Bravely Default/Chapter 4

Upon touching down on Eternia, Edea explains that the Earth Crystal is in the Everlast Tower, which was formerly known as the Temple of Earth. To get there, you must first survive a trek through Frostpeak Passage.

Frostpeak Passage
The nearest gate to the city of Eternia is closed, so you must take the dirt path around it. It is here you will be introduced to the various enemies you'll find across Eternia. Silver Wolves can inflict paralysis with Paralyzing Bite, while Mandragoras attack in groups and can poison you with Poison Pollen. Teufels sometimes appear at night, and possess the powerful Thundaga spell.

Boss: Ice Golem
As you near the city, you'll see a massive monster in your path. Approach it to start a fight with the Ice Golem! The Ice Golem is a simple boss, but a very powerful one at that. The threat comes from its strength, able to dish out incredibly painful attacks including its abilities. Freezing Punch is an extra strong move that has a chance to inflict Stop, a nasty status ailment that can potentially ruin your team strategy. It also has Blizzard Blast to strike the whole party with.

As with most minor bosses, the Ice Golem does not require a very sophisticated strategy to beat. A healer is important as always, given that its attacks are extremely damaging. Stop is a major consideration as it is hard to defend against, and hard to cure. Since all the boss's attacks are physical, Ninjas can be very effective against it using a combination of Utsusemi and Transience. You can also try to Blind it, which will render its attacks nearly useless against your whole party, although your means to do so are limited outside of Specials.

With the Ice Golem out of the way, head north to enter the city of Eternia!

Eternia, Land of Immortality
At the city, Edea explains that the Eternia is connected with a system of white magic cables, using its energy to treat various diseases. One of Edea's old friends tells her that Edea's mother has fallen sick, and is currently being kept in the Central Healing Tower. Perhaps you should pay her a visit. Go into the entrance with the yellow light to enter the Central Healing Tower, then go to the top-left corner of the building. Edea's mother, Mahzer Lee, has heard about Edea's betrayal from her father, but bears no ill will to the group. She only wants Edea to talk it out with her father.

After the cutscene, check the top right corner of the room for a Rebuff Locket. Outside, Edea reveals that the white magic cables get their energy from the Earth Crystal, and ultimately decides to help awaken the Earth Crystal despite the impact to Eternia's patients. She says that there are three paths to Eternia Central Command, where the Council of Six are stationed. The center path is the shortest, but has very powerful enemies, the west path is longer but the enemies there are more manageable, while the east path is the longest and lacks any strong foes.

Before you set out, take a look around Eternia to prepare for the trip. In front of the exit to the Central Healing Tower, go west and search south to find an Elixir. Go to the southeastern corner of the city and inspect the area to get an Artic Wind. As for the shops, there is a wide variety of weaponry to be found in the armory, while you can get level 5 White, Black and Time Magic from the scroll shop.

The three paths
You have a choice of three passages to reach the Eternia Central Command. As Edea explained, the center path is the shortest and the hardest, the west path is longer and more forgiving, while the east path is easy but very long. You can choose whichever path you wish, but if you're aiming to fight all the bosses on the three paths, be sure to do it now, as they eventually disappear after you advance the story.

Central path - Boss: Guardian
The center path is a straight road to the Eternia Central Command, but it is lined with turrets and patrolled by a dangerous Guardian. Walk up to it to start the fight. The Guardian is an upgraded version of the Automatons, although this single one hits harder than the three previous robots. It still has Limiter Rescission, which boosts its P.Atk by sacrificing its P.Def, and Rocket Punch, which has the serious threat of wiping out your party when boosted. Additionally, it can now use Optical Camouflage to raise Evasion. Lastly, those turrets on the overworld aren't for show, as they can use Assist Attack to inflict exactly 1500 damage on your whole party every 3 turns.

This fight will be similar to the Automatons, except you can focus on just one robot instead of 3. It's still no reason to let your guard down, as the Guardian is extremely tanky and has exceedingly painful attacks that can wipe out a careless party. However, its main threat still comes from its sheer strength, so you don't require any special strategy to defeat it. Use Default very often in anticipation of Rocket Punch and make sure your healer can restore damage dealt by Rocket Punches and Assist Attacks, and you should eventually take down this mechanical powerhouse. Lightning magic like Thundara or Pantheon's Wrath targets Guardian's weakness, and will help make a long fight shorter. The Performer's Got Your Back is handy as well to raise your party's P.Def if you're really worried about Rocket Punch.

Once the Guardian falls, there is very little that can stop you from reaching Eternia Central Command, so head on north.

West path - Boss: Dragon Zombie
Travelling down the longer west path, you may come across a castle rising up from a dead forest, but you can't enter it at this point. Instead, continue down the path to find your blockade: the Dragon Zombie. Like the Dragon you've fought before, the Dragon Zombie has a remarkably simple skillset. Its main attack is Bite, which targets a single party member for considerable damage. It also has Toxic Breath, which harms the whole party and has a chance of inflicting Poison. Finally, despite its lower than average HP, it can use Rise from the Dead to lengthen its lifespan. Being part Zombie, it is weak to Fire, Light and curative magic.

The Dragon Zombie is much more manageable than the Guardian, although it can potentially draw the fight annoyingly long due to Rise of the Dead. The damage from Bite and Toxic Breath isn't too problematic if you have an active healer. The Poison is a nuisance, but you can easily remove it with Poisona, cheap Antidotes or just equip everyone with Star Pendants. The Dragon Zombie's multiple weaknesses are very easy to exploit, as you have a wide range of jobs and skills that can use fire elemental attacks. Even your healers can join in the offensive when there are no serious injuries, as the Dragon Zombie is also weak to healing spells and items.

After you down the Dragon Zombie for good, it's a short walk to Eternia Central Command.

East path - Gravemark Village
The scenic route to Eternia Central Command is quite uneventful. The biggest threat to you here are the random encounters. A new enemy you'll find is the Hybrids. These snow bears can use Bare Claws to attack while ignoring your P.Def. Halfway along the path, you can head further east to reach the gloomy Gravemark Village. According to the old man at the hut, this village was ravaged by a plague and most of the residents were killed. Edea's parents came from Gravemark Village but moved to the city before the plague struck. Apparently, the Crystal Orthodoxy denied help to the village, and even quarantined it to prevent its spread to the rest of Eternia.

There are some items you can find here. Look around the southernmost row of gravestones to find an Ice Charm. Next, inspect the area directly south from the hut to find a Light Curtain. There is an Adventurer here for saving and supplies, and the old man's hut acts as a free inn. With this helpful destination along the eastern path, this route is without a doubt the easiest to traverse.