Kilrun Duchy Current State

 With nothing else to delay him, he began his trek towards the capital. With his current speed, he could theoretically reach the capital in less than a week, especially using a movement technique utilizing his mastery of Law of Space.

 The only reason he did not do so was because he was afraid of being lost, as he didn't know the direction to the capital. After all, the chances for him to make a wrong turn are high, and he prefers to avoid accidents if he can help it.

 As such, he could only fly without using any movement techniques, slowing down occasionally to look for settlements or towns to stop and learn of his current location. A tedious process but one needed to be done so he could get to the capital.

-x-

 After two days of flying, he found a city. Slowing down, he then flew towards the gate, hoping they would allow him to enter as the current state of the Duchy could possibly lead to travelers being barred from entering a major city.

 Thankfully, his fear was proven wrong as the guards opened the gate. They seemed to be insistent on having him inside, which worried him greatly, as it meant that things were getting worse.

 Deciding to learn of the current state of the Duchy, he headed towards the Adventure Guild first, hoping to learn something of what had happened when he was stuck inside the hidden realm.

-x-

 Thankfully, the Adventure Guild seemed operational, even though the number of adventurers seemed to dwindle greatly. The Kilrun Duchy adventurers' numbers are already small enough. To think the numbers could get even smaller, he hoped the reason for that is because most adventurers took missions, though he didn't count on it.

 He headed towards the receptionist, asking "I want information on the current state of the Kilrun Duchy," he said, his eyes staring right at the receptionist.

 "S-sure, though why do you wish for the information," looks like he need to use the lie he had come up with.

 "I had been in the wilderness for almost two months now, and I'm currently out of the loop," not factually correct though he didn't lie about him being out of the loop, just the reason is much different.

 "Oh, in that case, I can give you some information but it will cost you-" Ryker took out his token, saying, "exchange all important and relevant information from today until two months from now. Used as much of my points as necessary,"

 Even though it would likely cause some deduction in his point count, he didn't mind much as he had rarely used the said point for quite some time, the treasures he gained made any exchange of his points for some resources seem, redundant.

 Still, that would likely change when he went to the other branches of the Adventure Guild, especially the more important branch at the capital of Birak Kingdom. So, he would likely need it for the future, hence why he always looks for missions to do, aside from using it as a way to train himself.

 The receptionist then went inside the staff room, presumably to get the information he asked for. The receptionist soon came out of the room, carrying a large stack of paper in her arms, before putting it on the counter.

 "Here, all of the things you asked for. The point deducted is...." he zoned out a bit there, as some points didn't seem to account much for the information he currently had.

 "Also," he turned his attention back to the receptionist, pretending he had been listening, "If you want to learn more, you could go to the capital and seek the branch there. Also, the tavern seemed to be filled with refugees from some settlements along with soldiers that patrolled the area around the city.

 You could ask them for more detailed information if you want to learn more about what's happening," she suggested.

 Ryker gave the receptionist a smile, "Thank you for the tip, here is something extra," he put a small pouch filled with medium-grade Genesis Crystals before leaving, hoping to find some inns where he could read the information in peace.

-x-

 Thankfully, some inns have rooms to spare despite the increasing numbers of refugees. He attributed it to the fact refugees likely couldn't afford what money they had to get a decent room, instead hoping for the place and food provided by the city lord.

 So, he entered his room before taking out the stack of paper and organized it by the date. The receptionist seemed to be good at her job, the paper already had the date put on the top right corner so he could determine the date of the information.

 He then began to read it, hoping to glean the current information regarding the state of the Duchy.

-x-

 He let out a tired sigh, the situation seemed to be worse than he could have imagined. He thought that the Duchy having large numbers of Genesis Sea experts would mean they would have the upper hand but it seemed his line of thought had been too naive.

 The bandits seemed to have their own Genesis Sea experts, though they did lose some during the attack on the capital city. There was a lot of speculation as to why the bandits did something so brazen. Most agreed that it was done to taunt the Duke himself.

 Though, while it may seem like the most logical reason, it might be a side objective, the main one is to cripple the one place that helped the Kilrun Duchy produced experts to handle the bandits.

 Then again, it's likely the attack on the hidden realm is not told to the public, as the location itself is state-secret, with very few knowing the exact location of the hidden realm.

 Still, while the Duchy possessed more Genesis Sea realm experts, they were forced on the defensive as one of the Genesis Sea bandits possessed strength that was only second to the Duke.

 So, any Genesis Sea experts sent to protect any other major city would be attacked by the bandit, not to mention the fact that a lone Genesis Sea expert couldn't hope to stand a chance when they were ganged by several Genesis Sea experts.

 All in all, the top experts were forced to remain inside the capital city, the bandits' ability to perform a guerilla technique made it more difficult for the Duchy to defend itself.

 Thankfully, the top experts, meaning Genesis Sea, had reached an agreement to not attack the weaker cultivators unless they were attacked first. It means they are more restrained, though the reason for the bandits to accept such a deal remains to be seen.