Pillar of Yita

Fang Hong ’holding hostage’ Affia walked across the nonexistent center line of the rooftop. In the distance, a window on the tower standing amidst the sandstorm happened to face this direction, like the black hole of a Cyclops. Fang Hong turned around and found Affia’s face turned pale. She was not afraid of the current situation, but of the storm.

This storm was beyond everyone’s expectations. Bain City is located on a prominent rocky platform, with the wind carrying sand between the giant crimson pillars, roaring and rumbling from afar.

Even he felt a sense of insignificance under the might of nature.

He looked up again toward the direction of the exit. So far, Bain’s knights still appeared very orderly, moving steadily, always keeping at the edge of the mutual vision between them. At this distance, the other party could by no means launch a sudden attack through the sandstorm. Fang Hong felt somewhat relieved.

”Miss Affia, sorry to trouble you,” he said. ”This place is not safe; I will let go in a while, please stand firm.”

The knights were watching from afar. Affia didn’t dare nod but replied softly.

In the howling wind, Fang Hong glanced at the side profile of the girl in his arms. He didn’t know if it was his illusion; the feeling of unease never left. The fierce wind rushed at them, he could not help but shrink his neck, and casually started a conversation: ”By the way, do you remember a member of my team?”

”Which one?”

”The one who knocked you down that day.”

Affia was taken aback, then nodded gently.

Fang Hong mentioned it only casually. But compared to Parker’s dwelling on it, the girl evidently did not have a deep impression of what happened that day.

The protection spells from the Arcanists seemed indeed effective. As the wind reached them, an invisible force separated the sand, weakening it considerably.

On the other side, Wu Xiaopang and his team were preparing to pull up the anchor chain. Xiangzi was checking the airbag’s cables. He had to hold tight to the rigging swaying underneath the airbag to stand firm and then inspected one by one. Gita didn’t leave the deck either, holding tightly onto the ship’s side, watching this way with tension.

Luo Hao was standing aside with the Great Shield in hand.

Fang Hong turned his head again, the signs of unease in his heart becoming more apparent. ”Luo Hao, be careful,” he said.

”I’m watching,” Luo Hao replied.

Fang Hong’s gaze scanned to one side. The tower standing amidst the sandstorm was like a silent Cyclops. Then, a flash of insight crossed his mind, suddenly realizing where his unease stemmed from.

The Bain knights had always been following, never leaving his field of vision, which seemed reassuring.

But what about those Arcanists?

He clearly remembered there being a middle-aged man among the Arcanists, a familiar face. But since leaving the room, this person had never appeared before him again.

As if the Arcanists had disappeared from the start. And because they were not the protagonists in this ’hostage situation,’ he didn’t pay much attention to this detail at first or even ignored it. But even if they weren’t the main characters, shouldn’t the Arcanists disappear now?

He suddenly sensed something amiss.

Although his instincts almost assured him that the Arcanists could hardly cast spells through this sandstorm, there had to be a reason for these abnormal events.

Just then, a flash of light appeared behind the tower window not far away.

The light was reflected in the corner of Fang Hong’s eye.

He instinctively pushed Affia away.

And that light had no trajectory nor any light and shadow effect, vanishing in an instant, like an illusion.

But suddenly, Fang Hong felt an invisible Ether disturbance, like a ripple, sweeping past from his side. He wasn’t unfamiliar with Ether, and almost immediately realized it was a spell. At the moment this thought formed, Fang Hong felt himself being pulled forward by an invisible force, and ahead seemed to open up a glowing Light Gate, enveloping him—

With a flash of white light, he hadn’t reacted in time as a wave of dizziness and nausea washed over him, and the scenery before him changed abruptly.

He was no longer standing on the rooftop but back in the corridor; the roaring wind disappeared instantly, and the Bain knights around surrounded him tightly.

He shook his head, still not able to respond, when he heard a surprised exclamation:

”Why is it you?”

Fang Hong then looked up at the speaker, who was none other than the missing middle-aged Arcanist. Holding a Magic Guided Wand, the man was looking at him with an incredibly shocked expression.

But the look on the man’s face made Fang Hong reach into his arms, taking out the positioning teleportation scroll he had been keeping close. He was about to tear the scroll when the middle-aged Arcanist seemed to react, shaking a scroll out of his sleeve as well.

The opponent’s speed in using the scroll was evidently much faster than his own half-baked attempt. The scroll ignited in the middle-aged Arcanist’s hand, and then he pointed in this direction. At that moment, Fang Hong felt the surrounding space suddenly converge, forming an invisible shackle, trapping him.

Although the shackles didn’t restrict his movement, Fang Hong saw the scroll in his hand, which had just lit up, suddenly dimmed.