"Spy? Assassins?"
Fang asked just to confirm. Her tail and ears were standing straight in high alert. I just smiled and patted her head, calming her down slightly.
"No, spy. If they're demigod assassins, they'd already be around me, trying to lighten my shoulders."
I watched as Fang enjoyed the head pat, her tail wagging fiercely. However, I was still bothered by those demigod spies.
'I guess their main purpose is to gain information concerning me and my surroundings. And Yu Na, a master of information manipulation, just happened to intercept this information.'
There was no other information included in the letter other than that hundreds of spies are aiming for my head.
"But I guess some of them would be battle-ready."
Spy or assassin, whatever they were, they were definitely something powerful. If they found that I'm only guarded by 7th-stage and below girls, then they'd probably go for the kill.
"So? What's the plan, Will?"
Fina asked, a frown adorning her pretty face. It was rare for her to show such an expression, making it feel a bit special.
"Of course, we'll stay here for the first four days. With that much time, the spies should at least be able to sniff out our location."
Four days. Within that time, we should be able to form some countermeasures against a demigod attack. Among the group, the only ones who actually experienced a battle against a demigod or higher powerhouse were me and Igni. The rest, only indirectly, while fighting against Namia before.
"For now, let's head to the mansion and eat. I'm starving."
It was already nighttime, and we had waited for several hours inside the Royal Palace before with nothing but tea and snacks. Of course, we'd get hungry.
Everyone tagged along as we headed for the mansion. Since we didn't have time to cook, or rather, since I still have tons of food in my [Spatial Storage], we managed to eat our fill and retire for the night.
I was expecting the girls to barge in again, given that they weren't tired in any way during the day. However, up until I fell asleep, nobody even came close to my door.
The next day, while on the dining table, everyone just kept on yawning.
"Don't tell me, you all didn't sleep?"
"""..."""
To my question, every single one of them turned their faces away. Yup. Definitely guilty.
"This place is under the protection of Yu Na, so we should be safe here during the entire duration of our stay. No need to be that on guard."
"But Leader! When you were in the Seimei territory right after your coronation, Agor was able to take you away without a fight!"
"Ugh..."
She had a point.
Although it was lightly protected, Goddess Vermeil added her barrier to the Seimei Territory back then. Even with that, Agor was able to breach her defenses and even manage to take me away.
"But this place is a pocket dimension! Nobody can just teleport straight in unless they're at God level in the space element."
"Like me."
A cool voice echoed suddenly from behind me. I quickly moved and turned around, but then lowered my guard immediately. After all, it was none other than Goddess Zeta with God Zeshion in tow.
I quickly glanced around but didn't find the little goddess who smacked my jewels last time. Noticing my searching gaze, Zeshion quickly smiled and clarified.
"If it's Alpha you're looking for, she's not here. She said that getting in contact with you once was more than what's tolerable for her."
"What am I, a cockroach?!"
"She said too that if you compared yourself to a disgusting insect, then reply: Much worse than that."
That goddess really doesn't hold her tongue. Although I had some questions for her, well, it can't be helped.
"And so? Why did two gods come to this place?"
The girls were already gathered behind me as if to protect me just in case, even if the other party was a familiar face. Zeshion, seeing the attention of the girls on him, smiled bitterly as he scratched his head.
"Hey, I was just told to guard you by the king. I can't really refuse that, now, can I?"
"You're a god tamer, for f*ck's sake! Just go threaten him or something."
"And be someone like Agor? No, I won't."
He laughed heartily after that, but it must have been his true feelings on the matter. Well, there's nothing wrong with being a good citizen.
"So, just guarding duties?"
I asked, just in case. Zeshion smiled, seemingly aware of my intentions.
"It is, yeah. But I guess it'll be boring having nothing to do while guarding you."
"Great! Everyone, you've got your new training dummy!"
"Hey, watch your words; at least call me their supervisor or something."
Hearing my words, the fighting spirit in everyone's eyes burned fiercely. However, Ember raised her arms and innocently asked.
"Rather than fighting God Zeshion, I prefer a one-on-one lesson with Goddess Zeta."
"Hmm? With me?"
Having her name called all of a sudden, she turned to Ember while swallowing the small fruit that she stealthily plucked out of the table.
"Yes. I want to master my space element skills as fast as possible!"
Hearing Ember's request, her brows furrowed. She then turned to Zeshion, as if asking for his input regarding the matter.
"Why not? Go on and train her. It's rare to see someone willing to learn things from you, after all."
"What's with those words? For the record, I had more students than you ever had, Mr. No Brain!"
"Really? Then where are they now? Mine's a Goddess already."
"Ugh..."
He's talking about Goddess Blanc, right? His only disciple? Well, I guess it's unfair comparing the achievements of someone who was set for success even before she reached the top and someone who just wants to learn spatial teleportation skills.
"You, come with me!"
Goddess Zeta, as if triggered by Zeshion's words, pulled Ember from her seat and dragged her along.
"Now that I'm training you, you must reach God-level or even beyond that!"
"Yes!"
Despite being dragged by the cuff on her neck, Ember replied with a bright smile and excited eyes. I guess she didn't only want to master spatial skills to have me learn them too, but also because she was personally interested in them.
"As for the rest of you..."
God Zeshion turned to everyone in the room one by one before stopping at my face. He then showed a villainous grin, as if he were a rascal who had found someone he could play with.
"Then first, Will and I will be doing a one-on-one mano-a-mano. Is that fine?"
"Can I refuse?"
"Of course you can't."
This sucks. I mean, what's even the meaning of having me spar with him? I already sparred with those five regressors until I almost died! I'm already sick of fighting God-level tamers...
In the end, Zeshion forced the matter and brought everyone outside. There, in a place with absolutely no obstacles within a kilometer, Zeshion and I stood before each other. We were about ten meters apart, but that's like right before his nose for a God-tamer like him.
"Alright, I'll match your energy and only use 7th-stage strength."
Zeshion said before he quickly did a pose, lowering his waist and placing one arm vertically before him while the other was at his waist, horizontally aligned.
It was a typical martial arts pose. So typical that I can already see how he'll move next. Zeshion was smiling confidently, as if he couldn't even see how he could lose in this sparring.
As I predicted, with his dominant side hidden behind his left arm, he charged forward in a few steps. As soon as he entered my range, he initiated a jab to my face, making me lose focus for a moment before his right hand launched straight toward my stomach.
It should be a foolproof chain of movements, but it's something that I'm so tired of seeing. After all, Mr. Invincible was using the same fighting stance and exactly the same initial movements. Now that I recall, he seemed to have told me that he copied the martial art straight from Zeshion.
While I was distracted, my body was already moving out of reflex. I took a step forward, diagonally to the left, dodging the hand that was aimed toward my face. Then, I used my left leg as a pivot and launched a knee strike with my right.
"...!"
Zehsion, seeing my attack, quickly moved to block it. He crossed his arms instantly as he was sent back a few meters after the hit.
"That blocking speed... It's at the 9th level. I thought you said you'd only use 7th-level strength?"
Although I don't really mind it, we're battling right now. Disturbing the other party's thoughts would be a valid method of battle too. At my words, however, Zeshion frowned.
"Looks like I underestimated you too much. Have you trained in this martial art too, perhaps?"
"..."
Technically, I didn't train on it. I was just smashed to a pulp using it, to the point that I was able to memorize all the strikes and patterns. So, I was only able to shake my head in denial.
Just remembering the pain that I had to go through for technically a full year, I can't help but feel teary-eyed.
"I see. So you're just a good fighter."
Zeshion's aura suddenly changed. His face turned fiercer, as if getting excited to fight.
"It's been a long time since someone can match my melee skills. As I said before, I'll only use 7th-stage power. Now, come and entertain me!"
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