Pillar of Yita

Fang Hong couldn’t help but take another look at it and muttered, ”Is this your secret base?”

This was indeed a quite remarkable base, with Beasts of Burden and Carry Houses, which were not even available to some small Adventure Groups—though the Beasts of Burden were not their own.

He hadn’t finished thinking—

Suddenly, a huge head popped up on the platform, nearly startling him. It was a lion’s head with fiery red mane, broad jaws, and a flat forehead, silver eyes looked majestic—only it seemed slightly blurry with sleep, raising its paw to rub its eyes.

Then it suddenly spoke:

”Ah, you’re back, I saw someone lighting a fire on the island earlier and knew it was you,” it yawned, ”But you didn’t come over for half the day, and I dozed off again.”

”Hello, Mr. Reed,” Tianlan smiled and waved at the lion, ”Brother Ade, this is Mr. Reed, he is Sister Atira’s friend. An esteemed Holy Temple Knight of the Lion People from Marlan, a Holy Warrior.”

By now, Fang Hong had recognized the other’s race—Rotao’s Golden Township, the noble beings from the Wilds of Grey White who value honor and loyalty as life itself, Marlan’s Big Cats—the Rotao Lion People.

The Lion People also narrowed their eyes, assessing him.

”Hmm—” it pondered aloud, ”Another human boy, hello there.”

”Another?” Fang Hong turned to look at Luo Yu.

For the first time ever, Luo Yu coughed.

...

Traveler’s Rest, Dragon Horn Hall.

The dark hall, offering a scene starkly different from the brilliance of lights not long ago—desolate and silent, with mist slowly dissipating, overturned furniture, and thick dust settling on the utensils.

Apart from the lack of cobwebs, it seemed as if no one had been there for years:

Giant Dragons, Dragonmen, guests, and guards had all vanished, leaving only the scene of the aftermath.

The menacing giant horns that once hung from the domed ceiling above the hall were also gone, leaving behind a broken ’skylight’ through which starlight spilled down, forming a pillar of light in the center of the hall, casting a clear radiance upon the central stone platform.

Twelve giant sculptures, supporting a stone platter, atop which lay a golden Ring, glittering brightly.

In the darkness, a gaze fell upon the Ring that surprisingly no one coveted.

The smoke suddenly fell, recondensing into a figure draped in a cloak, but the hood of the cloak had been torn by a bullet, revealing half of a handsome face below.

Silver short hair adhered softly to the cheeks, a pair of long pointed ears, narrow and beautiful eyes possessed an arresting beauty, though somewhat indifferent, with the depths of the silver pupils reflecting the Golden Flame.

The youth reached out for the stone platform, extinguished the golden fire, and clasped it in his palm.

Bursts of rapid footsteps came from behind—

The youth turned around, furrowing his brow, just in time to see that irritating face appear in his Vision. And having run such a distance, the latter was slightly out of breath, but Zhang Tianmiu, upon seeing the youth, immediately raised his Magic Guided Gun towards him.

He paused for a moment.

”You are...” Zhang Tianmiu stared at the face, surprise flickering in his eyes, and blurted out, ”Wait a minute!”

But the youth’s form was gradually fading.

Seeing this, Zhang Tianmiu didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger, a flash of fire, the bullet piercing through the other’s body, with a bang hit the wall behind, and stone chips splattered.

But the youth just looked at him steadily, his form rippling like water, eventually disappearing without a trace.

Infuriated, Zhang Tianmiu kicked a nearby chair flying.

”You remember my rules, right?” a voice came from the other side of the hall, Zhang Tianmiu turned around, only to see the innkeeper—a tall man with a stern expression—walking out from that direction, ”Damage is to be compensated at ten times the price—”

”You care about that now?” Zhang Tianmiu said irritably, ”Where did you go, did you see? That guy took the thing.”

”Indeed,”

Mazak responded somewhat irrelevantly.

He looked up, his gaze hauntingly upon the broken hole in the dome of the Dragon Horn Hall and the Dragon Horn that was no longer there.

...