Pillar of Yita

Parker, holding the ring, walked ahead with trepidation, determined to run towards Elisa’s side if they encountered anything sinister.

But as they progressed, they encountered nothing at all—one of the Papalarians yawned out of boredom, feeling somewhat relaxed. He thought that this place didn’t seem all that extraordinary. The underground passage appeared mysterious, but there were neither undead creatures nor Blood Shark Sky Pirates.

Moreover, the underground relics were not as exquisite as those he had seen in the Traveler’s Swamp. This was merely the grain storage of Idus under the ground, serving no religious purpose. Naturally, the Idus people wouldn’t bother carving intricate decorations in the corridors.

The party proceeded northward—of course, it was hard to determine direction underground, so they relied on Atira the Druid and Ranger’s reliable sense of direction; in Fang Hong’s memory, there was the first excavation site of the Dragonfire Guild to the north. Advancing from underground meant they could avoid the Magic Guided Conductor’s surface-based detection.

The Papalarian yawned again.

Occasionally, he would see some skeletons sprawled on the ground, covered with thick dust, clearly unrelated to undead creatures.

It was then that the Papalarian, under the torchlight, saw a headless skeleton that was quite different from the ones he had previously seen, for it was wearing a large robe. After more than a hundred years, the robe, though dull, showed no signs of decay.

Parker paused, faintly feeling the robe might have an extraordinary origin, and was about to pull it with his short, chubby hands when he suddenly nudged something with his foot.

The object rolled away, hitting a flight of stairs ahead, making a series of hollow sounds as it tumbled into the profound darkness below.

In the silent underground, the sequence of echoing sounds was somewhat jarring, causing everyone to halt and turn their eyes to the Papalarian in front. Parker helplessly raised his small, short hand and said, ”Listen, this isn’t my fault. Who would have thought there was something under the dust...”

”What is it?” Fang Hong asked him, looking intently.

”I think it’s its head,” Parker replied, glancing at the skeleton by his foot.

”No, I mean behind you.”

Parker was startled and instinctively turned to look.

Suddenly, a rushing sound swept through the darkness, and a long black shadow was slashing straight down at him. ”Ah—!” he screamed, diving forward, rolling like a ball to the feet of the others.

But nobody paid attention to this little fellow; the Big Catfolk was the first to lower his great shield, moving towards the dark shadow. ”Radiance!” he murmured, and the silver great shield in his hand, upon the embossed lion head, its eyes opened, emitting two beams of intense light, piercing straight into the black shadow.

Yet the light simply passed through the swirling black smoke, causing no harm whatsoever. The black mist only wavered slightly and then lunged at the Lion Paladin.

”That’s not an undead creature!” Fang Hong shouted.

Undead creatures do not disregard the Radiance Magic of a Paladin. This thing completely ignored the Big Catfolk’s attack, so it must not be an undead type.

Then everyone saw it clearly: it was actually a blurry humanoid creature—it was lunging with outstretched arms toward them, with massive claws at its hands, a long tail seemingly behind it, and where the head should be, there was a swirling mass of smoke, with a pair of sinister red eyes inside.

Parker nearly shouted ”mama” from fright upon seeing this thing. ”What the hell is that!?”

However, Fang Hong had already recognized it as Dragon’s Claw henchmen.

Yet it looked quite different from the Dragon’s Claw henchmen they had encountered earlier.

Firstly, this one appeared more like neither ghost nor human, its figure not as solid as the Dragon’s Claw henchmen they had seen at the Traveler’s Rest, in Fenris, and at Fanric, but rather almost dissipating. But it was precisely this dispersal that caused it to feel chilling and eerie as it moved.

And since it wasn’t an undead creature, it made sense for it to be unaffected by the Big Catfolk’s Radiance Magic.

But Fang Hong had his own way of dealing with Dragon’s Claw henchmen—he observed as the black shadow collided with the Lion Paladin Shield, seemingly dispersing, but actually skirting to encircle the Big Catfolk from behind. At this point, Fang Hong stepped forward, reaching into the black mist with his right hand.

A stream of azure light burst from the back of his hand, causing the black mist to shriek and recoil as if scalded by boiling water. But Fang Hong would not allow it this opportunity, stepping forward again, reaching into the center of the black mist.

After a piercing scream, the Dragon’s Claw henchmen was obliterated, turning into a cascade of black powder that fell to the ground.

Fang Hong stepped forward and wiped it with his hand, and the dust vanished.

”Dragon’s Claw henchmen?” the others finally reacted.

”How can there be Dragon’s Claw henchmen here?” Elisa couldn’t help but ask, ”Is Nikopolas really in this place?”

But Fang Hong stood upright, gently shaking his head.

He had indeed sensed a trace of Nikopolas’s aura from this creature, but it was not entirely the same—at least, the aura he felt from the Dragon’s Claw henchmen encountered at Dolifen, Traveler’s Rest, and not long ago at Elfendo Tower, was distinctly different.

However, it was unlike those Dragon’s Claw henchmen in Fenris underground; it indeed bore a remnant of Nikopolas’s power, but very faint, as if from a bygone era.

Strangely enough, he felt a bizarre illusion—this Dragon’s Claw henchmen might have been left behind by the Dragon’s Witch a hundred years ago.

...