Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

Deep within the abandoned iron ore mine, the air is thick with the smell of aged dust and rusted metal.

Lin Guigang maneuvered his staff and flew into the open mining area.

A lithe figure emerged from behind the abandoned minecart; it was Shia.

She was also holding a novel in her hand, with the words written in cursive on the cover.

The Elf Princess's Runaway Sweetheart.

"Lin Gui! You're back!"

She greeted them cheerfully, then looked at the strange woman hanging on the staff with a puzzled expression.

"Huh? Who's this? A new companion?"

Elvia snorted in annoyance.

"A new companion? Dream on. This is Her Highness the Holy Maiden of the Church of Light."

"Oh, saintess..."

Shea nodded subconsciously, even puffing out her chest a little proudly.

"No wonder she has such a great figure, almost as good as ours..."

She froze mid-sentence, her smugness instantly turning into horror.

"Wait! Who did you say she is?! A...a saintess???"

Elvia rolled her eyes, speechless.

"Yes, it's that noble saintess, the leader of the people you need to hide from most right now."

Xia was completely stunned. She turned sharply to Lin Gui, her voice changing.

"Lin Gui! Why did you kidnap the Holy Maiden?! You left me here so you could hide from the Church of Light, didn't you?!"

"The situation has changed."

As Lin Gui placed the saintess on the flat stone, he gave a brief explanation.

"She traded a clue about Avalon for my protection."

"Huh???" Shia pointed at the unconscious saintess, then at Lin Gui.

"She has a legendary knight protecting her, and she needs you? Lin Gui, have you been tricked?"

Lin Gui was annoyed by her noise, so he raised his hand and delivered a light but firm chop to her head.

"Don't ask anymore. We're going to deal with the enemies who tried to assassinate her here."

"Okay..." Shia rubbed her head.

"Who is that enemy? Are they powerful?"

Lin Gui surveyed his surroundings without turning his head: "I don't know."

Shia: "??????"

Seeing her "Are you kidding me?" expression, Lin Gui began assigning tasks.

"Sia, stay hidden and keep watch around the perimeter of the mine. If you spot any strangers approaching, come and warn them immediately."

"Elvia, you're in charge of keeping an eye on the Saintess."

After making the arrangements, Lin Gui walked to the Holy Maiden's side, lifted the hood of her cloak, and revealed her exquisite and holy face.

Under the bewildered gazes of Shia and Elvia.

He drew his dagger and deftly cut off the saintess's waist-length hair.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Elvia couldn't help but ask.

Lin Gui didn't explain, but simply carefully tucked his hair away.

He manipulated the staff and began to familiarize himself with the terrain.

This mine is a huge space carved out of the mountain by the dwarves, with a high and wide dome.

The area is surrounded by numerous branch tunnels and mining platforms, making it as complex as a maze.

As Lin Gui flew, he pried off several pieces of iron oxide ore from the rock wall, each leaving a dark red mark.

He flew into those deep passageways, carefully examining every passage, fork in the road, and depression.

Using those few strands of golden hair, he roughly sculpted several palm-sized "hair dolls".

Then hide them in different secluded corners.

He then used pigment stones to leave markings nearby that only he could understand.

If the enemy is indeed the person he suspected.

So once the other party stepped into the mine, the saintess's death was almost certain.

There is only one kind of magic that can be cast with hair.

That is soul tracking.

The dark veil could not protect the saintess.

With his current strength, he has no confidence in saving her life in a direct confrontation.

However, if that person is indeed connected to Katalia's tomb, and shows such respect for the hero.

Then they probably wouldn't ignore the hero's obsession.

If you receive the promised reward from the system, the [Eye of the Netherworld]...

Then he will have the leverage to deal with the other party, or even negotiate.

If he couldn't get it, Lin Gui could only apologize to Miss Saintess.

Before that, he had to use the complex environment and a little trickery to buy himself time.

Every minute, every second is crucial.

As night deepened, shadowy figures began to appear on the desolate landscape outside the abandoned mine.

They moved silently.

They occupied several main exits and high points of the mine, but did not immediately venture deeper.

More and more figures gathered in the darkness, gradually enveloping the entire mine.

Judging from their somewhat messy equipment and uneven demeanor.

These are the same rebels who appeared in the "Dice and Blood" casino.

According to Elvia's observation from outside the mine, Caesar had almost brought out his entire force this time.

They brought the true core strength of the rebels.

Among them, about twenty extraordinary warriors with considerable strength served as the main force for the attack.

Most of them are experienced, fearless, high-ranking warriors.

There were even some civilians who were not professionals, yet carried simple alchemical firearms.

Their eyes held a mixture of doubt.

Caesar was very patient.

Even though he brought nearly half of the rebel army's wealth, he still did not launch an attack immediately.

Like a seasoned old wolf, he constantly deployed manpower to reinforce the encirclement of the mine.

The order was whispered down:

"Team One, Team Two, guard the two main exits, east and west, set up tripwires and alarms!"

"Earth mage, construct simple fortifications on that slope to prevent them from forcibly breaking through!"

"Trap team, deploy explosive runes and paralysis traps within a 50-meter radius inside the entrance. Be careful not to trigger them!"

"Summoners, send your alchemist bats and rock rats in to find out the layout and the location of everyone inside!"

This caution could even be considered excessive.

Facing a high-ranking knight, a high-ranking mage, and a transcendent priest.

This is not using a sledgehammer to crack a nut; it's more like using a missile to bombard a sheep hiding in a hole.

Inside the mine, Lin Gui silently dealt with three alchemical bats and several rock rats that were trying to sneak in and scout.

However, it released a slowly crawling mat spider from above its head.

He needed to let the outside world know that he and the saintess were still inside.

This silent exploration and counter-exploration of the mine's interior continued for an entire night.

As dawn approaches.

The rebel mages repeatedly confirmed a fact through the vision of their summoned beasts and their magical detection.

Besides the Forest Ghost, Elvia, and the unconscious Saintess, there was no other person in the mine.

Upon receiving this definitive news, Caesar became even less anxious.

He ordered his men to continue to surround the mine shaft at all costs.

It's as if it's putting immense psychological pressure on the people inside, or as if it's...waiting for something.

Both the Forest Ghost and Elvia in the mine knew that Caesar wouldn't be able to wait much longer.

He didn't know why the Discipline Knights would let the saintess act alone, and this unknown made him extremely uneasy.

He couldn't be sure if those powerful knights would attack from behind at any moment.