The Children of Echoes Tribe.
The guards on duty were carefully observing their surroundings, making sure not to miss any signs of Abyssal Monsters appearing.
Natlan was frequently attacked by Abyssal Monsters, so they didn't dare relax for even a moment while standing guard.
A brief lapse in concentration could mean several companions losing their lives to the claws of the Abyss.
Just as one guard finished checking one area and moved to inspect another, a golden figure entered the corner of his vision.
"Xilonen is back."
The guard immediately informed the others, and the news quickly spread throughout the entire Tribe.
Xilonen was an important artisan of the Children of Echoes, and many people had entrusted her with forging their weapons.
If she wasn't working, many commissions would remain unfinished.
In recent days, Xilonen had been helping Lord Pyro Archon build a defense turret. After completing it, she went to the Sacred Flame Arena to report, and as a result, she hadn't returned for several days.
"She must be hiding somewhere catching up on sleep."
"This time I have to make her finish my weapon first. I've already waited a week."
"A week? I've been waiting almost a month!"
The clients of the Children of Echoes gathered one after another, all thinking about dragging Xilonen back into her workshop and making her work day and night, just like readers urging an author for updates.
In the past, Xilonen wouldn't have let so many commissions pile up. But recently she had been busy with tasks assigned by Caelus, so she had no choice but to delay them.
"Xilonen, hurry up, we can't wait, Lord Pyro Archon, why are you here as well?!"
When the clients saw Xilonen, they were ready to urge her to resume work immediately.
But when they noticed the red-haired young man standing beside her, they instantly swallowed their words.
The person beside Xilonen… was Lord Pyro Archon.
"Why did everyone suddenly fall silent?"
Seeing them hesitate, Caelus said with a faint smile, "You all seemed to have quite a lot to say to Xilonen just now. Why did you become mute the moment you saw me?"
"Am I not welcome?"
"H-how could that be? We warmly welcome Lord Pyro Archon!"
"Lord Pyro Archon, please enjoy the dance we offer you!"
The clients immediately began dancing on the spot.
The people of the Children of Echoes were naturally gifted in song and dance. Even without choreography and acting on impulse, they danced gracefully and beautifully.
"Thank you for the performance."
Caelus clapped lightly. "But Xilonen and I still have matters to attend to, so we won't stay to watch further."
"Understood, Lord Pyro Archon. Please take care."
The clients stopped immediately and stepped aside to clear a path.
However, Caelus remained where he stood.
"Xilonen will be busy with the tasks I've assigned her for the time being."
"As for your commissions, they will need to be postponed temporarily. I trust there are no objections?"
Caelus glanced at the gathered clients.
"None at all."
"Of course not."
"Since it's work assigned by Lord Pyro Archon, we fully support it."
"Our commissions can wait. If necessary, we can ask another artisan."
Hearing their responses, Caelus nodded.
"Good. I thought you were anxious because the delays had made you impatient."
"Not at all," one client said with a smile. "We were only worried about Xilonen's safety since she hadn't returned for so long."
"Now that she's back safely, we're relieved."
Seeing there were truly no objections, Caelus led Xilonen away.
Only after they had walked dozens of meters away did the clients let out long sighs of relief.
"Good thing we didn't anger Lord Pyro Archon."
"Otherwise we definitely would've been beaten badly."
A male client spoke in relief.
"I heard Lord Pyro Archon shoots dissenters through the heart with flaming arrows. Is that true or just a rumor?"
A female client asked.
"I was there when Lord Pyro Archon ascended the throne. He did use Pyro-element arrows to strike the rebels, but he didn't kill them."
The male client shook his head and sighed.
"Our generation's Pyro Archon is different from all the previous ones."
Natlan's former Pyro Archons had fiery tempers, gentle dispositions, or cold personalities, but none had ever taken action against their own people.
But Caelus truly would discipline dissenters.
Although he wouldn't kill them, a severe beating was unavoidable.
So the moment they saw Caelus, the clients suppressed their complaints and tried their best not to provoke him.
"Then our commissions…"
"They'll have to wait, or be given to someone else."
On the other side,
[Emotion Points from Children of Echoes clients +5]
Caelus received the system notification.
It seemed his sudden appearance had indeed frightened them.
"Looks like I should show up more often among the Six Great Tribes."
Caelus understood the pressure workers felt when their boss conducted inspections.
As the Pyro Archon, whenever he visited one of the Six Great Tribes, the pressure people felt was no less than that of a workplace inspection.
Moreover, in Natlan's eyes, he was a god who would beat people if displeased.
The pressure was naturally even greater.
Emotion Points were steadily rising.
Although it wasn't exactly healthy for Natlan's people, for the sake of accumulating Emotion Points, they would just have to endure a little.
"Lord Pyro Archon, are we going to see Aunt Tlazplli now?"
As they walked, Xilonen asked.
If they were going to her aunt's home, they could use the potion to restore the memories her cousin had lost due to the Abyss.
"Yes, we're going."
Caelus nodded.
He remembered that resolving this matter wouldn't be difficult. If they directly rescued the aunt's adopted daughter, the truth would naturally come to light.
Over the years, the adopted daughter had tried to seek help from the outside world. But under the aunt's strict supervision, she never had the chance.
Now that the Pyro Archon himself was present, no matter how strict the aunt was, it would be meaningless.
"After what happened to her daughter Nechca, Aunt Tlazplli moved to a place somewhat far from the Tribe."
"We'll have to walk a bit further."
Xilonen now acted as a guide, leading Caelus toward her aunt's residence.
On the way, they passed Xilonen's workshop. Beside it stood a tall tower, the very defense turret she had spent several days building.
"Wait… why is the defense turret activated?"
Xilonen looked carefully and saw it glowing crimson, then firing several rapid fireballs at a target.
A Natlan warrior stood near the turret, nimbly dodging the incoming fireballs.
"They're using it for training?" Xilonen raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "His footwork is decent, he dodged the first wave."
"Three," Caelus said calmly.
"Eh?"
"Two."
"One."
As Caelus finished counting, the warrior failed to react in time and was struck by a fireball, crying out in pain.
His companions nearby burst into louder laughter.
"Didn't even last ten seconds!"
"Traco, you're hopeless!"
...
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