Under the guidance of Lin Gui and Theia, two seasoned veterans honed in the wilderness,
the entire convoy actually managed to emerge from the Black Demon Forest without any danger, almost in a leisurely manner.
The journey went unimaginably smooth.
Aside from occasionally needing to avoid a few scattered groups of low-rank imps,
the expected demon horde and deadly ambushes did not occur at all.
This excessive smoothness was like lukewarm spring water, quietly nurturing certain illusions.
A few young guards at the rear of the convoy even began exchanging excited whispers.
So traversing the terrifying Black Demon Forest was actually this simple?
That terrifyingly high-paying cross-city transport commission no longer seemed like an unreachable dream.
Maybe after they returned, they could actually team up and take on one of those commissions...
This blind optimism was completely shattered and pulverized the moment they followed Theia past the middle section of Audo Canyon and beheld the sight in the distance.
The towering, pitch-black walls of Caran City still stood, but at this moment, outside the walls, there was a dense, endless army of demons!
Even from such a distance, the sounds of hissing, roaring, and clashing echoed faintly like muffled thunder.
The terrifying demonic energy, mingled with the stench of blood, even drifted all the way here on the wind!
The guards, who had still been clinging to a sliver of hope moments ago, saw their faces turn as white as paper.
Some even went weak in the knees, nearly collapsing to the ground.
The Knight Commander stared blankly at the scene of devastation.
His knuckles turned white from gripping his hilt too tightly.
Now he finally understood why the Black Demon Forest had been so "clean."
It turned out that all the High Rank demons had already emptied out of the forest and gathered here!
“Heh.”
Lin Gui let out a very soft chuckle, breaking the dead silence of the convoy.
In truth, when he had been “tricked” into this commission by Theia, he hadn't resisted much.
To a large extent, it was precisely because he had anticipated this very scene.
With the city besieged by demons, there was no way this commission could continue.
Faced with such force majeure, even the City Lord could not blame them.
And that high advance payment was enough to open a post office in Caran City.
Thinking about it this way, he almost... had to “thank” Theia for tricking him?
However, before he could say a word to advise the Commander to retreat,
Theia suddenly grabbed his arm with astonishing strength.
She leaned close to Lin Gui's ear, her voice tight with sheer shock.
“Lin Gui! Something's wrong! Outside the city walls! Someone... someone is fighting that Legendary demon! And... they have the upper hand!”
“What?!”
Lin Gui's pupils shrank, and his heart jolted.
He knew all too well how terrifying Moragus was. That was a fearsome reputation built on the bones of countless Transcendent experts!
To think someone could actually fight him head-on and even suppress him?
In the brief moment he was dazed, Theia's voice became even more urgent, carrying a hint of a tremor:
“He lost! That Legendary demon has been defeated! The demon tide is beginning to scatter... and a portion of them is rushing toward us!”
Lin Gui felt his scalp go numb instantly. Without a second thought, he spun around and roared at the Knight Commander:
“Retreat, quick! Run!!!”
The Commander and the others, already pale as ghosts, reacted like startled birds at his words.
Dragging their weak-kneed companions and carrying the unconscious young lady on their backs, they fled for their lives back the way they came.
Theia did not follow immediately. She looked at Lin Gui and spoke rapidly:
“Are we running?”
She knew very well that as long as Lin Gui was willing to cast the Veil of the Gloomy Night, it wouldn't be difficult for the two of them to avoid this scattering demon tide.
But the cost would be that the Commander, the young lady, and all the guards would surely perish here.
To save them, or not?
The monumental choice weighed heavily on Lin Gui's mind like a massive millstone.
Saving them meant immense risk; not saving them meant he and Theia could escape unscathed.
Lin Gui gritted his teeth, pulled a gold coin from his chest, and flipped it high into the air!
The gold coin traced a brilliant arc in the dim sunlight, landing back in his palm with a sharp snap.
He opened his hand—tails.
“We save them!”
Lin Gui hesitated no longer and shouted to Theia:
“Take them to that temporary outpost in Audo Canyon! It's not far from here!”
Hearing this, a highly peculiar look flashed across Theia's face, and the corners of her mouth curled up almost imperceptibly.
“You never specified whether heads meant saving them or tails did.”
But she didn't call him out on it, merely nodding crisply.
Her figure shot forward like lightning, instantly overtaking the fleeing convoy to reach the Commander's side:
“If you want to live, follow me!”
Under Theia's guidance, everyone unleashed their survival instincts.
They stumbled back to that familiar cliffside and plunged into the fully equipped temporary outpost.
At this moment, the outpost was in complete disarray.
Tables and chairs were overturned, and goods were scattered all over the floor, clearly indicating a hasty evacuation.
Theia's eyes were sharp as she instantly locked onto several dark corners, her bowstring vibrating repeatedly!
“Swish! Swish! Swish!”
Several powerful arrows pinned the few small demons hiding there precisely to the wall.
Without pausing, she grabbed the demon carcasses and quickly threw them out of the cave.
Almost simultaneously, Lin Gui rode his giant lizard mount into the cave, flipped off, and bit his finger.
He quickly drew a complex magic circle on the ground at the entrance.
The ground began to shake violently as the chaotic and hideous roars of demons drew closer.
The young guards huddled in the corner 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, woke up at this worst possible moment.
The terrifying demon roars outside the cave instantly shattered the last of her sanity.
Her face turned white as a sheet, her eyes widened in horror, and she opened her mouth.
“Ahhh—!!!”
The piercing scream instantly shattered the tense silence within the outpost!
“Fuck!”
Lin Gui's hand drawing the magic circle jerked violently, nearly making a mistake. He turned his head and cursed angrily:
“If you want to live, shut her the fuck up!!”
The Knight Commander's face turned grim. A look of resolve flashed in his eyes, and without a hint of hesitation, he spun around.
“Slap!!!”
A heavy slap struck the young lady's face!
The shrill wailing stopped abruptly.
The young lady collapsed limply to the ground like a bird with broken wings.
She passed out once more, her right cheek quickly swelling.
The world fell quiet.
But the roars of the demons outside were already right at their ears!
The dense patter of footsteps shook the cave ceiling, sending loose gravel raining down!
Lin Gui's chanting suddenly rose in pitch as the final rune was completed!
“Hum—!”
A very thin, fluctuating membrane of shadow energy instantly surged from the magic circle, completely sealing off the cave entrance like a black veil.
It was the magic circle version of the Veil of the Gloomy Night—the Wall of the Gloomy Night.
The light dimmed abruptly, leaving only the magical shimmer flowing in the darkness.
The Commander was about to ask something, but Theia stopped him.
She put a finger to her lips, her emerald eyes flashing with a warning light in the gloom.
“Shh—”
Everyone's heart leaped into their throat.
The stomping, roaring, and sniffing of the demons echoed just outside the thin Wall of the Gloomy Night, so dense it was suffocating!
Gravel and dust constantly fell from above.
Cold sweat poured down the Commander's face. He could imagine what a hellish scene it must be outside right now.
Every second dragged on like a century.
Just as everyone was beginning to calm down slightly, thinking the crisis had temporarily abated,
a hideous, crimson-scaled wolf head slowly poked its way in through the entrance, its crimson pupils scanning the darkness as its nostrils flared 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 was a stationary barrier and its concealment was far inferior to the personal Veil of the Gloomy Night, it shouldn't be so easily detected by a mere High Rank wolf demon, unless...
He sniffed sharply, and an incredibly abrupt, faint, pungent odor wafted into his nostrils.
He instantly cast a novice 【Wind Guiding】 spell, causing the airflow to stir slightly.
The pungent stench became even more pronounced!
“Holy shit!”
Lin Gui understood instantly and growled, suppressing his anger:
“Who the fuck pissed?! Quick, cover it with wood ash!!”
The Commander and the guards looked at each other, and finally, their gazes fell in unison upon the unconscious young lady on the ground.
Beneath her ornate skirt, a dark, foul-smelling yellow puddle was slowly seeping out, soaking the ground.
“Damn it!”
“Fuck!”
Even the Commander and guards, who didn't often travel in the wild, knew exactly what this puddle of urine meant to the demons!
Cursing under their breath, they scrambled to grab spare wood ash from a nearby bag and frantically threw it over the young lady and the puddle.
Meanwhile, the five Hurricane Wolf Demons had clearly been completely drawn by this strong “signal”!
Lowering their bodies, they let out menacing growls from their throats as they approached the edge of the Wall of the Gloomy Night step by step, their crimson eyes locked dead onto the interior of the cave!
Lin Gui was channeling all his power to maintain the magic circle, unable to move or interrupt his spell to dodge.
Theia stepped forward silently, coming to Lin Gui's side.
Her elven longbow was quietly drawn into a full moon, an arrow notched on the string as Transcendent power condensed tangibly upon the arrowhead, radiating a chilling intent to kill.
The tip of the arrow shifted slightly, precisely locking onto the space between the eyes of the first wolf demon to step into the barrier.
Lin Gui understood her intention instantly.
Chanting continuously, the oak staff beneath him lifted him slightly off the ground as he floated a short distance backward and to the side, leaving the optimal shooting space for Theia.
Theia held her breath, her eyes sharp as a hawk's.
She was waiting, waiting for the first wolf demon that couldn't contain itself to step through the wall.
The moment its paw fully crossed into the Wall of the Gloomy Night, she was confident she could pierce its skull with a single arrow within a hundredth of a second before it could raise any alarm!
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