"Knock ......"

Fang Yu looked at the gray-haired, unshaven, haggard middle-aged man in front of him, his throat was stirring up and down, and he was pouring his head up and forth in a kind that was extremely inconsistent with his current image, and rose-colored wine rolled down his beard like scattered tiny rubies, all the way to his tattered clothes.

Delan let out a long sigh and wiped his beard with his withered hands, and he put down the keg, and his eyes seemed to light up, and he was looking at Fang Plover with a playful look that he had never seen before. "The Istanians believe that it has a magical power that brings people back to life because it has the color of blood, and the witch doctors believe that blood is a sacred, magical product - can you imagine that? So in the past, the locals used to use it as a holy object to cure all diseases, until 'you' arrived. I can't even remember the last time I drank it, the last time I drank it, when it was. ”

Fang Plover glanced at the wine flowing on the ground, and said that it looked like blood, but he believed that its name might come from this. But as for the magic of this wine, he had tried it himself, but it was just an ordinary wine, and it was not even necessarily how evocative it was, of course, his knowledge of the wine of Aitaria was limited to the moonshine of the elven dwelling, and the blood of the desert seemed to be only a little different in taste compared to the latter.

The locals believe that desert blood has the same color as blood, so they worship it as a sacred object, and this quaint theory of complementing form with form seems to be found in different worlds, but it is only an ancient and primitive way of thinking.

Fang Yu looked at the middle-aged man's appearance, and finally determined that this person really just wanted to taste this fine wine, but from the other party's language, he still got some details. It seems that the other party has tasted the blood of the desert in the past, but I don't know in what way? The blood of the desert is a specialty of the Bein region, the cellar of the nobility, and people from ordinary backgrounds have no chance to get their hands on it, and they don't know what kind of origin this middle-aged man who seems to be sloppy and down-and-out is?

But presumably, as an alchemist, it is not difficult to become a guest of the nobles.

It's just that I don't know why the other party is trapped in this place, imprisoned by the mystics, and he seems to be willing to look at him. When he thought of this, Fang Yu was suddenly stunned, he didn't know much about the situation here before, and instinctively thought that this person was a prisoner of the Mystic Warlock. But now that he knew that the Mystic was just a passer-by here, the man in front of him was actually the Earl's prisoner?

But seeing that the earl imprisoned him in this outer prison, it didn't seem to be an important status, so why did he stay here for ten years?

How many decades are there in life?

Fang Yu couldn't help but think of the old scholar who lived in the dungeon of the eldest princess's palace, and wondered if it would be like that, this middle-aged man named Delan was actually staying here as a kind of protection, not imprisonment? But judging from the living conditions of the other party, it seems that this is not the case, if you seek the protection of the Earl, the other party will not be attentive to the hospitality, and will not even provide some paper and pen for his research?

He suppressed the doubts in his heart, time waits for no one, and now the three dungeons in the outer area have been liberated, the people of the Shield of Lufu have converged, and the fortress is under their control - of course, this is a blessing from this sandstorm, and their actions must not have gone so smoothly in normal times. First, the castle's defense was lax under the bad weather, and second, the communication problems caused by the sandstorm certainly not only affected the electors, but all the local communication systems were also paralyzed.

But a military fortress will inevitably have contingency measures, because the locals will only know more about the sandstorm than they do, and although it is not clear when the other party will react, Fang Yu knows that every little time he wastes, the less chance he will leave them in the future. Thinking of this, he asked directly:

"Or a few more secrets about the mystics, who do they really serve? Now that I have brought you the blood of the desert, it is your turn to make good on your promise. ”

But at the end, Fang Yu added: "You are not from Istania?" ”

He deduced this from the middle-aged man's own tone, just as most Electors would not normally say, 'Drafters think cross-border communications are expensive,' and they would usually only express their indignation by saying, 'We think this thing is a money grab'.

And often only when you are not in this group, will there be a natural third-party perspective in your tone.

Of course, there are also some unspeakable people who often use the words 'your country', 'you will', and 'your altar', which belong to a special group and cannot be included in the scope of discussion.

Delan put his hand on the barrel, looked at him and smiled: "It seems that you still can't give up your curiosity about my identity, but unfortunately, I'm actually just an ordinary person, not as bizarre as you imagined, and I don't plan to talk about the past." Let's get down to business, after drinking your wine, of course I will fulfill my promise. ”

Fang Yu didn't think so.

Ever since he listened to the conversation between the two servants, he had believed seven or eight points of Derean's previous words, and how could the other party, as a prisoner, know the secrets of the mystical sorcerers, he said that he was an ordinary person, would anyone believe him?

However, after others drink, they may seem a little delirious, but after the other party drinks, they reverse the previous chattering demeanor, and the light in their eyes gradually becomes sober and rational.

"This answer may surprise you a little," Derain's tone was normal, and he added, "I suggest you be mentally prepared." ”

"I'll judge for myself."

"Then if I said it was Barbartan, the King of Sands, would you believe it?"

A dull light flashed in Fang Yuan's eyes.

Of course, he instinctively didn't believe it.

Although the Lord Count was nominally loyal to the King of the Sands, it was just a joke that there was no one in this desert who was not nominally loyal to the Penelope royal family. Of course, perhaps such a possibility cannot be ruled out, after all, the Penelope family also had political allies back then, and after three generations of business, they are no longer the loners of the past.

Perhaps this Earl is truly loyal to Barbartan, the King of Sands, is unknown.

But shouldn't the courtiers of Barbartan be in opposition to the slave traders, to the supporters of the slave trade, to the blind followers? The Earl had allied himself with the Mystics, who were involved in the smuggling and had seen them do exactly that when they exterminated the Blind Followers.

And for those of them who also serve the eldest princess, the other party shows that this is not like the attitude that should be towards allies. Fang Yu couldn't help but shake his head, he couldn't say that the secret warlock and the Earl were both serving the Sand King Babartan, and the Sand King Babartan couldn't get along with his eldest daughter, right?

But all of a sudden, he froze—

Will the King of Sand and his eldest daughter be on opposite sides? This sounds a bit fanciful, not to mention that the latter is the daughter of the former, and the two are also on the same page, especially the eldest princess has always stood firmly on the side of the Penelope royal family against the princes and nobles who supported the slave trade.

Secondly, taking the current incident as an example, this attack that originated ten years ago and involved wandering alchemists and blind followers, and the victim is also the biological mother of Her Royal Highness the princess, if the incident of the mysticists intervening in the activities of the blind followers is also due to the order of the sand king, then aren't the starting points of the two the same?

But he wanted to deny Deran's words, but he couldn't help but think of something in his heart.

Not long ago, while investigating the Tansnir Craftsmen's Guild, he learned that the warrants that the mystics had obtained to invoke the Crystal Tower came from the Council of the Stars and Moons. The Council of the Stars and Moons, located north of Elpahim, is an organization similar to the Craftsmen's Guild that transcends royal power, but this transcendence is not contempt, but cooperation.

In the past, he instinctively thought that there was a relationship between the Star and Moon Council behind this matter, but if he thought about it carefully, it was actually from the Star and Moon Council, not necessarily from Elpahim, it could actually have a second source. It's like a warrant from the Craftsmen's Guild, and it's entirely possible that it doesn't come from Goland, but from Cuestak, the capital of sand.

Just as Questak has a general meeting of artisans, the Council of the Stars and the Moon has a headquarters here, but just as the general association of craftsmen of Goland is actually subject to the orders of the royal family of Kaulin-Iherian, the Council of the Stars and the Moon of Cuestak is naturally subject to the arrangements of the royal family of Penelope.

It's just that he didn't consider this possibility at all in the past, for the reason that, as he said before, he ruled out the possibility of the Sand King Babaltan intervening in the first place.

But if that's the case, then everything makes sense, at least some of them make sense, otherwise if Elpahin's Star and Moon Council were to be involved, Fang Yu wouldn't believe that the influence of the blind followers had penetrated so far anyway. If these cultists could even infiltrate the headquarters of the Star and Moon Council of Elpahim, it would be a disaster no less than the Dragon Witch disaster.

Moreover, the plan of the blind followers seems to be much more powerful than that of the dragon worshippers.

But there are two possibilities, and if the latter is reasonable, the former will contradict itself. If the former is reasonable, the latter will be the other way around.

Either way, there seems to be a contradiction, which is very puzzling. Fang Yu couldn't help but wonder to himself, could it be that the mystical warlocks didn't actually know that they were serving Her Royal Highness the Celestial Princess, thinking that they were a group of blind followers, so they would attack?

But that didn't explain what he had seen before, what was that silver square, what was the ability to capture Starlight? Why did the mystics kill the blind followers, he really couldn't think of any other possibility than to kill them.

And if the other party really thinks that he is on the side of the blind followers, why should he treat them differently from the shield of Lu Fu and bring them to this place? Just because they are the Chosen One?

However, Fang Yu thought about it carefully, and it seemed that there was really such a possibility, because they were the ones who were elected, so according to the "Star Gate Declaration", the other party should hand over these 'contacts with cultists' to Star Gate Port for handling. But even if he thinks about it, there are still many suspicions, even if the secret warlock and the princess are investigating the matter of the blind follower, but the two sides seem to have no exchange of information.

On the surface, it seems that this is really the case, the actions of the mystic, the eldest princess did not mention it at all, and she looked completely unaware. But in this way, even if the system of Istania is backward, the king of sand, who also belongs to the royal family of Penelope, will not be estranged to this extent from his daughter, right?

Not to mention that the two have a common purpose, isn't this a great waste of intelligence resources? Because their actions do not communicate, it will inevitably mean a lot of repetitive work, Fang Yu feels that even the problems he can think of, the King of Sand and the equally shrewd eldest princess will not think of?

This obviously doesn't make sense.

However, even if there are still many doubts, Fang Yu still believes a little bit of Delan's words, at least this does not seem to be stubble, if he really wants to believe it, in fact, the other party can find some more reasonable reasons, instead of this ridiculous-sounding conclusion, which arouses suspicion.

Delan saw that his eyes flickered, and he quickly calmed down, and a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes: "You have no suspicions at all?" ”

Fang Yu looked at the other party: "Why should I be suspicious?" ”

"I thought this conclusion was contrary to your common sense."

"Why do you say that?"

"You're doing things for the eldest princess, aren't you?"

Fang Yu was taken aback and looked at each other.

"Don't be so curious, even though I'm locked up in this place, I can occasionally learn a little bit about the outside from the jailer's chat. I may not know the others, but Her Royal Highness the Celestial Princess is so famous, of course I don't know it, and besides, her father was already the King of Sand before I was imprisoned here......"

Deran laughed again, "And when you were locked in by the mystics, I happened to hear them discussing about you. They probably thought I was just an insignificant prisoner, and with the fact that I had been kept here for more than a decade, they probably forgot that there was one more person here. ”

This person was indeed not a prisoner of the Mystic Warlock, and this thought flashed through Fang Yu's heart.

He looked at the other and asked, "What did they say?" ”

"Nothing, just some inconsequential words, they seem intent on keeping you imprisoned here until 'the whole thing' is over. At this point, the little girl didn't lie to you, in fact, as I said earlier, you don't need to rush out, do you? ”

Fang Yu frowned, this showed that the secret warlocks were obviously aware of their own identities, but this could not explain why the other party wanted to attack himself and Lu Fu's shield, and what did the other party mean by 'the whole incident is over', and what did 'the whole incident' refer to? Is it this sandstorm?

Speaking of this sandstorm, he also remembered a detail at this time, that is, the little girl at the front desk of the Istanian Artisan Association, named Amira or what? By the way, it should be the name Camilla, and in short, the other party complained to him more than once about the recent communication problems when he transmitted his drawings to the General Association of Goland Artisans.

At that time, the two thought it was the aging equipment, but after thinking about it carefully, maybe it could be the cause of the sandstorm? But will this sudden sandstorm really have an impact from a month ago? Fang Yu always felt that there might be some problems here, but he couldn't think of it for a while.

He only asked again, "What is the end of the whole affair?" ”

Deran smiled, "You really think of me as a well-informed 'bard', but unfortunately I'm not, I'm just hearsay, I don't know what the mystics are planning." ”

Fang Yu couldn't help but look at the other party deeply.

Deran said, "You haven't told me yet, don't you doubt my words at all?" ”

"Of course I doubt," Fang Yu replied, "but I have my own way of judging, and it does not mean that I will believe it, or I will not believe it." ”

After he said this, he saw Delan in front of him frowning.

The other party was looking into his eyes, the eyes of this down-and-out middle-aged man were hidden under the thick and dense eyebrows, under the messy and dirty hair, unkempt, but at the moment they looked particularly bright, the previous bleak feeling was swept away, but it made people feel a little deep and mysterious, and even made Fang Yu have a feeling that he was being seen through.

"That's a familiar one."

Teresa replied, "I seem to have heard it somewhere. ”

Fang Plover took a step back slightly, almost thinking that he had seen Odin for a moment, in fact, so far, Fang Plover had only seen such a look on a few people, even the 'wanderer', all of whom were masters of the moment - except, of course, the shrewd Miss Scarpe.

However, he couldn't help but sigh when he saw the other party's chattering appearance, it seemed that the effect of the desert blood had passed, and this guy had reverted to the same way before. But even if nothing had changed, he had already expected that he would no longer be able to get any useful information from the other party.

Although the news alone is enough to overturn many of his previous judgments, sometimes it is not necessarily a bad thing to overturn his previous judgments, because in an event, there are only so many possibilities for elimination.

Fang Yu took one last look at the other party, and finally asked a question:

"Mr. Derain, aren't you really going to leave with us?"

But the other party still shook his head:

"I remember saying that I think it's safer to stay in this place."

Fang Yu looked at this unkempt middle-aged man carefully, almost as if he wanted to see through the other party, he always felt that there must be some secrets hidden in this person, but sometimes it was like this, Attaria was so vast, and everyone in this world might have a lot of secrets hidden in them.

However, not every secret has an answer, and he also understands that he cannot figure everything out. After one last glance at Delan, Fang Yu decided to turn around and leave, knowing that once he left this place, he would probably not return to this place.

He said, "Thank you for the drawings, excellent design." ”

Delan smiled lightly and said unconcernedly, "You're welcome." ”

It's just a conversation between two alchemists.

And Fang Yu knew that this might be the last conversation between the two, although they had only met once, and then all the secrets hidden here would probably be unknown to anyone until Delan remained anonymous and died in the prison of this place.

But it is also possible that another Elector will come to this place in the future and open this quest line by chance, so as to learn all the secrets behind this god-like middle-aged man.

Yet this is the case with Aitalia, which seems so unpredictable to people from both worlds.

After Fang Yu walked out of the prison door, he saw the black little fat sneakily greeted him, although there were no more guards patrolling around, the little fat man still lowered his voice and said to him: "Big man, there seems to be a new movement in the inner court. ”

After they seized the fortress, they naturally left people to monitor the movements of the guards on the other side of the inner court, and once there was a change, they would notify this side. Hearing this, Fang Yu asked, "What's wrong?" ”

"There seems to be a transfer."

Fang Yu was stunned for a moment, realizing that the other party might have been aware, although he still didn't know, how did the other party know this, and no one had come to this area to inspect before. However, this was still within his expectations, and it was only revealed that it was actually much more than the minimum time he had estimated, so he did not seem very surprised.

He only replied: "The mission here is over, so while they are not fully mobilized, we will strike first, and the next step is to capture that warehouse." ”

But speaking of this, Fang Yu suddenly stopped, looked at Wu Xiaopang and asked, "By the way, there is something I want to ask you." ”

Hearing that the big guy wanted to ask himself, Wu Xiaopang looked flattered, and hurriedly asked: "Big guy, just say it, I know everything." ”

"That's right," Fang Yu pondered his words for a moment, so as not to scare the guy, "If you have millions of gold coins in front of you, can you find a way to take them away?" ”

When Wu Xiaopang heard this, he was stunned at first, and then looked at Fang Yu with a strange look, and looked at the latter confused:

"What's wrong, what's on my face?"

Wu Xiaopang hurriedly shook his head: "No, big guy, didn't you say that time is limited, why do you keep making fun of me?" ”

"How can I make fun of you?"

"Big guy, are you serious?"

Fang Yu was very inexplicable, and said angrily: "Of course, otherwise what do you think?" ”

So Wu Xiaopang's expression became even more strange: "That...... Isn't it okay to digitize it directly? ”

"Huh?"

Fang Yu was suddenly petrified.

……