Chapter 1957

He looked at Fang Hong: "Of course. In fact, back when we boarded the ship on the Sea of Illusions, I'd more or less guessed this outcome. But I didn't tell you any of it then, and I imagine you've already guessed the reason—"

"Because the moment you brought Affia back to Quistack, everything was already set in stone. The Blind Followers used the Sand Thieves to lay a second trap here, but compared to what happened in the Phantom Sea, this one actually wasn't unavoidable."

"It's just that… would you really have chosen that path?"

Fang Hong couldn't help being stunned.

He already understood what the way to avert all of this was.

It was to abandon Affia. Without the Arcanist girl as a vessel, and without the Dragon Soul in her body, the Blind Followers would naturally have been unable to summon Dika from Quistack.

But would he really have done that?

Ye Hua looked at the two of them, paused for a moment, and then spoke again: "In truth, it was only not long ago that I learned all this from Star and Delan. But by then the arrow was already nocked, and had to be loosed, so at that time I didn't have the chance to ask for your opinions—"

His gaze rested on each of them in turn: "But even now, I still hope to ask you once more. Miss Afeifa has already learned everything from Delan and Star."

"She…" He let out a faint sigh. "She is willing to sacrifice herself, for the lives of more people…"

In Fang Hong's mind there suddenly surfaced the image of that girl, eyes brimming with tears, fingers gently rubbing at them.

In his heart, he had long since given his answer.

"But," Fang Hong did not answer the question head on. He only looked at the distant main hall, and at the girl beneath it. "Is Barbaltan really that confident? Did he never consider what the consequences would be if he lost this gamble?"

Ye Hua now turned his gaze to the Grand Princess beside them: "That is precisely why Star brought you here, Princess Rupert."

The Princess lifted her head a little dazedly: "Me?"

"Do you still remember what I once told you?"

Ye Hua's voice was calm and unhurried. "In this world, there are three kinds of Strength that are the most stable. The first is the Strength of the master of this dream, the second is the Strength of Pale Glory, and the third is the Strength of the Soul."

"Within the corresponding Spirit World, the Soul's Strength and the Strength of Pale Glory of course cannot compare to the master's overwhelmingly dominant Strength. And the master of this world is Dika, but on the other side of it, is it not also Miss Afeifa's Dragon Soul?"

Ye Hua spoke each word distinctly: "That is your mother, Princess. In this world, only you can harm Dika."

He lifted his head to look ahead, no longer asking for Fang Hong's and Rupert's answers: "So in the Combat to come, Ade and I will cover you as you launch an assault on that incarnation of the Evil God. You must grasp the opportunity yourself."

Princess Rupert lowered her head to look at the sword in her hand, silent for a moment, then finally gave a slight nod.

At the other end of the plaza, the Arcanist girl kept her eyes closed, a faint smile on her face as she 'looked' in this direction, without saying a word. As if she did not care in the slightest about the discussion among the few of them.

Only then did Ye Hua lift his head, gently pat the two of them on the shoulder, then take the Longbow from his back. Fang Hong also drew in a breath, glanced at the Control Gloves on his left hand, and finally asked:

"What should we do?"

"Very simple," Ye Hua replied. "Beat it back to where it came from, completely destroy this Spirit World, and thus cut off the link between the Blind Followers and their god."

"This time," he said softly, "we must at least win Istania a hundred years of Peace."

...