Pillar of Yita

”It seems to really be the case. You’re amazing, Brother Ade, if it were me, I’d have nearly forgotten by now,” Tianlan couldn’t help but feel a bit astonished. She seemed to have finally forgotten the earlier incident and started to cheer up: ”With this, we’ve got a lead on the investigation that Sister Atira is conducting; we’re really lucky.”

Fang Hong merely smiled in response. Before, he definitely wouldn’t have missed an opportunity to boast, but after Miss Sicape’s departure, that desire seemed to have faded significantly.

He glanced at Atira, while the Elf Miss was looking at him, her emerald eyes shimmering slightly brighter.

”Thank you,” she said to everyone.

”There’s no need to thank us until everything comes to light, Miss Atira. I think everyone would be pleased to accept it then,” Fang Hong said with much more composure, ”Actually, there’s another issue.”

”Brother Ade, what issue?”

”We mustn’t forget that this is something that happened here over thirty years ago. If Nicopolis was revived back then, why are Dragon Worshippers still here today?”

”Perhaps they’re searching for traces of their master here?” Tianlan inquired.

Hilveld heard this response and gently shook her head. ”I’m afraid not. I suspect that the events that happened here thirty years ago are linked with them as well.” She might not have been as clear on the specifics as Tianlan, Gita, and the others, but in these past days, she had gradually uncovered the connection between this team and the Dragon Worshippers through indirect questioning.

Seeing the attention of the group turn to her, the noble girl paused for a moment before continuing, ”Tianlan, do you still remember your dream?”

”That dagger—” Tianlan was startled for a moment before dramatically opening her mouth wide. It took quite awhile before she asked, a bit pale-faced, ”Could, could it be that the people who attacked us that day, were they really Dragon Worshippers?”

”Very likely,” Gita, who had spoken quietly but with conviction, answered, ”They must have been conducting some sort of ritual, possibly related to the resurrection of Nicopolis, an evil one that uses life as a sacrifice.”

Fang Hong nodded as well. ”Exactly, think about it, didn’t it revive thirty years ago?”

”You mean, those guys revived Nicopolis by killing an entire city’s worth of people?” Tianlan recalled her dream and couldn’t help but clench her fists. ”...This city, is it actually a dead city, not just a city that was abandoned or moved?”

Everyone, including the noble girl, fell into silence after hearing Tianlan’s words.

Perhaps a few people survived back then, but the number of people who died here must be in the tens of thousands. And such an event, in the end, became a sealed secret, forever disappearing from human memory.

Nearly half a century passed, leaving only these ruins, wrapped in phantoms.

”Is this the message the ghosts wanted to tell us?”

”...But what exactly do they want to tell us?” Tianlan asked softly.

Fang Hong frowned slightly.

In his heart, he vaguely felt the answer—the ghosts wanted to reveal the secret behind the Dragon Worshippers returning to this place after thirty years.

Nicopolis had returned, but why do these cultists linger on like shadows in this ruined city? And why does the Elpaxin Artisan Association continue to post tasks every year, urging adventurers to investigate this place and discover its secrets?

He knew that behind all this, there had to be an answer, known to some and not to others—some carefully covering something up, others burying history.

Behind all the clues perhaps pointed to a history that, according to Mr. Mazak, the entire kingdom did not wish to look back on—the era of the Dragon’s Witch.

Could it be that thirty years ago, the Dragon Worshippers didn’t truly get what they wanted? This thought unavoidably crossed Fang Hong’s mind because he remembered the words Mr. Mazak said to the Shadow of Nicopolis—that today was not yet the time to end all grievances.

Then, the descendant of the Dragon Slayer chose to release the Shadow of Nicopolis formed by the Dragon’s Broken Horn.

Why would he do that?

Fang Hong boldly conjectured that it was because Nicopolis was still very weak, and it would not easily show itself before gaining enough strength.

For thirty years, it had lain hidden in this swamp, harboring resentment and constantly dreaming of revenge, yet it remained cautious and discreet. Mr. Mazak’s ancestor, Xiuyuede, and even up to three generations of their family, repeatedly visited Aquen and even established the Traveler’s Rest here, but they failed to find any clues among the fog-enshrouded swamps.

As the last Dragon Slayer, Mr. Mazak must have understood that he didn’t have much time left, which was why he made that choice.

The more Fang Hong thought about it, the more he felt this possibility was likely, meaning that if the Dark Dragon had truly revived in this city thirty years ago, it didn’t gain all its strength from that disaster.

Was it because the Dragon Worshippers’ plan had some flaw?

Or was there another reason?

He vaguely felt that he might have grasped the thread of the issue; now, the most important thing was to find the Dragon Worshippers, or to find what they wanted from these ruins before they did.

”Right,” Fang Hong lifted his head and asked, ”where’s Parker?”

”Of course he hasn’t gotten up yet. Unless you throw him off the bed, he’s hard to wake,” Tianlan hummed on the side: ”Mr. Hansen sent someone to the third floor to call him, but I couldn’t care less.”

While they were talking, Fang Hong just saw Mr. Hansen approaching with his men. Hearing Tianlan’s words, he couldn’t help but laugh: ”Miss Tianlan, I merely sent my men to the third floor to retrieve the Martyr’s Mark of the Steadfast. It was heard that your companion was just in room 3007, so it was merely on the way.”

”Good evening, Ade,” he said before nodding at Fang Hong.

Fang Hong also nodded in response, then asked, ”Do we not need to go to the third floor when triggering the mission?”

Mr. Hansen shook his head, touching his balding pate. ”No need, it’s not that troublesome. We can comfortably wait in the hall. That lady will come from that direction soon, and just like the unfortunate Jeffrey, she actually can’t see us either. We just need to follow her,” he said, pointing toward the staircase.

”Is she also a ghost? But Jeffrey ended up seeing us, didn’t he?” Tianlan asked.

”Uh, that was an exception, you know. Mr. Parker is just too lucky, I’ve only seen such a thing happen once in my lifetime.”

”You should say he’s too unlucky,” Tianlan said irritably, her deep blue eyes swirling as another thought came to her. ”But that also means we truly did solve poor Jeffrey’s problem. He saw us just before he dissipated. Mr. Hansen, have you ever thought that perhaps you’ve never solved that lady’s problem?”

She lowered her voice: ”Ghosts linger because their desires from life are unfulfilled.”

This question stumped Mr. Hansen.

He was in the process of taking his shield off his back to strap it onto his arm and paused upon hearing Tianlan’s words. ”Well, there’s some truth to what you say, young lady, and the rest of us have considered that in the past too. Sadly, we’ve tried all sorts of methods, but there are only ever two outcomes in the end.”

”Which two?” Tianlan asked curiously.

”Success or failure.”

”Ah, how boring—”

...