Pillar of Yita

Passing through the serene Forest, the Dragonfire Guild’s Ranger Captain halted before a chalk-white boulder. He saw his first arrow, lying amid the gray-yellow pine needles. His gaze crossed over there, through the woods beside the boulder, where tiny glimmers of red light flickered and faded out in the darkness, like the image of writhing worms.

At the forest’s edge, there was a pool of blood, its speckled trail winding deeper into the Forest. The Ranger Captain sniffed the air, the thick scent of blood overwhelming his judgment.

Looks like I hit it, he thought, it must have been the second arrow.

He took a few steps forward and saw the second arrow. The shaft had been broken and discarded on the path, the arrowhead missing, with a smudged bloody handprint on it. Had it fled into the Forest? The Ranger Captain thought again, but it might also be hiding in the dark, like a cornered beast.

He stopped to listen for a moment. In the ’vision’ of his hearing, the area around the boulder was empty. The treetops swayed gently, occasionally outlining the canopy’s shape, as light flickered on and off in the darkness. Occasionally, a red light flashed in the distance, a sign others were still in combat.

At least there was no sound nearby, so the Ranger Captain felt reassured, silently continued onward. Ahead, beneath two arcing rocks, a tortuous path unfurled. He glanced up, still wary of entering it lightly, choosing instead to detour slightly.

But as he turned, a shadow slipped out, a soft ’click’ sounded — the Ranger Captain turned his head, and his temple touched something cold and metallic — the muzzle of a handgun.

He froze, catching sight in his peripheral vision of a rugged and powerful hand holding the gun. It was a sailor’s hand, with a slash from a knife across the arm, already forming a fresh scab in a short time.

”You’re faster than me,” Bakins cocked the hammer, speaking: ”But at this distance, you’re no faster than the gun in my hand, so I’d suggest you don’t move.”

The Ranger Captain raised his hands and asked, ”You’re not Nightingale, why didn’t I sense you hiding there?”

”No need to probe, my Level is much lower than yours,” Bakins replied: ”Just been to many places, learned some unconventional Skills. Above the Cloud Sea, some ancient Clan uses special methods to hold their breath.”

”Above the Cloud Sea, the Second World?”

Bakins nodded.

The Ranger Captain suddenly dropped his hands, reaching for the Curved Blade at his waist. He gambled it all, but the opponent did not err. Bakins decisively shot him in the shoulder. The Ranger Captain grunted, enduring the pain as he drew the Curved Blade with his left hand, turning to slash.

Bakins tilted his head to dodge, firing another shot that hit his chest.

The Ranger Captain’s face turned pale, as he fell backward.

Bakins discarded the handgun, stepping forward to draw his Sword, driving it once more into the opponent’s chest. Having delivered the coup de grâce, he glanced at his foe. The Ranger Captain, in his final moments, was still staring fixedly at the sky, wearing an expression of dying in regret.

”What a pity.”

Bakins shook his head. It was unclear whether he pitied the Ranger Captain as a worthy adversary or regretted not extracting more information.

He reached out and closed the Ranger Captain’s eyes.

With the Ranger Captain dead, his comrades naturally sensed the information from the team list.

The Iron Defender, already faltering before Xiesta’s relentless attacks, was caught off guard by a sudden distraction, allowing Miss Maid to seize the opportunity. She took a step forward, seized the edge of his shield, and yanked it away from him, delivering a heavy punch to the Iron Defender’s chest.

With a thunderous crash, he was sent flying.

Simultaneously, the Lion People also used the Scepter of Authority to knock out the Paladin of Saritu after being frozen in place by Luo Yu’s frost Spell, the victory was already decided from that moment.

Big Cat people turned and inquired of the fallen Papalarians ”Where is Luo Yu?”

Parker, with a swollen face, shook his head. ”I saw him lure a Nightingale into the woods.”

”Which direction?”

”Behind me.”

Reed silently pursued in that direction.

...

Luo Yu watched the flickering golden flame, its light casting his surroundings into deeper darkness. The rolling waves of fire involuntarily reminded him of Dolifen. Beneath the golden, shifting flames, Nikopolas’s dangerous gaze lurked, coldly observing its prey.

But the firelight actually came from his Spell. It was a twelve-meter-long wall of flame, its rolling Fiery Flames consuming everything in its path.

Except for the opposing Nightingale.

The opponent could silently slip through the Forest like a passing Shadow, without a sound.

When Luo Yu turned around, the Shadow took shape amidst a swirling mist, reaching out a claw — a Crow-shaped Dagger, pitch-black, with a Green Gemstone on the hilt extending a thin tongue that lapped up the firelight until it reached the blade’s tip.

Luo Yu, however, seemed to sense something, abruptly turning back, a hand that had been obscured now grasping a sky-blue Crystal pillar. The light within the Crystal surged, sharply contrasting with the silent, impassive expression on his face.

Seeing this, the Nightingale was aghast, only managing to forcefully thrust the Dagger in her hand before being blasted away by the light from the Crystal with a scream.

Luo Yu grunted, clutching the Dagger in a kneel. The Dagger was embedded in his left chest, about an inch and a half from his heart.

Equally, the Nightingale fared no better, struggling to stand, her right shoulder to her abdomen covered in white frost, with her right arm a dark purplish shade beneath the frost, nearly entirely necrotic. From the perspective of their relative Levels, she was indisputably the loser.