Pillar of Yita

The second group acted in a similar fashion, but this time the enemy didn't have time to shoot.

"Three."

The third group was retreating westward when suddenly a man was struck by an arrow and fell. The enemy's attack was very high, and they never targeted those in heavy armor, often killing with a single arrow.

It was at that moment that Sicape yelled, "Ade, run!"

Fang Hong had been waiting for this moment and leaped up like a nimble rabbit, but he didn't flee in the designated direction; instead, he dashed toward the warrior leaning against the tree.

"What are you doing!?" Sicape realized something was wrong.

But Fang Hong ignored the question and didn't answer. He knew that Sicape must be furious at that moment, perhaps even wanting to beat him up. But he couldn't care less, his heart filled with rage; he had to rescue the warrior right under the enemy's nose.

Yes, he was deliberately provoking the Nighthawk Summoner of the Silver Forest Spear.

Qin Zhi indeed noticed Fang Hong's actions immediately. At first, he didn't think much and just assumed another fool had emerged. He raised an eyebrow, turned his bow, and shot an arrow at Fang Hong. He had spared that "bait" its life, but that didn't mean anyone could just swallow it up and carry it away.

What surprised him, however, was that the moment before his arrow left the bowstring, Fang Hong had already performed an evasive maneuver, rolling forward into a pit-filled lowland.

Qin Zhi's arrow missed for the first time.

He couldn't help but let out a soft "huh."

Sicape was about to stand up to draw fire for Fang Hong, but seeing this scene, she also subconsciously stopped, her mouth agape in surprise. Of course, she realized that Fang Hong had predicted the enemy's attack interval and had successfully dodged in anticipation.

It required not only a keen sense of timing but also a great deal of luck.

"This guy has some nerve..." Sicape almost gnashed her teeth as she squeezed out these words, resolving in her heart to teach him a lesson later, or else the kid would end up getting too cocky.

At this point, Qin Zhi finally understood the subtext of Fang Hong's actions.

How could such a keen person be a fool? So there was only one possibility, and he couldn't help but chuckle to himself, "Wants to compete with me? Interesting..." He shook his head and aimed his bow directly at the dying warrior—he couldn't be bothered to get angry with the opponent. As a true member of the brigade, he was determined to show these rabble what truly cold judgment was.

He didn't even bother with the aiming guide and casually released the bowstring. A dead target, he wouldn't miss even with his eyes closed.

That's what Qin Zhi thought.

But at the same time, Fang Hong had pulled down his Wind Goggles and released something from his hand—the Clockwork Fairy.

A buzz sounded lightly.

The Clockwork Fairy leaped from his hand, turning into a golden trajectory shooting toward the north. "Crack," Fang Hong subconsciously closed his eyes for a moment and saw his vision shatter; the arrow hit the brass shell heavily, splitting it in two, then shattered the vision connection crystal inside.

The arrow and parts of the Clockwork Fairy flew in all directions, spinning as they flew out, hitting the tree trunks, and then falling into the bushes.

And the warrior remained unharmed.

"Damn!"

This time, Qin Zhi was genuinely shocked. Fang Hong had flipped up his Wind Goggles, rushed out, dragged the warrior back, even had time to flip off the dark forest to the north, then retreated again.

Sicape stood, dumbfounded, witnessing the entire process.

Only then did she hear someone laughing heartily beside her. Turning her head, she saw Kroid coughing with laughter, an expression of mirth she seldom saw this man wear. Between laughs, Kroid said, "They weren't wrong, that kid is indeed one of us, fearless and bold."

Sicape took a deep breath, her eyes flashing with excitement: "Ade, how did he do that?"

Such judgment skills; even she could not have made that decision on the fly.

"Judgment," Kroid pointed to his forehead, coughing as he replied, "This kid's spatial intuition is astoundingly good."

But in the lowland, Fang Hong couldn't laugh.

He felt for the warrior's breath, and the man had just taken his last. It might have been a coincidence, or perhaps the enemy's damage calculation was precise, but either way, he had ultimately failed.

Fang Hong couldn't help glancing at Elsa's body not far away; the little girl's eyes were wide open in death, an unrestful look that made him uncomfortable.

His perception of Eteliria was of the second world, one wrapped in layers of halos, of glitz and glory, where Chosen composed heroic epics, a legendary world. But that world collapsed in his heart at this moment.

What was left was a ruin, filled with cold dust, smothering enough to make one retch, and the exposed, icy steel skeleton underneath sent chills down the spine.

Fang Hong's head felt dizzy, and suddenly, a hint of wrongness emerged.

He paused before lifting his head; Elsa's body was still there—he turned to the other side; the body of the first man was still in its place. He suddenly realized the problem, his face going pale, and immediately retracted again to examine the cold body of the warrior beside him.

Still no response—

After a moment's hesitation, Fang Hong carefully extended his hand to the warrior's forehead, lifting his eyelid, which felt like peeling back a piece of rubber, sticky.

The whites of his eyes were completely bloodshot, and blood beads even seeped from beneath his eyelids. The dead man's pupils were pitch-black, like a tunnel with no trace of starlight within.

Fang Hong felt as if something in his head buzzed and exploded.

He almost fell to the ground, limp, finally realizing why both sides of the fight had deliberately avoided this ruin.

—This was the Dead Silence Zone of the Glow Stones!

...