Lin Gui and Elvia remained silent for most of the way.
They only exchanged brief words when it was necessary to adjust their course.
Theia, sitting on top of the wooden crate, felt the atmosphere was a bit strange.
She couldn't help but ask.
“It’s just one demon that wandered out of its territory, right? Why do you both look like the sky is falling?”
Elvia rolled her eyes at her in annoyance and corrected her.
“It traveled nearly a thousand kilometers to get here!”
“Do you think it’s just bored out of its mind, half-demon?”
“Use your head! What could drive a demon of that caliber to act against its nature and run so far?”
Theia tilted her head and thought for a moment before offering a smiling guess.
“For the treasures in the ancient ruins of the Withered Rift?”
“It’s the Dark Tide!!!”
Elvia practically shrieked in a low, hysterical growl.
Thwack!
Lin Gui’s hand swung back and rapped her on the top of her head with moderate force.
“Ow! Why did you hit me?!”
Elvia clutched her head and glared at Lin Gui in resentment.
Lin Gui irritably pointed down at several flying demons that had been startled by her shout and were now shrieking as they flapped upward, then lowered his voice.
“Keep it down! My mana can’t hold 【Levitation】 and the 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】 forever!”
Re-casting the 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】, he quickly focused his mind to maneuver the wooden raft, narrowly avoiding a demon’s pounce.
He threaded the raft through the gaps in the demon swarm as they lost their target and began wandering aimlessly.
“The Dark Tide?”
Theia’s emerald eyes widened, her small mouth hanging slightly open.
“The next Dark Tide will be born in the borderlands? Wasn’t that always just a rumor?”
“It might not be a rumor anymore.”
Elvia rubbed her head, her tone heavy.
“While I can’t be a hundred percent certain, every time before a Dark Tide is born, demons within the impact zone exhibit this kind of abnormal migration and rioting.”
“The scale is massive, affecting as much as one percent of the entire continent.”
“Just like the time ten years ago that caused the Great Evacuation of the borderlands... back then, demon activity here was also extremely abnormal.”
In other words, abnormal demon activity didn’t necessarily mean the Dark Tide would be born right there.
It could be somewhere a thousand kilometers away.
Regardless, this sign continued to hang over Elvia’s heart like a dark cloud.
This was because the borderlands were one of the very few regions on the continent that had never been completely swept away by the main force of a Dark Tide.
Carrying this heavy burden of worry, the raft continued to drift deeper into the Whispering Forest.
Along the way, they discovered more tragic traces left behind by the retreating nobles of Caran.
The battered armor and broken weapons of elite guards were scattered everywhere.
Occasionally, they could see fragments of magnificent clothing that had been torn to shreds.
Also scattered about were numerous glittering gold coins and jewelry!
This time was different from that obvious trap earlier.
These looked more like things hastily lost during a flight or left behind by the dead.
Theia’s eyes instantly lit up as she leaned forward, almost ready to jump off the raft to scavenge them.
Even Elvia felt her heart stir.
Cost of living in the Royal Capital was extremely high.
She wanted to stay in luxury hotels with velvet bedding, drink wine worth its weight in gold, and book entire opera houses to enjoy performances...
She definitely didn't want to follow this man who didn't understand how to enjoy life and end up in some dilapidated inn only paupers would frequent!
Both women turned their longing gazes toward Lin Gui simultaneously.
Lin Gui frowned.
His mana consumption was high, with only about a quarter remaining.
The priority was to find a safe place to recover, not to risk his life going down to pick up money.
Just within his field of vision, the number of demons below was not small.
There were even several Hero Rank demons wandering around.
He originally intended to refuse and was about to urge the raft forward to leave.
However, Theia and Elvia both leaned in at the same time.
Two different faint scents of feminine fragrance entered his nose.
Theia and Elvia peeked out from both sides of his shoulders.
Their faces wore rare, almost fawning smiles.
Theia spoke first.
“Lin Gui! I just counted! Among that noble junk down there, there are definitely over fifty thousand gold coins!”
Elvia cleared her throat, adopting a more rational posture.
“Once we reach the Royal Capital, there are many places where we’ll need money to smooth things over.”
“For example, bribing the city defense officer to let our ‘special cargo’ pass, greasing palms to get information, or even hiring temporary help... all of that requires a lot of gold to clear the path.”
She silently added to herself: And to enjoy life, of course!
“Staying is risky; my mana is down to a quarter.”
Lin Gui tried to emphasize their current situation.
“High risk, high reward! A gamble can turn a wheelbarrow into a carriage!”
Theia and Elvia cried out in unison.
After speaking, both of them froze for a moment, looked at each other, and then simultaneously let out an annoyed “Hmph” before turning away.
Lin Gui was speechless.
“I wonder who was just urging me to leave, saying that pile of gold was a trap and too risky...”
However, he was only saying that; he didn't actually refuse.
He controlled the wooden raft to slowly lower its altitude while urging them, “Move fast!”
The raft touched the ground soundlessly.
Theia deftly tied her long silver hair into a ponytail and said to Elvia.
“I’ll lure the demons away; you go pick up the valuables.”
“As a princess, your eye must be sharp; pick only the most expensive things!”
“Hmph~ Naturally!”
Elvia raised her chin proudly.
“Don’t worry, I’ll find everything that can be sold for a sky-high price!”
“I wouldn’t even deign to bend over for trash worth less than a thousand gold coins!”
Theia smiled faintly. “Sixty-forty split. I take sixty.”
She had expected this proud princess to immediately object and haggle.
To her surprise, Elvia only opened her mouth before her eyes darted around and she nodded with a smile.
“Fine!”
Being able to get a sixty-forty split with a Transcendent Ranger who was an entire major rank higher than herself was a massive profit.
Theia clicked her tongue, immediately realizing her opening bid was too low.
But since the words were already out, she didn't bother to argue further and put the thought out of her mind.
With a sharp whistle of wind!
Theia’s toes tapped lightly on the wooden crate.
Her silhouette shot out like an arrow from a bow, leaving the coverage of the 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】!
Her speed exploded to its peak in an instant.
Like a bolt of silver lightning flashing through the woods, she immediately drew the attention of all the surrounding demons!
Following that, she reached back for an arrow, nocked it, and drew her bow! The motions were as fluid as running water!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Three arrows were fired almost simultaneously.
They accurately struck the vitals of three demons in different directions; they weren't fatal, but they were enough to provoke them!
Roars erupted from all sides as the nearby demons, and even those few Hero Rank demons, were startled.
Their crimson gazes instantly locked onto that high-speed silver figure, and they pounced forward in a frenzy!
Theia moved like an elegant and lethal dancer, leaping and weaving through the thick branches.
Every dodge was timed perfectly.
Every time she turned to fire an arrow, it inevitably drew a chorus of roars from the swarms of demons.
Her formidable strength, startling speed, precise archery, and the extreme beauty displayed amidst that danger...
Even Elvia, still on the raft, stared blankly for a second.
A trace of admiration involuntarily surfaced in her heart.
Taking advantage of the opening while the demons were being lured away by Theia, Elvia rushed off the raft like a lithe leopard.
However, she didn't pounce toward the glittering coins scattered on the ground.
Instead, her sharp eyes swept over the wreckage and remnants.
Gold coins?
Compared to any potential antiques, gemstones, magic scrolls, or precious treasures that could improve one’s strength, they weren't even worth mentioning!
She first charged toward a corpse that was still death-gripping a metal box encrusted with gemstones...
Rate on N.U.
