At the North Gate.
Lin Gui sat on the flying vessel, waiting for that moment to arrive.
Then, he felt it.
It was a sensation that could not be described in words.
It was as if the core of the entire world had shifted at that very instant.
Something had awakened.
This was the first time Lin Gui had witnessed the awakening of a Demigod while within the impact zone of the Dark Tide.
Even from a distance of thousands of li, he could feel an inexplicable suppression from the bottom of his heart.
It was not mana.
It was not pressure.
Rather, it was something more primal, more profound—a fear stemming from the depths of his soul.
Like an ant suddenly perceiving a behemoth opening its eyes directly above its head.
In that split second, Lin Gui's body reacted.
His intuition was sounding a frantic alarm.
Every cell in his body was screaming: Run! Hurry and run! Get away from here!
His face instantly turned deathly pale.
Cold sweat broke out simultaneously on his forehead, his back, and the palms of his hands.
Even though he knew this was only a momentary crisis, or even a good thing—
His body still began to have an uncontrollable stress reaction.
His highly tempered intuition continued to signal danger.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Each second felt as long as a century.
He felt as though he was being pinned ruthlessly in place by something, unable to move a single inch.
His breathing became difficult, his heartbeat grew erratic, and his limbs felt too weak to exert any force.
This feeling persisted.
It lasted until the demons sprawled across the barrier began to move.
The first to move were those Epic demons.
In unison, they turned around, no longer looking at Shield City but toward the same direction.
Southeast.
Toward the borderlands.
Then, they began to march.
One, then two, then three...
Twenty Epic demons began to move simultaneously.
Then the Legendary demons followed.
Then the Transcendent ones.
And finally, the countless Low Rank demons.
Deep-sea demons, sky demons, land-dwelling demons...
The entire collapsed mountain structure was trembling.
It was a tremor caused by the simultaneous movement of countless demons, coming wave after wave like an earthquake.
Boom. Boom.
Boom. Boom.
The sound was like a charge of tens of thousands of horses, like countless boulders rolling down from a peak, like the roaring of the ocean.
The black tide of demons began to recede from Shield City.
But they were not dispersing; they were migrating.
Toward the southeast, toward the Withered Rift, toward the center of the Dark Tide.
They rushed toward the god of the Dark Tide.
The densely packed demons surged over the collapsed mountain slopes like a flood, flowing across the wilderness and into the distance.
The spectacle was so grand it was suffocating.
Lin Gui simply watched.
He watched the black torrent flow past his eyes.
One minute.
Two minutes.
Five minutes.
Eight minutes.
Ten minutes.
Until...
Sunlight shone down from overhead.
Until...
The silhouette of the final demon vanished beyond the horizon.
Only then did Lin Gui snap out of his trance.
He lowered his head and looked at his hands.
His palms were covered in sweat.
When he touched his back, his mage robes were already soaked through, clinging tightly to his body.
He raised his head.
From the distance, the cheers of the dwarves could be heard.
Coming from the South Gate, the sound arrived in waves, growing louder and louder.
"We survived!"
"The Dark Tide is gone!"
"Shield City is still standing!"
Listening to those cheers, Lin Gui slowly leaned back against the flying vessel and let out a long breath.
The awakening of a Demigod demon heralded the true beginning of the Dark Tide.
They were not dispersing; they were gathering.
They were swarming toward the Withered Rift, congregating around the Demigod demon that was awakening.
Once all the demons had finished gathering, the Dark Tide would begin to move.
By then, a true calamity would sweep across the continent.
Lin Gui had heard records regarding the Dark Tide before.
But witnessing this scene of tens of millions of demons congregating with his own eyes—
Only now did he truly understand the weight of that word.
Calamity.
Demons numbering in the tens of millions, densely packed, blotting out the sky.
Wherever they passed, mountains would be flattened, rivers would be blocked, and forests would be crushed.
Every living being would be ground into dust beneath their feet.
Even if all the warriors of the entire continent were gathered, they would be unable to stop that torrent.
Any city-state standing in its way would ultimately be reduced to scorched earth in an instant.
Even the largest human city on the Akara Continent, Dawn City.
Even the World Tree, said to be protected by the Goddess of Life.
In the face of the Dark Tide, they were all the same.
Nothing could block its path.
Lin Gui withdrew his gaze and leaned against the flying vessel.
But all of this seemingly had nothing to do with him.
No matter where the Dark Tide ultimately headed, he could use the speed of his flying vessel to stay one step ahead and evade it.
Only...
For some reason, a bad premonition suddenly welled up in his heart.
Frowning, he looked toward the southeast, the direction where the demons had fled.
That direction...
A face suddenly surfaced in his mind.
A face with a cunning smile, long golden hair, and eyes that were both proud and willful.
That person who fears death so much...
She should have already listened to my advice and left the Royal Capital, right?
...
...
...
But would she give up the chance to seize that supreme throne?
......
Lin Gui fell silent.
After a long time, he sighed.
"Whatever. Let her make her own choice."
He had already done everything he could.
He had given her the advice.
He had also told her the warning.
If she insisted on staying, then that was her fate.
Lin Gui did not have the ability to go to the center of the Dark Tide to save her.
In the distance, the dwarves' cheers grew increasingly loud.
Lin Gui raised his head, looking toward the South Gate.
Those dwarves were hugging one another, laughing and shouting insults.
Some knelt on the ground, kissing the stones.
Some roared at the sky, and some embraced each other as they wept bitterly.
They had survived.
This city had held out.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Lin Gui's mouth.
He turned his head and looked up.
The mountain structure that originally covered Shield City had completely vanished by now.
Those demons had dismantled, hollowed out, and crushed the entire mountain.
The sunlight shone down without obstruction, illuminating this city-state that was once hidden within the mountain.
The city walls were exposed, covered in claw marks and cracks.
The roofs of the houses were riddled with holes from falling rocks.
Outside, the ground was covered in demon corpses.
But Shield City was still there.
It had endured.
Lin Gui's mood was somewhat complicated.
His original plan was to use Caran as a base and slowly unfold his revenge.
But the arrival of the Dark Tide had thrown everything into chaos.
What was the situation in Caran now?
He didn't know.
His arrangements and his plans had all been scattered and torn to pieces by this sudden disaster.
Lin Gui sighed.
"Whatever. I'll take it one step at a time."
He stood up, put away the flying vessel, and began walking toward Shield City's post office.
Even though his plans had been disrupted, there were still things he needed to do.
Shield City was located on a remote coast, but its impact zone could reach quite a few city-states.
The communication needs between those city-states were his opportunity.
The delivery business was his fastest path to increasing his strength right now.
Regardless of anything else, increasing his strength would always be Lin Gui's first priority.
However, what he did not expect was that unexpected events always have a way of breaking his plans.
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