Pillar of Yita

But is this enough?

The Dragon Worship Sect has split, parting ways with Nikopolas. But the person Pudra mentioned, are they the one supporting Nikopolas’ resurrection, or opposing it?

From Pudra’s tone, it seems Rolin had some dealings with that person, so could Rolin’s actions in Fanric be considered as conducted under ’that person’s’ instigation? If so, the other party might be in favor of supporting Nikopolas.

Correspondingly, Master of Magic Potion Pudra would be from the opposing faction.

When he cooperated with Rolin in Fanric, perhaps it was out of necessity — this implies that ’that person’ likely holds a high status within the Dragon Worship Sect. This might relate to an internal ’path’ struggle within the sect.

From Pudra’s attempt to win over Rolin, it is apparent that this Master of Magic Potion is not one to willingly yield to others, or perhaps, he and ’those behind him’ are not.

Fang Hong vaguely sensed that he might have simultaneously gotten involved in two plans of the Dragon Worship Sect — one closely related to the past events of Nikopolas’ ’Dragon’s Witch,’ with the mastermind clearly connected to that dramatic upheaval of the past.

The other plan seems to be connected to the Rain Listener, the Dragonfire Guild, Toragotos, and perhaps that so-called ’Southern Plan.’

Only by thinking this way does everything fall into place naturally.

Previously, he often mixed together each action of the Dragon Worship Sect, pondering over their causes and effects as a whole, which inevitably led to confusion. For instance, all that happened in Dolifen, at Traveler’s Rest, clearly did not align well with what later happened on Fenris Isle, or with the situation in the Southern Region now.

Aside from the ’interlude’ at Fanric, as he moved southward, in most of the Dragon Worship Sect’s actions, there was no trace related to ’Nikopolas.’

Not to mention that when the ’Dragon’s Witch’ reappears in Charter City, shouldn’t the followers of the Dragon Worship naturally head to Elpaxin for a ’pilgrimage’?

But that was not the case.

However, once these matters are separated, the clues become instantly clear — by following this thought process, Fang Hong roughly identified three factions.

The first faction consists of the Invokers: the Dragonfire Guild and the Rain Listener. The former obviously has relations with both factions of the Dragon Worship Sect, and their actions at Traveler’s Rest and in Dolifen were likely conducted under the instigation of ’that person’ Pudra mentioned.

And from this, the subsequent series of events in Charter City unfolds.

The second faction involves Pudra and ’those behind him,’ whom he represents. He evidently stands for this particular force, aiming to win over Rolin. This is evident from the earlier dialogue.

Fang Hong realized that he first got involved in their plan back on Fenris Isle. At that time, he actually felt puzzled — because Fenris Isle clearly has no connection to Nikopolas.

Of course, after the exposure of Toragotos, he felt a moment of realization, as Toragotos was also a Dark Giant Dragon.

But looking back now, the internal divisions of the Dragon Worship Sect were already very clear from that time.

Thereafter, as he continued southwards, in Masongke Creek’s base, and in Dulun, he encountered people from this faction. The disappearance of the Rain Listener’s higher-ups should also be closely tied to this group of Dragon Worshippers. Fang Hong believes that the Dragon Worship Sect’s ’Southern Plan’ is related to this faction based on his experiences in the Blood Thistle Woods and in Dulun.

The last faction, the third, should be the Resurrection Faction of Nikopolas — the ’someone’ in Pudra’s words and their supporters, of which, seemingly, Rolin is also a member for now.

This faction was evidently the creators, or at least closely linked to, the ’Dragon Witch Calamity’ of yesteryears. For the past century, this faction may have been the mainstream within the Dragon Worship Sect, which is why after the Dragon Witch’s failure, they have been eternally plotting to rekindle the glory of the past.

Regarding what Fang Hong encountered in Fanric, it appears to have occurred after the two factions merged — leading up to the events happening in Idus now, which likely have the shadows of this faction behind them.

That is why Rolin appeared here.

As for Toragotos’ death, Fang Hong vaguely feels that it might be due to a transaction and compromise between the two factions of the Dragon Worship Sect, or perhaps there is another hidden truth.

After analyzing these three factions, the current situation becomes much easier to understand —

Among the three factions, the Invokers are ultimately not natives, and being the last to join, they are clearly the faction with the least power. But they uphold the invoker’s usual practice of navigating skilfully between the natives, with both sides relying on the strength of this group.

This is evident from their multiple participations in various activities.

Of the remaining two factions, originally the Resurrection Faction of Nikopolas was leading. Therefore, the Dragonfire Guild initially cooperated with this faction, undertaking actions in Dolifen and at Traveler’s Rest.

But thirty years ago, the plan of the Nikopolas Resurrection Faction clearly failed due to Lady Misu’s intervention. Lady Misu, who transformed into the Dragon Witch, naturally could not have a shred of goodwill towards the Dragon Worshippers.

And the plan thirty years later was also foiled in a near-identical manner to thirty years ago, ironically due to a series of coincidences involving him and Atira.