Pillar of Yita

Fang Hong and the others hurried forward in pursuit. Before long, a vast chasm appeared ahead. The wide expanse of cracked earth came abruptly to a halt and was neatly cut off by a bottomless abyss cliff. In front of them stretched a bare stone bridge, extending straight into the darkness as if it had no other end.

Only in the dim mist beyond could the shadowy outlines of some spire-like buildings be seen, and on this side of the bridge, two Obsidian spires stood erect.

In front of the spire, Fang Hong found the corpse of one of the twin sisters.

Whether it was the elder or the younger, she lay with eyes wide open, half-kneeling on the ground amidst a pile of carcasses. Her pitch-black eyes gazed hollowly into the sky, seemingly still harboring the terror of her final moments. Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent, with blood trickling from her slightly open mouth and the corners of her eyes, streaming down.

It looked somewhat terrifying.

The girl’s fatal wound seemed to be in front of her chest, a black hole of an injury, the blood long since drained, turning the color pitch black.

Fang Hong paused slightly. He actually had a good impression of the twin sisters and didn’t expect their next encounter to be under these circumstances. He felt a twinge of reluctance in his heart. He walked over silently, wordlessly closing the unseeing eyes of the corpse. The skin of the girl’s hand still held a wisp of warmth, as if she still had Starlight pulsing within her.

Fang Hong retracted his hand in slight surprise, watching as the body turned into specks of white light from his fingertips until it disappeared.

This was perhaps a small mercy amidst misfortune.

Fang Hong’s gaze swept to the side and noticed a Handgun on the ground. It was an old model, one from the ancient works of the Emerald Bird Workshop, with a multi-chambered structure capable of holding seven rounds, a three-style ’Lion’ Handgun. He owned an identical one.

He bent down to pick up the gun, its muzzle still had remnants of gunpowder, one could imagine how it had been pressed against that lady’s chest and fired, the immense recoil causing her to fall backward, half-kneeling, and staring incredulously at the person who had fired, her consciousness sinking into darkness.

The Main Crystal of the Magic Guided Gun was Amethyst, stable and reliable yet rich in Magic Power, one of Hilveld’s favorite Main Crystals. The heat dissipation structure of the handgun had been modified, using a design from the Rose Workshop.

The intricately carved grip bore a Unicorn crest, the ancient Dwarf text was not difficult to make out. Fang Hong took out his own handgun and placed both Magic Guided Guns together; even the wear on the edges appeared consistent. The crests shone brightly, and beneath were two serial numbers, seemingly like twins.

”Wait, this gun...” Parker couldn’t help but say.

But Fang Hong glanced at him, silencing the second half of the Papalarian’s sentence with a stare.

Sophie watched the scene through the Light Page and asked softly, ”Ade, do you recognize the owner of this gun, and that brooch from before—?”

She had certainly noticed something off with Fang Hong’s expression, so she chose her words carefully, not to be too aggressive.

But Fang Hong simply shook his head, carefully pocketing both guns.

”Don’t worry, I won’t let it interfere with your mission.”

”I am just worried about you. Don’t you consider me a friend? Do you think I only care about the Guild’s objectives? But Silver Vislan would never be so. ” Sophie responded.

Fang Hong was taken aback, looking at her unexpectedly with an indescribable meaning in his heart, ”Thank you, Miss Sophie, but I need to figure this out on my own for a while, as it’s part of my responsibility as the Captain.”

Sophie then came to a realization, nodding lightly—there was no need to say more. It was the trust that comes with sharing a similar position, that sense of responsibility; she completely understood it. Because only someone truly exceptional would believe it natural to bear more burdens than others.

Only after the body of one of the twin sisters had completely dissolved into points of light and vanished did Fang Hong walk through, glancing once more at the two spires before stepping onto the lonely bridge.

It wasn’t very wide, with just enough room for four or five people to walk abreast, but neither was it narrow. It was only due to its bare sides, seemingly naturally weathered, looming over the Bottomless Abyss Cliff beneath that it gave off a feeling it might collapse at any moment.

Anyone would feel dizzy and disoriented at the sight, and Fang Hong was no exception. However, he wasn’t overly fearful and, stepping onto it, he turned back to the others and said, ”Protect the Ranged professions, and be careful—there might be problems with the bridge.”

The others nodded their heads.

Such scenarios were all too common. If they were to be ambushed at the midpoint of the bridge unprepared, even a team like Silver Vislan might fall into disarray.

But what differentiated Elite Adventurers from ordinary ones was their tendency to think further ahead and pay attention to every detail. This was especially true for someone like Fang Hong, who was well-experienced. While he might not be gifted in command, he could always recall familiar case studies for each scenario.

At the very least, he was an expert at theoretical strategies, and with time, those theories gradually transformed into practical experience.

However, it turned out that his worries were unnecessary this time; although the stone bridge was long and straight, with both ends seemingly suspended in the air when one was in the middle, nothing untoward happened on the way across. Perhaps the Combat had already moved beyond this point, and even if there were traps originally on the bridge, they would have been triggered by those who went before.