Pillar of Yita

It was an older knight standing with a longsword, and in the darkness, the moonlight seemed to converge upon him. Parker’s mouth dropped open as he saw the spotty rust falling from the ancient Magic Guided Armor on the knight.

The mottled Marlan Holy Emblem was becoming clear again, the dim gilded decorations were gleaming, and the old Magic Guided Reactor made no more sounds like a bellows. Inside, the Magic Core Crystal became dazzling in the dim surroundings.

But on Mr. Diket’s face, with temples streaked white, the harshness of thirty years had not changed.

In the knight’s eyes seemed to dwell the reflections of days past, his hand gripped the longsword, his heart’s justice and faith remained steadfast, slashing forward.

A flash of silverglow.

A Dragon Worshipper had just charged close, to Mr. Diket this stroke was merely of tenth level strength, the shadow of the sword traceable.

The latter wielded a serpentine short sword, lifting it to block. But to his stunned gaze, the knight’s bright sword blade passed like a phantom, crossing with his short sword.

The sword broke, the man perished.

The silvery short blade spinning out, embedded into the wall.

In Parker’s eyes reflected a mellow rose hue, it was a sky of blood rain, the older knight simply executed a horizontal slash, crossing paths with the Dragon Worshipper—whose half body flew up, crashing heavily to the ground.

Under the moonlight, amid curling flesh, the spine was sharply white and smooth at the break, blood gushing like a fountain, inner filth scattered on the ground.

The corpse still carried an expression of incredulity.

During the strike, he was merely Marlan’s guard, a mere level ten mediocre protector from the timber yard, the older knight seemed unremarkable, as if he had been confined to the mountains and forests his whole life.

An almost out-of-time man.

At least that was how Fang Hong saw the older knight—

And as he sheathed his sword, his aura was now that of the Temple of Courage—out of seventy-four crowned knights of the Colin over the past fifty years, each name was recorded on the Wall of Valor in Marlan Temple.

A golden mark on Mr. Diket’s longsword flashed briefly.

”The Crown Mark!?”

Red Leaf looked incredulously at the older knight and blurted out, ”Mr. Diket, who are you really?”

The older knight did not answer.

With a flick of his sword blade, droplets of blood scattered in a line across the corridor, stopping the Dragon Worshippers in their tracks.

The leading cultist abruptly halted, holding back his fellows, he raised his head to look at the knight standing before him, gasping:

”Diket Trewill, you really are also in this Phantom Realm, truly an unrelenting spirit—”

Red Leaf was slightly startled, a name flashed through her mind. ”Trewill... Mr. Diket, I know who you are now...”

Sir Roban Trewill, the legendary hero on the human side in the Battle of Bain.

The former’s ambiguous romantic and legendary affair with the Elf Princess Briana had been a favorite tale among Colin’s adventurers and common folk for many years.

But Red Leaf knew some secrets unknown to others, the beginning of that legendary adventure thirty years ago was actually sparked by another incident.

Before his famed encounter with the Elf Princess, Sir Roban had already been residing in the Elpaxin Region, investigating the activities of cultists behind the scenes, which consequently led to the heroes’ meeting during the Battle of Bain.

That earliest story—

Was because he was searching for his father who had disappeared over thirty years ago.

Few knew that this legendary hero’s father had once been the first crowned knight of the Elpaxin Marlan Temple, the holder of the Crown of Justice.

Red Leaf was so astonished that her mouth fell open.

”You are Sir Roban’s father, the person he has been searching for for the past thirteen years.”

Mr. Diket heard the name.

Only then did he turn his head and look at Red Leaf.

His gaze somewhat tender.

...

Dense smoke rolled like Black Dragons, hanging upside down in the sky.

The fire was getting increasingly near. Fang Hong didn’t know when but his hand holding the Scepter of Regret had started sweating, the palm damp. He looked up around him, the crowd was already gathering.

Men, women, the elderly, children, each person’s gaze was focused on him, a mix of unease and hope, trust mixed with doubt.

Fang Hong suddenly felt a heavy sense of responsibility.

Although he knew that everything before him was merely a phantom realm, the people he saw had perished in a sea of fire thirty years ago.

That black flame even devoured their starlight—

No one could escape from Dolifen, and this shocking catastrophe was buried layer by layer by the Colin Royal Family and the local praetors.

The Great Holy Temples also did not make their voices heard as they should have.

And these people were thus forgotten.

”Everyone, please follow me in an orderly manner, prioritize the safety of women, the elderly, and children. I won’t leave you behind, and I hope you won’t abandon the honor and courage of this city.”

Fang Hong held the Scepter of Regret and spoke softly.

Strangely, his voice was not loud, but it seemed to carry a certain power— as soon as he spoke, there was complete silence among the crowd.

In the complex web of alleys in the Upper City District, a flow of people formed by the crowd slowly moved forward.

At the forefront of everyone, Fang Hong held up the scepter. Some were panicking and anxious, but no one spoke. People looked out for each other and moved forward silently.

In their field of vision, the shining authority of the kingdom was like a flag, guiding the congregation of hearts.

Fang Hong saw someone pushing through the crowd, coming to him sweating profusely, a slightly bald, somewhat portly middle-aged man. He braved his way to the front of the crowd but appeared very humble and slightly flustered before him.

He stuttered, ”Sir... sorry, but have you seen my daughter? I’ve searched every street but can’t find her. I think she may not know what has happened here...”

Fang Hong looked at the man.

The man looked a bit older than his portrait, but still had a benign and kind face.

”I remember you, you are the owner of that pottery workshop, right?”

”Ah!” the man exclaimed in disbelief. ”Sir, I... I once delivered a batch to City Hall and saw you from a distance. I can’t believe you still remember me...”

He added hesitantly: ”My wife passed away early, sir. My daughter is really important to me. I swore in front of my late wife to protect her... but...”

Fang Hong asked, ”Your daughter is a student at Holite Academy, isn’t she?”

The man’s face turned pale, ”…I assure you she has nothing to do with those fanatics, sir, she’s a good kid.”

”Indeed, she is a good girl,” Fang Hong replied, ”Don’t worry, she’s fine… a brave lady saved her. They went ahead; you might meet her soon.”

The man’s face seemed to light up, full of joy.

”Really, sir?”

Fang Hong paused for a moment, then nodded firmly. ”Really, I even saw her with a boy who introduced himself as Hudi—”

The man chuckled, ”My daughter is outstanding, haha, it’s normal for some young men to pursue her.”

His voice choked up as he talked: ”I really can’t thank you enough, sir. I wouldn’t know what to do without you...”

Ashamed, the man said, ”I can’t believe there were people who badmouthed you secretly; I actually believed their slander... Sir, you truly are the best praetor Dolifen could have… Next time I’ll refute those people properly.”

Fang Hong felt the scepter in his hand tremble slightly.

He gripped the scepter tightly.

Suddenly, a terrifying scream came from behind.

Fang Hong turned his head only to see in the direction of Grey Oak Square, beneath billowing smoke, a pair of long wings rose, slightly bent as if they were adapting to a rebirth after a long absence.

The mark of The Faithful on his chest lit up slightly, diluting some of the fear mixed in the scream, but even so, the lingering power remained.

The revival scream of Dragon’s Golden Eyes was so even for him.

The impact on others was self-evident.

The crowd started to stir, and people at the back screamed in terror, ”My God, what is that monster!?”

Those at the back began to push forward, the previously orderly queue now descended into chaos. Everyone desperately surged forward, but only Fang Hong turned around.

The terrified man hastily grabbed him, ”Sir, be careful, there’s a monster behind, you better run, I saw it take flight...”

”…That monster is huge!”

But Fang Hong shook his head.

He looked up and saw the Dark Giant Dragon diving down from the sky.

The shadow covered the sun.

...