A month, or a quarter of a year, isn't too long. Considering that the territory of the empire is much larger than that of the alliance, the task of several people becomes even more urgent.

Therefore, after saying goodbye to Frey and the others, they did not travel as leisurely as before. With the help of the continent map given to them by Sora, Yuffie used the advanced teleportation technique he had just practiced to send several people directly to the vicinity of Zecheng through the astral boundary.

"It's so convenient, it would have taken days to travel, but it's only a blink of an eye." Lin looked at the surrounding scenery and couldn't help but sigh, "It's a pity that when we go back, we won't be able to enjoy such a good thing." ”

"Don't worry." Yu Fei held his chin thoughtfully, "The current situation in the El Continent...... Most likely man-made. As long as the specific cause is found, it may not be long before the connection with the astral plane can be restored. ”

"That's good, your instincts are usually right." The blonde girl immediately looked happy, she stretched hard, and raised her hand to the city not far away, "What are we going to do next, find a way to sneak in, or pretend to be a merchant and sneak in and have a look?" ”

Sawajo, the base of the "Fog Department", is even smaller than expected, and the number of houses is only about 10,000 or 20,000 permanent residents, barely enough for the size of a large town.

They stood on a hillside not far from the town—not far from the coastline, but there was still a rolling hill nearby. From here, you can see the structure of the castle as far as you can. It was still early, the sun was just shining a little, most of the city was deserted, and the guards at the city gate looked listless, occasionally looking back, as if waiting for their companions to take over.

Whether you're sneaking in or pretending to be a businessman, it's a good time to do so. Yuffie thought for a moment and decided to choose the latter option.

"The Mist Department is the department in charge of the Pale Hand intelligence, and there must be a lot of eyeliner in the city. If we are 'unknown', the likelihood of attracting attention is not low. "As for the traveling merchants, there are always a few of them every few days in a city of this size. ”

No one objected. So the group of four walked down the hill and came to a small forest near the avenue leading to Zecheng, which was large enough to block the view.

Lin took out a few light purple pills and distributed them to everyone, and ate one herself. This is a drug that she has developed not long ago, combined with her local knowledge of magic.

In a strange twist, she quickly grew taller, her face became square, and her hair became an inconspicuous black. By the time the distortion had dissipated, Yuffie was already standing in front of an ordinary young Inil—only the clothes on his body were a little smaller, and they didn't seem to be a good match.

"The advantage of this pill compared to Transfiguration is that you don't need to remember what you have become before." Lin muttered as she took out the larger merchant's clothes from her fanny pack, "The disadvantage is that it doesn't work on the clothes on your body. She stuck out her tongue and struggled to change her clothes, "You should take them all off before eating." ”

Yuffie and Anya also took the pill and transformed into the appearance of the Inil, and then changed into the garavan guards. The stars closed their eyes and let the magic flow through her body. When the magic dissipated, Yuphie discovered that the puppet girl had actually become Noka's original appearance.

"The body of the puppet can change freely with the form of the soul, and when I accepted Noka before, I made a note of his soul structure." The stars seemed very happy, and Yuffie could probably understand that it was because she showed the 'quality of work' of "Mother", "Anyway, there are all these Gerno people, so it's not strange to have one more." ”

This statement is not false at all - the Geernor people are as pervasive as the Ites of the El Continent. They can be found anywhere in the towns of the Union and the Empire, on every road, large and small, and even in deserted forests and ruins.

The difference is that the Ites are generally unlikable due to their 'good tradition' of 'letting idle things flow' and their 'good habits' of making jokes regardless of the occasion, while the Geerno are mostly popular because of their mastery of "runic technology" and their warm-hearted and helpful nature. Aside from their height, the most similar thing about these two races is probably that they are adventurous and fearless...... Or in other words, the character who is not afraid of death.

Yuffie was unable to confirm whether there was some kind of blood connection between the two diminutive races. If, just assuming, the Geerno people were indeed 'converted' from the Ites, what interesting story did take place in the meantime?

Allowing an entire race to achieve this level of change may be a miracle that only true gods can achieve.

"Don't be in a daze, let's go." There was a tap on Lynn's shoulder, and Yuffie came back to her senses to see a carriage full of goods parked in front of her. Needless to say, it was still Lynn's handiwork: the vehicles were prepared for them by Rozhen, and the 'horses' were disguised by Grace. It is usually parked in the half-plane that belongs to the spirit of the arcane, and it only takes a single thought to call it out.

She gathered her thoughts, tried to look like a guard, and made her way to the city gate with the others. But her caution was clearly unnecessary, and the two sleepy guards only glanced at a few people, checked the loads of the cars slightly—mostly dried fruits and groceries—and yawned. He waved them over.

The city's inhabitants didn't seem to have a habit of waking up early, and it took them a while to find a tavern that was still open. Lynn parked the cart aside, led the 'horse' to the stable provided for the traveler in the tavern, fed it a snack of her own making, and then walked into the tavern with the others.

There were no customers in the tavern, and the proprietor was a middle-aged Inil with a beard, wiping his glass leisurely behind the bar, humming an unidentified tune. Seeing a few people enter, he pressed his chin to the side, signaling that they could choose their seats at will.

"Bring us some breakfast and drinks, forget the wine, we'll have to hurry later." Noka's starry sky walked to the bar, jumped onto a stool about the same height as hers, and accosted the boss in a familiar manner, "If you hadn't gotten up early, we'd probably just have to nibble on dry food." ”

The middle-aged man put the cup in his hand on the bar counter, and placed three cups side by side next to it, "Water or goat's milk?" ”

"Water, I don't like the taste of goat's milk." Man Tianxing frowned, "By the way, I heard that there is a secret hidden in this city, do you know the boss?" ”

Such a question is not abrupt only if it is raised by the Gerno people. These little men have a wealth of 'adventurous spirits', as well as a wealth of intelligence from unknown sources – though most of them are not very reliable.