Pillar of Yita

Fang Hong stayed behind with everyone who lacked the Summoners System and was unable to communicate remotely—mostly Hilveld and her subordinates, Tainaric, and the Night Lizard Warrior Leader. A Ranger Invoker from the Silver Weslan was also retained to facilitate communication between them.

The division of teams was mainly to ensure that each team retained enough combat power for a fight. Moreover, Fang Hong only had six Clockwork Fairies left, with one given to the Nether for an overview of the entire situation. The rest were each dedicated to leading one of the teams.

Since KUN was present, aside from controlling the Clockwork Fairy, Fang Hong was actually only responsible for his own team, especially given that ten of him would likely not match the tactical and coordinating talents of the All-Knower from the Silver Forest Crown.

Fang Hong possessed self-awareness and clearly understood that professional tasks should be left to the experts, never overstepping his bounds.

Viurs’ icy voice occasionally transmitted through the channel, introducing them to the nearby ruins’ layout, the Xinsas Serpentfolk’s architectural habits, potential locations for secret passageways, and hidden doors. While not entirely accurate, it greatly saved them time from taking wrong turns.

Not to mention they also had Hilveld’s map.

With the Lady Noble’s consent, Fang Hong uploaded the map to the command center. After a private conversation with Sophie, Hilveld also obtained a privilege from the Silver Weslan. Upon reaching the Obelisk and with permission, she could make an imprint of a fragment of the map as a contribution.

This resolved one of his concerns, as he had promised to help Sophie and the people from Silver Weslan acquire a map from the Obelisk, but Hilveld’s goal was also the map on the Obelisk, and he had been worried about a potential conflict.

To his surprise, Lady Noble didn’t even consider conflict a possibility and easily resolved the trouble through negotiation with Silver Weslan.

After obtaining a verbal agreement through Fang Hong’s negotiation, she stood still, giving him a blink: ”I didn’t cause you any trouble this time, did I, Lord Captain?”

Fang Hong didn’t know how to respond for a moment and could only say, ”Thank you for your trouble, Miss Hilveld.” After all, the map was Hilveld’s personal property, and if she didn’t agree, no one could force her to help.

Lady Noble simply tilted her head and smiled politely, ”Considering what the Captain is thinking is my duty as a Ship’s Officer. Earlier, I was worried about involving you, Lord Captain, in my own troubles. I didn’t expect to cause you inconvenience instead.”

”The past is the past,” Fang Hong replied.

Hilveld looked at him with bright eyes, asked with a half-smile, ”So, Lord Captain, have you never suspected?”

”Suspected what?”

”That I might be the woman with the Crows?”

Fang Hong glanced at her.

Under the torchlight, the Lady Noble’s beauty was crystal clear, intelligent and serene. She didn’t speak, but her clear eyes were always communicative, effortlessly conveying her intentions.

She appeared in front of everyone like an open book, seemingly transparent, yet mysteriously sealed by history. Each word and action seemed to hold deep meaning—a clever wit that naturally drew people in.

But Fang Hong didn’t say much, simply pulling out a silver handgun from his waist bag, caressed the emblem on the grip with his gloved hand, and answered:

”The Unicorn is pure and unblemished, serene and wise.”

”It keenly perceives malice around it, never easily letting itself fall into a disadvantageous environment.”

Having said that, he gently handed her the gun.

”This gun is precious, remember to keep it safe next time,”

”My Miss Ship’s Officer.”

Then, he turned and walked forward.

Hilveld was left alone, holding the gun in her arms, staring blankly at the young man’s retreating figure. For a moment, that figure seemed to mature and solidify, overlapping with another, taller silhouette.

Hilveld smiled faintly, a slight flush gracing her fair face.

And while the teams had dispersed, it was not only to locate the supply drop but more importantly, to quickly understand the situation on the twelfth underground level. Fang Hong believed that neither the Rain Listeners, the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team, nor the small Guilds would remain peaceful up to now.

If Toragotos was hiding among any of them, it would definitely try to stir conflicts between these people, and in the darkness of the underground, making those who were not united to begin with, suspicious of each other.

That would be all too easy.

But now they needed to figure out exactly where things stood—had the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team used the Night Lizard People to attack other guilds? Had any guilds fallen into the traps of the Rain Listener?

Was the silence on the Red Cloak Team’s communication channel an indication that nearly everyone was dead, or was there another reason?

Without understanding these pieces of information, to rashly break into the vortex’s center would probably mean that their small number of people wouldn’t be enough to fill the gaps in Toragotos’ teeth.

However, Fang Hong’s judgment proved correct, as various pieces of information quickly came together.

”Boss, we seem to have found the supply drop. We saw where the transmission beam fell, and it’s not far from here,” Dianmo Ran Qingzhu was the first to report.

”Well done,” Fang Hong praised.

But in just a moment, the Priest also sent a message: ”It seems there’s a fight ahead of us, requesting the support of a Clockwork Fairy.”

”A fight, between whom?”

”It seems there are Night Lizard People.”

Fang Hong was prompted and immediately said, ”Don’t act rashly, send the nearby map here, we’ll be there soon.”

He glanced back at Tainaric, who was dragging the Night Lizard Warrior Leader behind him, thinking the dead weight might finally be of use.

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