Pillars of Ita

After listening to Fang Plover's words, Mia and Sylvide on the side both acted calmly, obviously they had expected this. Only Shesta raised her head and looked at the two of them, looking a little surprised. She seemed to have thought of something, and couldn't help but blink her eyes, with a blur of color flashing in her eyes.

Odais nodded slightly and replied: "I'm sorry, this may cause trouble to you, but I didn't mean to lie. What should I be, a god? This is the expectation of those who protect me. , they built a temple for me and prayed to me. If it can bring them hope and faith, I don’t mind taking on this identity.”

Her black hair is like the color of night, setting off her moon-like face, exuding a flawless beauty: "But before you reveal the answer to the mystery, I actually have no real answer in my heart. Who am I? Maybe I have been It was Odyss Lindstern, first mate on the Triumph, but all that is long gone..."

Fang Yu looked at the 'goddess' and said, "So you remember everything...Goddess?"

Odais turned back and looked at the confused maid, her eyes flashing with gentle light: "You have grown up a lot, Siesta."

Siesta raised her head, her eyes suddenly widened, and she looked at the goddess blankly. This was the first time that Fang Yu saw such a violent and uneasy change in expression on the maid's face, as if a crack had appeared under the firm exterior, revealing a weak heart.

Fang Plover looked at the maid and asked the goddess in a low voice, "Shesta should have been to this island before, so have you ever seen her, Ms. Odais?"

Odaisi nodded gently, "But now is not the time to talk about this. When you handed over the core authority of the barrier to me, I recovered all the memories of the past, but that was only temporary - the barrier was broken. We don’t have much time left.”

Fang Yu seemed to be silent for a moment.

He couldn't help but take a breath, recalling everything along the way. In fact, he had already obtained the answer, but at this moment he still couldn't help but said: "But you said you wouldn't lie to us, didn't you? , Ms. Odais?”

He looked up at Odyss.

The 'goddess' was slightly startled when she heard this, and then looked at him in surprise.

Mia and Sylvester looked at each other, but they both looked calm and said nothing.

Fang Yu continued: "But you still concealed the most critical information from us, because you actually already knew what was underneath, what the core of the barrier meant to you, and you also understood Naga better. Why did the Imperial people come——"

"You knew where the ether node was from the beginning. It was never in Rodrigo de Andres's treasure house, but far away and right in front of you. You successfully deceived everyone, O'Day. Ms. Silk.”

"Because you are it, it is you, you guided us here step by step, just to get the ether node close to the center of this enchantment. That's because it - you, this huge enchantment that covers the entire island The artificial dragon soul is also the energy source of this barrier..."

Fang Plover said softly: "...Actually, I should have thought of it a long time ago, Ms. Odais, what function should such a huge barrier rely on? As the node of ether confluence, the ether veins in the entire northern part of the empire converge here. What could be more suitable than this?”

Odais was startled for a moment, but then she couldn't help but smile: "So Rodrigo chose you as his successor?"

She smoothed the dark hair beside her cheek with her hand, "He is very lucky."

Fang Plover raised his head and looked at the goddess with some surprise. The pirate king gave them a key, but never chose them as his successor.

Besides, who would want to be the successor of a pirate? How can this be considered lucky?

But Odaisi did not answer his question, but quietly said: "So you should have guessed the answer to that question——"

"Why can't I, as a barrier dragon soul, get close to this place? Because once I get close, there is a possibility that the seal here will be unlocked, and that crucial ether node will once again appear in the eyes of the world. middle."

"If it falls into the hands of those who shouldn't have it, whether it's the Imperials or Nagas, the tragedies of the past will happen again, and even go further, causing the entire northern border of the Empire to cease to exist. Dozens of cities, Thousands of people turned into powder..."

"It was precisely to prevent such a possibility that I voluntarily chose to become its guardian and the soul of this barrier. Because I have witnessed everything happening, I will never allow the same tragedy to happen again. "

Her eyes fell on Shesta beside her.

"But you're back here, Ms. Odyss."

Fang Yu said quietly: "Because in fact, there is still another possibility - I guess you are here for the 'container'. Because the nodes of the ether and the artificial dragon soul cannot exist alone, They must have a container, and I guess it's the 'sublime' -"

——The last thing that was taken away from the underground of Nozpits in the past.

A brilliant gem.

Green stars.

For the first time, Odaisi's eyes showed real surprise, "How did you... guess it?"

Fang Plover did not answer, but his eyes fell calmly on his mission - 'Go to the Pirate King's treasure house, find the lost ether node, calm the storm, and save the Hokuriku - mission reward: knowledge increased by 2 levels,' Sublime 'The intention. '

What is a noble intention?

Perhaps he should have guessed it from the beginning. How can there be any mission that would give a person a reward for raising one level or even two levels at once? Aitaria's knowledge and experience come from the accumulation of knowledge and experience.

Wisdom does not arise out of thin air, but it can be given. Just like the true meaning of the Holy Chosen, the special thing about the Chosen is that they can obtain the blessings of this world.

So where is the information about the mission? But it is just a 'god' sharing power with them. When they complete the test, their 'will' will naturally come to them, then that god is the 'sublime' itself.

But why 'sublime'?

He might have had doubts at first, but since Narsuyu called out the name of Rodrigo's treasure house, he had actually gotten the answers to all his questions.

Fang Plover's eyes were clear, as if he had already seen the only possible possibility: "Because that is the only real treasure in Rodrigo's treasure house, the priceless legacy left by the genius Jeldham in the past."

Odaisi's expression seemed a little complicated at first, but then she felt relieved and her expression gradually relaxed.

Fang Yu looked at this 'goddess' and continued:

"...At the same time, that is what the Empire and Narsuyu really want to get. Because once they get the Emerald Star, both the nodes in it and the ownership of the enchantment will be in their hands. In their hands, they will use it to open the passage to the gray world, or set off a storm that sweeps everything-"

"It's just that the container is pregnant with infinite possibilities, and as its true owner, Ms. Odais, you can actually choose another destination for it, right? That is annihilation. Once the container and soul are destroyed, Then the ether nodes used to shape it will disappear—"

He lowered his voice, raised his head, and looked at the goddess in front of him.

"Because it is a miracle of nature. As long as it does not fall into the hands of the empire or Naga, a new convergence point will eventually be formed on the ether sea one day, maybe decades, maybe a hundred years later. It is constantly changing. The storms and raging waves may continue to attack the northern border of the empire, but they will no longer sweep everything away.”

Fang Yu asked softly: "You understand, until everything is normal again, and all this can buy them at least decades, or even a century."

"only……"

Is it worth it?

No one knows what anyone has done for them.

What Odais is going to save is obviously the empire she has been fighting against. Maybe most people are innocent, but how can those who sacrifice themselves be guilty?

Odaisi looked at them and said softly: "I have already lost my life once, and now I only exist as an artificial dragon soul." Her voice was like a veil, shrouded in mystery. The color of "At this moment, one end of the scale is the happiness of many people and my own promise——"

"And what is that compared to this?"

She asked: "Ed, right? I'm sorry, I did hide something from the beginning, because I always knew how to end everything, and it was I who led you to this place step by step..."

"But because if we fail, then not only everyone on this island, but also you will not be able to escape. I promised to keep all of you safe, so we may not have a choice, right?"

The goddess stretched out her hand to everyone, "Everyone, we still have the last journey to go. We are already here. The treasure house is only close at hand now. Please help me. I guess the empire and Narsuyu are not Would give it up easily."

She looked at the ship officer who was not far away, "Miss Sylvide, I have met your father. He is a truly heroic figure."

Sylvester was startled and suddenly struggled to sit up from the ground.

But she quickly realized something and clenched her fist slightly, her expression looking very complicated.

Fang Yu and Miya looked at each other, and the silent atmosphere lingered in the dark underground. Finally, he looked at the goddess and nodded lightly to her.

"You agree?" Odaisi looked at him and asked.

Fang Yu shook his head gently: "No, I only agreed to part of it."

"Part of it?"

But Fang Yu closed his mouth and stopped answering. His deep eyes were filled with thoughts.

The maid lady stood aside blankly, still looking a little lost.

……

Tian Lan hugged her knees and looked at the people walking back and forth not far away with some worry.

There was a bonfire there, and the light of the flames only weakly dispelled the surrounding darkness. Sword-wielding knights in imperial attire were patrolling there. Isa and the taller Rudene were arguing with an imperial man about something. .

Minmir stood aside, frowning. Tianlan actually didn't recognize these people, but Minmir recognized her - or rather recognized her identity as Halsey's sister.

The man said to her: "I know you are the little princess of Iris. Don't worry, your leader and I are temporarily allies. You can act with me for the time being. I promise they won't do anything to you -"

He said that everything would wait until he reunited with Fang Plover. Tianlan was doubtful about this, while Adni did not trust any imperial people at all - but they had been separated from Alisa and Sylvide before, and met the underground world again not long after. There was a collapse and it fell all the way down here.

Fortunately for her, her injuries were nothing more than superficial injuries, but Adni broke an arm, and Miss Big Cat hit her head, and she still hasn't woken up yet.

Tianlan herself has little fighting ability, and Miss Forge herself doesn't look like a combatant. The only one she can rely on is Daryl, who is unconscious. The Imperial people don't seem to let them go easily, so she has no choice but to believe it for the time being. This guy. Since that guy knows her brother, I believe he won't do anything to her.

"Where did the leader go? Come and save us," Tianlan couldn't help but think wildly. She was worried about whether Sylvester and Alyssa were safe, and recalled that scene with lingering fear. A big collapse is coming.

Miss Poet still doesn’t know what happened before.

But she raised her head and looked at the closed door not far away - in front of the thick stone door was an empty square, where the imperial bonfires and camps were, and on the closed door were drawn drawings from Mysterious patterns from another era.

She knew those things, they belonged to the myths of the Sinsas snake-men era.

Jita shared this knowledge with them more than once.

Tian Lan vaguely understood in her heart that this might be what they were looking for, but she was secretly worried that these Imperial people had arrived first. If no one came yet, these Imperial people would succeed.

She looked at Miss Catman aside. For Minmir's sake, the Empire people were kind and gave Dariel a simple bandage. However, they did not have a priest and could not check the extent of Miss Catman's injuries.

Dalil just seemed to be in a deep sleep and remained in this state for almost more than an hour.

"Got to find a way."

However, as soon as her sky-blue eyes rolled, she quickly thought of a solution. Our poet lady looked at the Imperial camp not far away, her mind filled with joy.

It wasn't just Minmiel who was there. In fact, Adeni was also invited there. Issa was looking at the girl with a bandage on her arm and said, "I didn't expect that we would meet here again, Miss Adeni."

Miss Caster looked at these people with a straight face and said nothing.

Isa shook his head: "Well, I don't want to pursue the things you committed in the empire. Miss Adney, the Sword Holding Court doesn't care about this. Whether it's your attack on the empire's outpost, or The grievances and grievances of the Rust Foundation are none of my business.”

He looked at Adni again: "But I heard that you have not joined the Seven Seas Brigade, so even if I have some agreement with the leader, I can't protect you. Miss Adni, are you here? There must be some reason for this place, right?”

"Wait, wait," Minmir interrupted at this time, "This lady...well, although she is not a member of the Seven Seas Brigade, she can be regarded as my protector. I promised the twelve-color The little princess of Iris, otherwise they wouldn’t come here with me.”

Issa glanced at the former, and then his eyes fell on the imperial commander not far away.

The middle-aged man noticed his gaze and walked over. He looked at Adeni beside him, sized her up and down, and said, "Okay, Miss Adeni, for the sake of Prometheus' colleagues... I can give you a chance on behalf of His Majesty."

Adni glanced at this guy without even a superfluous expression.

But the middle-aged man didn't mind and continued: "Miss Adney, we might as well open the skylight and speak frankly. I know very well that you are here just for your father's legacy, the real emerald star."

He pointed to the closed giant door and said: "And it's inside, behind this stone door. You should know very well that we are only interested in the contents of that container, not the container itself. After that is the pirate The king’s treasure house, your father died because of a grudge against this person in the past, there is no reason for you to keep secrets for such a person.”

He put down his hand, spread it and said: "Of course, I admit that the empire had some responsibility in this matter in the past, but we are not the masterminds after all, right? The empire doesn't need your understanding, we are just doing what we need. That’s all.”

He was about to say something more when a group of knights came over with people. The leading knight said something to him, and the middle-aged man immediately frowned.

"Still can't open it?" the middle-aged man frowned and asked, "Have we tried all the methods we prepared?"

"It's not that the method won't work, sir," the knight shook his head and said, "There is more than one seal on the door. Our method is right, but there is still a core seal that we cannot open."

"Of course, we can also try violent methods," the knight added, "but it will take time. The warlocks estimate that it will take at least a day and a night."

The middle-aged man frowned and looked into the darkness in the distance.

They couldn't afford to wait for such a long time. The battle with Narsuyu had exhausted all the strength of the Sword-holding Court. If the Nagas came again, they might not be able to hold the door.

Isa's judgment was correct. There were endless Nagas in this sea area, but it was impossible for the Imperials to waste time with them here, especially in this huge storm surge.

He looked at Adni on the side and saw the lady looking at them with a sarcastic face. The middle-aged man's brows darkened and he asked: "Ms. Adni, what's your answer?"

Adni said sarcastically: "Didn't I tell you the answer earlier? The pirate king made a promise that as long as you avenge him, you can naturally open this door."

She looked at Duol behind Isa and Rudene, the fat and oily Governor Andreus, and smiled, "Didn't you bring someone here? This person who once betrayed Anyone who passes Rodrigo, as long as you kill him and smear his blood on the door, maybe the door will be opened?"

Isa and Rudne looked back, and the Andreus silverfish blushed and screamed angrily: "That's nonsense. I have never heard of such a ridiculous way to lift the seal and open the door." Way!"

He looked at Issa and the middle-aged man with some fear, "Sir, you can't listen to the nonsense of this sinner's daughter..."

"A dog's mouth can't spit out ivory," Adni pulled out a magic gun from somewhere with her uninjured hand and pointed it at the other party, "Who do you think is the sinner?"

But before she could shoot, Rudne reached out and snatched the magic gun from her hand. "Take care of your protector," the tall Indian looked at Minmir and threw the magic gun away.

Minmir took the gun, looked at Adni, and couldn't help but shake his head.

He has never seen a woman with such a bad temper.

Still an aborigine.

From Adni pulling out the gun to Ludne grabbing the gun, everything happened in a split second, and the target she was aiming at was obviously frightened, and actually retreated in panic and sat down on the ground. Only after seeing the magic gun in Adni's hand was taken away did the latter react.

Duol pointed at Adni tremblingly: "She...she..."

Issa looked at this scene speechlessly. He probably knew something about the origins of Governor Andreus. He never liked this guy from the beginning, but he never expected that he would be like this when he couldn't hold up the wall.

However, the middle-aged man maintained his restraint and looked at Adni and said: "Ms. Adni, our patience is limited. If you think about it carefully, this cooperation condition is already quite generous. If we continue to waste time here, It’s just to benefit the Naga clan who arrived later.”

He paused, "Do you really want your father's legacy to fall into the hands of those dark creatures?"

Adni was unmoved and instead sneered: "Duke Perrit, do you think no one recognizes you? As the chief executor of the plan, Rodrigo is just a pawn in your hand. Pawn I jumped up and bit you, causing you to lose a lot of face and the trust of His Majesty the Emperor. Today, you actually have to come to the front line in person. It's really ironic. "

Perrit was startled and couldn't help but frown.

Adni looked at this person, as if she wanted to see through him: "That's true. You lost the ether node twenty years ago, and you finally found its whereabouts today. But it fell into your hands. , and what’s the difference between falling into the hands of the Nagas?”

"The tragedy in Alteric City, the disappeared Port of Bian, the Rusty Land, everyone from the Seven Lowlands to Lotrian, thousands of innocent people who lost their lives because of this plan, who should they look for To seek justice? To tell what happened to you?”

Her cold gaze swept over every Imperial person: "The silver helmet of the Empire, the holy sword of the Sword-bearing Court, those things that once symbolized the justice of the Oshur people, have now become nothing more than a breeding ground for selfishness and greed. You should still be "Remember the old title?"

Issa was startled.

He was about to say something, but Adni also looked at them, "You too, the chosen ones, I have witnessed your most glorious side, and I have seen those before you, but not now. You Who was chosen by him, and does he deserve this name?"

The girl sneered: "Bah, you are just the lackeys of His Majesty the Emperor."

"Rubber words!" Perit's face finally darkened, but before he could speak, two knights rushed up and pushed Adni down.

The Duke shook his head and said, "Take her down. When Naga comes, she will naturally understand."

Issa watched silently as the knights took the foundry lady away, opened her mouth, and shook her head with a wry smile.

As the other party said, they are the chosen ones and have no say in everything that happens in this world. The empire's indifference to the northern border in the past twenty years has already alienated everyone here, and this foundry lady is just one of the more radical ones.

In fact, he had already heard of her name, the daughter of the great alchemist and the rebel of the empire. Compared with what she had done before, the arrogance she was uttering now was actually not that shocking.

But does the Empire have a choice?

Disaster is approaching, and the empire has only one way to go. Why don't they choose to save the lives of many people? That's exactly what the league is telling them. Not everyone understands the situation, but as the best of those guys, they have to shoulder the responsibility.

He looked at Rudne aside, but the tall Indian didn't think anything of it.

"Not everyone understands the empire's choice," Duke Petry turned around, looked at Issa and said, "Mr. Issa, as the Holy Chosen Ones, you have more information and should be able to understand His Majesty better. of painstaking efforts.”

Issa shook her head slightly, "But she is actually right. We were children twenty years ago and have never experienced any of this, let alone the right to comment on the pain that others have experienced. As a person who has experienced it, she undoubtedly No one is more qualified than us to judge all this.”

"But that's not your fault, but my responsibility," the Duke sighed, "If I hadn't known people well, nothing would have happened today, but Miss Adney actually didn't understand that I was born In the Rust Land, it was also my hometown.”

Isa raised his head in surprise and looked at him: "Mr. Duke?"

"It's nothing," Petry shook his head. "I have learned to face the past head-on. Now I just want to do something for His Majesty. I have made mistakes before, and I only hope that these mistakes can lead to a better result. For myself The reputation is not important - at least, the empire still exists."

He looked at the three of them: "The Empire will remember the deeds of the Chosen Ones, just as history will judge each of us truthfully."

"But what about this door?" Minmir couldn't help but ask: "If we can't open it, will we become criminals in history? That lady doesn't look like she wants to cooperate with us? Maybe I’ll find someone else, like the little princess with the twelve-colored iris who seems to be easier to talk to?”

Before he finished speaking, a ball of fire suddenly rose up. Such a bright light in this dark underground illuminated everyone's face in an instant.

Issa, Rudne and Minmir all looked in that direction, and then a roar came from the direction of the imperial camp.

A ball of dazzling fire rose up, blasting the tent where Miss Poet was sitting into the sky together with several surrounding tents.

...(End of chapter)