The question came quite abruptly.
The four of them looked at each other in silence.
Finally, Ruger, whose defense was the strongest, answered in a booming voice, "That depends on who's attacking.
"If it’s someone on the level of Lord Blood-Thorn, I could withstand it for ten seconds.
"But if it’s those ‘Apex’ entities lurking in the depths..."
He did not finish, but his meaning was clear.
He would be killed instantly.
Hugh added coldly, "The only reason that top-tier Night Elf assassin made it through back then was luck; he didn't run into an ‘Apex’.
"Those beings... once buried a High-tier Epic Demon King.
"The target didn't even have time to react.
"He was torn to pieces within three seconds."
At the mention of this, a hint of satisfaction flashed across the four's faces.
Even after all this time, the downfall of that Demon King still brought them comfort.
Lin Gui had asked about their strength precisely because of that counter-intuitive principle.
The stronger the party, the more trouble they would face when crossing certain Forbidden Zones.
Warriors capable of supporting Gusion were naturally terrifyingly powerful.
Such a lineup couldn't even be assembled by the Carter Royal Capital at its peak.
And Lin Gui knew that Avalon's Legendary experts certainly didn't stop at the three before him.
He guessed the total might exceed ten, and that didn't even count Roger on the outside.
Avalon was small, but its martial prowess was abundant.
Strong allies were a good thing.
But for crossing the Wailing Corridor, it meant a much higher risk.
Lin Gui could almost foresee how many terrifying existences would be drawn to them once they entered.
It seemed he couldn't just sneak in for a while and then accelerate like he had done when he first arrived.
Once he figured everything out, Lin Gui clapped his hands.
"Alright, everyone, prepare for the crossing."
No sooner had he spoken than a long, narrow flying vessel with a peculiar shape appeared out of thin air on the clearing.
"?!"
Morpheus and the other three were startled.
The flying vessel had appeared too abruptly.
It was as if it had been parked there all along, and they just hadn't been able to see it.
The four quickly exchanged glances, all seeing suppressed excitement in each other's eyes.
They had misunderstood.
They thought Lin Gui had used that legendary concealment artifact.
—He really did have it!
Morpheus immediately signaled the others with a look to restrain themselves and not show any greed.
Sage Kilian let out a cough to hide his surprise.
"Ahem... little mage, your mastery of concealment magic is truly profound.
"To think we didn't notice a thing even at such a close distance."
Lin Gui was stunned.
In a way, was the Sage hitting the mark by mistake?
He didn't have an artifact, but the concealment level of the Shroud of the Gloomy Night was indeed high enough that they couldn't see through it.
After all, he had often been floating in the sky observing them over the past few days, and they hadn't noticed at all.
Only the Demon King Pillar could sense it, but because his strength was "too weak," it never triggered an alarm.
"Ahem, it's alright, I suppose. It can't compare to you all," Lin Gui said, waving it off.
"Alright, get on the flying vessel. You don't want to have to leg it across, do you?"
Only then did Morpheus and the others carefully look over the flying vessel.
They quickly discovered a problem.
There were only three seats on the vessel.
Yet there were six of them in total, including Eve and Lin Gui.
This was especially true for the barbarian Ruger, who was built as tall as a steel tower.
Looking at the tiny hull, he couldn't help but grumble, "This little thing... there's no way we'll all fit."
While he was complaining, Lin Gui pulled out bundles of rope from somewhere.
When Eve saw them, her expression turned a bit peculiar.
Those seemed to be... the special steel-wrapped cords Theia had used to bind Lin Gui before?
Lin Gui held the cords and gave the puzzled Legendary experts a devious smile.
"I might have to ask you all to bear with a little discomfort."
Would a group of Legendary experts just submit like that?
Of course not.
"No way!" Ruger was the first to object. "That will limit our movements!"
"In case of an emergency, it will be hard for us to react in time," Hugh added coldly.
Lin Gui simply tossed the steel-wrapped cords in his hand and said slowly, "I seem to... really miss the ‘gentle’ massage that elf back home gave me."
The corners of Morpheus's and the others' mouths twitched in unison.
Kilian stepped in to smooth things over, "Ahem, little mage, the cords will indeed hinder our ability to project force.
"To be honest, with our strength, it wouldn't be hard to break these cords.
"But in the Wailing Corridor, a difference of a few seconds is the difference between life and death."
Lin Gui sighed, sounding very helpless. "I don't want to do this either.
"But my concealment magic... has a limited range.
"It needs to be activated from the flying vessel.
"So, I have to ‘tie’ everyone within the vessel's area. Otherwise, it will be very easy to get exposed."
After speaking, with a thought, the Shroud of the Gloomy Night activated silently.
The flying vessel instantly vanished from everyone's sight and perception.
It was as if it had evaporated into thin air.
A few seconds later, it reappeared.
He had used the facts to prove the concealment effect of the "artifact" mounted on the flying vessel.
Having witnessed this near-miraculous concealment ability, Morpheus and the others fell silent.
They exchanged a few looks and eventually nodded slowly.
They agreed to this seemingly absurd proposal.
The flying vessel slowly lifted off the ground.
The three Legendary warriors were firmly secured to the exterior of the flying vessel by the special steel-wrapped cords.
Ruger was tied underneath the vessel, serving as the chassis armor.
Hugh was fixed to the left, and Kilian to the right.
They truly became the flying vessel's "human shields."
The protective qi of Legendary powerhouses was far more durable than the vessel's own hull.
Lin Gui turned his head to look at Morpheus, who was sitting in the only remaining seat in the back row.
"Lord Morpheus, please fasten your seatbelt and grip the handrails on both sides firmly."
Morpheus nodded and followed the instruction, but then his brow furrowed.
A seatbelt? Why did he need to be fastened so specifically?
Before he could figure it out, Eve in the front seat had already nimbly buckled her own seatbelt.
Then she leaned forward and hugged Lin Gui's waist as tightly as she could.
Her eyes were squeezed shut, as if she were about to face something terrifying.
Morpheus: "???"
Though the Wailing Corridor was indeed horrifying, Morpheus felt like something wasn't quite right.
And just then—
Whish!
A faint sound of breaking air came from behind.
A blunt arrow flew accurately toward the flying vessel.
Hugh, who was fixed to the side, raised his eyes, and his arm moved like a phantom.
He caught the arrow easily in his hand.
A small scroll of thin paper was wrapped around the shaft.
Hugh chuckled and flicked his wrist, making the arrow land gently on Lin Gui's lap.
"Here, a delivery from your wife."
Lin Gui picked up the scroll and unfurled it.
There was only a single line of slightly messy but forcefully written words:
"You'd better come back, or I'll come for you. I'll hunt you to the ends of the earth and drag you back bound in chains! I'll lock you in a basement and have a hundred and eighty little elves with you before I ever let you out!"
He turned his head toward Avalon's city wall.
A beautiful figure was standing silently behind a battlement.
Her silver hair fluttered lightly in the breeze, and her blood-red eyes seemed to pierce the distance, locking onto him.
Lin Gui smiled and waved his hand vigorously in her direction.
Then, he hesitated no longer.
He activated the flying vessel, turning it into a streak of light.
Carrying the six of them, it dove headlong into the churning grayish-white mist ahead.
Atop the wall, Theia watched the direction the flying vessel had vanished for a long time, without moving.
Rate on N.U.
