Chapter 73: Falling from the Sky

“Indeed… it’s quite strange. No, wait, why was I just focused on how to handle the upcoming battle and didn’t even notice such an obvious problem?”

Philena’s face turned quite ugly, and the Captain standing next to her didn’t look any better.

As one of the “Winged Emperors,” tasked with important missions for many years, Sigrid naturally had sharp strategic insight. After Vilyric’s reminder, it seemed some influence jolted her into realizing something was amiss.

Yeah, why is there such an obvious signal smoke with no reaction from the surrounding floating islands and patrol units?

Everyone fell silent, then instinctively turned their gazes to the seemingly innocent Priestess, since she was the only one to notice this anomaly on her own, perhaps she had a clue.

Of course, Vilyric had a clue.

The surrounding area of this island was shrouded in a not-so-obvious psychic field, somewhat similar to SP abilities, but it felt different, and she couldn’t quite articulate what it was.

At that moment, Xiao Guang, who was usually silent in front of outsiders, surprisingly took the initiative to speak up.

“There’s a very strange smell coming from below, Master. There should be a troublesome thing on this island.”

“Huh?”

Vilyric was taken aback, as it was the first time since they entered this world that she heard Xiao Guang describe something as “troublesome.”

It couldn’t be that Abyss Worm rampaging through the forest; while it looked big, it was actually about the same strength as that Son of Leviathan, definitely not enough to pose a challenge to a pureblood giant dragon.

“How troublesome is it? Can it confront you head-on?”

Little Dragon Daughter tilted her head and thought for a moment.

“Without engaging directly, I can’t be sure, but… it shouldn’t be weaker than Lucas.”

Lucas was the special Guardian of Heaven for the Priestess, a level 80 summon. That meant the entity Xiao Guang sensed had to be at an even higher level?

Just as she was about to say more, a strange wave suddenly spread from below!

“Waaahhh!”

“My, my wings!”

“Captain!”

A flurry of sharp cries erupted, and all of the Winged warriors brought by Sigrid, including herself, suddenly had their wings freeze in place, uncontrollably plummeting downward!

Even those few Cloud Soaring Falcons carrying the kingdom’s elites panicked, crying out as their bodies shook violently, on the verge of following suit.

“Lady Vilyric!”

“Xiao Guang!”

Leila and Renée twisted in the air, their wings strangely stiff but seemingly still possessing some resistance. Vilyric quickly responded, immediately casting her Radiant Protection spell, enveloping them, even including the few Falcons.

But to her surprise, the usually effective Holy Light barrier had no effect against this eerie influence; it seemed that there was no energy eroding them, but rather the Winged people and Magical Beasts had suddenly forgotten how to fly.

“Master! This is a spiritual force!”

Little Dragon Daughter leapt up from the Falcon’s back, not hesitating to reveal her strength. With her wings spread wide, she grabbed the back of the neck of the two Winged sisters, keeping them from falling.

Clearly, while this power was bizarre, it wasn’t insurmountable for Xiao Guang.

Moreover, her words immediately awakened the Priestess, who hesitated to use a stronger skill.

A spiritual power… no, is it really Soul Power?

Realizing this, Vilyric quickly got in sync with the situation, unleashing her vast mental web just as she had done before by manipulating SP, but this time, she didn’t extend it far; instead, she enveloped the barrier of Radiant Protection, forming another layer of invisible defense.

“Waaahh! We’re going to fall! We’re going to fall, Miss Vilyric!! Wait? We’re not swaying anymore?”

A certain flustered Holy Knight was already contemplating how to land safely when the Priestess suddenly opened her soul barrier, causing all the Falcons’ swaying to instantly lessen as they lowered their pitches, regaining their balance.

Vilyric sighed in relief.

So this method really is useful. Good thing I practiced beforehand.

Though she felt that with the strength of those present, even a fall from a hundred meters wouldn’t result in much harm if handled properly—just some light injuries at most—those Falcons would likely meet a grim fate, making the return trip quite troublesome.

At that moment, Little Dragon Daughter returned to the Falcon’s back, still holding her two important playmates.

“Master, the scent is fading! That jerk is escaping!”

“Huh?”

The Black-haired Girl frowned slightly; under normal circumstances, she would definitely pursue, even if she couldn’t catch up, she needed to figure out what that thing was.

But as long as that unidentified psychic interference lingered, she was unsure about applying the soul barrier; if Vilyric left immediately, the Falcons might just plummet once more.

Sending Xiao Guang to chase it wasn’t reassuring, as this opponent felt different from any they had faced before—it seemed a bit eerie.

For instance, just moments ago, had Vilyric not practiced applying SP, she might have been forced to use an advanced skill.

Though Little Dragon Daughter called it running away, the Priestess felt it might not be so.

The enemy fled without engaging them directly, likely doing so intentionally rather than being scared off.

It felt more like a composed retreat after achieving some predetermined goal.

Abyss Beasts… are they connected to the Abyss?

Amidst the Abyss, could there be such strong entities? And how did they come here? Abyss creatures shouldn’t be able to breach this world without a strong repulsion, right?

While curious and puzzled, for now, it was best to handle the situation at Omoland first; this sudden incident was rife with oddities, surely she could find some clues.

“Forget it, let’s land on the island. Sigrid and the others have all fallen; we don’t even know how they are—better to confirm quickly.”

With that, the Priestess cast her questioning gaze toward the Knight, who was the leader of the United Kingdom’s team.

Thanks to Vilyric’s timely protection, Philena and the strong individuals from the kingdom sitting on other Falcons were safe, though their faces looked a bit worse for wear.

After all, falling a hundred meters isn’t exactly pleasant.

“Yeah, I’m a bit worried too. There are probably a lot of Abyss Beasts below, not to mention that Abyss Worm…”

“Then let’s go, find a suitable spot to land.”

Guiding several Falcons to gradually lower their altitude, soon the group found a relatively low and open area among the trees below.

Though the Cloud Soaring Falcons weren’t as massive as those giant Magical Beasts, they were still ten meters long, making it hard to land directly in the forest. After decreasing altitude, everyone jumped down while the less combat-capable Falcons waited for the spiritual interference to disperse before returning to the sky.

Considering Abyss Beasts could likely fly as well, Philena left a few Earth-level warriors to guard the Falcons, replacing the Winged warriors who had all plummeted like dumplings earlier.

   

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