Chapter 70: Gaiting

“Please stop, Captain Sigrid is currently engaged in important discussions and cannot accommodate you for the time being. Sorry about that.”

The two white-feathered warriors clearly recognized Vilyric and the others. They didn’t brandish their spears directly; one of them merely extended a hand in a relatively gentle manner to block their path.

Unlike the white-feathered warriors from the “Fragrant Retreat,” the newcomers didn’t suppress their aura at all, and Vilyric could sense something unusual just from their first interaction.

Indeed, they were from the Winged Race—powerful beings aplenty, even the guards at the gate were of peak Earth level. They looked like they were only in their twenties, quite young by any standards.

However, the Winged Race was blessed by the gods; not only did they have long lifespans and great strength, but their looks and physique remained vibrant until they reached around twenty-four or twenty-five, their prime, after which they would maintain this for a long time until a rapid aging process just years before death.

Take Hilda, for instance—she looked youthful but should be at least four hundred years old.

Vilyric, who knew more about the background, understood that this must be the effect of their angelic bloodline, as angels were said to be immune to all negative states and curses, living as pure beings without aging or illness.

“What are Sigrid and the others discussing? Is it a secret that can’t be disclosed?”

“This…”

The female guard who had just spoken wore a wry smile.

“We are just the gatekeepers; what we can say or not depends on the orders from above. Please don’t put us in a difficult position, alright? If it’s absolutely necessary to meet Captain Sigrid, you can wait here for a moment. They should be coming out soon…”

Before she could finish, the light curtain whooshed away, and Sigrid appeared, clad in armor and wielding her weapon, flanked by at least dozens of white-feathered warriors, just in time to bump into Vilyric and the others waiting outside.

What surprised the Priestess was that Lady Philena Trelop was also among the crowd, fully equipped in her previous armor and necklace, ready for battle with a longsword at her side.

The girl with short white hair tied in a ponytail paused for a moment.

“Vilyric? What are you all doing here? Didn’t we say everyone should stay in their rooms and not wander around? Something’s come up, and we need to go out. We’ll talk about it when we return.”

Seeing that the Priestess was not yielding at all, Philena’s face broke into a slight smile, looking as if she wasn’t surprised at all.

“You really can’t sit still, can you? Are you planning to meddle again this time?”

“Hehe, you understand me well, Miss Philena.”

The black-haired girl didn’t beat around the bush and directly stated her intention.

“Sigrid, can we come along?”

“No way! This isn’t just some fun outing; it’s…”

“I know, it’s an Abyss Beast, right?”

Before Sigrid could finish her refusal, Vilyric preemptively emphasized.

“Don’t forget, we’ve successfully hunted an Abyss Beast that escaped inland before. And after spending some time together, you should realize that we’re not just ordinary people, right?”

“I know that, of course… Tch, but…”

Captain Sigrid looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated.

And perhaps it was Vilyric’s imagination, but the wariness and vigilance that had gradually faded during their interactions suddenly seemed to flicker back into Sigrid’s eyes.

How strange; what was she hesitating about? Shouldn’t having more hands on deck be better for hunting an Abyss Beast?

Sigrid appeared indecisive, and the atmosphere became a bit awkward.

At this critical moment, reliable Philena stepped in to assist, voicing a concern that wasn’t appropriate for Vilyric to express.

“I don’t see any problem with it. This matter indeed needs strong combat power as support. As someone favored by Her Majesty, Vilyric has the qualifications to understand the related matters and is trustworthy. Why is Lady Sigrid so hesitant?”

As the leader of the United Kingdom envoy, Philena’s opinion, in a sense, represented the kingdom and Queen Liliya Meikailande’s stance.

While Sigrid might have sidestepped Vilyric because of her position, she couldn’t ignore Philena’s words once they were spoken.

“Since Lady Philena said so… alright then. But this isn’t a joke; Vilyric and the others, can you promise me not to make any moves without permission?”

“?”

Why does that sound so odd? Situations in battle change rapidly—if the time comes to act, then you act, no hesitation allowed, right?

But Vilyric could see that this was clearly Sigrid’s bottom line. After all, they were all quite strong, so it wasn’t really a problem.

As long as they don’t attack, self-preservation should be fine.

After confirming Vilyric’s agreement, Sigrid’s expression relaxed, and her demeanor softened once more.

“Since everyone wasn’t present at the earlier meetings and time is pressing, I’ll explain on the way. There should be a major battle coming up; do you need to change your equipment?”

Vilyric glanced back.

She and Little Dragon Daughter didn’t need to worry; Leila and Renée had never seen any armor, while Edwina’s holy knight armor was hardly ever taken off, even the heavy cross-shaped shield was something she carried around all day.

In her words, that was called weight training, meant to get used to the influence of heavy equipment in battle.

At that moment, the Priestess couldn’t help but recall a certain classic anime from Blue Star.

“We’re ready to go at any time.”

“Good.”

Perhaps it was really urgent; after a brief exchange, Sigrid immediately led the group toward the exit.

Inside the Son of Leviathan, there was a complete dwelling of Cloud Soaring Falcons where hundreds of the creatures lived. The Winged People raised them for special circumstances, so even those who couldn’t fly, like Edwina and Philena, could conveniently travel alongside.

The exit was a special structure that already existed on the giant beast’s body, meant for small creatures to pass through, typically closed but could be opened freely after communicating with the Winged People. Sigrid had gone to the main cabin earlier specifically for this.

About ten minutes later, several hundred Winged People and a few protected Cloud Soaring Falcons streamed out from the largest, jet-stream-like opening on the giant whale’s back, flying swiftly toward a nearby floating island that was not too far away.

There were already several plumes of dark smoke billowing from it, very conspicuous even during the day.

This was a primitive but effective distress signal, indicating that the creatures living there were facing an enemy they couldn’t fend off on their own.

   

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