Pillar of Yita

After the sky pirate’s voice, a somewhat gloomy voice replied:

”Although the log has been lost, the ’Black Crystal’ will only be in one of these three places. If you haven’t found it, it only shows that you haven’t given your all. You have so many laborers on hand, and yourselves; do you think ’Lord Rolin’ brought you here for a free meal?”

”You can’t say it like that, Lord. We are sky pirates, not laborers. The brothers have been here in this godforsaken place for so long and are full of complaints. You can’t really expect me to force them to work personally, can you?”

”That’s your own business.”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but be slightly stunned when he heard the four words ’Lord Rolin.’ But then, he heard the sky pirate hum dismissively.

After a while, the other party replied: ”Alright, I will speed things up a bit, but let me say this upfront, if we dig to the bottom and find nothing, don’t blame me for being rude to those Holy Chosen.”

”The log was lost at Fanric, and that account can’t fall on us, and those Holy Chosen... heh, they’re merely the lapdogs of the Oulin Gods, and I suspect they’re not on the same side as us at all.”

”Enough,” the gloomy voice said. ”The alliance with these Holy Chosen was personally ordained by the Immortal; it’s not your place to talk nonsense.”

Once again, the Immortal.

Fang Hong had heard this name before. Initially, he thought Immortal referred to the claws and henchmen of the Nikopolas Dragon, including its worshippers.

But as the investigation deepened, he gradually realized that the relationship between the Dragon Worshipers and Nikopolas was not always harmonious, evident from the Rain Listener incident. The Immortal seemed to refer to something else.

And here once again, he heard this name, confirming a suspicion in his heart—the Immortal held a high position among the Dragon Worshipers.

However, after this conversation, the other party’s dialogue did not mention any sensitive information.

Instead, it involved questions and answers related to the daily operations of the excavation site. Fang Hong carefully listened for a while and vaguely determined that there were at least a thousand workers here.

He couldn’t help but be secretly shocked. To abduct so many people from Eden and Ankuid to this place was not a small task. What are the Dragon Worship Sect and Dragonfire Guild plotting with such a big plan?

The voices gradually faded away on that side.

Fang Hong paused for a moment, recalling what he had heard, and then said: ”It sounds like what they are excavating is the so-called ’Black Crystal.’

He quietly asked Miss Fairy: ”Miss Tata, do you know what the ’Black Crystal’ refers to?”

Tata gently shook her head: ”Regarding the Dark Giant Dragon, I might know a little, Mr. Knight, but the ’Black Crystal’ could refer to many things. Its meaning is simply a black crystal, and there are countless such crystals in Eteliria.”

Fang Hong thought for a moment, picked up the communication crystal, and asked: ”Gita, in the context of the Dragon Worshipers, what does ’Black Crystal’ generally refer to, can you find out? Are there any precedents?”

”Got it, Captain.”

A soft response was heard from the other end, followed by the sound of flipping through books.

In just a moment, Miss Natural Historian exclaimed with joy: ”Found it, this term appeared in the past, recorded in the ’Colin-Ishurian Cult Examination.’ It says that in Dragon Worship, the ’Black Crystal’ generally has a specific reference—it refers to the ’Dragon’s Initial Scale’ of the Dark Giant Dragon.”

”Dragon’s Initial Scale?”

”The book has notes, Captain. The so-called Dragon’s Initial Scale refers to the first scale shed by a natural dragon, marking its transition from adolescence to adulthood.”

Fang Hong was a little surprised: ”Does this mean the Dragon Worshipers are looking for Nikopolas’s Dragon’s Initial Scale here, but does the Dark Giant Dragon even have a youthhood? Wasn’t Nikopolas a human who became a dragon?”

Before Gita could answer, Tata’s calm voice came through: ”I know this, Mr. Knight. For those who transform into dragons, the Dragon’s Initial Scale is the only remnant of the moment they become a dragon.”

”Transform into dragons?”

”It specifically refers to humans turning into a Dark Giant Dragon.”

”Wait a minute, Miss Tata,” Gita couldn’t help but say: ”Are you saying Nikopolas transformed into a dragon in Idus? But that seems inconsistent with the rumor that Nikopolas transformed in the homeland of the hero Yoshude?”

Fang Hong had also heard this rumor.

He couldn’t help but look at the western sky; beneath the purple star universe was the vast Sand Sea. Within the Sand Sea was a small oasis, known to the world as the Dragon’s Land.

It was once the ancestral home of Mazak’s forebears and the resting place of the Holy Sword, birthplace of the Dragon Slaying Hero Yoshude. Legend has it that Nikopolas was born in that ancient clan and then irrevocably turned into a disaster.

Ultimately, the Dragon’s Land completely vanished, leaving only ashes after a sea of fire.

And Nikopolas spread its wings, the shadow of the giant dragon heading north until it reached this place, turning this prosperous ancient city into ruins.

He looked at the sky in that direction, his mind imagining the day the giant dragon soared, its figure blotting out the sky, and the flames of destruction descending from midair, engulfing the city of sand in a fiery sea amid screams of despair.

Fang Hong suddenly shivered.

”Indeed, there is such a rumor,” Tata replied calmly: ”Though I missed this history during my long slumber, I previously read related material.”

”Surely, the Dragon Worshippers wouldn’t have made such a blunder?” Parker couldn’t help but say: ”This widely spread rumor is known even to us; surely they would be aware. After all, aren’t they followers of the Dark Giant Dragon?”

The Papalarian’s rare display of reason left everyone in a moment of silence.

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