Pillar of Yita

He felt increasingly shaken, wondering if he was being overly suspicious, or if it was true that there was nothing wrong with Alice and Elisa, the sisters—perhaps they had been impersonating each other for some other reason?

However, Sophie noticed the look on his face and whispered from beside him, reminding him that the other party leaving half of their people behind might also be to prevent them from breaking through. If they were blocked on the bridge, the situation could be much more dangerous than anticipated.

”For the commander of a team, indecision is a taboo,” the Princess of Silver Vislan said to him gravely.

Fang Hong nodded, naturally understanding this.

The group approached the bridge, where the high-ranking members of the Blood Oath Alliance and the Elite Corps of the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team were waiting for them—or rather waiting for Alice. The Dwarf he had seen earlier was standing there, leaning on a heavy combat axe with thick brows furrowed, saying to them: ”Rain Listener, you’ve come too late.”

Fang Hong glanced at the Dwarf, quickly lowered his head, and pulled his hood further down—but fortunately, the Dwarf did not seem to pay much attention to them.

He then looked down through the Clockwork Fairy’s vision and saw Tainaric hidden among the ruins behind the group, ready to drink his Invisibility Potion and catch up at any moment.

In response to the Dwarf’s question, Alice quietly let go of Fang Hong’s hand and calmly replied, ”Sorry, some of our people were scattered earlier and haven’t returned, which caused us some delay.”

The Dwarf nodded noncommittally.

”Have you caught her?” Alice pressed.

”Caught her,” the Dwarf looked towards the stone bridge suspended in darkness, ”Fortunately, we arrived early enough to stop her on the platform over there. She almost made it to the twelfth layer. Once down there, it would not be easy for us to track her down.”

”But the battle over there is not over yet. The enemy is just stubbornly resisting. We are planning to organize more people to go up. Your timing is perfect, we need some people to guard this spot, to keep the small guilds from taking advantage of the chaos.”

Fang Hong involuntarily looked at the platform.

It was originally part of the tower, but now it had broken off, since it had originally been pierced by chains wrought by Toragotos, and thus now it hung above the Abyss—it looked like a fortress floating alone in the darkness, with the remnants of the tower’s interior structure still visible.

A few broken walls divided the platform into several sections, where it seemed that battles were currently taking place. The flash of a firearm occasionally lit the area, followed by a crisp report of gunfire, coming from afar.

Alice also looked for a moment before shifting her gaze back, saying, ”I can leave some people behind, but we Rain Listeners also need to go up.”

”What for?” the Dwarf asked, looking at her suspiciously.

”She killed my sister,” Alice replied earnestly, ”I must make sure that woman dies here and not fall into your hands.”

The Dwarf fell silent for a moment, but the reason was sound and legitimate, and he found it difficult to object, especially since the Rain Listeners were indeed needed here to help coordinate. He pondered for a bit and then cautioned, ”Looking is fine, but you cannot intervene.”

”Fine,” Alice nodded eagerly.

Perhaps too eagerly, which raised the Dwarf’s suspicions. He looked at the people around Alice with a suspicious eye and asked, ”Are these people all Rain Listeners?”

Fang Hong kept his head down. On the surface, he was calm, but upon hearing the question, he almost bristled with tension. His hand was already gripping tight, connecting to the resonance crystal on his control gloves through the Magic Guided Reactor.

The others from Silver Vislan managed to handle it slightly better, but there were also signs of agitation among them. Many placed their hands on the hilts of swords hidden beneath their cloaks. Parker even raised his heavy crossbow, but thankfully he was short, and Xiangzi kicked him down from behind, preventing their cover from being blown.

Alice also appeared somewhat nervous, seemingly contemplating how to answer the question.

Just then, there was a sudden shout from within the crowd.

The Dwarf turned to look, only to see a pair of rough, gray claws rising from below the cliff, with a ’snap’, gripping firmly onto a ledge not far from him.

And then more and more claws appeared like bamboo shoots after a rain, surging into the sight of those present. One after another, they rose from the cliffside, grabbing the edges, those close enough to look down felt their scalps tingle—a countless number of shadows were climbing up, dense and numerous, leaving only flashes of pale firelight flickering in the deep dark beneath.

Looking higher, they could see that it was actually a Sea of the Undead.

”It’s that woman’s Undead, they’re coming again!”

”So many Corpse Ghosts, when did they climb up?!”

”Careful!”

People screamed in horror, those standing close to the edge who weren’t careful were grabbed by the ankle by the creatures and dragged down the cliff, plummeting into the Abyss with screams.

The members of small guilds and standard adventure groups were struck down in droves immediately, the remaining people backed away in terror, but were pushed forward by those behind them, and even some were squeezed off the cliff by their companions, resulting in chaos on the scene.

Close to the Dwarf, a shadowy Corpse Ghost climbed up swiftly, but the latter let out an angry roar and, swinging his axe backward, smashed it back down.