"Humph!"
one of the creatures from the beast race snorted.
It was no secret that their kind was familiar with the aura of the Divine Accomplishment Fruit.
Therefore, after entering the Land of Outlaw, the other forces sent men to tail after the people of the
beast race.
They had sent spies to keep an eye on their movements so they could know their whereabouts.
Everywhere they went, these forces would follow.
The masters of the beast race were smart enough to know that they were being stalked, but they let
them. Besides, even if they tried to halt them, it wouldn't do much.
After all, there were plenty of masters from the other groups who were proficient at bodily movement
skills and tracking skills.
The beast race masters would have a hard time dealing with them. It would be a waste of their energy
and time if they took them one by one.
"Don't deny it," one of the masters from Novel Court cooed.
"I can see it in your face. This is definitely the Divine Accomplishment Fruit!" he guffawed, fixing a
heavy and taunting gaze at the master from the beast race.
"You are simply too greedy.
Even on these Divine Accomplishment Fruits, you still have a plan to take them all.
Do you think we will let you get all of them? Do you think you can have all of the precious natural
resources? This is preposterous."
A gloomy voice arose from the crowd of the Divine Corpse Palace.
Austin, still disguised, kept a close eye on the events. 'Plenty of masters have congregated in here, ' he
observed.
Some of the prominent masters he saw were Ferdinand of the beast race and Elder Osbert of the
Heaven Beast Valley. Also present was the elder in yellow robes from the Annihilation Mountain.
Apart from these masters, a dozen forces also sent their men to the Land of Outlaw. They also had
premium-grade divine gods as their representatives.
Austin had used a massive amount of illusions to make himself, his slaves, and the three mermaids
invisible.
All these masters were heavily fixated on the woods in front of them. Due to this, none of them noticed
Austin's team lurking around.
"Get the fruits! Now!"
Ferdinand of the beast race ordered with maximum urgency.
As soon as he commanded, his team immediately rushed towards the woods at lightning speed.
Of course, the other forces wouldn't let them hoard all the fruits.
"Let's go! Let's get the Divine Accomplishment Fruits!"
The rest of the gathered crowd followed suit.
"Let's take action. Go get as many fruits as you can."
Austin also gave his order to his slaves as soon as the divine gods bolted towards the woods.
"Remember, you blend in with your people and pretend that you're taking the fruits for your former
teams, okay? This way, they will never suspect you,"
Austin sternly reminded them.
"Yes, master!"
With that, Austin's slaves did as they were told.
"I'm going to collect the fruits. The three of you have nothing against those premium-grade divine gods.
You will surely perish once they discover you. Stay close to me so I can keep an eye on you," Austin
warned the mermaids.
"Okay," the ladies quickly agreed.
This was an ideal situation for them since they had already developed feelings for Austin. Staying
beside him was a win-win scenario since he would keep them safe, and they could closely swoon over
him during battle.
Austin nodded his head in agreement. Then, he used his bodily movement skill and bolted towards the
woods.
The mermaids quickly followed his trail and soon caught up with him. As promised, they kept
themselves close. Practically inches apart, Austin could inhale the intoxicating feminine scent of these
women.
He felt the heat rose on his cheeks. Austin felt overwhelmed, being surrounded by three gorgeous
women.
"Uhh, it doesn't have to be this close. A little distance would be fine," he said awkwardly.
"O-Oh. Sorry."
The three mermaids blushed. They kept a safe distance from him to give him his personal space.
A divine aura filled the woods.
The trees felt truly magical—tall and robust in its structure. Their trunks and their withered bark were as
white as jade. Their leaves were verdant, and they emitted a golden glow.
The rays of shining light connected with one another, like rainbows. It was a breath-taking scene.
Spiritual energy could be felt from these woods. As the masters took deep breaths, they could feel it
penetrating their pores.
"Guys! I think we've found the Divine Accomplishment Fruit!"
"You're right. This must be it!
Act fast. Pick up as many fruits as you can. We are making contributions to our force!"
"Come on!"
"We've finally found where the Divine Accomplishment Fruits are! We're very lucky!"
The masters of each force were elated. They collected the fruits as fast as they could.
The air felt light and airy as the fragrance of these glowing fruits was all over the atmosphere.
Each fruit was about the size of a fist. Their colors differed from one another, but they looked had this
odd, humanoid shape.
It was like a kaleidoscope of colors. It looked colorful in their hands as they hoarded—golden, scarlet,
white, and purple.
Austin maximized his bodily movement skill, and soon enough, he had collected several fruits on his
own.
'Great! I finally got them, ' he mentally exclaimed as he studied the fruits in his hands.
He was ecstatic that he was able to get his hands on these fruits. But somehow, he had a gut feeling
that the woods was perilous.
Austin had a compelling spiritual sense.
Compared to any genuine premium-grade divine god, his spiritual sense reigned superior.
He even had the ability to foresee danger.
Hence, he felt anxiety taking over him.
Austin felt that something extremely dangerous was coming their way.
He could feel a chill on his spine, and the hairs on his neck stood.
'What's this odd feeling? This cannot be good.
There are so many divine fruits here. Why am I so uneasy?'
Austin held a serious look on his face.
'Is there some hazardous creature lurking somewhere?' he wondered. He started to become very
cautious with his movements.
"Everyone, keep your eyes wide open. We might leave any time soon!"
Austin reminded his slaves and the three mermaids through his spiritual sense.
The Divine Accomplishment Fruit was precious, but he cherished his life more.
If they ended up dead in this place, collecting all these Divine Accomplishment Fruits would be for
nothing.
Therefore, Austin decided to get out of the woods.
"Yes, master!"
Although Austin's slaves were confused at his decision, they had no choice but to unconditionally obey
his orders.
On the other hand, people from the other forces were totally immersed in their excitement.
They were busy collecting the fruits.
From time to time, some forces would even clash, and cause a ruckus around the area. Greed would
overtake some of them, tempting them to steal the other team's collection.
It was a lively scene, and loud chattering noises were all around.
All of a sudden, a wisp of obsidian smoke emerged from the ground.
Its color was in contrast with that of the colorful fruits.
The black fog slowly condensed and transformed, and soon it turned into a human-shaped creature. Its
skin was pitch-black, and its eyes were stark-white. It was eerie to look at.
As soon as this black humanoid creature materialized, the fruits changed their appearance.
'This is not good!'
Because of his strong spiritual sense, Austin was the first one to realize that something was amiss.
He chose a golden fruit and began to observe it.
The fruit's color slowly turned white.
Oddly, he could hear sounds of flapping wings from inside the fruit.
"Damn it!"
Austin was dumbstruck. Thankfully, he was quick to notice these things.
"Drop all the fruits that you've collected.
We have to go. Now!"
Austin urgently ordered to his slaves and the mermaids.
"Do as I say, right now!"
Austin stressed.
His companions were confused with his demands. But they could feel how frantic his voice was, so
they did as they were told.
Immediately, they threw away all the fruits and quickly came to Austin's side.
As they gathered together, Austin sent them into the continent he had created. Without looking back,
he ran as fast as he could so they could leave the woods.
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