Pillar of Yita

”Ade, the horizon seems to be ablaze.”

”Yes, I see it.”

Fang Hong gently shields his face, using his hand to cover his dry, tangled hair, and blinks lightly. The dark depths of his eyes reflect the golden-red flames shooting towards the sky, with rolling black clouds resembling a massive column of smoke spreading in all directions.

The thick clouds above hang low, skimming over the airship, as if one could reach out and touch them.

Luo Hao’s hand, resting on the ship’s rail, sways along with the deck below, squeaking as if covered in ash, though it’s just sand. This chubby man grasps the air and only catches sparks floating in the wind, leaving tiny embers in his palm that swiftly disappear with the breeze.

Luo Hao looks up at the golden-red light in the sky and asks, ”What is that?”

Fang Hong gently shakes his head.

In this direction, only the dark red glow between the clouds is visible, likely a reflection of flames from the ground. Both don’t pay much attention to it.

The cabin door is pushed open again, and the former Chairman of the Southern Alliance steps up, carrying a longbow. Standing between them, one hand on his collar, he silently observes the scene.

Ye Hua suddenly turns around and asks, ”I heard you thought of a solution.”

Fang Hong gives a slight nod.

”So, what do you intend to do?”

Fang Hong turns around, looking at the Ranger King.

To the Free Summoners in the Southern Region, he is the former Chairman of the alliance, one of the Ten Kings, the top Invoker, and even a symbol of hope and leadership. He has organized many campaigns, and though the current scenario seems perilous to him, it might be nothing in Ye Hua’s view.

Though he believes the Seven Seas Travel Group will someday become a top-tier Adventure Group, it’s a promise he’s made to Miss Sicape. But, for now, he’s a nameless rookie; how could he possibly command a Ten King, a top Invoker?

He thinks for a moment before speaking, ”...We might have to face the Sand Thieves head-on, Great God Ye Hua, you—”

Ye Hua smiles, interrupting, ”I’m quite adept at that, so Ade, you just need to tell me where to go and whom to slay.”

Fang Hong looks at him, a bit surprised.

Yet Ye Hua seems to know what he’s thinking, gently patting his arm and then shifting his gaze to the distance. ”Ade, everyone has something they aspire to. I’m not sure if one day you’ll reach the level I hope for. But that doesn’t mean you have to do anything, nor does it mean you’re responsible for anyone—”

”...because you’ll eventually tread your own path, a path no one has walked before... and a path we’ve all walked...”

Ye Hua lightly smiles at him. ”Your only responsibility is to your status as an Invoker, do you understand that?”

Fang Hong gently nods; safeguarding one’s conscience is indeed safeguarding the conscience of humanity. Greater strength comes with greater responsibility, a consensus among the Pioneers.

In antiquity, humanity had long established this understanding. Strength and responsibility always balance the Scales, and perhaps the value of the Stargate Declaration is precisely to safeguard the glory of human civilization.

When the two worlds first intersected, from the start, it was never meant to return to the wild, to the historical torrent of plunder and savagery.

Because once it progresses, it will never revert to the primitive point.

It must not—

”So, is this your promise to me?” Ye Hua softly asks, ”Isn’t it?”

Fang Hong hesitates for a moment.

But then, silently, he nods again, more seriously this time.

”...You might not succeed; my old companions are now just a few... some of them gifted, not any less than us...” Ye Hua maintains a serene smile, but within that smile, there’s a tint of loneliness, ”However, in you, I see some of my former self...”

”I suspect Odin is the same. Though they are in the Grand Guild, it doesn’t mean they all agree with such ideologies.” Changing his tone, he asks, ”When Odin took you from Dulun, did he teach you a lot after that?”

Fang Hong nods silently.

Ye Hua’s eyes show a hint of amusement, ”I don’t know what Odin taught you, but surely not how to be a competent Captain. In this domain, perhaps only KUN surpasses me, but unfortunately, he isn’t here—and moreover, he doesn’t quite agree with our ideology either.”

He pauses, ”So, let me guide you on how to issue orders.”

Fang Hong listens with slightly parted lips.

He doesn’t resist the ideology of the Free Summoners, as they are more or less successors of the Pioneers, still preserving the original intent. But he always has some reservations about that notion.

Do Free Summoners truly need a flag?

Does he genuinely have the qualification to assume that flag?

Or is anyone truly qualified to bear that flag?

Yet suddenly, he understands that the true flag is merely in each person’s heart.