Chapter 195: Duzula Shiliu Shi

Duzula City, including the barracks.

"Help find a market for selling high‑grade magical gems?" Xia Nai frowned after hearing the short‑range message from afar, her face full of helplessness.

"What's wrong?" a strong Nik Salan man in plain clothes standing nearby asked curiously.

Xia Nai shook her head lightly and said, "My friend asked me to look for a way to sell high‑grade magical gems within the Alliance."

The man suddenly understood, "Ah, so that strange blue light earlier was the message your friend left for you? Your shamanic methods from the other continent are truly peculiar."

A wordless flash crossed Xia Nai's eyes; how dim‑witted these natives are. She's a Mage, not a priest of a deity—why do they keep calling her a shaman?

Too lazy to explain, she forced a smile and said, "Yes, that's how our shamans are. Ge Lei Luo, do the shamans of Duzula City buy magical gems?"

The man known as "Ge Lei Luo" smiled and said, "We shamans don't need ordinary magical gems, but high‑grade ones are another matter; the Temple has been buying them with gold."

"However," he hesitated, "you know the General's relationship with the shamans is strained now. I suggest you avoid private contact with them."

Xia Nai sighed; she knew he was speaking the truth.

They had been in Duzula City for a month; upon arriving, Sai Faer took her and A Maiya to the barracks to visit the General.

The whole process unfolded just as Bao Li Si had prophesied: Sai Faer revealed their true identities and promised that the Golden Legion would join them against the Kingdom, granting Duzula City autonomy after the Kingdom's conquest.

The sole condition was that the worship of the three gods Wo Jin, Hai Mu, and Kua Er Te become the official faith of Duzula City.

It was expected that this clause would enrage the followers of Tai Zi Ka and A Zu Er, but the General and his officers agreed after a brief deliberation.

After learning that the three deities of the Golden Legion are benevolent gods that require no blood sacrifice, they expressed deep doubt that such merciful deities could exist, and when Sai Faer swore a divine oath asserting his words were true, they gleefully revealed the rebellion they had originally planned.

It turned out that the pyramid in frontline Pan Ku Lu City was at the end of its strength; years of nonstop activation of the Sun God's Hymn had severely aged its weaponry, bringing it to the brink of failure.

The shaman stationed in the pyramid, fearing elite raids from the Kingdom's army, has not left the pyramid for five years and now teeters on mental collapse.

The front line is so unstable, yet the shamans of Duzula City persist in the daily blood sacrifice of two infants; many warriors' offspring are seized by the shamans and offered to the Twin Gods of Water and Fire.

This caused many warriors with wavering faith to harbor secret thoughts.

General Duzula Shiliu Shi was one of them.

Duzula Shiliu Shi was originally a descendant of the ancient emperor who once ruled the Alliance region—the bloodline of Duzula—and the whole Duzula City was the capital built by the Duzula royal house.

Although the former empire shattered, the Duzula clan has continuously ruled Duzula City.

In recent years, due to the threat of the Kurtaka Kingdom, Duzula City and surrounding cities formed an Alliance, with Duzula becoming the frontline defensive position.

As the ruler of Duzula City, Duzula Shiliu Shi unhesitatingly became the commander of the Alliance's forces.

The shamans originally in Duzula City were puppets of the Duzula family, but after other Temple factions entered the Alliance, the original Duzula City shamans were forced to garrison the pyramid in Pan Ku Lu City. Since then, Duzula Shiliu Shi has held a grudge against the Temple forces.

The impact of the blood sacrifice was the final straw that crushed the camel.

Originally Duzula City solely worshipped the single god Tai Zi Ka; the burden of one infant per day was not heavy, so although the original Duzula shamans' infant collection still caused complaints, the numbers were far fewer and Duzula's prestige could intimidate them.

But after other cities' Temples arrived, the worship of A Zu Er also came, doubling the number of worship slots, and even during wartime it never ceased.

Massive numbers of warriors died on the front, and the infants meant to replenish fresh blood were being wasted, causing Duzula Shiliu Shi to no longer tolerate it and to entertain thoughts of rebellion.

Unfortunately, because Duzula City also contains a pyramid now occupied by shamans from many cities, Duzula Shiliu Shi cannot openly resist and can only seek opportunities in secret.

In this situation, the emergence of the Golden Legion was, to him, like sweet dew falling from the heavens!

Ge Lei Luo's existence is a pawn placed by Duzula Shiliu Shi to monitor them, because that General still suspects Xia Nai and Sai Faer of colluding with the shamans.

"Xia Nai."

Just as Xia Nai worried about how to fulfill the dragon's assigned task, Sai Faer appeared.

!

She happily jogged over and whispered in a voice the distant Ge Lei Luo couldn't hear, "Master, Naimi Xisi has a batch of high‑grade magical gems that need handling; he wants us to find a market for them in the Alliance."

Sai Faer frowned; throughout central Maztek, aside from the Alliance's forces, only the Kurtaka Kingdom remains, and Naimi Xisi truly cannot find a market for his goods anywhere else.

But

"This probably won't work. Just now, the Temple ordered the General to dispatch all troops to find a boy named 'A Maiya.' The General thundered, saying he won't send armies to play house at a time like this, mustering forces just to find a child."

After speaking, he winked at Xia Nai.

Xia Nai instantly understood; Sai Faer was afraid of eavesdropping, so she pretended to be clueless and said, "A boy named A Maiya? What are these shamans thinking, sending so many people just to find a child?"

Sai Faer sighed, "Yes, because of this, the General has completely fallen out with the Temple, but the vanguard of the Golden Legion just crossed the Dead Mountains and will need at least a month or two to reach here. The General just spoke with me; he fears the Temple will rally the citizens to strip him of his command and wants to act preemptively."

Xia Nai inhaled sharply, whispering anxiously, "Has he gone mad? Can the power of that pyramid be withstood by those brash sword‑wielders?"

Sai Faer shook her head, "I said the same, but the General is determined."

"Then what should we do?" Xia Nai asked, a little bewildered.

Sai Faer, wincing, said, "I've already reported the situation here to Lord Bao Li Si; he asked us to, while ensuring our own safety, do our utmost to assist the General."

"The Temple forces are exactly the kind that the Golden Legion will eliminate as soon as they arrive; Bao Li Si is delighted to see Duzula Shiliu Shi and them dog‑fight each other."

(End of Chapter)