The elven longbow was drawn as taut as a full moon, its string letting out a faint groan of protest.
Theia's emerald eyes were locked firmly onto the Hurricane Wolf Demon that was the first to poke its head into the magic light barrier.
Her pupils had constricted into dangerous, thin slits.
The air at the cave entrance was as still as iron.
The Knight Commander and the surviving guards didn't even dare to breathe.
Cold sweat slid down their foreheads, dripping onto the cold stone floor.
They knew all too well what a terrifying chain reaction would be triggered if they were exposed.
Outside was the demon tide! It was a bottomless abyss of ruin.
Lin Gui continued his low, rhythmic chanting.
While maintaining the Wall of the Gloomy Night, another more concise and profound incantation was already prepared.
It was the activation incantation for the Shroud of the Gloomy Night.
He had already prepared for the worst-case scenario.
If Theia failed, or if any of the wolf demons managed to sound the alarm...
He would immediately pull Theia away and activate the shroud to flee before the demon tide completely consumed this cave.
As for the commander, the guards, and the City Lord's daughter?
He had already done all that was humanly possible.
Unfortunately, the commander's actions in scattering the wood ash were a moment too slow.
The strong stench of urine was like a beacon in the darkness, providing the giant wolf with a clear guide.
Its hideous head lunged through the shimmering light barrier.
Its crimson beastly pupils instantly reflected the terrified figures of the humans inside the cave!
Its blood-red maw opened, baring savage fangs, as a bloodthirsty roar was about to tear through the silence.
Swish... Thwack!
An elven arrow that had been poised for some time, imbued with the sharp battle qi of a Transcendent, shot forth at a speed faster than the eye could follow!
With incomparable precision, it instantly pierced through the wolf's hard skull!
The arrowhead erupted from the back of the head, bringing with it a spray of red and white, before embedding itself deep into the yellow earth behind!
The roar was forever silenced in its throat.
The giant wolf's massive body stiffened for a moment before slumping down.
Theia moved like a phantom, stepping forward before the corpse could even hit the ground.
She quickly gave it a hard kick, sending it into the deep shadows of the cave to avoid attracting the attention of the demons outside.
Immediately after!
Her figure flashed as she took the initiative to charge out of the protective range of the Wall of the Gloomy Night!
The other four Hurricane Wolf Demons outside had just noticed their companion's aura disappear.
They were just about to let out long howls to signal a warning.
A crimson light flared in Theia's eyes as she bit her slender fingertip without hesitation.
A bead of dark red blood emerged but did not fall.
Under her magical control, it instantly condensed in mid-air into four slender, eerie, blood-colored needles!
She swung her right hand forward with a sharp motion!
The four blood needles whistled through the air silently, precisely sinking into the centers of the foreheads of the remaining four giant wolves!
Whimper...
The bodies of the four giant wolves stiffened simultaneously.
The violent bloodlust in their crimson pupils quickly faded, replaced by a sort of vacant submissiveness.
Under Theia's silent control, the four giant wolves lowered their heads like docile domestic dogs, letting out muffled growls in their throats.
They each turned around and left the cave entrance quietly and mechanically, disappearing back into the chaotic demon tide outside.
Inside the cave, there was a deathly silence.
The Knight Commander and the guards stared blankly at the unimaginable scene before them.
Their faces were filled with shock and disbelief.
Even Lin Gui's eyes flickered with a deep sense of surprise.
He hadn't expected Theia to have such a move hidden up her sleeve.
It seemed...
Those ancient rumors that demon blood could influence or even control demons were not entirely baseless.
The disappearance of the giant wolves temporarily lifted the imminent crisis.
Theia let out a soft sigh, the crimson light in her eyes slowly receding until they returned to their emerald color.
She leaped lightly back into the cave.
Her footsteps seemed to falter slightly for a moment, but she quickly steadied herself.
Next came a long and agonizing wait.
Lin Gui and the others huddled inside the outpost.
They listened to the roars and trampling sounds of the demons outside passing by like a surging tide.
The earth continued to tremble, and dust and rubble fell from the ceiling.
Every second felt like dancing on the edge of a blade.
It wasn't until the suffocating sounds gradually faded and finally vanished into the sound of the wind in the canyon.
Only then did Lin Gui slowly stop his output of magic power.
The Wall of the Gloomy Night quietly dissipated.
He almost instantly lost his strength, slumping onto the ground in a disheveled heap.
His forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his breathing was ragged.
Maintaining such a large-scale concealment magic while resisting the chaotic energy impacts from the outside had taken a massive toll on him.
Theia stepped forward and silently handed him a water skin.
Lin Gui took it and gulped down several mouthfuls before saying hoarsely, "Thanks."
Theia shook her head and crouched down beside him, hugging her knees as her gaze drifted elsewhere.
The City Lord's daughter had woken up again.
First, she blinked her eyes in confusion.
Then, she realized she was covered in filthy wood ash and the pungent smell of urine, and her face was burning with pain.
After a brief moment of daze, an unprecedented sense of grievance and terror instantly overwhelmed her.
"WAAAAHHH!!!"
A cry even louder and more piercing than before erupted.
It echoed repeatedly within the cave, stabbing at everyone's eardrums.
The Knight Commander instantly broke out in cold sweat, frantically trying to step forward to comfort her, yet not knowing how to begin.
The guards' faces unanimously showed an undisguised look of disgust and annoyance.
However, they didn't dare to voice their anger and could only turn their heads away.
Theia retracted her gaze and looked back at the exhausted Lin Gui.
Her emerald eyes seemed particularly deep in the dim light.
"What do you think?" she asked softly, her voice carrying a trace of imperceptible tension.
Lin Gui was taken aback, not quite catching her meaning: "What do you mean?"
"Seeing that I can control demons."
Theia hugged her legs, her chin resting on her knees, as she stared at him without blinking.
"Don't you... have anything you want to say? Or anything you want to ask?"
Hearing this, Lin Gui was stunned for a long time.
He looked at Theia's emerald eyes, which were no longer hidden; they seemed to contain a sliver of cautious testing and the anxiety of waiting for a judgment.
Finally, as if he had finished thinking seriously about it, he gave a solemn evaluation:
"Good job???"
Theia was stunned, her emerald eyes widening as if she hadn't expected this answer at all.
After a long while, an extremely complex yet relieved smile slowly bloomed on her beautiful face.
She suddenly raised her hand and gave Lin Gui a punch on the shoulder that wasn't too hard but wasn't soft either.
Her tone was reproaching, yet it held a hint of inexpressible ease:
"Honestly... with the way you're acting, I really might end up falling for you in the future, you know?"
Lin Gui immediately put on his trademark expression of disgust and shrank back:
"My apologies, but I'm a man who's going to travel the entire Akara Continent; the investment risk is too high. If you don't want to be lured onto my pirate ship, it's better to nip that dangerous thought in the bud as soon as possible."
Theia just laughed, seemingly not taking Lin Gui's words seriously, her emerald eyes curving into beautiful crescents.
People feared half-demons, and that fear was not without reason.
Possessing half-demon blood naturally meant one could inherit that power from the abyss, the same source as the demons.
Being able to communicate with demons, or even influence them...
This ability itself made it easy for people to associate them with the destructive Dark Tide.
When she had decided to reveal this long-hidden ability.
She had actually prepared herself to be shunned or even feared.
Fortunately...
She looked at the man beside her, who still had a speechless look on his face.
The calmness and understanding in his eyes were not a facade.
He still treated her like an ordinary person.
That was enough.
Rate on N.U.
