Cinderielle and the other five Sylvans took one of the Motherships they had taken from the Covenant, along with a few of the repaired and modified ships. Then, they moved toward Etheria's Solar System.
The journey took around three years, arriving at Etheria's orbit and settling there. Once they arrived, they took one of the light ships and descended onto the planet.
"Welcome, Lord Envoys from the Golden Sap Empire. Etheria welcomes you."
Cinderielle and the other five glanced at Etheria with interest. This was a woman Liu Shu had praised quite highly, and standing in front of her, they understood why. Cinderielle smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you; my name is Cinderielle."
When the group descended, Etheria and the others felt suffocated. The passive pressure from Level 200+ powerhouses was not something someone like them could easily defend against.
Moreover, the moment Etheria heard Cinderielle's name, her eyes widened, and she fell to her knees together. "Lady Apostle, this lowly saintess welcomes your arrival with joy!"
Cinderielle blinked and shook her head, approaching and pulling her up. "There is no need to be so deferential. This place will be part of the Golden Sap Empire, so your status and mine are not that much different."
Etheria looked up with eyes identical in color to Liu Shu's and spoke softly. "I understand. Still, permit me to show my respect."
Cinderielle nodded without being petulant and looked back, presenting everyone who had come down from the ship. Etheria's heart thumped with excitement as she heard the names mentioned in the
"Please, follow me. I will prepare the best so that you can rest from the tiring journey."
As they moved, Verdantia glanced around, the System Pages of every individual unfolding in front of her eyes. "Impressive… As Liu Shu said, this world breeds talent. If I had to put it simply… the bell curve for talent in this world is quite flat."
Tempestria agreed. "That's indeed the case. While Ceperet's talents are higher at the moment, the main reason is Liu Shu's buffs affecting the bloodline and quality of descendants. When her influence completely permeates this world, the new generations will become elites."
Etheria felt her heart fill with pride. "We are grateful for your high evaluation, Lady Apostles."
Once they arrived at their accommodations, Cinderielle summoned Etheria and explained the problem. "You should be aware of the interstellar situation, right? We've arrived at your world so that we can prepare a vanguard to fight some enemies."
"Enemies…" Etheria nodded and asked. "Is there anything we can do, Lady Cinderielle?"
"Sadly, not much. Just make sure to give us the materials we ask for and make sure our accommodations are places we can return to rest. The war that's about to develop will involve
Etheria sighed. "I am sorry that we were not able to grow much despite Lady Heavenly Willow's endless blessings."
Cinderielle laughed gently. "If you were able to reach our level with just so few years… Honestly, I would've become a bit scared of you."
Etheria spoke with a touch of complaint and seriousness. "I would never betray Lady Heavenly Willow!"
Obsidianis glanced at Etheria with a faint smile. "I do hope so. Sadly, the human heart is fickle. Remember that we are looking at events at a scale of millennia."
Etheria nodded, even though she was not too agreeable.
After speaking with Etheria a bit more and hearing of the local situation, Harmonixia's melodious voice spread in the room. "That's interesting. I thought that people would be quite delighted that the bans on Leveling Up would be lifted. You say that there is quite a lot of backlash?"
Etheria nodded calmly. "It is not that strange. Aside from the High-Level powerhouses ruling in both the shadows and the light, the common people had an average lifespan of 80 years. Our current environment and culture are something that has been in balance for a long time. Villains and Heroes, talents that fight for the people and those that want to change the balance of the world."
In that situation, the common individual is someone who despises fighting and strong people, whether a hero or a villain. Etheria commented. "So, if you ask them to start Leveling Up, they take it as being conscripted by the military. Most have their hobbies in leisure, be it making videos, writing, developing technologies, watching films and other content…"
Seraphina sighed. "This is quite a unique world. I can understand how the edges of talent have expanded so much in both directions."
Verdantia spoke softly. "We should try to recreate this environment. It is good to have many people partake in Leveling. However, one Level 200 powerhouse is better than 100 Level 199 ones."
Verdantia didn't mean it in strength. 100 Level 199 people could give some trouble to the Level 200 individual. However, the problem was the cost of life to take them down.
As they discussed this and that, the girls decided to take a stroll around the world. Even when Etheria had been relatively active, because of Liu Shu's orders, the world's largest cities remained relatively untouched.
Tempestria muttered. "It's quite novel."
Cinderielle agreed. "Indeed. Buildings made out of a mix of stones and metals are quite rare."
Meanwhile, Verdantia looked around with a faint frown. "The amount of nature in the cities is… mortifying. There are some small trees on the sidewalks, but they are all Level 10 and below; some of them are sick as well."
The group of six tall and gorgeous Sylvans naturally caught the attention of the locals. They looked like a group of models who decided to take a stroll together. Not to mention, even when contained, their presence was extraordinary.
"Who are they?"
"My god, they are gorgeous."
"Their ears are pointy… Are they Sylvans?"
"Probably Sylvans, right? However, Sylvans are very rare and live in the forest. Seeing them walk around the city is rare."
Hearing the muttering, Cinderielle's eyes shone with curiosity. "I thought that this world was mainly human. However, there are Sylvans?"
"Probably a reclusive type."
Harmonixia looked at an instrument shop and spoke. "Can we check?"
"Sure."
The group of six tall women entered. A woman who was about to leave couldn't help but pause and look up, her eyes widening. "W-Wow… so tall and beautiful."
Obsidianis glanced at her and winked at her. The woman's cheeks flushed bright red.
"Look at this one, Harmonixia. Have you ever seen something like this?"
"No… electric guitar?"
Touching its strings and picking it up, she quickly got accustomed. The person at the counter was about to stop when the first sounds were amateurish, but as he approached, his foot stopped. Soon, Harmonixia's fingers moved along the cords, playing a strangely melodic riff.
Tempestria chuckled. "It's a fun instrument. I prefer the zither you usually play, though."
The group of six played around, not knowing that the bystanders were taking photos of them and uploading them, making them go viral for their looks.
As they walked down the street, someone flew over and landed in front of them. "Excuse me. Could you come with us?"
Verdantia blinked and asked. "Who might you be?"
The man's eyebrows twitched for a moment. "You… Nevermind. I am Hero Redpyre. Please follow along."
Tempestria looked at the girls. "Liu Shu said that this world's heroes were not on our side, right?"
Seraphina nodded. "She did. What do we do? He seems to be some kind of authority figure."
Cinderielle waved her hand. "Ignore him. I have not had enough fun."
So, without giving him an extra glance, they walked past him. Hero Redpyre was frozen for a moment before he frowned deeply. Turning around, he stretched his hand to grab Tempestria's hand. "Stop right there. You are all suspicious individuals."
Tempestria's grey eyes moved as she avoided his touch and moved her index finger below his chin. "Fly."
Wind kicked up from below, and Redpyre was thrown to the sky beyond the clouds. Cinderielle looked up with worry. "He won't die, right? Killing such a low-level individual will drain you quite a chunk of Experience."
Tempestria shook her head. "There is no need to worry. He came flying with fire on his feet or something, right? Even if he falls, he should be able to avoid dying."
"Oh. Look over there!" Seraphina spoke, and when they looked, they saw a rather large structure with flashing lights reading
"Let's go in."
Outside, the bystanders were frozen, their eyes wide. "D-Did that grey-haired woman throw Redpyre flying into the clouds with a single finger?"
"S-Strong!"
"Redpyre is a Level 60 Super Hero, right? How high is their Level?"
"Probably in the eighties!"
"Woah!"
***
"Woah! Can you not push me out of the arena?"
"Heh. Cinderielle, you are too clumsy."
"Who is the clumsy one? Obsidianis, if I don't beat you up, I'll spell my name backward!"
Tempestria laughed as she glanced at the characters on the screen fighting. "You should not bet such things. For some reason, Obsidianis has talent for these games."
Obsidianis grinned. "I play quite a few online games back at home when I am bored. Reading and gaming are perfect to burn hours away~."
"Argh…!" Cinderielle slumped. "I lost."
"Don't worry too much, Elleirednic!"
"..."
The girls continued to have some fun, and as the sky darkened, they decided to return. As for capital, Etheria had given them a card with almost unlimited money, so they had no problems at all.
Cinderielle sighed. "The language of this world was easy to learn, but I still confuse some words."
"Tell me about it. Why are the words attack, jump, cloud, and punch written and pronounced exactly the same? I got confused with the game's instructions because of it!"
Seraphina was about to join when she blinked and looked around. "Um… Why are there so many people and vehicles?"
"Hands up! You are suspected of being part of the terrorist organization Etheria!"
The male voice reaching them caused their eyebrows to pull together. Verdantia asked, confused. "How did they know?"
Obsidianis chuckled. "Most likely a wild guess. Didn't Tempestria flick that annoying Hero before? That must've hurt their pride, so they took action."
Cinderielle crossed her arms. "Ignorance sure is bliss. Let's return. We can come play another day."
"Agreed."
So, with a gentle jump, all six of them soared skyward, creating a massive spider-web on the ground. Then their bodies became a blur as they flew away, leaving the city unharmed.
Back at Etheria's headquarters, Cinderielle and the others asked about a few things. Listening to their actions, Etheria didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Picking up her phone, Etheria entered a few keywords and quickly found the viral posts.
'Well, I guess they are now known worldwide. This should shorten the time to spread Lady Heavenly Willow's Eternal Church.'