Elvia reacted with lightning speed, rolling to the side against the wall.
She grabbed her sword, drawing it with a sharp clang.
Her entire body tensed as she pointed the tip of her blade directly at the balcony.
However...
When she clearly saw the person standing on the balcony, all the color instantly drained from her face.
Her pupils dilated with terror, and her lips trembled slightly.
Her hand shook uncontrollably, barely able to hold onto the hilt.
Standing on the balcony was none other than Caleb.
Caleb’s dim, aged eyes swept across the room, completely ignoring Elvia.
He casually tossed a staff toward Lin Gui.
Lin Gui caught it out of instinct.
The staff was a pale azure color, made of a warm, smooth wood, and its tip was set with a massive wind magic crystal.
Air currents seemed to swirl inside the crystal, radiating extraordinary magical fluctuations.
Lin Gui looked at it with confusion, feeling that the item looked somewhat familiar.
Behind him, Elvia recognized it at a glance and gasped,
“It's the grand finale item of the Royal Auction, the Staff of the Windwhisperer!”
“Warren bought it for the astronomical price of ninety million gold coins!”
Lin Gui raised an eyebrow, looking at Caleb in confusion.
Caleb spoke calmly:
“This is a gift from my master.”
“She also asked me to pass along a message to you.”
“If you want to live, do not return to the Carter Royal Capital.”
“Take the detour around the Blackwater Corridor and go back to New Covenant City.”
With that, Caleb smiled.
“Well, the message has been delivered.”
“Kid, don't forget our agreement.”
He cast a subtle glance at Eve.
Then, his figure seemed to melt into the air, vanishing from the balcony.
Holding the Staff of the Windwhisperer, Lin Gui fell into deep confusion.
A master? The master of a High-tier Legendary assassin?
Asking him to pass a message to himself?
For some reason, Lin Gui's heart sank heavily.
This didn't sound like a simple warning not to bring the Saintess back.
Rather, it felt more like... a warning concerning his own life and death.
He suddenly whipped his head around, locking his gaze on the Holy Saintess, Eve.
“What exactly did the future of the Carter Royal Capital look like in your prophecy?”
The young Saintess also had a trace of confusion on her face. She replied softly,
“The Carter Royal Capital indeed exists in the future.”
She walked to the edge of the balcony, pointing into the distance.
“But...”
Recalling the scenes from her prophecy,
she swept her finger across the refugee district below, pointing out those crooked, low, and filthy buildings.
“Here, here, and here...”
“They do not exist in the future Carter Royal Capital I saw.”
Her finger shifted toward the mountain peak where the palace nestled.
“And that includes Stellar Mountain, where the Carter Palace is located.”
“Yet, the city-state of the Carter Royal Capital itself definitely exists.”
She pointed out several other landmark buildings of the Royal Capital.
Although their appearance differed slightly from the present and they were somewhat damaged, they still stood tall.
Not much had changed.
However, many of the smaller street buildings seemed to be vastly different.
Eve was not entirely certain.
After all, the Prophecy spell was too brief, lasting only a few seconds before vanishing.
Eve could only focus on the most important locations.
Lin Gui pressed further, “How accurate is your Prophecy?”
The Saintess paused for a moment before replying with certainty,
“When it comes to predicting the rise and fall of a city, the Prophecy has never been wrong.”
Lin Gui's confusion deepened.
Since the Carter Royal Capital was not destroyed,
it meant that the Dark Tide had indeed not originated in the borderlands.
Then why did Caleb's warning carry such an ominous tone of impending doom?
Beside them, Elvia finally couldn't hold back anymore.
She cried out in shock,
“Wait! What did you just say is gone?!”
Her voice rose to an incredibly high pitch from shock.
Lin Gui's train of thought was instantly interrupted.
He looked at Elvia, speechless.
“It's just the palace that's gone. Do you really need to react like that?”
As for how it disappeared, Lin Gui could guess a thing or two.
It seemed that sparing Caesar had been a very wise decision.
“Just the palace?! How could that be nothing?!”
Elvia practically jumped up, pointing toward the distant Stellar Mountain.
“That is my freaking royal family's ancestral home!”
Outside the gates of the Carter Royal Capital.
On the floating raft sat the disguised Saintess.
Elvia had tagged along to see them off outside the city.
Not far away, Betty was practicing magic on the grass, her expression deeply focused.
Sensing something, she opened her eyes and walked toward Lin Gui.
Lin Gui knew it was time to say goodbye.
Elvia looked at Lin Gui, appearing somewhat awkward.
This princess, who was usually so socially adept, clutched her messenger bag, completely at a loss for how to say farewell.
She tried to squeeze out a few tears of parting like they did in stories, but despite her best efforts, she failed miserably.
Lin Gui stared at her, speechless.
Recalling Caleb's warning, his expression turned serious.
“Elvia, do you remember what happened at Eagle Fortress?”
Elvia froze for a moment, then realized what he meant.
Lin Gui was referring to the plan he had set up for her,
where she would inform the Banshee Queen about what had transpired in the Whispering Forest.
If the Dark Tide really did originate in the borderlands,
then the movements of the banshees at Eagle Fortress would serve as an alarm for Elvia to flee for her life.
Elvia laughed, joking,
“No way, right? Don't worry, you have to believe in the Lady Saintess's prophecy.”
Lin Gui didn't laugh, looking at her seriously.
“If... if the banshees of Eagle Fortress leave,”
“Elvia, do not take any chances.”
“Abandon everything you have and run to wherever you think you can survive.”
Seeing Elvia's stunned expression, Lin Gui smiled again.
“Of course, I hope I'm just overthinking things.”
“Do you have any messages you want me to bring to Theia?”
At the mention of the half-demon, Elvia pondered for a moment.
Finally, she pulled a letter from her bosom, handed it to Lin Gui, and warned,
“No peeking, okay?”
Lin Gui found it baffling, but he accepted the letter anyway.
Then, Elvia looked at Lin Gui and said seriously,
“Tell her that if she really finds Avalon...”
Elvia's expression turned cold.
“...she must absolutely never come out again.”
“The inspectors of the City-State Alliance are not to be trifled with.”
Lin Gui nodded.
“That is also what I wanted to tell her.”
“Alright, farewell, coward princess.”
Elvia's mouth twitched, and she retorted in kind,
“Goodbye, messenger raven.”
The raft slowly started up and rose into the air.
Under Lin Gui's control, it flew toward Betty.
Elvia stood in place, staring in the direction where the raft had vanished, not moving for a long time.
On the raft, Lin Gui called out to the system in his mind.
“System, end retrieval.”
【Retrieval complete.】
【Weekly Commission updated!】
【Destination: Fortress City of Shield】
【Collected Letters: 154 (Originating from Carter Royal Capital), 45 (Originating from Caran City), 1 (Originating from New Covenant City)】
【Total Letters to Escort: 200】
【Time Limit: 31 calendar days】
【Route: Carter Royal Capital → Twilight Fortress → Silent Sea (Forbidden Zone) → Blackwater Port → Shield City】
【Commission Completion Condition: Delivery rate exceeds 70%】
【Base Reward: For every letter delivered, reward random Novice Magic x1】
【Extra Reward: Moderate increase to maximum mana and magic control precision】
【Risk Warning: The Silent Sea is a known Forbidden Zone, containing unknown magical beasts and chaotic laws.】
【Demon activity is frequent in the Blackwater Corridor. Please choose your path carefully.】
------ “May every longing cross the darkness and reach the other shore” ------
Rate on N.U.
