Pillar of Yita

Fang Hong's face blushed in an instant, but fortunately, the glow from the Illumination Bomb dimmed again, and no one noticed it in the subdued light. He stammered an explanation, ""Miss Miya she she she I I I..."

"Enough already," Sicape waved her hand impatiently. As she was helping Kroid unfasten the metal clasps on his Sword Sheath, she said, ""I'm not interested in your stories. Your little crush is common knowledge. But I need to remind you, kiddo, she's not for you—"

"She's on the other side," Kroid interrupted her. He glared at her and calmly removed his Great Sword, responding, ""Group A is the main assault in this battle, our job is to support. If the situation changes, remember our first objective is to get into the ruins, find the Magic Guided Conductor, and activate it."

Fang Hong rubbed his slightly stiff cheeks, finally calming down, ""So what are we doing now, just standing around?"

"Of course there's something to do," Sicape said, "We are, right now, waiting for the money."

"Huh?"

"Newcomer, let me give you your second lesson," Sicape said authoritatively, "In Eteliria, a mercenary's maxim is, 'Get paid, then work.' Generally, this can be extrapolated to: 'Do as much work as the amount of money you get'—which then leads to the third basic principle: A mercenary only works after getting paid."

Fang Hong looked at her, astonished.

However, Kroid, surprisingly, did not contradict his girlfriend's words. He glanced at Fang Hong and explained, ""Among Invokers, all norms in Eteliria are established by convention. It's the same with Adventure Groups and the Grand Guild. Don't put too much faith in the propaganda you see in the real world. Every rule here has been shaped after countless conflicts and compromises."

"Simply put, we don't trust anyone too much, and I suggest you do the same." Sicape flicked her hand through the air, opening a Light Page, but to others, it just looked like a jumble of light lines hanging in the air.

But soon, her eyes curved into crescent moons, and with a delighted gesture, she grabbed through the air and pulled out a jingling purse, tossing it into Fang Hong's arms with a 'whoosh', ""The money has arrived, this is your share."

"I get some too?" Fang Hong was startled, doubting if the woman in front of him was the real Miss Sicape. He peeked into the pouch a little more and couldn't help but gasp, there were over two thousand seven hundred Lycels, enough for him to make three more Clockwork Fairies.

Thinking back to his tight days in Kapuka and now looking at this money, it felt like a dream. Fang Hong carefully stuffed the purse into his clothing. Feeling the heavy coins settle in his embrace, his heart suddenly filled with a tremendous sense of satisfaction.

He thought this money should be enough for him to become a formal Alchemist.

"Convert the money to digital," Sicape glared at him, ""Are you planning to move around with this bag of coins?"

A fine layer of cold sweat immediately broke out on Fang Hong's forehead upon hearing this.

He glanced at his 'bulging' waist bag, feeling guilty, ""I just like the feeling of something solid."

Luckily Sicape didn't press the matter and snorted, ""Little miser." She looked at him with disdain as if repelled by similarity and explained, ""Remember, this is called combat compensation."

Fang Hong couldn't help but laugh with happiness, ""... Can I participate in every battle then?"

"Dream on, dead weight," Sicape said irritably, poking the foolish child's forehead. "Do you think we get this much every time? This time it's because our mission is more important, and we might just run into some tough nuts."

After hearing Sicape's words, Fang Hong couldn't help but glance at those 'tough nuts' in the distance.

He actually knew who they were—or rather, he recognized the silver battle robes. Silver Forest Spear's headquarters in the Second World was a very well-known guild called the Silver Forest Crown, one of the ten most famous guilds in the country. The uniforms of Silver Forest Spear and Silver Forest Crown were almost identical, so Fang Hong recognized them at a glance.

What he hadn't expected was that Silver Forest Spear would turn out to be on the side of the Rainbow Alliance. "Silver Forest Spear, huh," Fang Hong thought. He wondered if they were as formidable as Silver Forest Crown; he was quite familiar with some of the star Invokers from that guild.

Take All-Seer KUN, for instance.

"Is the money here?"

"It is, to the last cent." Sicape even gave the employer a rare compliment, "I didn't expect people from Jiefulite to be alright—unlike those hypocritical guys from the Rainbow Alliance."

Kroid nodded and then pulled out a crystal necklace from beneath his neck. He held it in his hand until the crystal began to glow red, and then quietly gave an order, "Group A, begin."

Meanwhile, the members of the Silver Forest Spear at a distance were also hesitating. They were drawn to the attention of the people from the Morning Dawn Star; yet Kroid and his people showed no signs of action, leaving the enemy very puzzled about what they were planning.

Five hundred meters was already beyond the conventional combat range in the First World. If they didn't move, the folks from Silver Forest Spear didn't seem too keen on initiating the attack either.

But after all, the opponents were well-trained members of a Grand Guild. After forming rows, those in the back began buffing the ones in the front, always maintaining a battle-ready state. Seeing this, Fang Hong became somewhat anxious. He wasn't worried about himself, but about Miya behind him.

It was at this moment that he saw a flicker in the woods to the side and rear of the Silver Forest Spear.

Fang Hong almost thought he was seeing things; it was a flash that vanished in an instant. Then suddenly, a blaze erupted in the back ranks of the Silver Forest Spear. The intense light almost made Fang Hong close his eyes instinctively, but before he could do so, at least three or four silhouettes were already flying out of the explosion.

Seeing the opportunity had arrived, Kroid also raised his Great Sword with both hands. His chest expanded slightly as he suddenly let out a roar:

"Everyone, charge with me!"

His towering figure led the charge, with everyone close behind. Only Fang Hong was still disoriented from the previous flash. But someone pushed him from behind, undoubtedly Sicape. Fang Hong, unsteady on his feet, stumbled forward.

Bang, the fourth Illumination Bomb was then fired into the night sky.

Dull roars suddenly echoed from the depths of the forest, reverberating both far and near.

...