Although Hestia was verbally sparring with Loki from a distance, the members of the Hestia Familia did not waste any time. After knocking out the guards, they entered the Pleasure District and commenced their assault on the Ishtar Familia.
In no time, the entire Pleasure District turned into a battlefield, with continuous explosions echoing throughout.
Even in broad daylight, the Pleasure District was engulfed in flames, and the orange-red glow of fire could be seen from afar, even beyond the city walls.
Outside the Pleasure District, a large number of adventurers had already gathered, and the rooftops around were crowded with onlookers.
By this time, Hestia, under the protection of Eina, Lili, Lyd, and Ray, was heading towards the Ishtar Familia's main base.
Loki and others had moved from the buildings outside to the city walls, excitedly watching the situation unfold in the Pleasure District, taking delight in the disaster.
Some deities even whistled at the scene.
"Freya-sama, many members of the Hestia Familia have reached Level 4 in strength," Ottar reported, observing the situation in the Pleasure District and relaying the information he saw to Freya.
"How many?" Freya's eyebrows knitted slightly, her expression turning sour.
"It's hard to determine the exact number, but I've seen ten Level 4 combatants," Ottar answered truthfully.
Although his vision was sharp, he could not see the entire Pleasure District, only a portion of it, where he observed the combat between the Hestia Familia and the Ishtar Familia's combatants.
Using his strong combat intuition, Ottar estimated the strength of the combatants involved.
The members of the Ishtar Familia were at Level 3, but those from the Hestia Familia were overwhelmingly dominating, easily taking down the Ishtar Familia's members.
This demonstrated strength was certainly in the Level 4 domain.
Moreover, among Level 4s, they were quite skilled.
"The Hestia Familia is growing this fast!" Hearing Ottar's words, Freya's inner turmoil intensified, and she unusually began to bite her finger, looking anxious.
Indeed, as Ottar observed, every member of the Hestia Familia was exceptionally strong.
If a member from another Familia and a member from the Hestia Familia leveled up at the same time to the same level, the one from the Hestia Familia would undoubtedly become the stronger of the two.
A member from the Hestia Familia who leveled up simultaneously would absolutely dominate a member from another Familia.
This is because, before leveling up, each member of the Hestia Familia reaches the pinnacle of their current stage, with each one having S999 in their ability scores.
The stronger the ability scores, the more significant the enhancement upon leveling up, and naturally, the stronger the individual becomes.
Members of the Hestia Familia, leveling up from the limit of their ability scores, could not be compared to members from other Familias.
Although members of the Hestia Familia who continuously achieved S999 upon leveling up couldn't make as significant a leap as Aston or match Bell from the original story in reaching the limit of adventurers at the same level with a single level-up, they were still incredibly strong within their level.
Normally, a Level 4 could easily defeat a Level 3, let alone Hestia Familia members who leveled up in such a manner; they completely overpowered Level 3, showing a one-sided development.
A Level 3 member of the Ishtar Familia couldn't last more than twenty moves against a Hestia Familia member of the same level before being knocked out.
And against a Level 4 adventurer from the Hestia Familia, they would be defeated in just two or three moves.
In this situation, the Hestia Familia's battle against the Ishtar Familia was a total rout.
Even the few Level 4s within the Ishtar Familia couldn't turn the tide.
The Hestia Familia also had its share of Level 4s, including individuals like Lyd, so the Ishtar Familia's Level 4s couldn't play a decisive role in reversing the situation.
It was fortunate for the Ishtar Familia that their Level 4s were in their main base, and Ottar couldn't see them when Lyd and the others made their move. Otherwise, if Ottar reported this to Freya, who was already quite agitated, she would be absolutely furious.
Indeed, the faster the Hestia Familia grows, the more elusive the chance for Freya to make a move on Aston becomes.
In just about a month, aside from Aston, the emergence of Level 4 strength within the Hestia Familia is already astonishingly off the charts. If Level 5 strength were to appear, that would be defying the heavens.
What's next, several or even a dozen Level 6 strengths appearing in a month or two?
How would one even compete? Is this some kind of joke?
Fortunately, Ottar couldn't see this, and Freya wouldn't know, avoiding the potential for a catastrophic escalation.
However, although this crisis was averted, the continuous shocks were still somewhat unbearable for Freya.
"Freya-sama, Aston has arrived," Otta's statement jolted Freya from her worries about the Hestia Familia's rapid growth.
"Where?" Freya immediately started searching for Aston's figure.
"He's not inside; he's on the city wall, over by Loki Familia." Observing Freya attempting to peer into the fiery battlefield from her toes, Otta remained silent for a moment before speaking.
Upon hearing this, Freya instinctively turned, her body slowly shifting to look in the direction of Loki Familia.
Indeed, at that moment, Aston was there, accompanied by the Sword Princess Ais and an unfamiliar fox lady.
Seeing this scene, Freya felt an inexplicable annoyance and proceeded to walk towards them, with Otta following closely behind.
On the other side, Aston, who had rushed back to the surface as quickly as possible, arrived here first.
Upon arriving, Aston didn't join the fray but went directly to where Loki and others were on the city wall.
Having already dealt with a significant portion of the Ishtar Familia members, Aston left the rest to his Familia members.
"Aston, who is she?" The first thing Tione asked upon Aston's arrival with the fox lady was her identity.
"A new member of the Hestia Familia," Aston replied with a slight smile, introducing her.
Haruhime: "…"