Chapter Ten: The Expedition Team Sets Out!

Despite Philena’s relentless objections, Vilyric was not her subordinate, so there was no need to concern herself with the Envoy Group Leader’s displeasure. This was an arrangement that had already been made back in the United Kingdom with Liliya.

After several failed attempts at persuasion, Philena saw that the Priestess seemed resolute. Frustrated and anxious, she had no choice but to start assisting the actions that Vilyric was about to undertake, following the command of Her Majesty the Queen to “support Vilyric wholeheartedly, no matter what happens.”

Thanks to the efforts of several generals from the Kwei Kingdom, they found a local soldier who claimed his ancestors had been fortunate enough to witness the Southern Disaster Phantom Cloud from afar and had recounted tales of this terrifying existence.

Although the young man, who was in his twenties, turned pale and exclaimed “No way, no way, it’s definitely going to be death!” when he heard that Vilyric wanted to confront the Southern Disaster, he had no choice but to divulge all he knew under pressure from the prominent figures.

After that, the Priestess, along with several girls, left the main force, heading deep into the Kwei Kingdom to begin the search for the Southern Disaster.

Meanwhile, the envoy would proceed at a relatively slow pace, waiting for news from Vilyric.

The reason it was several girls instead of Vilyric going alone was that, just as they were about to depart, Miss Edwina and two others suddenly appeared, fervently requesting to join them.

Vilyric also considered that… there might be troublesome issues along the way that would be difficult for her and the Little Dragon Daughter to deal with, so it was just right for those three to handle them.

Furthermore, Vilyric genuinely wanted to find an opportunity to assess the strength of the sisters Layla and Renée, to see what changes had occurred in them due to the excessive Time Rewind magic from before.

Though these two followed Vilyric quietly all day long without making a fuss, their strength was already on par with the legendary Edwina.

As for the reason…

Firstly, Time Rewind, despite being a level 9 resurrection spell, did not enhance attributes, but Vilyric reached a certain deduction after some checking.

Perhaps it was the skill judgment of Complete Retrogression that led these two Winged People sisters to undergo a kind of “ancestral return,” a purification of bloodline that resulted in a significant leap at the racial level, thus their strength surged from Earth-tier to Legendary.

For most humans, Legendary level might seem to be an unattainable peak, but to certain high-tier species in this world, it was merely a starting point.

Much like Aaliyah, who, despite being underage, already possessed extraordinary strength.

As a result, the final members of the expedition team against the Southern Disaster consisted of the Holy Knight Edwina, the Sky Guardian Layla, the Sky Mage Renée, the Warrior Xiao Guang, and Priestess Vilyric.

If you disregarded the level differences, it was quite a well-rounded team…

Vilyric did not rush in and start pounding the Southern Disaster Phantom Cloud – well, okay, she did entertain that thought, but first, they had to find the other party.

And that required further intelligence.

According to the young soldier who had seen the Phantom Cloud in his childhood, one certainty was established.

The Phantom Cloud was not a conventional singular being but rather something akin to a swarm of magical beasts. When it appeared from a distance, it looked too much like a massive shadow cloud on the ground, hence the name.

As for what kind of magical beasts made up the Phantom Cloud and their characteristics or habits, that was beyond the knowledge of that young man.

The movements of the Southern Disaster had certain inevitable patterns that people deduced based on the countless years of disaster situations, though the reasons remained unclear, the starting and ending points were indeed fixed.

Nobody knew how the Phantom Cloud moved. It appeared suddenly and vanished just as quickly, making it extremely difficult to guard against. Typically, though, the intervals between its appearances weren’t too far.

Thus, the generals of Kwei Kingdom could anticipate the Phantom Cloud would soon invade their territory but couldn’t accurately predict its specific location to evade it.

The information relay in this small country was too slow, and they urgently needed to know the most recent appearance point of the Phantom Cloud.

Holding onto this goal, Vilyric and her companions moved swiftly, arriving in the northern stronghold of Kwei Kingdom, Yanilo, before evening fell.

As for how to increase their speed — Vilyric certainly wouldn’t ride a fast horse; they simply flew.

Of course, considering that one stubborn Holy Knight did not have wings, she was hoisted up into the air by the two Winged sisters using ropes, one on each side.

The thrill…

Although Yanilo was the most bustling city in the entire northern region of Kwei Kingdom, its population barely surpassed fifty thousand, making it not even a first-tier city in the United Kingdom.

In fact, the entire Kwei Kingdom, including its capital, didn’t have a single city reaching a million in population.

Meanwhile, there were over ten such large cities in the entirety of the United Kingdom, showcasing the significant disparity in national strength.

Finding a secluded spot outside Yanilo City to land, they arranged their wings and various inhuman features, preparing to enter the city.

Though Kwei Kingdom did not extremely reject other races like the United Kingdom, as a vassal state, it had been influenced by that culture to some extent, preferring to avoid complications.

There weren’t many people waiting to enter the city, and the quality of the Yanilo city guards was noticeably lower than what Vilyric had witnessed in the United Kingdom. They looked lazy and disorganized, making the Priestess wonder if they would even be able to respond if something truly happened.

“Hello, we wish to enter the city.”

After waiting a bit, finally, it was Vilyric and her four companions’ turn. The Priestess handed over their identification to the soldier before her.

Liliya had prepared two kinds of identification for Vilyric, the one she submitted was the standard citizens’ identification from the United Kingdom, while the other was a document that would make most people in its territory immediately kneel in fear — the Queen’s envoy credentials.

It was somewhat similar to the Bird Token Liliya had given her when she was still a princess.

The somewhat lazy soldier took the booklet, flipped through it briefly, and then looked up to scrutinize the beautiful, delicate-looking girls.

“Just you few? No bodyguards or escorts or anything?”

“Uh? Just us, is there a problem?”

Vilyric felt that the moment she said that, the soldier’s expression suddenly turned oddly.

“Hmph… Fine, the entrance fee is two silver coins per person; just pay with the standard United Kingdom currency.”

Entrance fee?

The Priestess froze momentarily. This was the first time she had heard of needing to pay to enter a city in this world. Wasn’t it just the identification check?

However, this city-state belonged to the Wasteland, and some special rules were not that hard to understand. A few silver coins were nothing to Vilyric, and paying to avoid trouble was also acceptable.

“Alright, here’s the fee for the five of us.”

As she spoke, she lightly placed a gold coin into the soldier’s outstretched palm without actually touching him.

After verifying the coin’s quality, the soldier nodded with satisfaction.

“You’re quite savvy; many first-timers coming from the United Kingdom make a huge fuss over this… Since that’s the case, let me give you a heads-up: the Wasteland isn’t like the United Kingdom; it’s not that peaceful. If you’re not capable, it’s best to hire a few adventurers as bodyguards when you go out. Losing money is better than… well, isn’t it?”

Without giving Vilyric a chance to respond, the soldier waved his hand.

“Alright, move along; next!”

   

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