Pillar of Yita

The disaster in Dolifen had long since ended.

Now all that remained was a stretch of ruins.

All their efforts here were destined to be in vain, saving no one. If there was any meaning to be found, perhaps it was merely to return the Dragon’s Golden Eyes to its seal.

A flash of insight crossed Luen’s mind, and he suddenly realized that not everyone thought the same.

At least one person must have wanted to try to change this Phantom Realm.

Like a fool.

That person was named Hudi.

Luen had actually heard of that adventurer from the casual conversations among the knights of the Tabopolis Knights Order, but no one had taken him seriously. The Dragonfire Guild must have been using him for their own ends.

But just this one person,

had stormed into Hustings Cathedral with the illusory Blade of Victory. Was it merely luck? Or was it arranged by the Dragon’s Golden Eyes?

Was it really so?

A young girl’s image flashed before Luen’s eyes. He had met Hes only once, but he remembered the words she had spoken to Fang Hong.

He looked at the young man.

Fang Hong held the Scepter of Authority, with the adage ”Dominion Over Armies” inscribed upon it, each word heavy as a thousand weights. It seemed not merely descriptive, but an adage, inscribing the history of Dolifen upon it.

Because the answer had always been here—

Changing the history within this Phantom Realm seemed like a futile effort, but the reality was not such. Its meaning was merely contrary to the personal interests of the adventurers.

So few people considered it from this angle—

No one had ever thought of this—within this city, day in and day out, souls trapped here were always waiting for redemption.

Those aimless ones, like Hudi, adventurers with goodwill toward the past, could profoundly understand the true meaning of this Phantom Realm.

Fang Hong, holding the Scepter of Regret, pointed towards the Upper City District and said to Luen,

”There is a small pottery workshop there, its owner is just over fifty this year. Although he lost his wife early, until today his small family managed to get by.”

”Do you know the owner of that pottery workshop?” Miss Misu curiously turned back and looked at him, ”Lord Praetor, I thought you never visited these parts.”

Fang Hong shook his head.

He paused for a moment before answering, ”I don’t know him, but I know his daughter, and she is now in your hands, Miss Misu.”

Misu gasped, a look of sorrow towards the motionless girl in her arms.

Fang Hong pointed to the entire Upper City District and said, ”In these streets, there are thousands of such families; at least for today, they are all my subjects.”

He turned back to Luen and said, ”Now I am Declan, Declan-Rogsel, Mr. Luen, do you know where Nikopolas began destroying this city thirty years ago?”

He drew a line with his scepter.

”From there. I have seen that scene in the Phantom Realm, the whole neighborhood turned into a sea of fire, countless people turned to ash. But today, I will take them away; this is a duty that a Praetor must fulfill—”

As Fang Hong finished these words, he felt a strong surge of emotion from the scepter.

It was either regret or anger.

But he tightly grasped that scepter.

”Mr. Declan, I will show you what you did wrong thirty years ago, your power comes from the people, and you had the chance to avoid all this.”

”And your hatred will also end because of this.”

Fang Hong said to himself.

The scepter suddenly calmed down, and then he heard a somewhat mocking voice, ”How ridiculous, I am curious to see how you will turn the situation around—”

That was the voice of Dragon’s Golden Eyes.

Then the scepter emitted a faint light, the mottled exterior disappeared, revealing its true form—the Scepter of Authority representing the Colin Kingdom, adorned with the freshly pristine Star of Hope gemstone.

A screech of a giant dragon came from the direction of the square.

And Misu and Diket looked at each other, as if agreeing with Declan’s words, ”I never thought I would hear such words from a stubborn old nobleman,” said the older knight shaking his head, ”but you are right, we cannot just walk away like this.”

”What should we do?” Misu asked eagerly.

Luen glanced at his two companions; everything seemed just like thirty years ago, with neither of the two showing any signs of fear or retreat.

Among the three, it ended up that only he himself was reluctantly filled with misgivings.

”I really can’t stand you guys anymore,” he looked at Fang Hong, ”engaging in these messy affairs at a time like this, shouldn’t we be focusing on stopping Nikopolas and the believers of the Dragon Worship Sect? Especially you,” he continued, looking at Fang Hong, ”fully aware that this is but a Phantom Realm, yet still unable to distinguish what’s more important...”

”Alright,” Misu said with a smile, ”now I believe you haven’t betrayed us, Luen. You are still the same as before. But sometimes, priorities aren’t that crucial. We just do our best, and isn’t it okay as long as the results are good?”

Luen sighed.

Looking at the three of them, he thought to himself that these fellows were one of a kind, perhaps not quite like him. He was but a merchant, adept at weighing pros and cons.

Yet, he thought again, without him, these guys would have probably been doomed by now. Shaking his head, he couldn’t feel at ease letting these people handle matters.

”Count me in,” he said, ”what should we do?”

”Gather everyone else, try not to leave anyone behind, and head towards Haggston Cemetery. Before the decisive battle begins, that’s the safest place,”

Fang Hong answered deliberately.

Everyone nodded, then split up and left.

Fang Hong, scepter in hand, looked back— the fire in the direction of Grey Oak Square had gradually been spreading. The residents living nearby had sensed something wrong early on, and had flooded into the streets, inquiring among each other about what exactly had happened.

Just like that day thirty years ago, during their discussions, people still hadn’t realized the danger approaching; they merely thought there was a fire during the festivities.

Until someone returned, running panic-stricken from an alley: ”Run, there’s chaos, those people from Holite Academy have gone mad! They’re killing people in the streets!”

The crowd exploded with noise.

Some turned and ran, seemingly to inform their families, while others were still confused, not understanding what had occurred. Women and children started crying, creating chaos on the streets.

”Where is the City Defense Force?” People shouted, ”Why aren’t they maintaining order, isn’t anyone coming to protect us?”

”Does Lord Praetor know about this?”

Then, Fang Hong stepped forward.

”Over here—”

He held the Scepter of Authority, surveying everyone.

It silenced the scene slightly.

”Lord Earl, heavens, how come you are in this place?” People looked at each other, asking somewhat anxiously, ”My lord, what exactly happened there at Grey Oak Square, is it not too serious?”

Fang Hong shook his head, ”Don’t scare yourselves; everyone follow me. Men, protect your women and children. If you have people at home, hurry and inform them. I will stay right here, and I won’t leave until everyone is here.”

He stood there composedly, looking at everyone, making each person breathe a sigh of relief.

Indeed, with Lord Praetor right here, what did they have to worry about? Everyone started to calm down, and under Fang Hong’s direction, they began to run and inform their neighbors.

Fang Hong watched this scene silently, feeling the scepter in his hand tremble slightly.

The Phantom Realm was responding to him, this was the source of Strength.

It didn’t come from any object.

It was simply from the people themselves.

...

”What place is this?”

Red Leaf looked around curiously at the rose arched windows, and asked about the somewhat solemn corridor.

Only the faint moonlight spilling in from outside brightened the darkness, as footsteps echoed farther and farther in the dark, the long corridor seemed to have no end.

Parker had boasted proudly earlier, but now couldn’t help feeling a bit scared; this dark cathedral seemed filled with eerie secrets.

The path led deeper and deeper, stretching far beyond the distance of the entire Hustings Cathedral District.

The older knight didn’t respond at first.

He just silently observed the surroundings, and after a while, he finally spoke, ”Thirty years ago, when they were forced here, a battle happened in this place.”

Upon hearing this, Red Leaf was slightly startled.

...