Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation(Vol 4)

Vol 4/ Chapter 117: Changing Situation

"Nicola is becoming more and more erratic...and Feliciana too..."

A sour voice suddenly piped up from the spiritual network - Cyra had joined the conversation without me realizing.

"How is anyone else supposed to keep up?"

I didn't find her reaction too strange. The real issue was that even I couldn't fully comprehend how Nicola had accomplished that feat. The Condensation Sword couldn't be that overwhelmingly powerful even it's sharp, could it?

Even now that I had mastered summoning the Water Abyss Sword, I still felt vastly inferior to Nicola. Putting everything else aside, destroying an entire city was definitely beyond my capabilities.

"The founding ancestor Liana created us angels. Her power is unfathomable - even as a reincarnation, Nicola is no ordinary angel!"

Elara stated matter-of-factly.

"However, Nicola likely hasn't found Aria yet, so she may take some time before returning..."

She suddenly changed the topic. "Where are you all at now? Have you reached Crescent City?"

"Well, not quite yet..."
Finally asked this question, I felt a tinge of embarrassment. Just think - a journey that could be flown in less than a day, yet Cyra and I had dragged it out over a week without reaching our destination. It was hard to explain.

"We have some traveling companions who can't fly, like the Pope from the True Church. They need frequent rests, so our pace on foot is a bit...slow. We're still at a hotel in Nikaro City..."

Okay, even I couldn't listen to those excuses anymore. We were basically just sightseeing and taking our time, all thanks to that lackadaisical Pope leading the pack.

Could it be that Edenmere had already notified the Sage Council about our plans to go to Crescent City to facilitate a reception? If so, making them wait too long wasn't very good.

"I see, the Pope is still following you all? I heard he had never left Jethrobaines before, so that's understandable..."

Cyra must have mentioned this earlier, hence Elara's unsurprised reaction. But her next words did catch me off guard.

"Actually, it may be better to go slowly. I've heard the situation around Parristol is rather unstable lately - you all should be extremely cautious on your journey!"

"Huh?"
I was well aware of where Parristol was located, having mentioned it several times already. As for the Parristol Resistance, they had been openly defying the Astralrealm Kingdom for years, practically degenerating into a terrorist group. Recalling how Carl had secretly infiltrated our rooms for an assassination attempt still sent chills down my spine.

"Don't worry, we won't be passing through there!"
But I didn't take it too seriously. After all, Nicola had specifically gone over there without encountering any danger.

"Do not underestimate this!"
But Elara immediately warned me gravely.

"The independence movement in Parristol has been escalating rapidly. Just yesterday, several uprisings broke out within the city. If things spiral out of control, it could impact the stances of neighboring nations and may even trigger war!"

"That fast?"
I was quite surprised - I hadn't expected the situation to deteriorate to such an extent, which explained Elara's concerns. It was well known that the Parristol independence efforts were backed by many major powers, possibly even involving the Sage Council.

But the troubles didn't end there, as she dropped another bombshell.

"According to our intelligence, there have been signs of high-tier monster activity spotted around the Parristol region lately. These uprisings may have monster involvement behind the scenes."