Pillar of Yita

”Mr. Tang De.”

The Sorcerer-Ghoul turned around, looking at him with dark, hollow eyes: ”What is it now, our little Captain?”

”I was wondering, couldn’t you have kept that Alchemist back then?”

”It’s not exactly that,” the Sorcerer-Ghoul shook his head: ”It’s just, why should I have kept him?”

Fang Hong opened his mouth wide, momentarily speechless.

This answer was too reasonable; he found himself unable to refute it—

”But...”

”Alright,” Tang De interrupted him: ”Actually, my judgment at the time was indeed slightly off. I just didn’t expect that cowardly fellow to escape so easily. At the time, I had at least seven or eight spells that could have kept him there, the simplest being the Anchoring Spell—

You know, for a mere craftsman to play such pitiful magical tricks before a Wizard is indeed a bit ridiculous. Of course, I’m not including Magic Guided Conductors in this; those pitiable Magic Guided Conductors even need Alchemists to grant them their spellcasting abilities, hardly worthy of being called spellcasters.”

Fang Hong looked at the other person and honestly said: ”Mr. Kalatu is also a Magic Guided Conductor.”

”About Kalatu, well... he’s another matter entirely. Oh, wait, no he’s not, he’s actually just the same...” Tang De’s tone became excited, but after a few words, he suddenly looked up at Fang Hong, a flame shooting out from his hollow eyes: ”What are you really trying to ask, does this relate to your question?”

Fang Hong was instantly lost for words, thinking to himself, wasn’t it you who brought up this topic? It took him a while to regain his train of thought, and he said: ”Right, what delayed Mr. Tang De back then, did something happen?”

”Late?” The Sorcerer-Ghoul shook his head vigorously: ”I was there early, from... well, around the time your Communication Crystal exposed its target.”

Fang Hong was astonished: ”Mr. Tang De, then why didn’t you act?”

Tang De looked at him with great disdain: ”Didn’t Kalatu and I tell you, I’m not your nanny. You were holding your own at the time, weren’t you? Besides, little one, such opportunities are rare; unfortunately, you were a bit too weak to take advantage of it.”

Fang Hong immediately felt that communication with this skeleton was impossible. At the time, he was fighting for his life, and this guy was treating the opponent as a free training opportunity for him, even admitting at the end that he was a moment too slow when the Alchemist teleported away.

If the opponent had been using a lethal spell instead of teleportation at the time, would he not have died an unjust death?

Although he knew that any trouble he got into couldn’t really be blamed on Tang De, the thought of that damned skull sinisterly watching him get beaten from the side annoyed him no end.

And so, the conversation ended quite unpleasantly—

Everyone rested briefly before saying their farewells to Tansnier Crafting Association. Before they left, Abed, the owner of the Sand Lodge, accompanied by a mute servant, came to apologize to them expressly, openly admitting that the lodge’s poor hospitality had injured the Princess’s esteemed guest and so on.

Fang Hong didn’t mind much; he was used to getting into all sorts of trouble, and this time he had sought it out himself. However, the lodge owner insisted that the next time the Grand Princess came to meet everyone, the lodging would be arranged perfectly.

Only then did Fang Hong understand that the middle-aged craftsman had already informed them about his agreement to meet with Princess Rupert. As someone trusted by the Princess, this was reasonable, and he naturally went with the flow about meeting the Grand Princess—

If the Princess was willing to help them in their search for a captain, it would be delightful, but if not, he could accept it. In any case, meeting her wouldn’t put him at a disadvantage.

After all, their group had helped them twice, and according to the Grand Princess’s reputation, she wouldn’t turn unfriendly.

He also saw the middle-aged craftsman, who gifted them some local tea leaves, claiming it was just ordinary Sandalwood Tea. However, Fang Hong wasn’t foolish; he knew it probably wasn’t the craftsman’s own idea, and it most likely represented Abed or the Grand Princess. Considering royal standards, it was unlikely the tea would be ordinary.

Since he had already agreed to meet with the Grand Princess, Fang Hong thought there was no point in being coy. It was just some tea leaves, and he didn’t mind accepting them. The middle-aged man, seeing him accept the gift, then informed him that if he was interested in Magic Guided Constructs, he could come to visit the Tansnier Crafting Association the next day.

He also asked if they had accommodations, and if not, the Sand Lodge still had empty rooms prepared for esteemed guests.

However, Fang Hong was clearly not keen on the latter suggestion; firstly, they already had a place to stay, and he didn’t want more hassle. Besides, even though they had agreed to meet with the Grand Princess, the Sand Lodge still belonged to the other side. No matter what the rumors were, he wasn’t about to fully expose his own cards to the opposition.

As for Magic Guided Constructs, he was genuinely interested, so he agreed to visit the Crafting Association in a few days.

The middle-aged craftsman didn’t offer much explanation, as if mentioning the lodge was a mere side note, appearing particularly magnanimous. But Fang Hong understood this magnanimity was likely not the craftsman’s decision but rather reflected the Grand Princess’s style of conduct.