Pillar of Yita

”Stop here.”

The sergeant turned back.

Everyone stopped simultaneously. Wu Di looked up and observed the direct-through cannon deck, its side gates tightly closed, space dark and profound. Front-loaded Magic Guided Cannons, as thick as arms, were tied in place by thick cables, arrayed one after another.

Not far away, another team was coming up from the deck below, nearly identical, also led by a sergeant, stopping in the same place. He turned his head and met eyes with Red Leaf not far away; another team was there, and farther back, there were three or four more teams.

Not a soul spoke; the space was eerily silent, only pierced by a strange sound coming from outside— a whooshing sound, like wind.

The sergeant looked down at his pocket watch.

Every member in a black military coat did the same at that moment.

The people behind glanced at each other but dared not whisper. The sergeant put away his pocket watch, placed his hands behind his back, spread his legs apart, and raised his gaze, stern and silent.

As if cast from the same mold, the movements of those in the military coats were nearly identical.

It was at this moment that a rumbling low sound suddenly surrounded them, like someone dragging chains under the floor. Accompanied by this deep sound, Wu Di looked up to see the side gates slowly opening upwards and downwards.

At that moment, he couldn’t help but squint.

And everyone instinctively squinted at that moment, outside the gates, a bright golden line was unfolding before them. Like mercury spilling onto the ground, a golden-red light flowed into the cabin, engulfing everything in darkness and casting a fiery glow.

Outside the gates, clouds moved rapidly as Winged Ships advanced swiftly mid-air, with what appeared to be a burning cloud layer reflecting the fiery light rising from the ground below, resembling an apocalyptic scene.

Everyone gasped.

”Is this Charter City?”

”Good heavens, what happened here?”

The city beneath them was like a fire-swamped sea, the flames engulfing everything.

The light and flames reflected in everyone’s eyes reminded them of Dolifen thirty years ago, screams of terror and cries echoing to the skies, everything like purgatory.

A shadow swept past the side of the Airship, spreading its wings, screeching, and everyone’s vision darkened momentarily as they instinctively stepped back. Looking out again, that monster had already disappeared with a long tail into the golden clouds.

”Was that... a Dragon Beast?”

Only the sergeants remained composed, expression unchanged, hands behind their backs watching them: ”Quiet, everyone step forward.”

Geniuses from the Grand Guilds looked at each other, only Wu Di quietly took a step forward, gazing straight ahead, the others hesitantly followed suit.

He looked to both sides; all the teams stepped forward in unison, reaching the edge of the gate.

”Check the deceleration device,” the sergeant ordered.

A chorus of clicks sounded.

Everyone turned to check their Glider Backpacks following specified procedures, confirming the unlocking device, ensuring the Magic Guided Reactor was functioning properly, confirming Magic Capacity, checking auxiliary items, making sure the main parachute was fine, and verifying if the backup could deploy.

Then everyone looked up at their commanding officer.

A massive voice echoed above everyone’s heads:

”This is the People’s Navy of China Shangqiu Warship, arrived above the target area, external lock mechanism fully activated. I am Captain Zhang Bolin, wishing everyone a successful mission.”

Far across the horizon, several Airships slowly burst from the golden clouds into Charter City’s airspace.

While people were still in shock, the sergeant looked up and shouted coldly:

”Wu Di.”

Wu Di looked up, gazing at the sergeant, and nodded.

The latter nodded back. Only then did Wu Di step forward, nearly to the edge of the gate, feet above the burning Charter City, the golden clouds below like a bottomless vortex, fire and wind whooshing, drowning out all other sounds.

The voices from behind intermittently carried over.

”Mission one, arrive at the designated location, meet with various vanguard teams...”

He turned back, just in time to see Red Leaf standing in line with him, who also turned back, looking in his direction. Their eyes met, and they nodded to one another.

”Mission two, escort and disperse the survivors...”

”Mission three, exterminate the Dragon Worshippers...”

”Mission level A, equivalent to a Dead Silence Zone mission, protect yourself throughout the mission.”

”Target gathering area uploaded.”

The sergeant turned back: ”Team 13, combat landing begins.”

Only then did Wu Di step forward, stepping into the Cloud Sea, then his body tipped forward, plummeting into the depths of that golden vortex. The fierce wind noise instantly drowned out everything else, and he struggled to turn in mid-air, glancing towards the direction of the Airship.

As his altitude rapidly decreased, the Airship shrunk to the size of a coin in a moment; he saw specks flying above his head—those were the members of the People’s Marine Corps.

And his teammates.

And a densely black monster, weaving through the clouds, but in a blink, it disappeared from view.

The airspeed indicator emitted a shrill alarm, causing dizziness.

Then he finally heard the sergeant’s voice coming through the team channel of the communicator: ”Deploy primary Glider Wing.”

Wu Di slowly placed his hand on his chest, took a deep breath, then yanked hard.

A muffled sound of wings unfurling.

In his vision, those were the shimmering Magic Wings, their colors blending into the golden-red backdrop, spreading slowly, lighting up the entire sky of Charter City. There were blue and deep blue, colors of the sea, unlike the spreading hues of Dolifen thirty years ago.