Pillars of Ita

Chapter 1175 Assassination

"Aegis team in position."

"Bastion team has entered the designated area and found no target."

The Star Weaver held a long staff in his hand, silently listening to the noise coming from the communication crystal. However, those sounds were like a breeze, not enough to stir up any waves in his ancient thoughts.

Because he was deep in thought.

But the future foreseen from the shadow of disaster was obscure, and the light from the stars never revealed the truth to him.

There was no word on the other side of the abyss, and the thread of fate was tangled and unpredictable—he had never encountered anything like it before.

The watery moonlight was falling from the pale branches, sprinkling all over his black robe.

On the magic wand held by the pale and slender hand, two ancient runes were slowly rotating towards each other.

When one of the gray runes moved to the side of the wizard's face, the glowing light on the rune reflected a pale face under the shadow of the hood.

The face of an elf, with a pair of pointed ears hidden under thick black hair, but the hair was like burning flames, as black as ink, and there was an ugly scar running through the bridge of the nose from the chin up.

This scar is a mark that belongs only to him, and is one of the marks of the few lucky ones who survived Yasha's injury. However, that tragic disaster also gave him unparalleled power. One of the powers of the laws he mastered after he was promoted to the silver level came from this.

Everyone who can open the Silver Door can be said to be a lucky person, but he only comes from disaster. They are all outstanding people, but some of the outstanding people come back from the flames of disaster.

AshClaw was looking at this man. Although both of them were from the Alliance, they did not serve under the same command. This elven mage from the Unyielding Alliance obeyed the orders of the Silver Wind Watcher.

He himself has some thoughts of his own.

In fact, he didn't really see through this person. He only knew that he was one of the few survivors of the Yasha injury. The scar left an indelible mark on his body, but it also sent him to this position.

AshClaw didn't like to talk much either, and the other party was even more taciturn and withdrawn than him. The magic wand in his hand was not a product of this era - the Corrosion Wand 'Feminas', which was said to come from a secondary lord in the Dark Ages.

The staff gave him strength, but it also drained his life at all times.

Its power is unquestionable, and AshClaw has coveted it for a long time, but he dares not act rashly.

He doesn't care about the Unyielding Alliance, and he might even disregard the Super Competitive League and all its rules.

——However, most of the people who coveted this ancient magic wand have died, as if there was some curse lingering on it. AshClaw did not believe in any curses, but he also knew that the power from the Xinsas era was mostly mysterious.

"What does it tell you?" he asked suddenly.

"it?"

"Your wand," AshClaw replied. "Can't you talk to it?"

"No, I can't," the other shook his head and replied, "I can only see a glimpse of fate from the starlight, and find a trace of truth from the ancient threads dropped by the saints."

"But this is not without cost. The death cloud will eventually engulf your and my vision, leaving us with only a lightless abyss."

"It's you," AshClaw said impatiently, "not me. I'm really fed up with your nonsense. Aren't you a Chosen One? Can you speak normally?"

He knew that the other party's power of law came from the ancient stars, and he was proficient in foresight and misfortune. He had used this ability more than once to avoid danger and seek good fortune.

But the price he paid was that most of the others he traveled with were not so lucky.

AshClaw was well aware of the other party's methods and certainly did not want to be the next victim. Although he was also at the Silver Rank, there were too few records about the ancient power.

"Aren't you also a Chosen One?" The Star Weaver glanced at him silently. "Exerting power comes at a price. Are you willing to be that price?"

AshClaw took a breath, "We are in a cooperative relationship. I didn't ask you to come here. It was the order of the Alliance."

The Elf Mage lowered his eyelids, his pale face expression unchanged: "I will only do my part."

AshClaw glanced at the other person and felt that he seemed to have noticed something. Although he was deeply annoyed that this guy did not share information with him, he could do nothing about it.

His mission was to kill those people and not let any of them go. This was the will of "those people". Since he took the money, he naturally had to do the job.

Using orders to evade the other party, it is obvious that the other party is not stupid.

AshClaw drew out the elven rapier, and a pitch-black flame silently ignited on the blade. He looked at the Star Weaver and said, "Then keep an eye on this place and don't let any of the suspects escape."

Star Weaver glanced at him and said, "If you are in danger, I will help you."

"shut your mouth."

AshClaw never thought he would lose.

He turned and walked down the mountain, with flames of shadow burning on every step he took. The burning footprints continued to the other end of the crystal forest until they disappeared.

The Star Weaver watched this scene silently. He looked at his magic wand, and the palest face became even more intense under the shadow of the hood, as if all the blood had faded away, like a thin piece of paper.

His lips moved. "Ancient stars, tell me."

A dark shadow seemed to be growing in the pupils of the elf wizard.

But in the shadows, the threads of fate remained obscure, as if an invisible hand had grasped them together, obscuring his vision.

The Star Weaver was slightly startled.

……

Fang He soon received information about the battle in the rear.

One of the two leaders of the Chosen Ones sent him a message telling him that a team of four had attacked them, but they were outnumbered and quickly retreated:

"The enemy has a warrior, two rangers, and another one hiding in the dark. It must be Nightingale."

"They only launched a tentative attack, and when they saw that we had reacted, they quickly retreated. No one on our side was injured, but we were not able to outlast them either."

Although Fang He had not dealt with the guilds in Giant Tree Hill, he could tell that this was a typical scout team:

One is composed of warriors as the backbone, and the rest are a light and sharp team composed of agility professions.

The reason why the other side retreated was not because they were defeated, but because they had completed their mission.

These people came to test them, to detect that they were here, and that was enough.

However, although Fang He was not familiar with the tactics of the Giant Tree Hill Guild, many people in the Seven Seas Brigade were familiar with them. Tianlan, Daliel, and Paparar were all Chosen Ones who came out of here.

Miss Poet herself came from a large guild, and she immediately said, "This is a typical scout team. They like to use agility classes to form scout teams, and the purpose is to move faster."

As for the rest, she hesitated and couldn't say more.

Everyone looked at this unlearned little girl with a bit of disappointment, thinking that it was no wonder that her brother was so angry with her.

Daryl came over, took the little girl to the back, and sighed: "Let me tell you--"

"The guilds at Giant Tree Hill usually have three to four scout teams in their team, consisting of one warrior and two nightingales, or two rangers, or two rangers and two nightingales."

"They don't like to use combat craftsmen because they are too slow. Their requirements for scouts are not just reconnaissance, but more importantly, flexibility. They will only deploy combat craftsmen on larger battlefields, and often in groups. This is the origin of the 'war craftsmen' of Giant Tree Hill."

"But we shouldn't run into that thing. The enemy has deployed three airdrop boats. Assuming there are 20 people in each airdrop boat, the enemy has deployed a half regiment to chase us. With such a small number of people, they probably won't bring combat craftsmen with them."

"Their scout teams are composed of four people, the assault teams are generally six people, and the firepower deployment team has more people, about eight people. Now, assuming that there are four scout teams in this group of half a person, then the remaining composition is clear at a glance, a total of six assault teams and one firepower deployment group."

"The configuration of the assault team of the Giant Tree Hill Guild is very flexible, but it usually consists of two assault professions as the backbone. This assault profession is usually a warrior or a shield guard, but a berserker or a knight is also possible. As for whether to bring a magician, it depends on the captain's personal style."

"But even if they bring mages, they are usually low-level mages as assists and support. They will concentrate high-level mages in the firepower group, usually three, and a crossbow shooter (ranger) as the ignition source. The others are responsible for protecting them."

"They will conduct a fan-shaped search with the airdrop point as the center, and deploy the scout team at the outermost edge of the fan, like tentacles. Once a tentacle touches the enemy, it will quickly retract and summon other nearby teams to encircle it, just like ants release pheromones to summon their own kind when they encounter the enemy. They also call this tactic the 'ant colony tactic.'"

"The purpose of encirclement is often not to defeat the enemy, but to delay the enemy. They will increase their chips little by little until the enemy is delayed and unable to move, until the 'soldier ants' in the ant colony appear and win with one strike."

"As for this 'Soldier Ant', it can be the most elite brigade in a team, or it can be the backbone of the Chosen, a Silver Rank, a Gold Rank, or even a Dragon Knight."

After hearing this, Fang He thought to himself that it was no wonder that the people of Giant Tree Hill were keen on using agility professions to form scout teams.

Because just like using combat craftsmen, they like to concentrate their elite forces - but in order for the powerful blade to reach the enemy, the matching hunting hounds must be fast and fierce enough.

What made Fang He frown was that the opponent's tactic hit the weak spot of the slow-moving investigation team with families. Once bitten by a hound, it would be difficult for them to escape.

At this moment, the hound was already following them.

Daryl was very familiar with the Giant Tree Hill Guild, and it was obvious that he had dealt with them many times:

"If the enemy is around level 20, based on their speed and the nearby terrain, they will be able to gather all the teams near this fan in half an hour at most."

Fang He nodded, silently collected the nearby clockwork fairies, and conducted a concentrated search of the area behind him.

But the other party's vigilance was beyond his imagination. The scout team actually retreated far away and went into hiding.

The combat craftsman's reconnaissance has this problem. Once the opponent becomes aware of something or stops taking action, it is difficult to discover the target from the dark.

After all, the operator of the clockwork fairy is just a craftsman, who is naturally weak in reconnaissance skills. The people of Giant Tree Hill probably have this consideration why they don't place craftsmen in the scout team.

Fang He could only use the clumsy method, increasing investment, increasing density, and plowing the forest inch by inch. He understood swift tactics, and this was just a variation of the "Fairy Wall" for him.

The other party probably didn't expect that there was such a perverted person, and he actually found him out of the bushes. However, this time Fang He threw too many clockwork goblins, which also aroused the other party's vigilance:

The first one to notice was the Nightingale. With a keen sense of smell, he raised his head in one direction, raised the crossbow in his hand, and shot an arrow into the crystallized bushes not far away.

This was just a tentative arrow, and it actually did not hit the snake pupil of the Chinese plover, but missed by some distance.

But as luck would have it, a branch was shot off, and it fell from above and hit the clockwork fairy's rapidly flapping wings.

A 'click' sound.

This slight movement also attracted the attention of the other party, and Nightingale's scalp tingled, and he immediately realized that he had been exposed. What he didn't expect was that this set of tactics had been effective in the past, and it was a common method used by major guilds in Giant Tree Hill. As long as they retreated in time, even a team of ten or eight levels higher might not be able to find them.

After all, during the pursuit, it is impossible for the other party to come back and look for them again. If that were the case, they would not be at a loss.

Relying on this set of highly-executed tactics, they were able to gain the upper hand in the battles between the Second World and other regions, but they did not expect to fail here today.

The nightingale's face changed drastically, and he immediately jumped down from the tree, shouting, "Run!"

The next moment, two beams of golden-red light pierced through the darkness, accurately piercing through a ranger who was a little slower nearby, seriously injuring him.

The man lay on the ground incapacitated.

Then two Lancers with cyan feathers descended from the sky, holding spears and stabbing at one of the warriors. The warrior raised his shield and rushed forward without a second thought.

The spear hit the shield and was blocked, and the warrior raised his scimitar and slashed at the side of the lancer's waist.

But the Lancer was made by sewing the chassis of a crane together by Fang Heron. The part above the chassis where it was connected to the power mechanism was empty, with only a layer of iron sheet.

The magic scimitar created a spark and cut a hole there, but did not hit any power structure and had little effect.

Fang He immediately controlled the lancer to turn his upper body and knocked the warrior away with an elbow. His target was not the warrior, but the ranger behind him.

The ranger was drawing his bow and arrow when he found that his companion in front of him was knocked away and the lancers raised their spears to stab him.

He only had time to shoot one arrow - the magic arrow hit the large shield in the lancer's hand, but only a few sparks were emitted.

Then the ranger was pierced by the spear, and the huge force pushed him into the tree behind him and nailed him to the crystallized trunk.

He screamed as the spear pierced through his chest all the way to the magic furnace behind him. The ranger struggled for a moment and immediately lost consciousness, with white light gradually rising from his body.

At this time, the warrior rushed over from behind, not caring about the other Lancer who was fighting with him, and slashed the Lancer's head sensor device from behind with a knife, splitting the upper body of the tall construct into two in a burst of magic sparks.

But he was still a little late.

The scorching rays from behind also penetrated his magic furnace. In the brilliant firelight, the warrior lost his fighting ability and fell from the wreckage of the Lancer.

The Chosen One who lost the magic furnace was no different from an ordinary person, except that his physical condition was slightly better. Fang He controlled the remaining Lancer to sweep him away with a spear.

Then he turned around and chased the remaining Nightingale, but was disappointed to find that he had lost track of the other party.

The last message from the Clockwork Elf's video record was that the other party had used a kind of shadow-walking ability, and it would take some effort to find the other party again.

But the investigation team had actually walked some distance, and he no longer had the time to use the 'Fairy Wall' to search again.

Fang He's original intention was to see if he could team up with Cui Xisi to kill this scout team and delay as much time as possible for others, but he didn't expect that he failed because he was not familiar with the tactical style of the Chosen Ones of Giant Tree Hill.

If it was an Imperial, they would definitely not escape so decisively. The warrior was determined to hold back his construct from the very beginning, and the ranger who stayed behind was most likely the same.

The goal of both of them was to allow the nightingale to escape safely.

Compared to these people, the Empire's Chosen Ones are much stronger individually, but in terms of tactical execution, the Second Division's style is clearly stronger.

This reminded him of the brief battle with Forin and his team at the Silver Tower. The opponent also left him with the impression of strong execution. It seems that this is the style of the Giant Tree Hill region.

Although the attack failed, Fang He was not too discouraged. At least he had tested the quality of the opponent. If it was just these teams of chosen ones, they would not pose a threat to them.

But the real threat has always been the poisonous blade in the dark.

Silver steps.

He still didn't know what type of silver steps were on the other side.

Fang He silently took back the Lancers. As for the damaged one, he didn't care about it. There was no chance to clean up the battlefield now. The opponent had fought with him before and must know that they would have a combat craftsman on their side.

He raised the clockwork goblins again and had them form a 'goblin wall' in the night sky. About twenty minutes later, he saw other teams appear in his field of vision.

The newly appeared teams were all six-man teams. Just as Daryl described, there were two attackers in the team, and the other professions were uncertain. He saw a magician in one of the teams.

There are three teams in total, plus the Nightingale who escaped earlier, a total of nineteen people.

This team is enough to hold back the investigation team. Although they can also choose to end the battle quickly, since the other party is implementing this tactic, it is obvious that they will not come unprepared.

The tactical execution capabilities previously demonstrated by these Chosen Ones of Giant Tree Hill had already left a deep impression on Fang He.

"Be careful, they are coming."

Fang He sent a message to everyone through the communication crystal and informed everyone of the location where the enemy was surrounding them.

Then he picked up the magic wand. Since he was already pretending, he might as well make it more realistic.

Because it is unclear what level the opponent's Silver Rank has reached, hiding one's own profession may give the opponent a surprise at a critical moment.

Cui Xisi on the side understood what he meant and put on goggles, pretending that she was controlling those clockwork fairies.

The Celestial team of the vanguard is a team composed of two warriors, a wizard, a cleric and two magic bullet shooters (advanced crossbow archers). Before the attack, they received a message from the scout Nightingale of the Dawn team.

The wizard then used magic to complete the positioning and launched an attack on the outermost team of the investigation team.

But before the attack was launched, a rain of arrows from the enemy came like a storm, so accurate that it seemed as if they knew where they were going to launch the attack.

The captain of the warriors' face changed: "There must be the opponent's clockwork fairies in the sky. We have to find a way to get them down!"

The team channel was extremely lively, with similar situations occurring one after another in the communication crystals. Their first round of encirclement not only failed to produce the desired effect, but also resulted in a loss.

The captains hurriedly called back their teams, and when they came back to count, their faces changed involuntarily - in how many directions did the other side release the clockwork goblins?

How many combat craftsmen are there on the other side?

"This is more like the tactical style of the Kaolin people." Once people discussed it, they realized something was wrong.

Only the Corin-Ishurian Alliance likes to use combat craftsmen in such a fragmentary way, and they have also invented many corresponding tactics.

What swift tactics, what sky wall.

"You guys are crazy!"

When everyone reported the intelligence, they were scolded by the team commander, "Do you think the opponent is Ragnarok or God Slayer?"

Not every Kaolinian can apply this set of artisan tactics flexibly, especially during the decade of decline of the Third Division, when the big guilds and the Free Summoners became increasingly divided.

Behind the swift tactics is the Queen of Constructs, the Sky Wall is Ragnarok's strong point, and as for those who control the battlefield, they are KUN and Virus.

Are they crazy to think these people are related, or do they have a common student?

"No matter what," the commander on the other end of the communication crystal gave an order, "hold them back first."

"What tactics do we adopt?"

A cold voice interrupted the former: "Attack."

"Just attack."

AshClaw's voice said through the comm crystal.

All the teams involved in the attack felt their spirits lifted at the same time.

……

Fang He felt that the opponent immediately retreated after a short round of firepower probing. He quickly found out the reason. The opponent must have been stunned by the first round of prepared firepower of the investigation team.

However, this retreat is only temporary. The other party just doesn't understand the situation, which does not mean they are afraid. They will come back soon.

Almost at the same time, reports from the two leaders of the Chosen Ones came through the communication crystal: "They have launched an attack, and the offensive is very fierce. It seems that they are serious this time..."

Magical lights flashed everywhere. The survey team's guard consisted of twenty-two Chosen Ones and seven bounty hunters from the Pure Blade.

Plus Aljean and his four companions.

However, under the attack of 19 people from three teams of the Indomitable Alliance, they were at a disadvantage. Although the front line could be maintained for a while, the investigation team inevitably stopped.

Fang He had no choice but to ask May and Tian Lan to protect the non-combat members of the investigation team, while Miss Nightingale looked at him, because the opponent's fierce attack was not necessarily a bad thing.

If they can make quick decisions, they might be able to escape from this place.

She looked at him and asked if the Seven Seas Brigade needed to attack? Even if all the troops were not needed, just one or two main forces could quickly defeat the enemy.

Fang He did not respond to her immediately, because he vaguely felt that something was wrong. If he had not fought with these people just now, it would be fine, but now he just felt that there was a problem, a big problem -

An idea suddenly came to his mind, and he looked at Alyssa first. Instead of refuting her, he nodded to her.

Miss Nightingale nodded, immediately drew out her dagger and left in one direction.

At that moment, Daryl received a message in secret. She immediately drew out her giant sword and walked behind Fang He from another direction without being traced.

And it was at that moment.

The three of them felt a strong murderous intent locked onto them at the same time, but the murderous intent bypassed Elisa and Daryl and went straight to Fang He, one of the three.

  Tianlan, who was not far away, was the farthest away, but he could see it clearly and couldn't help but shout:

"There are assassins!"

In Fang He's field of vision, he only had time to see a gray shadow coming towards him.

……