Pillar of Yita

"You are crazy, old buddy," Ande was taken aback: "You're not a Combat Artisan."

"But I am the Chairman of the Artisan Association," Phales said confidently, "At least for now, they won't dare to touch me."

But before he finished his sentence.

Everyone suddenly heard a peculiar muffled sound from a distance.

They turned around just in time to see a flash of fire erupting from an 'Iron Curtain' construct in that direction, with cannons on both sides firing in succession. Solid cannonballs came whistling, visibly growing larger as they approached.

Without thinking, Fang Hong swiped downwards with his right hand.

A giant statue descended from the sky.

Amidst the billowing dust, the Orphen Twins Stars raised the Giant Shield, protecting everyone behind it. Two successive clangs sounded, as the cannonballs struck the shield and were deflected to the sides.

"Holy cow!"

The livestream audience nearly rioted.

"What is that!?"

"A construct, a large construct, he really is a Combat Artisan!"

Fang Hong's gaze pierced through the smoke, calmly pointing forward. The Orphen Twins Stars shot forward like an arrow, covering ten meters in a single stride, crossing half the square in three steps, leaping over the heads of a group of guards.

It landed heavily, and Fang Hong clenched his forefinger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger into a fist, striking forward. Before everyone's eyes, the Orphen Twin Stars' Giant Shield smashed into the giant construct.

A thunderous roar echoed.

The construct immediately tilted to the side.

Although it didn't damage its framework, it rendered it temporarily immobile. Fang Hong didn't order the Orphen Twins Stars to draw their guns because he knew his attack couldn't pierce the 'Iron Curtain's protection; his intent wasn't to do so.

He immediately commanded his construct to turn around, facing another 'Iron Curtain' construct on the west side.

The entire operation was smooth and fluid.

The livestream audience was left with just crude remarks.

Many of them lacked culture, only capable of kneeling before their screens to watch.

"Cease fire!"

Roniel nearly fainted upon seeing this, screaming: "Are you all insane!?"

He aimed to capture people, not kill them. Delivering a corpse to His Majesty the King could well end his tenure as a Praetor.

Furthermore, people could be resurrected—

But the remaining two 'Iron Curtain' constructs seemed intent on continuing their fire, turning towards Fang Hong's direction, extending their cannons. The Earl was dumbfounded, not understanding why his orders suddenly lost effectiveness.

But at that very moment—

Everyone suddenly saw the air above the 'Iron Curtain' compressing into a semi-transparent sphere. The 'Iron Curtain' construct remained unresponsive as the sphere dropped, as if it had been punched out of nowhere—half of its armored shell caved in, its four legs sank down, and with a crash, it slammed into the ground.

And only then did people see that a large lizardman covered in yellow and green, crowned with feathers and wearing feathered adornments, had somehow appeared in the square.

It glared with bulging, lifeless eyes, with diamond-shaped black squares painted around the eye sockets, extending its three webbed, suction-cupped fingers to slash gently downwards.

And with each motion of the lizardman ritualist, the transparent sphere in the sky would strike down.

Then followed the second, third, and fourth strikes, and the Iron Curtain construct immediately became disassembled.

Blood seeped out, pooling on the ground.

The violent scene rendered the square silent for a moment. So much so that when Fang Hong used the Orphen Twins Stars to topple another 'Iron Curtain', no one noticed for a time.

Fang Hong also noticed the lizardman ritualist at this moment—the Tada Ritualist. His jaw dropped as he recognized the creature. It was one of the lizardman ritualists he had met in Fenris, the Star Seer of Ka Cuilan.

What brought them here?

And only now did the lizardman ritualist turn its head to look in his direction, its gaze very gentle, as if it hadn't been responsible for the previous carnage.

It spoke softly: "Star Patron, we meet again."

The greeting wasn't loud,

but it resonated clearly across the square—

The livestream chat suddenly went silent.

The Count Westwood Sibika, who was about to leave, almost thought he misheard and froze on the spot.

Roniel also dropped his jaw upon hearing the term, as if petrified. Suddenly it felt as if he was struck by lightning, and he fell headfirst off his horse.

As a Praetor, he naturally was privy to certain secrets, including who the Star Patron sought jointly by Ka Cuilan, Asuka, and Andasok Lizardmen was.

How could this be?

Suddenly, he felt that his act of currying favor wasn't wise, as if he had kicked an iron board.

On the corner of the arena.

Sonan Steelbrow watched as his elder brother approached, the Old Dwarf landing a furious punch that nearly knocked him down.

Clueless, he got up with a bruised nose and swollen face, looking at Kalin Steelbrow in front of him, along with Hilveld and another human girl nearby, asking in a muffled voice: "Kalin, what's going on? And Miss Hilveld, why are you here?"

"People of Steelbrow have no place for an ingrate like you," Kalin glanced at him disdainfully, answering with great displeasure.

"What did you say?" Sonan was furious: "Kalin, explain yourself, when have I ever been ungrateful?!"

Kalin retorted with no goodwill: "If you weren't ungrateful, you'd immediately order that damned praetor and his damn soldiers out of here. Also, arrest that vile instigator by your side for me."

He pointed unceremoniously at Pudra beside him.

The Magic Potion Studies Master turned pale, subconsciously stepping back. He knew well that these dwarves were a clan that despised evil and had a clear sense of enmity and loyalty. If they decided so, they might actually jump in and strike with an axe.

That he couldn't afford.

Yet, what surprised him was when did that little girl from the Albert Family become so capable? Even managing to persuade the Steelbrow family to stand up, and Mawei seemed unrelated to these dwarves.

But as the two were conversing, the ground suddenly shook slightly.

Sonan, who had just stood up, immediately lost his balance, falling back to the ground.

Kalin fared just slightly better, using his combat axe to steady himself on the ground, and all the dwarves did likewise. The others fared even worse, falling one after another. Everyone was puzzled by what happened; earthquakes on the Floating Continent of Eteliria were a rare occurrence.

Suddenly, they heard a terrified shout from the direction of the square:

"Look quickly!"

"The shield of Elfendo has disappeared!"

Everyone was taken aback, turning to look—at the next moment, they indeed saw a layer of pale red light beneath the towering spire, gradually dissipating. But it didn't appear like a normal barrier retraction, rather the entire city's protection seemed to dissolve.

The shield of Elfendo was vanishing.

...