"Don't panic first, this is an offensive launched by the Astralrealm Kingdom's army. We can observe the situation for now!"
I pulled Cyra back as she was foolishly trying to go to the assembly point. Since Douglas excluded us angels from the start, there was no need for us to join the fray.
Indeed, I was very concerned about how the battle between the kingdom's army and the sky city would unfold. But Reed and Judith's whereabouts were even more worrying. Why did they run off at such a critical moment? What were they up to?
I pondered whether it would be better to go search further away first. Otherwise, once the battling sides clashed, the vicinity would become even more chaotic.
As for where to search...
Judith couldn't fly, so as a two-winged angel, Reed couldn't have gone too far with her even by air. If they teamed up, it was likely research-related. The biggest target, of course, would be...
"Could Reed have snuck into the city?"
The thought made me anxious. That den of tigers was a place even I dared not approach recklessly. Would a two-winged angel really dare to barge in, bringing along someone at only the third tier?
"Impossible! Reed's not stupid! Don't forget there's still a barrier around the city! It's not that easy..."
Cyra immediately shook her head rejecting my guess. Pointing at the sky city above, her face froze.
"Huh? Where's the barrier? It's gone?"
"What???"
That stunned me too. I quickly looked up - indeed, the faint yellow physical barrier that had enveloped Parristol had mysteriously vanished. Who knows when it started, could it be related to the earlier commotion and smoke inside the city?
In another direction, the gathered kingdom soldiers soon discovered the enemy's situation too. Immediately, the entire camp erupted in cheers of celebration, voices calling for counterattack and revenge arising everywhere.
"Could it really be Reed's doing? But how's that possible, how did they manage it? That's too fast..."
Cyra was dumbfounded, the pace of this development was just too rapid for her to keep up.
I felt the same way. Rather than guessing blindly, it was better to go verify in person. But I dared not bring Cyra along, so I had to risk it alone.
"You stay here, or try looking for Reed on the ground. But whatever you do, don't approach the sky city or join the kingdom's army on the battlefield, understand?"
"You're really going up there? Maybe I was wrong, Reed wouldn't be that reckless..."
Worried for my safety, Cyra calmed down and tried to dissuade me after a moment.
"Instead of foolishly running into that deathtrap, I think it's more likely they returned to that pit where the new Parristol first took off. The barrier disappearing probably had another reason!"
It seemed she and I had similar initial judgments. Even with the "Five Light Ten Color" defensive technique, Reed might not be unscathed facing several above 7th tier monsters .
"But we still need to confirm, in case they really are up there causing trouble so we can assist!"
I shook my head, still not reassured. Fortunately, having mastered high-speed flight, even if I couldn't win, escaping shouldn't be a problem, right?
After reminding the equally worrisome Cyra again, I quickly took flight back into the sky, heading straight for the sky city.
To be honest, this action was truly risky. This was my first time approaching this dream-like city since the new Parristol took to the skies. Unlike the distant view, up close the entire city looked even more magnificent - towering skyscrapers glittering with gold and jade, greenery spanning everywhere, the streets as clean as polished jade. At first glance it seemed like a futuristic sci-fi world, nothing like the typical medieval architecture of this era.
"Halt! You're approaching the absolute airspace of the Parristol Kingdom. If you come any closer, we'll have to attack!"
Before I could fly too near, still a few hundred meters from the city's edge, suddenly a "large ship" appeared from behind a tall building, its crew amplifying their voices magically to loudly warn me.
What the heck? The ship was flying! And its shape really resembled an ordinary ship, with sails and masts! A strange emblem I'd never seen before was painted on the huge mainsail... Well, actually I felt like I might have glimpsed it somewhere before but hadn't paid much attention.
"Who are you?"
They could probably hear me talking, but I didn't want to force my way through. So I temporarily stopped and questioned back instead. With the numbers of Parristol's rebel forces, there was absolutely no way they could have mustered such "fantasy" equipment in a short time. And if this was the city's own defensive force, it seemed too crude, completely out of place with the surrounding sleek architectural style.
After careful observation, I quickly noticed gray magic circle patterns emerging on the ship's hull - the secret to its levitation probably lay in this formation! If I wasn't mistaken, it should belong to the legendary airships. But notably, the bow was equipped with a huge black main cannon - the barrel looked enormously powerful, making me quite intimidated.
The might of arcane technology looked formidable indeed. Besides that main cannon, there were other lower-level defensive weapons surrounding it, such as massive crossbows, small "cannons", and mages with archers lining the gunwales.
These were the first firearm-related weapons I'd seen since coming to this world. Although I didn't know if that massive cannon was truly gunpowder-driven, being targeted by it wasn't pleasant, making me even more hesitant to move recklessly.
So I quickly retreated a few hundred meters back. Who knows if angels are cannonproof...
"We're the Second Airship Squadron of the Ilandra Dominion Empire, invited by the Parristol Kingdom to assist in defending the city! If you've strayed in here by mistake, please leave promptly!"
As expected, they soon introduced themselves. Fortunately, they were somewhat polite seeing my angelic status.
Only then did I unintentionally notice that amidst the surrounding skyscrapers, many were actually concealing people - I couldn't tell if they were local rebel groups or foreign aid forces. But practically every window had a soldier aiming a bow, crossbow or staff at me. With such overwhelming force, who could withstand it?
"My apologies, I came to..."
I wanted to say I came looking for someone, but considering this defensive might, Reed and Judith probably couldn't have slipped in either. So I quickly changed my words.
"Well, I was just passing by and got curious seeing this city could actually fly into the sky, so I came to take a look. I'll leave right away, really!"
No shame in conceding. Staying alive was most important! It seemed they didn't even remember me from the previous disturbance, so I'd better scram!
But before I could get a reply, my path was suddenly "cut off" from behind.
It wasn't by others, but because the Astralrealm Kingdom forces chose that precise moment to launch their attack! Alfreed, riding a griffon, was leading a swarm of soldiers flying over in droves. The black mass below gave me goosebumps.
"Feliciana? Why did you come up here alone? A six-winged angel can't possibly match them - that's the empire's renowned Airship Squadron!"
Surprisingly, Alfreed could actually ride griffons. Seeing me confronting the new Parristol, he flew at the front looking astonished as he questioned me.
"Airship Squadron? But there's only one over there..."
I instinctively pointed towards the enemy. Even one was more than I could handle. But as soon as I spoke, a huge batch of identical airships suddenly emerged from behind the city's skyscrapers - at least tens of them in tightly packed formation.
"......"
I was instantly speechless. How were we supposed to deal with this? It felt like the two sides weren't even in the same level. Of course, the kingdom's specialty griffon knights might be more agile and harder to hit, but they still couldn't withstand the airships' sheer firepower! Moreover, they were also outnumbered. Even if there was another large ground force preparing to lend anti-air magic support from below, at this altitude of several thousand meters, even high-level spells would lose much of their power.
"Hahahahaha, so the Astralrealm Kingdom has finally started to panic and act foolishly? Sending this tiny chicken-like army to launch an attack, you can't even wait for reinforcements?"
It was the same airship that spoke earlier. Seeing Alfreed leading the griffon knights to the outskirts of the city, they immediately let out a merciless mocking laughter.
"I'll give you a stern warning! You've already crossed the border line. You can say you've completely invaded Astralrealm's airspace. If you don't retreat now, it's an outright violation of the Continental Pact. Plus, collaborating with monsters, you'll risk becoming the enemy of all humans and face united aggression from every nation!"
Under their powerful threat, Alfreed remained composed, temporarily ignoring me to fearlessly retort.