Why can "the dying" drive away spectral demons?
Lin Gui had asked this question when he first heard about it from the scholar Evan. Later, when he reached Bounty City to gather information from Blackbeard, he asked again.
The answers he received were much the same.
What the spectral demons feared was not the elders themselves.
Rather, it was what the elders would "bring" after they died.
An existence that only appeared in fairy tales and ancient legends—
The messenger under the Death God, the "Netherworld" who escorted souls.
Only those who died from natural aging with a complete soul could attract Netherworld messengers to guide their souls to the Netherworld Sea.
And these soul-escorting Netherworld messengers...
Were born to be the absolute natural enemies of all wandering ghosts and spiritual bodies.
This included those who constructed their bodies from soul energy—the spectral demons.
In their long, almost instinctual memories of fear, when a Netherworld messenger came to take a departed soul, it was highly likely they would "conveniently" take the spectral demons as well.
They would drag these residual souls, which shouldn't have remained in the world, into their eternal home—the Netherworld Sea.
This was the true secret of the "guide."
It was also the root of why spectral demons avoided them as if fleeing from a plague.
Of course, these were all just speculations without hard evidence. After all, no one had ever actually seen the legendary "Netherworld."
But looking at it now, this speculation was likely true.
Because his soul-piercing magic was named 【Eyes of the Netherworld】.
Just now, at the moment he activated the Eyes of the Netherworld, those spectral demons had scattered frantically as if seeing a phantom.
It was as if they had truly seen the legendary Netherworld messengers.
Eyes of the Netherworld, Eyes of the Netherworld...
This ability, which did not exist within any known system of Soul Magic, could it truly be related to the legendary Netherworld Sea?
Lin Gui tried to ask the System in his mind.
But as always, there was no response.
He wasn't surprised. Aside from mission-related matters, this System basically ignored him.
Thinking that the Eyes of the Netherworld could actually disperse spectral demons, Lin Gui felt a strange sensation in his heart.
Clarity had solved the fatal mist.
Eyes of the Netherworld had avoided the invisible demons.
These two major threats that made countless hunters tremble in fear had been resolved almost through "coincidence," in a process he hadn't even fully realized.
The previous Forbidden Zone, the "Silent Sea," had been the same.
These two famous deadlands had been relatively smooth sailing for him.
They weren't even as dangerous as some of the places he had traveled through in his early years that were famous for their massive demon populations. At least those times, he had truly nearly died.
As if sensing the doubt in his heart, the System in his mind actually spoke up for the first time:
【The route planned for the Host is the optimal solution based on the Host's abilities.】
【That is: the safest known route explored.】
【The premise of triggering tasks is also strictly limited to the Host's capacity.】
Lin Gui frowned.
The safest route?
But this Special Long-Term Commission had required him to cross the Wall of Sighs from the very beginning.
If he hadn't completed the Hero's deathbed wish task in the Carter Royal Capital, hadn't obtained the Eyes of the Netherworld, and hadn't drawn the Clarity spell, then the Wall of Sighs would have been a land of certain death for him.
How could it be called the "safest"?
The System added calmly:
【The "guide" method, paved with the lives of generations of bounty hunters, is sufficient for the Host to safely reach Blackwater City—Avalon's nearest safe point.】
【As for the Wailing Corridor...】
It paused as if it could see through Lin Gui's thoughts.
【Aside from crossing it, does the Host not have another "safe" method in mind?】
【Though, it would take a significant amount of time.】
The corner of Lin Gui's mouth twitched as he replied in his heart.
"Ah, I really suspect you've installed a mind-reading device in my brain."
Indeed, besides simply flying across, Lin Gui had considered another method.
It was a crossing method he had already considered before he had even obtained the flying vessel.
A "clumsy method" that might only be feasible for the Wall of Sighs.
He wasn't sure if Blackbeard or the Dwarven Royal Court had thought of it, or perhaps they simply hadn't hired a suitable master of the soul domain to verify it.
In fact, if they just wanted to cross the Wall of Sighs and establish a safe passage, the best course of action probably wasn't to follow the traditional method of sending hunters to scout a path. Instead, they should have utilized their race's specialty.
They should have dug a tunnel that was buried deep underground and cut through the Wall of Sighs.
Unlike other Forbidden Zones, all demons in the Wall of Sighs had perished due to "The Silent End."
This included those demons that were good at burrowing and active underground. The concerns about traveling underground that existed in other Forbidden Zones were basically non-existent here.
As for the spectral demons...
Lin Gui recalled the psychomancy texts he had read in the Magic City. He remembered them clearly stating that no trace of spectral demons had ever been found underground.
Among the demons related to souls, only soulless corpses and buried undead were found. Some scholars speculated that the deeper one went underground, the closer they were to the Netherworld Sea. That was a domain they were instinctively repelled by and dared not approach.
If he hadn't had the flying vessel, Lin Gui really would have considered digging a tunnel. Since he had maxed out his Soil Loosening spell, excavating wouldn't be a difficult task. The only issue would be the time... it would probably take quite long.
He controlled the flying vessel, activated the Eyes of the Netherworld, and accelerated toward the location marked with a skull on the map.
Behind him, Theia hesitated for a good while before finally being unable to resist leaning against his back and whispering:
"Um... don't you think you should explain something?"
She looked around. All those hair-raising sighing sounds had disappeared.
It was exactly the same as when they had followed Ryan's team in before. But... they didn't have a guide with them right now.
Thinking of that eerie scattering scene just now, her heart was in her throat. She knew Lin Gui had done something. But what could he do? Could it be that he was also about to...
Theia couldn't help but look at Lin Gui's profile with a worried gaze.
Feeling her stare, Lin Gui smiled.
"It's complicated to explain."
"Just assume I discovered a second method to drive away spectral demons."
He paused, his voice calm.
"A method that probably... only I can use."
Theia blinked, her silver-white hair swaying slightly.
"Just like that spell of yours that can see through souls?"
Lin Gui nodded.
Theia tilted her head and pressed further: "So... that's your trump card for daring to cross the Wailing Corridor?"
"It isn't."
Lin Gui shook his head.
"I only just found out this magic had this function."
"My true trump card—"
He tapped the control lever of the flying vessel, letting out a soft thud.
"Is this, combined with the innate characteristics of spectral demons themselves."
Theia was puzzled. "What characteristics?"
In the back seat, Eve, who had been listening quietly, spoke softly: "It's speed."
Lin Gui nodded. "Exactly."
"Due to their incorporeal nature, spectral demons move very slowly."
He turned his face to look at Theia.
"Haven't you noticed? From the time the sighs start to the time the actual attack happens, there's a full ten to twenty seconds in between."
"If those were ordinary land-based demons, they would have lunged at us long ago."
Theia immediately countered: "But we're about to cross the territory of an Epic demon! How can a rank difference that large be compared?"
"You're right," Lin Gui agreed, but then his tone shifted.
"However, besides that, do you remember what Blackbeard said about the method Shadow Blade Lynn used to cross the Wailing Corridor?"
Theia was startled.
Lin Gui slowly spoke the answer: "That is... ultimate speed."
Theia couldn't help but scoff: "She's a High-tier Epic assassin! One of the fastest assassins in Akara!"
"I admit your little flying vessel is absurdly fast, but do you think it can compare to Shadow Blade Lynn in terms of speed?"
The atmosphere went silent for a moment.
Seeing Lin Gui's slightly upturned mouth, Theia suddenly had a bad feeling. Her mouth twitched, and her expression looked as if her worldview were being overturned.
"No way... That's a High-tier Epic! That's the peak speed for any living being!"
From behind, Eve's voice rang out softly, carrying a hint of irony.
"Actually, the record for 'top speed' on the Akara Continent... was not set by an assassin."
Theia asked, "Huh?"
Eve continued, her tone carrying an indefinable weight.
"It was a mage, the Wind Tower Master of the City of a Thousand Towers."
"At the time, they used a... very unique method to defeat the person recognized as having the number one speed: the High-tier Epic assassin and Grand Instructor of the Assassin's Court, the titled 'Death God'... Hugh."
"I was present for that competition," Eve's voice held a distant memory.
"At that time, I was still studying at the Holy Chantry. That's a place of study established by the Holy Church of Light in the City of a Thousand Towers, specifically for clergy to learn magic theory."
"At the time, almost all the students in the magic academy went to watch that rare bet. No one believed a mage could defeat an Apex assassin in terms of pure speed. Assassins even far exceed rangers and scouts in explosive speed."
"Until—"
She paused, as if seeing that absurd yet shocking scene again.
"Until everyone watched the Tower Master chain themselves to the back of a skyship. Then, they activated the Legendary-rank Wind spell—【Hurricane Propulsion】."
A trace of the same disbelief she had felt back then colored Eve's voice.
"The wind pressure that erupted in that instant blew down an entire brick-and-stone building next to the viewing platform. Everyone was buried in the roar of the collapse and the dust. By the time we regained our senses and looked up—at the target point in the distance, that iconic earth-element magic tower... the shattered wreckage of a skyship appeared."
She let out a soft breath.
"And that 'number one speed' Legendary assassin... had barely taken his first step."
"It's said that after that, the Tower Master stayed in bed for a full half a year. Afterward, the Grand Instructor also admitted that the Wind Tower Master's speed back then had far exceeded his own. At the very least, he couldn't cover a straight-line distance of at least ten kilometers in three seconds."
Eve added, a helpless smile in her eyes.
Theia listened, dumbfounded, then suddenly reacted: "Hurricane Propulsion! Isn't that—!"
Eve nodded. "Yes. The spell Captain Freya used to accelerate the train was 【Hurricane Propulsion】."
"That was a unique creation of the Wind Tower Master, much like the Shroud of the Gloomy Night is to Lin Gui. Miss Freya was precisely the Tower Master's prize pupil back then."
She recalled the scene on the Black Reef Sea, where the train tore through the sea breeze in a wild sprint. She couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"Looking at it now, Miss Freya learned the essence of it. If the Tower Master knew, they should be very gratified."
Theia was speechless.
Recalling the heart-stopping acceleration of the train, she had to admit—that kind of pure speed was something even an Epic assassin would struggle to match. And comparing the heartless sprint of Lin Gui's flying vessel all this way to Freya's Legendary acceleration...
It... seemed the flying vessel was still faster... and not just twice as fast.
Eve covered her face, still finding it hard to believe. Could the speed of this tiny flying vessel really surpass a High-tier Epic assassin?
This was like asking her to believe that a wild dog by the road could solo-kill the Legendary Gorn.
Lin Gui, at the front, smiled understandingly. His voice drifted back calmly:
"Actually, rank doesn't necessarily represent an absolute advantage."
"Just as I didn't expect that those who could cross the Red Clay Desert would be..."
He paused.
"A blacksmith, a gardener, a mason who earned a meager wage building houses for others, an auntie who washed dishes, and a little girl... who sold flowers."
Theia asked strangely, "What? The Red Clay Desert? Didn't you cross it alone?"
Lin Gui gave a bitter smile.
"On the way back, I was. But on the way there, I wasn't."
"Back then, I was just a High-tier Mid Rank mage. How would I have the courage to challenge a deadland like that?"
His voice dropped lower.
"If I hadn't met them... it would have probably taken me another year to reach the Magic City."
"Them? Were those craftsmen and the like you just mentioned Legendary experts?"
"No, just ordinary people. They didn't know magic and hadn't forged any protective qi."
Theia asked curiously, "Then... how did they do it?"
Lin Gui looked at the billowing gray fog ahead, as if seeing distant memories.
"It's just like I said before."
"When crossing certain Forbidden Zones, those with weak strength are actually more likely to succeed."
Theia couldn't help but complain: "An unarmed commoner entering a forest would be soloed by an imp."
"So—"
Lin Gui's voice was very soft.
"Always keep dirt and wood ash ready, and wash yourself frequently."
"Before entering a Forbidden Zone, disguise yourself as part of the brush."
He paused.
"Don't let them 'see' you."
"Don't stir up any attention. That was... their way."
Theia curled her lip: "Seems like you were on good terms with those people."
She said it casually, but Lin Gui fell silent.
He stopped for a long time, so long that the flying vessel passed another warped and withered forest, before he spoke in a low voice, his tone carrying a suppressed bitterness:
"Yeah... it was pretty good."
Behind him, Eve seemed to have sensed something. She looked at Lin Gui's straight but slightly stiff back and sighed softly.
She didn't know Lin Gui's past; she had only pieced together a broken history from fragments mentioned by past Saintesses.
As for the city-state that was reached after entering the Red Clay Desert to get to the City of a Thousand Towers...
As early as two years ago, it had been slaughtered to a person. It wasn't by demons, but by... humans.
Everything had been put to the torch. Warriors, commoners, children, nobles, wandering kids...
Everything associated with it had become corpses beneath iron hooves following a vote by the Alliance Council.
Rate on N.U.
