Pillar of Yita

By the time Fang Hong had regained his senses,

he found that Lonely White Field had already let go of his hand.

He held the dagger, looking at the other person with surprise. This was no small token, it was a grand gift. Moreover, the favor the other had asked of him was still just a possibility, after all, the young man might not take a liking to their Adventure Group, and the Blood Oath Alliance might not necessarily defeat Rain Listener.

But he understood what Lonely White Field meant, granting him this dagger meant that under no circumstances would he take it back.

Fang Hong thought for a moment before saying, ”Mr. Lonely White Field, this item is too valuable.”

But the latter just smiled lightly, as if relieved, ”Do you think I would hand it over to a stranger? You are half a student of R, and just like him, you are also a Combat Artisan. This item is actually better off in your hands. I hope you can help him realize his ideals and continue down this path.”

”What are Mr. R’s ideals?” Fang Hong had always been concerned about this question. The other party had sent this dagger back to Lonely White Field. What did the missed opportunity that Lonely White Field mentioned really represent?

However, Lonely White Field simply shook his head, ”R never told me the answer personally. Thus, I will not tell you the answer either, as my understanding of it may not be what you have in mind.”

Fang Hong looked at the other person thoughtfully.

After Lonely White Field had spoken, he turned and walked toward the direction of the forest.

Only at the last moment did he turn around, a note of gravity in his voice as he reminded, ”There’s one more thing I’ve been hesitant to tell you. You are not a formally trained Invoker, but those people will eventually come looking for you. Some things might not be as wonderful as you imagine. I just want to caution you to be wary of those people.”

”Who are these people?” Fang Hong was taken aback.

Lonely White Field turned away, leaving behind a resounding statement:

”Super Competitive League.”

”Super Competitive League...?”

Fang Hong mulled over the term carefully.

He certainly recognized it, but he could not immediately see any connection to himself. He watched somewhat puzzled as the other’s figure disappeared into the dark backdrop of the forest beneath the moonlight.

A good while passed.

He then looked in another direction, where Mr. Greyrock and the others had settled on one side of the valley. The moonlight reflected off the reddish-gray rocks, exceptionally bright, revealing the towering back of a gigantic beast—it was the direction from which he had come.

But Fang Hong had not realized he had walked so far without noticing.

...

”The second this month.”

The cabin walls shook only slightly. Wu Di looked up. In this small cabin, there were seven people in total, half of them, like him, were from Silver Forest Spear, two other Invokers were from another branch of Silver Forest Crown in the Cloud Sea Region, Silver Forest Hand, and one member was from the artistic guild Jane Eyre, actually a branch of Chosen One in the first world, the latter being the China Competition Region’s seventh-ranked guild.

The Chosen One was an ally guild of Silver Forest Crown, hence the military’s arrangement was clearly deliberate.

Wu Di also knew there were more than just their guild members on this ship; he had earlier met Red Leaf from the Tabopolis Knights Order. They were old acquaintances who had previously fought side by side at Traveler’s Rest.

Seeing him, Wu Di couldn’t help but remember others from that time at Traveler’s Rest— the young man named Ade, even younger than him, who would have thought he had such an identity? Regarding this matter, he remained tight-lipped, revealing nothing not even to his own teammates, besides a few senior guild members.

He had intended to ask Red Leaf about Ade, but recently, Instructor Su had been keeping a close watch on him, making him feel somewhat suspected. After some thought, he decided not to bring it up.

Red Leaf seemed to be somewhat distracted, merely greeting him hastily before leaving.

Wu Di looked around at the other people in the cabin.

Most of them appeared distracted, or rather, tense. The military had purposefully arranged those from closely related guilds together, a well-intended but meaningless gesture since they were all proud young talents from various guilds, not familiar with each other, having little to talk about.

Not to mention that while they might seem allied on the surface, behind this were inevitably competitive relationships as well.

Thus, the atmosphere became somewhat subdued for the time being.

The only one who had spoken earlier was the only military representative in the cabin, a young sergeant from the Marine Corps, which was characteristic of this generation of Stargate Defense Forces. Wu Di had heard his introduction, knew his last name was Chen and that he was an officer of the Marine Corps on this ship.

Having spoken, the officer didn’t hesitate to share the information he had with everyone in the cabin.

Wu Di stared slightly at the Light Page that appeared before him.

’Dragonfire Guild’s upper echelons mysteriously disappear—’

”Internal news,” the officer told everyone solemnly, ”Do not spread this privately. Though you’ve all turned off your communicators, I still need to reiterate. Even after leaving this place, you must adhere to the confidentiality agreement. If you’ve joined the military, act like military personnel.”

All nodded their heads.

But each bore a different expression, coming from major guilds, they naturally had much better access to information than someone like Fang Hong. The matter involving Rain Listener had already spread among the guilds half a month ago.

There was now another Dragonfire Guild.

Everyone couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable sensation; they certainly knew that not long before, the Dragonfire Guild had suddenly gone mad, attacking the headquarters of the Tabopolis Knights Order and causing significant damage.

However, the result wasn’t unexpected, the entire guild had nearly been eradicated in a retaliatory action by the latter.

But how could such retaliatory actions extend to the real world, causing the entire guild club’s upper echelon to disappear collectively? Moreover, considering the incident of Rain Listener, everyone felt increasingly uneasy.

In the world, one event might appear isolated, yet so many coincidences were unlikely, especially when the first world was in turmoil; those from the Grand Guilds would understand this far more deeply than ordinary people.

Indeed, troubles were brewing.

Such thoughts spontaneously arose in everyone’s minds.

Wu Di remained silent, analyzing the possibilities behind everything by himself.

Seeing everyone nodding, the officer’s expression relaxed slightly, nodding and saying, ”This might be related to our next operation, or it might not be, there’s no need to think too deeply, but be prepared mentally.”

”Speaking of which,” at this point someone asked, ”where exactly are we going, Sergeant Chen? Can you give us some information now?”

The officer nodded.

”We’re almost over Charter City, it’s time to give you an overview of this operation.”

”Charter City?”

A buzz arose below.

They had anticipated their destination, but being actually there, couldn’t help feeling surprised,

As mentioned earlier, being from a Grand Guild, the Invokers wouldn’t lack for information. Not to mention, these individuals were essentially the next generation of core members trained by various guilds, privy to some high-level information.

Hence, they naturally knew about the community control measures recently in place, which truly originated from Charter City. Nearly every Grand Guild discussed this privately; the military had sealed off Charter City, but the specifics of the incident were numerous and unclear.

It was said that the Super Competitive League had also negotiated with the military about this matter, but unusually, they were sternly rebuffed, which was quite abnormal since the government’s institutions had receded behind the scenes after the Stargate Era.

But precisely because it was abnormal, it piqued the curiosity of various guilds.

These young people also speculated privately but didn’t expect that they’d truly be brought to this place; they couldn’t help but look at each other for a moment.

”Quiet.” The officer looked at them sternly, saying, ”This is the basic protocol for the operation. Now, you need to hold yourselves to military standards.”

”Before the operation starts, let me reiterate: follow orders. Soldiers don’t need heroism; your performance will be recorded by me, and the top two performers will be recommended upwards. You understand what I mean, right?”

All were solemn; in fact, this was the real reason their guilds agreed to send them here—the precious slots for advancement to the second world.

Generally, both the Super Competitive League and the military had their own recommendation channels, without interfering in each other’s affairs. But this time, it was unknown what the military was planning, as they had unusually opened up to the outside for the first time.

Though there were only seven slots, they were crucial resources that the Grand Guilds had to vie for.

The officer looked at everyone and nodded, saying, ”Good to understand.”

He lowered his eyelids and continued, ”Now let’s collectively elect a deputy. This deputy can earn extra points during the operation, but should anything unexpected happen to me, they must take over my position to lead and ensure the mission’s completion.”

His somewhat cold gaze swept over everyone, ”Therefore, this person must earn your unanimous trust and election. I’ll give you five minutes to decide, understood?”

”Understood.”

”Address as ’sir’.”

”Understood, sir.”

Everyone shouted in unison, then silence followed.

Then, most people’s gazes turned directly to Wu Di. Only a member from Jane Eyre frowned and asked, ”Why him?”

”Wu Di is a Combat Artisan.” Someone replied.

That person then took a look at him and nodded.

The officer seemed surprised at how quickly they agreed, but the discipline of these individuals was better than he had expected, and he nodded in satisfaction.

Then he looked at Wu Di, ”Wu Di, come out with me for a moment.”

With that, he turned and left the cabin.

…