Pillar of Yita

After realizing this, Fang Hong finally looked up.

Miss Fairy, who was kneeling on the table at that moment, noticed him lifting his wind goggles and looked up at him, her face framed by the wisteria leaf, blinking gently.

She asked, ”Is your work done, Mr. Knight?”

Fang Hong stretched, exhaled, and nodded before straightening up and asking her, ”Would you like to go for a walk?”

He pointed at Meimei beside the bed—ever since Hilveld joined them, this object had been solemnly entrusted to him for safekeeping, though not as a gift, but as ’a relic of her father’ for his use.

It was somewhat complicated, but Fang Hong understood completely; after all, it was something very symbolic for her.

Miss Tata thought for a moment and asked, ”Is this a request from Mr. Knight?”

Fang Hong was startled, then remembered that she could sense the thoughts in his mind, and couldn’t help but touch his nose as he said, ”I just think it’s not good for you to always stay inside the house.”

”But I am merely Dragon Soul, Mr. Knight.”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but laugh, ”Actually, I’m not unaware of it, but I subconsciously think of Miss Tata as being alive. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there? Miss Tata has her own thoughts and feelings, what’s the difference between us?”

Miss Fairy looked up at him carefully.

”What kind of feeling is that?” she asked. ”It’s hard to understand; let’s assume it’s a form of knowledge for now. Indeed, human emotions are rich, Mr. Knight.”

Then she extended her small hand to Fang Hong.

Fang Hong was slightly confused before he realized, and he responded like a true knight, extending his hand to invite his fairy lady.

Miss Tata’s gaze was as calm as water. She gently patted her long dress, resting her on the pointed finger of her knight’s hand and stepping onto his palm, like an exquisite Princess Pea. Then she lifted her head slowly and said gently, ”I will go out with you, Mr. Knight.”

”Just like this?” Fang Hong asked, surprised.

”Just like this. I will be invisible, Mr. Knight.”

Fang Hong suddenly understood.

He gently placed Miss Fairy on his shoulder, letting her sit next to his ear to facilitate whispers. Then, bending down, he snuffed out the wind lantern before turning to push the door open and step out.

But he didn’t realize that others were looking for him too.

As he opened the door, he saw Miss Scholar, who would be the scholar of the future, hurrying down from the Saddle Bridge, pausing surprised when she saw him. Then Gita spoke eagerly, ”Something has happened; Brother Ade, everyone is looking for you!”

”Looking for me?” Fang Hong was surprised. ”What’s happened?”

”There is a Lizardman ahead.”

”Night Lizard People?”

”No, no, just a Lizardman, Brother Ade,” Gita said timidly. ”I, I can’t clearly explain what kind of Lizardman it is. Please hurry with me, Miss Atira says it’s up to you to decide.”

”Up to me?” Fang Hong puzzledly followed her to the other side of the platform, where he realized what had happened.

Everyone was gathered here, leaning over the railing to look down at the platform below. As he and Gita approached, Luo Yu and Tianlan made way, and the little girl holding his arm said excitedly, ”You’ve come, Brother Ade. There’s a Lizardman; it’s so tall, I’ve never seen such a Lizardman!”

”Miss Atira says it’s up to you to decide, since Brother Ade is the captain of our team, after all!”

She chattered nonstop, like a thousand sparrows flitting around Fang Hong’s head, making it spin as he only caught snippets of key information—a very tall Lizardman? As far as he knew, the two types of Lizard People living in the Cloud Sea Region, Night Lizard People and Shark Lizard People, were not very tall, the former being notably slender and the latter of average human height.

He looked at the others beside him, but Luo Yu, as always, kept quiet, just nodding to him, and as for the meaning of that nod, only the devil might know. Reed and Atira were not on the platform, and Xiesta, it seemed, had no desire to speak more to him, giving him a cold glance before stepping aside to let him through.

Hilveld was the only one left. The Lady Noble naturally heard Fang Hong approaching, turned from the railing with a slight smile and said, ”You’re here. Actually, it’s a Lizardman from Andasok.”

A Lizardman from Andasok.

The term formed immediately in Fang Hong’s mind, creating an image to match—the War Lizard People. They were possibly one of the two most powerful Lizardman clans remaining in Eteliria, with the other being the Blood Lizard clan living in the Saint Hugon Nulinari Forest.

Both of these powerful Lizardman clans, like the Night Lizard People, had once submitted to the Serpent People Empire, or rather, it was the Xinsas Serpentfolk who brought them out of the obscurity of the primeval forests, endowing them with their own history and culture.

War Lizard People had been powerful warriors of the Xinsas since the First Age, said to carry the legacy of the Dragon Blood, more closely resembling the Dragon Horn Lizard, thus they were tall in stature, with exquisite battle skills. Fang Hong had not seen this legendary clan in the world, but he had seen pictures of them in the community.

They were often tall and burly, preferring weapons like the Two-Handed War Sword, Sawtooth, and long spear. Among them, the strongest tribe was known as the Dragon Blood Clan, whose War Lizard People were crimson all over as if bathed in dragon blood, starkly different from the War Lizard People of other clans.

Hilveld made room for Fang Hong to stand beside her, and only then could he clearly see the situation below. It turned out that Lion People Reed and Eteliria were down there, with Parker also following behind them. In front of them stood a tall Lizardman warrior.

His body was covered in azure scales, and on his head grew a crown and small horns—typical characteristics of War Lizard People. His massive maw filled with dense, white sharp teeth, and his lower jaw clearly bore the lineage of the Dragon Kind.

He was over two meters tall, roughly equal in height to the robust Lion People, dressed in armor like gilded splendor. And just as Fang Hong had anticipated, he wielded a Double-Headed War Spear.

The towering War Lizard warrior observed every person present with his amber eyes, narrow pupils measuring them, then he split his jaws, emitting a somewhat terrifying forked tongue, and started speaking with a hissing voice, ”So, has your so-called captain arrived yet?”

”He will be here shortly.” Eteliria did not turn back, unaware of the situation behind her.

The War Lizard showed no sign of impatience. He raised his neck, interspersed with hissing sounds, and spoke, ”Then you tell him, I have heard that you humans are on your way to participate in a pilgrimage? I, Tainaric-Vanu-Nanawal, a mighty warrior, Dragon Chosen, Prince of the White Skull Clan, request to join you and partake in this trial together.”

”Pilgrimage?” Fang Hong was startled and asked.

”This is the Way of Pilgrimage, do you not understand?” The War Lizard lifted his head to look at him, but without any sense of looking down from a superior position, as if his entire being exuded a sense of confidence, ”I have heard of this legend long ago and purposely came to Andasok, this place is the ancient path of honor—and I, as the mightiest warrior of Andasok, naturally qualify for such honor.”

What in the world is this guy talking about?

Fang Hong was utterly confused but still managed to extract limited information from the other’s words.

Andasok was located in the Far South Continent group, which is where the First Continental Bridge was situated, a truly vast expanse of dense Forest, untouched by civilization, and steep mountains.

In the Forest, ancient relics abound, and the Lizard People guard ancient secrets. They pass down from one to another that there lies the Gateway, but as to what exactly the Gateway is, the common belief is that it leads to the path to the Second World.

Among the several Lizard People clans, the Blood Lizard clan was mysterious and ancient, hidden from the world. War Lizard People were proud and powerful, still cherishing Xinsas’ ancient and glorious past, and because of this, their relations with other Lizard People—and with humans and Elves—were even colder.

Therefore, to see a War Lizard Person in the Mortal world was quite difficult, much rarer than Lion People or Papalars.

Not to mention, according to what the other party said, he was also a Prince of a clan.

Fang Hong knew that the title Prince had a special meaning among War Lizard clans; not just any clan leader’s son could be called a Prince, he must be acclaimed by the whole clan, acknowledged by other War Lizard People, in truth, the future heir of the clan.

The Prince had a unique standing within a Clan.

As for a mighty warrior, this was not merely a self-compliment; it was actually a title. Even if not the strongest in the clan, at least they needed certain qualifications and had completed some kind of trial—a Lizard Person who could be so called. This tradition was in fact not exclusive to the War Lizard clan, as similar heritages existed among other Lizard People as well.

As for Dragon Chosen and the White Skull Clan, Fang Hong was not quite clear, as Andasok’s War Lizard People were not a unified Kingdom, although they had a unified civilization. There were over a hundred clans in the dense forest; he actually only knew of the Dragon Blood Clan.

But at this moment, Tata’s voice came into his ear—Miss Fairy whispered:

”The White Skull Clan is a quite powerful among the War Lizard People, one of the three Golden Clans since the Xinsas Era, considered a lineage of very high bloodline. Their ancestors were Dragon Horn Lizards, with a blood relation to the Giant Dragons not much lower than that of the Dragon Blood Clan.”

Fang Hong was startled to hear this; if the other party was not lying, then his background was indeed significant. He had heard of the legend of the three great clans of War Lizard People, the earliest three clans brought out of the Forest by the Xinsas Serpentfolk, said to all possess exceptional Strength.

”Then what is a Dragon Chosen, Miss Tata?” he couldn’t help but ask inwardly.

But Miss Fairy did not directly answer his question.

Instead, using his mouth, she suddenly made an odd, high-pitched hissing sound. Fang Hong turned to look at the Lizard Person and suddenly spoke, ”Hiss, hiss—hiss?”

Upon hearing this, the self-assured face of the War Lizard Prince changed suddenly.

He stepped back, looking at this human tentatively, a strange gleam in his amber eyes, and then opened his mouth wide, making a nearly identical sound.

”What is he saying?” Fang Hong couldn’t help but ask.

”That is not a language,” Tata answered calmly, ”It’s thirty-six modulations, actually a simulation of Dragon language; he is inquiring to you.”

Then she paused.

”He is asking if you are also a Dragon Chosen, and—why a human would become a Dragon Chosen.”

...