Pillar of Yita

”Tangtang, do you have anything to say?”

Tang Xin hesitated for a moment, then gently nodded.

”This is not just my opinion, brother,” she began, ”but that Dragon Beast Army not only didn’t attack Charter City, it also gathered the dragon beasts near Charter City... It’s as if there is a will commanding them from behind, directing them to the depths of the Traveler’s Swamp.”

Fang Hong knew who the will behind them was; it was, of course, the Dragon’s Witch, the only Dark Giant Dragon in five centuries—though to be precise, Toragotos cannot be truly considered a Dark Giant Dragon.

At most, it can only be considered half-fallen.

Moreover, the matters on Rolin’s side remain shrouded in mystery, and they can’t conclusively determine if they and Toragotos, along with the Dragon Worshippers, are in cahoots.

He continued to ask, ”And then?”

”...” Tang Xin was silent for a moment, surprisingly glanced back at Hilveld, then said, ”Brother, I feel that Nikopolas seems to be restraining the dragon beasts...”

This notion sounded somewhat incredible, yet Fang Hong did not refute it, and only said, ”Go on.”

”During the time you were unconscious, I and Miss Elisa looked through some of the community’s information,” Tang Xin replied, ”and similar cases have been observed recently across various parts of northern Tarun. Large Dragon Beast Armies pass through the countryside but don’t launch attacks, only gathering scattered dragon beasts from an area.”

She paused: ”Of course, there’s also a theory that Nikopolas is preparing for a grand operation and may be planning to attack an important city. Gula, Elpaxin, or Star Rainbow Harbor. Just as she attacked Charter City.”

”What do you think?” Fang Hong asked.

”Elpaxin and the Praetors across regions have accepted the latter theory, making those areas tense now, and the Grand Guild is frequently mobilized,” Tang Xin said. ”But I think it’s not that simple. The direction that the Dragon Beast Army has appeared recently seems to be moving towards the depths of the Traveler’s Swamp.”

”Is there anything in the depths of the Traveler’s Swamp?” Fang Hong asked again.

”No,” Tang Xin shook her head, ”there’s nothing at all.”

Fang Hong fell silent.

He couldn’t help but recall the conversation he had with Nikopolas in the dream not long ago.

The Dragon’s Witch in the Phantom Realm had exhibited a rare attitude, ’This is what I agreed upon with that woman.’ Who was that woman? But suddenly, Fang Hong had a strange clarity—

It wasn’t Nikopolas.

”Brother, what did you say?” Tang Xin was slightly startled.

”I said it wasn’t Nikopolas,” Fang Hong lifted his head from the bed, looking at his cousin and Hilveld.

”If it’s not Nikopolas, then who could it be?”

But behind his cousin, Hilveld’s eyes flashed with a deep light, unexpectedly gazing at Fang Hong, silently mouthed the name.

Lady Misu.

Lady Misu might not have completely lost her sanity; quite the opposite, she was coexisting with Nikopolas.

The moment this thought surfaced, it stirred Fang Hong immensely, theoretically stating that all this was unlikely; anyone who inherited the Power of Immortality from the Dragon’s Golden Eyes would transform into a Dark Giant Dragon.

But there was one exception, Sir Diket, who received the Power of Immortality in Dolifen thirty years ago and was once lost in the Phantom Realm of Dolifen. Yet, this Marlan Lady’s Knight had never truly lost himself.

What does that indicate? It shows the person who once conferred him power also maintained their will.

And that person.

Was Lady Misu—

Fang Hong suddenly realized the real reason for this possibility happening: because the power of the Dragon’s Golden Eyes had always been suppressed in the Phantom Realm of Dolifen.

When it was extracted and fell into their hands, they headed south, reaching Idus, and there they completely destroyed the Dragon’s Golden Eyes—although releasing a part of Dragon King Leifgard’s remnant soul.

But the force restraining Nikopolas vanished, which is why Evril was finally able to find redemption.

Fang Hong couldn’t help but sit up in bed; this was Mazak’s real purpose for having them head south, proving what they did was indeed not in vain.

But now, only one question remained: since Lady Misu still maintained her will—what was going on with Charter City? Why were dragon beasts still being produced, continually spreading and attacking along the Rainbow Sky Canyon?

This idea appeared as an unsolvable puzzle temporarily; Fang Hong pondered for a while but couldn’t conclude, only temporarily assuming it might be due to Lady Misu and Nikopolas fighting for control of the body, leading her to not being able to restrain all progeny and henchmen.

Fang Hong suddenly had an urgent desire to know if Mazak and Linen Lucius had found Lady Misu.

After hearing his description, Tang Xin was a bit surprised. But more than that, she was concerned about Fang Hong’s health condition and couldn’t help saying, ”Brother, these things can’t be explained all at once; besides, even if the Dragon’s Witch is indeed Lady Misu, she has already left.”

”You should rest well, there aren’t any troubles outside now.”

She paused, gritted her teeth, and said, ”If there are temporary problems on the ship, Miss Hilveld and I will handle them.”

Fang Hong watched them leave the room.

Lady Noble, just before closing the door, gave him a teasing glance that made his heart itch.

But once they left, Fang Hong held the Ring of Golden Flame in silence. Some words he hadn’t told his cousin and Hilveld, about the ’curse’ that Nikopolas mentioned in the Phantom Realm, what exactly was it?

He didn’t know.

But besides the Ring of Golden Flame he held, his muddled mind seemed to have indeed gained something more.

These seemed to be words, or perhaps a chaotic assembly of patterns; when he concentrated, the words and patterns became slightly clearer. However, he found it very difficult, finding it extremely hard to maintain this state.

As soon as he lost focus, those words and patterns scrambled into a mess, completely unreadable.

He opened the system, discovering a line of crimson text in the prompt:

Calculative Power Insufficient.

This slightly surprised Fang Hong; he hadn’t expected even himself to have a time of insufficient calculation capabilities; what kind of calculative power did this require?

However, he vaguely felt that those patterns and words seemed to be some design diagrams.

Because they somewhat mirrored the legacy from Hain Famm, presenting a certain sense of resonance. But if this were true, then those design blueprints behind the words and patterns would at least belong to the Zero-Type Crystal level.

Fang Hong couldn’t help but feel speechless; he had barely scratched the fringe of the Zero-Type Crystal design, and now another design of the same level had landed on his lap, this was just asking for his life.

And he didn’t even know what the design was, nor why Nikopolas gave him such a blueprint; he was completely at a loss.

However, after scrutinizing within his mental world for a long time, Fang Hong finally discovered a hint of this design blueprint—

On the overall design, beside that tall, black, lance-wielding Knight Type Construct, written in a script he had never seen before, were two simple bytes.

But for some reason, Fang Hong understood the meaning of those two words:

The Fool.

...