The entrance to the ruins that Rona had discovered was indeed not far away, just around a single corner from their temporary camp.
However, looking at the narrow gap, half-blocked by rubble and barely wide enough for a single person to squeeze through, Lin Gui frowned.
“At this height and width, we'll have to dismantle the raft and carry the wooden crates through one by one to barely make it.”
Without a second word, Theia squeezed through the narrow entrance first to scout ahead.
There was no need for Lin Gui to remind her.
Elvia also began untying the ropes securing the wooden crates.
If possible, she would have preferred to leave the raft and the crates here under her guard.
The camp Rona had chosen was indeed deep and hidden enough.
The demons roaming the outer perimeter were generally weak, making it relatively safe to leave things behind.
Leaving the wooden crates here would also ease the burden on Lin Gui's mana consumption.
After all, Lin Gui's mana was directly tied to their overall safety.
Unfortunately, Lin Gui would never do that.
But after spending these few days together, Elvia had more or less figured out Lin Gui's temperament.
These wooden crates—or rather, the letters inside them.
To him, their importance was practically equal to life itself.
They were so important that they could never leave his side.
So important that if she, a “delicate and noble” princess, were placed on a scale against these letters,
the weight of a single letter would probably be enough to launch her side high into the air.
The wooden crates were taken down one by one, and the ropes were carefully coiled and stored.
Lin Gui softly chanted an incantation, and a faint light began to swirl at the tip of his staff.
As his voice faded, the heavy wooden crates floated up smoothly one after another, hovering half a foot off the ground.
Luo Youyou watched this scene with envy, unable to resist sighing,
“...If only that blockhead Catherine knew this trick.”
“Then our Dreamweaver group wouldn't have to run around carrying all those deathly heavy supplies...”
Elvia chimed in coldly from the side, her tone carrying its usual sarcasm:
“Heh, even the most powerful Count Alexis in the Royal Capital, a High-tier Legendary Fire Mage, once publicly stated that he could never master this magic.”
“As for Catherine, a High Rank Mage who hasn't even reached the Transcendent Rank,”
“how could she possibly learn this ‘Novice’ magic that has stumped countless powerful mages?”
“B-but isn't Master Lin Gui just a Low-tier High Rank Mage?” Luo Youyou blinked her catlike eyes and asked in confusion.
Elvia: “...”
She choked on her words, momentarily left speechless.
Before long, Theia's figure slipped back out of the narrow opening.
With a trace of gravity on her face, she said to everyone,
“The interior structure of the passage is wider than the entrance, so the crates can fit through, but...”
As she spoke, she cast a suspicious gaze at the tightly bound Luo Youyou.
“Are you sure only Rona and Catherine went in?”
Luo Youyou was taken aback by the question and nodded reflexively.
“Y-yes! Is there a problem, meow?”
A trace of solemnity flashed in Theia's emerald eyes.
“Inside the passage, I found the footprints of at least ten people.”
“The footprints are very clear, and judging by the tracks, they were made very recently.”
“How is that possible?!” Luo Youyou cried out in shock, her cat ears instantly standing on end.
Elvia reacted instantly.
With a sharp clang, she drew her sword.
The cold blade instantly pressed against the catgirl's slender neck as she demanded sharply,
“Speak! Why did you lie to us?!”
Cold sweat broke out all over the catgirl, her body trembling slightly with fear.
Tied up as she was, she couldn't even struggle.
Could this half-demon be lying?
After all, she's a notorious half-demon, with betrayal practically written in her genes...
But... why?
She, Luo Youyou, was just a powerless catgirl. What could anyone possibly want from her?
If she wasn't lying... then that meant...
someone else had entered the ruins after Sister Rona...
But why?
In this section of the rift leading to Caran, aside from their Dreamweaver group...
and Lin Gui's group who had just passed through...
and the Defense Force that had inexplicably crossed the Whispering Forest...
there shouldn't have been anyone else...
Suddenly, Luo Youyou remembered something, and her pupils dilated in shock!
“Could... could it be... them!”
“Them?”
Elvia narrowed her eyes, an ominous premonition rising in her heart.
“About a week ago, Sister Rona said a very powerful knight order was passing through the rift.”
“Before even making contact, she had us relocate our camp deeper into the rift, bringing us to this second safe temporary camp.”
“Then that massive battle broke out, exposing the ruins, and Rona and Catherine went inside.”
“And just a day or two before you arrived, our scouts went missing.”
“While searching for them, we spotted the Defense Force coming from Caran.”
“We learned from them that a knight order had entered the rift. Could it be...”
“It's John's knight order!” Elvia's expression turned incredibly grim.
Her voice carried a faint, barely perceptible tremble.
She had never expected this.
Despite leaving Caran so much earlier, they had actually caught up to them here!
No, thinking about it carefully,
with Lin Gui's absurd speed from his ridiculous concealment and continuous levitation as they crossed the wilderness,
catching up to and even overtaking a large army that had to halt constantly to avoid demons
actually made perfect sense.
When she had come to Caran from the Royal Capital, the knights had spent a full five days crossing the perilous Whispering Forest.
Yet, following this monster Lin Gui, it had only taken a single day!
The thought sent a chill down Elvia's spine, leaving her filled with lingering dread.
If they hadn't discovered this ruin and entered it,
but had instead continued along the original Golden Route toward the Royal Capital...
before long, they would have run straight into this Holy Knight order!
She rushed over to Lin Gui, her expression more serious and urgent than ever before.
“Lin Gui! Listen to me! While John's knights are busy hunting for treasure in the ruins, we must leave this place right now!”
“This is no longer a simple rescue mission! This is suicide!”
Theia looked a bit puzzled and chimed in,
“You're a princess, and they're royal knights. Why are you afraid of them?”
“What the hell do you know?!” Elvia practically growled, cutting Theia off.
“John's knight order serves Carter's Third Prince! My arch-rival!”
“They would love nothing more than to make me quietly disappear in the middle of nowhere!!”
“Then why didn't they make a move on the way here while escorting you?” Theia pressed.
“Because escorting me safely to Caran was a mission personally handed down to them by my royal father!”
“At least during the mission, they couldn't openly do anything to me!”
Elvia ran her hands through her long golden hair in frustration.
“Every direct royal descendant in the Royal Capital is implanted with a soul magic stone at birth!”
“If I die an unnatural death before the knights return to report, the Third Prince would definitely be under suspicion.”
“Then what are you afraid of now?” Theia tilted her head.
“What am I afraid of?!”
Elvia was completely dumbfounded.
Was she the one who was crazy, or had the entire world gone mad?
The enemy was a fully-equipped Holy Knight order! A terrifying force boasting one Mid-tier Legendary, one Low-tier Legendary, and eight High-tier Transcendent experts.
This lineup could easily crush many city-states.
Facing such a terrifying force, you're asking me what I'm afraid of?!
Damn it! Shouldn't anyone be terrified?!
The strongest person on their side was only a single Low-tier Transcendent Ranger!
“I know that when you and Lin Gui work together, you can sweep through anyone at the Transcendent Rank.”
“But the other side has Legendary Rank powerhouses! Even if you get right in their faces to shoot your arrows, you won't even scratch their protective qi!”
“Besides, that's a Legendary Rank expert. Do you really think you can sneak up and launch a surprise attack right under his nose?”
Just as Elvia finished speaking, Lin Gui's voice drifted over.
“Actually, yes, I can. But we need to rescue Rona first.”
He glanced at the mastery level of 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night LV9】 on his system interface,
as well as his mana pool, which was just a hair's breadth away from advancing.
Every minor rank breakthrough brought not only an explosive increase in mana capacity,
but also a deeper understanding and control of his existing magic.
If he could break through to the Mid-tier High Rank during this adventure,
then the sole, minute flaw in 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】 when facing the Legendary Rank might be completely mended.
With that thought, Lin Gui took the lead and entered the secret passage, guiding the wooden crates and raft along with him.
Rate on N.U.
