The Evolution Of A Goblin To The Peak

698 Plan

”Y-You! What do you mean by that?! T-This is our home so how could you!” One of the nineteen leaders stood up and said in shock. His voice quivered as he pointed his fingers at Souta while trembling. He was one of the initial S-rank in the group.

They were here before Souta became the City Lord.

Souta glanced at the initial S-rank with a smile. He slowly said, ”No, this is my city. Iʼm the Lord of this place so naturally, it belongs to me, not you.”

He suddenly remember something so he changed his words, ”Okay, I will not force you to leave the city. Just remember that once you join the Astros, you will gain power. I will even help you expand your organization.”

Franklin, who was ready to kill, tilted his head in confusion. He didnʼt know why Souta suddenly changed his mind. But since it was the decision of his leader, he could only follow it.

Something came to Soutaʼs mind that changed his decision. It was too sudden but he realized something. It was better to have these guys around the Pople District. Yep, these guys would definitely have some uses so he couldnʼt just force them to leave or directly kill them.

”Iʼll permit it. You have my word that my forces will not harm you as long as you didnʼt try to harm Ekatoe City.” Souta narrowed his eyes and said in a serious tone.

It was better if they realized that joining the Astros would be the right decision. He could also use them for some experiments in the future. Of course, it wouldnʼt kill them but it has a chance that they would be heavily injured if the experiments failed. If it succeeded they were the ones who were going to receive benefits.

ʼAre you going to try it on them?ʼ Saya suddenly asked.

ʼYep, since I donʼt have any guinea pigs they can become one for me.ʼ Souta replied to her.

According to Isabellaʼs research, the red marble could be refined using peopleʼs life essence. It would resonate once ingested and using the consumerʼs life essence they would receive an enhancement in their bodies.

Souta couldnʼt clearly understand but she said that it wouldnʼt work on old people. Since the red marble uses ownʼs life span to permanently increase the userʼs own strength.

ʼThe red marble that you gave to her couldnʼt be used by anyone aside from the owner of the life essence inside it. It means that if Isabella refined that pill using your life essence, the other people wouldnʼt receive a benefit even if they ingested it.ʼ Saya explained.

ʼMy life essence will only resonate with me, not with other people. It wouldnʼt recognize other people so it will not have an effect on them.ʼ Souta said inwardly.

But the problem was how to refine that pill. Although Isabella learned the effect of the red marble, she didnʼt know the process to perfectly refine it. According to her, the red marble was refined crudely and it couldnʼt bring out the true effect of the pill. Even if it was ingested, the owner of that life essence would only gain a little bit of strength.

Souta smiled as he looked at the nineteen people. He would offer them some benefits so that they would volunteer to join the experimentation.

”Donʼt worry, Iʼll treat you better.”

His grin almost reached his ears. Since these guys werenʼt his direct subordinates, they could become his guinea pig along with the captured criminals in the city.

They didnʼt know why the mood quickly change but they felt glad that the intense atmosphere was gone.

Edward suddenly stood up from his seat and slightly bowed, ”Iʼm willing to accept your proposal to join the Astros.”

Soutaʼs smile froze when he heard Edwardʼs words. He slightly turned his head and narrowed his eyes, ”Can you tell me why did you accept my proposal?”

”I felt that I would grow stronger if I became your follower. No, not just me, I have a feeling that the entire Shimpan Family if we are under your care.” Edward said.

Souta couldnʼt help but sigh. He motioned Edward to return to his seat and said, ”Just remember that you couldnʼt revoke this decision for the rest of your life.”

”I...” Edward paused for a moment. Then, he resolved himself and answered, ”Yes, Iʼm willing.”

”Good.” Souta stood up and clapped his hand. He looked at everyone and said, ”For those people who didnʼt want to work for me then you can leave this room. Ah, donʼt be afraid as I promise you that we will not harm you on your way out.”

They looked at each other. Some of them hesitated but in the end, out of nineteen people, only three of them were left in the room.

Souta didnʼt care about them. Since they wouldnʼt work for him, he wouldnʼt guarantee their protection against outsiders. They could continue their business here. As long as they didnʼt break any law, then nothing would happen to them.

But it would be hard to have a business in Ekatoe, especially those underground organizations. Souta didnʼt permit that kind of business in his territory. If they continued, they could only blame themselves.

Astros would swiftly wipe their organization in this city. They would become guinea pigs for the experiments.

”Since the three of you decided to work for me... Let me get this straight first. You will follow whatever I want and whatever I wish. It doesnʼt matter if itʼs hard or not. Well, Iʼm not the type of person that gives his subordinate an impossible task so you donʼt have to worry about it.” Souta waved his hand and smiled.

Edward and the other two listened to his words. They didnʼt know what would happen to them.

”Okay, concentrate on your body and let your guard down. Deactivate all the protective energy and lowered your muscles.” Souta said as he stretched out his hand. ”Iʼll give you guys some power.”

Edward glanced at the other two. They saw the hesitation in their eyes.

ʼThereʼs no turning back. I just hope that nothing will happen to my family after this.ʼ

He said inwardly before he closed his eyes. The defenses in his body were lowered to the limit. He was in his most vulnerable state.

”Your flesh controls it a little bit,” Souta said as he placed his hand on Edwardʼs chest. Even without the natural protective field, the parasite wouldnʼt be able to enter an S-rankʼs skin. It would be crushed under the heavy pressure of the strengthened flesh of an expert.

Strings of flesh came out of his palm, the flesh pierced Edwardʼs skin and slowly entered his body. The strings of blood-red flesh kept wriggling around as it slowly fused with his body.

After a while, Edward opened his eyes. He examined his body and felt nothing wrong.

”This...”

He didnʼt know what happened. He was just confused as the other two.

”Thatʼs the power of parasite. Since you just acquired it, you have to train yourself to control it. Its potential is huge and it could save you in dangerous situations.” Torkez proceeded to tell the parasite to them. He even demonstrated its abilities.

Edward and the other two were shocked. The abilities of this so-called parasite were unbelievable to them. They couldnʼt imagine that they would have the power to instantly regenerate any of their limbs.

Souta grinned looking at this.

The procedures continued as the other two also received their parasites. Then, Souta asked them about the legend of the expert that spread combat arts and spells a thousand years ago in this land.

The answer that he received was just like what he expected. They heard about it but thereʼs no evidence that it was true. Although thereʼs no evidence, they said that the expert arrived at the Mine Valley first.

”Mine Valley...” Souta muttered as he rubbed his chin. Legends like this tend to be true. After all, this story wouldnʼt circulate if similar events didnʼt happen in the past or maybe this was completely made up.

”City Lord... Is there something wrong with this legend?” Edward carefully asked. He wanted to know why Souta was asking about this old story in a childrenʼs book.

”Nope, I just find this story quite fascinating,” Souta answered vaguely. He didnʼt explain anymore.

The three bid farewell as they left the Astros. Souta didnʼt explain to them that he could control their life and death with the parasite in their bodies. It was better this way as he could see if they would betray him or not.

As for the others who rejected his proposal, they wouldnʼt receive any help from him in this city. If they made one wrong move, the Astros would swiftly end their organizations.

Days had passed and the construction of the portal was completed. From now on, the members of the Astros could go to the Guardian Fortress without traveling for a few days.

The construction of the portal exhausted the wealth that he accumulated over the past few months. Everything that he plundered from dungeon to dungeon was almost gone.

In short, he was broke once again.