Pillar of Yita

The hidden lens in the darkness slightly shifted, reflecting the shadows of tall pines and firs in the curved vision, incorporating three cautious shadows from the northeast direction.

At the forefront, the Ranger Captain draped in a long feathered cloak, crouched low, holding a birch longbow, completely unaware that he had entered another’s vision. Elisa, hidden among the treetops 120 meters to his west, threw a pebble into the brush towards that direction, but the Ranger Captain showed no response.

She changed direction again, extending the pebble forward by twenty meters, but the result was the same. The third time, she stood up and tried her best to throw the pebble as far as she could towards the three o’clock direction. This time, the Ranger Captain finally stopped, raising a hand to signal the others to halt.

He looked towards the direction, the forest forming a huge hollow under his gaze, dark and empty inside, with the trees becoming distorted and increasingly unreal in such vision, and among the twisted woods were scattered red spots.

Some appeared fleetingly, some twisted and contorted; the fleeting ones were likely rodents between the trees, the twisting ones were traces of a viper under the shrubs, and some faint red spots were the background noise in the forest.

The low hum of insects, the wind rustling leaves, all left dim red marks in this vast and dark vision, but only truly seasoned Rangers could determine what they were seeking in Night Owl’s vision. And the more complex the background noise, the geometrical difficulty of distinguishing increased—

Elisa’s pebble rolled in the grass, leaving a bright red dot before quickly dimming down, resembling the sound mark left by a panic-stricken dove, causing the Ranger Captain to easily miss this sound.

The Ranger Captain gestured to his team, indicating a Level One alert in the western forest. Behind him was an Alchemist wearing a gray coat, from his hand a buzzing golden light flew out, paused mid-air for a moment, and then flew towards that direction.

Elisa held her breath, watching the golden light circling once above the forest about thirty meters away from her, before flying back, its trail disappearing into invisibility.

To the ordinary eye, the forest was silent, yet beneath such silence lay a richness of detail.

”Sound Level Six, auditory limit, sixty meters.”

A voice transmitted through the forest.

The voice also came from a tiny crystal on Elisa’s earlobe: ”Miss Elisa, turn northward at the four o’clock direction, fifty meters ahead, it remains in the shadow of the fir. Its front 120 degrees, all within the alert range.”

Elisa nodded lightly.

A higher vision, capturing every blade and branch beneath the forest, though lacking detail, yet the broad and long-range movement was clear without obstruction.

And the eye in the darkness began to maintain an equidistant retreat from the advancing direction of the opponent Ranger.

After that fleeting red light, the forest returned to silence, for the Ranger Captain nothing changed. He didn’t realize that beyond his auditory limits, a massive shadow realm was forming.

Two blade lights vanished behind the trees.

Those static visions then captured more human figures.

Elisa pressed her ear, observing the direction while softly detailing.

A depiction by two people crafted an almost complete picture —

In the mixed forest, the elite of Dragonfire Guild formed a layered arrowhead shape. At the very front tip of the triangle was a Ranger leader, a Combat Artisan, and a Two-Handed Swordsman, forming the arrow tip.

To the left and right sides, a Paladin and an Iron Defender protected the flanks.

And within a broader perspective, at the northeastern and northwestern corners of this team were additional teams, forming a tripod stance, cautiously penetrating between the forest with mutual cover.

At this point, although the Dragonfire Guild side hadn’t realized it, the first round of engagement between the two parties had already concluded. Yet for the Seven Seas Travel Group, the outcome was far from perfect.

Elisa counted a total of sixteen individuals, but at least four more were missing from their vision.

These four individuals should be Nightingales or similar professions.

Among the mainstream scouting professions in Eteliria, Combat Artisans and Magic Guided Conductors were mainly responsible for long-range scouting.

Combat Artisans were more comprehensive, more active, possessing battlefield coordination abilities, but their scouting skills were more fragile, more easily detected. While the scouting ability of the Magic Guided Conductors was more passive, yet safer and more discreet, often serving as the top choice for defensive scouting.

As for Nightingales and Rangers, they were the pair of spear and shield on the battlefield.

If there were no Nightingales, the scouting ability overview of Combat Artisans might far surpass Rangers. But it is precisely because of the existence of Shadows that Rangers, this Light, have more value.

Combat Artisans ultimately lack the scouting skills and related perception attributes, much like the forest before Fang Hong’s eyes, though fully displayed, he couldn’t discern what truly lurked among those forest shadows.

While Rangers possess the longest detail discernment abilities, they don’t even need to look, to merely listen—can perceive all in the darkness.

Regarding Nightingales, it’s not about how far they can see, but how close they can approach. Thus, even for Fang Hong, caution towards these hidden eyes in the shadows is required.