Pillar of Yita

”What is this?”

Fang Hong watched as the man turned around and retrieved a small item from the drawer.

It appeared to be an equilateral triangular metal object, about a hand’s length and width, with an abstract dragon-shaped emblem in the center—the kind of Western dragon with large wings commonly seen in Eteliria.

”This is what Luen Linxiu left for you,” the man laughed and replied, ”But I don’t know exactly what it is. By the way, he also left a message for you all: ’Quinlars’.”

”In addition, you can call me Xiuli, or Old Xiuli, as everyone usually does.”

The middle-aged man who called himself Xiuli answered with a smile.

Fang Hong looked at the item, initially perceiving it as a simplified emblem, even associating it with the Dragon Worship Sect. This is not unusual at all due to the dragon-shaped design and its association with Luen Linxiu and the Dragon Worship Sect.

However, upon closer inspection, it seemed somewhat ambiguous; this emblem was vaguely familiar to him. Fang Hong suddenly remembered having indeed seen a similar design somewhere—in the underground of Aimumu Fortress, on that broken Holy Sword.

He suddenly turned and said, ”Mr. Reed, could you show me your sword?”

The Big Cat People asked somewhat unexpectedly, ”Why do you suddenly want to see the sword?”

Despite saying that, he stretched a paw behind him, gradually drawing out the sword. The legendary Holy Sword didn’t seem small at all in the hand of the Lion Paladin. Magic swords adjust their size according to the user, with the blade glinting brightly, illuminating the dim room slightly.

Even Xiuli couldn’t help but praise, ”It’s a nice sword.”

But this was more than just a nice sword; even the experienced merchant in the Black Goat Commerce Association, who had seen countless wonders, was taken aback. Fang Hong’s gaze focused solely on the Counterweight Hammer of the Holy Sword; indeed, there was a similar emblem there, almost identical in design to the other.

Only the emblem in Xiuli’s hand was silver-white, while the one on the Big Cat People’s Holy Sword was golden-yellow.

The birth of the five Holy Swords has a certain connection with the Dragon King Bahamut, so these five emblems might correspond to the five-colored giant dragons of Eteliria—gold, silver, red, blue, green.

But the question is, what is Luen Linxiu’s intention in leaving this emblem with them?

As for the message left for them:

’Quinlars—’

But it’s not a sentence, Fang Hong thought, no, perhaps more like an ancient place name with a hint of elvish essence. He happened to know that place, located around the Ancient Monarch Fortress on today’s Scepter Coast, which was a prosperous Kingdom a few centuries ago before gradually turning into ruins.

But it’s unclear what Luen Linxiu aims to convey by telling them this place name—is there a connection between the emblem and that location? Why not use Ancient Monarch Fortress, instead of the elven name, and what difference does this make?

”Mr. Ade,” Xiuli spoke again at this point: ”I hereby hand this item over to you all.”

Fang Hong nodded before finally accepting it, and the other person merely watched his actions without even requiring further confirmation, as if there’s no concern about mistaken identity.

And when Fang Hong held the emblem, he suddenly found himself pondering: doesn’t Eteliria have the technology to transmit objects across long distances?

But if this item wasn’t retrieved from afar, then how did Luen Linxiu anticipate their arrival here, and why leave it here?

Or perhaps the item isn’t inherently important, but only the message it conveys matters? The same emblem might be left in several different places by him, allowing them to obtain it regardless of visiting Cloud Harbor or Elpaxin.

Remembering this, he recalled that the other person seemed to have said something similar:

’I didn’t expect you to arrive at Ancient Tower first; I wasn’t even prepared to welcome you.’

Thinking of this, he grew even more certain of his theory.

This emblem may not be important in itself; what’s important is the information it conveys, that dragon-shaped emblem on the Holy Sword. On the other hand, if he hadn’t encountered a similar design, he might not have recognized this emblem at all.

This is perhaps the real reason why the other party confidently entrusted the emblem to their subordinates; the average person might not understand its significance, and surely not comprehend what the place name represents.

Fang Hong observed the other person’s indifferent attitude and convinced himself of his hypothesis even further. While putting away the emblem, he roughly concluded that ’Quinlars—’ might truly be what the Chairman of the Black Goat Commerce Association wanted to convey to them.

Perhaps there’s an opportunity to visit there; Fang Hong pondered why they would be pointed towards such a location so mysteriously.

In the ongoing dialogue with the merchant from the commerce association, the people around remained puzzled; only Hilveld might have figured out something from his interaction with the Lion Paladin—Fang Hong noticed Miss Ship’s Officer’s gaze had lingered at that spot on the Big Cat People’s sword.

Moreover, she should have heard of ’Quinlars’ as well.

As for the others, Fang Hong gestured for everyone to remain calm before returning his attention to the conversation.