Pillar of Yita

The group hid in the shadows behind the crumbling walls, while the excavation site afar was ablaze with light.

The scale of the excavation site was astonishingly large, with huge bonfires lit inside. The laborers worked under the firelight, and the clanging sounds echoed far and wide, unceasing even in the deep of night.

The commotion caused by the sky pirates was far greater than they had imagined. It was unclear how many people had been abducted from other places, but as far as the eye could see, the line of people staggering under the burden of sand and stones seemed endless.

According to the sky pirates they had captured, the number of people working during the day would only be higher—and this was just one of the three major excavation sites inside Idus City.

Fang Hong looked at these people from afar and couldn’t help but gently clench his fist.

Among the laborers, there was no distinction between men and women, young or old; everyone was in tattered clothes. Some were unsteady on their feet, emaciated, like walking corpses driven on by the whips of the sky pirates.

Under the firelight, sky pirates overseeing everywhere were quick with their whips at the slightest dissatisfaction, lashing them out to knock people from the line. Then, burly sky pirates would drag them out of the crowd and beat them with fists and feet.

Fang Hong saw with his own eyes a man being beaten to the point of losing consciousness, yet the people nearby just looked on numbly.

”If I were them,” Parker responded while watching the scene, ”I’d have committed suicide to be resurrected by now.”

However, Hilveld shook her head gently and pointed to the side.

Fang Hong looked in that direction and noticed that the man being carried out was gradually emitting dots of white light. After a moment, he sat up again, looking dazed.

Fang Hong was taken aback: ”Have they set up an Eternal Stone here?”

Hilveld nodded, answering softly, ”Actually, Bunigu and the others have similar restrictions on them. There are some issues with the shackles on their feet. Bakins discreetly helped them remove it but chose not to tell them the truth.”

”That thing is not an Eternal Stone. I tried it; it doesn’t seem to work on the sky pirates. Maybe our method is wrong, or perhaps it’s just a ’Blight Object’ of the Dark Saints.”

”So, Bunigu and the others resurrecting wasn’t of much significance. Since Blood Shark Sky Island operates this way, they naturally have preparations—”

Listening to this, Fang Hong looked at the scene from afar and couldn’t help but curse, ”Those bastards!”

Hilveld glanced at him: ”Lord Captain, it’s best to let the navy handle matters here. We can’t save so many people with just a few of us.”

Fang Hong nodded calmly, understanding that they were here to gather intelligence, not play heroes.

He inadvertently looked into the distance.

Their hiding place was actually quite far from the pit’s bottom, making it impossible to see what lay below—but in that direction, there was a silent, stealthy figure.

Elisa, like a cat, crouched and moved soundlessly behind a broken wall, her movements secretive.

Occasionally, she raised her head to judge the position of friend and foe under the firelight, but her bright gaze flickered swiftly, going unnoticed.

Not to mention the unperceptive sky pirates, even Fang Hong found her movements somewhat mysterious, resembling a shadow that occasionally disappeared. Even he would lose sight of her in the dark, only for her to reappear unexpectedly in another direction.

It left Fang Hong in awe.

As a new member personally trained by the Lonely White Field, the Elisa sisters were the backbone of the Rain Listener’s next generation Nightingale team. Although the resources of such a Guild were limited, they couldn’t surpass the insight of the Lonely White Field.

Given Miss Nightingale’s current level of performance, she would not go unnoticed in teams like the Silver Forest Spear or Tabopolis.

Of course, she might still fall short compared to those top-notch Nightingales—but sometimes, the gap between the top Invoker of Eteliria and the non-top Invoker was more about opportunity.

Speaking of the King of Warriors Odin, even his talent wasn’t deemed top-notch.

Thus, Fang Hong couldn’t help but wonder if having this lady juggle the role of a Sailmaker within the team was a bit of a waste. But for the Seven Seas Travel Group, where would they find a competent Sailmaker?

As he got lost in thought, Elisa had already stealthily slid over a small slope and leaped through a fire-lit area, blending into a thicket.

The bushes swayed slightly, drawing the vigilant gaze from nearby, but she timely released a mouse from her pocket, which darted under a distant broken wall. The sky pirate glanced at it and then looked away.

Fang Hong was momentarily stunned, realizing that the purpose of catching those few mice from that group earlier was for this.

After Elisa infiltrated the dense bush, she finally got close to the inside of the excavation site—

Her calm gaze penetrated through the leaves, gently flipping open a Light Page, then picking up a Communication Crystal to project the situation there into a video communication with Fang Hong and the others.

Meanwhile, on Mr. Greyrock’s platform, inside the operations meeting room, Gita, Xiangzi, and Xiesta were also watching this scene through the faintly glowing screen.

Yet, at the center of the excavation site, there was nothing as Fang Hong had imagined. To be precise, there was nothing below—only the laborers continued their clanging excavation, revealing nothing below but more ruins of broken walls.

”There’s nothing below, Captain.” Elisa’s voice softly came through the Communication Crystal.

”Elisa, can you see anything from your side?”

”No, Captain.”