Pillar of Yita

In the end, Fang Hong adopted Hilveld’s suggestion.

The reason was very simple.

As Parker put it, instead of waiting for fate, it’s better to take some action—though it wasn’t that exaggerated. But having taken on the risk, there must be a corresponding reward, which means boldly driving others to connect with those captains and even helping them investigate those with a dark aura.

So, not yet understanding the situation, Cuiye began a life of non-stop hustle.

As the middleman, he dealt with dozens of captains one by one in transactions, also gathering information everywhere, almost taking up all of his free time. The benefit was that he could share combat intelligence from Fang Hong for free. Of course, it wasn’t just that; Fang Hong knew that Cuiye was undoubtedly skimming from these transactions, but he turned a blind eye, with both parties understanding tacitly.

However, the Poet seemed to enjoy it, diligently helping them identify which teams falsely reported their spoils of war, and occasionally sending over some news that was both funny and tear-inducing. For instance, he wrote in a solemn tone:

”Based on my investigation, all these teams have varying degrees of misreporting, but we can’t verify each one by one, so we have to turn a blind eye. However, everyone seems quite positive about using Earth Origin Crystals as a substitute for compensation. After accepting this option, the degree of misreporting has significantly decreased. But some remain stubborn, and after cross-verifying through multiple channels, I’ve compiled a list. I suggest excluding some of the more egregious teams—in short, we won’t do business with them anymore.”

Fang Hong found it somewhat amusing and frustrating; he didn’t really care about this. However, he decided to handle it according to the suggestion, as the Poet’s willingness to handle these things was undoubtedly good news for them, indicating that Cuiye, as their sole contact, did not seem interested in their team’s affairs either.

On the other hand, these people playing small tricks deserved such punishment.

In the following two days, the Crystals launched two more tentative attacks, but the strength of each was weaker than the last. Eventually, the Invokers fully regained their confidence, forming teams to actively enter the outside mining areas to clear out the Crystalysis Beasts.

Fang Hong participated in several such activities, and as per the prior agreements, Earth Origin Crystals continued to be delivered steadily.

Over there, the Holy White Stone Guild also fulfilled their promise, and Fang Hong, like a miser, witnessed his increasing wealth, experiencing both pain and joy.

The number of Earth Origin Crystals soon piled into a small hill, indicating that they would need a troop of beasts of burden to transport these minerals out.

Beasts of Burden can be procured from others, and most captains would likely grant them this convenience, but that wasn’t the crux of the problem. The crucial point was that to transport these items from the perilous mining area under the Crystals’ watchful eyes, they might have to wait for reinforcements to arrive.

Fang Hong informed the Seven Seas Traveler of the situation here, and it seemed they might be delayed by a day or two before reaching the rendezvous point.

Yet, in such a state, although they already had plenty of Earth Origin Crystals, like all Gronts, Fang Hong couldn’t stand seeing his wealth diminish—not even if the growth slowed.

Thus, this was the real reason he agreed to Cuiye’s proposal.

The Poet evidently grasped his most urgent internal need.

Fang Hong sometimes wondered why others’ poets were so capable, while his poet seemed to be good at nothing?

He couldn’t help but look at Tianlan, wondering when his poet would grow enough to stand independently. Tianlan, feeling uneasy under his gaze, cautiously suggested, ”Brother Ade, can you not look at me like that... I, I feel a bit scared.”

Parker laughed until he rolled on the sofa, sharply saying, ”That guy is probably figuring out how to sell you out to get a more useful poet.”

”Parker, you’re dead.”

But of course, it was just a joke.

One must admit, Miss Poet was still very useful. Not only was she skilled at bargaining, but she also managed the Seven Seas Traveler’s logistics, being Atira’s right-hand woman.

Even if Fang Hong really intended to sell someone, he’d have to pass the Elf Miss’s test first. Naturally, Luo Yu’s as well.

However, Tianlan did feel some pressure and frequently took Gita out to run errands. Fang Hong also gave them some Elder Tree leaves.

That afternoon, the first batch of reinforcements arrived at Pieriad.

This team consisted of over a hundred people, with an average Level above 20; they were from a nearby medium-sized guild—and had also taken a stake in this Crystal Mine. But the reinforcements didn’t enter the mining area; instead, they stopped at the forward camp. Fang Hong learned about this from Cuiye, though how Cuiye got this information was unknown to him; this guy always found his own sources.

This team, having learned from the previous people’s lessons, was waiting for further reinforcements to arrive. Although those reinforcements hadn’t appeared in the Grey Forest yet, this news caused a stir here.

Shortly after Fang Hong got the news from Cuiye, he went to the Hall of Trees to confirm it; he needed his independent sources—after all, the arrival of reinforcements wasn’t necessarily all good for them.