Chapter 2274 - 90: Fallen Believers_3

Since the new king ascended the throne, he has been kept in Elpaxin under various excuses by the Prime Minister's party. But the south is his base, could he be eager to leave Northern Talon?

In this situation, stirring up trouble in the northern Tarun seems indeed advantageous for the prince to escape from this place. However, Fang Hong couldn't quite understand as the prince is kept under strict guard by the Silverwind Knights.

Does he truly have this capability?

Reason tells Fang Hong he doesn't, but thinking of the past rumors about this lord, he finds it hard to be confident.

In this world, some people are called heroes, but some experiences are even more legendary than those of heroes.

Even heroes must follow commands—

Fang Hong personally heard Princess Briana say she owes the prince a favor. Furthermore, last time Princess Briana and Hilveld also successfully sent messages from Elpaxin, which suggests that the prince is not entirely ignorant of the outside world?

Could it really be the prince's scheme?

"Speaking of which, what does the Invoker and native forces near Tarun think of the rise of the Crow's Claw Guard?"

Gita suddenly asked.

"The Northern Territory is traditionally within the scope of the Rainbow Alliance. And Elpaxin and Gula Port have their own interests. Even if a power vacuum appeared after the destruction of Charter City, other local forces may not be happy seeing an emerging power under their nose?"

"But oddly enough," Miss Natural Historian said with a hint of wonder: "Looks like the Silver Forest Spear gets along quite well with those knights. What really happened here? Gula Port is close to the heartland controlled by the Rainbow Alliance. How can they just watch the Crow's Claw Guards exert influence in this area?"

"I know a bit about this," Luo Hao replied, "It starts from the previous judgment, which is actually one reason why the Crow's Claw Sanctuary has grown to this extent. After Charter City fell, creatures known as Shadow People began to appear across Tarun—"

When Fang Hong heard the words Shadow People, he couldn't help but raise his head. He had just heard about them from the innkeeper, and unexpectedly, the conversation shifted to these creatures.

"Shadow People?" The other members of the Seven Seas Travel Group seemed puzzled.

Luo Hao nodded, "Recently, the appearance of these creatures has decreased, but months ago, they caused great panic in the Northern Territory. Shadow People have the ability to devour mortal souls and transform into the people they consumed, blending among humans. They infiltrated Gula Port and almost assassinated the Praetor there. Luckily, the Lord Praetor managed to escape but had to stay in bed for half a month."

"Even the Praetor was nearly killed by these monsters, others' predicament is imaginable. At that time, almost everyone in the Northern Territory was in existential fear where no one could trust the closest person around them. But, it was also when the Crow's Claw Sanctuary claimed to have found a way to identify Shadow People—"

Tianlan's eyes widened slightly: "So, by relying on this method, everyone had to cooperate with them and tolerate their presence? Even the Rainbow Alliance, Elpaxin, and Gula Port?"

She paused, then continued: "Are you saying, those who were judged in the plaza are transformed Shadow People?"

"I don't know," Luo Hao replied: "Actually, not only am I unclear, but others are also unsure if the Crow's Claw Sanctuary's claim about those henchmen of Nikopolas is true, whether they are indeed Shadow People. But it cannot be ruled out, since the frequency of Shadow People appearing these past months has indeed decreased."

Tianlan opened her mouth, cautiously glanced at the captain next to her, and thinking by this claim, didn't they actually let two Shadow People escape before?

Fang Hong lowered his head and had been pondering this issue from the start.

Those judged don't seem like Dragon Worshippers nor any henchmen of Nikopolas. Moreover, whether the Dragon Witch Nikopolas exists is questionable, is it Lady Misu or Nikopolas, which remains a mystery.

Besides, mentioning Shadow People, he couldn't help but think of something else. The descriptions in the rumors about Shadow People seem familiar to him.

He raised his head and asked Luo Hao: "You said 'Crow's Claw Sanctuary', what's the story behind this sanctuary?"

Eteliria has various autonomous organizations, and even the Silverwind Knights in Elpaxin were private guards before being integrated by the Colin Kingdom.

But whether they are Knight Orders, guilds, or adventure groups, it's rare for an autonomous force to be referred to as a 'Sanctuary', as it has a strong religious connotation. It mostly belongs to a subordinate institution of an Orlin deity—such as the Temple of Life, Commercial Temple, Forest Temple, or War Temple, Traveler's Sanctuary.

There are also sanctuaries not belonging to Orlin Gods, but existed from the distant Sun Saints era, still worshipped by some Serpent People or Lizardmen, originating from the Xinsas Era, parallel to Orlin Gods.

Besides those, there are cult organizations.

"That's what they call themselves," Luo Hao replied: "Since Charter City's destruction, these knights have proclaimed they worship a deity of storm named Aidrian."

Fang Hong was somewhat surprised. Deity of storm, Aidrian? Is there such a deity in the Orlin Pantheon? He's never heard of this name.

Of course, fabricating a deity, to deceive has occurred in history, but in a world with true gods, the consequences won't be good. Moreover, Elpaxin has the Temple of Life and Commercial Temple, Milaila and Roman believers wouldn't let false believers illegally preach under the Orlin Gods' banner?

At this moment, Miss Fairy, kneeling at the table, finally spoke up in a calm tone: "Aidrian, God of the Raven, indeed had existed as a member of Orlin Gods, but generally thought to have fallen during the Aithelin disaster. Afterwards, this deity hasn't reappeared for quite a long time."

Dead Faithful—

This term Fang Hong had heard about; followers of a deity that persist long after a deity's fall are called 'Dead Faithful'. But deity life or death isn't easy to speculate, and a deity silent for thousands of years isn't necessarily dead. Not to mention deities who return from the dead world as Dead Gods.

"I've heard of this deity," Gita answered: "His faith was widespread on the Scepter Coast, and many people still follow it. Unlike other Dead Faithful, many of Aidrian's followers don't believe their deity has fallen, just in deep slumber."

She thought for a while, then added: "God of Storm Aidrian's Holy Emblem is the One-Eyed Raven, as the legend holds that the One-Eyed Raven has thunder power, so its claw also holds a lightning bolt—his followers favor black and white, black for the storm color, and white for the lightning color."

"That makes sense," Alice asked: "Do those knights outside believe Aidrian is alive or already dead?"

...