Originally, Lin Gui had planned to stay here for a day or two.
To test the duration of the Clarity spell.
But after actual testing, the effect was far stronger than he had imagined.
Even after gathering such a high concentration of the mist, he felt exceptionally energized instead.
In that case, there was no need to waste any more time.
After quickly packing up his things,
Lin Gui set off with the two girls to return to the City of Bounties.
This time, Lin Gui drove, under the strict supervision of the two girls peeking over his shoulders.
Lin Gui didn't speed like a maniac this time, but drove at a perfectly normal pace.
In less than an hour, the hazy outline of the wooden city walls appeared on the horizon.
By the time they returned to the City of Bounties, dusk had already fallen.
The setting sun cast long shadows from the crude wooden walls.
As soon as the three of them passed through the city gates, they headed straight for the Oak Barrel Inn.
Pushing open the creaking wooden door of the Oak Barrel Inn,
they found the fireplace fire flickering in the dim common room.
As darkness gathered, the innkeeper, who should have been attending to guests behind the counter, was trembling violently for some reason.
Following the innkeeper's gaze, Lin Gui looked over.
He saw three people sitting on a worn-out sofa in the corner.
The attire of the person in the middle instantly caught the attention of Lin Gui and the two girls.
The man wore dark brown hunting gear, looking travel-worn.
A hand crossbow gleamed coldly at his waist, with silver bolts neatly lined up.
The brim of his hat was pulled down low, revealing only a stark, hard jawline.
This classic attire.
In an instant, Theia recognized his identity, and her footsteps abruptly halted.
Her body tensed immediately, like a fully drawn bow.
“A Demon Hunter!!”
Theia reached to draw Azure Echo from her back.
The figure on the sofa moved.
He didn't even look up.
He simply raised his right hand slightly.
A flash of silver suddenly shot out, tearing through the air.
Theia didn't even have time to draw her bow.
The silver crossbow bolt whizzed past her ear.
With a sharp thud, it pierced the wooden wall behind her.
The fletching vibrated violently, humming in the quiet air.
The entire common room instantly fell into a dead silence.
Theia's hand froze on her bow, her eyes filled with shock.
That shot just now...
She hadn't even seen its trajectory.
It was fast—far too fast, much quicker than even Gorn, a Legendary archer.
The Demon Hunter, Cass, slowly raised his head.
From beneath the brim of his hat, a pair of grayish-blue eyes looked over.
The gaze was cold and sharp, like a blade tempered in blood.
The Demon Hunter stared intently at Theia, seemingly able to see right through all her disguises.
Including the identity she had been hiding all along.
The girl beside him also recognized Theia's identity and quietly began to raise her crossbow.
But Cass immediately pushed her arm down.
He looked back at Lin Gui and the others, who had instantly entered a state of high alert.
His voice was deep, and his pace of speech deliberate:
“I am not here to cause trouble.”
“I only came to buy elixirs.”
“The same elixirs you bought from Blackbeard.”
With that, he slowly stood up.
In front of everyone in the room, he unbuckled the hand crossbow from his waist.
Along with the row of silver bolts, he gently placed it on the wooden floor at his feet.
Next was the short blade behind his waist, then the dagger at his thigh.
One by one, he disarmed himself completely.
Finally, he held out his open hands, showing he was unarmed.
Lin Gui and Theia exchanged a glance.
Both saw the same confusion and wariness in each other's eyes.
The man had fired a bolt the moment they walked in, clearly recognizing Theia's identity.
This was not surprising; detecting demon energy was the signature skill of the Demon Hunter profession.
Yet, despite recognizing her, he had stopped.
This ran counter to the usual goals of a Demon Hunter.
Demon Hunters—those who hunted the Demon Race.
Lin Gui narrowed his eyes, took half a step forward, and asked tentatively,
“Did Master Blackbeard refer you to us?”
Cass nodded.
“You are a friend he is looking out for.”
“And I... can be considered his friend as well.”
Lin Gui remained silent for a moment, then asked,
“Which faction of Demon Hunters do you belong to?”
This question was direct, even somewhat offensive.
If he were on the same level as someone like Blackbeard, it would be fine.
But the one asking was merely a High Rank mage.
High Rank... was hardly considered an expert in any of the major city-states.
Whereas a Legendary rank...
Was considered a pillar of the nation in the Carter Royal Capital.
And even in the Central City-States, they were major figures.
A nobody, daring to question him in such a tone?
The young boy beside Cass, Maren, immediately frowned and took half a step forward.
He wanted to teach this “arrogant” mage a lesson.
But his sister, Rosa, grabbed him from behind and gently shook her head.
Cass's gaze swept over Lin Gui, then lingered on Theia, who looked as if she were facing a mortal enemy, and the calm-faced Eve.
Two Low-tier Transcendents and one High-tier High Rank.
Yet among the three, the young mage before him was clearly the leader.
He looked into Lin Gui's fearless black eyes, remaining silent for a breath.
Then, he replied in a deep voice,
“The Traditionalists.”
Hearing this, Lin Gui relaxed slightly.
The reason he asked was because Demon Hunters were divided into two factions.
One was the "Exterminators," who swore to wipe out every single existence related to the Demon Race.
The Exterminator Disciplinary Knights within the Holy Church, as well as the inspectors who would soon begin their purge, all belonged to this category.
While the "Traditionalists" also hunted demons, they were not nearly as fanatical.
They only hunted demons that fell within their specific targets.
Legend had it that their skills were even taught to them by demons themselves.
Teaching them how to hunt down other demons.
Because of this, the Traditionalist Demon Hunters did not view the Demon Race in such absolute black-and-white terms.
Theia, a half-demon who had only recently ascended, would likely not be his target.
Otherwise, that bolt would not have merely grazed past her face.
However, Lin Gui did not let his guard down because of this.
He was the first to extend his hand to Cass, introducing himself with a smile:
“I'm Lin Gui.”
“To be honest, I'm not really a friend of Master Blackbeard.”
“He's only looking out for me because of instructions from the Fortress Lord of Shield City.”
At the mention of the words "Fortress Lord,"
Rosa and Maren, who were sitting beside Cass, looked up at the same time.
The two of them could hardly hide their surprise, their eyes filled with clear skepticism.
Fortress Lord Balin Heavyhammer was an Epic Rank powerhouse.
A highly influential figure among the dwarves.
Would such an existence really go out of his way
to instruct a Legendary dwarf to "look after" a human High Rank mage?
If Lin Gui were a dwarf, even just an ordinary dwarven warrior,
they might have barely believed it.
But the person in front of them was clearly human.
Young, plainly dressed, and even looking somewhat down-and-out.
Maren's lips twitched as if he wanted to say something.
But his sister, Rosa, lightly tugged at the hem of his shirt, and he shut his mouth again.
Yet his suspicious gaze remained locked onto Lin Gui.
Cass's grayish-blue eyes gave Lin Gui a deep look.
He didn't reach out to shake the extended hand, merely nodding as he said casually,
“Cass.”
Lin Gui didn't mind the man's attitude.
His own strength was indeed negligible in the eyes of others.
Being able to speak on equal terms with the dwarven high-ups was entirely thanks to a chain of mutual favors.
A favor earned by helping the Stoneheart Clan deliver family letters.
Being able to talk with Captain Freya was respect earned through his superb Levitation spell.
Aside from that, he was just an ordinary High Rank mage.
A wandering mage who couldn't even obtain residency rights in the City of a Thousand Towers.
Naturally, he couldn't win the genuine respect of a Legendary expert.
But Lin Gui had already achieved his purpose.
The reason he proactively introduced himself was, first, to ease the tension.
And second, to pull out the grand banner of the Fortress Lord to deter the Demon Hunter in front of him.
At least to let the other party know that although he was weak, he had the backing of the dwarves.
Honestly, with Shroud of the Gloomy Night and Levitation, Lin Gui wasn't afraid of him.
He had dared to speed right over the head of an Epic demon, so why would he fear a Legendary rank?
If he couldn't win, he could always run.
But the problem was—he couldn't run.
Because the opponent was a Demon Hunter, and Theia belonged to the Demon Race.
Shroud of the Gloomy Night could conceal her form, but it couldn't hide her demon energy.
And Lin Gui would absolutely never abandon Theia.
Therefore, he had to borrow authority.
Seeing that Cass had no intention of shaking hands, Lin Gui naturally retracted his hand.
A smile spread across his face, and his tone lost its usual indifference, taking on a hint of deliberate flattery:
“By the way, I just heard you say you came to buy elixirs.”
“Since Master Blackbeard sent you over, esteemed Demon Hunter...”
He paused, his smile becoming even more sincere:
“Money doesn't really matter.”
“How many do you need? I'll just give them to you for free.”
Lin Gui's slick, character-breaking display
caused even the usually serene Eve to wear an expression of hard-to-conceal bizarreness.
She widened her eyes slightly, her gaze darting back and forth across Lin Gui's face.
As if trying to confirm whether the person in front of her had been swapped out.
Meanwhile, Theia had a look of long-lost familiarity on her face.
She was all too familiar with this scene.
The last person who had made Lin Gui smile like this...
One had their head personally chopped off by the cowardly princess.
While the other group of ten people had been blown up by Lin Gui in the Black Demon Forest and fed to the demons.
She silently shifted half a step closer to Eve.
And in her heart, she silently lit a candle in advance for this Legendary Demon Hunter.
Rate on N.U.
