Pillar of Yita

Then one by one they turned around, holding swords in both hands, gazing ahead.

Fang Hong merely held Atira and watched these people’s backs—in this era filled with fantasy and adventure, different people seemed to be chasing different dreams, but what was common was that they all harbored a fervent spirit, fearless and in pursuit of their selves.

This optimistic and unrestrained spirit seemed to constitute the temperament of the pioneers of this era, writing countless responsibilities and ideals above the stars.

The knights raised their longswords, shouting in unison, ”The resilience of oak, advance and retreat together!”

Then they charged fearlessly towards an enemy that outnumbered them by folds.

Recall silently watched this scene, watching as the formation of the dual swordsmen from the Dragonfire Guild became blunted and then broken, entangling with the knights of Tabopolis in a chaotic brawl.

”Each of us fights for our own free will and gathers for this reason,” he turned around and said deliberately, ”The Free Summoners determine their own destiny because they refuse to submit to the oppression of the Grand Guild, and that is precisely the origin of the Knight Order.”

”Ade, Red Leaf told me you should be with us,” Recall responded, ”What do you think?”

Fang Hong looked admiringly at the backs of those knights.

Indeed, the grace they exhibited was the reason he had come to this world.

But that was not all—

He turned around and replied, ”Indeed, because of some things, I generally have a bias against the Grand Guilds of Eteliria; you’ve corrected this view for me—not all guilds are like that. Thank you, brother Recall, and Red Leaf.”

But he shook his head again, thinking of his own promise, ”But I have my own path.”

”Alright,” Red Leaf glared at him irritably, ”Don’t be so pretentious, do you think the Knight Order is begging you to join?”

Fang Hong could not help but smile wryly; he always felt he had heard this somewhere before.

The situation on the battlefield was changing—

The commander of the Dragonfire Guild was feeling overwhelmed, the high loyalty and morale of the Free Guild had always been one of the things most envied by the major clubs. But as much as they envied, that exceptional sense of belonging and ownership was not something that ordinary business guilds and clubs could provide.

There might be exceptions, but they were few.

He could only watch helplessly as one of his units was disrupted by the enemy’s desperate charge, while trying to allocate a portion of his superior numbers to continue pursuing the original tactical objectives.

But at this stage of the combat, the forest was already in chaos, those in front blocking the view of those behind, making it impossible to gauge the situation.

Not to mention the numerous undead in the forest, who were not allies of the Dragonfire Guild; the living and undead were inherently at odds, Dragon’s Golden Eyes could barely control the Resentful Spirits of Dolifen, but struggled to suppress their instincts driven by negative energy.

The outcome was the members of the Dragonfire Guild and the knights of Tabopolis being severed by the undead, each entangled with the ghostly legions, and in the end, it was the latter who, prepared beforehand, first broke free from the encirclement.

Fang Hong and others passed through the forest, and looking back, the direction of the battlefield was still a scene of turmoil; however, through the treetops only the spire of the City Hall remained, haloed with golden red against the firelight on the horizon.

The undead still converged from all directions, forming a mighty stream behind.

Every time they were about to encircle at the front, Recall would have Parker and another crossbowman use Explosive Shooting to prevent them from closing in. Before long, the Parer People and another crossbowman ran out of ammunition.

It was only a few minutes later that a fence wall appeared in the front of the group.

”Behind that is Haggston Cemetery!” declared Red Leaf after checking her map.

But no one spoke.

Although passing through the cemetery area was Hustings Cathedral, they had not yet encountered any Dragon Worshippers, and the situation seemed a bit off; nobody dared to claim they could definitely reach the place before the enemy.

Even if the members of the Dragonfire Guild had not detained them, they likely had already captured the City Hall, meaning the three artifacts of Dolifen had been activated by the enemy.

They had no choice but to pin their hopes on Fang Hong’s judgement.

But hope was very faint.

Fang Hong, carrying Atira, moved to the front; his expression was not good. He had thoroughly examined Atira’s wounds; she had been hit by a bullet in her abdomen, the wound deep and ghastly.

She had bled earlier, but it had dried into a crust on her wheat-colored skin.

Tianlan and Gita’s look of worry was equally evident. ”Brother Ade, Sister Atira is not hurt, is she?”

Fang Hong shook his head.

He had already sought a Healer to treat the Elf Miss’s injuries, but although Eteliria had Milaila, the Goddess of Life and Healing with miraculous healing abilities, she was not omnipotent.

The Healer told him that the bullet needed to be removed first to heal the wound, but there was neither time nor conditions for that here, now they could only slow Atira’s loss of life and sustain her vitality with artificial life.

Recall looked at the scene and offered him consolation, ”Don’t worry, she should still be able to hold on for a while. And her Starlight is abundant; even in the worst scenario... it is not unacceptable.”

He sighed, his tone less optimistic than one might have imagined.

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