Dull thuds echoed along the quiet path outside the city.
Lin Gui weighed the handy brick in his hand.
Looking at Holy Saintess Eve, who stood before him, holy and breathtaking, he brought it down without a shred of mercy.
After a few more dull thuds, Eve's violet eyes, which seemed to hold vast oceans of stars, finally lost focus, and she slumped down limply.
On her smooth forehead, several fresh red welts were slowly swelling, looking exceptionally conspicuous.
Lin Gui deftly hung her over his oak staff like a light piece of luggage.
Then, controlling the staff to hover close to the ground, he slowly flew toward the Royal Capital's gates.
With Elvia behind him, the gate guards didn't dare block them and let them leave the Royal Capital.
Sitting behind him, Elvia looked at the Holy Saintess hanging from the middle of the staff, swaying slightly with the flight, and couldn't help but speak up.
“I say... do you really plan on saving this girl?”
The moment the words left her mouth, she felt a sense of strangeness herself.
Even now, she still couldn't believe that Caesar and his group of rebels actually had the ability to assassinate a heavily guarded Holy Saintess.
Could it be... that there was some unseen force joining this assassination?
At this thought, Elvia's heart couldn't help but sink.
Had she been too reckless in following Lin Gui into this muddy water?
But on second thought, if Lin Gui died, she probably wouldn't survive either.
Besides, with this guy's heaven-defying 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】 there shouldn't... be any problem, right?
Lin Gui didn't answer her question, focusing entirely on controlling the staff's flight.
His flying speed was incredibly slow—bizarrely slow.
Compared to his lightning-fast speed when they crossed the Whispering Forest earlier, he was practically crawling on the ground now.
Elvia stared oddly at the dirt and weeds slowly receding beneath them.
Looking at the direction they were heading, they were clearly not drifting toward the operational mines of the Royal Capital.
This direction... the abandoned mine?
Leaning close to Lin Gui's ear, she lowered her voice.
“Hey, are you flying so slowly because you want to lure Caesar and the others out of the city and into the mine, then work with Theia to wipe them all out in one fell swoop?”
Lin Gui remained silent, as if he hadn't heard a word.
Finding herself ignored, Elvia pouted.
Yet for some reason, the sense of unease in her heart grew stronger and stronger.
“How about...” she suggested again.
“Why don't you just activate the 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】 and run off into the depths of the wilderness with her?”
“With your almost abnormal concealment ability, you'd be invincible in the wilderness. Who could possibly find you?”
This time, Lin Gui finally spoke, his voice calm.
“We can't run.”
“Why?”
Looking straight ahead, Lin Gui said flatly.
“The enemy's concealment ability is not much different from mine.”
Elvia's pupils dilated suddenly. “What did you say?!”
“I said, the enemy's concealment ability is not inferior to mine.”
Lin Gui repeated himself and added even worse news.
“Furthermore... the other party has likely placed some sort of soul-level tracking mark on the Holy Saintess. No matter where we run, we'll be found.”
Elvia was so shocked she could barely speak.
“The... the enemy you're talking about, is it Caesar and his group?”
Hearing this, a faint, mocking smile touched the corner of Lin Gui's mouth.
“A group of rebels without even a single Legendary Rank among them? Are you joking?”
“Elvia, didn't you cooperate with them?”
“Do you honestly believe that group of people could break through an ironclad defense of two Mid-tier Legendary Disciplinary Knights, one Legendary Priest, and forty-five High-tier Transcendent Temple Warriors to directly threaten the Holy Saintess?”
He glanced sideways at Elvia. “Where is your judgment?”
Elvia was taken aback by his sharp retort, then countered defensively.
“Does a Transcendent defeating a Legendary conform to common sense?”
She was clearly referring to the incident where Theia had crippled Gorn.
Lin Gui was startled, then rubbed his nose.
“Well... alright, I'll give you that one.”
“Maybe Caesar's group really does have some trump card we don't know about that can perform miracles.”
Lin Gui's words only intensified the unease in Elvia's heart.
She quickly sorted through the known information and found that the entire Saintess Assassination Plan was riddled with contradictions.
The Holy Saintess's guards were powerful enough to rival the Royal Capital's defenses, yet Caesar was still carrying out this suicidal, moth-to-a-flame plan.
Even more terrifyingly, the Holy Saintess had foreseen her own death, which meant Caesar and his group had succeeded.
But what did they rely on?
And what made the Holy Saintess, fully aware of the danger, abandon the protection of the Disciplinary Knights and instead seek help from Lin Gui, a Mid-tier High Rank mage?
Meanwhile, after learning of the plan, Lin Gui asserted that Caesar was not the true threat.
He also mentioned that the Holy Saintess was marked by soul tracking, and that the opponent's concealment ability was not inferior to his.
This was simply absurd!
Lin Gui's 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】 was something even a group of Legendary demons couldn't see through.
Who else in the Royal Capital could compete with him in this aspect?
In an instant, a figure flashed across Elvia's mind, turning her face pale.
But she immediately dismissed the conclusion.
No, that was wrong. Theoretically, it was impossible for that person to assassinate the Holy Saintess.
Because if the Holy Saintess were assassinated, the prince he supported would also find it difficult to escape the purge of the Crusaders.
But... if it wasn't him, who else in the Royal Capital had a concealment ability that could rival Lin Gui's?
The transport team??
The Holy Saintess's escort?
An assassination that seemed simple on the surface was actually shrouded in heavy fog.
It plunged Elvia into a bottomless pit of doubt.
“I say, we can take our time searching for things regarding Avalon.”
“I really don't think there's any need for you to get involved in this kind of obviously abnormal danger. Or is it...”
Elvia's tone suddenly became a bit subtle, her gaze shifting between Lin Gui and the unconscious Holy Saintess.
“...Have you fallen for this Holy Saintess?”
“Captivated by her appearance, her status, and that holy aura, did it spark a desire to conquer her?”
Lin Gui replied speechlessly, “How could that be?”
His gaze shifted to the distance, where the towering mountain range, like a giant's spine, surrounded the Carter Royal Capital.
“Before settling that matter,” Lin Gui's voice was very soft, yet it carried an unquestionable resoluteness.
“I will not get too deeply involved with any woman.”
He paused and added.
“And that includes you, Elvia.”
“Even if you sleep with me and carry my child, I still won't be used by you because of it.”
Elvia shrugged, showing no surprise on her face.
“I knew the drugging incident at the hotel that night couldn't be hidden from you. How did you find out?”
Theia told me.
“That big-mouthed half-demon!” Elvia pressed her hand to her forehead, looking completely helpless.
Tucking the golden hair that drifted onto her cheek behind her ear, she hesitated for a moment before asking anyway.
“Could you tell me... what exactly is 'that matter' you're talking about?”
Lin Gui replied flatly, “No. What if you turn around and expose me?”
Elvia smiled helplessly.
“There really is no trust between us as companions, is there?”
She sighed softly, her gaze also drifting toward the distant mountains, her tone becoming somewhat ethereal.
Rate on N.U.
