Under Heinrich's control, the Floating City gradually came to a halt directly beneath the previously damaged section of the World Barrier. At this moment, if one looked up, they would see the sky had seemingly turned crimson, with blinding light streaming down incessantly from above.
Heinrich began chanting and casting spells. Under his guidance, enormous blue magic circles began to manifest across the entire Floating City. Some lit up on the Mage Towers, others floated in rings around the city, and one... was so vast it covered the entire ground of the Floating City itself.
Even the buildings within the city were, in essence, components of this grand magic circle.
In that instant, the entire city became a single, unified entity. A continuous stream of energy began to be released in a specific form, rising slowly as a mist toward the sky. Upon contact with the Barrier above, it merged seamlessly, providing a constant supply of power.
However, one thing must be understood: defense is always harder than offense, and repair is always more troublesome than destruction. As the one making the repairs, Heinrich's side was clearly consuming far more energy. After weighing the Floating City's current situation, he turned to Hyacine beside him and said, "Based on the current situation, our energy consumption rate is slightly faster than the Elemental Furnace's supply rate. If this continues for too long, the Elemental Furnace could overload and become dangerous, so..."
Before he could finish, Hyacine nodded. "I understand. I'll provide divine power to cover the energy shortfall."
This was a minor issue, but after saying this, Hyacine suddenly had a realization. She seemed to understand why the Moon was so stubbornly attacking this "plank" of the Barrier, despite its incredible resilience.
The enemy's true goal wasn't to shatter this "plank" and invade the Main World from here. Or rather, invading from here would be ideal, but if that failed, tying up some of the Main World's high-level combatants was an excellent alternative.
In hindsight, the situations with the Abyss, the All Nations Alliance, and the Dragon Ember Empire were all similar. The Mother of Flesh was trying various methods to erode and infiltrate the Main World. Although none had succeeded so far, these actions had already tied up the vast majority of the Main World's combat power.
The All Nations Alliance, the Dragon Ember Empire, and the Arcane Federation—the three most powerful nations and factions in the world—were already stretched thin dealing with these threats. Even Hyacine's various identities were involved, leaving her unable to disengage.
If another major crisis were to erupt now, things could truly go wrong.
Hyacine immediately shared her theory with Heinrich. He paused for a moment, then said, "That does seem to be the case. But this is an overt scheme. Even knowing it, we don't have any good countermeasures."
After all, they were on the defensive, forced to react to whatever the enemy threw at them.
Hyacine looked up at the crimson light still relentlessly hammering the Barrier like a laser, her brow furrowed.
The scene shifted. In Okhema, within Tribios's office, she stood with both hands braced on her desk, staring at a world map spread across it.
Just then, a soldier knocked on the door. After receiving her permission to enter, he reported directly, "Holy Maiden, it seems some abnormal phenomena have also appeared in the Southern Great Forest!"
Hearing this news, Tribios wasn't surprised in the slightest. She had been studying the map precisely for this reason—to identify which regions were still untouched and guess where trouble would strike next.
The Southern Great Forest, though? Tribios mused silently. She knew very little about this place, even less than she knew about the Eastern Ancient Kingdom.
At least Pan Ming had provided her with some information about the Eastern Ancient Kingdom. But the Great Forest? She had never even set foot there. All she knew was that it was home to many Druids who worshipped an Ancient God with Greater Divine Power known as the Father of Oaks.
Tribios asked, "Do we know what these 'abnormal phenomena' are?"
The soldier replied, "Apologies, Holy Maiden. We only know that recently, loud noises have frequently been heard from within the forest, and black smoke has sometimes been seen rising into the sky. We have no further details. I reported this to you as soon as we received the intelligence."
"Our spies stationed at the outskirts of the Great Forest have already begun a deeper investigation. It will likely take more time to gather further intelligence."
Tribios considered this for a moment before saying, "Recall those soldiers. If this matter isn't related to the Outer Gods, their investigation is pointless. And if it is related to the Outer Gods, investigating further will only get them killed. Specialized tasks require specialized personnel."
With her current available Identities, the choices for who could handle this mission were limited. After a brief pause, Tribios announced, "I'll send Aria's team to investigate."
Soon after her decision, Aria, Douglas, Feidric, and Cipher received the summons and arrived at Tribios's office. Tribios didn't waste any time, getting straight to the point. "The entire world is on high alert right now. We can't afford to underestimate any unusual situation. I'm entrusting this to you—go to the Great Forest and find out what's happening."
"Okhema knows very little about this place, and my Century Gate can only transport you to the entrance. The actual investigation will be up to you. However, if you need any help, contact me directly. If necessary, I can use the Century Gate to pull you back."
Aria immediately replied, full of energy, "Mm-hm, I understand! We guarantee we'll complete the mission!"
She acted as if this weren't a dangerous mission with a potential Outer God encounter, but rather a simple trip abroad. Aria had always been like this—fearless and undaunted.
Tribios added, "If anything happens, you can also rely on Cifera."
As she spoke, she turned to her other self. "No holding back this time."
Cipher's cat tail swayed gently behind her as she nodded. "I know, I know! It's an important mission, after all. You can count on me, Teacher Tribbie!"
After everyone else had dispersed to prepare for the journey, Tribios looked at Douglas. "Wait a moment. I have something for you."