Under the guidance of Lin Gui and Theia, two veterans honed in the wilderness, the team actually managed to pass through the Black Demon Forest without any danger, moving almost leisurely.
The process went smoother than imagined.
Aside from occasionally needing to avoid a few scattered groups of wandering Low Rank imps, nothing else happened.
The demon tides and fatal ambushes they had anticipated never occurred.
This excessive smoothness was like lukewarm spring water, quietly nurturing certain delusions.
Several young guards at the rear of the team even began to exchange excited gazes in low voices.
Was crossing the terrifying Black Demon Forest actually this simple?
It seemed that the high-paying, terrifying cross-city transport commissions were no longer an unreachable dream.
Perhaps after they returned, they really could join forces to take on such a job…
That blind optimism was completely punctured and shattered into nothingness the moment they followed Theia across the middle section of Audo Canyon and saw the distant landscape.
The towering, pitch-black, magnificent walls of Caran City still stood.
But at this moment, outside the walls!
There was a dense, endless army of demons!
Hisses, roars, and the sounds of impact drifted over faintly like muffled thunder, even from such a great distance.
Terrifying demon energy mixed with the scent of blood even permeated the air here, carried by the wind!
The faces of the guards, who had been harboring lucky thoughts just moments ago, instantly turned as pale as paper.
Someone’s legs even went soft, nearly causing them to collapse to the ground.
The Knight Commander stared blankly at that picture of destruction.
His knuckles turned white from gripping his sword hilt with excessive force.
He finally understood why the Black Demon Forest had been so “clean.”
It turned out all the High Rank demons had already moved out in full force to gather here!
“Heh.”
Lin Gui let out an extremely faint sneer, breaking the deathly silence of the team.
In fact, when he had been “tricked” into this commission by Theia, he hadn’t put up much resistance.
To a large extent, it was precisely because he had expected this kind of scene.
Witnessing the demon siege meant this commission could not proceed no matter what.
Facing such an act of God, even the City Lord would have no grounds to blame them.
And that high-value advance payment would be enough to open a post office in Caran City.
When he thought about it that way… did he have to “thank” Theia for tricking him?
However, before he could say the words to advise the commander to evacuate, Theia suddenly grabbed his arm with incredible strength.
She leaned in close to Lin Gui’s ear, her voice tight with extreme shock.
“Lin Gui! Something is wrong! Outside the city wall! Someone… someone is fighting that Legendary demon! And… they have the upper hand!”
“What?!”
Lin Gui’s pupils shrank violently as his heart jolted.
He knew Moragus’s terror all too well; that name was a bloody legacy built upon the corpses of countless Transcendent powerhouses!
Someone could actually face it head-on and even suppress it?
Just as he was dazed, Theia’s voice became even more urgent, even carrying a hint of a tremor.
“It’s defeated! That Legendary demon has been defeated! The demon tide is beginning to scatter… a portion is surging toward us!”
Lin Gui felt his scalp explode instantly, and without a second thought, he turned toward the Knight Commander and roared.
“Retreat! Run!!!”
The commander and the others had already lost all color in their faces, and they reacted like startled birds upon hearing him.
They dragged their companions whose legs were still weak, hoisted the unconscious young lady onto a back, and ran for their lives back the way they came.
Theia didn’t follow immediately; she looked at Lin Gui and spoke with extreme speed.
“Are we running?”
She knew very well that as long as Lin Gui was willing to use Shroud of the Gloomy Night, it wouldn’t be difficult for the two of them to avoid this scattered demon tide.
But the price was that the commander, that young lady, and all the guards would surely be buried here.
To save them or not?
The massive choice felt like a heavy millstone pressing down on Lin Gui’s heart.
Saving them meant great risk; not saving them allowed him and Theia to escape unscathed.
Lin Gui gnashed his teeth, pulled a gold coin from his robe, and threw it hard into the air!
The gold coin traced a stinging arc under the bleak sunlight before snapping back into his palm.
He opened his hand—it was tails.
“Save them!”
Lin Gui no longer hesitated and shouted to Theia.
“Lead them to that temporary outpost in Audo Canyon! It’s not far from here!”
Upon hearing this, an extremely peculiar expression flashed across Theia’s face, and the corners of her lips curled almost imperceptibly.
You never said whether heads meant save or tails meant save.
But she didn’t expose him; she simply gave a sharp nod.
Her figure shot out like a lightning bolt, instantly overtaking the frantic team and reaching the commander’s side.
“Follow me if you want to live!”
Under Theia’s lead, everyone exploded with their potential for survival.
They stumbled back to that familiar cliff and dove into the fully equipped temporary outpost.
The outpost was currently in a mess.
Tables and chairs were overturned, and goods were scattered everywhere, clearly having undergone a hurried evacuation.
Theia’s gaze was sharp, and she instantly locked onto several dark corners, her bowstring vibrating repeatedly!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Several powerful arrows precisely nailed the few imps hiding there to the walls.
Without stopping, she grabbed the demon corpses and quickly threw them out of the cave.
Almost simultaneously, Lin Gui rode his basilisk into the cave.
He leaped off, bit his finger, and rapidly drew a complex magic formation on the ground at the entrance.
The earth began to tremble violently, and the chaotic, hideous roars of demons grew closer.
The young guards huddled in the corners in terror, their teeth chattering.
The Knight Commander forced himself to stay calm and rushed to Lin Gui’s side, his voice hoarse with fear.
“You have a way, right?! Mage Lin Gui!”
Right at this moment, the City Lord’s daughter, who had been asleep for an entire day, had the worst possible timing and actually woke up.
The heart-shattering demon roars outside the cave instantly crushed the last bit of her sanity.
Her face was as white as paper, her eyes were wide with terror, and she opened her mouth.
“AAAHHH!!!”
The piercing scream instantly tore through the tense silence of the outpost!
“Fuck!”
Lin Gui’s hand drawing the formation jerked, nearly making a wrong stroke, as he turned and cursed furiously.
“If you want to live, shut her the hell up!!”
The Knight Commander’s face turned iron-blue as a look of resolve flashed in his eyes, and without further hesitation, he spun around.
Slap!!!
A heavy slap landed hard on the young lady’s face!
The shrill wailing stopped abruptly.
The young lady was like a bird with broken wings as she slumped weakly to the ground.
She passed out again, her right cheek swelling rapidly.
The world went quiet.
But the demon roars outside were already right at their ears!
The sound of dense footsteps made the cave ceiling shake, causing rubble to fall!
Lin Gui’s chanting suddenly rose in pitch as the final rune was completed!
Hum—!
An extremely thin, constantly fluctuating film of shadow energy instantly surged from the formation.
Like a black veil, it completely sealed off the cave entrance.
It was the magic circle version of the Shroud of the Gloomy Night: Wall of the Gloomy Night.
The light dimmed abruptly, leaving only the magic glimmer flowing in the darkness.
The commander was about to ask something else, but Theia suddenly stopped him.
She held a finger to her lips, her emerald eyes flashing with a warning light in the gloom.
“Shh—”
Everyone’s hearts leaped into their throats.
The demon footsteps, roars, and sniffing echoed just outside the thin Wall of the Gloomy Night, so dense it was suffocating!
Debris and dust constantly fell from above.
Cold sweat poured down the commander’s face; he could imagine what kind of hellish scene was outside right now.
Every second felt as long as a century.
Just as everyone had slightly regained their composure and thought the crisis had slowed down, a hideous wolf head covered in crimson scales slowly poked into the entrance!
Crimson pupils scanned the darkness, and its nostrils twitched violently!
It was a Hurricane Wolf Demon! A High-tier High Rank demon!
Lin Gui’s heart sank.
Although the Wall of the Gloomy Night did not provide full coverage and its concealment was far inferior to the Shroud of the Gloomy Night, it shouldn’t be easily seen through by a mere High Rank wolf demon.
Unless…
He suddenly sniffed, and an extremely sudden, faint, pungent smell entered his nostrils.
A novice Wind Guiding spell was instantly cast, causing the air to stir slightly.
The pungent stench became even more obvious!
“Holy shit!”
Lin Gui understood instantly and hissed in a low voice while suppressing his anger.
“Who the hell pissed themselves?! Quick, cover it with wood ash!!”
The commander and the guards looked at each other, and finally, their gazes collectively landed on the unconscious young lady on the ground.
Beneath her magnificent skirt, a pool of dark, pungent yellow liquid was slowly seeping out, soaking the ground.
“Dammit!”
“For fuck’s sake!”
Even the commander and guards who didn't often travel in the wilderness knew what this puddle of urine meant to demons!
They cursed in low voices while frantically grabbing the spare wood ash from a nearby bag, desperately scattering it over the young lady and that puddle.
On the other side, those five Hurricane Wolf Demons had clearly been completely attracted by this strong “signal”!
They lowered their bodies, and threatening growls rumbled in their throats.
Step by step, they approached the edge of the Wall of the Gloomy Night, their crimson gazes firmly locking onto the inside of the cave!
Lin Gui was putting all his effort into maintaining the formation and could not move, nor could he interrupt the spell to hide.
Theia stepped forward silently and came to Lin Gui’s side.
Her elven longbow was quietly drawn to full mast as an arrow was notched to the string.
Transcendent power condensed on the arrowhead like a physical substance, emitting a cold killing intent.
The tip of the arrow shifted slightly, precisely locking onto the forehead of the first wolf demon to step into the barrier.
Lin Gui instantly understood her intention.
He continued his chanting without stopping as the oak staff beneath him lifted him slightly off the ground.
He drifted a short distance to the side and rear, leaving the optimal shooting space for Theia.
Theia held her breath, her eyes as sharp as a hawk’s.
She was waiting.
Waiting for the first wolf demon that couldn’t restrain itself to step through the wall.
As long as its claws fully entered the Wall of the Gloomy Night, she was confident that she could pierce its head with an arrow within a hundredth of a second before it could issue a warning!
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