Pillar of Yita

At this moment, the two had already returned from the underground river, walking back to the artificial corridor, and returned to the original square hall.

It was also at this time that Fang Hong heard a faint sound in his ear:

A very deep twang.

Without any thought, almost instinctively, he shielded the girl behind him and pulled her back a step. On one hand, it was a matter of habit, although the girl was merely a soul, it was absolutely impossible for him to disregard her.But more importantly, at this critical juncture, he absolutely couldn’t let the task reset because at that moment he already sensed something inexplicable from the ring.

As he stepped back, a crossbow bolt flew out from the darkness. During the previous battle with the Dragon’s Claw, the Dark Ritual had already been effective once, so this time there wasn’t anything that could help him. Due to the dim glow of the Magic Guided Reactor, the assailant in the dark judged his position accurately, making the bolt nearly unavoidable.

Merely stepping back a bit allowed him to slightly dodge the most fatal part.

The crossbow bolt missed his throat, hitting his right shoulder, and as a numbing sensation spread across his right shoulder, Fang Hong felt that the bolt seemed to be coated with poison. However, he didn’t have time to check the system record to see what kind of toxin it was; he just gritted his teeth, not making a sound, and threw out a ’Screeching Banshee’ with his good hand.

At the same time, he pulled down the wind goggles.

The ’Screeching Banshee’ soared up, dropping a floating flashbang.

A soft sound echoed, as if a small sun rose in the hall; although it was just a momentary flash, Fang Hong could still see through the light-filtering goggles three or four shadows—not quite like he imagined, the other party wasn’t the Blood Shark Sky Pirates.

The moment the flash appeared, he saw two people rolling backwards, and another seemed to be hit directly, screaming while covering his eyes.

These three were all wearing deep blue war robes he hadn’t seen before—a style of war robe that could only be a product of a guild or knight order, evidently out in such conspicuous attire.

If not from various knight orders, then it was likely from the Summoners’ Guild, and clearly, the latter had a larger proportion.

Besides, there was a fourth person seemingly near the wall, but he couldn’t be certain.

These scenes fleetingly imprinted on Fang Hong’s retinas in that moment of brightness. Still, he didn’t have time to relate the war robe styles with any guilds from memory—he simply didn’t have time for that. Using his uninjured left hand, he pushed the girl back into the corridor.

Then he himself also retreated, retreating back into the corridor against the wall.

His scouting skills were quite low, unable to hear if anyone was approaching in the dark, nor if the three people at the start, two of whom had rolled backward, had also been hit. The blind effect of the Screeching Banshee’s flashbang could last for over five seconds, but if they weren’t hit, the opponents could almost immediately launch a counterattack.

The corridor did not have complex terrain, leading straight through. His Magic Guided Reactor’s magic power was already low, and after using that Screeching Banshee, it was down to about eight or nine percent, relying on the terrain here made it almost impossible to be an opponent against the three working together.

Not to mention there might still be a fourth person lurking in the dark.

Fang Hong felt a stabbing pain in his wounded right shoulder, and after calming down, once the effect of adrenaline wore off, he immediately felt a wave of dizziness. But there was no time to think it through; he pulled the girl and fled backward. Staying here was a dead end; if they could get back to the underground river and use its complex terrain, there might still be a sliver of survival.

The girl’s hearing was far sharper than his, clearly understanding what happened, not speaking a word until they fled. Only then did she softly say: ”They haven’t caught up yet, Mr. Ade, are you injured...?”

Her voice carried a slight tremor, which was hard to miss.

Fang Hong nodded with difficulty, his right hand barely able to lift, struggling with any movement, clearly not just due to the injury, more crucial was the poison.

Only then did he have the time to open the system, letting out a cry of dismay: the system displayed an unknown toxin, indicating that his Potion Studies, and plant and mineral knowledge were insufficient to identify the type of toxin.

Clenching his teeth, Fang Hong actively accessed his skill system, where he found a bit more of a clue: unknown plant toxin.

He sighed in relief. Most animal and mineral toxins in Eteliria were linked to magic toxins, plant toxins were a bit easier. Presumably, those using plant toxins would not use expensive magic toxins. The former could be treated with a Neutralizing Agent, while the latter required Magic Potion or magic removal.

He always prepared Neutralizing Agents for toxins, unsure if it was the right match, but still poured it over the wound, then took another Antidote orally. After completing all this, Fang Hong felt a bit better, his arm slightly regaining some sensation.

Only then did he nod, saying to the girl: ”I’m poisoned, those outside are not friendly, you move back to the previous place first, I’ll think of a way to see if I can divert them.”

”Mr. Ade, you’re poisoned?” The girl was startled: ”But how can you deal with them like this?”

Fang Hong was silent for a moment; even saying ’I have my ways’ was impossible to utter, as at this stage, he truly didn’t have much assurance. Firstly, he couldn’t discern the origins of those outside, and more importantly, he looked at his Magic Guided Reactor—the Magic Crystal’s light was already quite dim.

If he still had magical points, he might have the confidence to battle those outside, but without resources at his disposal, how could he fight?

...