"When I left Rotao for Giant Tree Hill and disembarked from the ship, I was penniless and had nowhere to go. Miss Atira took me in. She is a priestess of Goddess Ameya and a Forest Ranger of the Forest Sea Temple, so I became a Hall Guard Knight there. You know, although I follow Lady Marlan, Goddess Ameya doesn't require those who guard her gates to know the Way of Ancient Tree, and the kind elves don't mind that either,"

"Miss Atira is a Holy Tree Ranger?" Fang Hong was mildly surprised, "But I've heard that the Forest Rangers of the Forest Sea Temple are the chosen of Ameya, pure maidens, and they can't easily leave the Holy Tree Forest?"

"She made an ancient oath to the White Oak Tree, so it's not against the rules," Reed replied, patting Fang Hong on the shoulder and winking at him, "As for the rest, when Ade, she wants you to know, she'll tell you."

Fang Hong nodded.

"And what about you, Parker?"

"Well," Parker opened a wooden barrel on the edge of the platform, tiptoeing to grab something from inside. Luo Yu took the lid from his hands and pulled out an apple to hand it over. Parker took the apple, vigorously rubbed it on his shirt, took a big bite, and answered in a muffled voice, "My story is a long one, I couldn't finish in three days and three nights—let's start with the most exciting part. One time I encountered a real Giant Dragon in Wogang..."

"Alright, alright," Fang Hong interrupted him, fearing he really might go on for days and nights, "Just tell us about that Short Sword, how did you win the Thieves' Championship?"

He had already explained to Parker about the whereabouts of the Short Sword before, but the Papalarians getting their hands on an A++ pair of Short Swords made them ecstatic, and he 'generously' forgot about that 'trivial' detail.

"Ah, that was just a small matter. The competitors were so dumb; they couldn't even deceive Gerard, so I reluctantly took home the championship," Parker said somewhat despondently, waving his stubby hands, as in his eyes, the Giant Dragon was the noteworthy event.

"Gerard?"

"That's Lord Sanxiak's fat cat, but it wasn't that fat until after I formed a kitchen alliance with it." Parker took another bite of the apple and replied.

"That's a Shift Beast," the Lion People pointed out to him.

"A Shift Beast?" Fang Hong was stunned, "Isn't that kind of creature able to perceive changes in space? How could you evade its detection?"

"Didn't I tell you? I had a mutual defense pact with it, how could it betray an ally?"

"Wait, are you saying you cheated?"

"Otherwise, why do you think he's in this place?" the Lion Person shook his head, "This guy has only himself to blame, but if you go and apologize to Lord right now, it's not too late."

"I certainly won't apologize to that short, chubby man; I burned his favorite hat before I left."

"Well, you're really something," Reed spread his claws, shrugging his paws.

Fang Hong then turned to the only quiet, reticent young man among them: "Does Luo Yu have any stories? Why did you want to become an Invoker?"

Luo Yu shook his head: "Both my parents are Invokers; it was their expectation of me."

"Your parents?" Fang Hong looked at him surprisingly, judging from Luo Yu's age, his parents must have been at least in the first generation of Invokers.

"They were part of the first generation of Invokers after the Stargate," Luo Yu nodded.

The first generation of Invokers were the ones who entered through the Stargate after the 'Suva Declaration', renowned for their true fearlessness and spirit of exploration, many of whom later became legends.

Luo Yu paused, then continued, "They had high expectations for me, and they were very strict. Becoming a Trainee at Tabopolis, choosing the path of an Elementalist, it was all arranged by them."

From Fang Hong's perspective, this path seemed much smoother than his own.

But he couldn't detect any excitement or exuberance in Luo Yu's tone; it seemed all too commonplace, a road that was long planned out.

He didn't know if the other party truly liked this path, nor did he ask who his parents were, but the first generation of Invokers were certainly not ordinary people. Watching Luo Yu's tranquil face, Fang Hong wasn't really sure whether this was a fortunate thing for him.

As for himself, he wasn't sure whether to be envious or not, but if it were half a year earlier, he probably would have been very envious.

"And what about you, young man?" Reed then turned his head to ask him.

"Me?" Fang Hong shook his head and smiled lightly, "I've told everything I can about myself, running away from home, bribing staff, stowing away to get into Stargate Port, to come to this world, I've done enough audacious things."

"Did you ever consider the consequences of these actions, Ade, when you were doing them?" Luo Yu's eyes shone a bit brighter in the dark as he asked unusually, "Do you regret them?"

"I didn't have time to think so much," Fang Hong shook his head without hesitation, "I just knew I had to be here, nothing could stop me, and if there is anything I'd regret, it would only be if my dreams had not yet come true, nothing else."

"Brilliant answer," the Lion Person grinned, revealing his white, sharp teeth, "Determined and relentless, Lady Marlan would appreciate you."

Luo Yu silently gave him a look, his feelings somewhat hard to articulate.

What followed was a rather long silence.

The four men—including one plump little guy—leaned against the railing, watching a distant bonfire while surrounded only by the lingering chirps of the forest. And with Parker smacking on his apple, he then backed up a step and flung the core far into the distance.

"Why didn't you throw it as far as before?" Luo Yu asked curiously.

"Uh, I didn't throw it hard,"

Soon after, someone walked from the other side of Mr. Greyrock to beneath the platform.

Miss Hilveld, carrying a Wind Lantern, looked up at the men on the platform and smilingly said, "Good evening, gentlemen, and Lord Captain, we specifically need to deliver a batch of Magic Guided Conductors, and here's your work result. Would you care to join us?"

Fang Hong then noticed Xiesta standing silently by with a wooden box in her arms.

"Ah, I actually—"

Reed pushed him from behind, interrupting what he was about to say, "Are you really going to let the ladies walk the nighttime path alone? It's not gentlemanly to refuse a lady's invitation, Ade."

Fang Hong thought it was just a few steps away and hardly counted as travelling by night, yet seeing Hilveld's beaming smile, he found he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

Sometimes, even if a man isn't a gentleman, he will act like one in front of a beautiful woman.

He jumped down from the platform, and Hilveld, smiling, handed him the wind lantern.

"Miss Atira is waiting for us up ahead."

As she spoke, she handed him a huge handgun, "Type 3 'Lion' handgun, multi-chamber structure, seven rounds. Produced by the Emerald Bird Workshop, Lord Captain should know how to use it?"

"What is this?" Fang Hong was surprised, thinking to himself whether they were delivering goods or heading to their doom. Did they really need to use such a thing?

"It's not safe over there, caution is never a mistake," Hilveld smiled faintly. "Shouldn't the Captain protect his own Ship's Officer?"

"Alright."

"I've already replaced your main crystal with an alpha crystal, Lord Captain."

"Thank you."

But suddenly, Fang Hong sensed something was amiss. "You'd been planning to bring me along all along, hadn't you?"

Hilveld covered her mouth and chuckled lightly, "That is for Lord Captain to decide."

Fang Hong had no choice but to shake his head as he took the handgun and checked it. A big advantage of the Magic Guided Gun was its simplicity and ease of use, allowing even those without Gunslinger skills to fire it easily.

Loading and cleaning the barrel were a bit more troublesome, and the accuracy was worrisome, but seven rounds should be barely sufficient, especially since the power of this handgun was slightly higher than that of the Scepter of Regret.

After securing the handgun, he asked, "By the way, how are things at the Rain Listener Guild?"

Hilveld shook her head.

Ever since they had faced difficulties last time, the Vice Chairman of the Rain Listener Guild had personally apologized shortly afterward, and the issue had been dropped.

She answered, "Since then, their Vice Chairman has been in charge of receiving us, and there haven't been any major issues. However, privately, there are still those who show subtle hostility—yesterday at the Andelita Waterfall, someone almost knocked Tianlan into the pond; although it seemed accidental, I always felt it was deliberately arranged."

"I feel the same way," Fang Hong nodded.

The strange atmosphere permeating the Rain Listeners had become very apparent to him over the past few days.

"But is that man really the Rain Listeners' Vice Chairman?"

"Yes, the Vice Chairman of the Rain Listeners," Hilveld looked ahead, her deep blue eyes reflecting the golden firelight.

"But don't you find it strange, Miss Hilveld? Among the Rain Listeners' team, who holds the highest position?"

With a playful glint in her eyes, Hilveld turned back to look at him. "Are you suggesting that their internal opinions are not unified, and the Vice Chairman's authority is being overlooked?"

Fang Hong nodded.

"That's exactly the crux of the issue. However, the internal power struggles of the Rain Listeners have nothing to do with us; we just need to be a bit more cautious," she replied.

"That's also true," Fang Hong nodded in agreement.

However, he had a nagging feeling that the issue was not that simple.

The guild disputes in Eteliria often reflected a conflict among the higher echelons of the associated clubs; such conflicts were so intense that outsiders could sense something was amiss. Yet, this guild seemed not to have as much undercurrent as he had expected.

That young man he met named Baihua, as well as the two Apprentice Alchemists, the twin sisters, they did not seem to show any concern about the future of the guild.

This was too abnormal.

With these doubts, Fang Hong and his servant entered the camp area of the Rain Listeners.

Elf Miss and Tianlan were indeed there waiting for them; that little French girl even complained bitterly about their Captain always being absent.

Fang Hong could only helplessly console her.

The Rain Listeners' camp was as he had expected: the atmosphere was calm and peaceful, with most people discussing only the upcoming trials and unconcerned with other matters.

However, a few people nodded at them, showing goodwill.

But like Hilveld, Fang Hong could still feel the hostility hidden among the crowd, the occasional gaze, a whispered discussion, groups of people huddled together.

It was as if a certain group didn't welcome their presence.

This feeling was very odd.

Fang Hong looked around suspiciously, finally sensing something amiss.

He turned back and, pointing around, asked Hilveld, "Is it always like this every year?"

...

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