I didn't really think anyone would actually want to revive the God of Light, but undeniably, everything this city was shocking and advanced. Not to mention whether the warring sides knew of New Parristol's history as the Lantine Oasis Sky Research City - just the ability to fly alone would make every nation green with envy.

"The Astralrealm Kingdom and Church are one thing, but if the Empire or monsters got hold of this city, that would be disastrous. We have to find a way to stop them..."

I stated my view directly. For a nation like the Ilandra Dominion Empire with such advanced magic technology, my first impression was that they were up to no good! It was only natural they would set their sights on New Parristol. As for the monsters, it was obvious to everyone that their help in defending Parristol against the Kingdom's forces had an ulterior motive. Well, truth be told, I didn't fully trust the Astralrealm Kingdom either, but we couldn't worry about that now.

Moreover, regarding this so-called new King Adrian of Parristol, I really couldn't gauge what he was thinking. Perhaps he was just blinded by his eagerness to restore the nation, or maybe he had other plans...

"Tch, you say that so easily. Don't forget Judith and I are very weak! What if we encounter those formidable monsters again?"

Cyra scoffed in dissatisfaction. She wasn't too afraid of dealing with small fry, sometimes even vying to take the lead. But unfortunately, the threats we faced weren't just those. Bringing this up, she started having second thoughts and complaints.

"Damn, the waters run deep here. Reed has really gotten us into a mess - will we actually die in this place?"

In fact, she had always been very displeased that Reed had "deserted" us by not coming along. But even more frustrating was that from the very start, we had been directly teleported into this city, at least several thousand meters above the safe ground areas. Cyra had no other choice - she didn't even have a chance to safely escape the battlefield.

Just randomly dragging down a few combatant soldiers from the sky could very well find existences more powerful than them. Compared to braving the artillery barrage to flee back to the ground, staying in this city with me was naturally a bit safer.

But then again, the pressure on me was immense too...

I couldn't even guarantee I wouldn't suddenly fail in this chaotic situation, let alone divide my attention to protect the novice Level 3-4 Cyra and Judith.

If Cysper was with us, the situation would be better - at least his strength could provide some help. Unfortunately, from my observations, although most of the Church's airships were still engaged in combat, the Pope as an important figure had likely already retreated to a safe rear position. It was impossible to count on him!

"Just where did Reed get the confidence that we could successfully infiltrate the Chromos Tower in this situation?"

Suddenly remembering something, as Cyra spoke, her eyes glanced over me before finally settling on Judith.

"Oh right, what exactly is this trump card she gave you? It couldn't actually be a nuclear bomb, could it?"

To be honest! Since arriving at the sky city, I hadn't had a chance to carefully consider this question, so Cyra suddenly bringing it up did pique my curiosity.

"Of course it's not something to eat. Actually, I'm not clear what use it has either!"

Judith waved her hand with a wry smile, taking out the scroll to show us the magic circle inscribed on it.

"Hehehe, we can confirm this is probably a teleportation scroll, exactly the same as the one that brought us here! The only difference is the destination has already been preset, but I'm not too sure where exactly it leads..."

We had indeed seen this kind of scroll many times before - the patterns and runes were recognizable at a glance. But the problem immediately followed - what use could a mere teleportation scroll serve? Don't tell me Reed's so-called trump card was just for us to run if we couldn't win?

That's too ridiculous, isn't it? Whether others believe it or not, I certainly don't! As for Cyra, she was absolutely convinced there must be more to it, jumping to the presumptuous guess:

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"Since the destination has been preset, that means the other side definitely has something that can turn the tides for us...Oh yeah!"

Her eyes lit up as if she had found the answer, excitedly saying:

"Reed must have arranged for someone to deliver us powerful weapons through that portal. It could even be a machine gun!"

"Pfft--" I nearly spat out the water I was drinking. Wasn't that going too far? She's supposed to be religious, yet she stated that outlandish conjecture so seriously. For some reason, an image flashed through my mind of Cyra dressed as a male priest wielding a machine gun, wildly spraying at a monster horde. It was utterly ridiculous...

"What, you don't believe me? Don't forget that woman could even make a nuclear bomb - what's a machine gun to her?"

Seeing my reaction, Cyra was a bit displeased, insisting on her reasoning.

"Even if not a machine gun, regular firearms and ammo are still possible, right? I believe with Reed's abilities, she could definitely manage it. Just think, if we had an AK-47 in our hands, haha! We'd be able to walk all over this city!"

Looking at her manner, if I didn't know for a fact this girl had never even touched a gun before, I might have actually believed her!

To be honest, I was rather skeptical whether firearms could really have their expected effect in this world. After all, with higher levels, the reflexes and speed were beyond ordinary humans. Moreover, I didn't think Reed could directly manufacture firearms in the time since we left Edenmere - the principles behind them were completely different from nuclear weapons.

Now looking back, there were quite a few makeshift modifications and luck factors involved in that nuclear bomb's successful detonation. Just using Michelle's flames as the ignition source, I thought it would be difficult to replicate.

"In any case, blindly guessing here is completely pointless. Why don't we just open the teleportation portal and see what's what?"

Seeing I still didn't really believe her, Cyra started demanding Judith unroll the scroll.

"That might not be a good idea? Reed said to only open it at a moment of crisis we couldn't handle, but right now..."

Judith looked around hesitantly, then at me, very unsure as she asked, "Is this really appropriate?"

Now I was the one in a difficult spot! To be honest, if talking about timing, I felt our current predicament was already quite dangerous. Who knew if the next second some powerful enemy might suddenly appear before us? But as Judith said, Reed's words clearly didn't seem to be referring to right now.

To be honest, Cyra's earlier ramblings had piqued my curiosity too - I really wanted to know what this so-called "trump card" was...Unable to decide, I simply turned away, pretending not to see anything.

"Do whatever you want, I won't intervene!"

"Did you hear that? Hurry up and open it - she said it doesn't matter!"

Well, this was great. Despite my neutral stance, Cyra treated it like a divine decree, urging Judith into action.

"Uh, alright then..."

Finally unable to deter this troublemaker, Judith could only nod in agreement. From her expression, I could tell she was curious too. The two quickly cleared a large open space in the small room, unrolling the teleportation scroll on the floor to begin channeling magic power for activation.

As an observer, I sat on the sofa, pouring myself another cup of tea to comfortably watch them work.

The activation process was simple, and since Judith was an earth mage, it was even easier. Before long, a spherical spatial teleportation portal appeared before us as expected. Everyone unconsciously held their breath, standing at a distance waiting for that miraculous moment.

"It's so slow...do we actually have to go through first?"

Strangely, after waiting around ten seconds with no movement, Cyra became impatient.

"But then wouldn't we not be able to return?"

I was just as perplexed. That couldn't be right, could it? Don't tell me Reed really prepared this for us to escape? The thought made me chug another mouthful of tea in vexation.

"Don't worry, the elemental capacity stored in this scroll can maintain the portal for about a minute. There's still time..."

Judith remained relatively calm, casually explaining. However, before she could finish her sentence, we immediately saw something rapidly emerging from the center of the spherical portal - the scene almost identical to when the Celt Cross materialized as the sub-space seal was broken.

"It's coming! My machine gun! Machine gun!"

Cyra excitedly drew our attention. But events did not unfold as she wished. The object that came through quickly revealed its true form, far larger than the size of any gun! Okay, to be precise, it wasn't a weapon at all - it was a human!

The visitor appeared to be a middle-aged man of around fifty years old, with a rather rugged countenance, a slight stubble, coupled with his tall, lean physique suddenly manifesting before us. Everyone present couldn't help but be stunned.

Who was this old man? What relation did he have to Reed's supposed trump card?

I was completely dumbfounded. And not just me - Cyra and Judith wore the same bewildered expressions. Even the man himself seemed utterly confused, as if he didn't know where he was.

"Where is this place...?"

The middle-aged man first nervously surveyed his surroundings. But there was nothing remarkable about the room to see. His attention soon focused on the three of us, his gaze passing over me and Cyra before finally settling on Judith.

When he clearly made out Judith's appearance, I could obviously see his body violently jolt, then in an expression of disbelief, he swiftly rushed up to her, voice trembling as he asked,

"Mom, is that really you? I'm not dreaming, am I?"

"Pffft----cough cough cough..."

This time, not only the tea in my mouth, I almost coughed up a lung.