It took Lin Lei eighteen days, but he finally settled on the sword move he had been developing and deliberating over for so long. This move, "Phantom Shadow," was now Lin Lei's most powerful physical attack. After creating Phantom Shadow, Lin Lei happily spent time with Dilia, Bei Bei, and the others.
After the metallic life had waited outside Yilan City for a month, the white-horned elder finally went to greet the hired demons. Before long, over a hundred demons followed the white-horned elder as they walked over.
"So there really are demons here too," some of the newly hired demons remarked with a laugh upon seeing Lin Lei's group.
"But there are so few of them. Less than twenty all told."
"This task must really be as dangerous as they say."
"Dangerous? If you die during a mission, that just means you were useless!"
Listening to those remarks, Edwards and his two brothers, Lielmons, and the other demons who had been waiting all along couldn't help but sneer inwardly—
"Few people? How would you know that when we set out, there were also over a hundred demons?"
"Useless? Let's see how many of you lot survive."
Lin Lei and the others seemed to picture a scene where these demons met a tragic end.
The white-horned elder smiled and said, "Sorry to keep you all waiting. Let's head in now—it's time to set off."
Instantly, the bustling crowd poured into the metallic life. Lin Lei, Dilia, Bei Bei, Nissa, and Salomon walked side by side.
"They hired this many?" Bei Bei muttered. "A hundred and ten demons, and a hundred of them are mid-rank gods. The other ten are high-rank gods. Why hire so many mid-rank gods? As cannon fodder?"
Hearing Bei Bei's words, Lin Lei thought to himself: "Cannon fodder? It's more likely they hired extra demons to help conceal Salomon's identity."
Lin Lei suddenly recalled what Salomon had told him early on.
Back then, Salomon had put on an air of mystery, saying the escort mission was very dangerous, and that the starting point wasn't even in the City of Wings. He described just how perilous the mission was and told Lin Lei to prioritize his own survival if danger arose. At the time, Lin Lei had even felt somewhat grateful to Salomon.
Later, Lin Lei learned the truth...
The real protagonist of this escort mission was Salomon himself.
"Those rumors were probably spread deliberately by him," Lin Lei thought. "When danger arrives and the demons scatter in all directions, he'll probably seize the chance to escape too. With so many people fleeing, he'll blend right in. Everyone will be focused on dealing with the white-horned elder—no one will think to target him."
Lin Lei had to admit that Salomon had really thought this through.
Hiring more demons was simply meant to muddy the waters.
"I need to be careful around someone like this. Otherwise, if he uses me, I might not even realize it." Lin Lei felt a growing wariness toward Salomon.
The metallic life had stayed outside Yilan City for about a month before setting off once again. Now the metallic life had grown to the same size as when they had left the City of Wings. The entire interior was lively and bustling.
Inside the metallic life, in Lin Lei and Dilia's room.
Dilia was frowning, deep in thought, then she looked up at Lin Lei and said, "Lin Lei, there's something I want to talk to you about."
"What is it?" Lin Lei turned to look at Dilia. Judging by her expression, something important was on her mind.
Dilia frowned and said, "Lin Lei, when we originally took this mission, we just wanted to earn some money while traveling in the right direction. But I can't shake the feeling that this mission is too dangerous. Do you have any idea what we're escorting? It's an enormous fortune accumulated over countless years by an ancient family in the Underworld! We've already been attacked twice. I'm worried there'll be a third time, and the third time will probably be even more dangerous than the first two. Yes, we need some challenges in the Underworld, but not like this—where we could lose our lives at any moment."
Lin Lei nodded.
During this journey, the first attack had only been bandits—more of a probing move. The second encounter at the desert fortress had been genuinely perilous. If there was a third time, just how dangerous would it be?
Lin Lei pulled Dilia into his arms and said softly, "Dilia, I understand. But we've already accepted this mission. Are we really going to back out now? Look at the other surviving demons—has any one of them retreated?"
If times of war had broken out, slipping away would have been understandable—there'd be an excuse, claiming they'd been separated in the chaos.
But voluntarily backing out?
Once that was recorded in the Demon Castle's mission logs and word got around, it would be a loss of face! In the Underworld, bravery was honored and cowardice was scorned. Besides, the Underworld was inherently dangerous, and everyone had built up some mental resilience to that.
"That's not what I mean," Dilia said quickly. "I know we can't back out now. If word reached the Darkblue Prefecture and your ancestors found out, we really couldn't afford that humiliation. All I'm saying is, when we get to Lanfeng City in the Hongyang Prefecture and take on a new mission, we should choose more carefully. Pick something easier."
"I know," Lin Lei nodded, trying to reassure her. "Don't worry—we're already more than halfway there. Just hang in a little longer."
"Dilia doesn't like things too dangerous," Lin Lei thought silently. In truth, walking the line between life and death, fighting with a blade at his throat—these kinds of dangerous situations made his blood boil with excitement. He wasn't the least bit afraid.
Instead, it reminded him of the thrill he'd felt as a youth in the Magic Beast Mountain Range.
It was an exhilarating feeling.
Creak—the door closed as Lin Lei headed toward the main hall.
Because there were so many demons, the metallic life's main hall was rather lively. Seven or eight people were sitting there drinking and chatting, and Lin Lei recognized a couple of them. Having departed from Yilan City several months ago, he had naturally gotten to know some of the demons.
"Hey, Lin Lei!" one demon called out in greeting from across the room.
Lin Lei smiled and waved back, then sat down alone at a round table. He casually ordered two dishes and a bottle of wine, then drank by himself.
Just then, a burly man with short blond hair, easily two meters tall, walked over with a look of surprise. He eyed Lin Lei curiously and said in a low voice, "You're Lin Lei?"
Lin Lei looked up at him in puzzlement. "Yes, I'm Lin Lei."