Pillars of Ita

"We've searched the area, Mr. Minmir."

The sailors on the ship were reporting: "The wind element mark left before has escaped. Maybe they discovered it in advance. In short, we lost the trace of each other. But we have a guess that they may have entered the Storm Gate."

Minmir was looking up at two towering cloud walls, which were silently facing each other, with faint lightning and thunder roaring between them.

On the other side of the cloud wall, an unprecedented storm was gathering in the sky and sea, and a dim shadow appeared on the skyline.

"Follow."

he opened his mouth.

Where the sharp pointed pillars stand out from the sea, the strong wind never goes out all year round, and the shackled souls scream endlessly. The sound seems to be able to etch stone fragments into knives.

Wild waves hit the rocks, carving them into twisted and weird shapes. This apocalyptic scene is common in this sea area. For many years, the Oshurs called this sea the Abyss of Leviathan——

Because this is the nest of storms.

The resting place of giants, the womb of Narsuyu, the Naga God, and the placenta that gives birth to life.

On top of the fang stone pillar, there is a winding passage that meanders, leading to the altar above. The evil and glamorous Naga guard is dragging its long snake tail upwards, leaving behind a trail of slippery water.

They are all female without exception. The males of the Naga clan are selected from birth, and those babies who are not healthy and strong enough will be abandoned directly.

For the rest, their only mission in life is to please the mistress and maintain the reproduction of Narsuyu.

Nagas are species born from the same nest. They are naturally bloodthirsty warriors, sharing a common mother and an unknown father.

These Naga female warriors came to the top of the altar and looked feverishly at their sea sacrifice - the altar was filled with blood, and innocent people were pierced into different shapes to meet the needs of the ceremony.

Those were almost all human women, and there were also a few elves among them, because only those sacrifices that exhausted the starlight could be used in ritual sacrifices of this level.

They want to dedicate their delicious lives to their mother goddess, instead of offering cheap blood and fanaticism.

The mistresses with six arms are reaching towards the sky, praising loudly with their mother clan and gods:

"Great Narsuzu, our beloved mother, mistress of the sky and the sea, daughter of the winds and waves, the time has come. The dark undercurrents are gathering. Do you notice it?"

"Great Narsuzu, our holy mother, please summon the violent wind that destroys everything, the huge wave that engulfs the world. Please have sex with the storm and give birth to an heir who can kill this world."

"Then the end has come, and in the end all honors belong to you..."

It was as if there were thousands of voices echoing, like a roaring mountain and a tsunami.

The mistress turned back and listened quietly to the sound that drowned out the thunder and storm.

As if a voice really heard the prayers of the Nagas, a huge eye of the storm was formed over the Abyss of Sea Beasts, and the wind wall was giving way in all directions and spreading into the distance.

In an instant, all the wind and rain in the eye of the storm calmed down, and the storm turned into misty rain.

Far away in Andreus, the workers in the port couldn't help but change their expressions as they looked at the spreading shadows.

The storm is coming.

There have been three devastating storms in the history of the North, and each time was almost accompanied by the disappearance of the names of several cities.

The tsunami wiped away all traces of the port's existence and even completely changed the twists and turns of the coastline, extinguishing the lights of civilization.

The victims slept under the cold elemental sea water, and the survivors fled their homes, losing their relatives and homes forever.

And this storm 20 years later is even bigger than every one in the past.

Panic was spreading along the port and throughout the city.

At this time, the city's top ruler, Governor Duol, the silverfish was judging the person who cut down the golden tree:
"Who, who instigated you to do this?"

"Who instigated you to commit such a shocking crime?"

Duol's face was as dark as water, and his voice was filled with anger.

The golden tree was completely cut down by its roots, and it was impossible to cover it up. The huge and beautiful gray tree was accompanied by the Andreus Fortress. It was at the highest point in the city and could be seen by almost everyone.

This trial was also public, because Duol hoped to take this opportunity to reduce his responsibility. It would be best if the old sentinel could confess the mastermind who instigated him.

He didn't believe that a sentry guarding a lighthouse could do such an earth-shattering thing. There must be some conspiracy behind it.

He stared at the old sentry, hoping that the other party would say a word, but the old sentry looked at him from a distance and remained silent.

Many people gathered at the scene, some of whom had already recognized the identity of the old sentinel, and low voices buzzed together, making discussions.

"Old Sentinel is definitely not that kind of person!"

Little Joyce looked at the adults and said angrily.

But the men shook their heads.

In fact, they were very aware of the Governor's consistent character. If the old sentry hadn't chopped down the golden tree, the other party would probably not have compromised temporarily. In any case, the old sentry bought them some precious time.

But this may not change anything during this time.

Now that the storm is approaching and the fleet is about to launch, people wish that the silverfish on the stage would die of anger on the spot, but looking at the gray oak tree that fell to the ground - people feel a little panic in their hearts. It was once Andreus's tree. symbol.

They don't understand why the other party does this.

Is this some kind of ominous sign?
He also said that just as the silverfish said, this was a conspiracy by the cultists?
"I cut down the tree, dear Governor Duol," the old sentry finally said, silently looking up at the man on the high platform, "What sentence do you plan to pass on me?"

He didn't seem to be afraid of the man on the high platform.

The discussion became louder.

Duol was stunned for a moment. He heard a hint of creepiness in those words. He couldn't help but look into the old sentinel's eyes and frowned. He always felt that he had heard similar words somewhere and seen similar people.

His mouth felt a little dry for a moment, and he didn't know why he was like this. "It was 20 years ago?" he thought to himself, but a ridiculous thought flashed through his mind, and that thought made his murderous intention firmer.

He looked at the man opposite and suddenly made up his mind that such a vicious criminal should be hanged immediately to make him feel at ease.

However, Duol was about to issue a verdict, but there was a sudden commotion among the crowd. Many people were raising their heads to look at the sky. The silverfish couldn't help but look up, and saw a shadow slowly floating over Andreus's head. above.

That's an aeroplane.

There were many floating ships, with silver sails spread out, and the gleaming emblems of the empire hung on all the sails.

"Imperial Navy?"

People exclaimed.

But Duol recognized the fleet's identity before anyone else: "The fleet of the Court of Swords? Why is it here?"

The silverfish immediately broke out in a cold sweat, and its fat body trembled. The Imperial Navy had many subordinate fleets, but this gray fleet only belonged to the supreme magic emperor.

They are the sword-bearing knights of His Majesty the Emperor, hence the name of the Sword-bearing Court. This fleet usually does not conduct foreign wars, so it is normal that they are not in the southern border of the empire at the moment.

This fleet of the Court of Swords is only responsible for carrying out secret missions for His Majesty.

As for what the secret mission is, that's a matter of opinion. Silverfish immediately thought that something had happened to him, but it had only been two days since the golden tree was cut down. How could the sword-wielding knight come so quickly?
He was so scared that his whole body was shaking like chaff, but a small silver boat had already separated from the fleet and flown down, and then two people flew down from it.

When Isa fell, he looked at Andreus's situation with some surprise. Although he didn't know what happened, he could guess something about it after taking a look at the golden tree that fell on the ground - this guy.

He looked at the fat Duol and shook his head.

But Isa didn't care about the unexpected situation in this small place. Under the golden tree was the node where the etheric veins of the north converged. However, in fact, this gray oak tree had nothing but symbolic meaning.

He descended from mid-air, landed on the trial court with Rudene, and then spoke amid the crowd:

"Duol Philippe, gather your troops immediately and prepare the fleet to weigh anchor and set off for the Storm Islands."

"To the Storm Islands?"

Duol was stunned, as if he had been fished out of water. He couldn't help wiping the cold sweat on his face and said: "Sir, is this?"

Issa replied coldly: "This is your Majesty's order."

Duol finally figured out that the other party was not here for him, and he couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief. However, he immediately reacted and couldn't help but look embarrassed at the order: "But the storm is coming, so go to Storm Island at this time -"

Isa interrupted him: "Have you forgotten everything that happened 20 years ago? What did you rely on to be in this position? I hope you still remember it clearly."

Duol's expression changed drastically when he heard this, and he stood up from his seat with a big belly, "That plan... His Majesty has decided again... That... star has been found again?"

"This has nothing to do with you. Don't ask more questions than you should," Issa said, "Pack your things, take your people and set off with us."

There were faint shouts from the direction of the port.

The commotion of the crowd did not subside, but became more intense.

Some people were already heading towards the port. When Issa looked in that direction, there was already chaos in the city.

"The storm is coming——"

Someone seemed to be shouting.

Rudene also saw the deep shadow on the horizon, which was rapidly expanding.

Duol was also wiping his sweat. He didn't want to go behind the Storm Gate at this time: "But the recruitment work in the port has not been completed yet. Sirs, should we wait for another two days?"

"No need," Issa shook his head, "Just let your fleet set off. You just need to follow our instructions."

He turned around, his eyes fell on the old sentinel, and he couldn't help but be slightly startled.

"It's you," the young man paused, "I remember you, you are that man's... okay, come with us."

The old sentry was stunned for a moment and looked at the young man silently, with a trace of doubt in his heart.

But Issa had already ordered Duol: "Let your men take him."

Duol looked at the old sentinel and couldn't help but ask: "My lord, who is he?"

"I'll say it again, don't ask if you shouldn't ask."

The silverfish opened his mouth, but finally did not dare to ask any more.

On the altar of the fang stone pillar, the mistress was looking at the spreading clouds on the other side. The gloomy storm circle was heading towards the entire outer sea area. The strong wind was destined to sweep away all the enemies of the saints. A hint of fanaticism finally appeared in her golden eyes. of light.

She turned around, raised her six slender arms high, bathed in the fine rain, and looked at the countless pairs of eyes under the abyss, which were shining with scarlet light in the darkness, revealing their snow-white fangs, equally fanatic. Let out a sharp cry. Those are her sisters, the daughters of the abyss. The mistress waved the long blade forward:
"Sisters, daughters of our beloved mother, the time we have been waiting for has come. The message in the turbulent undercurrent has told us everything. The storm and the wild waves have given the order to kill. Go-"

"Our great mother goddess Narsuyu promised this feast, go and bring destruction to our enemies!"

A sharp cry of mountains and tsunami echoed in the abyss.

It seemed like thousands of voices echoed.

Watching the countless long snake-like tails emerge from the whirlpool-like deep sea, Narsuyu's daughters are gathering into torrents, heading in all directions along the direction of the storm.

The end of the storm that bore the brunt of the strong winds and huge waves was the chain of islands on the outer sea of ​​Hanrui.

Because the storm has arrived.

……

"Although Naga came to this world together with Cang Cui, they have actually betrayed the other dark saints long ago."

"They believe in their own god, Narsuyu, the Naga God. For thousands of years, the Naga clan and their gods have been entrenched in Harina, treating this sea area as their homeland."

"So compared to the dark dragon and shadow people, the Nagas are more like the indigenous residents of Aitaria."

"Pure-blooded Nagas are all the daughters of Narsuyu, the God of Nagas. Although there are males in this clan, they never appear outside the abyss -"

"Almost all the warriors of the Naga clan we have seen are women. It has been difficult for them to maintain true pure blood for thousands of years. Their combination with sirens and lizardmen can also give birth to ethnic groups of different clans."

"But no matter which one they are, these monsters still maintain their bloodthirsty nature. They have allied themselves with the giants and have been invading the Campa and Seti regions in the north of the empire for a long time."

Jita whispered, describing the origins and habits of the Naga clan:
"Naga and giants are one of the most serious worries of the Oshu people. However, for some reason, the Imperial Navy has given up on confronting them in the north in recent years. Over the years, storms have swallowed up many cities in the north of the empire."

Miss Naturalist stretched out her hand to open the cabinet door, and then was startled.

She looked at the dust and debris in the drawer and sighed.

Even the documents that once recorded all the information about this port have become so hard and brittle that it is impossible to remove them.

If you are not careful, it will break into countless pieces.

Others were damp and hardened, and they couldn't be separated no matter what. Although the Nagas didn't take away the documents here, as Fang Lu said, there weren't many that could be used.

"The good news is, at least from the side, our judgment is correct," Luo Hao joked, "This place has been abandoned for a long time."

Tianlan blew on the rows of documents, raising a large cloud of dust.

It made her cough.

Fang Yu shook his head and pulled the little girl aside.

Although they found the location of the city hall, it had been abandoned for so long that there was almost nothing useful left here.

The cabinets were riddled with insects, and some of them had even collapsed and turned into dust.

However, it should not be much different from what they expected. A sudden disaster destroyed the fortress.

Even when entering the ruins of the city hall, traces of battle can be seen everywhere. Nagas and human corpses are entangled with each other, fighting each other, maintaining the posture of the last moments of their lives.

Broken weapons were stuck in the wall, and armor piled up on the ground, most of which had been destroyed.

And in the long time that followed, no one came to collect these corpses, as if everyone died in this tragic war.

The two warring parties did not decide a winner.

Fang Plover bent down and passed through a corpse that died together with Naga. The human skeleton still held a long sword in its hand, and the blade pierced Naga's chest.

But it itself was pierced by Naga's long blade and entangled by the opponent's snake tail. The two pale skeletons remained motionless in the shape they had before the passage of life.

A magic furnace caught Fang Plover's attention.

The magic furnace carried by the Oshu man was made of rusty copper and iron and hung from his pelvis through a belt due to the loss of flesh and blood.

"This model is a central nervous system RAM type," Fang Plover said. "R is a ranger-type magic furnace, which means that its owner is a ranger, and his level is not low."

"This is a military-type magic furnace. This batch of magic furnaces was first put into production in the Imperial Workshop in the Year of the Dark Star. In other words, this war would not have occurred earlier than 30 years ago."

He analyzed: "If you take into account the time when military-type magic furnaces became popular, the time of this city's demise can probably be pushed back to the time point of 25-[-] years ago."

"Isn't that closer than we thought?"

The poet lady couldn't help but ask: "More than 20 years ago, a war broke out in the empire and a city fell. How come there is no news at all outside?"

This is where the question lies.

Fang Yu felt that the identity of the owner of the magic furnace was a bit unusual. Their location should already be in the city lord's office - according to the popular culture of the empire, he was the highest administrator here.

A figure such as a governor or mayor.

He walked around behind the skeleton and finally found a letter on the ground. He picked it up and looked at it, only to find that it was a warrant.

He carefully took out the brittle letter paper from it and unfolded it. Although it was inevitably broken in some places, at least the text on it was still barely readable:
‘…order…Odessa…to execute the order…’

'...before extracting...ether..., first execute the...transfer...command...'

‘...The fourth detachment...is placed under...the command...'

The letter uses the common text of Oshu, but the Dragon Knight system can automatically translate it.

When the first line of text jumped into Fang Plover's field of vision, he couldn't help but make his pupils shake slightly. The name Odessa was too familiar to him.

He subconsciously raised his head and looked at Adni beside him.

"What's wrong?" Adni asked.

Fang Yu didn't say much, and handed the letter to others to read. After everyone read it, they unanimously turned their attention to the maid lady aside.

Siesta was also gently putting down the page of letter, looking a little dazed in her eyes. She looked around again, with a specious color flashing in her eyes.

But after thinking for a moment, he didn't speak for a while.

"Miss Siesta?" Fang Pliance couldn't help but ask, "Did you find anything?"

The maid shook her head slightly, but still rarely answered: "I feel like this place is a bit familiar."

"familiar?"

Even Sylvide was surprised, "Shesta, have you ever been to this city?"

But Siesta shook her head firmly again, "No, never, I've never been here."

The others couldn't help but look at each other, looking at each other.

However, Fang Yu took Alyssa and pulled Adni aside and said to the latter: "Ms. Adni, the prototype Odessa was named by your father. Do you know the origin of this name?"

The foundry girl shook her head: "I don't know the origin of this name. No one I know has this name."

"Is it just a coincidence?"

Alyssa said at this time: "I did find something, the name of this city. This city is called Otric City in the imperial language."

Altric City.

But neither Fang Plov nor Adni was impressed by this name.

Fang Yu thought for a moment and sent the name to Miss Naturalist and Miss Tata to see if they could retrieve relevant information from the vast sea of ​​information.

"Other than that, there's no further information here."

Several people compiled all the information they got, but what they got was not much. In addition to the name of the port, there were also some statistical data for the year.

Most of the city's population and material transfers are seriously lacking, but it can still be seen that this port was once quite prosperous.

And there may be an imperial fleet stationed there, but the number and name of the imperial army stationed here cannot be found.

There are even some things that make people feel unusual.

It is said that there is so much information, but there is not a single mention of the final battle. The attack on a port fortress cannot be completed overnight, and it is impossible not to leave any information.

Or is it just a coincidence that all the information about the war has just been lost?

"In addition to paper information," Luo Hao suddenly said, "there should also be information stored in crystals. Information stored in crystals can often be stored for a longer period of time, but I can't find any of it here."

"So someone actually transferred part of the information?"

Luo Hao nodded, "Judging from the current situation, this is very likely, and I guess that all information related to this war has been transferred."

"Why?" Fang Yu asked, "In other words, who transferred these data?"

"It is unlikely that there are indigenous people on the island," Luo Hao said: "According to Ms. Adni, the indigenous people on the Storm Islands don't even have their own writing. These pieces of paper are meaningless to them, let alone Maybe filter out the part about the war."

"But I think Naga is unlikely," he continued his analysis. "If they want to cover up something, they only need to burn this place to the ground. In my opinion, this transfer is not like trying to hide something, but more like a Protect."

"But who can do such a thing?" Tian Lan asked, "There are still Imperial people on this island?"

"That's unknown."

Luo Hao was about to continue, but was suddenly interrupted by a sharp whistle.

Everyone was startled and couldn't help but look in that direction through the windows, only to see several figures carrying magic furnaces on their backs on the street not far away.

"The Chosen One?" Everyone was surprised.

They never expected that there would be other selectors besides the Seven Seas Brigade on this island.

However, before he had time to identify the identities of the chosen ones, Fang Pliance saw more figures appearing not far away.

But this time, those who came were not the chosen ones, but a group of beautiful creatures with four arms and long snake tails, spitting out snake messages——

Naga.

... (end of this chapter)