Pillars of Ita

Chapter 1185 The Balance of Nature

After making a plan, the next step is preparation. The castle of the Aina Laughing Family is located on a hill - almost all castles of mountain lords are located on hills - otherwise why would they be called mountain lords?

Most of the Paparal people live in low houses, which are a type of architecture with a Rodelle style. In fact, they are not low, but they are built under trees, in hollow tree trunks or next to low hills, hence the name.

They have low eaves, semi-arched windows, and flower beds outside the windows and under the eaves. The life-loving Paparal people always plant flowers in front of and behind their houses and carefully take care of their small gardens, where it is spring all year round, with night orchids, lilies, hyacinths and star flowers in full bloom.

As for the more prestigious families in the local area, after more than a dozen generations of unremitting efforts, they have accumulated wealth and occupied a large piece of land - according to the Papara people - they are the lords from the other side of the mountain to this side.

Ina Laughing's family is such a family. Oak Shade Hill is her family's land, named after a huge gray oak tree on the hill, whose shade covers almost half of the hill.

The arching branches of the giant tree formed that unique suspended hill. This entire branch was her family's property. Ina Xiaoyu's great-great-great-great-grandfather built a castle halfway up the hill. He was called "Davin" with a pointed hat and was one of the most legendary Paparars in Rodale.

And from that castle you can overlook almost half of Silver Creek.

It is not easy to reach the castle. Aina Laughing's friends would go there on giant eagles or hippogriffs. Most of them are also the owners of a castle in Shafindor and Oakshed, or the keepers of a sacred forest.

There is a platform on the upper floor of the castle. Two giant eagles have been raised since the generation of Ina Laughing's grandfather. The nobles of Giant Tree Hill have a tradition of raising giant eagles or hippogriffs, and the same is true for the mountain lords.

Ordinary people can only reach the castle through the huge vines that coil around the arching branches. The Linoril people call that kind of vine "cloud-climbing vines" or "giant's arms" - the huge vines wrap around the arching branches in circles, and one of them goes straight to the castle of the Aina Laughing Family.

But there are guards guarding this road. Although most of these Paparal guards are polite and will not stop anyone from visiting the castle of the Ina Laughter family, even if you are a stranger, the hospitable Paparal host will not mind inviting you to lunch or at least have a cup of afternoon tea.

The people of Paparar are not so particular about hierarchy; they enjoy fun and gatherings, and are keen on making new friends, from ordinary people to mountain lords.

But all this is based on the premise that you are their guest. If you are an invader, that’s another story.

The guards tamed chameleons as mounts and used silver-feathered falcons to communicate with each other, so it was not easy to get around them.

Because they could not rule out the suspicion of Aina Laughter or Water Stonehill for the time being, Fang He did not intend to visit the Mountain Lord openly, so they could only choose other ways to enter the Mountain Lord's palace.

Or to put it another way, sneak into -

Under the pressure of everyone, Parker was finally forced to say that he actually knew a secret passage into the castle.

But in fact, it was not a secret passage, but the lair of a displacement beast.

The displacement beast was raised by Old Hawke, the great-grandfather of Ina Laughing. This magical beast lived for one hundred and twenty years and was loyal to Ina Laughing's family.

Aina Laughing left it in the nest to guard the secret passage for them. The secret passage led to the foot of the mountain, in a mountain wall near the Mossy River.

The group was on their way to the Adventurer's Guild through the open-air market. Tianlan couldn't help but be a little surprised when she heard Parker's words. She blinked and asked, "So you really went there? I thought you were just bragging in the past - the kitchen attack and defense alliance, and the fire that burned the mountain lord's hat."

There is not a single decent magic shop in the entire Silverbrook, and the Craftsmen's Guild has no branch here. Only the Tower of Star and Moon has a base in the Adventurer's Guild, where warlocks also sell some magical tools.

In order to prepare for the infiltration, they planned to go there to purchase some things. Fang He wanted to see if he could buy a few walkers, which were the most basic structures, just like the clockwork elf.

Just like daily necessities.

"It was just an accident," Parker argued angrily, "The fat cat stole the goods himself. I just accidentally triggered the trap in the kitchen--"

"So why is there a trap in the kitchen?" Traci didn't quite understand.

Miss Nightingale was looking at the stalls in the nearby open-air market, the merchants' goods, and the changes in food prices. The disaster had been spreading in Giant Tree Hill for four months, and the first thing it brought was refugees. There were also refugees in Silver Creek, but they were not common.

Most of the Papara people are related to each other. They moved here from the north to seek refuge, and the locals accepted these blood relatives.

They came here more to hold a party than to seek refuge.

However, in the north of Loan Hill and Shafendor, a real wave of refugees is gathering, and the impact of the disaster in the central and western parts of the continent is much more serious than here. Silver Creek can still remain calm for the time being, but the price of food is rising steadily.

Fang He listened to the nonsensical conversation between Tianlan and Parker while looking at the elf princess beside him. Lian Kuiya Alsana was wearing a traditional elf robe from Rodelle today, and a hooded travel cloak with exquisite elf patterns on it.

She tied her hair up high, revealing her pointed ears and slender neck. She wore a veil with a silver chain, leaving only a pair of beautiful eyes exposed.

"I know a nun in Silver Creek. She is a close confidant of Bishop Selina Elris of the Silverwind Harbor Saints. She can lead you into the airship tower."

The visiting Walter Stonehill brought his own guards with him, but out of respect for the master of Oak Hill, he left those guards in the airship tower.

Although he was not sure whether the Holy White Tree Heart was in the hands of Walter Stonehill, since he could not rule out his suspicion, Fang He had to assume that the Holy White Tree Heart might still be in the airship tower.

Although this possibility is not great, he can roughly sense the location of the Holy White Tree Heart. It is very likely to be in the north of Silver Creek at this moment.

But no matter what, if anything unexpected happened they would have to take over the airship tower.

Besides, it doesn't take so many people to sneak into the castle. Too many people will make it easier to be exposed, so he plans to divide the troops into two teams and split them into two routes.

One team would infiltrate the castle while the other would take control of the airship tower and, if necessary, overpower Walter Stonehill's guards.

Therefore, he put the main fighting force of the group, Box, May and Daryl in this group, and Arjean and others also acted with them, with Miss Nightingale in charge.

The other group is him, Jita, Parker and the ship officer. Although the Hill of Giant Trees is the root system and branches of the Terraka giant tree, Sylvie's sensing ability can still be effective here.

Tianlan and Cui Xisi are responsible for supporting from the outside, and are also responsible for protecting other members of the investigation team, mainly Merrill, Marian and Her Royal Highness the Elf Princess.

In fact, the investigation team has basically disbanded, because it seems that entering Danteville is a long way off, so there is no point for others to stay. In the end, only Marian, Kailan and the elf scholar Arian stayed.

As for those ordinary members, no one would pay attention to them. Even if they returned to Silver Wind Harbor and reported the matter to the Disaster Investigation Department, without evidence, the matter would be left unresolved at best.

Fang He was not worried that they would expose their whereabouts. Whether they returned to Yinfeng Harbor by boat or on foot, it would take at least a week or even half a month.

Fang He also dismissed the Chosen Ones of the guard. These people would not be able to help much afterwards. They had completed the agreement and only needed to return to Silver Wind Harbor to settle their rewards.

In the end, they are the only ones left.

This plan was drawn up by Tracis, with Sylvie taking Miss May to draw maps of various places, and then Elisa completing the preliminary reconnaissance. They had basically completed the plan the night before.

Today is just some shopping and preparation work for the plan.

The ship's officer was standing beside him, thinking about something silently.

She was wearing an elegant and capable outfit today, a soft silk shirt with a row of silver buttons and a slightly open collar, revealing the area above the collarbone.

Around her snow-white neck hung a sea-blue agate pendant - the pendant was originally from a bracelet that Fang He gave her when she was in Goland, but was unfortunately damaged in the battle with the Naga tribe.

She managed to collect most of it and asked Shesta to turn it into a necklace for her, strung it on a silver chain and made a pendant out of aquamarine agate.

She wore a pair of slim-fitting trousers, like the ones sailors often wear, paired with a pair of exquisitely designed leather boots. She also tied her long golden hair up and hid it under a headscarf, making her look more like a sailor.

But this still did not diminish the beauty of the noble daughter, but made her even more radiant and charming.

She looked at the Elf Princess and suddenly asked, "Ms. Alsana, what does the Saint's Council think of this disaster?"

The elf girl was slightly startled. Fang He also looked at her. He actually always wanted to know the answer. After the disaster, the Elf Court unilaterally asked the Saint to face it all.

The Linoril-Sanshak Council also claimed that the Holy Maidens were responsible, and the Council of Elders of the Holy White Grove could not even protect a Holy Maiden.

There's clearly something wrong here.

  You know, Miss Atila is the most outstanding among the many generations of Unicorn Saints in the Holy White Forest. Since she became a Saint, the Council of Elders has placed high hopes on her. But what happened in the Holy White Forest that made the Council of Elders allow the Saint to enter the Gray Forest?

Although he had been caught up in the vortex related to the Gray Branch Disaster since arriving at Silverwind Harbor, he had never forgotten the real purpose of coming to the Hill of Giant Trees.

The most direct way to save Miss Attila is naturally to quell this disaster——

  But the White Tree Temple and the Shadow Tree Temple must know better than himself what caused everything. If it was really the spread of death that caused the holy trees to wither, then what was the point of letting the Saint enter the Gray Forest?

This is a catastrophe that is closely related to the elves. Even if the Elf Court and the Council of Elders are fighting for power, they cannot sit idly by and watch the end of the sacred tree.

They must have some understanding of the Gray Branch Disaster in order to gain benefits from it, and this may be the real reason why the Elder Council of the Holy White Forest backed down.

During the turmoil in Yinfeng Port, Fang He also deeply realized this point. Although he was sometimes slow to react, he had a natural keenness in analyzing such issues.

The key to the dispute between the Linoril-Sanshak Council over the Gray Branch and the Holy White Tree Heart may be related to this, because no one will be the king of a kingdom without people.

They are outsiders, and Marianne and the others are unlikely to be involved in such high-level disputes. However, Princess Lian Kuiya Alsana is a party involved, and she should have noticed something from her position.

Therefore, at this moment, Her Royal Highness the Princess is the most suitable person to answer this question.

The elf girl just shook her head slightly. "As for this disaster, it's not that we don't have a way to solve it. As you can see, Mr. Ed, the Holy Tree and the Ash Branch are two sides of the same coin."

"That's why it's the job of the Holy Maidens to eliminate the gray branches. We are born with this ability. As forest guards, we suppress the dead branches and insect pests on the sacred trees—"

"But what we really lack is time. We may need thirty or even fifty years to suppress this disaster and slowly prune the ash branches of the sacred tree until nature returns to balance and the realm of withering returns to the hands of those who should control it."

"But the Radiant Court, my father, the Linoril Council, and the mountain lords can't wait that long, and neither can your people (the Super Athletic Alliance)."

"Because another sword is hanging over the top of the giant tree hill."

Fang Yu understood immediately. She was talking about the third disaster star - Zhanqing. The shadow of the red moon was rising, and the imperial people were already preparing for it. If the Giant Tree Hill spent half a century trying to save a disaster...

Then what awaits them is also destruction.

"This is the real reason why the Council of Elders gave in," Lian Kuiya Alsana replied, "Everyone knows that disaster is approaching. We have to pay a greater price to let Her Majesty go to the Gray Forest because she is the Unicorn Saint and the only one favored by Aimaya -"

"She hopes to give us ten or even twenty years of time at the cost of herself."

Sylvie asked quietly, "Ms. Attila agreed?"

"In fact," the Elf Princess was silent for a long time before she replied softly, "This is exactly what Her Majesty the Saint herself proposed."

Fang He took a deep breath. That was exactly the elf lady he was familiar with.

  This was also the first time he had asked the other party about all this, and the first time he had the opportunity and position to ask the other party this question since leaving Silver Wind Harbor:

"So the reason why the Saint Maiden Society was established..."

"I think if all of us united, without so much fighting for power and open and secret struggles, and everyone living on this land worked together -" the elf girl replied softly.

“We can do all of this, too.”

"Just like now, we will gradually remove the influence of the Ash Branch and heal the wound of the Holy Tree until we defeat Ninimere, Nianlot, and Guth's Bane."

"It may take a little longer, but it doesn't have to take thirty or even fifty years. Perhaps in ten or fifteen years, we can rebuild our homeland and face the disaster head-on..."

She raised her head and looked at Fang He and Sylvie with her silver eyes. "I know this is difficult, so I founded the Holy Maiden Association. We are unicorn girls, blessed by this land, and we should be its protectors and set an example for people."

"I know this is very self-willed, but every time I see innocent girls like Meryl, Eloya, and Linseya responding to my call with the same belief, I still want to stand with them—"

She paused in silence.

"Because if one day we become comfortable with the sacrifice of others, then no matter who that person is, one day, when we face the same dilemma again, a similar scene will surely happen again."

"Until we completely forget the meaning of sacrifice and take it for granted, when one day, there is no one left to sacrifice for us..."

"We will forget the ability to save ourselves, and forget that our right to survive must be fought for and granted by ourselves."

Lian Kuiya Arsana took off her unicorn holy emblem and placed it flat in the palm of her hand. The holy emblem reflected the warm afternoon sun and emitted a faint glow.

"And that is what the balance of nature should teach us."

Too……

This is where Aimaya's attention is.

  Fang He was completely stunned. He once thought that she was an innocent and simple elf princess, but how could the Holy White Forest have the honor to have two saints like her and Miss Attila at the same time?

He couldn't help but agree with the ideas of Forest Lady Aimaya.

Although he had only had two brief encounters with the goddess, that lady must have been gentle and tolerant enough to teach such a favored person.

It was also the first time that he truly regarded Her Royal Highness the Princess as a fellow traveler and acknowledged her point of view. The balance of nature would certainly not be achieved through sacrifice.

Besides, he couldn't let Miss Elf sacrifice herself -

Although the elven princess's idea was still a little too naive, it was not meaningless. At least now she knew that there was still a way to suppress Gray Disaster.

Then all that remains is to find the answer.

But Fang He was different from everyone else, because he knew that the forest lady's eyes had never left him, and Ms. Roman's answer also made him believe -

There must be a solution.

"We will find a way," Sylvie replied with a smile. Her lake-green eyes showed a hint of recognition. She looked at her lover beside her and said, "Don't give up easily unless you are in desperate situation."

"And I'm sure Ed will find a way."

Fang He was speechless.

Of course, the jokes of the ship officer should not be trusted. The more beautiful a woman is, the more likely she is to lie.

He still remembered clearly that Sylvie had told him solemnly that the maid was a shadow guard given to her by her mother, and that all of Shesta's skills and equipment came from the Xilin-Sibika family.

But she actually didn't want to mention anything about her mother.

However, after exchanging views with the elven princess, Fang He finally suppressed his inner doubts, and the rest of the journey went much more smoothly. The warlocks from the Tower of Stars and Moon really had everything they needed.

The elven scholar Arian left a set of ciphertexts at the Adventurer's Guild. This information was mainly left for investigators from the Disaster Investigation Department who might come here.

According to Kellan, his boss, Councillor Karandil Elwin, would definitely find this place, and it seemed that Marian trusted this gentleman quite a bit.

Arian was cautious and did not send a message to Silver Wind Harbor, because after the communication between the two worlds was cut off, there was no fixed method of communication between the various places, and the existing methods were all unsafe.

Moreover, the current information may not necessarily spread faster than the members of the disbanded investigation team. Maybe they will return to Silver Wind Harbor first, and the Star Ring will get their information within a few weeks or half a month.

The next step was to prepare for the infiltration. At nightfall, they had split into two groups. Fang He and his group, accompanied by the Elf Princess and Merrill, also arrived at the valley at the Mossy River Bay.

Before the moon rose, we found the mountain wall described by the Papara people.

……

(End of this chapter)