Theia withdrew her hand, looked at the unconscious mage Valk, and curled her lips slightly.
“This guy was watching us for a long time, but we still caught him.”
Subduing a mage of the same rank in an instant was not difficult for Theia.
Mages had always been fragile.
Their physical constitution was often more than a grade weaker than that of a warrior of the same rank.
However, it was usually very difficult to pull off a successful sneak attack on a powerful mage.
This was because those who could walk the path of a mage were generally quite wealthy.
Therefore, they would always equip themselves with magic items that could trigger emergency shields.
Similar to the magic item Elvia had equipped when Lin Gui interrogated her.
Unfortunately, Valk did not have the time to activate his item before being taken down by Theia.
The air behind her rippled slightly as the effect of 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】 deactivated.
The oak staff slowly materialized, carrying Lin Gui, Elvia, and the still-unconscious Holy Saintess Eve.
Elvia looked at the fallen Valk, the corners of her lips curling slightly.
“Valk is known for his caution among the rebels and is highly valued by Caesar.”
“Look, this precious barrier formation was placed entirely under his control.”
She toyed with the Barrier Stone she had just extracted from the core of the barrier formation, a brilliant light flashing in her eyes.
“Something even my father couldn't get his hands on... Where on earth did the rebels get this thing?”
Barrier Stones were an indisputable strategic resource on the Akara Continent.
With the frequent occurrences of the Dark Tide, the number of demons in the wilderness had swelled to a suffocating degree.
No one could guarantee that some Epic Rank demon wouldn't suddenly take a whim to launch an attack on a city-state.
When that happened, the barrier protecting the city-state would be the last and most solid line of defense.
Its importance was a matter of life and death for the entire city.
Earlier, they had ambushed those mages who were focusing solely on maintaining the barrier.
During that time, Elvia had caught a vague glimpse of the barrier's boundaries.
However, its range could only cover the mining area and was far from enough to protect the massive Royal Capital.
Even so, Elvia could use it to gain some top-tier connections.
For example, the Legendary Rank expert guarding the Twilight Fortress, Duke Sam.
That man's family had always maintained neutrality.
To this day, they had not joined any of the other royal factions.
The more Elvia thought about it, the more excited she became.
She leaned close to Lin Gui's ear, her voice carrying a seductive tone.
“How about letting me have this? I can offer a price that will keep you worry-free for the rest of your life.”
“Money is nothing but a number to me, Elvia. You should know that.”
Lin Gui snatched the Barrier Stone, examining the stone infused with strange power in his hand with a pleased expression.
Elvia understood the value of this item, but as a mage, Lin Gui understood it even better.
This was a true strategic resource that money simply couldn't buy.
There indeed existed the noble and rare profession of Barrier Mage on the Akara Continent.
However, driving and maintaining barriers also required Barrier Stones.
And all existing Barrier Stones were excavated from ancient ruins.
Their crafting process was impossible to replicate with the magical technology of the current Dark Age, meaning each one used was one fewer left in the world.
Seeing Lin Gui put away the Barrier Stone without hesitation, Elvia curled her lips in displeasure.
Her eyes darted around, and she suddenly let out a soft laugh.
Draping her entire body over Lin Gui's back, she leaned close to his ear again in an intimate posture, deciding to use her feminine wiles.
Her warm breath brushed past Lin Gui's ear.
Her soft body pressed tightly against his back.
Her slender fingers traced casual circles on his shoulder.
With an expressionless face, Lin Gui pressed his hand against her approaching cheek and unceremoniously pushed her away.
Ever since the drugging incident was brought into the open, Elvia had become increasingly informal around him, frequently making all kinds of intimate gestures.
But Lin Gui saw very clearly that Elvia's eyes shone only with a cold, emotionless, naked desire to make him her man, have him cure her poison, and plot great things with her.
Especially after witnessing Lin Gui use a pile of stones to take down over a hundred armed civilians and High Rank warriors in ten minutes.
Elvia was practically beside herself with excitement.
She looked as if she wanted to devour him whole.
Lin Gui had no doubt that if he nodded his head right now, she would immediately drag him to a quiet corner to start an in-depth exchange.
“I've told you many times, Elvia, your honey trap doesn't work on me.”
“Oh?” Elvia tapped Lin Gui's slightly flushed cheek with a beaming smile.
“I think the temptation just isn't strong enough yet.”
As she spoke, she made a move to lift the hem of her clothes.
Lin Gui's face darkened, and he directly kicked her off the staff.
He was a physically normal male.
When faced with the intimacy of a woman as beautiful and shapely as Elvia, any man would react.
Lin Gui, of course, was no exception.
But he truly had no interest in such matters.
Moreover, the consequences of accepting Elvia were simply terrifying.
He could almost foresee what would happen if he really went along with her wishes.
What awaited him in the future would definitely be a lifetime of being treated like a beast of burden.
He looked at Elvia, who had gotten up from the ground and was casually brushing the dust off her skirt armor, and spoke in a solemn tone.
“The situation is critical right now. Can't you behave yourself a little?”
Elvia stood up, unhurriedly brushing the dust off her skirt armor.
“Critical? The rebels have been knocked out one by one and thrown into the pits, and the barrier has been deactivated. We can leave at any time.”
“As for Caesar's trump cards and plans, don't we already know them?”
There was one thing Caesar didn't know.
From the moment he stepped into this mining area, an elf had been following him.
He wanted to avoid raising the rebels' suspicion.
So Lin Gui did not go out himself, but instead generously revealed the Holy Saintess's appearance.
He allowed a few scouting alchemical magic creatures to leave.
This let the enemy know that he, Elvia, and the Holy Saintess were all inside, letting down their guard.
He had to make sure they did not exceed the limit of the casting range for 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】.
Because of this, Lin Gui and Elvia, carrying the sleeping Holy Saintess, had relocated their base of operations countless times.
And all of this was just to stay closer to the rebel leader.
Furthermore, through Theia, who was following Caesar, they had mapped out all the ambush locations.
They also knew of the existence of the mysterious person who had delivered the Holy Saintess's hair to Caesar.
More importantly, they had learned of Caesar's ultimate trump card for assassinating the Holy Saintess.
This was the artifact he was desperately protecting in his arms.
It was an artifact that seemingly required the Holy Saintess's hair to activate.
They had now learned all of the opponent's secrets.
This was coupled with the combat strength of Lin Gui and Theia, which could rival a Legendary Rank expert when cooperating.
Elvia truly couldn't think of any reason they would lose.
Therefore, she had long lost the solemnity she had when they first arrived.
Right now, her mind was entirely occupied with how to bind Lin Gui firmly to her side.
Too many factors drove her to continuously launch her seductive offenses against Lin Gui.
She wanted him to cure her poison.
She wanted him to help her seize the throne, or perhaps, after the new king was crowned, run away with her.
She wanted him to give up on his revenge, which in her eyes was doomed to fail, and live a good life.
She also wanted to keep this guy around, the only one in her life of tangled interests.
He was the only one who dared to unceremoniously kick her away, who could make her let down her guard and speak her true feelings, and who had allowed her to shine at the engagement banquet... She wanted him to stay and accompany her.
However, none of this worked on Lin Gui.
Her status as a princess, her money, her power, her methods, and even her famous reputation for beauty were completely useless.
For Elvia, it seemed that only these intimate gestures, which occasionally made him blush, remained her sole means of achieving her goal.
Unlike Elvia's relaxed and carefree attitude, Lin Gui did not let down his guard in the slightest.
The real opponent had not yet arrived.
He looked at the reward for the system commission “Search for the Tomb of Queen Catriona,” 【Eyes of the Netherworld】, and fell into deep thought.
An attack launched through hair... was clearly a soul-level attack, the type Lin Gui least wanted to face.
It was just that he didn't know the exact form of this attack.
Was it a curse? Or a location tracker?
Lin Gui had originally wanted to wait a bit longer.
He wanted to wait for that terrifying enemy who could silently cut the Holy Saintess's hair right in front of the Disciplinary Knights.
He hoped that person, out of respect for the Hero, would deliver the skeletal remains to the Tomb of Queen Catriona.
This would indirectly help him complete the system commission.
Allowing him to obtain the reward of 【Eyes of the Netherworld】 to deal with the soul attack.
But he didn't have time to wait any longer.
Caesar would soon discover the anomaly outside.
He had to deal with Caesar's group before the real enemy descended.
Just then, the oak staff floating in midair shook slightly.
Suspended in the middle of the staff, the long-unconscious Holy Saintess Eve slowly woke up.
Her long, butterfly-wing-like eyelashes fluttered a few times.
They revealed the mysterious and pure purple glimmer beneath them.
The swelling on her forehead, where she had been hit by a brick, was still throbbing with pain.
She subconsciously raised her fair hand and gently touched the injured spot, her delicate brows knitting imperceptibly.
Her gaze was initially filled with the confusion of someone who had just woken up, but it quickly recovered that all-knowing clarity.
She quietly directed her gaze toward Lin Gui, who was silently raising the brick once again.
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