Pillars of Ita

"Issa, look at this." The wild wind blew across the deck of the sailboat, passing between the mainmasts, and a tall Indian man in fluttering clothes was walking out from below the deck, holding the recording crystal in his hand. Pass it to the young man in front of you.

Issa looked at Nerudne.

But he did not reach out to pick it up, and even just glanced at the recording crystal silently, "I have read relevant news in the community. The 'super ring' magician has appeared again, and he is still near Campa. What do you think?" Is this news true?"

"Speaking of it, it's not far from us. Prometheus and the people from Gray Field claimed to have discovered an obelisk there, but in the end they found nothing, and it was a mistake." Rud felt guilty for his companion's usual indifference. He didn't mind, just grabbed the cable with his hand, leaned against the side of the ship and continued, "The news came from that place. At that time, two forces with the strength of dragon knights appeared, but the people from Sea Eagle Feather thought that we Ayin Block's assessment of the strength of the super-ringed mage was wrong, and the opponent's actual combat power may be inferior to the real dragon knight."

"Obelisk," Isa said without comment on the news, shaking his head and saying: "If it was really here, it would have fallen into the hands of us, Prometheus or the people from Gray Field, and it would not be the turn of Sea Eagle Feather, Or someone from AOA can find it."

"But the participants all said it with certainty. Even the people in Prometheus believed it. They seemed to think that the people from the Seven Seas Brigade took away the clues to the obelisk, and sent Minmir to search for the other party's whereabouts."

"The Steel Blade of Prometheus."

"Yeah, what do you think?"

Isa simply replied: "If that super-ringed magician really exists, Prometheus' people will die if they chase him."

"Do you still stick to your original judgment?" Rudne asked again.

Isa said, "A fake dragon knight is nothing in front of an opponent of the level of the Ten Kings. Although there is still controversy about everything in the video, I believe in my eyes."

Rudne turned back and looked at the sea of ​​clouds on the horizon, "What should we do?"

"This has nothing to do with us," Issa said without even a trace of superfluous expression in his eyes. "Our job is to focus on the task at hand. Before going deep into the Storm Islands, we will first stay in Andreus and stay in the Storm Islands." Complete the final supplies before arrival."

Rudene said: "I heard that the Imperial Navy will cooperate with our actions."

"With or without them, it's the same, but that's where the Pirate King William left his last story." A deep light flashed in Issa's eyes. "To find his treasure, the fragment of the Emerald Heart, we must use that place as the starting point." starting point."

The hurried messenger was coming to the two of them.

"Mr. Issa, Mr. Rudene, there is a pirate group ahead," the other party looked at the two people and reported: "In view of His Majesty's order, in order to avoid unnecessary complications, should we avoid this route?"

The tall Indian stood up to stop him and grinned: "No need to bother, keep the course."

Rudene took down the curved-edged giant sword from behind, which was almost as tall as the others, and waved it with one hand as if it were nothing: "This is the closest route through the Fengsha Mountains. Your mission is to ensure that it will be completed within two days." Arrive at Andreus Port and leave the rest to me.”

……

Pale pirate, flagship Black Gold, on the deck——

The leader of the air pirates, Sabins, was raising his head in stunned silence, looking at the silver line that suddenly appeared above his ship and cut the sky and the earth apart.

That line is getting closer and closer to them, as if dividing the whole world - half is light, half is darkness, and the boundary between light and darkness is coming towards them, seemingly extremely slowly, but yet Like a noose around the neck of a death row prisoner.

The noose was finally tightening, draining the hopeless light from everyone's gray eyes.

Everything is like an unchangeable fate.

It's as if it's within reach, yet inevitable.

When the line hit the deck of the Black Gold, Sabins felt as if his whole body was falling apart. At that moment, he seemed to look back and see a true portrayal of his life.

"Dragon...Dragon Knight..."

And in mid-air, looking at several pirate ships that were gradually disintegrating and falling apart, Rudenei, who was holding a giant curved sword on his shoulder, shook his head. The shouting pirates seemed to recognize at a glance that the one who attacked them was a dragon knight. .

This reminded him of Issa's words.

Just like the ignorant Sea Eagle Feathers and AOA people, ordinary people who have never seen the world are always unable to realize the power beyond their imagination. It's just that the pirates are scared out of their wits, and some people Clearly underestimated.

The tall Indian sighed. Of course, according to his level, he is far from being a dragon knight, but in comparison, he prefers another title for himself:
Gray Eagle in Celestial Constellation.

……

In Andreus Harbor, on a sailboat that had just entered the harbor, the small boat hanging from the side was covered with a thick tarpaulin, and a hand was reaching out from underneath, groping for the edge of the ship's side.

Luo Hao lifted the cover and jumped out of the boat. He looked around and saw that no one in the port was paying attention to this direction. He breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and took off his shield, and reminded everyone one by one. Others disembarked.

The first person to get off the boat was Parker. The short-built Papalar climbed out of the boat and stood on the ground, still swaying for a while, as if he was drunk.

"Hiding in this dark and narrow place, my whole body is almost rusty." Parker was dizzy and complained angrily.

The magic sword 'Gwendes' is reminding you: "Watch your voice, Ms. Papamo, you are playing a gentle and elegant woman from the hill of giant trees. Put away your voice like a male duck, don't Everyone was exposed.”

It spoke righteously, but only the box could hear it. The boy had long been accustomed to his sword talking to itself. It seemed that apart from this, it did not show any evil, crazy or anti-social nature. .

But this is just in his hands. If it were in the hands of others, this magic sword would be revealed.

"...I sacrificed a thousand lives on the day it was forged, and it took the blood of a thousand people to pour out my sword. The entire northern region knows my reputation for killing people - Hey, boy, do you have it?" Aren't you afraid?"

The young man folded his hands and listened to the dark and cold words of his magic sword in his ears. His only reaction was to glance at it and said, "I have killed tens of billions of people."

"what?!"

"If you have a chance, I'll let you see it." He pulled up the huge brim of the wizard's pointed hat to cover his raised collar, recalling his fame in several games - of course, those were all single-player games. .

The nickname was naturally made up by him.

The others glanced at the box and saw him talking to himself there, knowing that the other party was probably having an in-depth conversation with the magic sword again.

Luo Hao has become accustomed to strange things these days.

He just tugged on the collar of the Papalar and whispered to this guy: "Shut up!"

"Oh, I know - I just wasn't paying attention." Ms. Parker-Papamo knew that they were in enemy-occupied territory, so she didn't argue as usual.

"Stop talking!" Luo Hao said angrily.

Ms. Mei was the last one to jump off the boat. She was still not used to such sneaky and hiding days. She just silently looked at the magic sword in the box's hand, guarding against the opponent's sudden attack.

According to her opinion, this ominous sword should be properly sealed or destroyed directly, but it was the contents of the box after all, and she had not joined the team for too long, just thinking about how she should speak.

"Stay away from that woman," the magic sword 'Gwendes' also didn't like the aura of Alli on Mei, so he said seductively: "Be careful, the believers of the God of Light are all lunatics."

"You are afraid of her."

"Fart," Gwendes fumed, "of course I'm not afraid."

"Then keep it as it is." Box said.

The demon sword was speechless for a moment.

Luo Hao was raising his head to look at this dark, dilapidated port. When others gradually adapted, he turned around and said: "This is Andreus, the northern edge of the empire. See the big gray tree in the center of the city. Is it a tree? That is the symbol of Andreus, the golden tree——"

"Is this Andreus?" Mei blinked slightly and asked softly: "The golden tree is the spiritual symbol of the entire northern territory. I heard that it is beautiful and powerful. How could it become like this? Already?"

Luo Hao shook his head: "I heard that Campa in the North was once prosperous, but since the first storm surge in more than 20 years, the situation has changed - many cities were swallowed up by the storm overnight, including even the Pearl of the North. Tarabe.”

He had obviously consulted a lot of information before coming, and now he was talking eloquently:

"...On the sea outside Han Ruina, the Naga lineage used the storm to make trouble again, causing the entire northern territory to decline. Andreus was once extremely prosperous. It used to be the end of the mid-continent trade, but now it is no longer It’s so dilapidated.”

"The storm surge caused the ether to become disordered again, and the Golden Tree naturally lost its former vitality. But even so, it is now the intersection of the magic power of the entire northern region - the Empire values ​​​​the Golden Tree very much and even specially left it. Well, a fleet will guard it."

He looked at the port fortress in the distance, "The main task of this imperial army staying here is to guard this ether node from the invasion of the Sea Tribe."

"So why do we go to this place to throw ourselves into a trap?" The Papalar couldn't help but said, "There are imperial people everywhere here. As long as they recognize us, we will be dead."

"Don't worry, I just checked. There is no wanted order for us on the bulletin board at the port," Luo Hao said. "The Oshu people don't know where we have gone. Besides, in a place like Campa, the information circulation is very slow." Very slowly.”

"Since the two storms, even the Adventurer's Guild has rarely set foot here. It is difficult for ordinary people to enter the Haruna Sea. For the big guild, the Naga family is difficult to deal with and lacks oil and water. Over time, there will be no one." Are you willing to take risks here again?”

"Therefore, there are no other Holy Chosen Ones, and the probability of us being recognized is low. But the situation has changed a bit now. The leader and others will not come here to join us." Luo Hao looked at the others, "I suggest Let’s rest here for a night, recuperate our strength, and then think of other ways to go to sea—”

"I don't think it's so troublesome," the Papalar man interrupted: "There are so many ships here, let's just grab one and go out to sea. Once we catch up with the Seven Sea Traveler, the Imperials won't be able to do anything to us."

Regarding this proposal from the bad friends, Boxbox rarely gave a correct evaluation: "It's unrealistic."

Before Parker could get angry, Luo Hao stopped him and said: "The box is right, there are only four of us, how can we prepare a boat to go to sea? Even if there is a boat, we can't control it. Do you want to intimidate a boatload of sailors and fight with them first?" You go on the road together, what are you going to do if they disobey orders, kill them?"

The Papalar said angrily, "The Imperials are really hateful. They were the ones who provoked us in the first place."

"Besides, it won't help the matter," Luo Hao said: "This is Etalia, a world with stars. There is no way the sailors risk betraying their loved ones and being wanted by the entire empire for the rest of their lives to board our ship."

Parker thought about it, and then he became discouraged and shrugged: "Then what do you think we should do?"

"We can rent a boat and go out to sea without exposing our identity," Luo Hao explained: "But this requires a long-term plan. The storm is approaching and leaving the port by boat is too conspicuous now. We have to find a reasonable reason. Fortunately, we are adventurers, and as long as we give money, there is nothing that cannot be explained. However, we have just arrived in Andreus and are about to leave. This is undoubtedly a reason for people to doubt us, whether it is true or false. , we must stop to rest and resupply——"

He emphasized: “It’s like really preparing for an adventure, at least that’s how it should appear to outsiders.”

The Papalar did not expect that the fat man had thought so much. He was originally a bit dissatisfied with the other party for appointing him as the captain of this small group instead of himself. Obviously, he joined the adventure group earlier and has more qualifications. Much more. But at this moment, he couldn't help but feel a little convinced. Of course, this kind of conviction would never show on his face.

The Papalar murmured a few words, but finally did not continue on this topic.

Luo Hao looked at Mei Yi and said, "Ms. Mei Yi, do you have any different opinions?"

"No," Mei was startled for a moment, and her face couldn't help but blush: "No, I have no objection."

"What's wrong? Did you see anything?" Luo Hao was keenly aware that the other party's attention was not here.

"It's nothing," Miss Knight shook her head seriously: "It's just an old sentinel."

But May's keen attention was not wrong. In the port, the old sentry's eyes did stay on their group for a moment.

But he didn't stay long, and he turned away from these holy chosen ones from foreign countries. Andreus is a place that hardly interacts with the outside world all year round. This old, dilapidated port It's like the world has forgotten him.

However, in recent days, the number of Holy Chosen Ones entering this port seems to have increased a lot. As a veteran who has guarded this port for nearly 20 years, the old sentinel is keenly aware of the changes, but this is just a subtle change. The changes were not enough for him to do anything.

He looked in the direction of the port from a distance and thought:

"Another team."

His eyes swept across the gathering clouds on the horizon, and he threw the lead pendant in his hand under the trestle, where it connected to the cliffs at the edge of the continent - people who were not familiar with Kukai would be dizzy at the sight, but in fact it was not what they imagined. So dangerous.

The clouds floated above the gathering wind elements, and the flowing air immediately caused the threads to float. The lead pendants were also fixed at a certain height. There were several sailors floating in the air and sea in the distance, trying to carry the fallen goods. trestle.

But there was no relaxation in the eyes of the old sentry. He looked at the height of the lead pendant, and then at the color of the clouds in the distance. He had done this job countless times day after day in the past 20 years, but it was very difficult. It was rare that his face looked so gloomy.

The old sentinel put away the plumb line.

"The activity level of the wind element has increased again," the old man sighed silently in his heart, "Thunderstorm clouds in the distance are also gathering and forming, and the storm may really be coming."

The Santos kid was right. If the men were transferred away at this time, Andreus would be doomed.

He remained silent, not knowing for a moment whether it made sense to do so.

When the old man raised his head, he once again saw a Holy Chosen One in the harbor.

"again."

thought the old sentinel.

But this time it was a girl, wearing an alchemist's coat with a lot of gold stars on the collar. She was considered a big shot in such a remote place.

It's just that the big shot himself didn't have such a consciousness. Cui Xisi was holding the communication crystal hesitantly and looking around blankly.

She doesn't seem to be used to the environment here yet.

……

Fang Yu put down the communication crystal in his hand.

He was half leaning on the bed. The Seven Seas Traveler was sailing very smoothly, and he could only feel a slight shaking. Through the porthole on one side, he could see the clouds outside. The floating clouds were passing along the sailboat, and the wind passed through the gauze. The curtains blew and the pages on the table rustled.

Almost everyone on the Seven Seas Traveler gathered beside the bed - except for Jita who stayed behind in the magic cabin, and the boatswain who was in charge of keeping watch on the deck, and the cat-person girl Dariel didn't come to join in the fun.

After all, she and Fang Yu were not familiar with each other in the first place, not to mention that she had already checked him out and found that the leader was fine. It would be a matter of time before he woke up.

"It's Trish."

He spoke to the others.

Probably because he had been sleeping for a few days, his voice sounded a little scratchy, and it took him a while to get used to it.

But the others didn't mind. Sylvester's eyes stayed on him, as if to confirm that he was fine, and then she followed his instructions and asked: "Are you really planning to let her on the ship? Her identity and None of us are different, can you really trust a crew member like this?"

Fang Yu thought for a while, and he should have needed to rest after he had just woken up, but there was really no room for delay in this matter, and he had to make the decision.

He shook his head and said in a hoarse voice: "You should ask Jita for her opinion on this matter, but in fact I can see that she can't bear it. It's not Cui Xisi's fault for that contract."

"How are you going to solve it?"

Fang Yu signaled everyone to be calm, then he took off the hand covering the communication crystal and asked: "Miss Cui Xisi, have you carefully considered our proposal?"

"No, Captain Ed," Cui Xisi's voice sounded a little stunned in the communication crystal, "It's impossible for the guild to agree."

Fang Plover looked at Alyssa aside.

Miss Nightingale understood. Regarding Cui Xisi's matter, Fang Pliong actually left it to her to handle, and she had already made up her mind.

She said bluntly: "No, they will agree."

"But without a contract," Trish asked, "How can the guild protect the relationship between me and you? If I no longer have anything to do with them, aren't they worried about my betrayal?"

"This is not something you have to worry about," Alyssa said: "Seven Sea Traveler will only accept teammates who can be trusted. If you come on board, I hope you can become one of us, not a liaison officer of a certain guild. .”

As she said this, she couldn't help but think of herself and Luo Hao. But that is different. They all know that there is no conflict of interest between the Seven Seas Brigade and the Stargate Port, and the Seven Seas Brigade cannot truly exist outside the world behind the Stargate.

Alyssa looked at the others and couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the others looked at her with no strange eyes.

But it gave her some comfort.

Before Trixis could speak, Alyssa continued: "And haven't you understood, Trixis, why did the Sacrament Guild want to reach an agreement with us through you without telling everyone? The focus of this deal is not you, but us. "

Trish fell silent.

She is a smart person and naturally understands what Miss Nightingale means. If the guild really wants to use her to build a bridge between the Seven Seas Brigade, this is essentially an investment in the future. Her role in this investment is nothing more than an indispensable medium, and what truly maintains the relationship between the two is actually just a layer of tacit understanding and mutual trust.

In this case, what Alyssa said does make sense. There is no point in using forced restraints to limit this level of tacit understanding or mutual trust. That restraint cannot restrain the Seven Seas Troupe, and the only one that can restrain her is her.

So the Seven Seas Troupe had to consider, if she was still burdened with the contract with the Sacrament Guild and the Alliance Club behind it, would she one day betray other people on the Seven Seas Troupe because of the constraints of the contract?
If the Sacrament Guild wants to gain the sincerity of the Seven Seas Brigade, it must first show its own sincerity.

She was slightly silent. It wasn't that she hadn't thought about this, but she still had some slight mental barriers anyway. No matter what the future holds for the Seven Seas Troupe, it is still an extremely unfamiliar team to her.

Sometimes she even feels that she is just a trading object being pushed around, but that is the meaning of the club. Of course, she understands that all her value behind this star gate is based on the other party's approval.

Once she is no longer needed, she will lose all her original honor and aura, the things she once yearned for. Do you really want to cut off ties with the guild? Trixis understood that the Sacrament Guild would probably agree to this request. After the battle with Ayinbrok, no one would doubt how far this team would grow in the future.

Unless the Seven Seas Brigade dies before then, they will definitely leave their name in the history of super competition.

What's more, the battle a few days ago proved this.

But Cui Xisi suddenly felt a sense of emptiness. It felt like she had nothing to rely on, and everything she relied on in the past had lost its value. She had never thought about this too much before embarking on this journey. The lips are slightly white.

But she only hesitated for a moment before making her decision, "I... understand."

The voice on the other end of the communication crystal fell silent, but everyone on the Seven Seas Traveler has learned that Luo Hao and the others have arrived in Andreus. If the Sacrament Guild agrees that Trixis will truly join the Seven Seas Brigade as a free person, then Fang Plover asked them to bring her over with them.

There was silence in the cabin.

Fang Plover coughed lightly. Cui Xisi's incident was just an episode for everyone. If it hadn't been for this episode, he asked Miss Tata to gather everyone here. In fact, there were more important things to talk about.

He looked at everyone in the room, including Miya, who was sitting alone. After a moment of silence, he said:

"Now tell me what happened to me."

……

In the darkness, Minmir, the steel blade of Prometheus, suddenly opened his eyes.

The wind above the sea of ​​clouds was blowing the sails on the ship, and he looked up at the clouds where the moonlight was shining, and the shadow of Mount Langster, the main peak of the Fengsha Mountains on the horizon, cast below the clouds.

After the clouds parted, you could see the gathering storm on the horizon from that direction. The interlaced lightning and thunderclouds had turned the sea outside the storm into pitch black, like a doomsday scene. And this top selector from Prometheus was looking there with burning eyes.

He then smiled slightly:
"Found you."

Minmir let go of his hand, and the bundled wind elements naturally escaped from his hand and flowed to no one knows where.

The wilderness people of Lotao are often guided and blessed by the wind - but for the dragon knight who controls the power of this field, he can indeed get a lot of useful information from the wind. He can almost smell it. The flow of ether in the outwind.

There are so few sailboats passing by on this route that the traces left by their voyages are so clear.

Minmir turned around and ordered:

"Head to Andreus."

... (end of this chapter)