Pillar of Yita

Sophie couldn’t help but turn around in the video.

Fang Hong saw that the scene was none other than the Traveler’s Sanctuary, where several clergy were moving about, and two Silver Weslan officials were coming to find her—the loss of starlight in a trained talent was a big deal for Silver Weslan, let alone the authorization of the ”Energy Angel” and the trade issues with the Fire Giant, the Sword Bearer.

But after hearing what Fang Hong said, the girl seemed to think of something, apologized to the two officials, pulled the video to a secluded place, and then asked, ”Have you thought of something, Mr. Ade?”

”Ade?” Fang Hong was taken aback.

Sophie’s face turned red, and she coughed heavily, ”Sorry, I actually recognized you earlier, but I thought you might not want to bring this up in front of others.”

She pointed to her forehead, ”The crown from before...”

It was then that Fang Hong understood, but he didn’t show much reaction.

In fact, he wasn’t that worried anymore; confronting the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team as if it had given him courage and composure that rose from the depths of his heart—this courage was actually innate, just clouded by his fears of loss, causing him to lose his true self.

He thought since he had made this choice, he naturally should be ready to take responsibility for everything.

That included facing the military; looking back, he even felt a bit ashamed of his earlier immaturity. Problems had to be faced, evasion wouldn’t solve anything.

Perhaps the time wasn’t ripe yet, but he felt at peace within.

So he only asked, ”But you don’t plan to tell the Guild’s higher-ups, do you?”

Sophie playfully stuck out her tongue, showing a rare bit of embarrassment, ”That’s what I was thinking.”

Fang Hong also coughed, ”Then please, don’t do that, or at least delay it as much as possible, I need some time.”

Sophie nodded, but her expression turned serious, ”Mr. Ade—”

”Just call me Ade.”

”Alright, Ade,” Sophie nodded, ”I was wondering, do you really plan to keep running? On your own, you’ll never be able to stand against the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team, not to mention they have the Descendants of Flor behind them. Have you considered any other way out?”

”Another way out? Do you mean joining Silver Weslan?” Having experienced so much, Fang Hong naturally understood her implication.

”Isn’t Silver Weslan enough to provide you with shelter?”

But what he wanted was more than just shelter, Fang Hong thought, only replying, ”As far as I know, though Silver Weslan and the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team are not in the same camp, the two major factions within the national Guild don’t really break each other, do they? You all can’t disturb that balance.”

Sophie was taken aback, looking at him surprisingly, ”Do you still want revenge?”

”A little punishment is always possible.”

This reply was somewhat unexpected for her, and for Xi as well, the mountain girl shook her head, seemingly thinking Fang Hong was overestimating himself, but the hostility in his eyes seemed to dissipate.

The position of Silver Weslan, after all, was that of a competitor to the Descendants of Flor, and such courage was admirable anywhere.

Sophie thought for a moment before responding, ”Okay, but actually, the relationship between the Rainbow Alliance and the Descendants of Flor isn’t as simple as you think, you—”

Fang Hong shook his head, ”Forget it, I don’t want to cause trouble for you.”

Sophie stopped, knowing this topic had come to an end, and did not want to make definitive statements, so she kept silent and no longer brought up related suggestions.

”Let’s get back to the point,” Fang Hong said, ”We were talking about the Numelin Holy Grail—”

”We all know the Numelin Holy Grail is an Elf Relic, so the map left on the Spire must naturally come from the hand of the Numelin Elves. So, let’s boldly assume that the Numelin Elves visited this city buried underground after the Aithelin disaster and left information related to the Holy Grail on the Spire.”

Sophie’s mind was stirred.

”You mean the Dark Force on the thirteenth underground level has more to do with the elves than with the Xinsas Serpentfolk?” She was surprised, ”Could it be Verdant!? Or a part of Verdant?”

Fang Hong shook his head again, ”Not necessarily, the premise is that we can figure out exactly what the Second Star of Calamity is, whether Verdant is actually a real object, deity, creature, or a euphemism for a disaster. Have you heard of the Salrus event?”

After considering for a moment, Sophie recalled the rumor from over a decade ago, surprised, ”You can make that connection?”

”I heard that an Adventure Group found a corpse of a deity underground, but shortly after the corpse disappeared without a trace. I’ve heard the elders in the Guild talk about it, it was quite a sensation at the time, but it eventually fizzled out. Salrus was a Lesser Lizard People god, verified to have fallen during the Aithelin disaster.”

”I heard it was resurrected,” Fang Hong replied, ”All the Holy Icons in its sanctuaries cracked, and the most recent one collapsed three years ago. But among the dark names worshiped by the cultists, there’s a new epithet, called Salrutaka, a name that fits the Lizard People’s naming convention well.”

Sophie felt overwhelmed by the amount of information, needing to digest it thoroughly. After pondering for a while, she tentatively asked, ”So you’re saying, the entity below could also be a being of that nature? But Salrutaka is just your speculation, and you don’t have evidence that it is Salrus, right?”