When she got to the city, she was prepared to rest in the city before looking for the Aura Knight. Since she was the daughter of the Fairmount Family in a city that fell under their preview, she would be offered the best accommodation inside the city.
Just as she was about to make her way to the center of the city, she noticed a blur fly past her. She knew based on the speed of the blur that she wouldn't be able to catch up to it. She almost broke down when she thought about how the blur could have been who she was looking for.
But she calmed herself. Who knew if it was the same person? It could have been the Magistrate of the city or another mage in the 3rd Circle. She hoped for the best as she walked into the city. She kept a mental note of the direction that the mage went in incase she needed it.
Completely unaware of what was happening in Phoenix Greens, Leo sped past the forests below him in the direction the compass pointed him in. He noticed that the Magical Beasts in the forest were behaving very aggressively and getting into fights with each other.
None of them could do anything to him though, so he wasn't too worried. Just as he thought that he sensed something approaching him at a very high speed. He changed his course, missing the projectile that was thrown at him.
He looked at what it was and was shocked at his finding. It was a massive tree that had been freshly uprooted. He turned back to see who or what threw the tree and saw a huge ape. It was a 3rd Circle Magical Beast.
It beat its chest vigorously and roared at him. He looked around and saw a few more beasts following its example, getting ready to throw projectiles at him. Before they could throw the objects, a rain of fire poured down on them.
The Magical Beasts were all killed instantly. Leo was about to go down to collect the Beast Cores, but he stopped himself. Even though he had just massacred the beasts effortlessly, he noticed that a new set of Magical Beasts were approaching his direction.
Even though he was high up in the air, some of the 3rd Circle Magical Beasts would have enough reach to hit him with their magic and strength. And because of the effects of the blood moon, they were all very aggressive and were not going to stop regardless of whether they were going to die or not.
After weighing his options, he flew away from the Magical Beasts without picking a fight. He would normally welcome the Magical Beasts since he needed Beast Cores. However, he was in a time crunch.
The compass said, "When the sun sets and the blood moon rises, find my treasure."
The compass activated once the blood moon rose, and he didn't know if it would stay activated once it went back down. He couldn't risk wasting time if his window of opportunity was solely the time the moon was up.
He rose higher up into the sky and went on his way, ignoring all the attacks coming his way.
In Phoenix Greens, a different problem was brewing. Elise walked to the place where the noble's district separated itself from the commoner's district. As she got there, she was stopped by the guards.
"Name yourself," a male guard said. Since it was a very small city, they knew most of the nobles that left and entered the noble's district.
She looked at him with disgust. She whipped out a medallion and kept walking. The guard noticed the emblem on the medallion and backed away. He kneeled and apologized for his comment.
"I apologize for my comment, Lady. I will immediately inform the Viscount of your presence." He said. After his apology, he scampered off to the center as Elise walked quickly behind him. She wanted to fly past everyone, but she knew that she had to show the grace associated with her name.
After 5 minutes, she got to the heart of the city. It was a huge tower that showed off the wealth of its owner. Unlike the commoner's districts and the poverty it showed, every building in the noble's district was incredibly lavish.
The gigantic tower was also very well made and had luxurious designs carved onto it. The designs didn't impress her though, since she grew up in a city that was far more wealthier than a small city like Phoenix Greens could hope to be.
She entered the tower and was immediately greeted by a stout man.
"Welcome, Lady Fairmount. I am Viscount Greendove, the Magistrate of this small city. I am delighted that you chose to visit my humble abode. Seeing that it is the Blood Moon, can I interest you in our best lodging so that you can rest?" The viscount himself came to greet her.
Even before the guard could come, he knew she had arrived. The Viscount was a 4th Circle Mage and had the perception to know who was entering the noble's district.
"I am afraid not. I am here because of some official work that I have on behalf of the Fairmount family. I will need to immediately question all of the guards that oversee the entry into the city," she said.
The Viscount's expression changed. "Of course, Lady Fairmount. They will be here immediately."
He turned to the guard who had run all the way to the tower to inform him of Elise's arrival.
"Get those guards within 15 minutes," he said.
The guard's face paled and he immediately ran to the gate. Since he was a 2nd Circle Aura Knight, it only took him 3 minutes. He shouted to his colleagues to help him.
"Quick! Get every guard who guards the entry into the city. The Viscount demanded that they should be at the tower within 10 minutes!"
Half an hour later, a line of guards stood outside the tower, waiting for their lord's orders. The Viscount and Elise exited the tower when they sensed the guards were at the tower.
"This is Lady Fairmount. You will aid her in any way possible!" He ordered the guards. "Lady Fairmount?" He turned to Elise and asked her to speak.
She took a step forward. "Who here saw a blonde-haired man enter the city?" She asked.
After a minute of silence, a hand slowly raised into the air. Elise looked at the hand with a mix of delight and dread.
"Speak," she told the guard.
"Around 2 days ago, a person came to the city. He was blonde like you said, but I don't remember anything else about him," he said.
Her heart sank. The day the man arrived at the city was the same day that she had seen him at the stronghold. It meant that he had been in Phoenix Greens for the past two days.
But now that a person had left the city, she could no longer be sure that he was still there. She turned to the Viscount.
"I need you to lock down the city. No one should be allowed to leave."
