Pillars of Ita

Chapter 1174: Planting "Eyeliner"

A rune lit up under the feet of the Elfwood Statue of Aimea, and starlight gathered from the resurrection circle into a human figure, but Nether had just walked out of the circle when he saw in horror a broad-bladed elven rapier stabbing out from the shadows.

Before he could react, the blade pierced his chest.

Youming groaned, and suddenly he understood everything in his heart - his eyes revealed extreme shock. He raised his head in disbelief and looked at the man in front of him unwillingly.

He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something - but a ball of fire burst out from his chest, turning his words into a shrill scream.

The flames engulfed him, causing him to scream and struggle for life on the ground. But at the last moment, Youming seemed to finally be freed from the pain and looked at these people with extremely resentful eyes:

"You...behind the Star...gate..."

But the man holding the sword looked down at him and said, "Unfortunately, you can't go back."

Youming was stunned, and his last look suddenly revealed a trace of extreme confusion.

AshClaw watched the man being burned to ashes. The soundproof barrier effectively blocked the outside world's perception of this place. He put the sword back into the scabbard and asked the others, "Is he the only one?"

"He's the only one, Captain."

"Keep an eye on this place. After you're done, find someone to clean it up."

The people behind him nodded quickly.

AshClaw walked aside and took out the communication crystal. "They have been discovered by the investigation team. I will help you deal with them. What are your 'boss' plans now?"

"Don't let the investigation team return to Silverwind Harbor. Be clean and bring back the trainee unicorn girl."

AshClaw frowned. "The other side has quite a lot of people. It will be troublesome for two teams of Chosen Ones to deal with them."

"They are just small characters. Don't pay attention to them. Get rid of the key figures and don't leave any trouble behind." The voice in the communication crystal said in a rustling voice. "Two Silver Ranks, can't they be unable to do even this?"

"Got it." AshClaw turned off the communication crystal.

He walked out of the resurrection room and cast a glance through the porthole at the crystallized forest in the distance. His red eyes under his gray hair flashed a cold light. He stood there and calculated silently for a while before walking to the deck.

……

"I didn't suppress the Calamity Ash Branch. I just used some tricks. The unicorn girl is blessed by the forest. Only we can make the seeds of the Holy White Tree take root and sprout. That's why the unicorn girl will become the guardian of the Holy White Oak. Meryl, Ailuoya and the others can't do this because they are not strong enough."

Lian Kuiya Arsana replied: "I only ordered the Holy White Heart to return to its original form. The power of the Ash Branch is all inspired by it. Without the nourishment of the Holy White Heart, it will naturally wither and deteriorate. The monsters that sprouted from it will also disappear without a trace."

She held the holy white tree heart in her hand, which was shining silver under the moonlight.

The crescent moon on the Giant Tree Hill finally passed over the crowns of the giant trees in the second half of the night, penetrated through the clouds, and sprinkled the cold moonlight on this deserted forest. There were no whispers of insects in the forest, only the occasional rustling sound of withered tree men passing through the darkness in the distance.

Meryl and Ailuoya sat beside the Elf Princess, looking at her from time to time, as if they were dreaming. They would never have thought that Her Royal Highness the Princess would come to save them personally.

"Your Highness, I..." Merrill felt so ashamed when she thought of her own behavior - she used the holy white tree heart to make the gray branches sprout, and almost put Her Highness the Princess in danger.

Lian Kuiya Alsana shook her head at her. "It's okay, Meryl, you didn't violate anything. The Ash Tree and the Holy Branch are two sides of the same coin. We are only fighting against the spreading shadow, and apoptosis itself is not our enemy. The disordered nature is-"

"And those malicious intentions themselves are actually part of the disorder. Those who do evil are unaware of this, and instead think they are righteous."

Fang He couldn't help but look at the princess with new eyes. He originally thought that she regarded the sacred forest as above all else and was too devout in her belief in Aimeya, so blind that she was even a little naive.

But I didn't expect that she would look at the disaster in this way. She might be a little ignorant of the world in her ivory tower and look at politics too simplistically, but she is definitely a qualified elf saint.

His knowledge of the Elf Saint came from Miss Attila. After Miss Elf left, he looked up a lot of information about the Unicorn Girl.

Attila Greenhill Stars is the most outstanding of the many generations of elven saints in the Holy Forest. Ever since she became a unicorn girl, the Council of Elders has placed high hopes on her.

And she is also one of the few people who has completely gained the favor of God Aimaya.

If that hadn't happened, Miss Elf might have become the first saint in the history of the Holy Forest to join the Council of Elders, if it hadn't been for this disaster.

However, Fang He was dismissive of the Gray Branch Disaster. He naturally knew how outstanding his "sister" was.

Thinking that the elf princess was her student, he felt relieved.

But the words of the Elf Princess could not explain more of his questions. He now knew the identity of the missing unicorn girl, but how could Linseya Starlight's memory overlap with his own dream?

  What happened?

Fang He walked silently to the members of the gray hellhounds. Daryl was guarding them and said to him, "I thought you had forgotten about them. These people are probably about to wake up."

"What are you going to do with them?"

"Use them as an experiment." Fang He replied.

They took these six people and walked a long distance into the depths of the Gray Area. Naturally, it was not because they treated the captives well. In Fang He's eyes, these people's actions were no different from those of animals. How could he give them a good life?

"experiment?"

Fang He took out a dark green clockwork fairy from his arms. The visual crystal in the center of the clockwork fairy was like a dark prism, making it look like the pupil of a snake.

  He placed the 'snake pupil' on one of them, and then said to Daryl beside him:

"Ms. Muppet, kill her."

"What?" Daryl was stunned.

Fang He waved his hand, signaling her to behead him.

Daryl was stunned. She had killed many people before, but it was still a little unexpected for her to deal with unarmed prisoners. But when she thought of what these people had done to Meryl, she hardened her heart, raised the sword with both hands, and swung the sword down.

The gray hellhound member was still unconscious when his head and body were separated. His head flew out and blood splattered like an arrow.

The actions of the two startled Marianne and Kailan who were not far away. In their eyes, this 'captain' was always gentle and polite, and they had never seen such a cruel side of him.

"This is……?"

Kailan Elwell was slightly stunned. Even if these people were unforgivable criminals, there was no need to execute the prisoners at this time, right?

Besides, if they were going to be executed, why bother knocking them out and bringing them all the way to this place?

But Fang He did not pay attention to them immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes. After a long while, he opened his eyes again, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Can you sense your clockwork fairy?" Daryl, who was standing next to him, knew his style of doing things better than anyone else. When she saw him close his eyes and the magic meter on the magic gloves change, she immediately guessed something.

Fang Plover nodded.

He then explained: "You must have heard of the annihilation reaction."

"You mean, when people turn into starlight, the equipment bound to them may react with their starlight," Kailan asked. "I heard that this reaction could have several results. One is to be resurrected and taken away by him, the other is to stay where they are, and the other possibility is..."

"annihilation."

Fang He replied: "Only when the equipment is synchronized with our starlight can we use the omnipresent elemental ether. When we are resurrected, these equipment will also be taken away by the synchronization."

But except for a few cases——

Equipment may be left behind due to various unexpected factors, which is what the Chosen Ones commonly call "exploded equipment". However, there are two possibilities for exploding equipment: one is that it is left intact, and the other is that it is destroyed by the backlash of the ether.

Annihilation reactions can damage magical equipment, and in the most extreme cases, may even completely destroy a piece of equipment.

"That clockwork fairy is my exclusive construct," Fang He added, "due to the rules, no one except me can use it, but that doesn't mean others can't 'seize' my construct."

"I put the construct on him, and my construct became his 'trophy'. He has 'ownership' of the construct. The construct belongs to him and can be resurrected and taken away by him."

"But because this is my exclusive construct, he can't control it. Of course, because the distance is too far, I can't control it either. But I can still feel its status to some extent."

"In which direction is it located, whether it still exists, whether it is in good condition, and even to some extent its distance from me, but of course it can only be estimated roughly."

"I see. You want to use your clockwork fairy to confirm the other party's location?" As a wilderness survival expert of the Geological Society, Marian Titmouse has a natural sensitivity to tracking and tracing, and she reacted immediately.

The Paparar lady asked with some surprise: "How is it, is it successful?"

Fang He nodded, but then shook his head: "That was my original plan, but something unexpected happened just now."

"out of expectation?"

Fang He replied quietly, "The opponent's airship should have a large resurrection statue installed on it. The resurrection time is about five minutes. And exactly five minutes after the opponent's starlight transformation, my clockwork fairy - had an annihilation reaction."

"Annihilation reaction," Marian was stunned, "So, it disappeared?"

"That's the theory, but it's also possible that the other party discovered my clockwork fairy," Fang He frowned, "but the timing is a bit too coincidental, so I have to experiment again."

He took out four more snake pupils and placed them on those people one by one. This time, Daryl knew his intention, so she didn't have to be so drastic in her execution. She took out a dagger and slashed the necks of several people one by one.

The final result was that one snake pupil had its equipment "exploded" and was left behind, while the other three snake pupils were all taken away.

Five minutes later, Fang He unexpectedly discovered that, just like the last time, one of the snake's pupils had completely disappeared. Ten minutes later, the other two snake's pupils had also disappeared.

"So it's still the same?" Marianne guessed something from his expression.

Fang Plover nodded.

Daryl on the side also frowned slightly: "So what happened?"

Fang He pondered for a moment, and actually had come to the conclusion in his mind, "In theory, the annihilation reaction will only occur when the starlight is transformed, but in fact there is an exception that can't be considered an exception."

"It's not an exception to the exception," Marianne couldn't help asking, "What's the situation?"

"die."

Daliel had already guessed it, because the preservation of equipment was a compulsory course for the Chosen before arriving in this world. "When the equipment owner dies, the starlight transformation will no longer occur, but all equipment will be destroyed along with it."

"The first annihilation five minutes ago was because the resurrected person was killed, and the second annihilation ten minutes later was because there were survivors who had two chances to resurrect." Fang He replied.

He knew that the members of those brigades were equipped with special resurrection beacons that could teleport them to a specific resurrection point for resurrection. If necessary, such a move would prevent you from being blocked at your birth point by the enemy guild.

But at other times, this thing becomes a death warrant for those people——

He had already guessed the possibility that someone had been silenced.

Daryl was fine, but Marianne and Kailan couldn't help but take a deep breath after hearing this - although they had expected this trouble, they didn't expect the other party to be so cruel.

Who is the mastermind behind this, to the point where even his own people have to keep silent?

  Although the possibility of tracking was lost, Fang He was able to determine at least two things from this information:

"It seems that there is no need to guess any more," Fang He said to Daliel, "The next opponent we will face must be a Silver Level opponent, maybe one, or maybe two."

The other party's act of sealing the mouths made him certain that the elven vanguard was related to this incident, or at least some of them were related to it. The fact that the other party was able to seal the mouths in the fleet meant that they had people on all three ships.

Only in this way can the three resurrection statues be controlled at the same time.

The fact that the other party has silenced these people shows that they no longer expect an opponent of this level to be able to defeat the investigation team. This means that the next time the other party attacks, it will definitely be with a higher level opponent.

It is very likely that they are the two Silver Rank members in the advance team.

"Ms. Marian, Mr. Kailan," Fang He said to the two members of the investigation team after confirming that there would be a battle, "There may be a fierce battle next. I will let others protect you, but you'd better stay far behind the Seven Seas Brigade."

Marianne and Kailan both knew the identity of this young man, but their work fields did not overlap much with the alchemist circle. They might have heard some rumors occasionally, but that was all. Moreover, they believed more in what they saw than rumors. Fang He was involved in this dispute by the investigation team to a certain extent. Although there was also the factor of Princess Lian Kuiya Alsana, they could have completely abandoned the investigation team.

But Fang He obviously did not make this choice.

This undoubtedly won the trust of the two.

As for Fang He's proposal, Marian and Kailan disagreed. Ms. Tit meant that they were the ones who caused this trouble, so how could they stay out of it? Besides, the other party came for the investigation team. If even Fang He and the others failed, the investigation team would most likely not be able to return to Silver Wind Harbor.

Kailan also added: "Mr. Ed, I admire your honesty and trustworthiness. But I am also a member of the Disaster Investigation Department. This is my job scope. Ms. Marian Titmouse is just from the Geological Society. She will not back down because of a group of criminals. As a port staff, how can I fall behind?"

"If you're worried that we'll hold them back, don't worry. There's an abandoned elven temple in the nearby forest. Even if they kill us, we still have a few chances to revive—"

Marian also nodded: "At least in the first battle, let us help you. I am very familiar with this area, and so is Mr. Kailan. We can at least act as your eyes and ears."

Seeing that they insisted, Fang He hesitated for a moment and then stopped objecting.

What they said had a point. The Survey Corps was now in a state of disarray along with the Seven Seas Brigade. Without the Seven Seas Brigade, it would be difficult for them to survive. Although the Silver Rank was tricky, it was not yet invincible.

The people from the investigation team can help to some extent.

The elf scholar Arian who arrived later did not object. They came just to investigate the case. Of course, they could not just run away because of a little obstruction and leave all the trouble to outsiders.

Even if Fang He and others were hired by them, it would still be the same.

As for the Chosen, it was a little different. They had the obligation to protect, but these people were not here to deal with the Silver Order after all. Scholar Arian followed Fang He's advice and found these people and told them the truth one by one.

For those who are willing to stay, the investigation team will naturally increase their remuneration. After all, if they really confront the Silver Rank, it would basically be tantamount to suicide. Even if they don't encounter it, they will at least face the threat of an opponent of this level.

Unexpectedly, after discussing with each other, the two leaders of the Chosen Ones decided to stay. One of the leaders replied, "There are not many opportunities to fight against the Silver Order. If the reward is right, we will choose to stay."

The other one also thought that one chance to resurrect was no big deal. As long as they were willing to pay for their lives, most of the Chosen Ones were willing to become desperadoes. This kind of situation often occurred in guild wars.

But in the final analysis, someone is willing to spend money to let them see the level of a Silver-level opponent, so this is not a losing deal no matter how you look at it.

Fang He could understand the mentality of these people, but he did not treat them as cannon fodder. Instead, he asked them to stay and protect the members of the investigation team. After all, most of the members of the investigation team were non-combat members.

However, his unintentional arrangement won the favor of these Chosen Ones. Both captains took the initiative to send personnel to the periphery for guarding in order to relieve one side of the pressure on the Seven Seas Brigade.

Fang He was not foolish enough to wait for his opponent to come. He continued to let the investigation team and others move towards the core area of ​​the gray matter area. If possible, it would be best to avoid fighting with the Silver Order.

Of course, it seems impossible to return to Silverwind Harbor, but if they can cross the core area and go to Sanshak, they can still contact the Port Council.

No matter how arrogant the other party is, they would not kill the investigation team in public in the town.

But around one in the morning, Daryl and Elisa were the first to observe a golden track across the night sky, and then Fang He and the other members of the investigation team also saw the fire.

That Eastern and Western Plover is so familiar.

Airdrop boat.

The other party really started to act.

The dazzling firelight reflected on everyone's face and changed constantly in Fang He's dark eyes.

Since the main combat force of the Seven Seas Brigade was not fully equipped, especially when facing two Silver Ranks, and the most important combat force Miya was not there, he could almost imagine that the next battle would be an extremely difficult and fierce one.

Moreover, the Seven Seas Traveler was not in this place, and Fang He himself did not bring many flexible constructs. In addition to the six-winged Seraph and the Dragon Hunter, there were only a few Cavalry Annihilators and his newly created Ancient King Guards.

As for his other important trump card, the Lancers, due to their large size, he only brought two in his information crystal. These constructs alone had already filled up his information crystal.

  Fang He then realized that he should probably switch to a higher level information crystal. He couldn't always rely on the Seven Seas Traveler to fight. It was okay in the air and sea environment, but what should he do if he had to explore deep into the ruins?

However, the information crystal on him is actually a very advanced version. If it is a higher level, it will not be the common goods on the market. At least it cannot be exchanged at the Craftsmen's Guild. He can only try his luck to exchange some special versions from others.

His thoughts returned to reality.

Jed Ham's Dragon Knight construct was also left on the Storm Islands to reinforce the seal. He couldn't even make Nini explode. It would take time for the two series of inspirations, 'Heart of Stone' and 'Gift of Nature', to form combat power. It can be said that now is his weakest period.

However, combat craftsmen are not limited to frontal combat.

The Seven Seas Brigade's current organization is relatively complete, unlike the fragmented state it was in the Empire. Except for Luo Yu and Miya who joined later, almost all the combat members are here.

The only thing missing is a maid, and Luo Hao who currently has little fighting power.

Fang He thought about it and decided to return to the normal state of a craftsman in this battle, and use the auxiliary rather than the main battle method to complete this battle. It is time to let those people see how a real combat craftsman fights.

Since it was confirmed that the enemy had already taken action, he first ordered the Seven Seas Brigade and the Survey Team to turn northeast - changing direction in a direction away from the Silverwood Pass. Although a battle was inevitable, they also had to avoid a head-on collision.

What's more, they have several unicorn girls from the Holy Maiden Society, as well as the apprentice holy maiden Princess Lian Kuiya Alsana, and a group of professionals familiar with the Gray Domain in the investigation team. Naturally, they have to take advantage of this.

If we can lead the opponent to circle in the depths of the gray area, let the gray creatures in the gray area cause some trouble to the opponent, or even launch a preemptive attack on the opponent in the dark -

That would be perfect of course.

As for how to take the initiative, Fang He released several batches of elves with Cui Xisi without thinking. What a joke! No one knows what battlefield advantage is better than the combat craftsman.

About an hour later, everyone arrived at a nearby low hill, which was actually an arched root branch of a giant holy white tree. There were many mountains and hills like this in the Hill of Giant Trees.

Fang He was not in a hurry. He let everyone rest for a while and sat down to eat some elven dry food - Lunaris's magic biscuits. Although the taste was light, it was very filling. The investigation team brought a lot of this stuff. Ms. Marian ate with gusto:

"This is the most delicious food in the Sanshak area. Would you like to try it, Mr. Ed?"

Fang He tasted a little and found it bland. The poet lady and the Paparal people felt sick when they saw it, but Daryl, who had also been in the second zone for a long time, was fine.

Since the people leading the investigation team were not moving fast, it was almost certain that they would be caught up by the enemy. Instead of that, it would be better to wait and see. Fang He was looking for a suitable battlefield.

But before that, he had one last arrangement.

The remaining member of the gray hellhound finally woke up. After Daryl sent a message to him through the communication crystal, he asked Miss Catman and Alyssa to bring this guy in front of everyone.

The first reaction of the unruly guy after he woke up was to kill himself with a knife, but Fang He did not stop him. He just said softly: "I don't object to you doing this, but before that, you'd better understand the experiences of your other companions."

The man actually didn't care what he said. He just found out that Fang He and others did not stop him from committing suicide, and he became a little confused.

The dagger in his hand appeared out of nowhere and stopped in front of his heart involuntarily. He looked at these people - seemed to be guessing their intentions.

When Fang Yu saw him stop, he spoke again: "Don't worry, we don't care whether you live or die, or whether you can escape. But you can choose to believe it or not. As for what you want to do after that, you have the freedom to choose."

"First of all," he said, "I want to tell you that those people who came with you have probably been silenced now."

"Silence?" The man sneered disdainfully, "Do you think I will believe it?"

But Fang He did not explain, "Believe it or not, you will understand it when you go back. You know it very well in your heart. No one will tell a lie that will be exposed at the first poke."

When he said this, the man's expression became uncertain, and he did not move the dagger in his hand any further. He snorted coldly: "You want to bluff me? You want to get words out of me with such a trick?"

"No," Fang He shook his head, "I want to save your life and make a deal with you."

"Save my life?" The man looked at them with a sneer, "Look, the fox's tail is exposed."

"No," Fang He shook his head again, and without further ado, he took out something and placed it in front of the man. When the man saw this thing, his eyes obviously changed.

"Holy White Tree Heart?"

Fang He nodded: "It seems that you have recognized your purpose, Saint White Tree Heart."

"What do you mean?" The man raised his head and looked at them viciously. He was obviously confused about what Fang Que was selling.

"This Holy White Tree Heart can save your life," Fang He replied, "As for how to save your life, I guess you will find the answer yourself. As long as you carry it with you, they won't dare to touch you easily."

"Wait, you're really giving it to me?"

The man was stunned instead, "Why, what are your intentions?"

"Don't worry," Fang He shook his head, "You will understand everything when you return. By then, we will need you to help us with one thing, and then the deal will be done."

The man fell silent. He probably thought that the man in front of him was a fool, but he didn't dare to show this emotion - as for whether to help these people after he returned, wasn't it up to him?

He asked in a hoarse voice: "Do you need me to sign any contract?"

"No," Fang He shook his head. "No need. I said that in order to show our sincerity, we will not interfere with your freedom."

"Then..." The man agreed dryly: "I agree."

Only a fool would disagree.

Fang He also smiled and couldn't help but look back at the serious Hilvid standing beside him. It turned out that when it came to deceiving people, the ship officer was much more professional.

He handed over the holy white tree heart with a stern face, and then the other party said: "It belongs to you. As I said, you can come and go freely."

The man took the Holy White Tree Heart doubtfully. Although he was a little skeptical about the origin of this thing, it didn't matter. When he returned, someone would help him identify it. The most urgent task now was to escape.

When he realized this, he no longer hesitated, raised the dagger and stabbed it into his heart. Then he fell to the ground and a faint white light rose from his body.

Fang He watched silently for a while, and after waiting for about five minutes, he said to the others: "It is not annihilated."

"Great!" Tianlan was the first to jump up.

But she immediately asked, "Brother Ed, how can you be sure that those people will not kill him? What if this guy is too stupid and is killed before he has a chance to show what he has?"

Fang He shook his head. "Explaining too much will only arouse suspicion. If he listens to me, he will definitely realize that he can only rely on this tree heart to save his life. Those people went to great lengths to kidnap Merrill and Linseya just for this tree heart. If they really kill him, what if this tree heart is destroyed?"

"That……"

The poet lady was stunned for a moment, "Then if this tree heart falls into the hands of the other party, there won't be any trouble, right?"

"Don't worry, Princess Lian Kuiya Alsana has already rendered it harmless," Fang He replied, "The tree core that has already taken root and sprouted will not grow gray branches again. Except for the leader, no one among them knows what happened at that time."

He said as he looked towards the elf girl and Lian nodded gently to them.

"But this is not right," Tian Lan said again, "What if he is unlucky and fails to take the tree heart away, and the holy white tree heart 'explodes' out? What should we do?"

Fang He looked at their poet lady as if she were an idiot. "He didn't take her away, so he's the one who's unlucky, not me. Even if this plan fails, we won't lose anything."

"Why not give it a try if it's free money?"

He silently felt the existence of the clockwork fairy core crystal in the heart of the holy white tree, "Look, isn't this a success?"

Tianlan said, "What do you want Brother Ed to do for us?"

"Idiot," Parker couldn't help himself. "Didn't you realize that the guy didn't even let the other party keep his means of communication? He doesn't care what the bastard does for us, as long as the other party has that thing——"

The Papara sighed.

This idea was probably not something that Fang He came up with. He looked at Hilde who was smiling slightly at the side, and thought that it was this evil-minded woman who instigated this again.

……