Pillars of Ita

Chapter 1313 The Beginning of the Year of the Fallen Star VII
"Sophie, do you mean the Stargate Port wants me to stop the Empire from getting the fragments and protect the seal of the Asha Scar?"

"Not entirely. The military's intention is for you to go to Heimwall and act as a liaison between the Long Bay people, the wild elves, the Silverwind Harbor Council, and the Elven Court."

Fang Zheng silently considered the feasibility of this plan. Admittedly, he now enjoyed a high reputation among the various forces in Giant Tree Hill, but could he really stop the Imperial vanguard fleet? He was unaware that the Saltbone Fleet had already been severely damaged by the Imperials; otherwise, he would have found the whole thing even more of a pipe dream.

Although it was only an advance fleet of the Ossyans, it was still quite large. According to reports from the front lines, the advance fleet consisted of fourteen large warships, including the flagship "Immortal". Among them were seven battleships of the fourth rank or higher. The flagship "Immortal" itself was a standard second-class Imperial battleship, equipped with a large shield generator and a medium-sized fast shield generator as a backup. The hull thickness near the waterline (the buoyancy baseline of the wind element) exceeded seven feet, and the entire ship was covered with 370 mithril armor plates, weighing a total of about seven tons. The ship was equipped with a total of 144 large, medium and small magic cannons, and there was at least one Gold Rank—that is, a trainee dragon knight—on board, making it an unsinkable Imperial fortress.

In addition, there were about 67 small auxiliary vessels accompanying them, including fast darts, gunboats, and transport and supply ships, which could also pose a threat to the Seven Seas Storm and Shining Silver Coin, which were converted merchant ships.

In comparison, the Moon Elves of Heimwald lack airships, and the Saltbone Fleet of the Sons of the Bay is significantly inferior. Across the entire Treehills, only the Sunfire Fleet of the Elven Court can rival them. However, the problem is that distant aid is insufficient for immediate needs. After the Ashbringer's Retribution, all three Sunfire Fleets were recalled to the Elven Court for the final battle and are still resting in Silverwind Harbor and Tirfur. By the time Autumnwood arrives as reinforcements, it will be too late.

Not to mention the possibility that the Second Division Super Arena Alliance might interfere. Admittedly, the interests of the Second Division and the First Division cannot always be aligned, but that does not prevent the forces behind them from exchanging interests. Moreover, the shadows of the Dark Dragon, the Saints, and the Shadow People are also involved.

Using 'immortality' as bait, how many people in the mortal world can resist the temptation?

The Gray-White Disaster had just ended, and the Hill of Giant Trees was in dire need of rebuilding. Clearly, the Empire had planned this all along and chosen a tricky time to invade.

“Hey, don’t look so gloomy. The military didn’t ask you to stop the Imperial army,” Sophie winked at him and smiled. “In fact, all you need to do is protect the second fragment.”

"Isn't that still the same thing?" Fang Zheng said irritably.

“This is indeed not an easy task,” Sophie looked at him, “so they didn’t force you to agree. So are you planning to refuse?”

Fang Zheng shook his head. "Why don't we talk about what would happen if the seal on the Scar of Asa was broken?"

Sophie countered, "You should know the origin of the Scar of Asa, shouldn't you?"

Fang Zheng nodded; he naturally knew this. When the Azure Star once crumbled, one of its fragments burned through the sky and fell into the middle of the Giant Tree Hill. At that time, the Giant Tree Terraka had not yet fully grown into its current towering form. The fragment embedded itself in one of its roots, almost corrupting the Giant Tree Terraka's body.

However, the elves and the Oathkeeper of that generation sacrificed themselves to seal the main fragments beneath Heimwol. For thousands of years, they have been searching for the remaining fragments in the forest and taking them away to purify them, thus preventing Asha's scars from spreading further.

Afterwards, a group of elves and fairies settled permanently in the dark woods of Heimwol, voluntarily becoming guardians of the seal. This branch is the ancestor of today's moon elves—or, as people call them, wild elves.

The descendants of the Oathkeepers migrated to the long, winding bays of the Sea of ​​Candlelight, becoming the original children of the bay. Another group crossed the ocean and established themselves in Rota'o, forming the present-day House of Flames. As for the descendants of both groups of Oathkeepers, Fang Zheng has already met them, so he will not elaborate further.

Seeing him nod, Sophie replied, "Since you understand, I don't need to start from the beginning. Once the second fragment is activated, Asa's seal will fail, and the verdant pollution will once again erode the sacred tree Terraca. The giant tree, which has just recovered from the gray-white disaster, will fall into crisis again."

"If the sacred tree withers or even decays, the Hill of Giant Trees will lose its vitality, and everything on this land depends on the life provided by Terraka. At that time, this continent will become a dead land, and even the flow of etheric veins may be cut off."

Fang Zheng felt a chill run down his spine. The etheric veins that traverse the continent are the foundation of the floating continent's existence, because it is the torrent of elements that nurtured the Gai Crystals. Without the nourishment of the etheric veins, the Gai Crystals that support the Hill of Giant Trees will gradually lose their vitality.

At that time, this homeland shared by elves, fairies, and Paparallans will likely become the first continent to sink into the Sky Sea since the time of the Hailin Disaster.

He couldn't help but think of Arsana, the elven princess who had become the new saintess of the Sacred Grove and his close friend. The two had adventured together among the branches of the White Tree, faced the fallen gods, fought side by side, and forged a deep friendship.

And then there's Miss Aitila. Although the Elf Lady is no longer the Great Saintess of White Forest, she will never sit idly by and watch her homeland, the Sacred Tree Terraka, sink into the abyss.

Moreover, the rapid fall of the Hill of Giant Trees would not be in their interest. The Empire has gradually lost its power to keep them in check. They have allied with the Shadowmen and made peace with the Dark Dragons. Once the Empire launches an attack on Corin-Ishrien, the situation will deteriorate further.

They must seek more allies before that happens. Although the Second District is unreliable, the elves and fairies are a natural force to rely on.

He now has close ties with two elven princesses—one of whom is now the regent of the elven royal court—and the fairies favor him because of Tata and her mother. The Paparallar people also have a good relationship with the Seven Seas Brigade, and there are even voices supporting them in the Silverwind Harbor Council.

He is unlikely to hastily abandon these allies, whether overt or potential. Although the threat of the Imperial vanguard fleet is imminent, as Sophie said, there might still be a way to seal the second fragment.

Speaking of these matters concerning the life and death of two worlds, how did they suddenly fall on the shoulders of a little guy like me who isn't even a dragon knight? Fang Zheng couldn't help but sigh, "What should I do?"

“The military has its own arrangements, so you don’t need to worry too much,” Sophie winked at him again, as if she could read his mind, and reassured him, “Don’t worry, no one expects you to fight the Ossy vanguard alone. The military probably just needs your help—”

Fang Zheng nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. If it was just about providing help within his capabilities, that would be fine.

After all, he was indeed more suitable to serve as the intermediary than others. After all, he and the Seven Seas Troupe were heroes in the World Pillar incident, and he had good relationships with various parties—even the Children of the Gulf owed him a huge favor because of the Dragon Blood Curse.

He didn't press the military for specifics, because Sophie had said someone else would contact them when the time was right. He also didn't ask why no dragon riders were involved, since everyone else had dragon riders, which was essentially the same as nobody else having any.

Moreover, if the Dragoons were to attack Heimwald, it would only hasten the eruption of the seal on the Scar of Asha. The First World's restrictions on the Dragoons are not merely due to their deterrent power, but more importantly, because their destructive potential truly exceeds the world's capacity to contain them.

As for why the dragon knights didn't suppress their strength to attack, it was actually unnecessary. The dragon knights who suppressed their strength were just gold-ranked apprentice dragon knights. There were plenty of people of that level of strength on the battlefield, so there was no question of them not attacking.

However, Fang Zheng had a personal question. Sophie hadn't contacted them for a long time, probably because of the confidentiality of the training period. But why did the military entrust her this time? Logically speaking, there were many ways for Xingmen Port to contact him, whether it was Su Changfeng, Bai Jia, or even Shang Wangyou. Why did they choose to entrust her to an unofficial person?
He vaguely sensed something unusual about it.

However, Sophie did not hide anything from this, "This is the second thing I wanted to talk about. Why don't we call Miss Hongye over as well?"

Fang Zheng was slightly surprised. Over there, after accepting his invitation, Hongye was discussing personnel and supply transportation methods, as well as the selection of a base with Luo Hao and Elisa, when she received his call. She quickly switched channels and appeared before Sophie and Fang Zheng:
"Ed, what's wrong? Is there anything else?"

“Ms. Red Leaf, you should have noticed that the situation on the Sky Sea has changed with the Empire’s invasion of the Giant Tree Hill,” Sophie said, looking at the other woman. “This is not just the prelude to a great war. You know, the floating fortress of Vor-Salasti, and you, may become the front line against the Empire.”

Hongye frowned and stared at the other party, not finding it difficult to discern a hidden meaning in the words of this Silver Vislan Princess.

She wasn't like Fang Zheng, completely oblivious to the workings of large guilds. Although the Oak Knights were now split in two and excluded from the two traditional alliances, she naturally understood some of the inside stories when dealing with other guilds. After the Mount Covenant incident, guild alliances from various regions began accelerating their deployment of personnel to the First World, partly to divide up the Free Alliance's legacy, and partly because of the prophecy:
'A land where twelve stars shine together, seven obelisks—'

But about two years ago, two major events occurred in Corin-Ishrien, one of which was the Autumn Twilight War, which revolved around the two giant guild alliances in the Third District, the Descendants of Flor and the Rainbow Alliance.

The second event was the cataclysmic change brought about by the sinking of one-third of Fenris and the fall of the Mountain King, Torragtus, into becoming a dark dragon.

Thinking of this, Hongye couldn't help but look at Fang Zheng beside her. In fact, the latter was a participant in both of these events and later became the savior of Fenris.

The war that took place in the autumn ended with the defeat of the descendants of Flor, but in Momiji's heart she knew that there was no real winner in that war, and the only one who benefited from it was the sea witch Mia.

Both of these things are actually related to one thing—an obelisk.

The Autumn Twilight War was a struggle for ownership of an obelisk located beneath the sea of ​​clouds near the port of Gura. Ultimately, the obelisk beneath Fenris sank into the abyss before the eyes of the entire world.

From that point onward, the strategies of various guilds began to change, and major guilds gradually stopped drawing personnel from the Second World. The following year, the Third Covenant Mountain Incident occurred, and this reverse flow of resources came to a complete end.

Subsequently, each region began to intensify its efforts in selecting seeded players. Hongye couldn't help but look at Sophie in front of her. It was at that time that the princess of Silver Visland, along with the descendants of Flor and the young generation of elite youth trainees of the Jeffrey Redcoats, were sent to the Second World in batches.

She could roughly guess why—one of the seven obelisks was lost forever, and all the major guilds, and even the Stargate organization, had to develop a backup plan, which in fact revolved around the Land of the Twelve Stars Shining Together.

Although the exact location of these twelve star fragments is still unknown, the prophecy has already indicated that the place where the twelve stars shine together must be in the Second World. This is why the struggle between Whale Hill and the Radiant Sea over the Turbid Domain of the Second World has once again intensified.

But this is just appearance.

The truth is—the third calamity, the calamity star Zhanqing, is approaching. It is said that before the third calamity Zhanqing arrives, a meteor will tear the sky apart, the fire of Venus will burn across the earth, and then a world war will cause the two worlds to merge.

The Aetarians viewed the war that swept across the land as a raging inferno that consumed everything.

This is the harbinger of the third calamity, the Red Calamity.

There have long been rumors that the Gate of Heaven connecting Aetaria and Hailin will collapse, and the land bridge will break, which will be the opportunity for the two worlds to merge—but the so-called merging actually means that most of Aetaria will sink into the abyss.

Just like the Hailin disaster of the past.

At that time, Corin-Ishrian, the Hill of the Great Trees, and Rotaor may all be destroyed. It is rumored that the Ossyans and their supreme emperor have been preparing for this for a long time, and the invasion of Heimwark is just the beginning.

Other countries were not unaware of this either, and most had their own preparations.

Since the Oak Knights split more than a year ago, Red Leaf, who was in charge of logistics for a branch in Tabolis, had noticed the abnormal fluctuations in the prices of goods in various markets more than once. Clearly, there was more than one force secretly acquiring those important war supplies.

This phenomenon is not limited to the north of Kalin-Ishrian, but also extends to southern Kalin, remote areas like Istonia, and even across the Sky Sea, the Oshur Empire, the Hill of Giant Trees, and Rotao, where fluctuations of varying degrees have occurred.

Regardless of country or region, this quiet hoarding of supplies is clearly widespread. However, in the past three years, apart from the Autumn Twilight War and the recent war launched by the Empire against the Grand Council, the entire Sky Sea Continent has been unusually peaceful. Under this peaceful atmosphere, the large-scale abnormal flow of supplies seems rather strange.

She investigated the flow of those supplies in private and came to an unbelievable conclusion.

The final destination of those supplies was the Second World.

Suddenly remembering something, Hongye spoke up, "In the past six months, the number of people going to the Second World has decreased significantly."

Sophie paused slightly, then looked at her with a brightening expression and answered, "That's because the proportion of transport ships has increased, Ms. Hongye. It seems you've already noticed something?"

"Is this related to this war?" Hongye asked in return.

Fang Zheng listened from the side, feeling somewhat confused. In fact, ever since Sophie started speaking, he seemed unable to join the conversation.

However, Sophie shook her head and explained, "There is a connection, which is exactly what I'm about to say." The princess of Silver Visland's expression became unusually serious. "The truth must not be shared with everyone. It's best if you two keep what I'm about to say a secret from the outside world, including your teams and the people around you."

She paused for a moment before saying, "The reason the Empire started the war is because Aetaria doesn't have much time left."

"What!" Fang Zheng was taken aback. He had long anticipated the impending arrival of the Third Calamity Star and had even been preparing for it. As for the precarious situation in Aetaria, he had also anticipated it, given the consistently abnormal readings of the Guy Crystals in various locations, and the Seven Seas Brigade's witnessing of the Empire's preparations beneath the floating continent of Sintaan.

But hearing those words from Sophie's mouth still caught him off guard. And the so-called "limited time" in Aetaria—how much exactly was "limited time"? Ten years, a year, or a few months? The difference was enormous.

But Sophie continued to shatter his hopes, saying, "To be precise, it's between one and three years, at most no more than three and a half years, but if things go quickly, it might only take one year and three months."

"Less than a year and a half?" Even Lian Hongye couldn't help but exclaim, "The calamity hasn't even arrived yet, how could it be so fast?"

“This is based on the rate at which the Guy Crystal readings are decreasing,” Sophie replied. “The Craftsmen’s Association’s investigation into this is unreliable, but Stargate Port anticipated this long ago. Based on the principle of mutual exchange, the high-level officials of various countries should also be aware of it by now.”

Hongye finally realized: "So, the unusual movement of supplies over the past two and a half years is..."

……

There will be another chapter in a while.