Theia and Eve exchanged confused looks.
They watched Lin Gui’s strange self-muttering just now, looking as if he were talking to someone who didn't exist.
Seeing Lin Gui finally stop and lean back against a wooden crate with his eyes closed, his face looking a bit pale, Theia couldn't suppress her curiosity. She leaned forward and whispered,
"Lin Gui? What happened just now? That bead..."
She pointed toward his pocket. "Also, who were you talking to?"
Eve didn't speak, but her dark brown eyes also watched him quietly, filled with the same questions.
Lin Gui slowly opened his eyes and took a deep breath, his face having returned to its usual indifference.
"It’s nothing," he said with a wave of his hand, his tone casual. "A small bit of trouble, but it’s already been handled."
He clearly didn't want to discuss it further, and he turned his gaze toward the seemingly endless darkness outside the window.
"This Silent Abyss is much larger than I imagined."
He smoothly shifted the topic.
"I heard from Master Percel that it spans almost the entire southern part of the Silent Sea."
"Its depth is even more terrifying; even the deepest trenches in the legendary Atlanna Ocean beyond the continent cannot compare to it."
He paused for a moment, his voice low.
"Rather than calling it an abyss, it's more like... a massive rift on the seabed with no end in sight."
"A scar torn into the world."
Theia was awed by the scene depicted in his words and temporarily forgot to press him about the bead.
Eve, however, frowned slightly, as if sensing he was hiding something, but she did not call him out.
About two hours later.
The sense of extreme oppression that had been shrouding the team began to quietly recede.
The steps of Stonefang, Alvin, and the others leading the way seemed a bit lighter.
The tense expressions of Percel and Freya, who were maintaining the bubble, also relaxed slightly.
When the warriors carrying the train finally stepped with steady strides onto a piece of relatively flat seafloor that was no longer immediately adjacent to the bottomless darkness, everyone realized it intuitively—
They had left the vicinity of the Silent Abyss.
As the scholar Eli had promised before, this journey through the heart of the Forbidden Zone could be considered safe despite the scares.
There were even a few light sighs of relief from the team.
However, only Lin Gui knew what kind of "shock" that so-called "scare" had truly been for him.
He subconsciously touched the bead in his pocket; its cold touch remained.
Compared to the scholars and other team members who knew nothing about it and treated it as just another successful passage, they had just silently crossed over the "domain" of a sleeping Demigod demon on foot.
That shudder deep within the soul was likely something only he and the trembling soul in his pocket could truly experience.
After leaving the suffocating range of the Silent Abyss, the atmosphere of the entire caravan became noticeably more active.
The sound of heavy footsteps seemed a bit lighter, and low conversations and occasional laughter broke out among the team once more.
Betty even began to hum a brisk melody under her breath, though she was immediately silenced by a look from the scholar.
However, the sense of relaxation after being freed from extreme oppression had already spread.
Vice Leader Aubrey’s booming laugh, along with the deep responses of the barbarian warrior Barton and the beastkin Grom, all showed that the members' tense nerves could finally relax a little.
Yet Lin Gui could not truly relax like them. Compared to the gradually livelier atmosphere around him, he seemed exceptionally silent.
In a field of vision invisible to others—
Eyes of the Netherworld was still active.
Those scarlet soul threads, as fine as ox hair and originating from the Demigod of the abyss, had not completely disappeared just because they had left the main vein of the Silent Abyss.
They still drifted in the surrounding seawater, filling the entire Silent Sea like an invisible but omnipresent cobweb.
Lin Gui had once quietly reached out his hand, his fingertips probing beyond the edge of the bubble, trying to touch the nearest red thread.
The expected corrosion or impact did not occur.
The thread was like a void phantom, passing through his fingertips without any sensation or causing any abnormality.
But this did not put him at ease; instead, it made him more vigilant—
Unknown and incomprehensible existences were often more unsettling than known dangers.
The team continued forward along the undulating sea floor.
In this eternal darkness and dead silence, the concept of time became blurred.
Perhaps it was because the extreme oppression of the Silent Abyss had overtaxed their senses, or perhaps the now-livelier atmosphere of the caravan had diluted their perception.
They traveled for a long time on this "path" carved out by their predecessors.
So long that Theia had begun to quietly discuss with Eve what they wanted to eat after going ashore.
So long that even a trace of fatigue had quietly crept into Lin Gui’s heart.
The surrounding seawater remained a thick, impenetrable black, and only the beams from the magic lamps stubbornly sliced through a small patch of the darkness ahead, illuminating the rugged and unfamiliar undersea terrain under their feet.
It felt as if this silent trek through the seabed would never end.
After an unknown amount of time passed, they came to a flat, upward slope.
When shadows with distinct demonic traits began to appear in the water ahead, the entire transport team broke out into a fit of irrepressible commotion.
"I see them! I see them!"
Betty was the first to jump up excitedly, pointing at the demons in the distance.
"We’re about to leave this godforsaken place!"
Even the usually steady Freya relaxed the corners of her mouth slightly. She whispered to herself, "It's good that we’re safe."
Scholar Eli smiled and said to Lin Gui beside him,
"When we break out of the Silent Sea's range in a moment, buoyancy will be restored instantly. At that time, I’ll have to trouble you to take over the controls."
Lin Gui nodded and silently walked to the roof of the carriage to take his position.
At this time, under Freya's command, the long-range combatants on the roof were already on high alert.
The Forest Elf Laisa had her longbow pulled taut, the tip of her arrow glinting coldly.
The scout Alvin was playing with a dagger in his hand, his gaze sharp. Even Betty gripped her staff tightly, ready to cast magic at any moment.
This setup instantly alerted Theia. Although she didn't understand the specific reason, she immediately entered a combat state.
After quickly instructing Eve to hide back in the relatively safe carriage, she nimbly jumped onto the roof, joining the defensive circle formed by Freya and the others.
Just as she stood firm, the Forest Elf Laisa threw a heavy quiver to her.
"When we reach Shield City, change out your arrows."
Laisa’s tone remained flat, but her gaze carried clear disapproval as it swept over the simple quiver at Theia’s waist.
Theia caught the quiver and could tell it was different as soon as she held it.
The arrows inside were all made of high-grade refined steel, with neat fletching and excellent workmanship. They were not on the same level as her own crude, wooden-shafted arrows.
She did not refuse the kind gesture. Looking at Laisa’s focused profile, Theia hesitated for a moment before asking softly,
"Why did you... leave the Elven Forest?"
Laisa’s action of nocking an arrow paused slightly. She didn't look at her, only gazing at the dark seawater ahead.
"To get stronger."
Her voice was soft, but it carried an unquestionable firmness.
"To protect my older sisters, and to protect my family."
She explained briefly that the Elven Forest was not an isolated paradise. The threat of demons was drawing closer every day, and she could not guarantee when the peace of the Elven Forest would be broken.
To gain the strength needed to protect her home, she chose to leave the comfortable forest and join the crisis-laden North Wind caravan, honing herself on this path filled with death.
"It’s quite cliché, isn't it?" She curled her lips, seemingly with a trace of self-mockery.
Theia laughed instead and shook her head. She efficiently drew a steel arrow and nocked it, turning to stand back-to-back with Laisa.
"No."
Her voice carried sincere warmth. "Fighting to protect one's family... a reason like that is never cliché."
"If I could have a younger sister like you, I would be very proud."
Laisa did not respond, but her tense shoulders seemed to relax a fraction.
The two elves—one silver-haired and one green-haired—stood back-to-back with their bows pulled taut and arrow tips pointed straight at the increasingly dangerous waters ahead, preparing to face the final obstacle before leaving the Silent Sea.
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