After bidding Elvia farewell, Lin Gui sat at the front of the raft.
He controlled the raft, making it hover and fly slowly toward Betty.
He saw Betty standing on the grass, gesturing with her hands and chanting something under her breath.
A long, tedious Levitation spell chant lasted for a full three minutes.
Only then did she wobbly sit on her staff and fly over to join Lin Gui.
As soon as her feet hit the raft, Betty sat on a wooden crate behind Lin Gui.
She crossed her legs and was the first to speak, her tone carrying a hint of teasing:
“I never would have guessed, little mage, but you certainly have great luck with the ladies!”
“That blonde beauty just now was far more beautiful than the High Elves at our magic academy!”
Lin Gui did not reply and steered the raft in another direction.
The raft accelerated instantly, hurtling toward Twilight Fortress.
The scenery on both sides receded rapidly, and the mountainous area where the Royal Capital was located gradually shrank beneath them.
A violent wind whistled past.
After a slight sway, the raft stabilized.
Lin Gui asked nonchalantly:
“Is it just you?”
Betty replied with a smile:
“Of course not!”
“To find you and meet up with you, the North Wind caravan sent two other people besides me.”
Lin Gui asked, “What about them? Are they not coming along?”
Betty hummed softly with a bit of pride:
“They’ve been on board for a while now!”
As soon as she spoke, the air at the tail of the raft distorted slightly.
The figures of two men appeared silently, already seated on the raft.
Betty looked at Lin Gui, her face written with the expression of “Did I startle you?”
Lin Gui played along with a look of mild surprise, then said helplessly:
“Since you’re here, there’s no need to stay hidden.”
The man dressed as a scout glanced at Lin Gui with a sharp gaze.
He seemed satisfied with Lin Gui’s reaction, then closed his eyes to rest his mind.
Betty proudly introduced them to Lin Gui:
“This is Alvin, the team’s scout.”
“And this is Dulu, the assassin.”
“They both have the strength of a Mid-tier Transcendent!”
“Well, isn’t their concealment technique impressive?”
Lin Gui nodded and praised them on the surface, but he couldn't help but criticize them in his heart.
His perception hadn't been triggered, but his butt knew someone had climbed on...
Impressive?
He felt that this concealment technique...
Was more than one level lower than Caleb and his group.
As for why Betty and the others put on this show, it was most likely meant to intimidate him as a newcomer.
It was a warning that if he made any unusual moves, the assassin’s blade would instantly strip him of his ability to resist.
It was unlikely that Betty was the one leading this performance.
From their brief contact, Lin Gui felt she was more like a magic academy student who was inexperienced in the world.
He estimated she didn't even see the deeper meaning behind the actions of these two.
This arrangement was probably specifically ordered by Freya.
Although it seemed somewhat cold and unfeeling, Lin Gui actually appreciated this caution.
At the same time, he was happy to play the role of a weak mage who only knew Levitation on the way to Shield City.
Betty remembered something and asked:
“Hey, didn't you say a week ago that you were bringing two people with you?”
“Why is there only one now?”
Eve was sitting to Lin Gui’s right, side-by-side with him.
She was currently in disguise with short hair and an altered eye color, staying quiet inside her cloak.
Hearing the question, the corner of her mouth curved into a nearly imperceptible smile.
Lin Gui looked ahead and replied:
“You’ll see in a moment.”
The raft flew at high speed and soon approached the mining area where they had previously hidden.
Just then, a lithe green figure, like a forest elf, leapt up from the entrance of the mine below.
She landed on the swaying raft with precision and grace.
It was Theia.
After a brief mutual introduction, Theia squeezed onto Lin Gui’s left.
She pressed close to Lin Gui and Eve, the three of them huddled together at the front of the raft.
Betty pointed the way as the group rode the raft toward Twilight Fortress.
One of the reasons Betty and the others stayed in the Royal Capital was to escort Lin Gui for this part of the journey.
Although demons around the Royal Capital were regularly cleared by adventurers, mercenary groups, and knight orders, it was inevitable that some would slip through the cracks.
If anything happened to Lin Gui because the caravan had left early, it would be considered a failure of duty by the North Wind caravan.
Assassin Dulu and scout Alvin scouted ahead, their figures flickering in and out of view among the trees.
Lin Gui controlled the raft, maintaining a stable and not-too-fast speed as they advanced.
With several strangers on the raft, the atmosphere was somewhat subtle.
Theia was also not as relaxed and casual as she was when it was just their own people.
Due to the increase in supplies and the thousands of reply letters that needed to be escorted, the number of wooden crates had grown significantly.
Lin Gui had specifically widened the raft and reinforced it with several thick wooden planks.
The front part, which originally could barely hold one person, was now squeezed with Lin Gui, Theia, and Eve. It was a bit cramped, but still acceptable.
Along the way, Theia leaned toward Lin Gui’s ear from time to time, whispering softly to him.
Lin Gui also turned his head and responded in a low voice.
They spoke only of unimportant trivialities.
Betty was not far behind them.
Whether Lin Gui wanted to ask Eve exactly what kind of prophecy had guided her to find him, or he wanted to convey Elvia’s message to Theia, now was not the time to speak.
The hearing of a Transcendent was extremely acute.
During the journey, Betty proactively sought to communicate with Lin Gui, especially regarding Levitation, about which she seemed to have many questions.
On this point, Lin Gui did not hold back his secrets; he shared some of his own understanding and experiences.
His insights into the subtle control of Levitation clearly exceeded Betty’s knowledge.
“So mana can actually be guided like that...”
“Heavens, your perception of air currents is simply too sharp!”
Betty’s eyes lit up as she listened, her face showing sincere admiration.
Lin Gui’s candor undoubtedly gained him quite a bit of favor from her.
One must know that it was very common for mages to keep their tricks to themselves.
After all, a lot of money and energy went into obtaining techniques for performing magic; no one could easily teach them to others.
Twilight Fortress was not too far from the Royal Capital, roughly three times the distance from Eagle Fortress to the Royal Capital.
The raft flew all the way, passing through dense forests and over rolling hills.
They sailed upstream along the wide river that flowed through the Royal Capital.
About an hour later, they entered the jurisdiction of Twilight Fortress.
A magnificent gray-white stone fortress came into view.
It guarded the narrow valley between two mountain ranges, its walls high and thick.
Surprisingly, there was no sign of the expected surging demon tide in front of the fortress.
However, the walls were currently filled with soldiers standing ready.
Kingdom knights in standard armor were mixed with mercenaries in various styles of dress, and the atmosphere was grim.
As Lin Gui turned his gaze to the highest point of the wall, he saw two familiar figures.
The leader of the North Wind caravan, the Legendary mage Freya.
And that Guardian Knight who represented the King to receive the Saintess, Rhode.
They were standing side-by-side, looking down at the front of the fortress.
Rate on N.U.
