Pillar of Yita

The warrior looked troubled at the question and subconsciously clamped his mouth shut.

Fang Hong poked his subordinate with a dagger and said, ”You speak up.”

But to his surprise, the young man seemed to be quite averse to this topic as well; despite shivering in fear, he also remained silent.

After a while, he stammered out, ”Sir, please let us go. If we don’t answer your question, at most, we’ll die here once, but if we do tell you, the Guild will hunt us down until our Starlight is completely extinguished.”

”So, what Guild are you from?”

After exchanging a look with the young man, the warrior finally answered in a low voice, ”We are called the Dragonfire Guild.”

”The Dragonfire Guild?”

Fang Hong thought carefully and shook his head; he had never heard of this Guild, so it was unlikely to be a Grand Guild. But this was curious, based on the conversation between the two men, they seemed to have engaged with the Tabopolis Oak Knights.

Although the latter was not exactly a frontline Guild in Eteliria, it was still a significant member of the Grand Guild club.

This obscure little Guild daring to directly challenge such a leviathan was truly interesting.

But at the moment, he had no interest in delving into the matter as he was more concerned about the safety of Atira and the others and had no intention of wasting time here. He grabbed the young man’s head and bumped it gently against the ground, knocking him out.

Only then did he dust off his hands, straighten up, and look over at the warrior. The warrior, as expected, was too scared to move an inch from his spot.

Fang Hong pointed to the hovering Clockwork Fairy and answered, ”I will verify your story, but until then, I will have it stay here to watch you. You know well what a Combat Artisan is capable of, so don’t even think about getting lucky or trying to inform others.”

With that, he gave his hand a toss, sending a second Clockwork Fairy into the air. Seeing the Dual Control, the warrior, even if he had some thoughts in mind, quickly abandoned them and nodded obediently.

Only then did Fang Hong pick up the dagger and step back, giving the warrior a final glance before vanishing into the nearby shrubbery.

The City Hall in Dolifen occupied a considerable area, and the ancient well was surrounded by dense forest, dark and directionless as the warrior described. Fang Hong only managed to follow the warrior’s description with great difficulty, guided by the flames leaping into the sky from the Lower City Area in the distance.

However, he did not relax his vigilance entirely and sent two Clockwork Fairies ahead to scout.

He was concerned the two men hadn’t spoken the truth, but it turned out to be an unnecessary worry, as he quickly found the traces of combat in the forest ahead—there were fallen, broken trees, bloodstains, shattered blades, and arrows, and even three bodies whose Starlight had been extinguished.

One seemed to be a Dragon Worshipper. Fang Hong turned the body over and, apart from the strangely familiar brooch, the man looked no different from an ordinary person. The fatal wound was on the neck, where a Feather Arrow was firmly embedded to the feathers.

Touching the Feather Arrow, Fang Hong immediately conjured up the image of the Tabopolis Oak Knights’ Night Hawk.

As he moved forward, the signs of combat became even more apparent, with bodies lying haphazardly everywhere, most turning into specks of light and vanishing. This was a sign of the souls returning to the Holy Sanctuary for resurrection; the rebirth time in Eteliria was very short, indicating that the battle here had not ended long ago.

Fang Hong raised his head and looked forward, his brow furrowing. He had not expected to be away from the group for such a short time, and yet so much had happened here. Big Sister’s people, the Tabopolis Knights, Dragon Worshippers, and it seemed Atira and the others too had all converged here. He wasn’t sure if this was merely a coincidence—or something else.

Suddenly, he spotted a lost Magic Guided Book on the ground and hurried over to pick it up, immediately recognizing it as Gita’s model Magic Guided Book. The book, made of heavy Red Pine and pierced by several Feather Arrows, seemed to be a grim sign.

A tightness gripped Fang Hong’s heart—Gita would never leave behind this book unless the situation was dire; he knew that girl’s temperament all too well.

He picked up the Magic Guided Book and continued through the forest. Quickening his pace, he hadn’t walked far when he faintly heard the sound of metal clashing ahead. Ahead was an open area, and Fang Hong dared not carelessly expose his Clockwork Fairy, instead cautiously approaching the edge of the shrubs.

But as he was just nearing the thicket, the bushes ahead parted with a rustle, and a young girl, blindly fleeing, burst through the bushes, colliding directly with him.

”Ah!”

”Ouch!”

The two of them fell to the ground together.

Fang Hong had no time to enjoy the sensation of holding the tender girl; he raised his head and exclaimed with some surprise, ”Miss Red Leaf?”

”Xiaya... no, Ade, what are you doing here?”

”What are you doing, Brother Ade?” And it was at this moment that several voices carried over from behind; Fang Hong looked up to see Gita, Tianlan, and others stepping out from behind the shrubbery.

Everyone was dumbfounded, staring at the two lying on the ground, embraced together.

...