860 Investigation

"As you have read it, yes, they have closed their perimeter because of the nearing competition where they fight to become the leader. During the past year, there are already three elders killed by another elder."

"Wait a minute, you have said that you killed the previous leader by messing with his poison?" Alex stopped her, noticing an important piece of consideration.

"Yes?" Alicia tilted her head in confusion before realizing what he meant. "Ah. You think the Rank 9 God has died?"

"Yes." Alex nodded.

"No. The one dying was a Rank 10 God. They have this custom that the next leader can only be chosen from Martial Saint while those who have become a God Rank Expert can't participate in this and to nurture the next leader. The Rank 9 God is still there." She corrected him.

"So, that was why you were saying Ilumi needed to kill only one Rank 10 God, even though they were supposed to have two Rank 10 Gods." Alex finally understood the conversation they had a year ago. He didn't pay any intention to it because he could discuss it again in the planning session, so it was normal for Alex not to know about it.

"Yeah. That's why the chance is big for us." Alicia nodded. "With them closing their border, we can sneak inside and kill them off guard. Well, I doubt a surprise attack could easily kill a God Rank Expert, but I believe we can get one of his hands or something."

Alex thought for a moment and agreed. "Alright. If you want to have it that way, we can do it right now or tomorrow. They are trying to prepare for the competition, so their eyes won't be on us."

"That's what I am talking about."

"How is Nelson by the way?" Alex asked.

"I am afraid he can't really get any information from their surroundings. He could only get around the forest because he will be found out if he comes closer. The God Rank Experts have used their senses to scan the entire tribe so as to prevent any outsider from coming in.

"In fact, he got this information from the disciples in the surroundings, so it can be inaccurate as well," Alicia explained, reminding him that everything could be fake news.

Alex understood how hard to sneak around him because of the heightened sense from his Divine Body. That was why Nelson was unable to sneak around them. It was also the reason why it was hard to get information in a Divine World.

This information made him fall into deep thought for a while before deciding. "We can go tomorrow according to our plan. You and I shall kill that Rank 9 God as quickly as possible because we would be able to react if this turned out to be a trap."

"I understand. I shall follow your words." She nodded. "By the way, I would like to ask you whether you have an idea to pass through the poison?"

"Depends on their terrain."

"What is the terrain?"

"There is nothing to say about this other than the forest. You can enter from whenever you want." Alicia shrugged.

"Alright then. In that case, we will enter tomorrow. I will prepare my Pure Fire and ensure the safety coming from the poison. By the way, how do they release so much poison in the forest without it being spread to the atmosphere?"

"From Nelson's perspective, they are using a barrier array as the container."

"So it's like a few layers thing… The outside world, a barrier, a poison, a barrier again, and finally their headquarters…" Alex narrowed his eyes.

"Yes. Only a few can enter, but from the information, no one has entered to celebrate this because the competition has not come yet. Hence, this is the best time to eliminate them without needing to deal with the other potential enemies," Alicia said with a serious expression.

"I can understand that. And do you know how they compete with each other?"

"It's a battle of poison and prowess. Why do you ask?"

"If they only rely on poison, I would be able to handle them because I know that they are only good at poison. However, suppose there is also a combat prowess competition. In that case, this is going to be difficult because we might not be able to overpower him." Alex sighed.

"It's fine. I believe our strength is enough to destroy them." Alicia smiled, assuring him.

"I hope so." Alex nodded.

"Nelson is to stand by in front of their barrier while observing those disciples that are patrolling around the area. After that, he can join us after burning many things from the treasury." Alex nodded.

"That's my plan. If we sneak in, they would be targeting us. Nelson then can camouflage to get inside their treasury, making sure they don't bring any poison with them." Alicia nodded, agreeing with Alex.

"Don't worry. I will take care of that." Alex nodded. "Now there is another problem that we need to discuss. Because of the terrain and such, I can sneak inside by using my Spatial Gate, but I don't know if they have Space Element or not, so I am going to go around the barrier to check on them."

"Should I accompany you?" Alicia asked.

"No. I am going to have Nelson to bring me around." Alex shook his head.

"Alright. I will prepare the other things while you are investigating it." Alicia nodded.

Alex nodded before taking out Nelson's card. "Nelson. How is the situation going? Are you free right now?"

"I am free, Master. I am just going around the area since I can't enter this barrier due to the poison. They have a nasty poison this time." Nelson answered with a bit of a weak voice. He had been investigating not only the Green Devil Tribe but their surroundings, starting from the town and those neighboring cities.

"I am going to summon you back here, so you can guide me around that area. I need to see if I can sneak inside using my Space Element or not."

"I understand."

Alex immediately summoned him before saying goodbye to Alicia and Ilumi.

Nelson then guided him toward the forest where they first met Alicia.

"This forest is quite wide. Its size is twice the Fire God Clan City, so I believe their town is around the size of one."

Alex nodded and activated his Spirit Eyes.

The first thing he saw was obviously the energy coming from the barrier. It was a Divine Array indeed, so it was pretty hard to break. However, he noticed that it only contained a Barrier Array. There was no Illusion Array or Space Element, so it was not as strong as the Special Realm.

He believed he could enter the barrier right away by using his Space Element alone. "The problem is… Do they have a Space Element Master, if not an Array Master?"

"I am afraid I can't investigate that."

Alex glanced at him before looking up, finding the golden energy that surrounded the inner barrier. "I see. The energy from there is Divine Energy."

"Yes. As you can see, I can't go inside there unless I want to be found." Nelson nodded.

"For how long has it been up?"

"Since a year ago. I don't know yet, but I noticed a few very strange things during this past year. First, I found that Divine Energy gradually spread around the forest as if they were preparing to meet something or someone."

"So, are you telling me it is a trap?" Alex asked.

"There is a possibility, but it is low. In the past, you have seen this place and found no energy around, right? After a few days, it suddenly goes up, so I think it's not for us."

"Hmm… In that case, this third party must be aiming at the competition because it will be the time where everyone gathered."

"I have the same thought. That's why I believe this is a good time to attack. Although the help is welcomed, it will only become our trouble because we will be found out by this third party. On the other hand, we need to be careful of their poison and preparation, albeit incomplete because they are using this barrier to prevent outsiders from coming in."

Alex looked down and stroked his chin. "This is going to be troublesome."

"What are we going to do, Master?"

Alex didn't answer him and looked at the miasma in front of him. Firstly, even though Alex said it was miasma, it was not visible with naked eyes. Fortunately, his Spirit Eyes could pick the energy from a poison that could affect God Rank Experts.

He thought it would be hard to move past this poison without any protection or Space Element, so he believed that the Green Devil Tribe had the ability to fend their enemy off with only this, allowing Alex to attack during this time.

Because it was incomplete, they wouldn't have time to rearrange everything, and there might be some arrays or anything else that hadn't been completed yet to the point it ruined everything that needed those things. That was a very welcoming situation, but it was a bit unlikely.

Either case, Alex was planning to attack them tomorrow. He glanced at Nelson and leaped to the left. "Follow me. We are going to check all directions. If there is a devil near the portal, tell me."

"Understood." Nelson nodded and followed Alex without hesitation. He sometimes suggested he moved to the side when he noticed incoming presences. Of course, Alex's Spirit Eyes allowed him to see them as well and reacted accordingly.

The two then continued as Alex drew all the concepts of this array and finally returned to the base with Nelson.

"How is it?" Alicia asked.

"The poison is the problem. There is a chance that the inner barrier will be retracted and let all the poison come inside. As they are the Green Devil Tribe that has a long history with poisons, they must have enough antidotes for themselves, so I am planning to get rid of the poison first or create another layer of barrier that can stop the poison from spreading."

"How about making the medicine ourselves?"

"It's not enough time." Alex shook his head.

"That's right. You can plant your Divine Soul into armor or token, right? How about planting one, so you can use your Pure Fire to protect us if they are planning like what you said a moment ago?" Alicia offered a solution.

This was an interesting way to prevent the poison from coming to their body, but it was also risky because he needed to fight a Rank 9 God while using my Divine Energy to control the area.

"That's the best solution." Alex nodded. "But I certainly weakened a bit because I needed to spare my attention to a few people."

"Indeed. Can your mind withstand that?"

"Of course. Well, this fight is a bit harder, so I look forward to it. Alicia, I want you to support me using the array and ice element. I will let you decide how to attack him." Alex pointed his finger at Alicia.

"Sure thing." Alicia nodded.

"Ilumi and Nelson still have the same mission."

"Understood."

Alex then took out a few cards from his Inventory. They were Anna, Jeanne, and Leoz. They were going to take part in this battle, so they needed to be included for the details on how they would fight tomorrow.

At the same time, Alex also needed to discuss their battle plan with Alicia, considering he never fought together with her. Although they had the advantage of fighting the Rank 9 God together, it wasn't really that much because this was their first time.

Thus, the day ended with so many conversations.