Lynn Celine Aethel Shadow

Eve's expression became extremely solemn.

She followed the sound, staring at the assassin who remained out of sight.

“Your concealment magic... has been seen through.”

Lin Gui was not particularly surprised.

“After all, she is a spirit.”

“To them, any concealment magic is completely transparent.”

He looked down at the elven assassin, who was approaching step by step.

Alarm bells rang wildly in his mind.

When he was watching the battle earlier, he had assumed she was a living person.

He had been confident that the Shroud of the Gloomy Night could perfectly hide his and Eve's presence.

That was why he hadn't planned on leaving.

Who would have thought...

She wasn't human at all.

Instead, she was a spirit of absurdly terrifying power.

But now, it was too late to run.

The speed she had displayed meant she would definitely reach them and slaughter them before the flying vessel could even start up.

To make matters worse, spirits naturally ignored physical and magical obstacles.

Eve's Holy Light Barrier would be almost completely useless against her.

Even if she used Soul Attachment to temporarily grant the barrier spiritual properties...

Even though the Holy Light Barrier itself was at the Legendary Rank, with the Soul Attachment enhancement, it could only exert Mid Rank power at the absolute most.

Using a Mid Rank defense...

...to block an assassin who had just instantly slaughtered ten Transcendent hunters?

It was nothing but a pipe dream.

Lin Gui took a deep breath.

His staff slowly descended, and he landed on the ground.

The Shroud of the Gloomy Night faded, exposing his figure completely.

Lin Gui spread his hands, trying to make his expression look as sincere as possible:

“I have nothing to do with those hunters.”

“I came here to rescue the elves in the cages.”

“Really, I actually have a pretty good relationship with elves.”

“For example, I know Clotina, a Night Elf from the Shadow Clan. I can have her come out and testify.”

As he spoke, he patted the pocket containing the glass bead.

Once.

Twice.

It remained completely silent inside.

Clotina gave no response whatsoever.

Lin Gui's lips twitched, and he let out a couple of dry chuckles:

“Ahaha... She might be a bit... shy?”

The elven assassin stared at him silently.

After a few seconds, the corners of her mouth twitched.

“Are you trying to make me laugh?”

“An elf being friendly to a human? Why don't you just say some beautiful elf threw herself at an incredibly ugly human like you?”

Lin Gui: “...”

His lips twitched. Lin Gui barely held back from mentioning a certain white-haired elf who had kidnapped him and forced herself on him.

“And besides...”

She floated forward half a step, her eyes completely devoid of emotion.

“Even if you really do have some connection to the elves...”

“...what does that have to do with me?”

“To me, those weaklings aren't even worthy of being called my kin.”

The elven assassin's faint, lingering killing intent suddenly exploded outward.

Lin Gui's scalp went completely numb.

Right at that moment, behind him, Eve's aura abruptly shifted.

A holy golden light surged from around her, resembling physical flames of light.

A pair of wings made of pure light slowly unfolded behind her back.

Runes flowed along the edges of the wings, each feather distinct and lifelike.

Even more astonishingly, a blurry, majestic phantom emerged behind her.

The phantom was clad in armor, possessed six wings on its back, and its face was shrouded in brilliant light.

It looked exactly like an angel stepping straight out of myth.

A majestic power expanded outward like a tide.

Even the air trembled slightly.

The elven assassin stopped in her tracks.

She tilted her head slightly, her gaze landing on Eve.

For the first time, a look of genuine interest flickered in her eyes.

“The Hall of Heroic Spirits?”

she murmured, a trace of surprise in her voice.

“The Holy Saintess of the Holy Church of Light...”

“...to think she would appear in a place like this.”

She swept her gaze up and down, taking in Eve's holy, awe-inspiring form.

A playful curve formed at the corner of her lips.

“This is truly...”

“...a pleasant surprise.”

She did not step forward to interrupt. Instead, like a cat toying with a mouse, she simply watched to see what tricks the other party would pull.

Eve's aura instantly climbed to its peak.

At this moment, the mana fluctuations she emitted had unexpectedly reached the strength of the Low-tier Legendary Rank.

Her ethereal and urgent voice drifted into Lin Gui's ears:

Before her voice even faded, she transformed into a streak of golden light and charged toward the elven assassin!

Even though she couldn't see the spirit, couldn't harm her, and her attacks were destined to miss...

...and even though she could only vaguely judge her position by sound, leaving her practically helpless...

But she understood one thing.

If the enemy wanted to hurt her, she would first have to break through the defense granted by the Hall of Heroic Spirits.

Just as the scar-faced man could judge power levels, so could Lin Gui.

As long as the opponent had not truly reached the Legendary Rank, she wouldn't be able to easily tear through Eve's Legendary-grade mana defense.

“Holy Blessing: Light Armor!”

“Radiant Barrier!”

“Divine Grace!”

Eve chanted rapidly. Armor and shields shrouded in golden light condensed and stacked around her one after another.

Light flowed and runes flashed, making her look like a divine messenger descending upon the mortal realm.

In her fully armed state, she floated in mid-air, her light wings unfurled.

The majestic phantom of the six-winged angel stood tall behind her.

Layer upon layer of light armor covered her body, radiant light flowing like water.

Holy and powerful, she looked like the very incarnation of the inviolable.

She raised her hand, her light-forged longsword pointing straight at the empty space ahead.

Her voice was cold and solemn:

“Come.”

The elven assassin tilted her head.

There was not a shred of fear in her eyes. Instead, they gleamed with an increasingly intense...

...excitement.

“Heh...”

She let out a low chuckle.

And then, her figure vanished into air, without leaving even an afterimage behind.

The elven assassin's figure flickered in and out of the glowing light.

Her movements were not wild, yet they were terrifyingly precise.

Every time she appeared, she struck exactly at the weakest point of Eve's shield mana.

The shields constructed with massive amounts of mana shattered one after another like paper.

Eve tried to counterattack during the gaps in the opponent's offense, but every strike missed.

The opponent's speed was simply too fast.

In the end, Eve could only defend passively.

The opponent's voice followed her like a shadow, whispering in her ear:

“The mana node of the light armor is three inches below the left shoulder blade.”

“The weak point of the barrier is on the side of the right knee.”

“Divine Grace? Heh... there is a gap in the circulation at the center of your back, just wide enough for a needle to slip through.”

“Little girl, your defensive magic is rather unpolished. So many flaws.”

She spoke with arrogance, her words laced with instruction.

“Once I strip away your last three layers of armor... I will drive this wooden stick straight through your eye socket.”

“I will scramble your brain but keep your face completely intact.”

“After all, it would be a pity if a pretty face like yours was ruined.”

Eve grit her teeth, attempting to use the authority of the Church to pressure her.

“I am the Holy Saintess of the Holy Church of Light! Aren't you afraid of the Church hunting you down?”

“The Holy Church of Light?”

The elven assassin scoffed and cut her off.

“When the ninth Pope, 'Holy Radiance' Loth, died by my hand, he wet his pants.”

“The seventeenth Holy Knight Commander, 'Iron Wall' Carnes, was chopped into seventeen pieces by me and fed to lesser demons.”

“You humans always love to paint yourselves in a grand light...”

“...but in reality, you are laughably weak.”

Eve's pupils shrank sharply.

These names... were all top-tier powerhouses recorded in the Church's secret archives as missing or dead in battle.

Some of them were even titles that the Church never disclosed to the public.

How did she know?!

“Who... who on earth are you?!”

“Once you reach the Netherworld Sea, ask the saintesses and saints who came before you.”

Perhaps... they will remember me.

“After all, I have a habit of revealing my face when I kill strong opponents.”

The final shield shattered in response.

Eve's face was deathly pale, her light wings trembling slightly.

The elven assassin floated in front of her, tilting her head.

“Sigh, I really am talking more and more.”

“I can't help it. Having been cooped up for over a decade, I always want to chat a bit.”

“It was very pleasant chatting with you, little girl.”

“Now... let's send you to meet your predecessors.”

Just as the wooden stick was about to thrust forward, another chant rang out simultaneously.

Low, steady, and carrying a peculiar rhythm.

It was Lin Gui.

The tight corners of Eve's mouth relaxed ever so slightly.

The elven assassin paused. She looked in surprise at Eve, who had suddenly relaxed, and then turned her head.

“Are you still pinning your hopes on that High Rank mage?”

She burst out laughing, her voice filled with disdain.

“With his level of strength, even an imp in the wilderness would be more of a threat than him.”

But Eve smiled softly.

“Miss Assassin...”

“...talking too much is not a good habit.”

“I suggest you kill me right now.”

“Otherwise, you won't get another chance.”

The elven assassin sneered. Through Lin Gui's chanting, she identified the magic he was about to cast.

The High Rank spell—Shadow Pierce.

An ordinary dark-attribute offensive spell.

An inferior spell that couldn't even rank among the decent High Rank offensive magics.

To her in her spiritual state, let alone a High Rank spell, even Epic Rank shadow magic wouldn't be able to cause any actual damage.

“How pathetic, how laughable. A weakling attempting to strike a rock with an egg.”

“The weak should behave themselves and stay in the filthy sewers forever, eating the scraps left behind by the strong.”

However, just as her ridicule began, Lin Gui's chant ended, and his staff swung down.

A terrifying sense of crisis originating from the depths of her soul, without any warning, suddenly exploded!!

The elven assassin's pupils shrank violently!

She instantly whipped her head around, looking toward the deep shadows of the Shadowmoon City ruins.

There, a pitch-black magic circle had appeared at some point.

The target in the center of the circle was a... dimly glowing glass bead.

It was precisely the core soul vessel she had hidden in the dark to stabilize her spiritual body!

How did he know where it was?!

The elven assassin's mind went completely blank.

Yet her body instinctively transformed into a stream of light, shooting toward the soul vessel at breakneck speed!

Saintess, slaughter, amusement—all of it was instantly thrown to the wind.

Everything was cast aside.

At this moment, she had only one thought in her mind:

Even a minor scratch would leave her severely wounded.

Meanwhile, in the distance, Lin Gui lowered his oak staff.

His gray eyes were calm as he watched the elven assassin panic and rush back to save her vessel.

Sitting on his staff, Lin Gui floated over.

He caught Eve as she fell from mid-air.

Blood seeped from her mouth, her light wings shattered piece by piece, and her connection to the Hall of Heroic Spirits was forcibly severed.

Her face was as pale as paper.

Summoning the flying vessel, Lin Gui gently placed her onto the back seat.

His gaze swept toward the three iron cages covered in black cloth in the corner.

He pulled out the key from his storage space and hurled it violently toward the cages!

With a sharp clink, the key landed on the snow beside the cages.

The elves inside seemed to be startled, and a faint commotion arose.

Lin Gui had no time to confirm whether they could open the cages themselves.

The flying vessel's wind pressure cannon activated instantly.

A violent torrent of air blasted backward, whipping up snow and gravel several meters high.

The flying vessel shot forward like an arrow from a bow, tearing through the narrow, ruined streets!

Almost brushing against broken walls and eaves, it rushed out of Shadowmoon City at a near-uncontrollable speed, plunging straight into the mist-shrouded wasteland.

Ten seconds later, the elven assassin's spiritual form followed the thread of her soul back to the glass bead, then instantly returned to the scene.

The ruined temple was completely empty.

There were only the embers of the campfire, corpses littered across the ground, and three iron cages that remained locked.

The aura of the flying vessel had long since vanished into the depths of the gray mist, not leaving a single trace behind.

The elven assassin stood silently in place, her spiritual form trembling slightly with rage.

Fury burned in her eyes, but it was quickly overridden by an even stronger emotion: bizarre bewilderment.

Just how... did that weak human mage find the hiding place of her soul bead?

She carefully recalled every single detail.

From her appearance, to the slaughter, to the clash with the Saintess.

Then, she caught onto two points... that she had subconsciously ignored earlier.

First, that inexplicable pressure on the soul level that she felt after killing the scar-faced man.

Second, after she had cast aside her gray robe disguise and fully revealed her spiritual true form...

That human...

...seemed to have been looking directly into her eyes the entire time he spoke.

Not at the empty air, and not by judging her position through sound.

He was, without a doubt, looking straight into her eyes.

The elven assassin's pupils slowly contracted.

An absurd yet terrifying thought surfaced in her mind.

Could he... actually see her in her spiritual form?!

Just as the elven assassin was lost in thought, a rapid rustling sound suddenly echoed from the entrance of the temple.

Immediately after, dozens of spiritual forms surged in like a tide.

Leading them was none other than Alyia, who had left not long ago.

Behind her followed a group of anxious Night Elf spirits—evidently, they were the clansmen she had just found in the city.

“Right ahead!”

A young elf pointed toward the depths of the temple, his voice trembling.

“Those humans have locked our compatriots in cages!”

Before his voice even faded, Alyia's gaze swept past the campfire and the corpses, landing on the figure standing silently in the center of the temple ruins... the elven assassin.

Time seemed to freeze for an instant.

Alyia's pupils contracted sharply.

Shock, bewilderment, and disbelief.

Finally, it all coalesced into a surging, almost explosive rage.

“Lynn Celine Aethel Shadow!!”

She practically spat the name through gritted teeth, every single syllable wrapped in icy hatred.

“You... you traitorous sinner!”

“How dare you show your face here?!”

The elven assassin, addressed as Lynn, slowly turned around.

She looked at Alyia, the corners of her mouth curling into a mocking sneer.

“Sinner?”

she repeated softly, as if she had just heard a joke.

“Compared to the 'sin' of you lot leading the entire Night Elf race to destruction...”

Lynn tilted her head slightly, her eyes frozen like ice.

“...the things I did back then...”

“...amount to what, exactly?”

She paused, her voice suddenly dropping, carrying a trace of almost cruel tenderness.

“Wouldn't you agree...”

“...Sister Alyia?”