In truth, Elvia could probably guess what it was.
Ever since Lin Gui gave her that booklet and she learned he had traveled to the Magic City two years ago, she knew he had to be involved with the event that had shaken the entire City-State Alliance.
"Ten years ago, in the Central City-State region where the Magic City is located, a revolution known as 'Spark' broke out."
"They proposed many... beautiful-sounding things."
"Equality, freedom, the rational distribution of resources... a world without nobles or privileges, where only 'citizens' existed."
Her voice grew lower, as if she were sinking into a heavy memory.
"Initially, that revolution even captured several city-states without a fight, winning the support of all their inhabitants."
"But in the end, it was ruthlessly suppressed."
"The heads of the one hundred and twenty-six core members of the uprising were severed and hung upon the city walls, left to rot for a hundred days."
"To intimidate any who harbored dissatisfaction, the Alliance ordered a massacre in the three city-states identified as the 'source of the rebellion.'"
Elvia's voice carried a faint, imperceptible tremble.
"That wasn't a war; it was slaughter."
"Whether they were nobles, officials, merchants, commoners, or vagrants... even children and the elderly—none were spared."
"Blood dyed the streets red, and the cries lasted for days and nights before finally fading away."
"Those three city-states remain Forbidden Cities to this day, places where no one dares venture."
Having finished her story, she gently brushed the golden hair from her forehead.
She turned to Lin Gui with a complex expression on her face, one of near certainty.
"You... you're one of them, aren't you? You want to avenge them?"
Lin Gui neither admitted nor denied it, merely asking in return.
"Aren't you afraid I'll silence you right now?"
Elvia withdrew every trace of a smile from her face, her expression more serious than ever before... and was that a hint of earnestness?
"Lin Gui, take my advice: you cannot stand against those people."
"The Black Dragon Army responsible for the suppression is unstoppable now."
"Of the twenty-five human experts currently in the Epic Rank, ten of them are within its ranks."
"And the driving force behind that suppression is the City-State Alliance—the culmination of every resource and every top-tier power in the human world!"
"While you are only one person."
Elvia reached out and gripped Lin Gui's arm tightly.
Lin Gui could clearly feel her fingertips trembling slightly.
It was a fear originating from deep within her soul. Not for herself, but... for him.
Elvia admitted to herself that at this moment, she truly considered this cold, reclusive, and yet terrifyingly pure individual to be a friend.
A true friend.
She pleaded again, this time without any personal calculation or interest, but out of pure concern.
"Stay in the Carter Royal Capital, stay in the borderlands; at least here is far enough from the Central City-States."
"Or... once you go to Avalon with Theia, don't leave."
"Marry her and have children there, living out the rest of your life in peace."
"Forget the hatred and just live."
Listening to her words, Lin Gui's face remained expressionless, though a slight smile tugged at his lips.
Yes, the enemies were indeed that powerful, representing the pinnacle and the largest collection of forces in human city-state society.
After that incident, he had returned to New Covenant City and thought about spending the rest of his life in peace as well.
But when he took that "Carrier Pigeon" commission, the possibility of revenge had found him.
He could not give it up.
Furthermore, revenge was ultimately only one stop on his life's journey.
His final goal was to deliver that special letter in his heart to the other side, across time and space.
Naturally, he could not explain these things clearly to Elvia.
He simply turned his head, looking at Elvia's beautiful, worry-filled face, his tone light yet certain.
"Don't worry. When it comes to staying alive, you can trust me completely."
"To survive, I can even kneel to those enemies..."
Until I possess the power to crush them entirely.
A cold glint of light flashed through Lin Gui's eyes.
...
Meanwhile, in a dark corridor, Caesar listened to a subordinate's report, his brow furrowed on his coarse face.
"Leader, the target has left the sewers and is heading for the abandoned dark iron mine east of the city."
"Confirmed: there are only three—Lin Gui, Princess Elvia, and the Holy Saintess."
"The Disciplinary Knights and other church personnel have not appeared."
"Every church guard on the list provided by that lord is attending the Oracle Assembly hosted by the King."
Another subordinate, their eyes flickering with bloodthirsty light, stepped forward.
"Leader, should we strike? The guards aren't there—this is a heaven-sent opportunity! It's practically delivering the Holy Saintess right into our hands!"
Caesar did not answer immediately.
His scar-covered face looked even more hideous in the dim light, and he was as silent as an old stone statue suppressing a volcano.
"Where exactly are they going?" he asked in a deep, raspy voice.
"The dark iron mine east of the city. It's been abandoned for years and is completely deserted."
A mine... deserted...
Caesar rapidly weighed the options in his mind.
The core of the Saintess Assassination Plan was originally to assassinate the Holy Saintess in front of the Holy Church's guard detail to provoke the church into launching a crusade.
They, as assassins, would pay with their lives to throw the blame onto the royal family.
Without church members present to witness it, this was indeed a departure from the plan.
However, it was not an obstacle!
A fierce look flashed in Caesar's eyes.
What if... what if they threw the Holy Saintess's corpse directly in front of those Disciplinary Knights and Priests?
Insulting the symbol of their faith and trampling on their dignity right before their eyes!
He refused to believe that wouldn't provoke those arrogant holy men!
As long as the Holy Church's wrath was ignited and the crusade began, the Carter Royal Capital would be plunged into ruin all the same!
The moles planted within the royal family could still point the "evidence" toward the targets that needed to be eliminated!
This could still achieve their goal!
It might even be... more direct, more violent!
At the thought, Caesar's heart hammered against his ribs.
A madness mixed with fear, excitement, and a sense of having no choice but to burn his bridges flared in his chest.
The only thing he couldn't figure out was why.
Why would the Disciplinary Knights allow the Holy Saintess to act alone?
It was too abnormal—so abnormal it made his skin crawl.
But the arrow was notched; it had to be fired. He had waited half his life for this moment, staking the lives of all his brothers and the future of the rebels on it.
There was no turning back.
Caesar stood up abruptly, reflexively touching the cold wooden box in his robe.
That bone-chilling coldness gave him his final burst of courage.
The muscles on his face twisted into a smile that blended resolve with cruelty as he squeezed out an order through gritted teeth:
"Gather everyone assigned to the plan and take half of the rebels to surround the entire mine."
His gaze swept over his subordinates, his eyes filled with the madness of a desperate man:
"When the time comes, the assassination team members will go inside and kill the Holy Saintess!"
He paused, his voice like a poisoned icicle.
"And then... throw her corpse in the faces of those guard knights of hers!"
"I want to see with my own eyes those high-and-mighty Disciplinary Knights despair and rage at their own dereliction of duty and incompetence!"
"I want them to know that the 'Light' they protect is worth nothing more than shit to us!"
"I refuse to believe this won't force the hands of the Holy Church's Crusaders! This stagnant pool of Carter's... it's time to wash it clean with blood!"
Rate on N.U.
