Lin Gui did not know the fear Gorn faced after he left.
After Theia had poured out more than two hundred arrows—strengthened by that eerie demon energy—in a storm-like deluge, that Legendary archer, Gorn, was still alive, despite both his arms being useless and his entire body being covered in blood.
The vitality of a Legendary rank was terrifyingly tenacious.
He had actually held on and did not die on the spot.
However, at the final moment, just before Theia’s arrows were about to end Gorn’s life completely, she herself fell into a complete faint and plunged from the mid-air because she had excessively overdrawn that violent demon power and all of her strength.
Lin Gui caught her limp body without any hesitation.
He instantly enveloped them in the Shroud of the Gloomy Night and quietly withdrew from the ruined battlefield with Theia, as if merging into the shadows.
His own mana consumption was also massive, as he had to perfectly conceal the massive fluctuations caused by Theia’s attacks and the demon energy.
Moreover, the few High Rank attack spells he possessed were not particularly powerful.
At this moment, even though Gorn was severely injured with broken arms and was on the verge of death, Lin Gui lacked the power to deliver the final killing blow.
What was more, the main force of the Holy Knight order led by John was likely still inside that massive trapezoidal tomb.
If they sensed the commotion and surrounded him, he would have no way to safely escape with the unconscious Theia and the wounded with his remaining mana, as he would be unable to maintain his concealment for long.
Carrying the unconscious Theia on his back, Lin Gui used the last of his strength to quickly return to their hiding spot in the ceiling.
Without a moment’s pause, he immediately controlled the wooden raft to pick everyone up.
Elvia, the still unconscious Rona, Linno, and the snoring cat-girl, Luo Youyou.
He sped with all his might toward the entrance from which they had come.
The raft ascended through the complex network of mining tunnels.
However, when they finally reached the initial entrance, Lin Gui discovered to his shock that the passage leading to the Whispering Forest had been completely blocked!
Massive boulders and collapsed rock layers had entirely sealed off the exit.
And next to the blocked entrance, a new, deep passage that had not existed before had appeared on the rock wall, leading off to an unknown location!
Elvia, who was resting against a wooden crate, also saw this eerie scene and struggled to stand up.
“Rest first; I need to recover my mana,” Lin Gui said as he canceled his magic and landed on the wooden raft, his face pale.
“We can’t!” Elvia said anxiously. “What if Gorn or the Holy Knight order catches up?”
“They won’t,” Lin Gui answered calmly. “That fellow was crippled by Theia.”
Elvia was stunned.
She had indeed vaguely heard the sounds of intense combat and Gorn’s roars from below earlier.
She had thought some other unexpected change had occurred.
After Lin Gui’s brief explanation, when she heard the news that “Gorn had both arms destroyed and was on the brink of death,” Elvia fell into a long silence.
Only after a long while did she murmur in disbelief, “That half-demon... defeated Gorn??? That Legendary archer?”
“Yes,” Lin Gui nodded. “So, he won’t be able to chase us.”
Just as Lin Gui and Elvia were talking in low voices, Lin Gui suddenly raised his hand and stopped mid-sentence.
He turned a sharp gaze toward the new passage that had abruptly appeared.
He raised the staff in his right hand slightly as mana began to flow.
“Cough, cough... well, there’s no need to rush into concealment; we have no ill intent.”
A gentle male voice came from the shadows of the passage.
“I only want to lead you out.”
Along with the voice, three figures slowly emerged from the darkness of the passage.
They were all wearing black cloaks and appeared to be humans based on their silhouettes and faint facial features.
The leader was a gentle-looking young man who stopped first and gave Lin Gui a slight nod.
“Greetings, powerful Mage Lord. My name is Carl, and I am a guardian who lives in these underground ruins.”
He gestured to the two people behind him.
“These two are my guard, Isaac, and my dependent, Jesse.”
“We mean no harm and only wish to lead you all safely out of these dangerous ruins.”
“Were you the ones who blew up the entrance?”
Lin Gui sat on the raft, his gaze locked tightly on the young man named Carl.
Carl smiled helplessly.
“No, a woman named Catherine blew it up.”
“We wanted to stop it, but... it was too late.”
Lin Gui and Elvia exchanged a glance.
“Then we won’t trouble you to lead us,” Lin Gui said in a flat tone.
“With Elvia’s help, it won’t take us much time to break through this passage again.”
Isaac, the exceptionally tall and burly guard behind Carl, showed a flash of dissatisfaction on his face and took half a step forward.
But Carl immediately raised his right hand and stopped him.
To Lin Gui’s surprise, even though he had been rejected, Carl still wore a genial smile on his face.
“In that case...” He looked at Lin Gui with a smile.
“How about we help you clear away these obstructing rocks?”
He gestured to Isaac.
Although Isaac’s face was full of reluctance, he still stepped forward as told and walked up to the pile of rubble blocking the entrance.
Lin Gui controlled the wooden raft to slowly drift backward.
While leaving enough space, he watched these three uninvited guests warily.
“Roar—!”
Isaac let out a low growl.
The muscles across his body suddenly bulged and tensed like solid rock!
His fists were like heavy hammers as they struck the giant boulders blocking the way, one after another, accompanied by a whistling wind!
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Debris flew everywhere and dust filled the air.
The hard rocks that would have required Elvia to expend battle force to cut through were as fragile as tofu under Isaac’s fists!
At the same time, the girl named Jesse began to chant an incantation in a low voice.
She extended her slender fingers and guided her mana.
The stone fragments shattered and scattered by Isaac seemed to be controlled by an invisible hand, floating up one after another.
Then, as if kneaded by a giant hand, they were pressed tightly against the rock walls on both sides of the passage.
They formed a solid support structure.
The Novice spell, Levitation.
The Mid Rank spell, Earth Condensation.
Elvia’s expression was as dark as water.
She could clearly sense that the aura radiating from Isaac when he exerted force was as heavy as a mountain.
His strength was... at the same level as Holy Knight John, Legendary!
As for that seemingly young girl, Jesse, not only was she equally proficient in Levitation, but the mana fluctuations radiating from her had actually reached the terrifying High-tier Transcendent rank!
In just a short moment, a spacious and solid passage was reopened.
It was enough for Lin Gui’s wooden raft to pass through easily.
What made Lin Gui and Elvia narrow their eyes even more was that Isaac and Jesse then moved several corpses down from above the passage and threw them on the ground.
The face of one of the female corpses was none other than Catherine, the Vice Leader of the Dreamweaver party!
The other bodies were the several remnants of the Caran City Defense Force who had escaped from the Whispering Forest earlier, including that Transcendent shield warrior.
It seemed that after discovering Luo Youyou was missing, Catherine had found the shield warrior and the others.
They had worked together to clear the mining tunnel that had been collapsed earlier by Elvia’s sword energy.
They had come to the entrance and blown up the passage.
Catherine knew this wouldn’t hold for long, so she had set an ambush near the entrance.
In the end, however, she had run into Isaac...
Even that Transcendent shield warrior, who excelled at defense, had had his chest pierced by a single punch from Isaac.
Naturally, Catherine had been unable to escape her fate.
Looking at these corpses, Lin Gui’s expression grew grave.
Elvia’s face was pale, and cold sweat soaked her back.
Carl smiled, seemingly trying to ease the stiff atmosphere.
He made a “please” gesture toward the passage.
“There, you may leave now.”
“The passage Isaac cleared is very spacious, enough for your raft and crates to pass through. Please don't worry.”
Elvia hurried to Lin Gui’s ear and said urgently in an extremely low voice, “Could it be a trap?!”
Lin Gui shook his head slightly.
“No.”
“Even if it were, they couldn't trap me.”
He turned toward Carl, a perfectly timed smile appearing on his face.
“Thank you very much for your help, Mr. Carl. I will remember this kindness.”
Before his voice had even faded, he gave a light wave of his right hand.
In the next instant, the entire raft along with everyone on it vanished instantly from the sight and perception of Carl’s trio!
Isaac’s eyes froze, and for the first time, astonishment appeared on his face.
Jesse’s gaze was incredibly grave.
Carl lowered his eyes slightly, that unfathomable smile still hanging on his face as if he were pondering something.
The three of them stood silently in place for a long time, seemingly waiting for the other party to depart.
“Well?” Carl asked softly. “Did you see anything?”
Jesse shook her head heavily. “It’s completely incomprehensible; that was definitely no ordinary invisibility spell. Furthermore, the other party’s Levitation is far superior to mine; his chant time was only one second, and that concealment spell was instant.”
“Isaac, could you perceive their presence?” Carl asked the burly man again.
Isaac had long since cast aside his previous arrogance; he carefully sensed the surroundings and finally shook his head helplessly.
“No, my lord. They seem to have vanished into thin air, leaving not even a trace of an aura.”
He hesitated for a moment but couldn't help asking, “My lord, are we really just... letting them go like that?”
Carl’s smile slowly faded.
“Let us block this passage once again.”
He gazed toward the direction where Lin Gui had disappeared, his tone flat yet carrying a hint of hidden meaning.
“It is much better than letting that fellow—who can completely erase his own existence—stay here and discover the true secret of this place.”
Just then, the sound of heavy and orderly iron boots treading on the ground came from the darkness in the distance.
The demon known as “Moro,” who had controlled the entire Holy Knight order, was slowly approaching at the head of the knights, who were shrouded in a thick aura of death.
At the lead was Holy Knight John, his eyes hollow and his face rigid.
He had already become a manipulated corpse puppet.
Upon seeing Moro, Carl asked directly, “Moro, how did so many people survive?”
In Moro’s pale face, a sinister grin was pulled wide.
“The God ‘ate’ that Priestess as a sacrifice.”
“This Knight John was quite strong; he resisted the God for five seconds before finally being turned into a corpse puppet, along with his knight order.”
“As for the other two scouts who were held captive... they were rescued by that strange mage.”
Carl’s gaze swept over this deathly quiet unit.
Isaac looked around and cut in curiously, “Where is that Legendary archer?”
At the mention of Gorn, the smile on Moro’s face couldn't help but stiffen.
After a long silence, he said in a somewhat strange tone, “He... was killed by our ‘kinsman.’ Both his arms were gone, and he had lost most of his combat power, so I... fed him to the ‘God.’”
“Kinsman?” Carl, Isaac, and Jesse were all stunned simultaneously.
“Yes,” a flash of complexity crossed Moro’s crimson eyes.
“An elven half-demon; she seems... to have just awakened her demon energy.”
“How is that possible?!” Jesse cried out in shock. “An existence with such a diluted bloodline as a half-demon can never awaken pure demon energy!”
“Unless...” Carl took over the conversation, his eyes becoming incredibly deep as he spoke slowly.
“Unless... what flows within her body is the direct bloodline... from the Seventy-Two Pillar Demon Kings.”
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