Pasha stared at the colorful purple starry sky. Under the starry sky was the vast expanse of land, endless and silver-white. The moonlight casts a cold silver glow on the sea of sand, hence the name of this ancient desert.
Under the western sky is the city - Idos, as the Stanians have long called it. After crossing the vast Silver Sand Desert, the first thing the merchants saw was the red wall of Idos - like a lighthouse above the sea of sand.
Hence the name 'Red Sand Cliff', which is what Idos means in Istanian.
But that was already a hundred years ago. Today, the city has been turned into ruins by the wind and sand, with broken walls and ruins, and gradually turned into gravel. After about eight o'clock, groups of fires lit up in the ruins, which were still clearly visible in the direction of the cliff.
Pasha saw a few stars flying from the west - the eyesight of Istanians is generally different from ordinary people - the stars became bigger and bigger, and finally turned into a few rays of golden light, one by one falling into the gentle, In the hands of the young leader.
"How is it?" he heard the chubby warrior carrying a shield ask the other party.
"There are layers of defenses inside, and there are some places that are defended by highly skilled magicians. Even I, the Clockwork Fairy, can't easily enter. There are more Blood Shark Air Pirates than we thought, but I haven't seen the Dragon Fire Guild for the time being. I don’t know if the Dragon Worshipers are also inside.” Fang Plover turned around and replied to Luo Hao and Red who had accompanied him: “But those people didn’t lie to us. The Blood Shark Pirates did indeed discover something in the city. Things, those bright lights are where they forced hard workers to dig overnight. But those places are tightly guarded, and I can only take a look from a distance..."
"What's going on in the middle of the square?"
Fang Yu shook his head: "The direction to the center of the square is too far, even my clockwork fairy can't fly there, and there is no firelight there, it's pitch black."
"So what do you think will be there, Eddard?" the big catman asked suddenly, "Nicol Bolas?"
Fang Yu thought for a moment and nodded, he indeed thought so. If after the Vanric incident half a month ago, there would be any changes on Idos' side that would cause the Blood Shark Pirates to block the news, then the only possibility seems to be the injured Nicol Bolas.
"Shortly after Vanrick's accident, changes took place there. From a timing perspective, it may be just right," the big cat man smacked his lips: "But the truth is often hidden under the surface, Ed."
"Mr. Reid, what do you mean by that?"
"On the surface, you are worshipers of the Dragon Cult and Nicol Bolas, but is this really what you saw in Dolifin? Doesn't it seem to be the case, Eddard?"
Fang Plover couldn't help but be startled.
"Sir Dict told me something," Red continued: "When you first saw Nicol Bolas in the square in the illusion, the Dragon Cult commanded him with the Ring of Golden Flame."
"But the ring of golden flames is fake."
"Yes, it was false, so Nicol Bolas immediately became furious and killed him. This is not like the relationship between worshiper and worshiped, Eddard." The big cat man narrowed his eyes.
"But it may also be because Nicol Bolas has part of Ms. Misu's soul. At the end of Dolifen's fantasy..."
"But that's Nicol Bolas too. If she was suspicious of the Dragon Cult, how could she go to find them while she was seriously injured?"
Fang Plover was silent for a moment. He did feel the conflict between the Dragon Cult and Nicol Bolas.
Dragon Cults conspired everywhere to revive the dark dragon to its former glory, but Nicol Bolas seemed somewhat dismissive of his followers.
It neither proactively contacts nor cooperates with its followers. The Dragon Cult must have known that the injured Nicol Bolas had been dormant in Travelers Swamp, but before that he had never appeared in front of their followers.
Even after the conspiracy of the Dragon Cult at Traveler's Rest, the first thing Nicol Bolas did when he regained the power of the dragon horn was to take revenge on the nearest human being with full fury:
A fire burned Charter City——
But while this put everyone in danger, it also made most of the knowledgeable people in Kaolin-Ithurion understand: the Dragon Witch is back.
Fang Yu carefully asked Hongye about the details of the siege of Charter City. There was actually only one direct result of the destruction of Charter City - allowing Corrin Ithulian to react quickly and causing the armies of humans and dwarves to gather in the north.
And the Elpaxin Craftsmen Association also found Mazak, the successor of another dragon slayer. After all, today is no longer the era during the giant war, when a dark dragon can overwhelm the entire human world.
Although Moa no longer exists among the five dragon-slaying holy swords, at least three of them and their heirs are still alive.
Among them was Galatea, who had wounded it once.
Not to mention that there are still Chosen Ones. Hongye and the others were selected by the military to join that battle. The military promised to give each participating guild a quota to enter the second world, which was enough for most guilds to join.
And against the dark dragon, the military has every reason to end it personally.
In the face of these gathered forces, the apparent power of the Dragon Worshipers is not worth mentioning at all. What's more, this incident even allowed the prime minister's party to temporarily relax the pressure on the south, which put the southern border in a temporary state of calm.
It can be said that Nicol Bolas severely cheated his followers.
In fact, if it understood the Dragon Worship Cult's painstaking efforts, it should first lie dormant and downplay the impact of the Traveler's Rest incident.
Then cooperate with the Dragon Worshipers to get back most of the power of his Dragon's Golden Eyes in Dolifen. Rather than causing this part of the power to fall into Fang Yu's hands, she has now become Nini.
But it does neither.
Nicol Bolas's performance was far different from the cunning and cunning 'Dragon Witch' in Fang Plover's impression.
The duchess, whose pseudonym was Elte, controlled King Kaolin for ten years with the cooperation of the top leaders of the Dragon Worship Cult.
In the end, it was only through the joint efforts of Shujod and Karatu that his true identity was revealed, and he was ultimately defeated in the Ashes Mountain Forest.
But Fang Yu suddenly remembered something. Nicol Bolas seems to have a criminal record—
He raised his head and looked at the ruins of the city under the cliff in the distance.
Idos, that was Nicol Bolas's first masterpiece. The first time she transformed into a dragon, she completely destroyed the city, and even the Dragon Country where she was born.
After that, she disappeared until her incarnation as a duchess was discovered. It was the twelve-year dark period of Corrin-Ithurion, but not many people today know this history.
Which one is the real Nicol Bolas or the cunning Dragon Witch?
Among the Nicol Bolas that Fang Plover himself has seen, it seems that the first form is more numerous. He has also seen another form of it, which may be Ms. Misu.
But behind Ms. Misu's figure, is there another Nicol Bolas?
He subconsciously thought of the fragmented scenes he had seen in the illusion, those noisy arguments that seemed like hallucinations.
He took a breath and came back to his senses. There are so many mysteries about Nicol Bolas, but there are also many about the Cult of the Dragon.
About the Dragon Fire Guild, about the Star Gate itself, and the Blood Shark Pirates in front of them.
As well as the purpose of their wishful thinking, and what role the other Toragoth played in it, is it really dead?
There is also Luo Lin, the mysterious Chosen One who disappeared completely after the Van Rick incident.
Lin En said that the other party was a good person, and Lin En also asked him to save the other party from the Dragon Worship Cult if he had a chance.
But what can he do to save him - why would a good person join the Dragon Worship Cult? The other party would not be unaware of how many innocent people died in the Van Rijk incident.
Lin En didn't think clearly about the relationship, but he saw it clearly.
Finally, there is the matter in Dulun. They still don't know whether Enan's brother is real or fake. The other party doesn't seem to have any unusual behavior so far.
In this attack, the other party neither participated nor played any role, and acted like an outsider. But being an outsider makes people even more confused.
That scene in the wind and snow cannot be said to be Sophie's hallucination. What's more, Aitila and Tianlan also encountered the same hallucination.
As for the owner of that armor, Sir Dict has found out that he is the cousin of the great wizard Karatu a hundred years ago and a good friend of the dragon-slaying hero Xjoad.
As for the identity of the other party in this conspiracy, it is still a mystery so far.
So many puzzles come together here, their only connection. It seems that there is only one Dragon Witch.
What really happened a hundred years ago, or is it just as simple as official records say? The deeper he went, the more foggy Fang Yu felt.
As for the truth hidden in the fog, the more he pursued it, the more confused he became.
Thinking of that armor, Fang Plover thought of Sir Dict. From the confessions of those air pirates, it seemed that they had never heard of such a person. But calculating the time, Dict should have arrived at Idos much earlier than them. As for where the other party is at this moment, it is still a mystery.
"Indeed," Fang Plover nodded: "Actually, I also have some doubts in my heart. If Nicol Bolas really came to Idus, the people on the Elfendor Council would not be unaware of it."
But he added: "It's just that if it weren't for Nicol Bolas, I really can't imagine what would be there."
After hearing this, Rhett said: "You'll know if you go and see it yourself."
After hearing this, Fang Plover looked at the lion man in surprise.
Rhett noticed his gaze and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Did Mr. Reid notice something?"
"That's not true," Rhett smiled smartly: "It's just that sometimes when the information is not enough to support your judgment, you might as well get closer."
"Mr. Reid, what you mean is that we go into the city to have a look?" This coincided with Fang Yu's own thoughts.
The lion man nodded: "And I haven't seen that person for many years, so I wanted to confirm something by the way."
Fang Yu couldn't help but was startled, looked at the former and asked, "If Mr. Reid meets that person..."
"Don't worry, Ed," the lion man narrowed his silver eyes, "I will give priority to obeying the team's arrangements."
"No, that's not what I meant," Fang Plover shook his head, "I'm just curious."
"Curious?" Rhett smiled: "Actually, there's nothing to be curious about. It's just an old-fashioned betrayer story. But actually, I don't really care if he is a betrayer. It's just because some questions require an answer. "
He looked at Fang Plover: "Do you understand, little guy?"
Fang Plover shook his head.
"It doesn't matter if you don't understand. One day you will understand when you become a real man."
The big cat man looked up at the sky. The purple night sky was filled with stars worshiped by Lotao's wild people. But in their ancient legends, everyone has only one guardian star that belongs to him.
He never told anyone which star his was.
"I killed him four times and he still refused to tell me. I think he planned to take the answer to his grave."
The big cat man murmured something to himself, regardless of whether the two people beside him understood it.
Fang Yu and Luo Hao really didn't understand either, they just looked at each other in confusion.
But the big cat man had already turned around and said to the two of them: "If the investigation is almost done, then go back. The night is still very long."
Fang Plover could only nod.
He asked Pasha on the side to put away his things and prepare to leave. When the three of them were talking, Pasha kept far away from him. Fang Yu asked him if he was bored, and the little boy shook his head.
The four returned to the camp. Bunigu heard that everyone had plans at night, so he ran to find them.
The chubby businessman looked at Fang Plover expectantly and asked, "Are you the adventurers sent by the king?"
Fang Yu shook his head. What relationship do they have with the king?
"Then you accepted the commission from the Adventurer's Guild to cause trouble for those blood shark air pirates?"
"No."
"Then you have to take care of things here. Otherwise, why are you sneaking into Idos?" Bunigou was anxious.
Fang Yu looked at him in surprise and asked, "Who told you that we were going to sneak into Idos?"
"That Papalar man in your team," Bunigu quickly added: "Mr. Captain, you must stop trying to trick me. I paid for the information I bought from him!"
Fang Plover immediately glanced in that direction and narrowed his eyes dangerously.
The temperature dropped quickly in the desert at night. Parker was sitting by the campfire to warm himself up when he suddenly shivered.
Fang Yu made up his mind to teach this guy a lesson - he planned to tell Etila about this - but at the moment, he was too embarrassed to deny it unilaterally, so he could only say vaguely:
"There is such an idea, but we may not necessarily infiltrate. The Blood Shark Air Pirates are very well-defended, and we plan to trample on them first."
Bunigou didn't listen to even half of what Tagou said, and only asked eagerly: "Mr. Leader, can you take me with you?"
Fang Yu looked at him in surprise - Why are you here to join in the fun again?
Only then did Bunigu realize that he had made a mistake, and quickly changed his words: "No, I mean, I can give you a break."
"But we don't need anyone to let us know."
"But I can take you into the city safely. Mr. Leader, please rest assured that I will never hinder you. I will wait for you to come back at the secret passage-"
Fang Yu reacted immediately and stared at the chubby guy: "Secret passage?"
"Yes, secret passages," Bunigu hurriedly replied: "There are huge underground passages under Idos. My ancestors, who have been merchants for generations, are very aware of these secret passages... Although many years have passed, I Maybe we can find some of them based on the records in our memory.”
He was a little hesitant when he spoke, and Fang Yu suddenly realized that the so-called ancestors who had been doing business for generations were probably smugglers, otherwise how could they know these things.
Although the smugglers themselves are just trying to evade the heavy local taxes of the Kaolin Kingdom, most of these people are not good people themselves. They are basically inseparable from words like robbers and bandits.
My ancestor had such a "glorious" career, so it's no wonder that the other party found it hard to talk about it. However, Fang Yu didn't care much about this and just asked:
"Are you telling the truth?"
Bu Nigu nodded quickly.
"What's your purpose for doing this?" Fang Pliong asked again.
But he soon understood what the other party was up to——
After listening to the other party's description, Fang Yu looked at the other party in disbelief: "You mean to let us help you find your goods?"
He almost wanted to walk away on the spot. In fact, it was not that he had no way to enter Idus. The reason why he agreed to the other party was just because he had other ideas about the "secret passage" the other party said.
But the other party's request was too outrageous, asking them to help retrieve his goods? Not to mention how much goods a caravan carries and whether they can bring them out, just finding his goods in the huge Idos is a fantasy.
Fortunately, Bunigu's next words dispelled his doubts: "Mr. Leader, I am by no means a money-lover... Of course I am aware of the risks involved. I, I don't necessarily want you to take those goods with you. I came out, I just hope you can help me find something."
"One thing?" Fang Yu looked at the man suspiciously.
"That's my family heirloom, it's a ring," Bunigou said as he took out a ring and handed it to him: "This ring can sense the existence of that ring. Everything else can be thrown away. But this ring is a legacy left to me by my family, and it must not be lost in this place... If there was really no other way, I would never dare to bother you..."
"If you can find my goods, except for this ring, you can pick up the other items by yourself...just consider it as my advance payment," Bunigou replied a little embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, I These are the only things I have on hand now.”
If he was just looking for a ring and could still locate it, Fang Yu thought about it and felt that it was not unacceptable. But to be on the safe side, he still mentioned it in advance: "We can only promise to do our best——"
But even so, Bu Nigu still seemed a little overjoyed and nodded quickly.
Although Fang Piao vaguely felt that there was something strange here, he felt relieved after thinking that the other party had been patiently escorted to this place by the blood shark air pirates and did not go to Ms. Roman's temple to resurrect him. He thought it was just for this ring. .
He didn't think too much. After all, there were more things to prepare, such as selecting personnel——
After all, the subsequent infiltration plan was just to investigate what truth the Blood Shark Air Pirates were hiding in Idos, so Fang Pliance did not intend to lead everyone to find trouble for the other party in a big way.
Among the people in the Seven Seas Brigade, the spell casters who are not good at stealth operations must be eliminated first. Coupled with the close combat in the front row, the remaining people actually sneaked into the duo - Alyssa and Parker.
Plus the elf lady who is also a druid and part-time hunter who is good at sneaking.
In addition to the big cat man, Baggins and Sylvide, who complemented Parker and was responsible for drawing, were all the candidates selected by Fang Plover for the infiltration team.
Originally, the new ranger Ai Xiaoxiao who joined the team was also very suitable for such a task, but because her level was too low, she could only be excluded.
This also disappointed Ai Xiaoxiao.
Before the moon fully rose, Bunigu had already led everyone to a valley in the north of Idos. The towering cliffs completely cut off the moonlight in this direction. He looked at the dark and bare cliffs, then turned back and said to everyone:
"The entrance to one of the secret passages should be nearby, if it still exists... After all, my family hasn't been here for many years."
"I understand, you should find the entrance first." Fang Plover looked around and replied.
Bu Nigu stopped at this time and asked a little hesitantly:
"Mr. Leader, what about my request?"
…
