The Wheelless Train circled in the sky above Twilight Fortress for a full half hour.
At times, it turned as nimbly as a swimming fish; at others, it hovered motionless, resembling an aerial fortress.
This continued until fine beads of sweat seeped from Lin Gui's forehead, his face turning slightly pale.
Behind him, Eve's breathing also grew rapid, clearly having exhausted a significant amount of energy.
Half an hour of high-intensity control had allowed this hundred-ton steel behemoth to move nimbly through the air.
This had consumed more than just Lin Gui's mana.
Even Eve, who had been continuously replenishing his mana, felt deeply exhausted.
When the train finally descended slowly back to its original spot, landing with a heavy thud, everyone seemed to wake from a dream.
Lin Gui wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the dumbfounded members of the North Wind caravan around him.
“Well? Do you still need to test my abilities?”
His voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable confidence.
The academic, Eli, pushed up his glasses and exchanged an astonished look with the Forest Elf, Laisa.
Laisa's lips curved slightly, her tone carrying a hint of teasing.
“Why don't we just kick Betty out?”
She deliberately glanced at the huffing Betty beside her and continued.
“Compared to the little mage's Levitation...”
“...someone's Levitation is as slow as a crawl to start.”
“And her control is always unstable, veering off course at the slightest distraction.”
Betty immediately put her hands on her hips and retorted.
“Hey! Sister Laisa! I'm not that bad!”
“I practice every single day, you know!”
Laisa shrugged and smiled.
“Is that so? Because it seems to me you haven't made any progress at all.”
Betty let out a soft huff.
Her eyes darted around as a thought struck her.
I asked the little mage for quite a few tips on the way here.
Just you wait, I'll show you my brand-new Levitation in a bit!
The two of them bantered back and forth, and the atmosphere instantly lightened quite a bit.
The other members around them also smiled, their gazes toward Lin Gui carrying a touch more acceptance.
The strength Lin Gui had shown with his Levitation brought them an unprecedented sense of security.
At least on this peril-laden journey, they wouldn't have to be constantly on edge.
They no longer had to fear that Betty would make a mistake in her control and crash the entire team into a cliff or plunge them into an abyss.
Vice Leader Aubrey stepped forward with a smile and patted Lin Gui on the shoulder.
“Excellent, truly excellent. Your Levitation has opened our eyes.”
He turned and made a welcoming gesture.
“Please follow me. I will show you to your temporary quarters.”
The last carriage of the Wheelless Train was exceptionally cramped.
Heavy wooden crates were densely bolted to the floor, packed with goods intended to be sold to the dwarves.
The space originally set aside was reasonably spacious, but the Vice Leader clearly hadn't expected Lin Gui to bring so many supplies of his own.
Once Lin Gui had neatly stacked the crates from his raft inside, the remaining space instantly became incredibly tight.
It would have been fine if it were three men squeezing together, but it was an awkward combination of one man and two women.
Aubrey glanced at the cramped space and suggested.
“How about we adjust the sleeping arrangements?”
“We can have your two female companions stay with Betty and Laisa.”
“And for your carriage, I can move the academic Eli and the barbarian warrior Barton over?”
Lin Gui shrugged helplessly; he had indeed overlooked this issue.
Just as he was about to nod in agreement, Theia suddenly spoke up first:
“No need! I don't need to change!”
Lin Gui frowned and looked at her, only to see Theia clutching his arm tightly, her eyes shining.
“Don't worry, Lin Gui. I won't mind!”
The excitement in her tone immediately made Lin Gui realize her intentions.
Recalling a certain night in the Royal Capital when she had tried to drug him, he couldn't help but shake his head in resignation.
Theia leaned in close to his ear and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear.
“Please, I really don't want to stay with her.”
Lin Gui knew that “her” referred to the Forest Elf ranger.
He could only offer the Vice Leader a helpless smile.
“There's no need for her. She and I... are in that kind of relationship.”
Aubrey's gaze darted between Theia and Lin Gui, a knowing smile appearing on his face.
“I understand, I understand. Then as for this lady...”
To his surprise, Eve elegantly folded her hands in front of her and said with a gentle smile.
“I am also in that kind of relationship with him.”
Lin Gui raised an eyebrow and looked at Eve, meeting her smiling eyes.
He recalled her unusually close behavior and enigmatic attitude after the assassination.
This time, he did not speak up to refute her.
Perhaps this was a good opportunity to properly ask this Saintess why she treated him so specially.
In the cramped carriage, the atmosphere among the three of them suddenly became subtle.
Vice Leader Aubrey cast a peculiar look over Lin Gui and the two women beside him.
In the City-State Era, polygamy or polyandry was indeed not uncommon.
But seeing Lin Gui's slightly helpless expression, he felt things weren't that simple.
Just as he was about to speak, the ground beneath their feet suddenly shuddered.
The Wheelless Train swayed in response, and the faint, distant roars of demons echoed from afar.
Aubrey's expression turned serious as he looked toward the fortress walls.
“It looks like we'll be able to set off soon.”
He turned to Lin Gui. “Would you like to come take a look?”
“It's not every day you get to see Leader Freya cast a spell with all her might.”
Lin Gui nodded, leading Theia and Eve to follow him.
The scene on the fortress walls was rather bizarre.
Archers, mages, and even alchemical cannons were left idle at the base of the walls.
Fully armed warriors stood guard outside the fortress gates.
Only Freya and Rhode stood side by side atop the wall.
Theia curiously pointed at the ranged combatants waiting below the walls.
“Why aren't they going up onto the walls?”
Lin Gui answered calmly.
“Because they don't need to act.”
“They only need to wait for the battle to end and clean up the battlefield.”
He paused, his tone carrying a deeper meaning.
“On the battlefield, no class is more impactful than a mage unleashing their full power.”
At that moment, Freya's chanting drifted over on the wind.
It was an ancient and melodious rhythm, every syllable laden with immense magic power.
Her long, ice-blue hair drifted without wind under the surging magic, resembling a flowing glacier.
Her deep blue eyes grew even more profound, as if holding ice and snow that had remained frozen for ten thousand years.
As she chanted, tiny ice crystals faintly materialized around her, accentuating her delicate features and making her look like a goddess of ice and snow descending to the mortal realm.
Her voice was as cold as ice, yet carried an unquestionable authority.
Rhode stood with his sword drawn, vigilantly guarding her from the front.
Meanwhile, the sight in the distance was suffocating.
A dense mass of demons surged forward like a tide, their hideous roars deafening.
The demons at the very front suddenly stopped, trying to retreat in terror.
But the demonic torrent surging from behind ruthlessly pushed them forward.
The demons violently clashed against the stone walls, piling on top of one another like stacking blocks.
The grimoire in Freya's hand erupted with a brilliant blue light.
A massive magic circle, over twenty meters in diameter, manifested before her.
As her chanting grew increasingly high-pitched and resonant, the circle spun and expanded rapidly.
Bone-chilling cold and fierce winds seeped from within it.
Standing on the fortress wall, Lin Gui could clearly perceive—
—the wind and ice magic in the air were violently churning.
The demons at the forefront let out desperate wails.
They trampled over one another, yet could not stop their advancing steps.
In the blink of an eye, the foremost demons had piled up to scale the wall, lunging toward the still-chanting Freya.
Golden light flashed as Rhode swung his greatsword, instantly tearing the lunging demons to shreds.
Yet more demons clambered onto the fortress, including many massive individuals exuding terrifying auras.
The wall began to shake under their onslaught, loose gravel raining down.
Just as the defensive line was on the verge of being breached—
—at this critical juncture, Freya's chanting reached its peak.
“Glacial Tempest.”
She softly uttered the true name of the magic, a trace of icy light flashing in her deep blue eyes.
In an instant, the entire valley was enveloped in a blinding blue-white light.
An extremely frigid storm swept through, instantly freezing thousands of demons.
The continuous sound of shattering ice crystals echoed through the skies.
The frozen demons shattered into pieces like fragile glass.
The once-clamorous battlefield instantly fell into a dead silence.
Only the howling of the cold wind blowing across the icy plain echoed in the valley.
The fortress gates slowly opened.
Fully armed mercenaries, adventurers, and knights swarmed out.
They charged at the surviving demons that were still struggling, unleashing a deluge of swords and magic upon them.
Theia gazed in awe at the valley that had turned completely white in an instant.
She lightly patted Lin Gui's shoulder.
“When will you be able to cast such a powerful spell?”
Lin Gui looked at the ice crystals still drifting in the distance and smiled slightly.
“Don't worry, it won't be long.”
His tone was calm, yet carried an unquestionable certainty.
Snowflakes drifting down from the sky gently landed on his shoulder.
In the fading light of the setting sun, the entire frozen valley shimmered with a faint golden hue.
This menacing demonic tide was thus completely ended by a single Legendary-tier spell.
Rate on N.U.
