Pillar of Yita

Hilveld gave him several examples.

After the failure of the Dragon Witch incident—

After the failure of the Dolifen Plan—

The opponents all went into hiding, waiting for a better opportunity to strike; and the interval between was at least ten years, or even decades long.

From this, it is clear that this Wanderer is obviously not someone without patience.

Secondly, it concerns the Blood Shark Sky Pirates’ behavior of selling slaves to the slave traders in Istania immediately after experiencing failure in Idus.

This is also quite suspicious—

What is the motivation behind this action?

Could it be that the Blood Shark Sky Pirates were so short of money, needing this transaction to make up for their losses?

Well, even Fang Hong does not dismiss this possibility.

But as Hilveld said, this action by the infamous Sand Bandit seems somewhat inconceivable.

Suppose the Sand Bandit was also a hidden move by the Wanderer, wouldn’t it be better for them to directly pass the Abyssal Sea Scroll to the Blood Shark Sky Pirates after obtaining it?

Of course, one could also say that disguising the Abyssal Sea Scroll as ordinary goods and then legally exporting it through merchants might also make sense.

But the issue is that the slave trade itself is not legal in Istania. Wouldn’t this be doubly attracting attention?

Thus, upon careful consideration, this answer seems full of contradictions.

”But the slaves did indeed come from the plundering of the Blood Shark Sky Pirates, didn’t they?” he asked his Miss Ship’s Officer at the time.

But Hilveld just gave a faint smile and said, ”Not necessarily.”

”How?”

”We all know that the Blood Shark Sky Pirates plundered these slave laborers, that’s true,” she answered methodically, ”But are they the only ones with such laborers?”

”You mean...”

Hilveld smiled cunningly: ”This is exactly why I asked Lord Captain that question earlier.”

Fang Hong’s eyes widened: ”Wait, Hilveld, are you saying the Descendants of Flor are secretly engaged in the slave trade...”

He was almost at a loss for words.

The nature of this is simply ten times worse than colluding with the Dragon Worship Sect.

As modern people, involved in such an evil slave trade, do these people have any bottom line? And what are they after? Trade, profits?

As Earthlings, Eteliria’s real gold and silver don’t actually hold much significance. The Grand Guild pursues more advanced benefits—

Of course, it’s not entirely useless, but compared to the scandal exposure risk that the Descendants of Flor would face if uncovered.

These benefits are hardly worth mentioning.

The other party has no reason to do such a profitless thing.

But Hilveld said something different to him.

”You’re oversimplifying things, Lord Captain. Why can’t the slave trade be eradicated in Istania, and why do the Istania nobles stand united against Princess Rupert and King of Sand Barbaltan?”

She replied insightfully: ”It’s because there is a demand. The nobles themselves may not be slave traders nor rely on the slave trade to maintain economic status. But they have long been accustomed to the lives guarded by groups of servants. Their plantations, estates, and workshops also require a lot of slaves to work, which is related to their economic interests and status—”

”Therefore,” Miss Ship’s Officer summarized, ”With these upper-class needs and secret encouragement, or even protection, the slave trade in Istania naturally cannot be easily eradicated.”

”And imagine, Lord Captain,” she smiled slightly, ”What benefits could the Descendants of Flor gain from this?”

Fang Hong took a deep breath.

The Descendants of Flor indeed don’t need Eteliria’s mortal wealth.

But if they can buy off Istania’s nobles and local powers, they will definitely do such things. In the Southern Region, what happened in transactions with the Prime Minister’s faction has long illustrated this point.

And under the blow of the Royal House of Penelope, while the slave trade in Istania can’t be said to be eradicated, it is at least greatly affected.

Specifically, the source of slaves, which was originally easy to obtain, has turned underground and become rare and expensive.

So in such a situation, the batch of ’slave laborers’ controlled by the Descendants of Flor naturally became sought-after resources.

They could turn around and give these slaves to various local nobles in Istania and then put the blame on the Blood Shark Sky Pirates, which is simply a win-win scenario.

In such circumstances, would the Descendants of Flor choose to do such a thing?

Although Fang Hong found it hard to accept, the answer in his heart was affirmative.

”We have to expose this matter,” he said somewhat angrily, as the actions of the Descendants of Flor in Idus had changed his perspective on them somewhat.

Because no matter how you put it, the other party had rescued those slaves plundered by the Blood Shark Sky Pirates.

But unexpectedly, they were privately engaged in such disgusting activities.

But to his surprise, Hilveld shook her head: ”Lord Captain, I suggest you don’t tell your military about this matter yet.”

Fang Hong was very puzzled: ”Why?”

”Because you have no evidence.”

”Can’t we testify against them after rescuing those slaves?”

Hilveld sighed, shook her head, and said, ”Even if we have the ability to rescue those slaves, I’m afraid they will only testify against the Blood Shark Sky Pirates...”

Fang Hong was left speechless: ”They have eyes, don’t they know who sold them to the slave traders?”

”Lord Captain, they were enslaved by the Blood Shark Sky Pirates. Do you think the people of the Descendants of Flor would reveal their identity in front of these people?”

Miss Ship’s Officer continued softly: ”Presumably, the people of the Descendants of Flor did indeed release some of the slaves. But the rest were kept completely in the dark, and they didn’t even know their ’master’ had changed identity.”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but gape at her.

”And this is all just our speculation at present,” Hilveld added: ”I am merely alerting Lord Captain to the possibility of this existing.”

”This possibility...?”

”That behind those slave traders, behind that infamous Sand Bandit, might be not Dragon Worshippers, but another party.”

Hilveld looked at him and answered word by word: ”I am concerned that Lord Captain, holding preconceived notions, would miss the correct judgment—”

It was then that Fang Hong understood his Miss Ship’s Officer’s meaning.

He pondered for a moment and then earnestly nodded.

And as they were recollecting, the middle-aged craftsman led them to the end under the cellar.

The person turned around and informed them:

”Everyone, we’ve arrived.”

...