Pillar of Yita

A group of people stepped onto the second Light Bridge, and the encroaching Dragon’s Claw minions abruptly halted. The Light Bridge and the rock pillar’s sharp edges seemed to have an invisible barrier that deterred these dark beings from crossing even a single step. Suddenly, the horde erupted with piercing screams, and many Dragon’s Claw minions with wings on their backs flew up into the air, resembling a dark swarm of bats, flapping their wings and swiftly pursuing in this direction.

Fang Hong was startled by this sight and couldn’t help but subconsciously think about what Miss Sicape would do in this situation.

But he suddenly realized his thinking was somewhat naive—because Miss Sicape wouldn’t always have the answer for him. Fang Hong inhaled slightly, reminded himself of his current identity and responsibilities, and told himself that as a leader of a team, he must first calm down.

He looked back, and the flight paths of those ’giant bats’ had become less unpredictable. As a Combat Artisan familiar with flight postures and skills, their flying speed and intentions also became blatantly clear.

With his mind made up, Fang Hong quietly issued the command through the channel, ”Ignore them, do not stop, keep moving forward! Crossbowman, prepare the explosive crossbow bolts, delay setting 1.3, aim for 7 o’clock direction, a single round of shooting will do.”

The team had already rushed past the midpoint of the second Light Bridge. The ruins atop the second rock pillar were within an arm’s reach, larger than the previous one, resembling a kingdom of the dead. Countless undead crowded at the edge of the cliff, waiting for them to approach, and even a few Corpse Ghosts or Skeletons fell off the cliff due to overcrowding, plunging into the Sea of Lava below and turning into a dazzling flash.

By now, the Crossbowmen had launched the second round of Explosive Crossbow Bolts since the battle began. The Flash detonated squarely within the cluster of Dragon’s Claw minions, the blast wind causing those ’giant bats’ in the midair to sway left and right, falling like rain one after another.

”So accurate.”

People watching this scene through screens around the world couldn’t help but share a common thought at this moment.

Most of them were actually not real experts. People at the second and third ranks dominated the mainstream of the Chosen from the first world, and their judgment of ’explosive crossbow bolts’ naturally wasn’t as precise as that of Virus, Chenxi, and Nether. They also didn’t understand what was so tricky about this round of shooting.

But that didn’t stop these ’sharp-eyed’ and ’strict-mouthed’ spectators from giving the shoot the highest praise—nothing else, because the effect of the shooting was clear, the dropping of the Dragon’s Claw minions explained everything.

People’s standards of judgment are often simple because they only consider the results.

”I saw it,” someone described to others, ”it was the Commander who gave the command.”

”So young, still with the appearance of a big boy.”

”That mask of his is really cool—”

”I really want to know what his name is?”

”It’s his subordinate Crossbowmen who are skilled, what accomplishment is that? I’d be the same with such a group of subordinates.”

But Fang Hong had no idea how many people were currently critiquing them.

He looked back at the Dragon’s Claw minions who had fallen from the sky, and he suddenly had a thought. Although not every one of them was, the ability of the Dragon’s Claw minions to fly at least suggested that the higher their rank, the closer they seemed to possess the Dragon’s power.

First, the appearance was similar to that between a dragon and a human, then the flight ability, and what would be next?

Would they become real dragons?

And the so-called Dragon’s Claw minions were actually just beings and souls who had been deceived by the Dark Giant Dragon in their lives. They were tainted with the Blood of the Demon Dragon, and they were endowed with nearly Immortal Life by the Dark Giant Dragon, but the corresponding price was to eternally serve the Dark Force.

Fang Hong didn’t understand whether such a choice was worth it for these people—an eternal without free will, what difference did it have from a walking corpse?

”But what is free will?”

”The only eternal in this world is the unchanging thought.”

”Freedom, just a cage of thought.”

A flurry of whispered voices suddenly entered his mind.

The voice was grand and benign, as if an elder with wise counsel, whose insightful gaze had penetrated the ultimate truth of the universe.

Fang Hong was shocked. He looked around and saw Salrutaka coldly observing their battle from a distance, and he intuitively felt that the voice did not come from him. He couldn’t help but ask, ”Miss Tata, did you hear a voice?”

The latter appeared somewhat puzzled, tilted her little head to look at him, and shook her head.

And the voice was like a hallucination.

Vanished again.

Fang Hong vaguely felt—the voice was apparently describing what it is to be a Dragon’s Claw minion—an Immortal, an existence that wasn’t as simple or single-minded as people imagined.

Previously, Salrutaka had also inadvertently disclosed some unexpected information; the Dark Giant Dragon was indeed created by them, so the power of the Dragon’s Claw minions should not only come from the enslaving Dark Giant Dragon.

But it should come from a deeper void—perhaps as described in the arrival of the second Star of Calamity, it was this arrival that brought the Giants and Dark Giant Dragon.

Then, was that voice, Verdant?

In the blink of an eye, various thoughts flooded his mind, Fang Hong broke out in a cold sweat, not daring to delve deeper into this topic here. He looked somewhat pale as he gathered his senses and realized that the team had already reached the other side of the Light Bridge.