"I'll have my people hold them up, but try not to draw too much attention. Unless you're itching for a fight."
"Understood." Phainon nodded. "So what happened?"
Craterus looked at the two of them gravely and said in a low voice:
"Did you hear the thunder last night?"
"I did. I thought Brother Yan Huan was fighting again. Was it something else?" Phainon asked.
"Yes."
Craterus explained:
"The thunder was a signal fire of Strife. The young master sent us a message."
"He hurled a message-bearing spear toward Okhema. It had only a few words on it."
"—Fire-stealer. Back from the ashes. Beware."
Phainon's expression turned grave.
"So he really has come back to life again. I don't know how, but he has."
"That's right." Craterus nodded.
"You needed to know. The Xuan Feng people never retreat. If you need us to fight, come to me anytime."
"Thank you." Phainon nodded. "Though I already knew."
"Hm?" Craterus looked taken aback.
"How?"
"Did you send someone to Castrum Kremnos to investigate?"
"No." Phainon glanced at the filthy Earth Beast beside him and explained:
"This brother here... no, sister happened to return from Castrum Kremnos. To be honest, she'd been at Mydei's side and even brought back a great deal of treasure from Castrum Kremnos."
"It's hard to imagine she was that brave."
"Even the soldiers guarding the city don't dare venture too far these days."
"An Earth Beast..." Craterus raised his head and gave Dog Shun a curious look.
"How unusual."
"Wait... Could she be the one those two heroes have been searching for?"
"Yes." Phainon nodded.
"Dog Shun understands people remarkably well. She went all the way to Castrum Kremnos and made it back without a scratch."
"She also brought news that the Fire-stealer had already killed Mydei fourteen times..."