Theia retracted her hand and looked at the unconscious mage, Valk, curling her lip slightly.
"This guy was watching us for a long time, but he still got caught."
Instantly subduing a mage of the same rank was not difficult for Theia.
Mages had always been squishy.
Their physical constitution was often more than one level more fragile than warriors of the same rank.
However, ordinary ambushes were also difficult to land on a mage of notable strength.
Because those who could walk the path of a mage were generally quite wealthy.
As such, they would equip themselves with magical items that could trigger an emergency shield.
Like the kind of magical item Lin Gui used when questioning Elvia.
Unfortunately, Valk didn't have time to activate his tool before Theia laid him low.
A ripple distorted the air behind her as the effect of the Shroud of the Gloomy Night dissipated.
The oak staff, carrying Lin Gui, Elvia, and the still-sleeping Saintess Eve, slowly manifested.
Elvia looked at the fallen Valk, the corners of her lips turning up slightly.
"Valk is known for his caution among the rebels and is highly valued by Caesar."
"Look, this precious barrier formation was entrusted entirely to his control."
She toyed with the Barrier Stone she had just removed from the barrier core formation, her eyes gleaming.
"Something even my father the King couldn't get his hands on... Where on earth did the rebels get this thing?"
Barrier Stones were indisputably strategic resources on the Akara Continent.
With the frequent occurrences of the Dark Tide, the number of demons in the wild had expanded to a suffocating degree.
No one could guarantee that some Epic demon wouldn't suddenly take a whim to attack a city-state.
When that time came, the barrier protecting the city-state was the final and most solid bulwark.
Its importance concerned the survival of an entire city.
Just now, while raiding those mages who were focusing so hard on maintaining the barrier that they didn't dare be distracted,
Elvia had caught a glimpse of the barrier's edge.
Although the range could only cover the mine area, which was far from enough to protect the massive Royal Capital,
Elvia could use it to trade for some top-tier connections.
For example, that Legendary rank expert guarding the Twilight Fortress, Duke Sam.
His family had always remained neutral.
Even now, they had not joined any of the other royal factions.
The more Elvia thought about it, the more excited she became.
She leaned close to Lin Gui's ear, her voice carrying a hint of temptation.
"How about letting me have this? I can offer a price high enough for you to live the rest of your life without a single worry."
"Money is nothing but a number to me, Elvia. You should understand that."
Lin Gui snatched the Barrier Stone, examining the stone that contained a strange power in his hand, feeling pleased.
Elvia knew the value of this object, but as a mage, Lin Gui knew it even better.
This was a true strategic resource, one that was priceless and rare.
The Akara Continent did indeed have the noble and rare profession of "Barrier Mage."
However, they similarly required Barrier Stones to drive and maintain barriers.
Moreover, all existing Barrier Stones were unearthed from ancient ruins.
Their manufacturing process simply could not be replicated with the magical craftsmanship of the current Dark Age; for every stone used, there was one fewer in existence.
Seeing Lin Gui put away the Barrier Stone without hesitation, Elvia curled her lip in displeasure.
Her eyes darted around, and she suddenly let out a soft laugh.
She leaned entirely onto Lin Gui's back, leaning close to his ear again in an intimate posture, deciding to employ a honey trap.
A warm breath brushed against the curve of Lin Gui's ear.
Her soft body pressed tightly against his back.
Her slender finger traced almost imperceptible circles on his shoulder.
With a expressionless face, Lin Gui used his hand to brace against her approaching cheek, unceremoniously pushing her away.
Since the air had been cleared regarding the previous drugging incident, Elvia had become increasingly informal in front of him, with various intimate actions occurring frequently.
But Lin Gui saw clearly that Elvia's eyes flashed with nothing but a naked, emotionless desire: "Become my man, detoxify me, and plot great things with me."
Especially after witnessing Lin Gui use a pile of rocks to take down over a hundred armed civilians and High Rank warriors in ten minutes.
Elvia was almost going out of control.
She looked like she wanted to devour him whole.
Lin Gui had no doubt that as long as he nodded his head right now, she would immediately drag him to some secluded corner to begin an "intimate exchange."
"I've said it many times, Elvia. Your honey trap has no effect on me."
"Oh?" Elvia smiled as she lightly tapped Lin Gui's slightly reddened cheek.
"I think the level of temptation isn't enough, is it?"
As she spoke, she made a move as if to lift the corner of her clothing.
Lin Gui's face darkened, and he directly raised his foot to kick her off the staff.
As a physiologically normal male,
faced with the intimacy of a woman with such beauty and a graceful figure like Elvia,
it was naturally impossible for Lin Gui to have no reaction at all.
But he truly had no heart for such things.
What's more, the consequences of "accepting" Elvia were truly terrifying.
He could almost foresee that if he really followed her wishes,
what would await him in the future was a life spent slaving away for her.
He looked at Elvia, who had gotten up from the ground and was nonchalantly patting the dust off her dress armor, and said seriously:
"The situation is dire right now. Can't you just behave yourself?"
Elvia stood up, calmly brushing the dust off her dress armor.
"Dire? The rebels have been knocked out one by one and thrown into pits by us, and the barrier has been deactivated. We can leave at any time."
"As for Caesar's trump cards and plans, haven't we already figured them out?"
What Caesar didn't know was,
ever since he stepped into this mining area, an elf had been following him.
In order not to arouse the suspicion of the rebels,
Lin Gui hadn't personally gone out. Instead, he had openly revealed the Saintess's face.
He had let several scouting alchemical magic creatures go.
He let the other party know that he, Elvia, and the Saintess were all inside, eliminating the other party's vigilance.
To avoid exceeding the maximum casting range of the Shroud of the Gloomy Night,
Lin Gui and Elvia had relocated their outpost countless times while holding the sleeping Saintess.
All for the sake of staying closer to that rebel leader.
And through Theia, who was following beside Caesar, they not only knew all the ambush points,
but also knew of the existence of the mysterious person who had sent the Saintess's hair to Caesar.
More importantly, they had learned of Caesar's ultimate trump card for assassinating the Saintess.
The divine artifact he was deathly protective of in his arms...
A divine artifact that apparently required the Saintess's hair to activate.
Now that they knew all of the opponent's cards,
combined with the combat power of Lin Gui and Theia, which was enough to rival a Legendary,
Elvia truly couldn't think of any reason why they would lose.
Therefore, she had long since lost the gravity she felt when she first arrived.
At this moment, her head was filled with thoughts of how to firmly tie a man like Lin Gui to her side.
Too many factors pushed her to continuously launch an offensive of beauty toward Lin Gui.
She wanted him to remove the poison in her body.
She wanted him to help her seize the throne, or to take her and flee far away after the new King was crowned.
She wanted him to give up on that revenge that seemed destined to fail in her eyes and live a good life.
She also wanted... to have this guy, who in her life filled with tangled interests,
was the only one who dared to unceremoniously kick her away, the only one she could lower her guard around to speak the truth, the one who made her shine at the engagement banquet... stay and accompany her.
However, toward Lin Gui,
her identity as a princess, her money, her power, her schemes, and even her far-reaching reputation as a famed beauty were all useless.
To Elvia, it seemed that only these intimate actions, which could occasionally make the other man blush, remained as her sole means of achieving her goal.
Unlike Elvia's relaxed and carefree attitude, Lin Gui didn't feel the slightest bit of relaxation.
The true opponent had not yet arrived.
He looked at the Eyes of the Netherworld, the reward for the "Find the Tomb of Queen Catriona" commission in the system, and fell into deep thought.
An attack launched through a lock of hair... was clearly the type of soul-level attack Lin Gui least wanted to face.
He just didn't know the specific form of this attack.
Was it a curse? Or was it location tracking?
Lin Gui originally wanted to wait a bit longer.
Wait for that terrifying enemy who could silently cut off the Saintess's hair right in front of a Disciplinary Knight.
Following the respect for a Hero, that person would likely deliver the remains to the Tomb of Queen Catriona.
Which would indirectly help him complete the system mission.
He could then get the reward of the Eyes of the Netherworld to deal with the soul attack.
But he didn't have time to wait any longer.
Caesar would soon discover the abnormality outside.
He had to settle Caesar and his group before the true enemy arrived.
Just then, the oak staff floating in mid-air shook slightly.
Hung in the middle of the staff, the perpetually unconscious Saintess Eve slowly woke up.
Her long, butterfly-wing-like eyelashes fluttered a few times.
Revealing the mysterious and pure purple glimmer beneath them.
It seemed that because the swelling on her forehead, caused by being struck by the brick, was still throbbing with pain,
she instinctively raised her porcelain-white hand and lightly touched the injured spot, her elegant brows knitting imperceptibly.
Her gaze initially held the daze of one who had just awakened, but it soon recovered that clarity of one who saw through all things.
She quietly fixed her gaze upon Lin Gui, who had silently raised his brick once again.
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