Pillar of Yita

The group exited the forest and reached the main road. Parker cautiously crossed the tower bridge without encountering the ambush he had anticipated. He climbed over a broken wall on the other side, disappearing behind the tower, and quickly reappeared behind a second-story window, waving at everyone to indicate that it was safe.

The others followed suit, and the edge of the forest was quiet, with only the sound of the river flowing under the collapsed bridge. The river’s surface reflected the afternoon sunlight, and occasionally a ripple of light played across Fang Hong’s face as he watched the reeds in the distance, beneath which lay a lurking shadow.

After descending the bridge, Parker swung out of the tower’s second-story window, grasped a vine, and slid down, patting his hands as he landed beside them. Tianlan then asked him, ”Parker, did you see any other people?”

”No!” Parker shook his head. ”But there is a skeleton inside the tower, if that counts as someone. I’ve already dealt with it, though. I smashed its head with my crossbow, and it rolled far away.”

Hearing this, Fang Hong was certain there were no other people around. Undead are incredibly sensitive to the presence of the living; had there been any nearby, they would not have been so quiet.

”How strange,” Tianlan said, puzzled. ”Didn’t they say someone had ’booked’ this place? They should be blocking all the roads, but why isn’t there anyone here? Could Chris be deceiving us?”

”Tianlan,” Atira stared at her, annoyed.

But the elderly knight simply shook his head and glanced across the other side of the tower bridge.

Realizing her faux pas, Tianlan quickly corrected herself, ”Sorry, sorry, I’m not doubting Chris; it’s just strange, that’s all. Chief Protector, has it always been like this here?”

”I haven’t been to this place for some years,” Diket’s voice was somewhat cold; he considered Chris his student, and Tianlan’s blunt words evidently offended him.

Fang Hong, somewhat helpless, attempted to change the topic to lighten the mood. He asked, ”Mr. Diket, how long has it been since you were here last?”

”Actually, not too long,” he replied.

Fang Hong was puzzled for a moment. If he recalled correctly, Diket had earlier told Tianlan that he hadn’t been to this place for some years. Fang Hong wasn’t sure if Diket meant that ’some years’ wasn’t a long time for him, or if he was just irked by Tianlan.

He had asked to confirm whether the campsite had been moved elsewhere in recent years or had been dispersed by the ’booking’ organization. Diket’s ambiguous response made it difficult to continue with this line of questioning.

Fortunately, the elderly knight seemed to understand what he was asking.

He looked away then said to Fang Hong, ”They must not have left long ago. Do you see that hazelnut tree? I remember when the first adventurers set up their tents there; the ropes they left behind are still hanging on it.”

Fang Hong quickly looked in that direction, but his perception was not high, and he lacked scouting skills—he could see the tall hazelnut tree, but he couldn’t discern what was beneath it.

Then, Atira walked over, gently tapped his hand, and whispered to him, ”There are indeed signs of a campsite below, Ade.”

Fang Hong glanced at the Elf Miss and nodded.

The campsite had been there for many years, and it was unlikely that the adventurers had left without reason. Considering recent events, they were probably driven out by the ’mysterious organization’ Chris had mentioned.

He could not help but look around curiously—they should be at the city gates, the building was half-collapsed, and you could just make out part of the wall submerged under greenery.

Looking further inside, a desolate street lay before them, decrepit, uninhabited buildings coexisted with parasitic plants, and in some places, towering trees had grown through rooms, collapsing them under debris and stones.

It was clear that this place had been uninhabited for a while.

But Tianlan was right; if the group wanted to monopolize this area, the simplest way would be to block the city gate entrances. However, after driving the adventurers out, the mysterious organization seemed to have vanished from the city as well.

This was very strange. Could it be due to the Tide of the Undead last night?

”So, did those people leave or did they enter Dolifen?” the Papalarians sat on a rock and asked the others.”

This comment made Fang Hong feel a bit embarrassed; he had been seriously analyzing that these mysterious individuals were still in Dolifen.

But to say these mysterious people went inside the city also seemed implausible—Chris had mentioned that they had conflicts with adventurers and seemed to have won. With such strength, they should not have abandoned their posts in searching the city.

”Whether they left or went inside, we still need to check it out. Instead of having a meaningless discussion here, let’s plan what to do once we get inside,” Hilveld, assisted by Xiesta, jumped down from the collapsed tower bridge. She gracefully patted her skirt and looked up to hear the tail end of their conversation before speaking.