Pillars of Ita

Fang Zheng saw a blue star rising slowly from the center of the city square, atop the tower, and then heading towards the golden light in the sky above the battlefield. The two stars converged and then collided violently, tearing a hole in the sky above Vol-Salastiel with a single blow.

But it wasn't the barrier in the sky that shattered, but the scattered clouds. The shockwave caused the plaza several kilometers away to shake violently. The ancient knights on the plaza immediately pulled their creatures back, and those tall, dragon-like relatives were letting out uneasy roars.

Leonard Gulmod stopped talking and turned to look in that direction, following the gazes of his colleagues—the clash between the two dragon knights might ultimately determine the outcome of this expedition.

The strength of dragon knights is often similar, although the laws they wield may differ, with some at a higher level and others at a lower level. However, a battle between two dragon knights—unless they go all out—is often difficult to determine a winner in a short time.

At least in the exchange between Beryl and the Son of the Gulf, neither side seemed to be at a disadvantage. The two intertwined and converged in the sky, yet there was restraint in each of their attacks.

It seems that no one wants to damage the barrier above Vo-Salastiel.

But only Fang Zheng knew in his heart that if the fight continued like this, time would not be on the side of that bishop lady, and the scales of victory would eventually tip in the other direction.

Beryl was clearly aware of this as well, and her attacks became increasingly fierce. However, Selgios seemed to have anticipated that she would not dare to break the barrier. The two were already evenly matched, and as a result, the former was even more restrained.

Over time, even the free knights in the square came to understand the situation, and the ancient knights grew increasingly grim. Surrounded by the crowd, Leonard Gulmod steeled his resolve, took Beryl's scepter, turned around, and strode towards the temple.

At that very moment, an even more violent tremor came from the horizon—Belel seemed to have made up her mind to rush towards the spire, with Selgios blocking her way. But the bishop raised her head, her eyes burning with fury—

For the first time, she went all out without any reservations.

"you--"

Selgios was taken aback. He clearly hadn't expected the female chaplain to be so resolute, and had no choice but to use the power of the law to channel Beryl's power to the ground.

From the horizon, the great explorer's laws appeared as a flowing fluid, or like a silver curtain, cascading like a waterfall into the center of the city below, carrying the golden light emanating from Beryl.

The moment the beam of light struck the ground, an invisible shockwave swept outwards in all directions, obliterating everything within a kilometer radius of the battlefield's center.

Buildings in more distant areas also collapsed, and the shockwaves even reached several kilometers away, causing the entire surface of Vor-Sarastil to roll like waves of wheat.

On the steps, cracks on the stone slabs grew and expanded visibly. The temple trembled, and pebbles and gravel fell one after another. Fang Zheng could almost hear the weight of the walls and stone pillars making a teeth-grinding sound, as if they were about to collapse at any moment.

The Paparazzi was fleeing down the steps when he slipped and stepped on the edge of the steps. He rolled down the temple like a ball, landing with a bruised and swollen face.

Luo Hao was running up from the opposite direction, trying to reach his position. However, someone had already entered the temple. Loren shouted to Fang Zheng:
"Your Holiness, run!"

"It's too late to finish, this place is about to collapse."

Fang Zheng had them dismantle the magic array. This was the third magic array node they had dismantled. However, unlike the previous two times, this time he had them build some things here.

However, because the dragon knights from both sides suddenly engaged in combat, the task was not actually completed.

Fang Zheng only glanced at him.

Then, as if completely oblivious to the danger, he looked up at the sky. Beryl's reckless attack still failed to break through the defenses of the Son of the Gulf commander.

But that attack finally caused the barrier in the sky to waver in the slightest.

This is the opportunity.

He held up his glove, and every channel on the magic glove emitted a faint glow, like fireflies flitting around his right hand, until they danced all over his body.

The magic storage crystal on his arm was becoming incredibly bright, and then the entire magic furnace emitted an unusual beam of ether. The air currents generated by the battle between the two dragon knights swept in from several kilometers away, turning into a gust of wind that rushed into the hall, just as if the boy's trench coat was billowing without wind.

"Ed, the magic circle isn't working..."

Loren abruptly stopped himself from saying the word 'complete'.

Because he saw specks of light piercing through the dust and rising from beneath the ground, while fallen stones and sand remained suspended in mid-air, as if frozen in a still spacetime along with the collapsed temple.

Then, a buzzing sound came from beneath the smoke and dust, and countless metal spheres—wind-up fairies—flew into the sky under Fang Zheng's command. He had never seen such a number of constructs in his life. They surged out of the temple's dome like a torrent, then scattered in all directions like celestial maidens scattering flowers. In an instant, they covered the entire sky above the plaza.

The fighting continues in the distance.

Meanwhile, in the four directions of Vor-Salastir, the seven node arrays were lighting up one by one, and the fleet of the Flame Tower was pushed out of the fortress by an invisible force, with chaos erupting on the deck.

The giant cat lifted Parker up from the ground, then looked up at the horizon. Above the tower, another azure light was rising, connecting the sky and the earth, and merging into the magic circle above the city.

Meanwhile, Lifgard, the evil lord of the dark dragon, who was perched atop the mountain, was wedged into the temple by a nail and could not move. He merely watched this scene with his golden eyes darting about indifferently.

It was as if everything that happened on the battlefield, everything in the city, was irrelevant.

Inside the tower—

The priest extended his inhuman claws from beneath his robes, his long nails reaching out toward the glowing rune. The azure light illuminated the lizard-like face beneath his hood, revealing emerald scales and burning greed in his narrow pupils.

The seven node arrays are ready. To ensure everything goes perfectly, the Numerin elves left a huge redundancy in the design of the maze. Of the twelve arrays in total, only more than half are needed to support the operation of the central array.

Although the plan had deviated slightly, the young man sensed something before reaching the central magic array and cautiously retreated.

However, according to the original plan, the modification of the other magic arrays in the surrounding area has been completed. As long as it uses these seven node magic arrays, it can also reverse the principle of the creation technique.

So……

Toragotos, now a priest, let out a long breath. As a dragon, it rarely experienced such human-like feelings, but all of this was due to the immense pressure behind it.

It didn't even dare to look in that direction twice.

Although it was certain that its master could not have woken up at this time, and it knew that there was only an aura above the mountain peak, just a shadow cast by Livegard, the remaining power of that dark evil master was too great for it to think about.

Its long fingernails gently touched the rune.

...It's time to get the plan going.

That moment.

The entire sky above Vol-Salastir brightened, and the layers of dark clouds that had covered the area dispersed automatically, revealing the bright starry sky beyond the barrier.

The entire starry sky seemed to be connected to the triple giant rings above the fortress in some mysterious way, forming a whole, and the Enchanted Barrier sent a guiding light to the heavens.

The three tails of the star hanging in mid-air converged into a beam and fell vertically in this direction. Only then did people realize that it was not actually the three tails of a comet.

Instead, three beams of starlight converged into one, and the first three of the twelve stars transformed into the first falling star of Eitaria, just as prophesied:

Arrived into this world—

But in the darkness, the illusion of time and space prevented the birth of this first prophecy.

On the other side of the world, from the Sanctuary of the Stars and Moon to the Isle of a Thousand Islands, amidst the thunderous storms and towering structures, astrologers are observing the steady changes in the star trails, unaware of any anomalies.

Only one young scholar noticed the slight dip in the star trails, but he paid no attention to it, simply recording it on the scroll as usual, then sealing it away and sending it to the seventh tower.

The scroll, carried by a falcon, was thrown to the 720th window of the tower, where it soaked the desk behind the window along with the wind and rain. "Go away," an old voice shooed away the winged beast, closed the window, and then picked up the scroll.

He recited a spell to dry the moisture on the scroll box, then opened the dried parchment, read each line of information, and let out a soft sigh of surprise:

"Alas, why are the celestial orbits of the twelve stars sinking?"

The old wizard pondered for a moment, then lit the magic furnace behind him and picked up the magic wand beside him.

He gently sent the scroll away, causing it to transform into a beam of flame and disappear into the void. Then he took the pointed hat off the clothes rack, pushed open the door, and went out.

Meanwhile, the flames in the void are traveling along the etheric veins that traverse the continent, passing through the seventeen crystal towers that the Craftsmen's Guild has injected into the Sea of ​​Light nodes, and sailing to the other side of the continent.

Land among the cliffs there, pass through underground fissures and seas of magical flames, and reach the sanctuary deep beneath the twelve pillars of the stars.

There, the messengers were reading aloud messages from the 'gray wall,' secrets and information from all over the world, all gathered here.

This is the Temple of Myro, the forbidden ground of the Twelve Pillars of the Stars.

At this very moment, almost identical messages were appearing on all the pillars. The priests from Marlan, Angela, and the Path of Ori, upon seeing the text, were visibly shaken.
"The First Fleet of the Chosen Ones has arrived in the Gulf region."

"Oshu unilaterally issued an ultimatum to the wild elves of Vornheim."

"The Imperials... have invaded the Hill of Giant Trees..."

But... how is that possible?

For a moment, people looked at each other in bewilderment. What had gotten into the Aushus? While they were at war with the Grand Council, they were also planning to open a second front on the other side of the Sky Sea.
Just then, a stumbling young priest rushed into the hall.

The young man, his face pale, held up the scroll in his hand:

"Everyone...something terrible has happened..."

"Just now, the Black Legion stormed into the holy city of Enzsol... Before the city fell, the rebellious Ta-Hess clan burned down the Great Library. The lizard-man sages of Asuka organized a rescue effort, but it's unknown how many valuable items they managed to salvage..."

"Shortly after that, the Grand Council announced its surrender to the Empire..."

"in addition……"

He swallowed hard; the hall had become deathly silent.

"The Togin Lizardmen's fleet has appeared off the coast of Colin-Ishurian..."

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines. With the end of the world fast approaching, the ominous signs of the unknown calamity were becoming increasingly apparent, but who knew that the Imperials would go mad at this time?

One person might recall the war of the Xinzas era, recorded on ancient stone tablets countless times ago, where black stars foreshadowed the fall of seven dynasties.

But in a corner unnoticed by anyone—within this temple—only the most important texts are recorded, while the vast sea of ​​information is mostly diverted by fairies.

Grey Fairies—the most unique fairies in Rotao. They have lived in a human-dominated environment for many years, and they are very happy with their work environment because of their love of gossip.

One of the gray fairies noticed a flash of light on the stone slab beside her. She immediately picked up the slab as if it were a treasure, flapped her small wings, and flew out through the special passage next to it.

“Ms. Beryl, your letter.”

She flew into an office chattering away and tossed the stone slab onto the sofa.

The female bishop, sitting behind her desk, looked up at the little fairy with a helpless expression and shook her head. "Natil, did I tell you? You have to knock before you enter."

"But we have a special passage."

"That's the same."

Time has left almost no trace on her face, except that she has become more mature, transforming from a heroic bishop into a more composed guardian of the Twelve Oaths.

She raised her hand, and the stone slab flew into her hand out of thin air. She glanced at it and said, "The fate paths of the first three pillars of the Twelve Stars have undergone subtle changes?"

Beryl was slightly taken aback, a look of surprise on her face. "The prophecy has come true? How is that possible? The reaction shouldn't be so mild."

Suddenly she thought of something, closed her eyes and sensed it—then her expression changed drastically, and she abruptly stood up from her seat.

Meanwhile, a knight was bursting through the door:
“Lady Bellel, news from the sealed land—there is unusual activity at the Twelve Pillars of the Stars. The seals on the first three pillars are not easily broken, and the guardian knights can already sense the aura emanating from that body underground.”

Beryl suddenly turned around and looked at the little fairy:
"Natil, tell me where Serwin is?"

“Belel, I don’t know,” the little fairy shook her head like a rattle drum. “The Knight of the Rock-Holding Sword is not in the Pillars of the Stars. He left the temple a long time ago to take care of other things.”

A flash of lightning streaked through Beryl's thoughts.

She seemed to understand something in an instant, immediately grabbed her sword and walked towards the door, saying to the little fairy as she went, "Natil, take me to see Gonzalez."

……

At the very moment the twelve pillars of the stars trembled, another party involved, far away at the edge of the sky, clearly also noticed this anomaly.

She looked up at the sky. After the clouds dispersed, they could not only block out the starlight, but also the storm rising from the sea. Rain drizzled down on the city walls.

She reached out and caught the cold raindrops—but they weren't actually rain; without clouds, ice crystals couldn't form, but the air in Sarastiel was unusually rich in water.

Two beams of light are intertwining in the sky.

Each time they intertwined, the barrier in the sky trembled.

However, the three ominous halos did not dim; instead, they grew brighter. As the magic arrays in the sky lit up one by one, the entire barrier was becoming complete.

Atop the mountain peak, Lifegard let out a painful groan.

But the dark dragon king immediately let out a contemptuous sneer, as the excruciating pain that pierced its body and even its soul had no effect on it.

It gently closed its eyelids, no longer looking at anything in the city.

Alessa took in everything from afar.

She could feel that familiar aura, even the strangeness emanating from her bloodline. She knew very well that her father had also noticed her presence.

But it doesn't matter. Her clashes with the opponent weren't limited to this one. She could trick the opponent into falling into the elf's trap once, and she could seal the opponent a second time.

This time, she will truly take everything back.

Within the narrow pupils of the Dragon Queen, the scene on the horizon was reflected, and she saw many tiny points of light flying into the air, merging with the magic circle above Vol-Salastiel.

She gently raised her right hand—which transformed into a dragon claw, piercing through the rain and pointing in that direction:
"Let me lend you a hand, little one."

"Don't let me down."

On the square, Leonard involuntarily stopped in his tracks.

He looked up at the breathtaking spectacle in mid-air—countless clockwork fairies were flying into the sky, their numbers resembling the stars in the heavens.

Hundreds, thousands? Countless structures vibrated as they flew into the rain, forming a giant net that stretched across the square, converging in a fixed order to create a single track.

And gradually merged into a part of the giant magic array in the sky—

Even so, it only filled a corner of the broken magic array. But it didn't matter, because the next moment, the stagnant, falling stones and the ruins of the temple, guided by Fang Zheng, flew back into the sky.

The entire collapsed temple was lifted from the ruins by an invisible force and flew into the air. During the flight, it decomposed into the most basic elements.

Then the earth and stones recombine, passing through one magical array after another that appears out of thin air. Within these arrays, they reassemble and combine, finally transforming into brand-new wind-up fairies that fly into the sky.

Flying into the rain.

But that's not enough.

Fang Zheng needed something bigger. He looked at the square and then gently gestured towards the void.

One after another, sirens in their armor rose from the sky, and with a gesture of his hand, the entire plaza disintegrated before everyone's astonished eyes, then emitted a deafening roar...

The next moment, the square floor broke into countless stone slabs, which flew into the air.

Leonard stood in the center of countless stone slabs, quietly looking up, oblivious to the scene before him, while the scepter in his hand rolled to the ground with a 'thud' at some unknown moment.

...(End of chapter)