Pillar of Yita

While the opposing side was distracted by the Rock Giant, Fang Hong and the Big Cat People had already crossed the river. He left Miss Scholar in the shrubbery by the riverbank, instructing her not to make a sound under any circumstances.

Gita nodded obediently, and only then did Fang Hong and Reed continue to infiltrate from south and north in that direction.

However, after stealthily advancing for a while, he too stopped, looked up north, and in just a moment could no longer see the shadow of the Big Cat People in that direction. Fang Hong rolled over and hid beneath a giant withered tree, pressing his hand on the Information Crystal, projecting three Dragon Hunters.

But he did not rush to attack.

Because he only suspected the other side, but did not rule out the possibility that they might have the same intentions as they did.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest, at the moment when the Ranger from Twilight whistled, Alice could no longer remain calm—though the appearance of the Rock Giant was somewhat coincidental, she could only consider it a coincidence. With only two of their group of three left, if she couldn’t seize this opportunity, she couldn’t imagine a better moment.

She took out a Black Crystal and threw it in a certain direction. The crystal turned into a smoke in midair, forming a humanoid shape.

At the same time, Alice suddenly sprang from her hiding place and ran in the opposite direction. But as she moved, a shadow leapt at her from the darkness.

Startled, Alice turned and was knocked to the ground by the shadow. ”Got you, little kitty!” shouted the Nightingale from the Twilight Guild, but her voice hadn’t even finished when the girl in her grasp turned into a cloud of smoke.

Realizing she’d been tricked, she turned back and saw Alice leaping out from the shrubbery, getting further away.

But Alice didn’t get more than a few steps before she suddenly felt the ground vanish beneath her feet. Reacting quickly, she reached out and grabbed an aerial root of a nearby giant tree, swinging into the air.

Just then, a net sailed across the air, entangling her securely.

She felt a great force pulling her upwards by the feet, leaving her hanging upside down. In her inverted vision, she saw the dust-covered Nightingale approaching.

”Little kitty, you think only you can play tricks on people?”

She sneered as she spoke.

Just as Alice was about to speak, her opponent suddenly slapped her: ”Shut up, I absolutely disdain the likes of Shadow Dance users.”

Alice grunted at the slap but knew she couldn’t escape. Staying conscious, she reached for the short sword at her waist, preparing to end her own life.

However, the Nightingale’s level was much higher than hers. Swiftly, she knocked the short sword from Alice’s hand, then pulled Alice’s hair up forcefully:

”Don’t try any tricks.”

”You can’t torture me,” Alice said, squinting her eyes and staying calm.

”This isn’t torture,” her opponent replied with a sneer, ”our combat isn’t over yet.”

”Is that so?”

Alice retorted.

The woman was momentarily taken aback, her expression suddenly changing as she turned, but Alice’s other hand just lightly pressed her Magic Guided Reactor, and the dagger that had been knocked away flew back like lightning.

It hit directly on the woman’s back shoulder.

”The dagger is poisoned,” Alice kindly reminded her opponent.

The woman grunted, kicked Alice away, and withdrew the long dagger to stab at Alice’s chest.

However, Alice didn’t struggle; she knew this was the best outcome and closed her eyes to await death. Yet, death did not come as expected—instead, she heard the woman scream in pain.

Surprised, she opened her eyes to find the woman retreating, her right arm, which had been holding the dagger, severed at the elbow. The woman pressed the wound with one hand, tears almost streaming down her face from the pain—

And a tall figure stood before her, holding a Holy Sword, his long mane flowing gloriously. The owner of the figure even spoke gracefully to her:

”Miss Alice, long time no see.”

”Because of that kiss with your sister—”

”Our Lord Captain has been thinking about it constantly.”

Alice opened her mouth, thinking of how she and her sister tricked the fool, and couldn’t help but blush. But it wasn’t out of shyness, more likely a guilty conscience from being caught red-handed.

...

At the moment the Big Cat People saw Alice, Fang Hong had already received the news, in fact, he had seen the situation over there through the Clockwork Fairy.

He didn’t expect they’d encounter Miss Nightingale’s twin sister here—he had heard she was conscripted by the military, but how did she end up here?

Nonetheless, pondering these questions was not the priority. At the moment the Big Cat People took action, the opposing Ranger also reacted.

In that instant, Gita’s Magic Power finally couldn’t hold on, and the Rock Giant summoned from the book ”Ecology of the Tarun Area” crumbled, turning into fragments of gray giant rocks—

Those winged lizards also turned into specks of light, dissipating in the darkness.

In the Ranger’s astonished gaze, he heard a panicked voice coming from his Communication Crystal: ”...my Clockwork Fairy... watch out, there are enemies...”

But the warning came a bit too late.

In the Ranger’s view, behind the crumbling stones, several slender shadows appeared, raising their guns and aiming in this direction.

The Ranger reacted swiftly, rolling into the bushes behind him just as bullets struck the spot where he had been standing, amid the flickering firelight.

Through this round of gunfire, he roughly gauged the enemy’s direction and rolled beneath a nearby towering ancient tree, only to hear a faint buzzing sound near his ear as he stopped.

A golden object, just palm-sized, flew from outside and landed on the ground not far from him, rolling to a stop in front of him.

Clockwork Fairy?

The Ranger was slightly taken aback; he had never seen anyone control a Clockwork Fairy to collide with the ground like this. He instinctively reached out to pick it up and throw it away.

But he would soon regret this impulse—

There was a loud explosion.

From a distance, Fang Hong watched the dark forest in that direction, where a burst of golden flames rose.

...