Pillar of Yita

Parker inhaled sharply and said, ”Oh my god, what is this thing?”

Fang Hong was also somewhat shocked. But after all, he was an Alchemist, and no matter how ugly this thing was, it was just a Construct. It looked a bit like a heinous worm, so he tentatively gave it a name — Hesiod Worm, which in Greek Mythology refers to the Hundred-Handed Giant, somewhat akin to this thing.

He patted Parker, ”Why don’t you try shooting an arrow at it?”

”Why should I, if I shoot an arrow at that thing, it’ll just eat us all!”

”If you don’t shoot it, it will eat us all later.”

Only then was Parker persuaded. He cranked the Magic Guided Crossbow and, filled with uncertainty, shot an arrow in that direction.

The arrow hit the shell of the thing, making a crisp ’clang’ and drawing a long spark before flying off. The worm remained motionless, resembling a pile of twisted metal fragments on the ground, lifeless and silent.

Fang Hong waited a bit longer, until the torchlight had dimmed considerably. In the still air, only the crackling sound of burning flames was heard. After a while, he finally said, ”Let’s go, we’ll go around it.”

”Go around, go around it?” Parker’s eyes were wider than a copper bell.

”Or what, you want to walk directly past it?”

”No, I didn’t mean that, I meant...”

But Xiesta had already stopped paying attention to them, and went ahead on her own.

Fang Hong grabbed the collar of the Papalarian and dragged him over. The Papalarian cried out loudly:

”I warn you, don’t drag me like a sack of flour, I just bought these clothes, my collar, I apologize, I’ll walk by myself!”

The three of them cautiously circumvented the tall wreckage. Due to the previous experience, Fang Hong had abandoned the idea of studying it a bit, knowing if it moved, it could wield a force as mighty as the Hundred-Handed Giant from Greek Mythology, something the three of them couldn’t deal with. Fortunately, in the end, there were no surprises or dangers, and the thing remained motionless, as silent as before. This led Fang Hong to ponder, what exactly caused the previous wreckage to move? Was it the sense of an approaching living being? But how close would one have to be considered close, would there have to be physical contact? These were questions he had, but alas, there was no chance to experiment.

After passing through the worm’s carcass, Fang Hong saw the corpse of a tall Crystalysis Beast leaning against a cliff. He recognized this thing — a Disorderly Inspector, three days ago in the massive battle, they hadn’t managed to bring back even one Disorderly Inspector. But right now, this behemoth lay defeated here, making Fang Hong slightly uneasy about the strength of the Constructs outside.

Further on, the traces of Combat grew increasingly intense. But on both sides of the rock walls, there emerged something new — wall carvings.

The text was in ancient Xinsas Serpentfolk script, old adages, praising the deities of yesteryears, praising the ancient Saints.

Each mural made Fang Hong feel as if he had returned to the underground of Fenris, the murals here identical to those there:

First, the Black and White Deities battled on the plains, meteors plummeting, creatures on the earth fled in all directions.

Then came the Star of Calamity, from the black flames, a throne was born. The Serpent People Empire was established.

The turmoil of seven Kingdoms, the Empire reduced to dust amid disaster. It’s a story from an era ago.

But one particular image made Fang Hong stop and gaze intently:

It was a massive black Star descending from the sky, trailing a long tail, surrounded by many smaller stars.

The Serpentfolk on the ground worshipped fervently, the earth vast and boundless. But no matter how Fang Hong looked, those smaller stars looked like the ones he had seen in the High Tower Illusion — pitch-black stars.

Around the mural’s periphery, surrounding the worshipping Serpentfolk, were distributed seven small Spires, the light of the black stars depicted using an abstract method, like beams of sharp swords thrust into the earth.

Seeing this, Fang Hong was already so shocked he couldn’t contain himself. ”Seven Spires, Land of the Twelve Stars... Seven Spires, Land of the Twelve Stars, Eternal wisdom, endless life.”

He recited it twice, noting that the number of stars on the mural was exactly eleven, plus the main star.

”Elf Holy Grail,” Fang Hong murmured to himself, feeling as if he had an epiphany, ”it’s the Elf Holy Grail!”

Parker’s mouth hung open. Even Xiesta moved forward a step, touched by the realization that it was the object their lady had been seeking for so long — but suddenly remembering something, she quietly returned to Fang Hong’s side.

”Where did the first Star of Calamity descend?” Like a flash of lightning tearing through the darkness, illuminating the sea of thoughts, Fang Hong asked loudly.

He and the Papalarian simultaneously opened the system, entered the community, but after searching for a long time, the answer shown was Agnol — translated today as the Murky Realm.

”Ah.” Fang Hong couldn’t help but utter. Not only because that place existed in the Second World, but more importantly, the China Competition Region had just suffered a cruelling defeat there, and it was only through military intervention they had managed to secure a foothold. Now, it had become a battleground for all major forces, a four-way conflict field, true to its name, the Murky Realm.

Fang Hong keenly perceived that the battle a year ago might not have been so simple.

Parker also stood with his mouth agape for a long time without speaking, only after a while did he regain his composure, licking his dry lips, he asked, ”Should we continue to investigate further?”