The route marked on the system map was incredibly simple: Caran City → Withered Rift → Carter Royal Capital.
However, if one zoomed in to closely examine that frontier map, they would discover that several crucial nodes lay hidden between these two seemingly simple points.
Aside from the incredibly narrow and long, terrifying Forbidden Zone known as the "Withered Rift"—which took up nearly three-quarters of the journey—one departing from Caran would first need to cross the wide-open, undulating "Molan Hills," as well as a dense woodland known as the "Whispering Forest."
Even after crossing the Withered Rift, they would not directly reach the Royal Capital; they still had to pass through an abandoned military outpost—"Eagle Fortress."
According to Elvia, there hadn't been a single living person there for a long time, and it had completely devolved into a nest for a group of fierce sky demons.
Departing from Caran, the floating raft sailed into the Molan Hills.
This place had once been an important grain-producing region for Caran City, but now only desolation and demonic shadows remained.
Under the wide-open sky, the sight of demonic corruption was shocking.
Packs of demon wolves with rotting fur and crimson eyes were frantically chasing and tearing into "Blood-Horned Sheep Demons," a species with dark red horns and an equally violent temperament.
Ever since the demons descended, the original ecosystem had been brutally destroyed.
In its place was a cruel, new food chain characterized by chaos and bloodshed.
Lin Gui controlled 【Levitation】 with his mind highly focused.
Whenever they encountered the aura of a powerful demon or a patrol, he would immediately activate 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】, concealing the entire raft and all the presence upon it into nothingness.
When they came across open areas with terrain suitable for a brief rest, he would control the raft to land, racing against time to recover his nearly depleted mana.
Theia's sharp gaze was like the most precise radar, constantly scanning the surroundings to provide early warnings and guiding the raft to bypass the vast majority of powerful demon hordes.
Meanwhile, Elvia relied on her memory to constantly correct their general direction, ensuring that the team always traveled within the safe zones of the "golden route."
This path, blazed by Holy Knight John, was valuable not because it was the shortest, but because it could bypass to the greatest extent those terrifying nests centered around Legendary demons.
It prevented them from barging straight into the heart of demon territory.
Just as when he had first met Theia, even with her superb vision, Lin Gui had still almost been trapped by a sudden demonic tide.
Large-scale demonic movements were not triggered solely by human campaigns.
More often, they resulted from territorial disputes between demon lords, the emergence of high-energy treasures, or spontaneous pack hunting targeting specific objectives.
Therefore, a reliable and safe route was worth a fortune.
Elvia's importance was fully highlighted at this moment.
Of course, the "golden route" was not a foolproof guarantee.
It had an expiration date.
The core activity ranges of Legendary demons were not set in stone; their will defined the boundaries of their territory.
According to the agreement of the alliance of city-states, this kind of golden route intelligence theoretically needed to be updated once every two months.
And forty-one days had already passed since the Holy Knight had blazed this trail.
This meant that for the first leg of the journey, the route was highly likely to still be valid.
But the further they went, the greater the variables became, so Lin Gui and the others had to be increasingly cautious.
In the latter half of the Molan Hills, on a secluded hillside where demon tracks were relatively scarce, the dense grass shook slightly.
The last few blades of grass seemed to be smoothed over by an invisible hand, perfectly covering the final gap.
Beneath the grass was a pit that had been forcibly "created," and the raft sat quietly inside it.
Lin Gui put away his staff, leaned against a wooden crate feeling somewhat exhausted, and let out a long sigh.
He hadn't expected that he would also have a day where he would use these seemingly useless Novice Magic spells.
By combining 【Novice Earth Magic: Soil Loosening】 with 【Novice Wood Magic: Growth Acceleration】, he had actually managed to construct this cave covered by vegetation, using the local resources in this wide-open hill country.
Nearby, Elvia's gaze grew increasingly complex and hard to describe.
When mages trained, they usually specialized in one or two elements, at most three, to achieve depth.
Yet the guy before her had already demonstrated more than five different magic elements since they departed from Caran.
Wind-element 【Levitation】, Darkness-element 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】, Light-element 【Illumination】, Water-element 【Water Creation】, Fire-element 【Ignition】, plus the Earth and Wood elements from just now...
He had practically gone through almost all the common magic elements!
Although they were all novice spells, considering his casting speed, precision of control, and... bizarrely creative combinations, it was clear he had invested a tremendous amount of effort.
What kind of monster was this guy?
Just as Elvia was lost in thought, Lin Gui stood up and said, “Let's rest here for today.”
After saying that, he began to build a fire to cook.
Elvia and Theia felt their scalps go numb watching him.
Even with Lin Gui's repeated assurances, their hearts were still in their throats, pounding wildly.
Through a gap in the grassy camouflage, her disguised emerald eyes stared intently at the wandering demonic figures in the distance, not daring to let down her guard for even a second.
Elvia hesitated, wanting to speak up several times to stop this nearly suicidal behavior.
Building a fire to cook in a wilderness infested with demons?
Even the elite knights led by Holy Knight John wouldn't dare do such a thing!
Yet Lin Gui did exactly that.
A tiny 【Fireball】 precisely ignited the dry firewood.
Under the control of 【Levitation】, an iron pot, seasonings, and ingredients floated out from the supply crates.
Among the ingredients, there were even several pieces of bright red pork!
In the era of city-states, raising livestock had become almost an exclusive privilege of the high nobility.
For commoners and ordinary adventurers to eat a bite of meat, the price they had to pay was extremely high.
For example, one hundred gold coins.
And these few pieces of meat were things Lin Gui had conveniently "intercepted" when confiscating the assets of those wealthy gentry, which he had kept carefully preserved with 【Freezing】 all this time.
Lin Gui tossed a piece of meat to Elvia, floated a kitchen knife in front of her, and instructed, “Chop up the meat and prep it.”
Elvia stared blankly at the pork in her hand, then at the gleaming kitchen knife in front of her, her lips twitching.
“I'm a princess! I've never done this kind of thing! Have that half-demon do it!”
However, Lin Gui merely shot her a cold glance.
Elvia instantly chickened out.
She silently picked up the cutting board and meat, walking to the side to chop clumsily.
Her mouth muttered silent complaints.
The pork, various spices and seasonings, and Lin Gui's rapidly improved culinary skills—honed out of sheer necessity over the many years since he transmigrated into this world...
The preparation of all the seasonings and ingredients was something he had figured out entirely on his own...
Soon, an indescribably rich aroma began to diffuse within this cramped space.
The scent made both Theia and Elvia's mouths water.
But at the same time, it brought their hearts right up to their throats.
They stared intently at the wisp of cooking smoke rising slowly!
The cooking smoke and aroma drifted along the air currents, attempting to escape out of the cave.
Rate on N.U.
