The sky seemed to be falling with a layer of dark ashes, hiding the afterglow of the setting sun under the dark red clouds.
The streets that are gradually shrouded in twilight are even quieter than during the day. In a hotel in the Terrash district, orange lights have just been lit at this moment. The residents of the Outer Harbor after a day's work, I often choose to come here to have a drink.
There were not many people in the hall at the moment. Alyssa was looking away from a distance, and there were a few people sitting sparsely at a few tables in the direction of her gaze. Most of these people are dockworkers from outer ports, miners from nearby mines, farmhands, soldiers or small workshop owners, or adventurers from other areas, mercenaries seeking to earn a few bucks from their lives.
These people looked worried at the moment, holding wine glasses and discussing in a low voice the situation that was getting worse day by day.
For this city, everyone with a little wealth has already fled to the south, and even to the more distant places of Elpahim and Fenris. Those who are still here are just because they have no way out or livelihood. The lower class citizens who maintain this.
It didn't take long for Fang Plover and his party to figure out the general situation in Gula Port after entering the city.
There has been no news from the Four Towns area, and the adventurers sent by the Adventurer's Guild to the north have not sent back any useful information. The rumored northern army has always made people in this port panic. There was also a riot by the redeemed outside the city, and bandits were swarming everywhere. It seemed that there was a scene of chaos everywhere.
Because of these reasons, production and life in the city have come to a standstill, and the knock-on effect is that ordinary people's livelihoods are getting worse day by day. Even these entertainment venues that should have been lively and noisy in the past now seemed unusually deserted.
The harder the days are now, the more people place their hope on the 'mysterious protection', as if as long as the barrier is opened, everything will return to the past.
Under such circumstances, it would be unrealistic to expect the citizens of Gullah to recognize the true face of the Crow's Claw Temple, and they would have to find another way. The crystal was last seen in public three days ago, when it appeared in a museum in Walder District and was closely guarded by the Gray Knights.
The consul of Gula gave a speech there that day, seemingly to restore people's confidence.
That speech did have a certain effect.
There is a high possibility that the crystal will remain in the museum after the speech, and will be guarded by the Crow's Claw Temple. But there are also rumors that the Gray Knights sent it to a safer place for storage, perhaps the Hourhand Fort in the center of Gullah, or the underground of the city hall.
These three places are the most closely guarded places in Gula Port today. It is almost impossible to easily sneak in without alerting anyone, but fortunately, Fang Plover has no such plans.
In his opinion, the crystal was important, but the warlocks from the Gula Port Star and Moon Council and the craftsmen from the Craftsmen Association must have carefully inspected it inside and out. And even these masters couldn't see anything unusual. He didn't think that he was any special than others.
What he is really concerned about right now is how this crystal was sent to Gula Port?
Judging from the information they received in Gula Port, it was basically consistent with their prior guesses. It was the Crow Claw Temple that escorted the crystal to Gula Port.
The Gray Knights claimed to have discovered this crystal in the Altori region. Its origin is related to the favor of the Storm Lord Aidanlian, so it has demonstrated the ability to protect against the minions of darkness.
Regardless of whether the Gray Knights told the truth, at least some details were mentioned in their descriptions - for example, the crystal was found in Snowstone Castle, and its discoverer included a member of the Artori Parish. Patriarch of the diocese, and owner of Snowstone Castle.
Both of these people had arrived at Gula Port at this moment, and Fang Yu was pleasantly surprised by the news. Because he was almost certain that at least one of the Patriarch and the owner of Snowstone Castle had appeared in that underground illusion.
If they are all one of the many figures who appeared in that illusion, then they must know part of the truth, or at least be involved in the inside story.
But now the question is how to find these two people.
The identity of the owner of Snowstone Castle is still a mystery, but the patriarch is rumored to have settled in a certain temple. There are currently only two Aidanlian holy seats in Gula Port, one in the south and one in the north. But the one to the south is located in the slums of Outer Harbor and has poor conditions, so it can almost be ruled out.
The one in the north is located in a noble area of the inner city. I heard that the Gray Knights banned free entry and exit of the inner and outer cities shortly after the closure of Gula. Now it seems that the patriarch is very likely to be in the inner city. In the city. However, it is not easy to enter the inner city right now. Fortunately, snakes have their own ways, and rats have their own ways. As long as you have money, there are very few things that cannot be done in Gula Port.
Fang Yu first asked Miss Nightingale to pretend to be a businessman who wanted to open the joints, and posted a mission at the Adventurer's Guild in the city. As expected, someone volunteered to contact them not long after, claiming that they could help them enter the inner city.
The man made an appointment to meet them here at a time, and now it was almost the appointed time, so Alyssa would look around the hall with a vigilant gaze.
However, while she was patrolling, she suddenly heard someone knocking on the glass from behind. She turned around and saw a young man's face appearing outside the window not far away.
The other party was only wearing a thin coat and his face was a little pale. He looked at them warily from the window. He opened the window and asked, "Aren't you a businessman?"
"We are indeed not businessmen." Behind Alyssa, Fang Plover said at this time.
He knew that he couldn't hide it from the other party, but he didn't intend to hide his identity. After all, this group of people had nothing to do with the merchants anyway: "We are adventurers, but right now we have a commission in hand and need to go to a place in the inner city." trip."
But when the young man heard this, he only took a step back and shook his head: "Sorry, I can't help you. I don't want to get into trouble."
After that, he turned around and planned to leave.
"Please wait a moment," Sylvide called out to the other party: "Since you have accepted the commission, how can you be afraid of trouble?"
The young man was startled for a moment and turned back to look at them. However, because the noble lady had put on makeup, she looked like just an ordinary female adventurer at the moment.
He hesitated for a moment before replying: "That's different..."
"It's no different." Sylvide shook her head. She looked at the other party who was standing in the cold wind with a disheveled expression and said, "You are in need of money. We can double your reward."
This sentence seemed to impress the young man, causing him to stand there with a frown on his face. He did not speak for a while, but he had no intention of leaving.
"Three thousand Lisels," Sylvide directly raised the price to three times, striking while the iron was hot: "As long as you take us into the inner city, what happens after that has nothing to do with you. Even if we get into any trouble, It has nothing to do with you.”
The young man raised his head in disbelief and looked at them. Finally, he gritted his teeth, raised his hand to make a deal gesture to them, and then pointed to the table in front of everyone: "Give me a share of your food. Besides, this is not a place for talking. Come with me." .”
Fang Yu looked at him a little surprised, but still nodded, picked up a basket of bread from the table, handed it to the other party, and motioned to Tian Lan to go to the front desk to check out.
The young man took the basket nervously, then picked up the brown paper inside and carefully wrapped the bread, and then handed the basket back. Then he stood outside the window and waited for everyone in the Seven Seas Brigade. He watched them walk out of the hotel, then waved in this direction and led them in one direction without saying a word.
Fang Plover and others followed the young man through two or three blocks, and then entered a winding alley. For the sake of safety, he released a clockwork goblin, and through the sight of the clockwork goblin, he roughly saw that they had left the original business district and entered the lower city.
This is the outer port area of Gula, close to the dock. Due to the large number of dock workers and lower-class workers living here, it has formed the largest slum area in Gula Port. A factory area in the distance came into view, and Fang Plover could even see a towering chimney in the direction of the port.
Gula Port is famous for its mines. The high-quality iron ore and coal mines have formed a natural coal-iron complex. A large number of steel plants are located here. In the language of the Avenquin elves, Gula originally meant red rock.
After passing through the factory area, everyone entered a low shantytown. Fang Pliover knew that this was the slum of Gula. The young man led them around the shantytown and passed a long time. It took a long time to stop in front of a dilapidated cabin.
He stopped in front of the hut, then turned around and looked at the people of the Seven Seas Brigade who were approaching. Fang Yu was about to ask, but the young man suddenly raised a finger to them and put it to his lips, signaling them to be silent.
While the other party was looking in one direction, Fang Plover also followed his gaze. The shanty towns extended towards the port, forming row upon row of stairs of different heights. Looking down from here, Fang Plover actually looked at the shanty towns below. A group of gray knights wearing black and white jerseys arrived.
The Gray Knights were walking through the slums, and with them were some Chosen Ones. The difference between the Chosen Ones and the natives could be seen almost at a glance. Especially the selectors of the guild, only they will wear uniform uniforms.
"People from the Crow Claw Temple." Tian Lan recognized the other party's identity from afar and couldn't help but whisper.
"There are also people from the Silver Forest Spear." Hongye also recognized the identities of those selected.
The Gray Knights below seemed to be checking something. They entered from house to house, and then exited and marked different marks on the door with a pen. However, because they were too far away and the sky was dark, Fang Plover and others could hardly see clearly. What is the mark?
After checking the shanty towns below, the Gray Knights and the Silver Forest Spears gradually walked away, but they never found Fang Plover and his group above their heads.
Fang Yu then turned around and asked the young man, "What are they doing?"
"It has nothing to do with you," the young man just stared at them and replied: "You wait for me here, I will put your things away for a while, and then take you to the inner city. Besides, I want money first, and I don't care if I lose a penny." .”
"Your request is too much," Bai Ye finally couldn't help but speak, "If I give you the money first, who will we look for if you run away?"
But the young man said nothing and only looked at them quietly.
Fang Yu saw the other party's persistence, nodded and said: "Okay."
Three thousand Lisels was nothing, and with the clockwork fairy in hand, he didn't worry about the other party slipping away under his nose.
It's just that when Fang Yu looked at the ragged young man in front of him, shivering in the cold wind, he would rather believe that the other party was not trying to extort their money.
The young man nodded, then turned around and walked into the hut behind him without saying a word. Fang Plover watched this scene, and with a slight stroke of his hand, the clockwork fairy flew down from mid-air, circled around the shed area, and then flew in through the window behind the house.
He pulled down his goggles and squinted his eyes. The first thing he saw was the dim scene in the room. The house was in ruins, with few decent belongings to be found. The young man was walking into the house with a package in his arms, putting the things on the table with one leg lame, and then opened the door of the empty cupboard.
The other party turned around, carefully opened the paper bag, and transferred the food inside to the cupboard one by one.
However, the slight noise made by the young man seemed to alarm other people in the room. The next moment, Fang Plov heard a deep voice coming from the room:
"who?"
The young man stopped, then looked in that direction and replied: "Uncle Walid, it's me."
"Cole?"
There was a rustling sound in the house, like the sound of something heavy mopping the floor. Fang Pulver turned the Clockwork Fairy in that direction, only to see a tall middle-aged man limping away from inside. come out.
The other person was holding one hand on the wall and another hand on a chair. He was standing on the ground with his only remaining leg, and there was only an empty trouser leg hanging down on the other leg. The previous voice was obviously that of the other person. The sound of dragging that chair.
The middle-aged man stood at the door, looked at the things on the table, and couldn't help but be stunned: "Where did you get all this food?"
"I took a job," the young man replied: "I will also get a sum of money. Everyone has not had anything to eat for several days. With this money, we may at least survive this winter. .Uncle Walid, you can distribute these foods to everyone later——"
"Cole, where are you going?" Walid asked in a deep voice.
The young man was startled, then turned around and replied: "There is a group of adventurers who want me to take them to the inner city."
"The inner city is not stable now," Walid shook his head. "The Gray Knights do not allow anyone to enter or leave the inner city now. Cole, don't put yourself in for us."
"If I don't go, all of us will starve to death." The young man sighed: "And the Gray Knight has chosen me. It is unlikely that I will come back alive. If I really leave and never come back, I will have to wait for a long time." Please take care of my sister and my mother."
Walid was silent for a moment and opened his mouth to say something, but in the end he remained silent and only nodded slowly to him.
The young man also nodded gently to him, then put down what he was holding, turned around and walked out.
Fang Yu also took back his clockwork fairy at that moment, and then opened his goggles. He raised his head and saw the empty-handed young man walking out of the shack. He stared in that direction and suddenly asked him:
"What did the Gray Knight ask you to do?"
The young man was stunned and couldn't help but look at them with some surprise, his eyes full of confusion.
"Those Gray Knights, what is their purpose here?" Fang Pliance asked again: "You said they chose you, where are they going to take you?"
The young man looked at him as if he had seen a ghost, his face changed drastically and he said, "...how do you know what I just said?"
Fang Yu raised the clockwork fairy in his hand and waved it in front of the other party. "As you can see, I am an alchemist. Although we promised to pay you money first, we must take some precautions. But please don't worry, I have no intention of interfering in your private affairs. I am just curious about the previous scene."
The young man fell silent and looked at him with a complicated expression: "Is that a clockwork fairy...? Are you... a craftsman?"
Fang Plover nodded.
"...The Gray Knights are arresting people," the young man thought for a moment before replying: "The army from the north is approaching Gula Port, and there are also dragon beasts, shadow men, and minions of the dark dragon... But inside the port The garrison strength of the city has been stretched thin. In order to protect the city, the Crow's Claw Temple requires all young adults to be conscripted into the army..."
conscription?
Fang Yu was slightly startled?
In his imagination, it was impossible for the Crow Claw Temple to pay attention to the army in the north. This was evident from the fact that they had suppressed the news of the fall of the four towns until now.
But they will not recruit troops to deal with themselves. They suffered a small loss on the battlefield not long ago, but judging from the strength of the Crow's Claw Temple in the north, it is far from time to use the reserve force, let alone Needless to say, I went to Gula to recruit troops.
They used such a large reserve force, and the investment in funds and supplies was not a small amount. Why did the Crow Claw Temple prepare such a large army to attack Elpa Xin?
"Because you are going to be drafted into the army," Fang Plover asked, "that's why you came to accept our commission. Who are the people you support?"
"They are my co-workers," the young man replied softly: "Uncle Walid lost his right leg while trying to save me in a mining accident... I don't know if I can come back alive, but without this Uncle Walid and the others will definitely not be able to survive this winter due to the money.”
"Are you miners?" Baggins asked a little surprised: "Has the situation in Gula Port gotten this bad? But it shouldn't be like this. I remember that this city was famous for its nearby mines. The mines brought prosperity, and although most of the profits went to the nobility, the citizens could always share in the dividends of urban development. When I left Kaurin-Ithurion, it was still prosperous, and people from other places moved here with their families to seek opportunities to make a fortune. There’s an endless stream of people coming, and even though the northern border is in turmoil, aren’t the factories and mines still in operation?”
The young man looked at him, shook his head and said: "The factories and mines are still in operation, but what does it have to do with us? Sir, what you are talking about is the past. This was indeed the case in Gula in the early years. But it is different now. Well, since these mines and factories were handed over to those people, they have alchemists and endless machines, and they no longer need us."
Alyssa sighed and replied: "Mr. Baggins, he is right. Nowadays, the nobles no longer operate the mines themselves. These mines have long been contracted to several major guilds of the Rainbow Alliance. They are only responsible for participating in the shares and paying dividends. . Mines, steel plants, docks and commercial districts. Several large guilds have monopolized all aspects of Gula's industries. These industries are used to support the war between their unions. The bottom citizens who have sold their labor force living here have been living here for ten years. Instead of being less oppressed, the oppression has been further aggravated.”
She paused, "It's just that in the past, this port served adventurers and mercenaries, and the selectmen spent money lavishly, so it could still maintain a false prosperity. But since Charter City was reduced to ashes by the dragon beast attack, After that, the northern border became turbulent day after day, and this seemingly stable system has now tended to collapse..."
Ai Xiaoxiao's eyes widened, her forehead sparkled, and she couldn't help but say, "How could it be?" In her understanding, the opening of the Star Gate brought benefits to both worlds. Human beings have brought civilization, and super competition has given the chosen ones layers of aura. This is not what is said in the propaganda.
But Tianlan shook his head, "Actually, it's almost the same in other places. When I left Twelve-Colored Iris, I remembered that the situation there was not necessarily better than here. The Grand Guild only cares about profits and doesn't care about anything else. In their case Under the influence of , the attitude of the Chosen towards this world has become more and more indifferent. The refugees in Gray Owl Town today... are just a reflection of the current situation. In fact, I heard that the situation in Oshu is even worse, and the ruling class of the empire Colluding with the plundering capital from behind the Star Gate, those people don’t care about the life and death of the people below. Several uprisings have broken out in the empire since last year..."
The Parral blinked and looked at her curiously: "Really? Why have I never heard of such a thing?"
He still remembered that when he left the Hill of Giant Trees, there was still a scene of singing and dancing. The competition among the selectors in the second division is far less serious than that in the other two divisions. At least there is still a good appearance between people.
"That's just because you don't know," Tian Lan sighed a little unusually: "The alliance and the nobles worked together to whitewash peace, just like here, and the empire's suppression was even more vigorous. Only the top officials knew about those riots. I also got the inside details of the Twelve-Colored Iris. Besides, the members of the Grand Guild don’t even bother to associate with ordinary electors, so how can they care about the affairs of the aboriginal people? There is no such thing as the Seven Seas Brigade. There are high-profile events inside, so it’s normal for the news to be suppressed.”
"But in fact, there are not without wise people in the empire. The daughter of the deceased former emperor Ted III, the princess of the empire noticed the crisis and planned to change it, but the power of the nobles combined with the electors overthrew her Now, Her Royal Highness the Princess is missing..."
The little girl shook her head in disgust: "Actually, it's because I can't stand this that I..."
But she suddenly raised her head, realized that she had left her mouth, and quickly closed her mouth.
However, the Papalar didn't care about this, and just smacked his lips. People like him without guild membership were exactly what Tianlan called 'ordinary electors'. But how could the Papalars care about this? What's so great about twelve-color irises? He wouldn't be afraid of them.
Fang Yu glanced at Tian Lan. He had actually already guessed about the identity of this little girl, but he had just confirmed something at this moment - how could ordinary people know these inside stories? Of course, ordinary people cannot easily slip out of the youth training camp. See You will understand it just by looking at Jita and Luo Yu.
He looked at Luo Yu next to him, but the latter seemed to be still immersed in his own world and didn't notice anything.
Several selectors from Tapolis fell silent after hearing this conversation. The Knights once advertised themselves as a role model for free selectors, but as members of the Rainbow Alliance, they are also the builders and maintainers of this system. By? Everything they were used to seeing seemed particularly harsh at this moment from Tian Lan's mouth.
They may think that they no longer care about this——
But everyone has been trapped by interests for a while, but they have had the dream of a hero in their hearts. The reason why people yearn for the top players wrapped in layers of halo in the Super Competitive League is not precisely because of the inner feelings in their hearts. This yearning?
But what is packaged is only the coat that is packaged——
But when those layers of vanity are stripped away, people have to face this bloody reality. What exactly do they bring to the world?
Has Aitaria really become more prosperous under the influence of Star Gate?
Several members of Tapolis opened their mouths, intending to refute, but they didn't know how to speak. The reality of the entire northern territory is before them. They may not have caused all this, but are these really the dreams of the heroes they are chasing?
They cannot answer this question in their hearts.
Among the crowd, only Saya couldn't help but look up at the red leaves beside her.
It was as if she only understood what the other party was pursuing at this moment, and what Yugudola and the former president had been insisting on. The past events of those so-called heroes have become nothing more than memories of the past, and the people who have crossed the Star Gate have lived up to their ideals. But what about her, and what about the others?
Fang Yu only looked a little at ease, and looked at the young man in front of him with a serious look.
He came to this world chasing such ideals and stories. To him, Star Gate symbolizes the beautiful side of human beings, the exploration of the unknown, the narration of courage, and the affirmation of his own civilization. It's just that the stupidity that Miss Scarpet once laughed at has now settled into something more determined.
The young man was slightly surprised when he listened to their discussion. He always felt that the people in front of him were a little different from those he had seen in the past, even though they all came from the same place. But he didn't dare to ask any more questions and just looked at the other person silently.
"Let's go," Fang Plover said to the other party, "Let's go to the inner city."
…
