Pillar of Yita

”Actually, I have considered leveraging Holy White Stone’s internal power, as the Captain is quite upright, and Time Reflection can testify for me. But I’m worried the Guild’s high-ups might not be unaware of Twilight’s intentions—they just can’t resist the temptation, as Twilight holds nearly a third of the share here.”

”...I dare not gamble on this, which is why I thought of you all.”

Fang Hong listened to this and already understood the situation quite well.

He looked up at the pitch-black underground ceiling and then asked, ”Alice, when you left that place, had they already set off?”

Alice still shook her head: ”Not yet.”

”How long has it been since you left there?”

Alice thought for a moment: ”About half an hour.”

Fang Hong lowered his head, just in time to see the Big Cat Folk looking in his direction, the feline pupils shining in the dark.

”They’ve probably already arrived,” the Lion Paladin didn’t seem worried about being discovered, holding a match in his hand as he lit it, letting the red sparks fall into his pipe, and answered gruffly, ”Remember the last time we entered that Valley, it didn’t take long, we might not have much time left—”

Fang Hong frowned slightly.

”Alice,” he asked again, ”Do you know of any other routes into that Valley?”

Alice shook her head; her understanding of this place wasn’t any more than the two others.

Fang Hong and Reed exchanged a glance.

”Let’s check that entrance first,” the Big Cat Folk answered again, ”though I guess there’s not much chance.”

Fang Hong silently nodded.

...

The fact proved the Big Cat Folk’s foresight.

His furry paw pressed the bushes quite low, his eyes gloomily looking through in that direction for a moment, watching the Invokers patrolling back and forth at the Valley entrance, poking a hair ring tied to his mane, then turned back around.

”As you can see, the other side is not foolish either, those few who fought with us must have informed them, and timing just about matches, right about two Talias, just enough time for them to resurrect,” he pointed to the shadows moving below, ”Are those your Guild’s people?”

”They are ours.”

The girl’s heavy gaze watched in that direction, nodding.

Fang Hong put down the Communication Crystal in his hand; he had just contacted the others on the other end, Hilveld telling him the Crystals hadn’t launched an attack yet, but the Crystalysis Beasts had already appeared in the Withered Woods.

The Invokers on the outer perimeter were returning to defense, and the scouting range was consistently shrinking—more precisely, being compressed by the Crystalysis Beasts, which was unprecedented. The Beasts’ march seemed much more orderly than in previous instances, not good news.

Most people sensed the anomaly, the front line was more tense than ever, several Captains had already asked about their situation here multiple times, and Miss Ship’s Officer had to muddle through temporarily.

”If you don’t come over soon, there’s not much I can do.” She said.

”I’ll be there soon.”

That was all Fang Hong could reply for now, but the situation on his end was equally grim.

He closed the Crystal, then asked the two, ”How about it, can we charge through?”

The Big Cat Folk shook his head.

”It’s best to sneak through, little one.”

”In front of half a troop?”

Fang Hong looked in that direction; last time he hadn’t really noticed, but the entrance of that Valley was less than a hundred feet wide.

He thought for a second, decided to adjust the position of the Clockwork Fairy ahead, to see if there was a better entry point nearby. But at that moment, suddenly a great force came from behind—The Lion Paladin grabbed him and Alice, pulling them backward, then pressing them one on each side into the bushes.

Fang Hong hadn’t yet figured out what happened when he felt the world spin, hitting his back headfirst—just as he saw stars, he heard the Big Cat Folk’s deep voice coming from the side:

”Don’t make a sound.”

Fang Hong finally turned around, seeing the silver-gray gaze of the Big Cat Folk hidden in the grass, hurriedly using his eyes to inquire:

”What happened?”

Reed was silent for a moment, seemingly understanding his meaning, and replied in a lowered voice: ”Someone’s coming, we seem to have been detected.”

Detected?

How could this be?

His Clockwork Fairy was still in front; the other side hadn’t even found the Fairy, so how could they discover them? Yet just then, the three suddenly heard a rustling sound ahead, followed by a round, ball-like creature rolling out from the bushes there.

And the weird thing had an even stronger reaction upon seeing them; it nearly leaped three feet high in fright, shrieking uncontrollably:

”Don’t kill me, Gulang is a good person, Gulang doesn’t want to die, Gulang doesn’t want to die—!”

Although Alice dashed forward to press down on the creature’s mouth at the first moment she saw it, it was already a bit too late. The panic-stricken scream of the Dwarf Goblin was like a massive amplifier in the silent Forest, glaringly marking their location.

The Big Cat Folk looked awkwardly, at the little creature squirming in Alice’s embrace, spreading his hands, ”I didn’t expect it to be him.”

But Fang Hong didn’t have time to talk about that with him.

He was only grateful Miss Scholar hadn’t come—

In an instant, he noticed numerous magical flashes lighting up in the Valley below, and without further words, he swiftly retracted his Clockwork Fairy, dropping just one line: ”Run!” and tumbled down the slope.

But just as he left his spot, a bright blaze exploded behind him, while the scorching airflow and shockwave blasted him off from the back.

Fang Hong’s final memory was seeing a tree trunk coming at him head-on, crashing straight into his nose bridge.

”Ouch—!”

This was his last cry of pain.

...