Pillar of Yita

”Of course, I want to hurry,” Fang Hong replied irritably, ”but you’d be better off pulling me up there instead of wallowing in self-pity, and there’s nothing much to see in that bag of bones of yours.”

Regarding this dark deity, Fang Hong had not a shred of fondness. Were it not for this being’s own actions, there would not be so many troubles now. However, his indifferent tone was not solely due to this issue but also stemmed mainly from the Earthlings’ estrangement from the gods of Eteliria, with some believing that these were not gods at all, and others even thinking that this was not a real world.

In some senses, they weren’t entirely wrong, as if labeled by the natives: False Believer. Even if there was faith, it was not devout but rather like a transaction. Some gods did not mind as long as their doctrines were followed, but some gods were fastidious and did not accept believers of the Chosen—or accepted very few.

Salrutaka’s face bore no expression, as solemn and austere as the ancient statues in the temple, merely glanced at him once, stretched out his hand to pull him up, and used no divine strength in the process.

Fang Hong couldn’t tell whether he had been weakened by Toragotos’ scheme to the point of being unable to exert divine strength, or if he didn’t want to reveal his identity, or simply did not wish to waste his divine strength on himself. The streets were slowly sloping behind, but they were not about to collapse immediately.

”That is part of Light’s Sea,” Salrutaka looked at the light net turning dim under the impact of the Giant Mountain of Bones, his voice low and hoarse, ”Once ’I’ break through it, this place will no longer be safe, so you don’t have much time left to disrupt that ritual.”

Fang Hong did not answer immediately. Although they were temporary allies, Fang Hong could feel that the other still held reservations, and he was surely not of a benevolent kind. This was something he was very aware of, and both harbored their thoughts, just not openly expressed.

At that moment, the Giant Mountain of Bones struck the light net again, shaking the ground fiercely.

Fang Hong was squatting down, retracting his Flying Claw. Suddenly, a swooshing sound came from behind, and he turned around alertly, blocking a coming spear with his reinforced gloves, which took away over a hundred points of evasion and block value from him. The spear, knocked aside, fell near the wall.

Turning his head, he saw a Night Lizard People spear thrower not far away looking in his direction. Though the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team and the Blood Oath Alliance people were impeded, the Night Lizard People moved easily in this environment and had caught up from the streets behind.

Fang Hong felt overwhelmed, and ironically, the ’god’ of the Night Lizard People was right beside him. ”Your believers are right there, do you want to claim them?” he pointed out, joking bitterly.

”It would suit Toragotos’ wishes perfectly if I revealed my identity,” Salrutaka replied, ”Be careful, they’re coming.”

”They?”

Fang Hong heard the sounds of whishing wind, only to realize that the previously mentioned Giant Dragons had descended from the skies, flying past the Pyramid fortress from that direction.

He startled, these persistent creatures were back, and the Dragon’s Claw minions surely wouldn’t be far behind. With little time left, he quickly leapt towards the wall and ran towards the Holy Temple, intending to hide under the ’Shelter’ of ’Ka Kula’ before the large lizards arrived.

However, as the Dark Giant Dragon flew over from the top of Salrutaka’s colossal bones, the Giant Mountain of Bones suddenly raised its claws, catching one of them, and let out a shrill scream from between its hollow jaws, crushing it into dust and bone powder.

This startling change scared the Dark Giant Dragons into scattering, and this delay allowed Fang Hong to escape into the Holy Temple. Behind him, Salrutaka showed no intention of following, just gave a cold look at Fang Hong’s retreating figure, transformed into a wisp of black smoke, and drifted away with the wind. Behind him, a host of Night Lizard People climbed over the wall, as if they had never seen their deity appear there.

The Holy Temple of Ka Kula had two entrances, the front where pilgrims worshipped and the rear where Xinsas Serpentfolk monks and magicians entered—exiting through one of the small gates on the side. Fang Hong, unfamiliar with the internal structure of these ancient buildings, simply chose a path and entered through the right archway.

Though it was a smaller door, it was still over three persons tall. The grandeur of the main temple was unimaginable unless one stood beneath its root, almost needing to tilt one’s head back to glimpse its entirety. Xinsas Serpentfolk admired grandeur, and the thick stone pillars seemed to carry an ancient past while the floor was covered with a thick layer of historical residue, almost reaching above the feet.

This place had long been devoid of visitors and pilgrims. As Fang Hong entered the temple, the air filled with irritating dust, mostly stirred up by his own footsteps. He covered his nose and mouth as he moved forward, the dim path ahead appearing as a side corridor lined with continuous rows of columns.

Though lacking Dark Vision, his Torch Crystals were all used up, he held up a torch with his left hand. The flickering light was unstable, the shadows in the column hall swaying as though hiding hundreds of enemies just waiting for a command to charge.

But the Clockwork Fairy detected more details; tiny figures moved among the gigantic shadows—it was the Night Lizard People. Fang Hong had anticipated their faster movements; after all, these beings were natural hunters of the Underground World.