“Why are you hunting us down?”
Lin Gui asked.
He really couldn't figure it out.
They had only met once in Shadowmoon City, yet she had chased him all the way here.
Without a specific reason, he would never believe it.
It couldn't be... because he had bruised her ego back then?
Did she fly into a rage out of humiliation and travel thousands of miles to get even?
...
Surely not...
The more he thought about it, the less confident Lin Gui became.
He didn't even dare to ask it out loud.
If that really was the case, and she flew into a rage.
Striking before he could even react, he would be completely finished.
Shadow Blade Lynn chuckled at his words.
“Don't worry, I bear no ill will toward you.”
Lin Gui felt the cold edge against his neck and muttered to himself.
Sure, no ill will.
You just want to kill us.
He closed his eyes, his mind sinking into his storage space.
The spatial teleportation scroll was far too precious; it was a trump card he had intended to save for the Voiceless Rift.
But right now, the situation left him with no other choice.
Just as he was about to activate the scroll.
The surrounding temperature suddenly plummeted.
A wave of soul energy so vast that even Lin Gui could clearly perceive it...
...was surging wildly from all directions!
Lin Gui opened his eyes in astonishment and looked around.
Only then did he realize that, at some point.
The inside and outside of the post office had been completely blanketed by a dense crowd of spirits.
Within the vision of his Eyes of the Netherworld, thousands of spirits...
...were silently staring at Shadow Blade Lynn.
Their soul light fluctuated violently, reflecting faces filled with ferocity and rage.
It turned out that the moment Lin Gui and Eve were taken hostage.
The spirits who had escorted them to the post office had quickly fled to spread the news throughout the entire city.
A human mage, helping forgotten spirits return home almost entirely for free.
Every spirit in Blackwater City knew about this.
Even though Lin Gui had not helped every single one of them.
Every spirit had witnessed what he had done.
In their hearts, they had already come to view Lin Gui and Eve...
...as their own.
As the only light that had ever shone into their silent, dead years.
Having been swallowed by "The Silent End" and turned into drifting specters...
...they had already died once.
They had once torn apart those minor nobles who failed to escape in their rage.
And this time, they wouldn't mind risking everything once more.
To tear this outsider elf to shreds.
There were over a hundred and thirty thousand spirits in Blackwater City.
At this moment, almost all of them had arrived.
The immense pressure generated by such a massive gathering of spirits...
...swept through every inch of space like a physical tide.
Even Shadow Blade Lynn, whose soul energy had reached the High-tier Transcendent rank and who could suppress Legendaries with her Epic assassination skills...
...felt a tremor of dread and oppression from the depths of her soul.
The mental fluctuations of countless spirits merged into a roaring warning:
“Let the Messenger go!”
“Do not harm him!”
Their voices were steeped in blatant protectiveness and overwhelming rage toward Shadow Blade Lynn.
That anger was so pure, it was almost out of control.
Shadow Blade Lynn rapidly assessed the situation.
She had been able to dismantle the defenses of the Legendary Eve using her skills, but an important factor was that spirits were immune to physical and magic attacks. Yet, when facing these entities who were also spirits, that advantage no longer existed.
And although these spirits were weak individually, their numbers were simply staggering.
The soul energy they gathered together far surpassed her own.
Relying on her speed, she could escape.
But...
Shadow Blade Lynn's gaze fell upon the black-haired human beneath her right hand.
Her only hope would likely be gone.
She suddenly chuckled.
“It seems you are quite popular.”
“I have no doubt that if I kill you...”
“...they will swarm me and tear me to pieces, regardless of their own survival.”
Lin Gui did not reply.
He merely stared intently at Shadow Blade Lynn's hand, which loosely gripped the sharp blades.
At the slightest sign of movement.
The scroll would be activated instantly.
However, after a few seconds of standoff.
The sharp blades pressed against his neck suddenly withdrew.
Shadow Blade Lynn casually tossed the twin daggers onto the ground.
Then, she wrapped her arms intimately around Lin Gui's and Eve's necks.
A bright, almost radiant smile blossomed on her face.
“Oh my, it's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding!”
Her voice was crisp, as if the killing intent from a moment ago had never existed.
“This big sister was just playing a joke.”
Shadow Blade Lynn's smile remained unchanged, her arms still resting affectionately on their shoulders.
But she directed her voice outward, projecting it clearly to the surrounding crowd:
“Everyone, please don't be so excited!”
“This little mage and I actually share quite a history.”
She paused, her tone carrying a hint of deliberate familiarity.
“Clotina Shadow, you all know her, right?”
“That girl is a fellow member of our Shadow Clan.”
“And I, too, am a Night Elf of the Shadow Clan.”
She lightly tapped Lin Gui's shoulder with her fingertip, her face beaming with smiles.
“This human helped Clotina find her father. I couldn't be more grateful to him.”
“What happened just now...”
She winked, her tone as casual as if she were talking about the weather.
“...was merely a little 'joke' from our Shadow Clan.”
“Consider it a unique ritual for us Night Elves... to express our 'respect' to an honored guest!”
Naturally, this clumsy lie failed to convince the hundred thousand plus spirits.
Troy's sharp, childish voice was the first to explode:
“Bullshit!”
The little girl's soul bead bounced up and down in sheer anger.
“To show my respect, this lady wants to put a knife to your neck right now too!”
“Do you freaking dare to come over and try?!”
The smile on Shadow Blade Lynn's face stiffened for a barely perceptible instant.
She sneered in a low voice, audible only to those close by:
“...Sharp-tongued little brat.”
Then, she leaned her head closer to Lin Gui's ear.
Her voice was extremely low, yet carried an unquestionable warning:
“Make them leave.”
To her surprise.
Lin Gui raised his voice almost without hesitation.
“Everyone, please calm down.”
His tone was steady, even carrying a hint of reassurance.
“This... Elven Lady is right.”
“We do know each other, and what happened just now was indeed a misunderstanding.”
His gaze swept over the layers of spirits surrounding them as he continued:
“I'm fine, and Eve is fine too.”
“Thank you all for coming, but please disperse for now.”
“I can handle things here.”
His words flowed incredibly smoothly.
As if he wasn't the one who had just had a blade held to his throat.
A trace of doubt flickered in the depths of Shadow Blade Lynn's eyes.
Eve also looked at him sideways, a hint of confusion flashing in her purple eyes.
And the surrounding spirits found it even harder to accept.
But Lin Gui had already turned to Shadow Blade Lynn, his tone even carrying a touch of sincerity:
“Eve and I won't resist.”
“Can you let us go so we can talk inside the post office?”
He turned his head, looking straight into her eyes.
“I believe you must have many things...”
“...you want to discuss with me, right?”
Shadow Blade Lynn raised an eyebrow, staring at him for two seconds.
Suddenly, she smiled brightly and released her grip.
“Sure~”
She let go of Eve and Lin Gui, took half a step back, and raised her hands to the surrounding spirits to show she meant no harm.
And Lin Gui also quietly put away the Gray Dagger he had been holding in a reverse grip.
His movement was natural, as if he were merely adjusting his cuffs.
Walking to the wooden door.
Lin Gui raised his hand, and invisible magic flowed.
Using Levitation, he easily lifted the fallen oak staff, Eve's staff...
...and Shadow Blade Lynn's pair of pitch-black daggers off the ground.
They were steadily swept into a corner by the counter, piled neatly to one side.
His movements were fluid, as if he were merely doing some daily cleaning.
Then, he walked over to the wooden door of the post office.
Stepping aside, he made a gesturing "after you" motion to Shadow Blade Lynn.
His face was expressionless, and his voice was flat.
“Let's talk inside, Miss Lynn.”
Shadow Blade Lynn's brow arched slightly, and the corners of her lips curled into a half-smile.
Without hesitation, she took a step and walked through the doorway.
Her heels clicked clearly against the wooden floorboards.
With a single step, she crossed the threshold into the post office.
Rate on N.U.
