Chapter 123: Abyssal Demon Island

“Let me think for a moment.”

Miss Vilyric took a brief pause to consider.

They were now about ten kilometers away from the slowly moving floating island. At their legendary speed, it would only take a little over a minute to reach it in the air.

Including Sigrid and several other priests, they had all come for the Abyss Worms, but one side wanted to exterminate them while the other wanted to harvest something from those monsters.

To be honest, Vilyric did not expect that so-called “Demon Island” to look like this. Frankly, her interest in this mysterious island had greatly increased, completely surpassing those boring, pesky bugs.

Now that it was confirmed that the Abyss Worm’s ability to breed Abyss Beasts likely came from fragments of the Earth Mother Goddess’s powers, it was possible that the Abyssal Demon Island, doing something similar—possibly even more efficiently—might also hold a similar connection.

Maybe it was hiding even more powerful and complete fragments of Divine Sparks or some secrets. It would be better to investigate first. Even if it turned out to be different from their expectations, they could always deal with those worms afterward.

Anyway, it looked like they were dead set on guarding this island.

So, Vilyric shared her plan with everyone, and naturally received a strong objection from Sigrid.

“No way! We know absolutely nothing about that island. Even if you can withstand the Dead Mist, what will you do about the Abyss Worms guarding the Demon Island? There are more than just one or two of them!”

Ugh, how annoying… Why does it feel like this girl is becoming more and more like a nagging mother? It seems that the significant casualties from this disaster have put quite a psychological burden on her; Sigrid must be taking all the responsibility onto herself, right?

The Priestess scratched her ears that had just endured a high-decibel bombardment, showing a resigned expression.

“Then what do you want? Don’t forget why we’re here; there’s no choice of driving off the enemy without taking any risks.”

Sigrid looked resolute, not budging an inch.

“Our mission is to hunt the Abyss Worms, and doesn’t include exploring the Demon Island. This matter should be discussed with His Majesty first, and then we can dispatch professionals to do it.”

“Professionals? Ha… No matter how professional, can they be more reliable than a group of legends? Or are you suggesting the Wing Emperor himself or that mysterious High Priest?”

The Priestess pointed around with a straight face and then gestured to her own slightly meager chest.

“And Sigrid, don’t make a mistake; that’s just your mission. I have no obligation to follow the Wing Emperor’s orders.”

“Ugh…”

Seemingly lacking confidence, the ponytail girl begrudgingly bit her teeth. She knew Vilyric’s character; while she always appeared easygoing, she was incredibly firm—almost cruelly relentless—when it came to disputes.

Once this black-haired girl had made up her mind, it was nearly impossible to change it due to external influence.

“Damn… If you’re going to go, then I’ll go with you too. At least I can look out for you!”

“Oh, that’s fine.”

“Don’t say that! This is my last bottom line… Eh?”

Just as she blurted that out, Sigrid suddenly froze, tilting her head in a somewhat dopey manner.

She had thought… Vilyric would strongly oppose anyone following her into such a dangerous place, and she had already prepared to have a huge argument about it. But surprisingly, it had been settled so easily?

“What kind of expression is that… I never said I planned to explore alone, did I?”

At least the Little Dragon Daughter, Leila, and Renée would definitely come along. The Priestess couldn’t just leave them outside like that.

“So, Sigrid counts as one. What about you? Are you all coming along?”

Vilyric pointed in the direction of the four guardians from the Temple of Sky. These four legendary Winged People were all women, and they had been rather silent on the way, not engaging much with her little group, their occasional interactions mostly funneled through Sigrid.

It was obvious that they didn’t reject Vilyric and the others; they just weren’t good at communicating with strangers. It was just as well since the Priestess didn’t like doing such things either; both sides would get to keep it quiet.

It was best if they came along directly. If they didn’t want to, then that saved trouble. They could do whatever they liked; it wasn’t Vilyric’s problem anyway.

By the way, she still didn’t know the names of those Winged People; Sigrid had only said they were guardians of the Temple and had never given a specific introduction.

The priests exchanged silent glances. Among them, one who seemed to be the representative—around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, with a beauty mark between her brows—smiled and expressed her opinion.

“…Since our captain, Little Sigrid, has spoken, we will naturally follow her lead. Although Miss Vilyric’s actions seem a bit reckless, what she says is not without reason. If we can truly figure out the situation on the Demon Island, even bring it down, that would definitely yield more benefits than simply killing a few Abyss Worms.”

Another hooded priestess nodded to add, “With nearly ten legends, if even our lineup can’t get it done, anyone else would just be sending themselves to death. The High Priest is incredibly strong, but she would never come here.”

The High Priest, that Divine Priest would never come here?

Vilyric’s heart stirred.

Although it was just an offhand remark, it revealed quite a few secrets. Could it be that one of the costs of bearing the God’s blessing was to remain in the Temple of Sky for life?

This Divine blessing…

“Senior Leona?”

Sigrid wasn’t foolish; she could tell that this older priestess’s decision, aside from the reasons being stated, was likely due to their concern for her.

Leona, the only one without a hood, the one who had spoken at the beginning, smiled and shook her head without saying more.

Vilyric clapped her hands.

“Alright, since we’ve reached a consensus, let’s discuss our tactics moving forward.”

Although she didn’t think they would encounter an overwhelming crisis, the Priestess still maintained her usual cautious attitude towards this completely unknown and bizarre floating island.

Then, through their wings floating in the air, they quickly devised a simple infiltration plan before the Abyss Beasts surrounding the Demon Island noticed them.

…

“Master, do we really need to do this? It’s just a bunch of bugs; if they dare to block the way, we can just slay them all.”

Hovering in the air closer to the Abyssal Demon Island, the blonde dragon girl looked at the white-robed girl standing not far in front of her, a puzzled expression on her face.

“Of course! While these Abyss Beasts and the so-called Abyss Worms might not be strong enemies to you and me, the sheer number could be quite troublesome to deal with.”

“And we still don’t know what this island is all about. If we make a big move and startle the snake, we might let the clues inside slip away.”

With a smile, Vilyric glanced at the thick, almost visibility-reducing gray mist below, then raised her hand to signal.

“Now, let’s start the infiltration!”

   

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