In the cold and damp dungeon, the air was filled with the smell of rotting straw and a faint scent of blood.
Dim oil lamps on the stone walls flickered, casting distorted and swaying shadows.
Lin Gui was roughly pushed into a narrow cell, and the iron door locked with a clang behind him.
He steadied himself and quickly scanned the cell next door.
Theia was sitting on a pile of straw in the corner with her knees hugged to her chest, looking up when she heard the noise.
Her silver-white hair remained striking even in the dim light, and a visible gloom resided within her red pupils.
However, she did not appear to be injured, merely a bit despondent.
When she saw that the newcomer was Lin Gui, her eyes instantly widened.
“Lin Gui?!”
She suddenly stood up and rushed to the bars.
Her voice carried disbelief and a trace of subtle panic.
“Why are you here?! You were supposed to have already...”
She cut herself off, and then, as if understanding something, her face was instantly swept with rage.
She abruptly turned her head toward the two fully armored guards standing outside the cells.
Her voice rose with anger.
A wisp of the aura belonging to a Transcendent Rank powerhouse inadvertently leaked out.
The air in the dungeon seemed to freeze for a moment.
“Why did you arrest him?! This has nothing to do with him! He’s just a messenger!”
At almost the exact moment Theia’s aura erupted, the two silent guards also took a sudden step forward!
Two even denser and more oppressive auras suddenly rose.
Like invisible boulders, they accurately and forcefully suppressed Theia’s aura!
Theia groaned softly, her body swaying as she was forced back half a step.
A flash of uncertainty passed over her face as she looked sharply at the two guards.
These two...
She had never seen them in Caran City, yet their strength had definitely reached the Transcendent Rank.
Furthermore, they coordinated perfectly; they were absolutely not ordinary City Guards!
Where did the City Lord find such experts?
Lin Gui saw all of this, and his eyes shifted imperceptibly.
However, he wore a relaxed smile, appearing as if he hadn't felt the brief, lightning-fast clash that had just occurred.
He walked to the bars and waved at Theia next door.
“Yo, we meet again, Theia. It seems we’re quite fated—we’re even neighbors in a dungeon.”
Theia was in no mood for jokes and urgently lowered her voice.
“Are you stupid? Why didn’t you leave? They’re clearly after me! Getting involved will only get you caught up in this!”
“I wanted to leave, too, but who would’ve thought that I’d be invited here right after delivering the last letter?”
Lin Gui shrugged, his tone casual.
His gaze, however, moved past Theia and settled thoughtfully on the two guards.
Just then, a slightly noisy set of footsteps came from the dungeon entrance.
The City Lord walked in, surrounded by a group of people.
Beside him was a young man in ornate knight armor with a haughty expression.
The man’s gaze was sharp, and a faint, mocking sneer played on the corners of his lips.
The City Lord used a white silk handkerchief to cover his nose and mouth in disgust.
His gaze swept over the two people in the cells, finally settling on Theia.
“Theia Windrunner.”
The City Lord spoke, his voice carrying a sense of superior interrogation.
“Do you have anything else to add regarding the fact that the seven Gold Rank adventure groups were wiped out in the Black Demon Forest while you alone survived? Are you in league with the demons in the forest?”
Theia took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and recounted her experience once more—a story she had already told countless times.
How she had accepted the commission and how she had cooperated with the other teams.
How they had encountered Moragus and the demon tide, and how she had narrowly escaped using her speed and concealment abilities as a ranger.
Her meeting with Lin Gui was merely a chance encounter on her return trip.
Her narrative was clear and calm, but the young knight impatiently interrupted her.
“Coincidence? A chance encounter? Narrowly escaped?” The knight sneered.
“When so many coincidences are piled together, they are no longer coincidences!”
“Why were you the only one who escaped?”
“And why, out of everyone, do you know the person who delivered Barnard’s testament?”
“Your excuses are far too weak!”
Theia’s expression darkened.
“That is the truth! If you don’t believe me, you can send someone to the Black Demon Forest to investigate!”
“Investigate?” The City Lord slowly lowered his handkerchief.
“With demons now rampant in the depths of the forest, how are we to investigate?”
“We simply need a clear result to give the fallen heroes an explanation.”
“To give the restless citizens an explanation.”
Lin Gui leaned against the cold stone wall, silently watching this ‘interrogation’ whose outcome had been decided long ago.
The goal of the City Lord and the knight was not to uncover the truth.
What they needed was a ‘culprit’ they could cast out to bear the people's anger and divert attention.
Or... a ‘tool’ with utility.
Sure enough, the City Lord lost his patience, cleared his throat, and pronounced the verdict.
“Based on the existing evidence and heavy suspicion, I hereby sentence both of you to death.”
Theia’s fists suddenly clenched, her fingernails almost sinking into her palms.
Then the City Lord’s tone shifted, becoming ‘magnanimous.’
“However... I am not an unreasonable person.”
“If you can prove your value, perhaps... I can reduce your sentences at my discretion.”
Theia looked up abruptly, a flash of vigilance in her eyes.
The City Lord continued.
“What I need is the 【Umbral Tree Flower】 that grows on Moragus’s head.”
“As long as you can retrieve it, I will not only pardon your death sentences but perhaps even give you unexpected rewards.”
Theia’s heart sank.
As expected! It was still this!
This was essentially a death sentence! Sending her and Lin Gui to pluck a flower from a Legendary demon’s head?
It was pure fantasy!
She subconsciously evaluated the possibility of a forced breakout.
Her gaze scanned the two guards and the young knight beside the City Lord once more.
As if seeing through her thoughts, the young knight scoffed.
“Theia, or should I say ‘Crimson Thorn,’ we know who you are.”
“You have seven records of successful prison breaks across three city-states, specializing in using the environment and creating chaos.”
His voice suddenly turned cold, and a powerful aura far exceeding Theia’s own bore down on her without reservation.
Theia’s breath hitched.
“But I advise you to put away those little schemes.”
“I am a High-tier Transcendent Knight, only one step away from the Legendary rank.”
“Before me, your strength as a new Transcendent is not worth mentioning. Furthermore...”
The knight’s gaze turned maliciously toward the seemingly harmless Lin Gui, his tone full of threat.
“You wouldn’t want your ‘friend’ to be struck down on the spot because of your foolish actions, would you?”
“He looks like... only a Low-tier High Rank Mage? Pitifully fragile.”
Theia’s body stiffened, and the desperate thoughts that had just risen were forcefully pushed back down.
She glanced at Lin Gui, who still had no expression in the cell across from her, and a deep sense of powerlessness gripped her.
It was happening again...
No matter where she fled, she was ultimately driven into a corner and would even involve others...
Just then, the silent Lin Gui suddenly spoke, his voice unusually calm.
“The City Lord’s meaning is that the two of us are to go and retrieve the flower?”
The City Lord frowned, seemingly displeased by the interruption, but he still answered.
“Of course not.”
“To ‘assist’ and ‘protect’ you, Knight Lyon will lead a squad of ten Transcendent experts.”
“They will ‘accompany’ you deep into the Black Forest to ensure you... focus on completing the task.”
The young knight named Lyon lifted his chin haughtily.
Lin Gui let out a soft laugh at those words.
He turned his head and looked through the small window of the cell.
As he gazed at the deep night outside, a trace of an indescribable... expectation seemed to flash through his eyes?
He withdrew his gaze, a harmless smile on his face.
He nodded slightly to the City Lord and the knight, his tone even sounding somewhat eager.
“I see. In that case, let’s not delay and depart now, shall we?”
“I can’t wait... to present that beautiful Umbral Tree Flower to you lords.”
He was squinting and smiling, looking submissive.
But as the corner of his eye swept over the City Lord, the knight, and the two guards...
His gaze was as cold as ice, as if he were looking at a group of... dead people.
Rate on N.U.
