Pillar of Yita

Fang Hong hurriedly rushed through a narrow alley, not caring about how many things he knocked over, as he pushed forward while glancing back. Behind him, those Bain Knights relentlessly pursued, prompting him to inwardly curse.

He still didn’t know who had helped him escape from near death with those few arrows earlier, as the mysterious ally hadn’t shown themselves. After breaking through the encirclement, he hadn’t encountered any considerable resistance. He smoothly traversed the Central Court, entered the outer regions, and then escaped from Bain Fortress to this place. The only headache now was that the Bain people had never given up.

Here, within Bain City, he wasn’t sure if he was in the outer or inner city, and as for what kind of city it was, he had only heard rumors before. The wind became gentler after entering the alley, but it still clattered the lids of barrels not far away. Above the narrow sky between the alleys, a layer of gauzy sandstorm lingered. The gravel in the sky continuously shifted, outlining the lines of the wind.

Looking in this direction, Bain Fortress had become indistinct, merely a shadow.

He turned his head back again.

The considerations about that question were myriad: it was unlikely to be someone from the Shield of Lufu, they didn’t have such skill. And who else would he know in this unfamiliar place?

If it were Princess Rupert, she would have sought him out by now, but looking around, aside from the howling wind, there wasn’t a person in sight.

As for Chairman Aierna, she probably didn’t even know he was missing yet.

And as for others, it didn’t seem to be anyone else.

These thoughts flashed briefly through Fang Hong’s mind but were quickly cast aside. More pressing than this was the immediate problem—how to shake off those Knights behind him? How to escape this place? How to contact others?

In the dusty storm, there wasn’t a soul on the streets, and anyway, it was deep into the night—not a trace of starlight, not even a flicker of fire could be seen in the city, a pitch-black darkness where one couldn’t see their hand before their face.

He couldn’t discern direction, and having never been to this city, he didn’t know how vast Bain was or how to leave the city—just instinctually thinking that fortress cities wouldn’t be too large, as long as he kept moving in one direction, he would eventually reach the city walls.

Once out of the city, at least two of the pressing problems would be easily solved.

But the question was, would the opposition allow him to leave the city unharmed? Not to mention, in such adverse weather conditions, whether it would be safe after exiting the city was something he wasn’t confident about.

After running for just a short while, Fang Hong felt his lungs were filled with sand, the pain was excruciating, making it hard to breathe, while his heart pounded like a drum and dazzling flashes appeared before his eyes. The sand and wind poured in, all-pervasive, through the collar, sleeves, and under the cloak, as if filling his shirt, pants, and boots, adding several pounds in weight.

Looking back again, the Bain Knights still relentlessly chased, though now only a shadow could be seen, they still hadn’t given up.

Fang Hong had to stop, resting against a wall for a while, gasping like a dog about to be worked to death. When the pursuers drew a bit closer, he gritted his teeth and set off once more.

There were moments Fang Hong felt he could no longer hold on, yet after arduously making it through the alley, a faint wall ridge suddenly appeared amidst the sandstorm ahead.

Looking in that direction, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy—that was indeed Bain’s outer city wall, and this place was just as he imagined, with the outer city only spanning several kilometers.

At that moment, Fang Hong felt like a drowning man grasping the last straw, a spark of hope reignited in desperate times. He didn’t know where the strength surged from, and he quickened his pace, running eagerly in that direction. But after just a few steps, Fang Hong involuntarily slowed down.

”Stay calm,” he suddenly calmed himself, admonishing: ”Once I reach the top of the city wall, there might be a combat, it’s crucial now not just to reach the bottom of the wall, but to conserve as much energy as possible.”

The marathon journey was down to the final step, and he couldn’t let himself fail at the last moment due to a rollercoaster of emotions.

Fang Hong steadied his inner self. Losing the goal naturally brought unease, but once knowing what to do, even if surrounded on all sides, there was nothing much to worry about. R had told him before—such a mindset of gain and loss was a grave taboo for a top Invoker.

And just then, suddenly, a flame lit up ahead.

Like a lighthouse in the darkness, it abruptly ignited, the firelight on a watchtower, visible far away flickered in the fierce wind, dispelling the surrounding darkness.

That light reflecting in Fang Hong’s dark eyes, felt devoid of any warmth—it looked like a guiding light but was rather a dazzling illusion like a moth to a flame—he stared at the light, his previously settled heart sank down steeply. As if it wasn’t fire but a spotlight, shining upon Fang Hong as a prisoner caught in a hopeless situation.

Though there was still quite a distance from here to that place, and the guards on the city wall couldn’t possibly see what was happening in the darkness on this side, Fang Hong felt exposed, without a place to hide.

Repeated bursts of firelight appeared, twinkling into a line, every watchtower atop Bain’s city walls outlined this city’s silhouette. The scene even alerted the people within the city, causing many places to light up, but from this, Fang Hong couldn’t perceive a shred of beauty, only a chill.