In the past, judging from his clothes and overall bearing, he clearly didn't look like a native of this world. But given the earlier invasion from Earth—after which plenty of related clothing and supplies were left behind—this era wasn't completely incapable of explaining it. For the moment, I couldn't be sure of his true background.
"Hmph. So many angels?" After a brief standoff, the blond man finally spoke first. His tone seemed to imply there was more to it. "Since you're here this early, you must be here for the negotiations, right? Let me be clear—your people were the ones who spoke rudely and struck first. We were forced to defend ourselves!"
At the same time, his words also hinted that his origins were far from ordinary—he actually knew about the negotiations. In principle, with so little time having passed, no outsider should have known such a major matter. The only explanation was that it had something to do with the monster side. My guard rose even higher, and I frowned as I asked back:
"Then who exactly are you people?"
"Don't worry about that yet. It's not time for the formal negotiations…" Since the misunderstanding had been clarified, the blond man immediately made a friendly gesture, signaling for the captured guard angels to be released. But he still didn't answer my question. Instead, he focused on our identities. "I just want to know: the newborn angels required by the negotiation terms should be here too, right? So are you Elara? And who is Cyra, Nicola, and Feliciana?"
I hadn't expected that—because I currently also had ten wings—he would mistake me for Elara and then rattle off the names of every newborn angel. This wasn't the first time something like that had happened. Cyrae and I exchanged a quick look, and combined with our experience dealing with Reider before, we could guess with our eyes closed: these people were most likely members of another System squad!
"She's Feliciana." Cyrae didn't bother hiding anything. She pointed at me and laid it out directly. "Lady Elara and the human negotiation team haven't arrived yet. So these are the only ones in your group? If I'm not mistaken, the 'monsters' who initiated the talks are actually being directed by your System squad, aren't they?"
"What…? How do you know who we are? That's impossible…" The blond man stared at me, stunned for a long time, before he finally snapped back to reality. This System squad seemed to be lagging behind in intelligence gathering. Once they realized we'd exposed their identity, the blond man's attitude subtly shifted. He clenched his teeth and finally introduced himself:
"Since you already know about the System, then what I'm about to say shouldn't count as me actively violating the System's rules… My name is Clemens. I'm the captain of Tianwang Team. Only a small part of Tianwang Team is here right now. The other half will depart from the Dark Continent by ship tomorrow, and we'll meet you formally when the negotiations begin."
"So how many System squads came to this world in total?" He didn't seem to want to be our enemy at all. Clemens gave me the impression of someone, at best, around seventh-tier—hardly a real threat. Since everything was already out in the open, I didn't waste words and went straight to the point. "As far as I know, Guilan Team came here to complete some kind of mission. What about you? Is it also a mission?"
"There are three teams in total. We're the weakest one—so you can relax. After entering this world, our original plan was to seek help from you… the 'protagonists'… uh, I mean, the angel faction. We don't have any malicious intent at all. Even though the plot in this world isn't exactly the same as what the book described, the overall background should be roughly similar…"
Judging from how cooperative they were, Tianwang Team was basically answering whatever we asked. From their account, Cyrae and I gradually pieced together the story hidden behind the System: Tianwang Team was the earliest team to enter our world, and their initial arrival point was on the Dark Continent.
Just as he said, because they were the weakest among the three, the System granted them a special advantage—arriving earlier than the other teams, likely several months ago. That period happened to coincide with Michelle's unexplained disappearance, leaving the monsters leaderless. Their overall strength had also been greatly reduced by the prior series of wars—creating a rare window.
To be safe, Tianwang Team wanted the "main characters" of I Became an Angel and Traveled to Another World to become their powerful shield. After roughly learning this world's situation, they took the opportunity to consolidate the monster factions. In a short time, they unified most of the Dark Continent, then used "peace" as their bargaining chip, hoping to trade with us in exchange for support.
"Nice plan," I said, glancing at the others present with pointed meaning. "But with your level of strength, being able to unify the entire Dark Continent in such a short time… you must've used some special methods too, right? Like exchanging points for things?"
Standing beside Clemens was a woman who looked like she had South Asian ancestry—dark-skinned in a way rarely seen in the northern regions of the continent, making her stand out at first glance. Her clothing was even more distinctive: it resembled traditional South Asian attire, striking in its red-and-gold pairing. She wore an ornate headpiece set with gemstones, and her wrists were stacked with many silver bangles that chimed crisply when she moved.
According to Clemens, her name was Aisha. She had mastered many wind-magic-like skills and served in a support role within the team. Seeing that I knew quite a bit about the System's functions, Aisha also stepped forward to plead. She grabbed my hand and pressed it to her chest, begging earnestly:
"So you know about points too? But with Shenhui Team among the opponents, if they target us, we'll be doomed—so we have to go all out! Please, can you really help us? We'll reward you handsomely! We even have special items obtained from other worlds and from the System—like pills that supposedly grant inner force when taken, a key that can open a door to any destination, gloves that can retrieve objects from afar… If it works out, we can give all of these to you as a reward!"
What was this? They were clearly carrying a completely broken, overpowered System—yet they were still struggling this badly. But I had to admit: this was the first time I'd run into a System squad that was this soft and pitiful. I yanked my hand back, yet I couldn't deny I was tempted. After a moment's thought, I led Cyrae to a secluded spot and whispered:
"How about… we consider helping them complete their mission?"
"On the surface, their mission doesn't look that hard—just time-consuming," Cyrae admitted. "But escorting so many people all the way to a place in Crestvale Republic called the 'Erge Hills'… If we really run into the Shenhui Team they mentioned, what then? Are you confident you can definitely win?"
The promised benefits were simply too much, so Cyrae didn't want to miss the opportunity either. But her years of experience told her the situation probably wasn't that simple. She urged me not to agree too quickly, and to wait until Elara and the main force arrived before making a decision.
"Fine—if we have to wait for the formal negotiations, that works too. Then we'll see you tomorrow."
The reason Tianwang Team had sent half their people across the sea to camp near Lezbi Port was the same as ours: they wanted to scout the negotiation site in advance to ensure safety. In return, they also learned some information from us about Guilan Team's movements. Now that all misunderstandings had been cleared up, there was no need for them to keep staying on the shore. Clemens produced a speedboat from who-knew-where and led his people in a swift withdrawal toward the Dark Continent.
Since the future relationship between the continent and the monsters would depend on tomorrow's negotiations, Cyrae and I didn't stop them. And so, time slowly reached the next morning.
When the negotiation team's airship finally arrived above Lezbi Port, Elara, the kingdom's high-ranking officials, and Adrian's group disembarked one after another—likely the largest number of visitors this land had seen in centuries.
Regarding our contact with Tianwang Team last night, the Angel Guard had already delivered a report to Elara overnight. So once we met, Cyrae and I didn't need to repeat everything. We simply waited with everyone else for the negotiation time to arrive.
Because most of the port's structures were in terrible condition—and the weather that day wasn't great—several earth-element mages accompanying the kingdom made a huge contribution in rebuilding the negotiation venue. After consulting with Meredith's people, they drew a large magic array on the spot. Loose rubble from the surrounding ruins rose into the air, flew into the array, and reassembled piece by piece into a small building—meant to serve as a temporary negotiation hall to shelter everyone from wind and rain in the hours to come.