Pillar of Yita

Handwasher shrugged: ”In any case, he’s not from the Elfendo Council.”

At that moment, the team suddenly turned towards the direction of the lake’s pier — at that place, a middle-aged man in a black robe, holding a magic wand, was coming down from a sailboat anchored in the bay.

The man wore a blood-red mask, making it difficult to discern his true face. He looked at the noisy crowd, raised his hand to signal silence, and then spoke: ”Everyone, you must have heard by now. Be it the royal household, the prime minister’s side, the Descendants of Flor, or the people from BBK, all have rejected our proposal—”

Handwasher watched the man from a distance and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

”Have you seen him before?” Frost Sky asked.

The girl shook her head.

The middle-aged man then raised a fist and loudly declared, ”However, we have never begged for anyone’s sympathy. The Southern Region Alliance originally never interfered with these northerners, and if anyone has provoked this conflict first—”

He paused slightly before speaking again: ”Then the fault does not lie with us.”

”And I have heard—”

”The Tabopolis Oak Knights have disbanded.”

”The Colin Ishurian Eastern Economic Community is also in jeopardy.”

The middle-aged man shouted, ”Everyone, in Eteliria, throughout the history of the Stargate, never has the Free Guild, the alliance of Free Summoners, been so close to the brink of crisis as we are today. Is it because we did something wrong?”

”No—”

He shook his head: ”It is all because the Grand Guild has been too aggressive, and the Super Competitive League has done nothing, even joining forces with them.”

”But alas, the Stargate is not just the Stargate of certain people,” the middle-aged man raised his magic guided wand: ”Do they want us to surrender without resistance, to lay down our swords and surrender immediately?”

The black-robed middle-aged man opened his mouth wide, like a roar coming from his chest: ”Will you agree?”

”No!”

”Absolutely not!”

The roar resounded through the sky, drawing the attention of nearby natives.

Frost Sky watched the scene, frowning: ”What a way to incite people, I feel like I’ve seen these people somewhere before.”

”Hmm?”

She turned her head and asked, ”You should know I just returned from Osh, right?”

The black-haired girl seemed a bit distracted: ”Oh, and what does that have to do with this?”

Frost Sky replied, ”The current situation in Osh is much worse than in Colin Ishurian, Emperor Philite VII and the ’Hawks’ Duke are in deep enmity, Philite VII has already moved the army to the Omete area, tensions are high, and a great battle is on the brink of breaking out.”

”And some emerging Summoners’ Guilds, instead of trying to mend this relationship, have taken advantage of the chaos to expand, dividing into two major camps. These people are now very different from the summoners who used to operate by the ’Stargate Declaration’. ”

Handwasher nodded lightly, replying, ”I’ve heard about this too, but they are just some new guilds, right?”

Frost Sky quietly responded, ”Though they are emerging forces, they have developed extremely rapidly. Not long ago, they fought a battle with the ’Gray Field’ branch in Eteliria, with varied victories. The North America Super Competitive League has formally recognized their status as frontline guilds, and I’ve heard they can even get some tickets to the Second World this year.”

”King of Grey FOX is really embarrassing,” the black-haired girl lightly snorted: ”His branch, not even able to beat newcomers. But that’s only in the First Division; given how those guilds rose to prominence, it’s impossible to replicate domestically.”

Frost Sky turned back and said, ”Look at these people outside, do you really think it’s impossible?”

”That’s different,” Handwasher replied nonchalantly: ”They didn’t say anything wrong. This is BBK’s own doing; if they didn’t force the Southern Region Alliance to this point, would there be so many issues? I heard Stargate Port is investigating the Super Competitive League, they’ll have a tough time afterward.”

Frost Sky looked at her and retorted, ”Do you really believe that, just watch.”

Handwasher looked at her somewhat unexpectedly.

...

For Fang Hong, the meeting was arranged a week after that.

They took the airship arranged by the Grand Princess for two days to reach Bargo, then traveled on a beast of burden for half a day into the desert, finally arriving at a palace in an oasis. The meeting place was arranged there, according to Abed, it was just one of the Grand Princess’s private properties, not even related to the Royal House of Penelope.

In fact, the estate outside Tansnier City was in a similar situation, which led Fang Hong to have a new understanding of the Princess’s business acumen.

It is well known that Istania has a strong commercial vibe, a place where money and wealth flow, famed as the favored land of Lady Roman — these Istania merchants, who have traveled far, have a great reputation in Colin Ishurian. Business practices have long become a tradition in this desert kingdom, so King of Sand Barbaltan’s way of raising his children isn’t surprising to outsiders — he gives his children startup funds to manage their own businesses and savings.

Of course, most royal household members would have a dedicated team under them, so they wouldn’t be likely to go bankrupt due to poor management. But for this Grand Princess to have amassed such wealth in such a short time, it certainly relates to her own capability and unique insight.