"Gregory." Sylas called out.
The steward wasn't very far away. His residence was just nearby, and he had stepped out, seeing Maya the seamstress off.
"Oh, Sylas," he said with a smile. "I have another meeting soon, but I still have about 15 minutes until then. Is there anything that you need?"
"Yes." Sylas nodded. "Is there any news from Olivia and the others?"
"Mm, yes. I believe that the City Lady mentioned that Olivia is stationed in Love City. It will likely be a while until she has the strength to make it over. We have also been researching portals that might be nearer to help facilitate this, but not much luck. As for the others, it's even more difficult."
Love City was smaller than York City, but it was only a single state away. By train, it wasn't even a four-hour ride and there were many that frequented between the two cities in the past. But now, between the portals and the lack of modern technology, that distance might as well have been a world apart. They now lived in a world where it might be more possible to accidentally fall into the next hemisphere than it was to visit a nearby state.
"Got it." Sylas nodded. "What reports do you have about threats in the vicinity? Any new spawned encampments? Any other settlements? New City Lords?"
Gregory didn't seem to have any reservations whatsoever and answered all of Sylas' questions calmly.
"After the Trial ended, the sudden spawning has begun to slow down and many powers have settled. It can be said that our greatest threat right now is The Enclave. They are a day's journey away, but this distance is becoming shorter and shorter as several powers are beginning to invest in roads with the support of the System City."
"Yes. Ah, right, sir probably doesn't understand because you aren't a City Lord or Lady, but it's possible to form trading treaties with the System Cities. In exchange for the price of this contract, the System City will then send out workers to build a road between themselves and you. This makes things much more convenient, and also much more dangerous. Though, beasts don't dare to get within ten meters of these trading routes, so that is its own positive.
"The City Lady and I are working toward this goal as well, but unfortunately," Gregory sighed, "money is tight these days. We are doing our best."
"I can give you a map with our current understanding of the city. It might also be possible to find a better map in the System City. With your strength, making it there shouldn't be a problem."
"How is the village doing with beast skins? I see that Maya just left?" Sylas asked.
"Ah," Gregory sighed once again, "this is another troublesome issue. Miss Maya just came by to say that she had run out. Unfortunately, many beasts are migrating away because of the salted lands. The militiamen have to travel further and further to hunt and often come back heavily injured as a result, and it adds more cost to heal them."
"Mm, I understand. Thank you for your time."
After saying this, Sylas nodded toward Gregory and headed toward the outside of the village. Gregory smiled and saw him off.
Sylas didn't mind playing a little game with Gregory. He still had yet to confirm just how malicious Gregory's intentions were, but what he did know was that in a battle of wit, he certainly wouldn't be the losing party.
He only glanced at the map Gregory gave him for a moment before he headed out. As for his target, it was one of the several villages in the region.
When Gregory said that the spawns had slowed down, he was telling the truth, at least somewhat. The main difference, though, wasn't the difference in spawn count, but rather how much effort they did or didn't put into targeting Castle Main specifically.
In the past, the spawns were tests for Castle Main, and they were close enough that there was only one logical village to attack. But now, they were more spread out and might be found between two or more territories.
As such, while Castle Main would still suffer attacks from time to time, it also shared the pressure with several other powers.
With quick steps, Sylas vanished into the forest, his mind flickering.
Dealing with things on this side didn't necessarily mean he would have to stall his progress. One way or another, battling would help him to improve, the beast skins that Cassarae needed were useless to him, and even the Gene Cores, unless they had Bronze Genes in them, were of no interest.
This sort of pressure, rather than slowing him down, would more than likely help him improve faster.
Sylas brought out the Basilisk King and the two began shooting toward their first target with a focused look in their eyes.
This time, Sylas didn't bring out the Dire Wolf because he knew that he had to be ready for battle at any given moment. Whether he would be able to deal with this matter properly or not would hinge on just how sharp he was.
The fact that Cassarae's Destiny Quest had a three-year timer didn't make him relax, it only made him more anxious. His own was difficult enough... what did it mean for her to require three times the time?
And what exactly did it mean to take down an Evil Cult?
After some thought, Sylas asked the Madness Key and was left speechless by the response.
To the Executioner, an Evil Cult was any power that had racked up enough sins... if this was just in general, that would be fine enough. But no. In this regard, it meant sins against the Executioner themselves.
Meaning, to this Quest, the Executioner was the sole arbitrator of what was good and evil.
But... the fact that it was graded was a worry. If the Silver Quest asked for a Silver Evil Cult... could that mean that it wanted Cassarae to wait until Silver Grade sins were committed against her before they would count? What did that even mean?
All these thoughts of conquering and destroying made Sylas' thoughts stray. After some more hesitation, he chose to ask the Madness Key, and to his surprise, it wasn't considered Taboo. That was maybe the greatest shock to Sylas.
[How do you conquer a System City?]