Pillar of Yita

The opposition between the two sides has long existed.

And BBK openly collaborates with the Prime Minister’s faction; similarly, the Elfendo Council is unwilling to let its influence penetrate further into the Southern Region. Therefore, they have taken a laissez-faire attitude towards the conflict between the two sides.

Yet the conflict that occurred in the White City was somewhat beyond Fang Hong’s imagination.

Because although the Elfendo Council enjoys watching the two sides clash, they would never allow the conflict to escalate to the surface. Last time in Dulun, although Old Duke Phoenix was similarly not from the Prime Minister’s side, he eventually took action to quell the unrest.

Thus, the reason the Southern Region has been calm for this past half year can be greatly attributed to the Old Duke, who played the role of the Sea-Calming Divine Needle. After all, the stability of the region is closely tied to the natives who have lived here for generations.

The confrontation between the nobles and the Royal Household also harbors a cooperative yet opposing attitude; Colin Ishurian is not a division between the north and south, but merely a political game.

But the situation in the White City was evidently a bit unexpected.

What puzzles people is that the White City is not much smaller than Fanric, and the local nobles, guards, and stationed troops are not idle there. There’s also a Magic Guided organization known as ’White City Secret Guard’; how could they just watch the Invoker seal the city and declare independence?

This manifesto is clearly an ’independence manifesto’—it’s practically saying that from now on, the White City will secede and govern itself, no longer under the Kingdom of Colin Ishurian. The Invoker doing such an earth-shattering thing is one thing, but could it be the local nobles feel the same way?

His heart was full of questions, and he couldn’t help but ask: ”Miss Tata, what exactly is going on?”

Tata gently shook her head: ”This is all the information we have at the moment, Mr. Knight.”

She continued: ”A few hours ago, the White City blocked the roads leading to Fanric and Edel Fortress; since then, no news has come out, at least for now.”

This action clearly confirmed what Fang Hong was thinking.

He couldn’t sit still any longer, brushed the dust off his body, stood up from the cliff’s edge, and finally looked back at the distant azure sky before walking back to the shipyard. After asking a worker, he found the noble lady standing in front of a blueprint, supervising the workers’ progress.

The blueprint was one of many he had drawn, and it was the final one selected. It was nailed to a wooden board, and Hilveld was watching the lines on it intently, occasionally checking the status of the workers’ progress.

When she heard footsteps behind her, she turned back, and upon seeing Fang Hong, she couldn’t help but smile gently and cast a tender gaze toward her Lord Captain.

But Fang Hong went straight to the point: ”Hilveld, something happened in the White City.”

”Huh?”

Fang Hong then described the previous events to Miss Ship’s Officer.

Hilveld was clearly hearing about this for the first time, and she immediately thought about the same place as Fang Hong. After a moment of contemplation, she spoke: ”Lord Captain, you should immediately consult your teacher’s opinion on such matters. There are two possibilities: one is that the Invoker of the old alliance made this decision themselves, which suggests they plan to sever ties with the Council.”

”The other possibility,” she paused: ”is that the council orchestrated this action entirely; this suggests that their judgment regarding the Southern Region’s situation has changed.”

Even though they were far away in Istania, Fang Hong could hear the rapid deterioration of the Southern Region’s situation from his ship’s officer’s analysis.

After thinking about it, he asked: ”Which scenario is better?”

Hilveld lightly shook her head for the first time: ”I personally think the first scenario might be slightly better, but it’s limited. Unless some people act independently, but considering the White City’s reaction, that possibility is very small.”

She raised her head, her light blue eyes flashing with a trace of concern: ”If public fallout truly becomes a reality, we might really see a war soon.”

”How likely is it?”

”Hard to say yet, but Lord Captain, you might need to make some preparations.”

Fang Hong opened his mouth but found himself unable to speak.

They were still in Tansnier, and in the short term, this war might have nothing to do with them, but if the Third District fell into turmoil, they would inevitably be affected.

Outsiders might view this as mere amusement, but when you put yourself in the situation, the perception is entirely different—the most direct being, he knows well who is hoping for this kind of turmoil?

Dragon Worshippers.

Their schemes in the Southern Region might be related to this.

Fang Hong couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of worry. They had just made a little progress in resisting the Dragon Worshippers, but if Colin Ishurian fell into chaos, all previous efforts would be in vain.

And perhaps, the Dragon Worshippers would use this opportunity to make a comeback, echoing the disasters from the past Dragon Witch incident.

Those people would never act rashly—

He knew this deeply.

Yet at the same time, Fang Hong felt a deep sense of powerlessness, for the first time realizing how weak individual strength is in the face of great tides. The confrontation between Colin Ishurian’s north and south had already lasted over a year, and during this process, there had been significant conflicts not just among the natives but also among the Invokers.

One might even say that the southern Invokers had been longing for such an opportunity to resist what they termed as the ’invasion’ of the Descendants of Flor, waiting for a long time. This is not something he alone can easily change with a few words.