Even if he wanted, he couldn't leave the man behind since he didn't know the direction or anything about this place. As much as he was helping the other side, it was all for his own benefits.
The Scholarly Man was excited as he heard Karyk's response.
"Thank you. Your help means more to me than you can imagine," the Scholarly Man said gratefully. "I will forever be in your debt."
Karyk nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. "Don't worry about it. It's a small thing."
With that, they set off towards the Celestial City. The Scholarly Man led the way, guiding Karyk through the endless sea.
Karyk couldn't help but be impressed by the man's stamina. Even as they flew for days straight, he was able to keep going without resting. Compared to his strength, his stamina was nothing to scoff at.
Along the way, Karyk asked the man questions related to the situation of the Celestial City, trying to avoid much suspicion. He even gave the excuse that this was his first time traveling this far from his home, so he didn't have much knowledge.
The Scholarly Man didn't believe Karyk. However, he wasn't suspicious either. Many Generals were often immersed in their training, having no time to learn about the world. So it made sense to him.
It was clear that he was a valuable asset to the City Lord. He was given such an important responsibility by the City Lord, on which the Lord's life depended on. Karyk had been quite curious about the man's identity.
Throughout the way, the man informed everything Karyk asked, without mixing even the slightest of lies in them.
Thanks to him, Karyk was able to learn a lot about this world as well. It was quite different from what he had expected.
At first, he had thought that it was a unified world under the control of the Emperor with no conflicts. However, the reality appeared different.
Although the Emperor was the absolute ruler, that didn't mean there weren't inner problems. The biggest problem for Elzerians was the Beast Tribe.
No matter how many times the tribe was wiped, they returned every month. No one knew how they were born or how they became so strong within a few months of birth every year. However, every year, the Empire was attacked by the Beast Tribes.
Since it was an endless cycle, the Emperor didn't bother much about it. He just established a few specific cities at the empire's borders that connected with the Land of Beasts to prevent any beast tides.
It was the responsibility of these border cities to stop and kill the Beast Tribes every year.
The Celestial City was one such border City. However, it was also the City at most disadvantage.
Not only was the Celestial City connected to the Beastly Area through the land border, but they were also attached to the sea from the other side.
They were not only responsible for preventing the Beast Tribe attacks from the land, but also the Chaos of the Sea.
Despite such disadvantages, the City hadn't yet fallen and it was mostly thanks to the City Lord.
"Unfortunately, the Month of Beasts is about to arrive. And if we can't cure the City Lord, the City will fall. That's why, the herb doesn't just decide the fate of the City Lord but the entire city.'
"If the situations were that grim, why didn't you evacuate the City and ask for help from the Capital?" Karyk asked, getting quite intrigued about the equation between the Capital and Border Cities.
The scholarly man remained silent. If it wasn't for Karyk being next to him, he would've already started cursing the Capital City. But next to a 'General' of the Dynasty, he didn't dare.
"Ah, the Capital and His Majesty are rightfully busy with something important. So we didn't get any response from the Capital." He carefully phrased his words, every word making him feel like he was walking on a landmine.
Karyk was about to ask more, but before he could do that, the Scholarly Man exclaimed. "We're there!"
He felt relieved that along the way, they didn't come across the Pirate King.
Karyk looked in the distance, able to see a coastal city with multiple ships waiting near the City's Port.
For the most part, he could feel that this was a normal world, similar to his own world. However, he knew that this was only half reality.
Although the Border Cities looked ordinary, but that was because they were farthest from the Capital. He had repeatedly heard from Aliac that the Core of the Elzerian Empire was very advanced, akin to a new world in itself.
As they neared the outskirts of the Celestial City, Karyk couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. There was something off about the atmosphere, a tension that hung in the air. He couldn't put his finger on it, but the entire city appeared to be tense.
Sure enough, as they entered the city gates, they were met with chaos. The streets were filled with panicked citizens, running in every direction. Buildings were on fire, and signs of destruction were everywhere. It was clear that the city had been attacked recently.
"What is happening here?" he asked the scholarly man.
The Scholarly Man looked even more confused than Karyk. His face went pale as he ran towards the City Lord's Mansion, praying that nothing happened while he wasn't here.
Karyk followed the man, having a bad feeling about this.
As they reached the City Lord's residence, they were met with a gruesome sight. The guards lay lifeless on the ground, their bodies covered in blood. Karyk's eyes narrowed, his grip on his sword tightening. He knew that they were too late.
Inside the residence, they found the City Lord, slumped over his desk, his breathing halted.
"Father!" The scholarly man rushed ahead, his heart almost stopping in fear.
He placed his hands around the City Lord's body, his face going ghastly pale. There was no life left in the City Lord's body.
