Pillars of Ita

There were broken walls and burning flames everywhere, the alarm bells at the port were ringing, and the gray waves in the sky were approaching the edge of the city.

The war machines of the Sons of Light were flying over Fortier, heading towards the place where the battle took place, leaving only faint trails of wind elements in the sky.

Thick thorns grew from under the city, pushing up the ground and destroying houses. The crowd screamed in fear and fled in all directions, and then countless silver-gray insects crawled out from under the gray branches.

The strongest of the insect monsters seemed to have taken human form. It was using its sharp forelimbs to hook onto the crack in the ground and climb out of the crack. But a spear came flying with a sharp whistle. Before it could raise its head, the cold spear had pierced its chest and knocked it out, nailing it to the wall behind it, with the end of the spear still trembling.

The insect monster let out a sharp cry and waved its forelimbs and abdomen in panic, but it seemed to be in vain. The next moment, a golden flame ignited on the spear, spreading out in all directions with the tip of the spear as the center, forming a ring of fire, and the surrounding insects were immediately turned into ashes in the golden flame.

The ring of fire not only burned through the insect swarm, but also ignited the ash branch, causing it to burn fiercely and turn into a bright torch.

A tall man was retracting his hand and watching the scene from afar. The firelight reflected the scars on his face and his long red hair.

He turned around and saw that the knights behind him had cleared the way to the port. They were wearing armor of a style rarely seen in Giant Tree Hill, with scriptures and inscriptions engraved on their armor.

The sailors had already fled in all directions, so no one noticed the golden sailboats entering the port. The huge ships approached the pier and lowered the ladders.

More knights in similar attire came down from the deck, lined up silently on the dock, and raised their flags - the ancient sun of Lotao fluttered in the wind on a foreign land.

The guards led by the Son of Light finally arrived after hearing the news.

Several unicorn knights jumped off their horses, took off their helmets, and looked at the ash branches that had turned into torches with some doubt. The dancing flames were falling on the side of the elf girls' faces.

They looked at the strange army on the dock, and seemed to finally remember their identity. It was the gold-cast fleet, the ancient knight order guarding the Pillar of Stars.

The Knight of Ancient Training has arrived.

Someone took a picture of this scene and posted it on the community.

"The Knights of the Ancient Training have come to Giant Tree Hill. What are they doing here?"

"Perhaps he is here to help. The Knight of Ancient Instructions is Orli's servant, and the Lord of Light is the chief of all saints. He cannot just ignore what happened at Giant Tree Hill."

"But if they were to come, they should have come a long time ago. I heard that Her Royal Highness the Princess had asked for help from Mirro Temple, but was rejected. This was too embarrassing, so the Elven Court kept the matter of the envoys secret."

"So what is the situation right now? Why are there so many disaster branches suddenly? Didn't the Linoril Council say that the situation has been controlled?"

"This is a counterattack by the Gray Region, which means that the Disaster Tree has realized the danger. All this is due to the Saint Girl Association's unwillingness to hand over the Eternal Badge. You have also seen it."

Someone is trying to fish in troubled waters by posting half-true and half-false information: "I heard that the Dragon Alchemist has no good feelings towards the Grand Guild, so he is acting on his own."

"What does this have to do with them? The Gray Plague has been going on for a year and a half. As far as I know, others have only arrived at Giant Tree Hill a few months ago."

"The people upstairs are the Saint Maiden Society's navy, right? What everyone has been discussing is the improper handling of the Sacred Forest, right? Why have they been hiding the truth from us as the Gray Disaster has developed to this point?"

Someone immediately retorted, "Besides, the Eternal Badge has always belonged to our Third Division. How can an outsider like him be qualified to keep it?"

"Because the Dragon Alchemist is planning to steal our holy relics, everyone, according to the information I got from the Third Division. This person has also caused a lot of trouble there. He is called the 'moving disaster' there."

Daryl is quietly shutting down the community.

There were a few familiar IDs in the community that she remembered, and they were constantly engaging in a double act, which quickly aroused the emotions of most people.

But it was useless to say anything now. The Hill of Giant Trees was in danger. The sense of crisis aroused the anger in everyone's heart, and the crowd needed an outlet to vent.

At times like this, people who are usually gentle and polite often don't mind venting their anger on others. What people care about at this moment is not right or wrong, but an object to vent their anger on.

Tianlan, on the other hand, was watching these comments in the community with such rage that his hair stood on end. He was turning into a keyboard warrior in the community, fighting one against ten and debating with a crowd of people.

But no matter how powerful she was, she was no match for the professional Internet trolls and was quickly defeated. She was so angry that she kept pulling her hair out and screaming:

"Ahhhh, I'm so mad, these damn idiots, they believe whatever others say!"

She also imitated the tone of those people very vividly:

"That damned country bumpkin from the Third Division. Although we don't like the club alliance, we know the situation. If he opposes the council's plan, can he come up with his own ideas?"

"Pigs," Tianlan shouted, "A bunch of pig-like teammates. Do they know who is helping them? All of this is deliberately caused by the guild allies!"

Daryl shook her head.

"Sky Blue, keep your voice down," Daryl said, "Don't disturb the eldest princess and Miss Lilithel."

She looked in that direction and saw Melfina checking information with the elf female assistant beside Kalandil. There were sheets of letter paper beside them.

Every time she picked up a piece of paper, Lilithel nodded, and then Jita beside her wrote it down. The naturalist lady put one hand on her communication crystal, as if she was sending something.

Half-truths spread rapidly through the community.

Someone forwarded the news back to the Third Division, and it immediately caused an uproar.

Those who supported Fang He did not believe these out-of-context fragments, but those who opposed him seized on the information and launched attacks. The alliance fanned the flames from behind, and the community immediately fell into chaos.

However, the same chaos has long been commonplace in Kaolin-Ishurian.

The confrontation between the North and the South is almost unstoppable. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Chosen Ones who support the Southern Alliance, Istania, and the Avenquin Elves will sooner or later have a battle with the supporters of the royal family, and the latter almost all come from the major guild alliances.

Daryl turned a blind eye to the two sides criticizing each other in the community. She cared more about the current situation than the outcome.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but raise her head and look out through the glass of the arched window on one side. There was a corner of the autumn forest. Elisa should have almost passed through the forest and reached the outskirts of the Elf Court.

And so it is.

Miss Nightingale was looking at Halsey descending from not far away, and another dragon rider she didn't recognize. Judging from his attire, he was probably from the Pillar of Stars.

She naturally understood that it was impossible for her to escape from under the eyes of the two dragon knights, so she stopped involuntarily, then stretched out her hand to stop Argen and others.

A tall figure stepped forward and stood in front of the two men. The lion man put his hand on the sword, propped the Holy Sword Enemy Destroyer on the ground, and looked at the person in front of him with a calm gaze.

"Mr. Reed, we meet again," Halsey's eyes fell on the sword in the big cat man's hand. The sword did not look like a weapon that someone like him should use - it had a slender blade, but the edge of the sword was rusty, like an antique.

But that wasn't what he noticed.

The sword was in the hands of the big cat man. A warm light was wandering on the edge of the sword, and the rust on the sword was shrinking little by little, returning to its original appearance.

"This is a holy sword that slays dragons!" The dragon knight behind Halsey shrank his eyes, raised his head and looked at the big cat man, "Red, you promised before you left the Pillar of Stars that you would give up all honor and power."

"I have indeed left the past behind, except for some things that should not be forgotten."

The big cat man raised his head and looked at these people out of the corner of his eyes. Few people had ever seen him look so proud. "The wind will tell us everything, just as Ms. Marlan warned us—"

Blood for blood, tooth for tooth.

Don't forget revenge, resistance is part of courage.

Free paladins never advocate tolerance, because the blade of the war lady always hates evil.

The man fell silent, and Halsey had no intention of intervening in the feud between the great knight and Mirro Temple. He had known it long before Fang He.

But the two had only met each other a few times, because he was the chief dragon knight of the Twelve-Colored Iris, and the other was the knight of the Great Saint.

"Mr. Reid," Halsey spoke again, "I didn't come here for this matter. The Great Saint should not have asked you to fight us and turn the Autumn Glade into ruins."

"After all, whether we fight or not, the result will not change," Halsey continued, "You should understand why I am here. Now that I am here, I will not let you leave the Elf Court."

He held out his hand to the three people: "So please hand over the letter."

The big cat man pondered for a moment.

The holy sword in his hand was dimming little by little. He looked back and saw Alyssa looking at him. The big cat man nodded. What the other party said was not wrong. As long as he blocked this place, they would not be able to leave.

But once he made a move, he would not be able to protect Elisa and Argen. So apart from turning the Autumn Forest into a ruin, the result would not change.

"Arjean," Elisa said, "give them the letter."

"It's all in vain," the Dragon Knight of the Pillar of Stars snatched the letter from the young man's hand and said sarcastically, "Do you really think you can play any tricks under the eyes of so many Dragon Knights?"

"Open the letter." Halsey said.

The dragon knight was slightly startled: "But they asked us to take the letter back."

"Open the letter," Halsey repeated coldly.

"Damn it," the dragon knight cursed inwardly, but his hands did not stop moving, tearing open the envelope and shaking out the letter from it. But when he took a look, his face suddenly changed.

Each of the letters in the envelope was blank, and there was no liquid that needed to be developed on them. With the eyesight of the dragon knights, any special paint attached to the letter paper would not escape their eyes.

There was not a single word on those pieces of letter paper.

Halsey immediately looked at the big cat man beside him. And Red was also looking at the Nightingale Tenth King leisurely. He twisted the metal ring hanging under his beard with his claws, making a jingling sound, and smiled at the other party:

"The positions are reversed now, young man."

“You can choose to attack us, or not, but you will gain nothing except turning Autumn Glade into a ruin.”

"I know you have a plan," the big cat man smiled, "but are you going to declare war on the Elven Court, Halsey, before your plan comes true."

Halsey fell silent.

The dragon knight of the Pillar of Stars said angrily, "I don't care what tricks you are playing, but you still can't send the real letter."

The big cat man looked at this guy with pity, as if he were a fool.

"Zukul, communication between the two worlds has been restored, but you are still as brainless as you were in Lothal."

The dragon knight's face finally changed drastically.

He suddenly turned around and looked at Halsey. The other party took advantage of their blind spots in thinking, but it was impossible for the Tenth Nightingale King not to have considered this.

But Halsey just looked at the big cat man silently, with calm eyes and no words.

"Tianlan, she's fine."

"I thought so," Halsey nodded, remembering her sister's terrifying level.

"Halsey," the Dragon Knight of the Pillar of Stars finally reacted, "I understand, you did it on purpose!"

"Zukul, so you noticed it?"

"I……"

"So I didn't notice it, just like you," Halsey replied calmly.

……

The moment Juliana and Elindor attacked Bishop Selina, the forest actually fell into a state of stillness.

Fang He saw a slender, female hand reaching out from his side, and taking the Hailin Crown from his hand as if it was a casual act.

Then the second hand gently held up the crown, with three rings on it, one of which seemed to be woven from dead wood, and the thorns on it symbolized the shadows and death of the forest.

The hand's owner had bronze skin with a slight purple tint, and strange patterns painted on it, like the descendants of a clan that traveled through a forest that never saw the sun.

The woman came forward holding the crown, gently lifted it up, and placed it on Fang He's head. She looked at him with her purple eyes and said:

"We meet again, the child chosen by the forest, the chosen one of the goddess."

again?

But the two plover had never seen each other.

But for some reason, he immediately recognized the other person's identity - the moon elf of Heimwol, and from her attire, he guessed her status.

The Maid of Withering, the agent of the winter when all things wither, symbolizing the other side of the forest, Her Majesty the Grand Saint of the Temple of Shadows in the Forest.

But is there really another Great Saint in the Temple of Shadows?

He was not actually familiar with the other elf tribe in Heimwol. In fact, there were not many people in the entire Tree Hill who truly understood this Oathkeeper tribe.

Moon elves almost never leave the place they guard and rarely appear in front of outsiders. Mysterious legends about them have always been circulating in the forest, but very few people have actually seen them.

The only thing he knew about this ethnic group was the brief encounter he had with Saint Xuan. Perhaps because of the miracle performed by Lady Aimaya, the moon elves respected him very much at that time.

He even wondered if the Great Saint brought Mr. Reid to the Elf Court at this moment just because of their encounter at that time.

Is she here to confirm her identity?

He had actually asked Daryl before, but Miss Muppet had never heard of him. Of course, that might be because her status was not high enough to have contact with Her Majesty the Saint.

The big cat man had said before that he would have the opportunity to meet Her Majesty the Great Saint.

But Fang He didn't expect that there would be such an opportunity.

Moreover, this Great Saint Lady seems to be a little too strong.

As soon as the opponent made a move, he directly dispersed the power of the dark saints that lingered here, and also used a special law to stop the time in the forest.

That kind of power reminded Fang He of the Hailin Crown on his head more than once.

The blessing bestowed upon him by Ms. Roman and Ms. Aimaya seemed to be based on a power from the same source, freezing time at a certain point in the long river of fate.

Just like this moment.

The Elf Saint was looking in that direction. Under her gaze, Bishop Selina was being attacked by Mia, Elindor and Juliana. Time seemed to be frozen at that moment.

The three dragon knights and a servant of the Dark Saints maintained their different postures until the Great Saint stretched out her finger and lightly pointed in that direction.

A ripple appeared from her fingertips.

At that moment, Fang He seemed to have many illusions in front of his eyes. He seemed to see the growth and decay of the forest, the growth of all things, the flourishing of all things, and then the withering and dying.

It is like the arrival of winter, walking in the woods, the thorns and bushes are dry and gray, and when the first fallen leaf falls, the time sequence of the forest seems to have finally returned to normal.

It regained its color from the gray, and time seemed to start flowing again.

The swords of Elindor and Zuliana were slowly moving forward, but the wolf-like girl, who seemed like a stop-motion animation, was even faster than the two of them. She held the dagger tightly in her hand and shot it at the bishop like a sharp arrow.

Only Selina seemed dazed, as if a great power had intercepted a part of her time, leaving her still in the illusion of life and death.

Therefore, she could only stare blankly at the attack that she should have avoided - the dagger in Mia's hand pierced into her chest.

The knife seemed to drag her back from another timeline, and she had no choice but to bear the blow that should have missed her.

Selina's eyes widened.

Fang He also widened his eyes.

That is definitely not a power that mortals can control, but some kind of extraordinary power.

Although Selina is by no means the incarnation of the Dark Saints, she is at least their representative in the world, and the dark power she wields is not fake at all.

That kind of power can even suppress the realm of law.

But the power of another level exerted by the Great Saint directly overwhelmed the opponent, and Fang Yu recognized the source of that power——

It is both life and death.

It is both withering and dying.

Selina was making a sharp and painful sound as black flames burned out from her body and engulfed her in an instant, turning into black smoke and a black shadow that merged into the ground.

Fang He immediately turned around and looked at the Great Saint Lady beside him. No, it would be better to say that what he saw was actually another side of her.

"Is this... the power of apoptosis?"

The Great Saint looked at him gently and nodded slightly.

"Are you Ms. Apoptosis?"

But the Saint shook her head. "The lady is not here, nor is she anywhere in the Giant Tree Hill. I am just acting on her behalf, and only this time."

She looked at the crown on Fang He's head and said, "This is all thanks to your Blue Glory's power. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to transfer the power of apoptosis from the Holy Land."

Fang He pondered for a moment, as if realizing something:

"So Ms. Apoptosis is not dead, is she?"

But this time.

The other party shook his head.

...(End of chapter)