Chapter 146: Fortunately, I’m a Step Ahead!

After simply tending to Polly’s injuries and ensuring that the already unconscious girl was out of danger, Edwina Cecelia, Tilysha, and the two white-feathered girls who had fought against the gray-robed figures huddled together to share some information.

Edwina bluntly stated her intention to take Tilysha with her and made it clear that with the current manpower left in the Kingdom of Azure, they were entirely inadequate to guard or protect her. From here on, the envoy group of the United Kingdom would take over.

Though it sounded a bit uncomfortable, the two white-feathered girls had to admit that the Holy Knight’s words weren’t unfounded.

Ever since that gray mist arrived, everything had gone completely haywire.

People were dying left and right, gray-robed figures appeared out of nowhere, rampaging against everything in sight. Of the six of them belonging to the Free Wings, half had already been forced to go to nearby towns to suppress the chaos due to the disastrous situation.

With so much time passed and no aid from headquarters, it suggested that the conditions elsewhere were likely even worse. Even if Edwina insisted on taking Tilysha, there was nothing they could do to stop her.

Besides, the other party was a friend, not an enemy. She had just rescued Polly, and they had already heard of Edwina Cecelia’s name.

After weighing the pros and cons, the two white-feathered girls took their unconscious companion and hurriedly departed, deciding that maintaining order among their team or escorting Polly for further treatment was far more valuable than babysitting a little village girl.

Lady Sigrid’s investigation had already yielded preliminary results, and they had initially planned to release Tilysha soon, but that had to be shelved temporarily due to the sudden disaster in the north.

After watching the three leave, the Holy Knight seemed to be lost in thought as she walked with the little village girl trailing behind her and that glaring shiny orb that couldn’t be ignored, towards the bodies of the gray-robed figures scattered across the ground.

Vilyric had long told Edwina about the Light Element Spirit, so while she was surprised, she didn’t pay much more attention to it; after all, it was something left behind by that noblewoman, and all things powerful were normal.

What concerned her more were these strange entities that had suddenly popped up.

A short while ago, on the day the assassination attempt happened at the Wing Emperor Palace, the Free Wings and the Sky City Guard had conducted a large-scale search. Originally, it was just a routine security check as the other party had managed to sneak up to the Emperor’s face and escape safely, with the Winged People not expecting to actually find anyone like this.

But, for some reason, they indeed found them.

The people they located back then were dressed just like these gray-robed ones, looking exceptionally bizarre. They were hiding in some residents’ houses, and when the military searched, it inexplicably led to a skirmish.

Yet Edwina wasn’t a high-ranking member of the Winged People, so she wasn’t completely in the know about the subsequent developments. Who would have thought… that so many enemies would pop up like this? Where did they come from?

The Holy Knight knelt down and lifted the hood of one of the graying figures, revealing a seemingly ordinary middle-aged man.

She checked the others in gray robes one by one; most were Winged People, while some were humans or half-breeds, showing no obvious racial traits or abnormalities, as if they had just randomly scooped a bunch of people from the city.

“Weird…”

She had been concerned about this—forget the others, how could Winged People willingly join these groups and attack their own capital?

After all, Winged People are quite different from humans; they generally have a simple and good-natured culture, and it’s rare for them to engage in infighting.

“Miss Edwina, who are these people? Why are they attacking the residents of the city?”

Feeling Tilysha’s confusion, the Holy Knight opened her mouth but hesitated.

Though she seemed a bit straightforward, or perhaps a bit dull-witted, she was actually a well-educated young lady from a prominent family, certainly not lacking in perspective and judgment, at least not when compared to this naive little village girl.

At that moment, the face of a certain beastman suddenly flashed in Edwina’s mind, leading her to ponder a certain possibility.

“Slash!”

Edwina slashed open the gray robe of a male human’s chest.

“Wow!”

This sudden action left the little village girl blushing in shock as she instinctively covered her eyes but, out of curiosity, left a small gap to sneak a peek.

Not paying attention to Tilysha’s antics, Edwina, as a mature Holy Knight, certainly wouldn’t feel shy over something trivial like this. She frowned slightly at the sight before her.

Inside the robe of this person, a gray vine-like substance was attached to the chest, and it appeared to be growing directly from within his body, even moving slightly.

This situation was quite similar to that of Epunya back then.

No wonder it felt a bit odd when she slashed before.

But the Southern Disaster should have been eradicated, Edwina didn’t believe that such things could escape under the direct intervention of Miss Vilyric.

Looking up at the ominous gray clouds suffocating the city, she turned to explain to the little village girl.

“I’ve encountered a similar situation while following Miss Vilyric; these people are very likely local residents who have been parasitized and controlled by monsters, and as for the Sky City…”

She seemed like she wanted to say more, but glancing at the little girl with light blue hair and eyes who looked somewhat confused, Edwina chose to hold her tongue.

“In any case, let’s head back to the embassy; there are guards from the Kingdom and the Winged People there, which should be relatively safe. These recent changes have come too rapidly, one after another, and no one knows what will happen next. Until Miss Vilyric resolves the issues, I must ensure your safety.”

“Um…”

Tilysha hesitated for a moment, but ultimately her curiosity got the better of her.

“Has Miss Vilyric returned to the Sky City already? But if we count the time, she should still be in the north…”

“Don’t ask me, I don’t know either.”

“Ah?”

The little village girl was taken aback by Edwina’s nonchalant attitude.

Edwina, who had already stood up and taken a step forward, turned back to look at her with a smile.

“While I don’t know the specifics of what’s happening, before setting off, Miss Vilyric instructed me to come to your aid in case of any changes in the city. She also mentioned that if things were truly urgent, she would have her ways of getting back here quickly, so there’s no need to worry.”

“We just need to focus on what we’re supposed to do now.”

…

Countless silver lights flashed by her side as she felt the familiar yet unfamiliar wave of super-long-distance teleportation. In an instant, the girl stepped through the door.

“Swish ~”

This was the room in the United Kingdom embassy belonging to the existence known as Vilyric.

“Ah… it seems like it worked; haha, thankfully I kept my wits about me and set up a [Hidden Space Teleportation Portal] here before leaving Sky City.”

The Priestess looked around, confirming that no one had barged into her room before summoning her magic circle.

“Come out, Xiao Guang.”

With a familiar flash of light, the golden-haired little dragon girl was summoned into this world from her pet space.

As soon as she landed, the little dragon girl frowned and peered out at the pitch-black night beyond the window.

“Master…”

“Yeah, it seems to be as expected. However, judging by the current situation, we didn’t come back too late. Let’s go.”

Not leaving through the front door, since she wasn’t quite sure about the exact situation outside, running into familiar faces would just take too much time to explain.

Not wanting to delay, Vilyric simply pushed open the window and, with no grace at all, jumped out.

The howling night wind rushed into the room, and only the silver door, gradually fading and re-hiding, bore witness to the arrival of the two girls.

   

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