Pillar of Yita

Tianlan, although extremely curious about the ’old acquaintance’ mentioned by the Big Catfolk, unfortunately, no matter how she asked, Reed would not tell.

Tianlan could only fall silent in frustration.

Later, everyone discussed matters regarding the Southern Region—the Elfendo Council recently sent a new message, mentioning unrest in Dulun once again. Someone took advantage of the chaos to attack the Duke’s Mansion, but the outcome is unclear, only that the Duke seems to be unharmed.

”I heard Enan discovered the conspiracy ahead of time,” Elisa whispered.

”Those people?” Fang Hong asked.

”Officially claimed to be Cultists, but the community generally believes it’s the Prime Minister’s faction acting,”

Fang Hong asked Tata about it, since Miss Fairy often pays attention to community happenings, and received confirmation from her.

However, Fang Hong had a different perspective, as both parties had motives to act. The Prime Minister’s faction is obvious, and the Dragon Worship Sect would also want chaos in the Southern Region, right?

It seems that after the Fanric incident, the other party has no intention of stopping.

Luo Hao mentioned that during this incident, there seemed to be shadows of other adventurers, relying on the Invoker’s strength to thwart the conspiracy. Fang Hong was not surprised to hear this; with the Duke’s son’s reputation, finding help is not unexpected.

However, the son seems to have changed from being low-key to taking the initiative. But the Seven Seas Travel Group has always been in the South, and it’s unclear what exactly happened in Dulun; it seems the Duke’s son might have encountered some troubles.

”Speaking of which, Enan wrote a letter to you,” Hilveld then said, ”but the letter travels slower than other information, it might still be on the way.”

Fang Hong nodded.

In fact, everyone is just an outsider to the disputes in Dulun, so the discussion soon became superficial and was quickly moved on from.

After the brief discussion ended, Fang Hong privately asked Atira about the Big Catfolk, but Elf Miss just shook her head, indicating she hadn’t asked Reed about it.

Fang Hong pondered and decided not to inquire further, but kept the matter in mind.

Nearby, the Panier Cunning Spiders were nearly slaughtered entirely by Hill Giants, yet being close to the Spider Forest, the Seven Seas Travel Group wasn’t too confident about the valley’s safety, so Mr. Greyrock was asked to leave overnight.

After leaving the basin, the group continued forward—the storm stopped by midday the next day, clearing up afterwards, and the group finally passed through Panier Canyon.

The forest disappeared on the other side of the valley, crimson cliffs and bright yellow sandy soil gradually dominated people’s vision, the last bit of green in the desert slowly changed into dry shrubs.

It seemed that crossing a single mountain made the natural environment vastly different.

”Do you see it? That’s Idus.”

Bakins squatted at the edge of the cliff and said to everyone.

Everyone lay down on the dry, cracked rocks and looked in the direction he pointed.

The sunlight cast a mix of light purple shadows on the shaded side of the valley, under the shadow were the rising and falling city walls of Idus, once robust walls now only a faint gray shadow. The prints of civilization were long erased, only the sandy soil had not completely swallowed the city’s ruins, like a giant dead thing silently resting there.

Below, hot winds rolled up clouds of dust. On the edges of the Sand Sea, it seemed easier to reach the sky than in other areas, the sun appeared exceptionally low and large, its toxic flames licking the lifeless valley.

Yet it’s not completely lifeless.

Atira whispered, ”Someone’s coming.”

”Someone?” Tianlan whispered back, curiously looking around, ”Where? I don’t see them.”

But Elisa soon saw them too, followed by others.

At the end of the valley appeared a small group, moving like ants. As they got closer, everyone noticed the Beasts of Burden in the team—hooved animals that store water like camels, adept at traversing desert sands. Istania merchants breed them as mounts and load-bearing livestock; Fang Hong had seen them in Elpaxin.

”Is it a merchant caravan?”

Fang Hong shook his head.

Desert merchant caravans wouldn’t have so many people riding on beasts of burden; these animals are vital assets for desert journeys, and merchants try to conserve their stamina as much as possible during Sand Sea crossings. Besides, since Idus’s destruction, Istania people have moved north to the central northern region of Colin, and the ancient trade route south of Long Lake has been abandoned for ages.

While pondering, Fang Hong released his Clockwork Fairy, the golden ball buzzed outwards. However, Fang Hong didn’t let it fly directly down the cliff but circled around, careful to avoid reflection from the shell under the sun.

He cautiously let it fly down the shadowed side of a split mountain fold. Though it took a longer route, the Clockwork Fairy soon reached the vicinity of the target.

When Fang Hong saw the team clearly, he was surprised. Because he found the team wasn’t just one group, but distinctly two; one group of people was in rags and being driven forward by the other group. The latter wore relatively uniform clothing, red headscarves, white garments, nearly everyone had weapons, mostly curved blades, and some had spears or firearms.