Elvia's body stiffened for a moment.
Then, she moved.
Every bone in her body ached.
The impact from falling from a high altitude, the collisions while rolling—the bruises, the abrasions, and those internal injuries she couldn't even locate.
Every movement felt like a knife carving into her flesh.
But she moved anyway.
Gritting her teeth, she used her hands to support herself against the ground, dragging herself inch by inch toward Lin Gui.
Her hand instinctively reached for her waist.
Empty.
There was nothing there.
She reached into her bosom.
Empty.
The daggers, the short swords, and all the weapons she had hidden on her person had been lost during the flight.
Her hands groped along the ground.
Shattered stones.
Dead branches.
Dirt.
Finally, her fingers brushed against a palm-sized stone.
She gripped it.
Then, she struggled to stand.
Her legs were trembling. Her knees felt like they were about to shatter.
A tearing pain radiated from her waist and abdomen.
But she stood up.
She stood before Lin Gui, clutching that stone, facing the five approaching magical wolves.
She leaned forward slightly, one foot in front of the other, knees slightly bent.
It was the standard combat posture of a knight.
Even though she didn't have a sword, only a stone.
Even though every bone in her body was screaming in pain.
Yet, the stance was still textbook-perfect.
She stared at the magical wolves, her breathing growing more rapid.
Those eerie green eyes were reflected in her pupils.
Five of them.
Mid Rank.
If she were at her peak, she would have needed three strikes at most.
But now.
She could barely even stand steadily.
Her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of her own condition.
Her left leg had no strength; she must have injured a ligament.
Her right arm couldn't be raised above her shoulder—perhaps a dislocation, or maybe a fracture.
The stinging pain from her ribs forced her to take every breath with extreme caution.
In this state, could she handle a single magical wolf?
No.
Let alone five.
They were getting closer. The nearest one was already less than five meters away from her.
She could smell the stench from its mouth.
She could see the remnants of shredded meat hanging from its fangs.
She could feel the naked hunger and cruelty within those eerie green eyes.
If this were the past.
If it were the high-and-mighty Princess Elvia.
If she encountered such a desperate situation.
She would have fled without a second thought.
She had never been the kind of knight who fought to the death.
She feared death. She was greedy for life.
She was selfish and self-interested.
She lived for enjoyment, for power, and for the life of luxury.
Fighting to the end?
That was something only idiots did.
But now.
She couldn't run.
She glanced at what lay behind her.
Lin Gui lay there, motionless.
His deathly pale face was covered in blood and filth.
That twisted left arm hung limply on the ground.
This fool.
To save her, he had charged into the Carter Royal Capital amidst the Dark Tide.
To save her, he had brought her out from the claws of that damnable demon.
To save her, he had ended up in this wretched state.
What relationship did she have with him?
She had used him.
She had schemed against him.
She had even thought about having him killed once he cured her of the poison.
But what about him?
He came.
He actually came.
Many images flashed through Elvia's mind.
The Carter Royal Capital.
That city-state that was likely now in ruins.
The city-state where she once possessed everything.
Wealth.
Power.
Status.
Glory.
Her identity as a princess.
The pride of the nobility.
It was all gone.
All of it was gone.
Now, she was nothing.
Just an ordinary woman.
A battered, bruised, weaponless, and wretched woman.
But she still had one thing.
She still had this fool lying behind her.
The only person in this world who would sacrifice himself to save her.
She couldn't lose anything else.
Elvia tightened her grip on the stone.
The fear was still there in her eyes.
But she did not retreat.
She stared at the approaching magical wolf, letting out a roar from her throat.
The sound was hoarse, sharp, trembling, and filled with madness.
She raised the stone, preparing to pounce.
Then, she froze.
The magical wolf suddenly stopped.
Its ears perked up sharply.
Its nose twitched several times.
The hunger and cruelty in its eyes were suddenly replaced by something else.
Terror.
Pure terror.
It took a step back.
The other four magical wolves stopped simultaneously as well.
Their bodies began to tremble.
Low whimpers emerged from their throats, sounding like frightened dogs.
They looked south, behind Elvia.
Toward the direction Lin Gui had been racing from.
Toward that dark, silent, and invisible south.
The fear in their eyes grew deeper.
Finally, they fled.
The five magical wolves, like five streaks of grayish-black lightning, bolted frantically toward the north.
They vanished into the darkness.
They moved so fast they didn't even dare to look back.
Elvia stood there in a daze.
The stone in her hand was still raised in mid-air.
Her breathing was ragged.
Her body was still shaking.
But those magical wolves had really run away.
Gone? Why?
She instinctively turned her head toward the south.
In an instant, she realized. Her scalp went numb.
It was the Dark Tide!!
The Dark Tide was spreading north after all!!
"Damn it!!"
A roar escaped Elvia's throat.
"Damn it!! Damn it!! Damn it!!"
She stared fixedly at the darkness to the south.
That darkness that had swallowed the Carter Royal Capital.
That darkness that drove countless demons into a frenzy.
That darkness that even Epic demons could only obey.
It was here. It was truly here.
Of all four directions, why did you have to come this way!!
Go to the southern sea!!
Go to the places where there are no people!!
Go to those damnable demons' homelands!!
"You bastard!!!"
Roaring, Elvia violently cast away the stone in her hand.
Her body was shaking.
But she didn't stop.
She looked down at the dress she was wearing.
The once exquisite and expensive dress she had brought from the Carter Royal Capital.
It was now tattered and covered in dirt and bloodstains.
She grabbed the hem of the skirt.
Rip—
The sound of the fabric tearing was particularly piercing in the night wind.
She tore off a large piece of cloth.
Then a second piece.
A third.
She shredded the hem of the dress into strips, exposing her pale calves and thighs.
Her skin was exposed for all to see.
But she didn't have time for that.
She crouched down and shoved all the items Lin Gui had taken out into the cloth.
Grass-and-wood ash.
Dry rations.
Medicinal herbs.
Aromatics.
She wrapped these items tightly, tying them into a crude bundle and slinging it across her body.
Then, she turned around and looked at Lin Gui.
He was still lying there.
Motionless.
His deathly pale face was covered in blood.
His twisted left arm was just hanging there.
Elvia gritted her teeth.
She crouched down, placing one hand on Lin Gui's back while sliding the other through the hollows of his knees.
Exerting strength.
Heave.
In that instant, her waist felt like it had been stabbed by a knife, and her vision went black from the pain.
The stinging in her ribs nearly made her scream out loud.
Her knees shook.
Her legs shook.
Her entire body shook.
But she remained standing.
Lin Gui's body pressed against her back, as heavy as a mountain.
His head rested limply on her shoulder, his warm blood flowing into her collar.
Elvia gasped for air, the sweat on her forehead trickling down and mixing with the dirt.
She turned her head and took one look at the south.
That darkness.
That silence.
That darkness that was closing in to devour everything.
Then, she withdrew her gaze.
She looked toward the north.
Toward the direction the magical wolves had fled.
They had run away.
They knew which way to go.
They understood fear far better than humans.
Elvia took a deep breath.
Then, she took her first step.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
Carrying Lin Gui on her back, she stumbled and staggered toward the north.
Behind them, that darkness drew closer and closer.
Before them lay the endless night.
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