite related to the culture of the ancient werewolf tribe. But who's going to fight the guardians? We need to defeat the guardians if we want the key to appear.

"

n

"I'll do it,

" Eight Head said.

n...

nOn the platform, Eight Head stood at the center with his energy level rising every second. His muscles were bulging through his clothes, and his pair of gauntlets roared with vast energy. Souta, Eilan, and the rest stood in the audience seats, watching Eight Head prepare for battle. 'He has grown stronger. Compared to the past, the Dragon Council has become a huge force. It's slowly approaching the level of the Red Matter Association,' Souta thought inwardly.

nIf they continued to grow, the Dragon Council's influence would gradually spread beyond the

nHall Plains.

nBang!!

nThe ground shook heavily, and intense waves of energy spread out like ripples.

nEilish used the device to spawn the guardians of the key.

nGigantic golems emerged from the ground. Their bodies were made of tough metals with high conductivity to mana.

nThe witches and Eight Head's subordinates were shocked, sensing the energy waves coming from the golems. The power was overwhelming. They knew that none of them would stand a chance against any of these three golems.

n'So this is why Alexander warned the people below the Fourth Shackle... The energy levels of these three golems are comparable to a Fifth Shackle,' Souta thought inwardly.

nHe wasn't bothered by this, as it was only close to Fifth Shackle. He had fought experts several times stronger in the Selnes Country and Walpurgis Night. Fifth Shackle was nothing. Moreover, these golems weren't truly Fifth Shackle; they were just very close to it. Still, Souta didn't let down his guard. He prepared to intervene if Eight Head couldn't handle

nthe battle.

nBang!

nThe ground trembled beneath the heavy footsteps of the golems as they moved forward. Their eyes glowed with an eerie light, devoid of any emotion.

nThe three golems were distinct. The first one was made of pure metal, the second had lava flowing over its body, and the last one had lightning coursing through its hard exterior. The metal golem charged forward, lifting its feet to crush Eight Head. However, Eight Head anticipated the attack and jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike. The ground shook violently, sending dust into the air as the energy of the metal golem fluctuated. Without wasting the opportunity, Eight Head ran past the metal golem, advancing towards

nthe lava golem with incredible speed.

nSwoosh!!

n

"The golems' attack and defense patterns are predictable. They're nothing compared to the human-like golems from the Walpurgis Night. Eight Head understands this, so he should be able to handle them,

" Souta commented while watching the battle.

nAs long as the difference in their strength wasn't enormous, a person with great skills could

nmanage this type of golem.

nBang!

nEight Head slid on the floor and punched the leg of the lava golem. The golem retaliated by sweeping its arm, but Eight Head jumped into the air, feeling the intense heat pass below

nhim.

nHe flexed his muscles, activating his combat arts to buff his strength, causing his aura to sharply rise once again.

nFlames covered both of his arms as he unleashed a barrage of powerful punches.

nBang!!

nHis flaming fists struck the body of the lava golem with tremendous force. The extreme heat

ncaused all the moisture in the air to evaporate instantly.

nLava and flames collided fiercely.

nRealizing he couldn't overpower the lava golem, Eight Head didn't hesitate. He activated his Element Drive, intensifying the flames around his body. The heat he emitted began to evaporate the lava golem.

nAt this moment, the lightning golem and the metal golem charged at him. Eight Head noticed

ntheir approach and used his great mobility to pass between the two golems in just a second.

nHe then opened his palm, and a massive flaming sphere materialized.

nScorching Earth Sphere!

nIn an instant, the enormous flaming sphere was hurled toward the lightning and metal

ngolems. The collision triggered a massive shockwave, and flames erupted in every direction,

nfilling the entire stage with wild fire.

nBoom!!

n

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