Pillar of Yita

Fang Hong grabbed onto a stalactite and swung agilely to the other side of the cliff, landing on a small raised platform of stone. He swayed slightly upon landing, nearly straining his back. Naturally, he wasn’t as graceful as the Lizardmen, but far better than a Papalarian who might have crashed into a wall.

The party of four watched as a massive fungal cap slowly moved forward, resembling a floating island with its purple land covered in white scales, trailing luminous mycelium beneath it, taking sluggish steps through the ravine.

Fang Hong took a second look. These odd and wonderful creatures of Eteliria were astonishing, their bizarre appearances seemed like fantasies projected from the real world.

The people mentioned by Parker were also below in the ravine, an area filled with crystal clusters that provided ample light to make out their attire, which was somewhat odd. They all wore black clothing, not typical of regular adventurers, and upon closer inspection, they bore some red patterns on their sleeves.

Parker and Tainaric naturally did not recognize these individuals, but Xiangzi hesitated before saying, ”These people seem to be from the Blood Crows.”

”Blood Crows?” asked Fang Hong.

”Bloodstained Raven, that’s what we call them,” Xiangzi frowned. ”They’re another brigade of the Blood Oath Alliance, but very mysterious, always out on missions, and we haven’t had much contact with them.”

So they were people from the Blood Oath Alliance. He had seen in a video that a group from the Blood Oath Alliance had gone to Zone Seven, which meant the opposition had quite a number entering this place.

The actions of these Blood Oath Alliance individuals were strange. They stopped on the path ahead of the Purple Mushroom Lord, seeming to have plans for this living mushroom, yet they didn’t attack directly—instead, they were drawing something on the ground.

Among the group, the Papalarian, who happened to be a Nightingale Crossbowman and thus had the best vision, watched for a while and muttered, ”Those people aren’t very high-level.”

Once Parker shared what he’d seen, Fang Hong couldn’t help but find it odd—Level seven or eight Summoners, just four or five people daring to confront the Purple Mushroom Lord? Wasn’t that suicide? Even they wouldn’t be so rash.

However, he didn’t think any brigade member of the Blood Oath Alliance would be that brainless. These people could very well be reserves from the ’Bloodstained Raven’, and if they were in this place, they must have a plan.

Fang Hong observed for a while, then whispered, ”Let’s quietly go down into the ravine; see that fork in the road?” He pointed to a narrow path at the bottom of the ravine. ”Tainaric on the left, me on the right. You take Parker, and Xiangzi will come with me. Let’s not alert them; just circle around to their back and see what they’re up to.”

”What’s on your mind, my human brother?” Tainaric turned to look at Fang Hong. These Level seven or eight Summoners could be dealt with by Tainaric single-handedly; there was no need for such caution.

But it wasn’t foolish. If Fang Hong was being careful, he must have thought of something.

Fang Hong nodded. Suddenly, he thought of the Dragonfire Guild, the notion flickering through his mind and gaining a firm hold. Now he remembered why that monster had looked familiar—he had seen something similar to the Dragon’s Servant at Traveler’s Rest.

The smoky constitution, physical immunity, difficult to kill, and high Experience Points—all matched.

He wasn’t sure why such a thing would appear here, but the sudden presence of the Blood Oath Alliance people served as a wake-up call. What had happened at Traveler’s Rest was, in fact, a conspiracy of the Dragon Worship Sect, and the Dragonfire Guild had been colluding with them in secret.

The Night Lizard People also had a vague and unclear relationship with the Dark Giant Dragon. If the people of the Blood Oath Alliance were with them, could the monsters that appeared here be related to them?

However, that was just a speculation. He hadn’t confirmed it yet, so he didn’t share his complete thoughts with others. Moving cautiously down a collapsed slope into the ravine, they were higher level than those on the other side, and since the ’Bloodstained Raven’ members were fully focused, none of them noticed a small team had arrived behind them.

Fang Hong and Tainaric split at the fork, approaching from two different directions to the rear of the others.

Below the ravine was a babbling underground river. Erosion from the river made the bed lower in elevation; crystal clusters grew on firmer ground, creating a dark band of shadow over the riverbed.

Fang Hong and Xiangzi advanced in the darkness, wading through the riverbed, the sound of the water masking their footsteps, which allowed them to sneak within less than twenty meters of the ’Bloodstained Raven’ members unnoticed.

Fang Hong wanted to move forward, but Xiangzi held him back and shook his head. Being from an Agility System Profession, Xiangzi was more adept at stealth actions than Fang Hong. The adolescent silently traced a line on the ground nearby, indicating that beyond this line lay the area the Summoners System warned could expose them.

Fang Hong understood the gesture and nodded.

Through their team channel, Parker’s message came through—telling them the other side had also arrived. That was the convenience of being a Summoner, as communicating with Natives via Communication Crystal could inadvertently make noise.

Only then did the two look up at the ’Bloodstained Raven’ members not far away, still engaged in their writing and drawing, oblivious to two pairs of eyes. What they were doing was unclear, but seeing two individuals dressed like priests constantly murmuring something, Fang Hong roughly guessed they might be performing some ritual.