Chapter 434 - 404: The Expected Surprise (2/3)

Chapter 434: Chapter 404: The Expected Surprise (2/3)

"Don’t you pretty much know the same things I do?"

Ian watched Sio with a smile that changed the latter’s face from indignation to shame caused by his own revelations, all within the span of ten seconds.

Sio sighed, sat back on the log, and continued to eat his grilled meat from the stone slab, saying helplessly, "Alright, I admit that I knew all this... but I didn’t mean any harm, and I wasn’t intentionally tracking you."

"I’ve known Anfa for a long time; we are pen pals. He had arranged to meet me in a little town west of Indigo Mountain, but after the agreed time had passed by three days without hearing from him, I had no choice but to set out in search of him."

—And he accuses me of lying, when his lies are just as elaborate, aren’t they?

Ian was unimpressed by this explanation and even felt like laughing a bit, "It’s exactly like Anfa, a bunch of fake news mixed in with real information that sounds very believable—they’re not lying about being pen pals, their speech habits are too similar."

Moreover, if one looked closely, Ian could even see traces of Anfa’s features on Sio’s face. Clearly, they had a deep connection, even able to borrow each other’s faces, but for some reason, they’d both lost their means of communication with each other.

Wait a second.

A thought suddenly struck the young man.

—This dragon in front of me, who claims to be Anfa’s friend.

—The dragon that flew out of the Bison Mountain Range.

—In Nauman City, due to the "precious item" dispute with the Dragon Worship Cult.

—And finally, Anfa, who claimed to be investigating the ancient culture of the Mountain People for travel...

Anfa claimed to have come to South Ridge for the culture of the natives and the clues to the civilization of the previous epochs. This wasn’t a lie, Ian could tell.

But still.

Since the Lost Epoch until four hundred years ago, hadn’t the Mountain People worshipped an Ancient Dragon, a Fifth Power Level ’Qing Steel Dragon’ as their god?

"No way, could it be?"

With an inward jolt, although Ian didn’t let any suspicion show on his face, his mind couldn’t help but trace Anfa and the Radiant Nun’s sequence of actions: "Anfa involved with the Dragon Worship Cult? That’s not too surprising."

"Could it be that the Radiant Nun is actually on the trail of Anfa??"

Because of the recent activity of the Southern Ridge Worship Dragon Sect, the Huai Guang Church thought it likely that they were behind the disappearances. This was a logical conclusion.

Yet by some twist of fate, the Radiant Nun actually stumbled upon Anfa’s trail, which was related to the Worship Dragon Sect, thus she ignored other suspicious areas all the way to Leyan Territory.

Before leaving Leyan Territory, Ian had talked with the Radiant Nun. He knew that there were plenty of places on the Agate Stone Plains more likely to be behind the disappearances than Leyan Territory, but the Radiant Nun had ignored them all, heading straight there.

Because it was a secret, the Radiant Nun didn’t tell Ian the reason behind her actions, just that she was following solid leads, which is why she found the evidence against Baron Leyan so quickly.

At that time, Ian thought to himself how powerful the Huai Guang Church’s intelligence was, able to find the true source so directly.

But now it seemed...

"It must be blind luck, pure coincidence!"

Ian shook his head slightly, now that the threads of the mystery were coming together.

If nothing unexpected happened, Anfa must be related to the Worship Dragon Cult, and he had headed south precisely to meet up with the dragon who claimed to be Sio, his pen pal.

Since he was indeed a researcher of native civilization, he had planned to visit Leyan Territory, a symbol of the integration between the Mountain People and The Empire, but was blocked by a Sharp Claw Tiger along the way.

Consequently, the Radiant Nun, who had sensed Anfa’s connection to the Worship Dragon Cult, also arrived at Leyan Territory, surprising Baron Leyan with her unexpected speed—he had thought it would take her much longer to find him, leaving him unprepared and on edge.

Add to that his own arrival and the commotion stirred by the Worship Dragon Cult in Nauman City which drew away all the Spirit Wisdom Institute staff, these factors convinced the Baron to hasten his plans.

Then Anfa, sensing something amiss in Leyan Territory, met with him and immediately fled.

The Radiant Nun, by sheer fluke, along with Ian, settled the source of the disappearances.

Everyone was misunderstanding the situation, but they somehow managed to solve the entire problem.

Now, after everything had settled, the Elves Scholar had either sensed the pursuit of the Radiant Nun all along or truly felt that the atmosphere throughout South Ridge was amiss. Thus, he completely hid himself and vanished, even severing all means of communication with the outside world.

With all these factors combined, the dragon controller remotely operating a body, who is very likely associated with the Dragon Worship Cult, came to ask the person he presumed was the last to see Anfa, inquiring if they knew where the Elves Scholar had gone.

Hmm, the chaos within Nauman City now should also be added to the mix.

If Anfa really was connected to the Dragon Worship Cult, he likely sensed the turmoil in the city in advance and thus set out early.

Even... was he one of the causes of the ’changed destiny’ I had wrought?

"I think you need to head into the mountains," Ian said as he scooped up a spoonful of the meat soup and felt its warmth seep through his body.

To Sio, who had resumed his place on the log with a contemplative look in his eyes, Ian said, "He always talked about studying the culture of the Mountain People, and aren’t you one of them? You must have just missed each other—he went up the mountain as you came down. It’s that simple, which is probably why you can’t find him."

"That’s true."

These words awakened Sio as if from a dream. His eyes widened with sudden realization, "I was wondering why I couldn’t find him after searching for so long. He’s not fast; we should’ve bumped into each other already..."

"Indeed, I appreciate your help, Guide Knight. Please allow me to take my leave now!"

"Thank you for the Pinecone Wild Boar you hunted. It was a bountiful meal." As Ian watched the red-haired ’Mountain People’ rise and lead his pony away, he smiled and lifted a piece of meat with his hand, calling out, "Are you sure you don’t want to stay and finish the meal?"

"No, thank you for your help." Saying this, the red-haired ’Mountain People’ seemed to recall something and turned to look at Ian.

With a smile, Sio raised his hand and with a single finger up, spoke in a mysteriously hushed tone, "Almost forgot, as a token of my gratitude, I want to share with you a crucial piece of intelligence."

"Besides me, there’s someone else following you from a distance."

"And that person, clearly, does not bear good intentions."

Saying so, Sio waited to see Ian’s reaction—his face full of a ’come and beg for my help!’ expression, like an innocent big cat that had no ill intent.

Easier to read than Yisen Gard.

"Thanks for the tip."

The youth curled the corners of his mouth, revealing no other reaction, "I’ll be on my guard."

The red-haired ’Mountain People’ found this quite unamusing and grumbled away, though he still praised Ian’s cooking before leaving.

After the other person left, Ian’s smile faded, and as he ate his meat, he pondered Sio’s parting words.

—Besides that guy, there was another person with malicious intent following him.

But it was only Second Energy Level.

Of course, he knew this too. But compared to the pale blue light, the color purple certainly wasn’t very striking.

Still, the follower had been with him all this way without making a move... This left Ian unsure whether he should take the initiative to expose the person or not.

"Is it the Spirit Wisdom Institute or the Noble Court? They probably want to ascertain clues about that Deputy Head from me, but they can’t be sure if I know anything, so they’re just looking for opportunities halfway. After all, I am a Knight, and it wouldn’t look good for anyone if things got out of hand."

Ian deduced the enemy’s goal and used the Frost Butterfly to observe that a faint red aura was always lingering around him.

Obviously, no matter how he decided to handle it, whoever was doggedly following him would surely make a move, and a confrontation was inevitable, not without risks.

Unless...

He reached Twin Trees Town.

The light red haze mingled with the purple mist, signaling the coexistence of danger and opportunity.

"Interesting."

Throwing the finished bone into the fire, Ian laughed, "Let’s see what kind of ’opportunity’ Twin Trees Town has in store."