Pillar of Yita

The pitch-black crystal lens hung at the treetop, like a silent and watchful eye, observing the dark and quiet woodland—artisans referred to reconnaissance in such specific environments as ’watching the darkness.’ Combat Artisans were considered less adept at working in the dark, as it reduced the visibility of Clockwork Fairies, impairing reconnaissance effectiveness, causing scouts to overlook more details. Combat Artisans often had a reliance on vision, unable to utilize hearing, smell, or even touch, which was their natural limitation.

But artisans had their own methods, such as adding night vision modules or increasing the number of reconnaissance units within a given area, using quantity to compensate for quality. Few chose the former, as the extra modules could reduce the performance of the Clockwork Fairy in typical circumstances, consuming more calculative power, or at the very least, burdening the Alchemist unnecessarily.

Therefore, the Alchemist of Twilight chose a strategy of quantity, constantly switching between the fields of vision of seven Clockwork Fairies. The dark and deep forest was as silent as death—he could release more Clockwork Fairies, thirteen or fourteen would be his limit, but there was no need. At his level, this was not a particularly impressive ability, and reaching the limit made it challenging to pay attention to movements within the Forest.

He understood he was merely a supporter—controlling the area with seven Clockwork Fairies to prevent the opposition from moving easily, gradually narrowing the range to allow the ’Hunter’ in the front to capture the target. An excellent Combat Artisan should understand their limits and collaborate with teammates to maximize effectiveness.

He even sent out two Clockwork Fairies to monitor nearby, preventing unexpected opponents from entering the area. In the Forest, the open space below the canopy was a strategic location for Combat Artisans. Flying too high would be easily spotted, flying too low risked being entangled by the underbrush, unless someone could navigate through the canopy, but the Alchemist of Twilight thought such a person shouldn’t exist.

But the thing he believed to be nonexistent was currently passing through gaps in branches and foliage like a ghost, like three silent glances sweeping over the woodland from above. If necessary, in wide-field mode, Fang Hong could even lower the Clockwork Fairy to the height of the shrub layer, though there was no need—he couldn’t think of any purpose beyond showing off.

He considered himself a pragmatist.

The forest under the night, illuminated through the Light Crystal module, appeared as bright as noon within the Silver Bee swarm’s vision. The additional calculative power was negligible for Fang Hong. He easily saw the reflection of the hovering Clockwork Fairy beneath the treetop. Its color was slightly faint under the dim night vision, but he could still discern the material of its shell.

There was conflict in the Forest—

A Combat Artisan wouldn’t release a Clockwork Fairy for no reason, and the opposing Clockwork Fairies hadn’t detected them, indicating a third opposing presence within this woodland alongside the Combat Artisan. Discovering a single Clockwork Fairy was trivial, but Fang Hong deeply understood that the movement of Clockwork Fairies adhered to a pattern—they often spread outward from a central point, determined by the search habits of different Combat Artisans.

Even Fang Hong had his habits, yet his wide-field searching mode and alertness made it unlikely for his Clockwork Fairy to be discovered without him noticing the opponent. Fang Hong spread his bee swarm, discovering a second Clockwork Fairy from a comfortable position about a hundred meters away. It seemed ordinary—Fang Hong thought, at least the method of using Clockwork Fairies was typical of the academy style, not that the academy style was bad, but generally, lacking originality made one’s intent easy to guess.

He wouldn’t have made such an evaluation in the past—back then, he couldn’t even distinguish his own style, but times had changed, and in terms of insight, he was not what he used to be. With the second Clockwork Fairy found, locating the next one, and even revealing the opponent’s entire reconnaissance network, became easy.

Fang Hong did exactly that.

Three Silver Bees quietly expanded counterclockwise, capturing each node on the network, although it sounded lengthy, it only took about ten seconds.

Soon, he spotted another target—a Nightingale lurking in the underbrush. By the figure, it was a woman, though her age was indiscernible due to a veil. Her weapon was a long short sword, typically used by professional Wanderers—commonly known as Night Thieves. This was a common setup branch of Nightingales, specializing in setting traps, lockpicking, and more.

Night Thieves lacked the flashy abilities of Shadow System Nightingales, but held the sharpest perception among Nightingales. She even sensed Fang Hong’s Clockwork Fairy, looking up through the pitch-black canopy with a glance.

She asked in a hoarse voice: ”Did I just hear something?”

But asking the Alchemist to spot anything within the layered canopy a hundred meters away through the Clockwork Fairy was quite demanding. The Alchemist muttered a complaint, raised a Clockwork Fairy into the air, scanned around, but found nothing.