It was as if a layer of dark ash was falling from the sky, hiding the sunset under the dark red clouds.

The streets are quieter than daylight, and the orange lights are just turning on in an inn in the Terrasht district, where the residents of the Outer Harbour often choose to have a drink after a long day's work.

There weren't many people in the hall at the moment, and Alyssa was retracting her gaze from not far away, and a few people were sitting around the tables in the direction she was looking. Most of these people were dock workers in the outer harbors, miners in nearby mines, hired farmers, soldiers, or small workshop owners, or adventurers from other regions, mercenaries seeking to earn a few dollars for their lives.

These people are now with a sad face, holding wine glasses, and discussing in a low voice the situation that is not getting worse day by day.

For the city, all those who have a little wealth have already fled to the south, and even to the farther Elpahin and Fenris, and what remains here today is nothing more than the low-level citizens who have no way to retreat, or whose livelihood depends on it.

Not long after Fang Yu and his party entered the city, they figured out the general situation in Gula Harbor.

There has been no news of the Four Towns area yet, and the adventurers sent by the Adventurers' Guild to the north have not sent back any useful information, and it is rumored that the army of the north has caused panic in the port from beginning to end. Outside the city, however, there was a riot of the redeemed, and bandits were swarming, and it seemed that there was a scene of chaos everywhere.

Because of these reasons, production and life in the city have semi-stagnated, and the chain reaction is that the livelihood of ordinary people is not as good as day by day. Even these places of recreation, which should have been lively and noisy in the past, seem to be unusually deserted now.

And the more difficult the current days, the more people hope for that 'lost lock protection', as if as long as the enchantment is opened, everything will return to the old days.

Under such circumstances, it would be unrealistic to expect the citizens of Gula to recognize the true face of the Crowclaw Temple, and they had to find another way. The crystal was last seen in public three days ago, when it appeared in a museum in the Wald district, under the close care of the Grey Knight.

The consul of Gula gave a speech there, seemingly to restore the people's confidence.

That speech did have a certain effect.

There's a good chance that the crystal will remain in the museum after the lecture is over, guarded by the Ravental Temple. But there is also gossip that the Grey Knight sent it to a safer place to keep it, perhaps in the heart of Gullah, or in the basement of the town hall.

These three places are the most heavily guarded places in Gula Harbor today, and it is almost impossible to sneak in easily without alarming anyone, but fortunately, Fang Yuan has no intention of doing so.

The crystal was important to him, but the warlocks of the Star and Moon Council of Gura Harbor, as well as the craftsmen of the Craftsman's Guild, must have carefully examined it inside and out. And even these masters don't see anything abnormal, he doesn't think that he is any special than the others.

What he really cares about right now is, how did this crystal get to Gura Harbor?

Judging from the information they received in the port of Gullah, it was basically the same as their previous guess, and it was the Crowclaw Sanctuary that escorted the crystal to the port of Gula.

The Grey Knights claim to have found the crystal in the Artori region, and its origins are related to the favor of the Storm Lord Adanrian, thus demonstrating its ability to protect against the minions of darkness.

Regardless of whether the Grey Knights were telling the truth or not, at least in their descriptions, there were some details - such as the fact that the crystal was found in Snowstone, and that its discoverers included a parish patriarch of the Diocese of Altoria and the owner of Snowstone.

And these two people have arrived at Gula Harbor at this moment, and this news surprised Fang Yu. For he was almost certain that between the patriarch and the owner of Snowstone, at least one of them had appeared in the illusion of the subterranean realm.

If they were among the many figures who had appeared in the illusion, they must have known part of the truth, or at least had been involved in the inside story.

But now the question is how to find these two people.

The identity of the owner of Snowstone is still a mystery, but the patriarch is rumored to have settled in a certain temple, and there are now only two shrines in Gula Harbor, one to the south and one to the north. But the one to the south, in the slums of the Outer Harbour, is in such a shabby condition that it can almost be ruled out.

The one to the north is located in a noble district in the inner city, and it is said that the Grey Knight banned free access to the inner and outer cities soon after the closure of the city, and now it seems that the Patriarch is likely to be in the inner city. However, it is not easy to enter the inner city at the moment, but fortunately, snakes have snake paths, rats have rat paths, as long as there is money, and there are few things that cannot be done in Gura Harbor now.

Fang Yu first asked Miss Nightingale to disguise herself as a merchant who wanted to open the joints, and hung up a mission in the adventurer's guild in the city, and sure enough, it didn't take long for someone to volunteer to contact them, claiming to help them enter the inner city.

The man had agreed a time to meet them here, and it was almost time for her to make it happen, so that Alyssa could roam the hall with a wary gaze.

However, she was making her rounds when she suddenly heard someone knocking on the glass behind her, and when she turned around, she saw a young man's face outside the window not far away.

The other man, who was wearing only a thin coat and his face was a little pale, looked at them vigilantly from the window, he lifted the window and asked, "You are not merchants?" ”

"We are not businessmen." Behind Alyssa, Fang Yu spoke 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, their group of people had nothing to do with the merchant no matter what: "We are adventurers, but now we have a commission in our hands and need to go to the inner city." ”

But the young man only took a step back and shook his head: "I'm sorry, I can't help you, I don't want to get in trouble." ”

With that, he turned to leave.

"Wait a minute," Sylvid said, "since your Excellency has accepted that commission, how can you be afraid of trouble?" ”

The young man was stunned for a moment, and looked back at them, but since the noble lady had worn makeup, she looked like she was just an ordinary female adventurer at the moment.

He hesitated for a moment before replying, "That's not the ......."

"It's no different," Sylvide shook her head, she looked at the other party who was standing in the cold wind with a vegetable on her face, trembling slightly, "Your Excellency is in need of money, we can pay you double." ”

This sentence seemed to move the young man, making him stand in place with a frown, and did not speak for a while, but he had no intention of leaving.

"Three thousand miles," Sylvid directly increased the price to three times, and hit the railroad while it was hot: "I only need you to bring us into the inner city, and the rest has nothing to do with you, even if we get into any trouble, it has nothing to do with you." ”

The young man looked up a little incredulously and looked at them. At last he gritted his teeth, raised his hand and gestured to them, and then pointed to the table in front of everyone: "Give me a portion of your food, besides, this is not a place to talk, you 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 for Tianlan to go to the front desk to settle the bill.

The young man took the basket with some nervousness, then took the brown paper inside, wrapped the bread carefully, and then handed the basket back. Then he stood outside the window and waited for the people of the Seven Seas Brigade, watched them walk out of the inn, and then beckoned in this direction, and led them in one direction without saying a word.

Fang Yu and the others followed the young man through two or three blocks, and then into a winding alley. To be on the safe side, he released a Clockwork Elf, and through the Clockwork Elf's vision, he could roughly tell that they had left the original business district and entered the lower town.

It is already the location of the Gula Outer Harbor District, close to the wharf, and due to the large number of dock workers, low-level laborers live in this area, making it the location of the largest slum in Gula Port. In the distance, a factory area came into view, and Fang Yu could even see a towering chimney in the direction of the port.

Gula Port is famous for its mines, with high-quality iron and coal mines forming a natural coal-iron complex, and a large number of steel mills are located here. In the language of the Elves of Evan Quinn, Gula originally meant crimson rock.

After passing through the factory area, the group entered a low shanty town, which Fang Yu knew was the slum of Gulla, and the young man led them around the shantytown, and it took a long time for them to stop in front of a dilapidated log cabin.

He stopped in front of the hut and turned to look at the people of the Nanami Brigade 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 silence.

While the other party was looking in one direction, Fang Plover also followed his gaze, the shanty town extended in the direction of the port, forming a ladder of different heights, and from here, in the shed area below, Fang Plover actually saw a line of gray knights wearing black and white battle robes.

The Grey Knights were making their way through the slums, accompanied by a number of Electors, the difference between the Chosen and the Natives was almost immediately apparent. In particular, the Guild's Electors are the only ones who wear uniform uniforms.

"The people of the Ravental Temple." Tianlan recognized the identity of the other party from afar, and couldn't help but whisper.

"And the Spear of the Silver Forest." Momiji also recognized the identities of those who had been drafted.

The gray knights below seemed to be checking something, they went from house to house before exiting and marking different marks with their pens on the doors, but because they were too far away and the sky was dark, Fang Yu and the others could barely see what the mark was.

After inspecting the shantytown below, the Grey Knights and the Silver Spear gradually walked away, but they never found the Fang Plover above their heads.

Fang Yu turned around and asked the young man, "What are they doing?" ”

"It has nothing to do with you," replied the young man, who only stared at them, "you wait here for me, and I will put my things away, and then I will take you to the inner city." Besides, I need money first, and I can't have one less child. ”

"You're asking too much, aren't you," Bai Ye finally couldn't help but speak, "If I give you the money first, who will we go to if you run away?" ”

But the young man did not say a word, only watched them quietly.

Fang Yu saw the other party's insistence, nodded and said, "Okay." ”

Three thousand miles is nothing, and with a clockwork goblin in hand, he is not worried that the other party will slip under his nose.

It's just that Fang Yu looked at the young man in front of him who was in rags and shivering in the cold wind, and he preferred to believe that the other party was not planning to extort their money.

The young man nodded, then turned and walked into the hut behind him without saying a word. Fang Yu watched this scene, and with a flick of his hand, the clockwork fairy in mid-air flew down, circled the shed area, and then flew in through the window behind the house.

He pulled down his goggles and narrowed his eyes, and the first thing that caught his eye was the dim darkness of the room. The house was in a dilapidated state, and few decent belongings could be found, and the young man was walking into the room with a package, placing his things on the lame table, and then pulling open the door of the empty cupboard.

The other party turned around, carefully opened the paper bag, and transferred the contents of the food to the cupboard one by one.

However, the slight noise made by the young man seemed to alarm the other people in the room, and the next moment Fang Yu heard a deep voice coming from inside the room:

"Who?"

The young man paused, then looked in that direction, and replied, "Uncle Walid, it's me." ”

"Cole?"

There was a sound of rustling in the house, like the sound of something heavy mopping the floor, Fang Yu turned the clockwork fairy in that direction, only to see a tall middle-aged man limping out of it.

The other man was propped up on the wall with one hand, and a chair was propped up with the other, and he stood on the ground on one of his remaining legs, while only an empty trouser tube hung down on the other leg.

The middle-aged man stood at the door, looked at the things on the table, and couldn't help but pout: "Where did you get these foods?" ”

"I've taken a job," replied the young man, "and I'll get a sum of money, and we'll have nothing to eat for days, and with that money we might at least survive the winter." Uncle Walid, you'll hand this out to everyone later—"

"Cole, where are you going?" Walid asked in a deep voice.

The young man was stunned, then turned back and replied, "There is a group of adventurers who want me to take them to the inner city." ”

"The inner city is unstable right now," Waled shook his head, "the Grey Knight doesn't allow anyone to enter the inner city right now, Cole, don't put yourself in for us." ”

"If I don't go, we're all going to starve." The young man sighed: "And the gray knight has already chosen me, it is unlikely that I will come back alive, if I really don't return, I will trouble you to take care of my sister and my mother." ”

Walid was silent for a moment, opening his mouth to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything, only nodded slowly to him.

The young man bowed his head slightly, then put down what he was holding and walked out.

Fang Yu also retracted his clockwork fairy at that moment, and then lifted the goggles. He looked up just in time to see the empty-handed young man coming out of the shack, and he looked in that direction, and suddenly opened his mouth to ask:

"What did the Grey Knight tell you to do?"

The young man was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but look at them with some surprise, his eyes full of uncertainties.

"Those Grey Knights, what are they here for?" Fang Yu 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, and his face changed greatly: "...... How do you know what I just said? ”

Fang Yu raised the clockwork fairy in his hand and shook it in front of the other party. "As you can see, I'm an alchemist. We promised to pay you first, but there are always some precautions, but rest assured, I have no intention of interfering in your private affairs, but I am just a little curious about the previous scene. ”

The young man fell silent and looked at him with a complicated expression: "Is that a clockwork goblin......?" You are...... Craftsman? ”

Fang Yu nodded.

“…… The Grey Knight is arresting," the young man thought for a moment before replying, "The army to the north is closing in on Gula Harbor, and the dragons, the shadow men, and the minions of the dark dragon...... However, the defenders of the harbor were already overstretched, and in order to protect the city, the Crowclaw Temple required all young men to be drafted into the army......"

Conscription?

Fang Yu was slightly stunned in his heart?

In his imagination, it was impossible for the Crowclaw Temple to ignore the army from the north, as could be seen from the news that they had fallen to the four towns until now.

But they didn't recruit to deal with themselves, they had suffered a small loss on the battlefield not long ago, but judging from the strength of the Crowclaw Temple in the north, it was far from the time to use the reserves, let alone run to the Gula to recruit troops.

With a reserve of this size, the amount of money and supplies invested is not a small amount, what is the Ravenclaw Temple preparing for such an army to do to attack Elpahim?

"Because you are going to be conscripted into the army," Fang Yu asked, "That's why you came to take over our commission, and the people you helped, who are they?" ”

"They are my co-workers," replied the young man softly, "Uncle Walid lost his right leg in a mining accident to save me...... I don't know if I'll make it back alive, but without the money, Uncle Walid wouldn't have survived this winter. ”

"You're miners?" Baggins asked, somewhat surprised, "Has the situation in Gula Harbor gotten so bad?" But it doesn't go that way, I remember that the city was famous for its nearby mines, which brought prosperity, and although the majority of the profits went to the aristocracy, the citizens always shared in the dividends of the city's development. When I left Kaulin-Ishurian, it was a thriving place, with families from other places moving here in search of a chance to make a fortune, but now in spite of the turmoil in the north, aren't the factories and mines still open? ”

The young man looked at him, shook his head, and said, "The factories and mines are still open, but what does it have to do with us, sir, what you said is the past, and it was indeed the case in the early years of Gulla." But now it's different, since these mines and factories have been handed over to those people, they have alchemists and machines that can't run out of strength, and they don't need us anymore. ”

Alyssa sighed and replied, "Mr. Baggins, he's right. Now the nobles have long since stopped operating in person, and these mines have long been contracted to several major guilds of the Rainbow Alliance, and they are only responsible for participating in the dividends. Mines, steel mills, docks, and commercial districts, where the Great Guilds monopolized all aspects of Gulla's industries, were used to support the war between their unions, and the oppression of the low-level citizens who sold their labor power here over the past decade had not been lessened, but worsened. ”

She paused, "It's just that in the past, this port served adventurers and mercenaries, and the Electors spent lavishly, so it was able to maintain a false prosperity, but since Charter City was reduced to ashes by the dragon beast attack, the seemingly stable system of the North has been in turmoil day after day......

Ai Xiaoxiao's eyes widened, her forehead was shining, and she couldn't help but say, "How come?" In her mind, the opening of the stargate was a two-way benefit to both worlds. Humanity has brought civilization, and hyper-competition has given layers of aura to the Elector, which is not said in those propaganda.

But Azure shook her head, "Actually, it's pretty much the same in other places, and when I left from the Twelve-colored Iris, I remember that things weren't necessarily any better over there than here. The Great Guild only cares about interests and nothing else, and under their influence, the attitude of the Electors towards this world has become more and more indifferent. Now the refugees of Grey Owl Town...... It's just a portrayal of the moment. In fact, I've heard that the situation is even worse in Orsyria, where the ruling class of the Empire is in collusion with the plundering capital from behind the Stargate, and those people don't care about the lives of those below, and there have been several uprisings in the Empire since last year......"

The Parral blinked and looked at her with some curiosity, "yes, how come I've never heard of such a thing?" ”

He still remembers when he left the Hill of the Giant Tree, which was still a scene of singing and dancing. The competition between the callers in the second division is far less serious than that of the other two regions, and at least there is a good appearance between people.

"That's just what you don't know," Azure sighed a little rarely, "The alliance and the nobility whitewashed the peace together, just like here, and the Empire's suppression is even more vigorous, only the upper echelons have the inside details of those riots, and I also got information from inside the twelve-colored irises." Besides, the members of the Grand Guild didn't even bother to be in the company of ordinary Electors, how could they care about the affairs of the aborigines, and without such a high-profile incident as the Seven Seas Brigade in it, it was normal for the news to be suppressed. ”

"But in fact, there are not no wise people in the empire, the daughter of the deceased former emperor Ted III, the eldest princess of the empire sensed the crisis and planned to change, but the power of the nobles united in the electors overthrew her, and now Her Royal Highness is nowhere to be found......"

The little girl shook her head in disgust: "I actually ...... because I can't get used to this."

But she suddenly raised her head, realized that she had spoken out of her mouth, and quickly closed her mouth.

However, the Paparals didn't care about this, and only smacked their lips, a non-guild member like him was what Sky Blue called an 'ordinary Drafter'. But how would the Paparals care about that? What's so great about the twelve-colored irises that he won't be afraid of these.

Fang Yu glanced at Tianlan, he had actually guessed the identity of this little girl, but he only determined something at this moment - how could ordinary people know these inside stories, of course, ordinary people could not easily slip out of the academy, just look at Ji Ta and Luo Yu to understand.

He looked at Luo Yu on the side again, and the latter seemed to be still immersed in his own world, and he didn't notice it.

Several of the Chosen Ones of Tapolis were silent when they heard this, the Knights once claimed to be a role model for the Free Electors, but as members of the Rainbow League, they were also the builders and defenders of the system. Everything they were used to on weekdays sounded particularly harsh from Tianlan's mouth at the moment.

They may think they don't care about that anymore—

But everyone has been trapped by interests for a while, but they have not had a hero's dream in their hearts, and the reason why people yearn for those top players packaged by layers of halos in the Super Athletic League is not because of this yearning in their hearts?

But what is packaged is only the outer garment that is packaged after all-

But when the layers of vanity are stripped away, people have to face this bloody reality, what are they bringing to the world?

Is it true that Aitaria has prospered under the influence of the Stargate?

Several members of Tapolis opened their mouths, intent to retort, but did not know how to speak. The reality of the entire North is in front of them, and they may not have caused it, but are these really the dreams of the heroes they are chasing?

They can't answer that question in their hearts.

Among the crowd, only Shaya couldn't help but glance up at the autumn leaves beside him.

It was as if she had only understood what the other party was pursuing, and what Eugudora and the previous president had been insisting on, what it was. The past of those so-called heroes has just turned into memories of the past, and the people who have crossed the stargate live up to their ideals, but what about her, the others?

Fang Yu only looked a little safe, and glanced at the young man in front of him with a heavy gaze.

He came to this world after chasing such ideals and stories, and the star gate symbolizes the moral of 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 the stupidity that Miss Scapet once laughed at, but now it has precipitated into something more determined.

The young man listened to their discussion, and his heart was slightly surprised, he always felt that the people in front of him were a little different from the people he had seen in the past, although they were all from the same place. But he didn't dare to ask more, just looked at the other party silently.

"Let's go," Fang Yu said to the other party, "Let's go to the inner city." ”

……