Pillar of Yita

The staircase was very deep, and the darkness ahead seemed endless.

Fang Hong turned back at this moment and asked again: ”What are the facts?”

”The facts are not that simple, quite the opposite, in fact. It wasn’t that those wandering Alchemists were using them; it was that they were being used by those Alchemists. After the ’attack,’ those wandering Alchemists mysteriously disappeared in no time, as if they had never existed.”

”No matter how we tried to investigate afterward, we couldn’t find a single trace of them. The only thing we know is some slight connections they had with this cult.”

”And because the ’Blind Followers’ cult has always been secretly circulating among slave traders, His Majesty Barbaltan intensified the crackdown on the slave trade afterward, aiming to seek clues from it. At the same time, we’ve been searching for the whereabouts of the wandering Alchemists and related clues across the land, but unfortunately, not much has been gained in ten years.”

Abed paused here and then changed his tone, saying: ”That’s why, after the ’Sand Lodge’ attack, Princess summoned all of you.”

Fang Hong understood, and this was not far off his expectations.

He looked at Hilveld behind him.

Miss Ship’s Officer had been quietly listening on the side; seeing his gaze on her, she understood that he had an inquiry. She thought for a moment, analyzed the previously received information, and said, ”I don’t know much about Istania, but there were some faint rumors ten years ago...”

”However, in regard to this matter, Lord Captain might consider a different approach.”

”A different approach?”

Hilveld glanced at Abed beside her, smiled, and replied: ”Investigating the Nobility yielded nothing, and there’s no way to start understanding the wandering Alchemists. However, there was actually a third party involved in this incident — the victims themselves, Rupert and the birth mother of Princess Afeifa, the Queen of King of Sand Barbaltan.”

”Huh?”

Tianlan, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but exclaim.

Fang Hong didn’t grasp it at once either. Wasn’t the Queen already killed in that attack? Could it be using Necromancy? But he shook his head; it’s been more than ten years since the attack occurred, and no Necromancy Spell could achieve such a thing.

Of all the people there, only Gita realized and said, ”Sister Hilveld’s approach is good.”

Luo Hao behind her hadn’t figured it out either and only asked, ”I haven’t figured out the connection either. Gita, why don’t you explain?”

”The reasoning is straightforward,” Gita’s voice was fine and quiet: ”Brother Ade actually already mentioned earlier, attackers never act without a purpose. The Nobility likely orchestrated this attack out of revenge, but what was the purpose of the wandering Alchemists?”

”Indeed,” Tianlan asked, ”But isn’t it that we couldn’t find those wandering Alchemists?”

”I understand,” Luo Hao, however, shook his head: ”A person’s actions can have various purposes, but generally, it’s for long-term benefits or to achieve short-term goals. For the Nobility, creating panic and fueling a detrimental atmosphere for the succession of the King of Sand Barbaltan evidently serves a long-term interest. And the short-term goal is purely revenge or demonstration.”

At this point, Fang Hong also understood.

For those wandering Alchemists, they vanished without a trace after the attack and even indirectly sold out those Nobles collaborating in this scheme. Evidently, these people had no long-term interest in Istania.

Without long-term interests, it must have been for short-term purposes.

So what was the short-term purpose?

It certainly wasn’t for revenge or demonstration.

Because the wandering Alchemists and the Royal House of Penelope had had no prior interactions, nor any grievances — or was it retaliation for the cracked-down slave trade? But this seemed unlikely, according to Lady Ameya’s Divine Oracle, the doctrine of the ’Blind Followers’ only rose in the past decade.

Before that, their interactions weren’t significant.

So the reason wasn’t either of these points, leaving not many possibilities.

Perhaps the King of Sand Barbaltan himself had some dealings with the wandering Alchemists, which would make them target the Queen. But if that were the case, there would be no reason for King of Sand Barbaltan to pretend to be oblivious and waste years in vain searching without any yield.

Of course, there may be deeper reasons involved here.

But under such speculation, one still needs to follow the principle of Occam’s Razor — entities should not be multiplied without necessity.

Having eliminated that point, the most likely reason left was a possible connection between the Queen herself and the wandering Alchemists, to the extent that they were willing to risk angering the Royal Household of Istania just to carry out the plan to kill her.

Of course, this claim might not be favorable to the Queen herself, so upon thinking of this, Fang Hong couldn’t help but glance at Abed. The Princess had entrusted them to find the real culprit; if they inadvertently implicated the Princess’s birth mother, what would be the implications?

But Abed seemed to understand their concern, he remained silent for a moment then answered:

”As long as the investigation is conducted privately, what the Princess needs is the truth.”

Fang Hong noted this answer, roughly grasping the other party’s intention.

Meanwhile, the Queen had been deceased for years, searching for clues from her directly was obviously impossible. However, as the wife of King of Sand Barbaltan, she surely wasn’t just a destitute commoner’s girl, she must have also come from a Noble family within Istania, belonging to a prominent background.

The Queen may no longer be alive, but since the attack took place only ten years ago, many of her relatives and friends likely remain alive. Details about this Queen’s life before entering the Royal Household should still be accessible through various means. If someone had a secret—

There is a high possibility it left traces in their daily life.

With these thoughts, Fang Hong couldn’t help but look at Hilveld.

He had long understood Miss Ship’s Officer’s keen insight, yet at times like these, he still felt fortunate — having such a lady beside him can save a lot of trouble.

Having answered the first question, the second answer was actually self-evident. Involving the secrets of the Royal Household, even within the Royal House of Penelope, not many people were aware of this, plus the need for confidentiality, this Grand Princess obviously didn’t have many people she could rely on in this matter.

And they, being the only ones related to the wandering Alchemists, as Invokers, while also first-time arrivals in Istania, had no ties to the local Nobility systems, naturally catching the attention of others.

Fang Hong thought of another possibility, that the Grand Princess had likely learned of their conflicts with the Dragon Worshippers from her younger sister, seeing they were also dealing with Cultists, naturally believing in their capability once more.

With such considerations, the group finally reached the bottom of the cellar.

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