Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation(Vol 5)

Vol 5/Chapter 29: Bad Luck Charm

After finishing all the planning, Elder Gwendolyn started chatting with Betty about everyday stuff. They talked about small matters in the light elf tribe, annoying things in the lord's castle, and how picky Altima was about food. The two old ladies really hit it off! They gossiped about all sorts of things, making me and Cyra look at each other in surprise. We didn't know they liked doing this...

"Looks like angels aren't exactly what I thought," Kalati said to us suddenly. "I thought all angels were like Gwendolyn - always looking serious outside but actually warm inside..."

He couldn't join the women's chit-chat, so he teased us instead. Light elves get along very well with angels because they're close to light elements. Elder Gwendolyn often stays in this area, so they've built up good relations by helping each other. Plus, the imperial army is their enemy, so they're happy to help us with the rescue.

"Bah, she's just a tsundere, like straight out of a textbook! But I've never seen a tsundere who loves gossip so much. This is really eye-opening!" Cyra blurted out without thinking.

Luckily, nobody except us knew what "tsundere" or "gossip" meant. They just looked confused.

"It's nothing, just saying the Elder looks very dignified and impressive usually," I quickly said, trying to cover for Cyra. I hope I don't get struck by lightning for lying! Feels like it's not the first time I've had to clean up her mess. Anyway, we were done here, so I dragged Cyra out before she could cause more trouble.

The next step was waiting to gather people tomorrow. I went to chat with Irene for a bit. Since we'd been out for a while, us three angels soon said goodbye and flew back at night.

"You went out with Elder Gwendolyn?" Adrian asked, walking into my room soon after we got back to the castle. The door had been left wide open since Cyra smashed it earlier, but Adrian didn't seem surprised at all. I was pretty curious about that.

"Eh? How did you know?"

"I noticed your door was open earlier and came to check. Then I went to Cyra's room and found she wasn't there either. Finally I heard from the maids that even their boss was gone. So I figured you three angels probably went out together on some important business," he explained with a smile, seeming unconcerned about my safety since an angel elder was with us.

"Of course! This trip to Sifur was really worth it!" Cyra said excitedly, making a V sign. "We just went to a light elf village nearby and finally found a way into that military base. The plan is perfect!"

"Are you crazy? Be careful not to jinx it! Something always goes wrong when you get so full of yourself!" I snapped, swatting her hand down. Our plans always run into all kinds of trouble - it's like tempting fate!

"It's fine, I don't believe the empire can reach into the Crestvale Republic! Otherwise this war would be over and the Republic might as well surrender. Besides, those monsters are targeting the Sylvanvale Woods in the empire, they won't waste effort crossing the border to make trouble. Relax!" Cyra said confidently after I summarized the plan for Adrian. She seemed sure of victory.

"Well, let's set aside what might be in that base and whether we can get out safely..." Adrian said with some worry after listening. "My biggest question is, if the empire's base is occupying that underground cross-border tunnel, wouldn't they have discovered it while building the base? Like when digging the foundations?"

"They shouldn't have, right? The light elf chief said they filled in and hid the tunnel entrances before retreating. And for such a big dome-shaped building finished in just days, surely they didn't dig the foundations that deep?" Cyra replied.

It's not just that they shouldn't have, there's no need to! I actually agreed with Cyra, even though I kept warning her not to jinx things. The base buildings aren't that tall, with soldiers patrolling on top. From any architectural view, there's no need to dig so deep. Isn't Adrian overthinking?

"But you know it's impossible to finish such a big military building in just days, normally. So using normal logic on key issues here, I feel..." Adrian shook his head hard, seeming to think of something. He hesitated for a long time but held back from saying more. "Never mind, there's no point in us guessing. Let's just go with your plan. It should be fine overall, maybe I'm just overthinking!"

Hope is always beautiful, but reality can be very cruel!

Sadly, Adrian's guess was right again. We messed up once more.

The next day, as we excitedly flew towards the light elf village, we suddenly saw huge fires burning on the republic side of the border!

"No way, are the two countries fighting again? But there's no action at the border crossing!" Cyra was stunned.

In daylight, you could clearly see two north-south border walls in the forest. After the empire built their defensive wall, the republic followed suit and built one nearby. Neither wanted to fall behind. Of course, both sides also built thick gates at the normal crossing point, with a big open area between for guards and as a buffer.

But now the crossing was quiet, without even a spark! Airships from both sides hung tensely in the air, weapons ready but not firing. It looked more like the trouble was internal, in the republic's backyard.

"It doesn't look like an internal rebellion," Kalati said when we got to the elf village, giving a very different view.

"My scouts just reported that the trouble seems to be in Duera, a border city in the republic. The military has always controlled it tightly. We've never heard of any opposition groups there. It's impossible for a rebellion to suddenly break out in a few days with no warning signs," Kalati said, looking very worried. "What's most concerning is that it's not far from the republic end of the cross-border tunnel. I'm afraid..."

"We need to get exact news from there right away!" Adrian suggested gravely. Last night's jinx had come true.

But light elves can't fly. Even if they sent scouts, they could only climb trees to look from afar, not very useful. The situation near the border wall was even worse - trees were cleared for 100 meters, and imperial soldiers patrolled 24/7. For closer scouting, only we angels could do it.

These "walls" between countries are mainly to stop humans. Angels can easily fly over undetected.

"Irene, you stay here and wait," Kalati firmly refused when Irene volunteered to come with us. Even with Elder Gwendolyn, Adrian chose to join us angels. He wouldn't agree to stay behind alone in this situation.

Irene may be very skilled, but she's still quite young - not even 10 years old! This dangerous scouting mission just needed us few. No need to add unnecessary people.

"Then let's head out now!" Elder Gwendolyn signaled to me, spreading her wings and soaring up. The base infiltration plan had hit a snag, and she looked a bit anxious.

"The air might be thin up high, so try to hold your breath if you can," I reminded Adrian, who I was carrying. Thin air shouldn't be a big problem for a 6th level fighter, especially for a short time, but I wanted to be safe. Adrian just agreed without comment and took off with me and Cyra.

Since both countries have airships, we flew straight up about 5000 meters before moving towards the republic to avoid being spotted. We quietly descended near our target city, Duera.