Pillar of Yita

Fang Hong silently held the ring, finally restoring the light in the room to normal. He said nothing, yet his mind was recalling everything that had happened not long ago...

...

Shortly after the light vanished, he moved towards that direction and stepped into the endless ice mist.

Behind the ice mist lay the ruins of the Holy Sanctuary, a place he was not unfamiliar with—decimated under Dika’s magnification, the subsequent battle indeed unfolded above these ruins.

At a time when he couldn’t stop to observe the interior of the Holy Sanctuary closely, now he discovered for the first time its structure was quite intricate. A grand hall, towering columns, and beneath the rubble-covered floor lay remnants of exquisite patterns.

Even with only a silhouette remaining, one could imagine its former majestic beauty, yet unsure who had witnessed this Holy Sanctuary—was it Dika? Fang Hong felt it unlikely, as the holy icon on the outside square was not Dika’s.

Wait, what’s that?

After passing through broken walls and ruins, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. Fang Hong tilted his head, looking ahead with a glint of surprise in his eyes.

It was the direction where the light disappeared—

And behind the swirling mist were two towering shadows, familiar to him.

Two imposing Constructs stood amidst the ruins, like two knights, one black and one white, one holding a lance and the other a sharp sword. They stood silently, quietly within this near-static world.

As if, since Dika departed from this world, they had been silently guarding this place.

The dark knight with its long, crystal-like pupils suddenly gleamed with golden light and slowly turned to look this way.

”You may never understand what you will face in the future, boy.”

A thunderous voice echoed in the space, reverberating; Fang Hong had heard that voice countless times. Cold, venomous, yet tinged with a teasing tone, it was the voice of the Dragon’s Witch, or Nikopolas.

It slowly spoke: ”But I like seeing you all in despair; it’s interesting.”

”Nikopolas,” Fang Hong, though muddled by the clouded context, coldly replied: ”Don’t feign mysteriousness here; you have long lost your original strength, lost the Dragon’s Golden Eyes—no, the Dragon King’s Heart. You now possess not even a tenth of your peak power.”

He noticed the Grand Princess’s sword had fallen not far away, stepped forward two steps, picked up the sword, and pointed its tip towards the opponent.

Nikopolas sneered: ”Put down the toothpick in your hand. I have no interest in dealing with you—although if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t even need to move a claw.”

Fang slightly stunned, looked somewhat bewildered at the opponent—in fact, at the towering dark Construct. But he thought for a moment and still raised his right hand, replying: ”That may not be the case. Don’t forget Pale Glory is protecting me.”

”Hmph, lucky little kid,” Nikopolas did not refute this point and replied: ”I admit my miscalculation, didn’t expect that little girl to persist till the end, but you defeated the Wanderer, which counts as doing me a favor.”

”That wasn’t for you.”

”No matter, you think the Wanderer is your greatest enemy?” Nikopolas chuckled deeply, ”But perhaps in the future, you will find that maybe it’s not so.”

If prior to this, Fang Hong would have surely thought this extremely evil giant Dragon was deceiving him, yet at this moment, he reacted: ”Are you talking about the Star of Calamity?”

Nikopolas didn’t answer that question.

It directed the black Construct to raise its right hand, pointing at Fang Hong.

”Anyway, you succeeded, at least temporarily. That woman persuaded me; I will properly enjoy the ensuing drama, kid, go and face what you should.”

Golden light gathered in the palm of the Black Knight; the blazing flame was so similar to the power on the Ring of Golden Flame.

Fang Hong instinctively wanted to evade, but quickly realized he seemed stuck in place, unable to move.

Nikopolas’s mocking voice echoed above the ruins: ”I said, if I want to kill you, I don’t even need to lift a finger.” However, the Dragon Witch’s tone softened, ”But this time, you’re lucky.”

She chuckled lightly: ”Prepare to receive my gift. This was agreed upon with that woman. Of course, you might also consider it a curse—”

Nikopolas’s hysterical laughter resounded.

Fang Hong was greatly shocked, but his vision was already enveloped by golden light, and next, a pillar of light completely engulfed him.

A honeysuckle wreath hung on a door in the ward. Fang Hong looked at the olive-shaped leaves and plain blossoms of the plant and gently exhaled, silently clutching the ring in his hand—that was everything that happened before he awoke.

”Where are those Dragon Beasts?” Fang Hong only then recalled the recent ’Raven Storm’; the amulet Anluose gave him was also destroyed, which was the most distressing thing for him. However, he had fallen unconscious at that time and knew nothing about what happened afterward.

Tang Xin then described what had occurred at that time.

Those Dragon Beasts did not attack Charter City but instead made a turn and headed towards the depths of the Traveler’s Swamp. When mentioning this point, she displayed a hesitant expression. Fang Hong saw her demeanor and asked: