Pillar of Yita

The Lizardman Prince gently shook his head, ”Not exactly, but the Giant Dragons indeed share a deep connection with us.”

”May I ask, what exactly is going on?” Fang Hong asked Sophie, ”As you can see, Tainaric is our friend and also a member of our group.”

Sophie answered calmly, ”Because Lord Meijeli intends to meet not just your friend here, but every Lizardman that comes from Andasok. Not only that, his kindred from Saint Hugon Corner have also arrived at this location. I believe this Lizardman gentleman should feel the reason he has come here, and that is exactly why Lord Meijeli wishes to see them.”

Fang Hong looked again at Tainaric.

The Lizardman Prince frowned, ”So it seems, it appears that the Guardian here had already anticipated that the situation had worsened to this extent, in line with what Lord Er Ata had predicted; the Shining Sea is on the brink of collapse.”

”The Shining Sea?” Sophie was momentarily stunned, her beautiful eyebrows curving in suspicion.

Seeing her expression, Fang Hong couldn’t help but laugh inwardly, thinking that even the genius of the Grand Guild had a reaction not unlike his own.

While Tainaric’s words were shrouded in mystery, Fang Hong had actually understood a bit.

For when they met this Lizardman Prince, he too had spoken of these things—disaster was impending, the Giant Serpent Tail was revealing itself now, and the Shining Sea was gradually vanishing. And all behind this was a prelude to the descent of the Third Star of Calamity.

Fang Hong naturally had heard of the Third Star of Calamity; the event catalog of the Dragon’s Witch still hung in his mission system. It was clearly written there—the descent of the Third Star of Calamity.

This coincided perfectly with what Tainaric had said.

But that still didn’t explain much—

He had understood Tainaric’s intentions.

As the Lizardman Prince had previously stated, he had come to this island following the directive of the Elder of the Stars, Er Ata, seeking a fragment of an ancient prophecy. But as for what he was looking for, Tainaric himself couldn’t explain clearly, only knowing that it was likely located beneath the ’Black Pilgrimage Path’.

As for the directive itself, it was also full of jargon filled with Lizardman linguistic meanings, obscure and difficult to understand, or rather utterly incomprehensible. Some of it, even Tainaric did not understand what they truly signified.

Such as the Shining Sea.

This was a term unique to the Lizardmen, and it seemed that besides the Lizardmen, no one knew what the Shining Sea really was. If it referred to Sky Sea, Sky Sea seemed to have no concern of drying up.

If it was the Ether Magic Network, but the Ether Magic Networks everywhere were also quite abundant, even growing richer year by year, far from vanishing.

And when asked to explain precisely what the Shining Sea was, Tainaric could only provide them with an even older term: ”Gateway.”

This was somewhat baffling.

Helpless as they were, over the long river of time, the Lizard and Serpent People had forgotten much knowledge. As they retreated back to the jungles, that ancient Empire crumbled; records of the past turned to rubble and dust and were mostly lost in the process of oral transmission.

Today, the Lizardmen’s preservation of knowledge resembled more of a tradition filled with mysterious rituals, how much of it was useful information was something even the Lizardmen Ritualists who acted as transmitters themselves might not understand.

Fang Hong could only guess blindly, vaguely feeling that this might be part of a larger series of tasks.

However, his heart did not swell with much excitement; world tasks had already appeared in Eteliria many years ago, and even the smaller-scaled ones could permanently alter the power dynamics of a region—such as the Battle of Bain over a decade ago.

But a world task was not a main storyline; it was made up of numerous related tasks forming a regional task chain, but when it truly emerged, as the world’s geopolitical landscape changed, countless tasks would spring up like bamboo shoots after rain.

People did not need to actively seek them out; events would come knocking at their door, good or bad, not chosen by the individuals. And the idea of a single task line running through it all, even as if an invisible hand was selecting a protagonist as in the adventurers’ fantasies, was purely imaginary and non-existent in reality.

Thirteen years ago, the heroes of the Battle of Bain had not actually been the earliest interveners in that war, nor were they the leaders; most of them, like Sir Roban, had only been drawn into it by the ripples it created later. And the Elf Princess Briana had joined the war later along with the Avenquin Elves.

So rather than saying that circumstances create heroes, it is more accurate to say that they select heroes; those who truly rose to prominence were inherently individuals of heroic caliber and ability after the great waves screened the sand.

Thus, seeking for some important task, hoping to become the center of an event through it, was less likely than making one’s pillow higher to facilitate dreaming.

Fang Hong, seasoned on the community boards, naturally understood the underlying logic of Eteliria’s world tasks, so although he vaguely felt that Tainaric might carry a world task line, apart from inquiring a bit further, he did not pay much attention.