"Nicola is becoming more and more erratic...and Feliciana too..."
A sour voice suddenly piped up from the spiritual network - Cyra had joined the conversation without me realizing.
"How is anyone else supposed to keep up?"
I didn't find her reaction too strange. The real issue was that even I couldn't fully comprehend how Nicola had accomplished that feat. The Condensation Sword couldn't be that overwhelmingly powerful even it's sharp, could it?
Even now that I had mastered summoning the Water Abyss Sword, I still felt vastly inferior to Nicola. Putting everything else aside, destroying an entire city was definitely beyond my capabilities.
"The founding ancestor Liana created us angels. Her power is unfathomable - even as a reincarnation, Nicola is no ordinary angel!"
Elara stated matter-of-factly.
"However, Nicola likely hasn't found Aria yet, so she may take some time before returning..."
She suddenly changed the topic. "Where are you all at now? Have you reached Crescent City?"
"Well, not quite yet..."
Finally asked this question, I felt a tinge of embarrassment. Just think - a journey that could be flown in less than a day, yet Cyra and I had dragged it out over a week without reaching our destination. It was hard to explain.
"We have some traveling companions who can't fly, like the Pope from the True Church. They need frequent rests, so our pace on foot is a bit...slow. We're still at a hotel in Nikaro City..."
Okay, even I couldn't listen to those excuses anymore. We were basically just sightseeing and taking our time, all thanks to that lackadaisical Pope leading the pack.
Could it be that Edenmere had already notified the Sage Council about our plans to go to Crescent City to facilitate a reception? If so, making them wait too long wasn't very good.
"I see, the Pope is still following you all? I heard he had never left Jethrobaines before, so that's understandable..."
Cyra must have mentioned this earlier, hence Elara's unsurprised reaction. But her next words did catch me off guard.
"Actually, it may be better to go slowly. I've heard the situation around Parristol is rather unstable lately - you all should be extremely cautious on your journey!"
"Huh?"
I was well aware of where Parristol was located, having mentioned it several times already. As for the Parristol Resistance, they had been openly defying the Astralrealm Kingdom for years, practically degenerating into a terrorist group. Recalling how Carl had secretly infiltrated our rooms for an assassination attempt still sent chills down my spine.
"Don't worry, we won't be passing through there!"
But I didn't take it too seriously. After all, Nicola had specifically gone over there without encountering any danger.
"Do not underestimate this!"
But Elara immediately warned me gravely.
"The independence movement in Parristol has been escalating rapidly. Just yesterday, several uprisings broke out within the city. If things spiral out of control, it could impact the stances of neighboring nations and may even trigger war!"
"That fast?"
I was quite surprised - I hadn't expected the situation to deteriorate to such an extent, which explained Elara's concerns. It was well known that the Parristol independence efforts were backed by many major powers, possibly even involving the Sage Council.
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But the troubles didn't end there, as she dropped another bombshell.
"According to our intelligence, there have been signs of high-tier monster activity spotted around the Parristol region lately. These uprisings may have monster involvement behind the scenes."
"No way? If monsters are involved, won't the other nations intervene?"
Cyra asked incredulously, realizing this was no longer just a human conflict.
"We can't be certain about that aspect. However, the Astralrealm Kingdom's stance is quite clear - King Galahad definitely won't let the situation continue deteriorating. He has likely already dispatched more troops to the borders. But the Ilandra Dominion's actions have been rather suspicious, still showing no response. Who knows what they're plotting behind the scenes."
The Cresthaven Papal Dominion was also a neighboring nation, but their leader had recently been neglecting duties to vacation with us at this very hotel! So we could ignore them for now.
"So if you notice anything amiss, don't take any risks! You may even want to just return to Edenmere for now!"
Elara let out a deep sigh, clearly vexed by these tangled international affairs.
"The key issue is Edenmere's exit can no longer be relocated in the short term. If you must return, you may have to go to the northern Barren Lands in person...this could be a plot!"
"But we're so close to our destination already..."
I was equally dumbfounded, suddenly feeling my brain couldn't process it all. Was this some grand distraction ploy? But I was certainly unwilling to turn back, since open conflict hadn't truly erupted yet. Plus, our destination was Crescent City, not Parristol, though their distance wasn't too far...
"The situation changes daily now, it's hard to predict what surprises may occur. So please be extremely cautious!"
Seeing my insistence on proceeding, Elara didn't push further, as she was rushed to handle other matters anyway.
Suddenly another voice piped up to report that Commander Serena was requesting an audience. Elara left those final words before hurriedly exiting the spiritual network.
Back in reality, Cyra and I could only exchange glances. Neither of us expected things to become so complicated.
"No worries, Lady Elara probably doesn't know you can transform yet! Dealing with some high-tier monsters shouldn't be too difficult, right?"
Thinking it over, Cyra optimistically tried to reassure me. At this stage, the main threat seemed to be those monsters lurking in the shadows. It wasn't as dire as Elara made it sound.
"I suppose, if they're just ordinary monsters..."
Her so-called transformation referred to my wings turning blue. But who knew if Michelle was involved - I had the ominous feeling monsters were plotting something big, and I didn't think I could currently overpower her head-on.
"In any case, we should inform the others first. They probably don't know about this yet!"
Shaking my head to stop dwelling on it further, I remembered we weren't the only ones traveling. We had planned a one-day stopover in Nikaro City before departing tomorrow, but it seemed that plan needed revising now.
If Parristol was inaccessible, Brennan and Yulanda would likely be the most affected.
Their intention in journeying with us was to head west through Parristol after reaching Crescent City to return to the capital. But that route was no longer viable.
Excluding unconventional routes like Vivianne crossing the Dona Mountain Range, their only remaining option was to backtrack our path northward towards the capital - a massive detour wasting significant time.
As for Cysper...well, though unspoken, I could already tell - he had left the capital solely to travel, but unable to stray far from Cyra, he would inevitably tag along with us. What a troublesome guy!
As for the Parristol situation, based on Cysper's laid-back attitude, I doubted the Cresthaven Papal Dominion was very involved.
"Hey hey, good thing we ran into you here!"
Not far from our rooms, we encountered Judith in the hallway of the Grand Nikaro Hotel, greeting us cheerily.
"Looks like Brennan is about to perform a contract ritual. Want to go watch?"
The contract ritual was when a Beast Tamer officially formed a pact with their beast companion. But I didn't expect Brennan to be binding his newly-acquired little phoenix so soon.
"Of course!" Cyra readily agreed - she wouldn't miss such an opportunity. Though I had never witnessed it before, my mind was preoccupied with the Parristol issue, subconsciously feeling I had overlooked some crucial information.
The ritual was held outdoors in the hotel's rear courtyard. By the time we arrived, we could see Brennan crouched on the ground sketching an immense magic formation.
"Didn't expect you to know magic formations despite not being a mage yourself!"
Yulanda and the others had already arrived, all equally amazed. Cyra asked curiously,
Actually, this is the only one I know. It took me a long time to learn it by rote..."
The redhead, upon hearing this, scratched his head embarrassedly, since, after all, this formation is part of his profession and he should know it.