Two hours later.
Night had completely enveloped the abandoned mining area.
Only the cold moonlight filtered through the crevices at the top of the mine, casting a few faint spots of light.
A figure appeared silently at the entrance of No. 2 Mine.
He wore a faded, washed-out old robe, his hair and beard completely white, his face covered in deep wrinkles.
It was none other than the shopkeeper of the antique shop in the refugee district, recognized as the strongest Pillar of the Carter Royal Capital, the High-tier Legendary assassin, Count Caleb.
His gaze immediately locked onto Lin Gui, who was sitting on a flat rock.
As well as Holy Saintess Eve beside him, her features completely concealed.
Squinting, he saw that his soul tracking indeed pointed directly to her.
Caleb was certain that this person was undoubtedly the Saintess.
Only...
Doubt arose in Caleb's eyes. Compared to an ordinary person, wasn't this Saintess's soul a bit too small?
If an ordinary person's soul weighed 1, then the soul of the Saintess before him did not even reach 0.01.
Was the Hall of Heroic Spirits' suppression of souls really that powerful?
Pushing aside his doubts, a smile that seemed warm but chilled one to the bone appeared on Caleb's face.
He slowly approached and spoke in a raspy voice, “No running away?”
Lin Gui did not stand up. He looked at Caleb with an almost lazy smile on his face.
“I can't run. With the soul mark on her, you would catch up to us no matter where we ran. It would just be a waste of effort.”
Hearing this, Caleb let out a low chuckle, as if he had heard something amusing.
He casually tossed the 【Soul-Slaying Blade】 he had been holding onto the ground with a clatter, as if it were trash.
The terrifying artifact seemed like nothing more than an ordinary piece of iron in his hands.
“A soul mark?”
He shook his head, his tone casual, like an elder guiding a junior.
“As long as it isn't using heart's blood or core soul fragments as a permanent medium,”
“once the distance is far enough, the sensory connection will always weaken. There are always ways to temporarily block it or shake it off.”
“Tracking is not as absolute as you think.”
Lin Gui's smile remained unchanged as he replied,
“Then... would you let me take the Saintess out of your sensory range?”
The smile on Caleb's face deepened, carrying the composure of someone in absolute control.
“Hehehe, smart.”
“Even though I was in the Royal Capital, this little girl's location has always been in my grasp.”
“The moment you tried to leave a certain range, I would have made my move immediately.”
“With my speed, rushing here from the Royal Capital... one minute is more than enough.”
He stopped, standing less than ten meters away from Lin Gui.
His dim, old eyes were now as sharp as an eagle's, staring straight at him.
“Kid, hand over the Saintess. You cannot protect her.”
Faced with this near-ultimatum.
Lin Gui remained seated, even adjusting himself into a more comfortable position.
He smiled, his tone completely devoid of tension, sounding almost collaborative instead.
“Could... you let me try? Show some mercy later, don't kill me, and spare my life. How about it?”
“Pfft—hahaha!”
Caleb was stunned for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
But this laughter was not mocking; rather, it was filled with unvarnished appreciation and... amusement!
A Mid-tier High Rank mage, fully knowing that he was a High-tier Legendary assassin,
did not break down and beg for mercy, nor did he wait for death in despair.
Instead, he seriously negotiated to “try” and even asked him to “show some mercy”?
How was this being a coward?
It was sheer arrogance to the very bone!
Caleb laughed loudly, but he deeply engraved Lin Gui's calm and composed appearance into his heart.
Caesar had grandly brought hundreds of men, set up a barrier, and besieged the mine.
And the result?
Aside from Viper escaping with heavy injuries, all the other core assassins were dead.
The more than two hundred elite rebel soldiers outside were piled up in the pit like dead pigs, completely unconscious.
And almost all of this was accomplished by this seemingly harmless black-haired kid before him,
leading two Low-tier Transcendents!
Two Low-tier Transcendents, one High-tier High Rank, and one Mid-tier High Rank.
Breaking through a siege of hundreds of rebels?
No, they had wiped out hundreds of rebels, along with over twenty Transcendents and four High-tier Transcendent assassins.
Such a feat! Even if the Hero were still alive, he wouldn't have been able to achieve this!
A genius? No, a monster.
A meticulous, audacious monster with endless tricks up his sleeve.
A strong urge to completely recruit this young man under his wing burned in Caleb's heart like wildfire.
He stopped laughing and looked at Lin Gui, his eyes burning, his tone carrying an unprecedented level of seriousness:
“Kid, join me.”
He extended the invitation directly.
“As long as you nod, I will nurture you at all costs.”
“Resources, secret techniques, guidance... I guarantee you, within five years, you will definitely step into the Legendary Rank!”
“Within ten years, you will strike for the Epic Rank!”
“I, Caleb, can guarantee my words in the name of the master I serve!”
This offer was incredibly enticing.
Legendary in five years, Epic in ten years.
This was a threshold that countless geniuses could never touch in their entire lives.
Especially guaranteed in the name of a High-tier Legendary powerhouse, the strongest Pillar of the Royal Capital, and the credibility of the master behind him, the weight of this promise was immense!
However, Lin Gui merely smiled.
He was neither excited nor did he immediately refuse; there was an inexplicable meaning in that smile.
Seeing this, Caleb did not push. Instead, his smile grew wider.
He bent down, picked up the 【Soul-Slaying Blade】 from the ground, and with a soft thud,
plunged the dagger into the ground between them, its blade vibrating slightly.
“How about this,” Caleb clapped his hands, as if he had just thought of a brilliant idea.
“Although I don't know why you are so set on protecting this little girl—whether it's for the so-called Avalon clues or some other reason—I will give you a chance.”
He held up three fingers, his gaze locked onto Lin Gui.
“Three minutes.”
“If you can protect this little girl under my attacks and keep her alive for three minutes...”
“I will spare your lives, and today's matter ends here.”
He paused, his tone shifting to a sharp, unquestionable edge.
“But if... you can't,”
his eyes were as sharp as knives,
“you must join us. How about it?”
“...”
Lin Gui fell silent, lowering his head slightly as if weighing his options.
Caleb looked at his silence.
He assumed Lin Gui thought three minutes was too short, and was about to tell him that this was already a massive concession.
However, in the next second, Lin Gui suddenly raised his head.
The corners of his mouth curled into an almost wild, highly confident grin.
Those black eyes shone incredibly bright under the moonlight.
“Then don't you dare go back on your word.”
Caleb was taken aback by this sudden, extremely confident reaction.
“????”
Why?
He didn't even need a single minute to slaughter a Mid-tier Legendary knight famous for his defense.
Why was this kid so confident?
Caleb stared intently at Lin Gui, watching the rising confidence in his eyes.
He smiled.
This game of three minutes, which seemingly had a foregone conclusion, suddenly became rather interesting.
Let's see what kind of trump card this kid actually had.
What could possibly allow him to defend against the assassination of a High-tier Legendary assassin while the Saintess was still marked by his soul?
Rate on N.U.
