“There are still people living on this island? Or have other people unfortunately entered this place?” Phil Gray walked over.
By the light of the morning sun, he saw that the footprints were scattered, varied in size, and did not look like the footprints of a single person; there should be at least three or four.
"Let's follow the footprints and take a look."
He said.
The group followed the footprints to a large, semi-circular rock, beneath which there seemed to be a pit.
"I'll go down and take a look."
Martin said this as he climbed in, but he came out again very quickly.
"There seem to be signs that someone has lived here; someone must have lived here a few days ago."
"Living in a cave?" Phil Gray was somewhat surprised. Who would live here? Patrick Star?
“Well, I found some old clothes and rotten ears of wheat, some of which have even sprouted,” Martin said hesitantly.
“He’s probably just an unlucky guy who accidentally fell onto this island. Let’s look around somewhere else,” Eli suggested.
"good."
They continued walking for another hour or so.
The island has a relatively flat terrain, and without sunlight, it is difficult for any plant to survive. Therefore, there are no tall trees or thorns, no low-lying flowers or shrubs, only occasionally a few gullies carved out by rainwater, and large rocks that appear from time to time.
After turning over many large rocks along the way, Martin hesitated and said, "Nearly half of these rocks also have pits dug underneath, and these pits all show signs of human habitation. Some are very old, while others look like the owner of the pits left only a day or two ago."
Ge Lan also went over to take a look. "Such a custom couldn't have formed all at once. Either each person who accidentally wandered into this place would live here for a long time, or there had always been islanders, or both. The people who accidentally wandered in gradually assimilated into the islanders."
“Yes, even we elders who have been demoted to godhood haven’t found a way out, let alone the others,” Eli chimed in.
"What should we do? If we stay here for too long, what will happen to the Church of Fate..." Valck Dodd said, somewhat panicked.
"Take care of yourself first. Who knows what might be lurking in the darkness?" Eli raised an eyebrow and retorted without holding back.
"But how do these people survive here without sunlight?" Phil Gray frowned, looking inquisitively at the pit in front of him.
He jumped in and used the light to examine the situation inside.
Similar to what Martin said, this pit also looked like a very old "house". Inside, there was a bed and a stove made of mud, as well as black marks from burning. There were also some thoroughly rotten debris, making it impossible to tell what it originally was.
Wait, what's that?
Phil Gray spotted an object in the corner.
The Golden Sun Badge?
Isn't this the emblem of Dawn? How did it end up here?
He thought to himself, this place is indeed inextricably linked to the Cult of Dawn, no wonder the Prophet of the Day sent them here.
"Your Highness?"
Eli's questioning voice came from the ground.
"I'm up."
Phil Gray leaped up and landed on the ground.
He showed them the religious emblem in his hand.
“This…” Elder Glenn recognized it at a glance. He stared intently at it. “This seems to be the emblem of my sect.”
"Yes, so it's possible that some of my followers fell into this trap before."
Phil Gray nodded.
Just then, they heard footsteps.
The sound was very soft, probably several tens of meters away from them, but for the divinely favored ones with keen hearing and eyesight, it was heard very clearly.
It seems they're heading their way!
The group exchanged glances, a hint of surprise flashing across their faces, and headed towards the direction of the sound.
But then they realized that the person opposite them was holding a weapon, radiating murderous intent, and had a hostile expression, clearly intending to attack them.
However, no one paid any attention to it. Instead, they were surprised to see the appearance of these "people" if they could still be called "people"!
Phil Gray's gaze was fixed on the approaching figures. Their steps were heavy and slow, and the weapons in their hands gleamed coldly in the dim light of their divine power.
These "people" had twisted, greedy faces, and their eyes revealed a madness and despair that did not belong to humanity.
Their clothes were tattered, their skin was abnormally pale due to long-term lack of sunlight, their eyes were sunken, their lips were purple, and some even had abnormal twisting and growth on their body parts.
Their lips were tightly pressed together, and their hungry, wolf-like eyes gleamed with a green light as they looked at these unexpected guests as if they had prey delivered to their doorstep.
“It seems these people have really lived here for far too long!” Phil Gray said.
"So, their only way to get food might be to rob people like us who have unfortunately ended up here, steal our food and water, and maybe even eat our flesh raw?" Eli speculated.
"Who can that group of people possibly beat?"
Thinking about how these people desperately struggled to survive in the darkness, Phil Gray sighed and felt he had no right to blame them.
Hunger, cold, never seeing the sun, gradually turning from humans into beasts, on this deserted island without even trees, they can only hide under rocks to eke out a living. These people are so pitiful.
Perhaps the daytime prophet is destined to save them?
"Put down your weapons! You are no match for us," Phil Gray kindly advised.
However, he also wondered to himself whether these islanders could understand their language.
The entire Light Knights squad raised their longswords, displaying their undeniable strength.
On one side were ordinary people dressed in rags and with strange shapes, and on the other side were knights favored by the gods in full armor. Their confrontation was like a laser beating up primitive people; it was obvious who would win.
The figures did stop their attack at Phil Gray's call, but they did not completely lower their weapons.
Their eyes gleamed with distrust and fear, as if they had become accustomed to betrayal and deception.
“Are you native residents of this island? Or did you end up here by accident like us? We mean no harm; we just want to understand the situation here.” Phil Gray tried to ease the tense atmosphere with a calm tone, because it seemed that the islanders could understand what he had just said.
There was a long silence between the two sides, until one of the islanders asked in an extremely hoarse voice, "Are you from the Cult of Dawn?"
Phil Gray's eyes lit up. The islander's accent was perfect; he was speaking the common language of the continent of Ver.
"Yes, do you see the light here? This is the light of dawn, and we are the people of the Cult of Dawn."
As he spoke, he concentrated even more divine power, and the dazzling light illuminated the entire place.
The islanders were stunned, their faces filled with disbelief. Some knelt on the ground and wept bitterly, while others gazed greedily at the light, reaching out to touch it as if they wanted to embrace it all.
"Are you also from Dawn? Did you end up here by accident?" Elder Gelan asked the islander who had answered earlier.
The islander kept kowtowing to them, his somewhat deformed face filled with piety. "Please, save us! Only the followers of the Dawn can bring us light, please!"
“He doesn’t seem to be mentally stable either,” Eli concluded after examining him.
"How long have you been here? Have you seen anyone from Dawn before? Where did you get this emblem?" Phil Gray asked, taking out the emblem of the Sun Church.
The moment these people saw the church emblem, they kept kowtowing, acting like madmen, and no one offered any more useful information.
“Sigh!” Phil Gray sighed.
Elder Glen, as an elder of the Dawn Cult, was naturally even more moved. He took out some dry rations from his spatial stone and instructed Martin to give them to the group.
Then he went to the person who had been able to communicate with them before, wanting to ask more questions.
Upon seeing the food, these people devoured it as if they had been starving for a long time. They ate so fast that they even bit their fingers until they bled.
"Thank you! Thank you! Save us, we need light! We need light!" The only person who could communicate with them looked at them with tears in his eyes after finishing the food they had been given.
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