Pillar of Yita

He looked at the girl, and finally reminded her, ”Once she gets that sword, the power of the Phantom Realm will be weakened to the extreme, and there won’t be much time left for you. I wish you good luck, Hes.”

Hes nodded slightly.

But Jeffrey no longer looked at her. He turned around and looked at the man in the mask for the last time.

”Good luck to you too, boss.”

Then the shadow vanished into smoke.

The man turned his head away and took a deep breath.

Meanwhile, the girl turned to Fang Hong, as if she could finally see him and Hilveld. She smiled faintly, ”Remember what you promised me, Mr. Ade, take good care of Hudi. I’m afraid we won’t meet again after this. I’m glad to have met brave and kind people like you and Hudi.”

As she turned to leave, Fang Hong quickly called out to her, ”Wait, Hes.”

The girl stopped.

It was then Fang Hong asked, ”In truth, the Illusory Blade of Victory is just a shadow of the Fairy Holy Sword Galapeya left here, and it poses no real threat to the Dragon’s Golden Eyes, does it?”

The girl paused, lowered her head, and didn’t speak.

”But it can kill you.”

”The vessel for the Dragon’s Golden Eyes.”

”Mr. Ade...”

Fang Hong shook his head and continued, ”Hudi wants to protect you, that’s why he took the sword. And you were afraid he would destroy the sword, swayed by the temptation of the Dragon’s Golden Eyes. Because—it’s not the sword that restrains the Dragon’s Golden Eyes’ power, but you, right?”

”But I still don’t understand why she would choose Hudi and not those Dragon Worshippers. Was it because of your endorsement that Hudi was able to enter the core area of Hustings Cathedral with the Illusory Blade of Victory?”

”You replaced the Zealot’s Mark of Sacrifice with the Martyr’s Mark of The Faithful, disrupting her original plan, but what exactly was her original plan? And the shadow at Grey Oak Square, who exactly is it?”

Hes sighed.

With her back turned, she said faintly, ”You guessed right, Mr. Ade. As for exactly why... I believe someone will tell you the answer. Keep going, and you will see everything from thirty years ago—”

With that, she took a step forward.

Her figure dissipated into the darkness.

The item in her hand also fell, clinking onto the ground. It transformed into a beam of light, gradually merging into the heraldry in Fang Hong’s hand.

Fang Hong stared blankly as the girl disappeared, then he turned his gaze to the heraldry in his hand.

Indeed, it had changed its form once again.

Covenant Mark (Incomplete) (Magic Ornament, Equipment Level, D++)

Basic Attributes: Strength Increase+, Burst Strength+15

Skill Add-On: Endurance, Hope Blink

Weight: 0.1kg

Occupation: —

Level Requirement: Any level 35

’Beneath the Dolifen Fantasy, the bearer of the mark can ignore its level restrictions’

’The answers lie within the hearts of men’

’Where there’s hope—’

”Incomplete form?” Fang Hong paused slightly.

The Scepter of Regret and The Faithful’s Martyr’s Mark were both complete after one change, but this mark has changed twice and is still incomplete.

What is it missing?

He became somewhat curious.

But it was at that moment that the man with the mask came up from behind, speaking in a somewhat hoarse voice, ”Let’s continue. We don’t have much time left.”

”Mr. Luen,” Fang Hong said, somewhat surprised as he looked at the other man, ”I didn’t expect you to appear here.”

The man paused, ”You recognized me before.”

”Not just you, but Mr. Diket too. When you left the team, I realized you might be survivors of the disaster from thirty years ago. I just didn’t expect that you were not just survivors but also the protagonist of that Phantom Realm,” Fang Hong shook his head.

The man sighed, shook his head, and removed his mask to reveal the face of a middle-aged man. That face still carried the charm of his youth, but it was fading with age. Though still handsome, the traces of time were evident.

A ferocious scar ran from the top left to the bottom right of his face, slightly diminishing the overall aesthetics.

”I’d rather not be this protagonist,” he said, ”Your name is Ade, right? I watched your match at the Traveler’s Rest that day, I remember you had a different name then.”

Fang Hong glanced at him with slight surprise, not expecting that the other party would also be in the hall at that time, ”That was a fake name I used, as I had caused some trouble then, but I presume Mr. Luen has already met Miss Atira and Tianlan, right? They didn’t meet you in person at the Traveler’s Rest, did they?”

”You are very smart; that was my substitute,” Luen replied, ”After experiencing what happened thirty years ago, I learned to protect myself, not just for my sake, but also for all of Dolifen.”

Fang Hong shook his head, ”Smart might not be the word, but no matter how confused Tianlan is, she is still one of the handpicked reserves of the Twelve-Colored Iris, there’s no way she would have no impression of her own employer, I am clear on that.”

”Yes, indeed, the Chosen are certainly very exceptional talents; if you had been there thirty years ago, Dolifen’s fate might have been different.”

”That’s not necessarily true, isn’t the Dragonfire Guild a ready example?” Fang Hong replied, a comment he would never have made before his trip to the Elf Ruins, ”The Chosen also have all sorts of people, our world and yours are not fundamentally different.”

”Indeed, you’re right,” Luen nodded.

”But I have another question, Mr. Luen,” Fang Hong looked at him and asked, ”If I and Hilveld were allowed into this final scene of the Fantasy because we were approved by Miss Hes, then how come you are here?”

”My situation is a bit special,” Luen answered, ”But I also obtained her approval to enter here.”

”Her?” Fang Hong watched him quietly and spoke, ”Are you referring to Nicopolis?”

Luen looked at him in surprise.

”I’m curious,” Fang Hong continued, ”I always thought that the Shadow of Nicopolis in Grey Oak Square was the manifestation of the Dragon’s Golden Eyes in this Phantom Realm, but it seems that is not the case. What exactly was that illusion—surely you can give me that answer, right, Mr. Luen?”

But Luen shook his head, ”You will understand, Ade, but you don’t need me to tell you. If you want to know all this, then follow me. You will see the truth for yourself.”

Saying this, he stepped into the black fog and walked ahead.

Seeing this, Fang Hong hesitated for a moment, then followed.

Next were Hilveld and the Miss Maid carrying the stone statue.

Fang Hong stepped through the darkness, nearly losing sight of Luen ahead of him, as strange voices seemed to swirl around his ears—children’s giggling, a man’s loud shout, a woman’s piercing scolding, whispers.

And some disjointed words kept penetrating his ears.

”... Monster, bastard!”

”No, don’t come here, this isn’t real...”

”We had a covenant.”

”Traitor!”

”I’ll never trust anyone again!”

Then all of a sudden, it brightened up before his eyes.

A sea of gold and red fire, and Luen’s tall silhouette stood ahead, silently watching the entire burning street in front of him; the golden fire reflected on his face.

The man had an expression of agony.

Fang Hong raised his head and naturally recognized the place.

Grey Oak Square.

Only now, it was a burning wasteland amidst a sea of fire, the scene of the festival long gone, replaced by corpses everywhere, blood—and the bodies of some monsters with dragon horns, scales, and claws.

If Fang Hong was not mistaken, those were the Dragon’s Servants.

Under a thick cloud of smoke in the center of the square were two people—or rather, three.

Misu, sword in hand, was confronting the Dragon Worshippers not far away. Beside her was Diket, also wielding a sword, and even in such dire circumstances, the older Knight still maintained a calm demeanor.

And in Misu’s arms was the cold corpse of a young girl.

A somewhat delicate girl, whose eyes were peacefully closed.

A serpent-shaped dagger was thrust into her chest, her hands dangled helplessly, yet she was tightly clutching a brooch—as she had gripped it so hard that she maintained this posture even in death.

That was Hes.

Fang Hong, seeing this scene, felt somewhat at a loss for words. Though he had anticipated this, it felt different to actually see it.

Not far from the two in the center of the square.

The huge Array on the square was faintly glowing.

And it seemed that something gigantic was slowly emerging from there.

The ground trembled.

It was as if the entire city engulfed in flames was shaking.

Among the Dragon Worshippers, Manlo was laughing wildly, screaming, ”Respected Dragon Slayer Miss, I didn’t expect it, but I outplayed you. What your ancestors did seventy years ago doesn’t mean you can do it too. This game—”

He loudly declared, ”I’ve won it.”

...