"Link, hurry up and detox us!"
"Yeah, we've already knelt down, what are you waiting for?"
After Gabriel left, the contestants who had previously been afflicted by Link's "Deadly Corpse Qi" could no longer contain themselves and shouted loudly at Link, who was now kneeling before him.
"I never promised you that I would detox you just because you knelt down, did I?" Link replied coldly with a smile, countering their demands.
"What... what do you mean?"
"Bastard! Are you mocking us?"
Upon hearing this, the crowd erupted in anger.
"Get lost! If you don't want to die, go back to your families and bring back 10,000 gold coins each to redeem your lives. If you dare to bring back even a single coin less, just wait to die!"
Link remained unfazed. Just moments ago, he had nearly been forced into a confrontation with the entire Imperial Cultivation Academy by these scoundrels! At this moment, he felt no pity for these narrow-minded, despicable individuals and had already made up his mind to take advantage of the situation.
"What?"
"10,000 gold coins?"
"Why don't you go rob someone?"
The crowd was utterly enraged; Link's demands were simply too harsh!
10,000 gold coins!
Even for the old noble families, that was an astronomical sum! Moreover, not all of those afflicted by Link's "Deadly Corpse Qi" were nobles; many were commoners. How could they possibly come up with that much money?
But if they couldn't pay, they would have to wait for death!
As the atmosphere in the room grew increasingly tense,
"Link, just let them go!"
Suddenly, Aileen, unable to bear it any longer, urged him.
"Let them go?" Link raised an eyebrow at her words.
"Yes, look at how pitiful they are." Aileen pointed at the kneeling crowd.
"Aileen, you're too kind!"
Link sighed deeply and said solemnly, "You have to understand, just now I was almost forced into a situation from which I could never recover!"
"But… they were born to parents too. If they die here, how much pain and suffering will their families endure?" Aileen continued to plead.
At this point, she added, "Besides, Gabriel is a teacher at the Imperial Cultivation Academy. Most of them are commoners and can't afford to offend him, so they didn't dare to testify for you. Although they are despicable, they also have their own misfortunes!"
"That lady is right; we had no choice!"
"Yes, yes! We didn't want to refuse to testify, but we can't afford to offend Teacher Gabriel!"
"Thank you, miss, for pleading for us!"
"Not only is the lady beautiful, but her heart is as kind as the Goddess of Life!"
The crowd was not foolish; they quickly realized that Link and Aileen shared a special bond!
This time, they seemed to have grasped a final straw of hope, showering Aileen with flattery, causing her cheeks to flush red as she struggled to find words!
"This…"
Link glanced at the crowd before him and then at Aileen beside him.
In the end, he couldn't bear to refuse her request!
"Alright."
With a wave of his hand, Link pretended to chant a few incomprehensible spells and then looked up, saying, "The poison has been detoxified. Now get lost. I'd prefer not to see you again!"
"Really?"
"But I don't feel any different!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd carefully checked their bodies but felt no change whatsoever.
In reality, Link's "Advanced Undead Magic" could only be used twice. At this moment, even if there was still poison in their bodies, he couldn't trigger it! His limited "Faith Power" had been completely exhausted after the previous two uses! Now, he merely wanted to take advantage of the situation to vent his frustrations.
Otherwise, with Link's temperament, if he could still use "Toxic Explosion," why would he waste time with these people? He would have already taken them all down!
"Hmph! I said it's detoxified, so it is! If you don't believe it, you can continue kneeling here!" With that, Link pulled Aileen beside him and turned to leave, completely ignoring the crowd! Behind them, the group, having received Link's assurance, repeatedly bowed in thanks!
But as Link and Aileen turned away, no one noticed the cold glint in the eyes of those thanking them, a stark contrast to the expressions on their faces.
After leaving the crowd, Link and Aileen found a secluded corner on the mountaintop platform.
"Link, thank you."
As the mountain breeze tousled her hair, Aileen gently brushed aside the strands blown across her face and said softly, her expression warm.