Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

Two hours later.

Night completely enveloped this abandoned mining area.

Only the cold moonlight shone through the cracks in the top of the mine, casting a few faint spots of light.

A figure appeared silently at the entrance of Mine No. 2.

He wore a faded old robe, his hair and beard were all white, and his face was covered with deep wrinkles.

It was the owner of the antique shop in the refugee district, the most powerful pillar of Carter's capital, the legendary high-ranking assassin, Earl Carrey.

His gaze immediately locked onto Lin Gui, who was sitting on the flat rock.

And beside him, the saint Eve, whose face was completely covered.

Squinting, he watched as the soul tracking finally locked onto that person.

Carlyle was certain that the other party was the Saintess.

only.......

A hint of doubt rose in Carlyle's eyes. Compared to ordinary people, wasn't this saintess's soul a little too small?

If the weight of an ordinary person's soul is 1, then the soul of the saintess before us is less than 0.01.

Is the suppression of souls in Valhalla really that powerful?

Putting aside his doubts, Carlyle revealed a smile that seemed kind but sent chills down one's spine.

He approached slowly, his voice hoarse as he asked, "You didn't run away?"

Lin Gui didn't get up, looking at Kai Lei with an almost lazy smile on his face.

"You can't escape. With the soul mark on you, you'll be caught no matter where you run. It's just a waste of your energy."

Upon hearing this, Carlyle chuckled softly, as if he had heard something amusing.

He casually tossed the Soul-Slaying Blade he had been holding onto to the ground with a thud, as if it were trash.

That fearsome artifact now seemed like nothing more than an ordinary piece of iron in his hands.

"Soul Mark?"

He shook his head, his tone casual, as if instructing a junior.

"As long as it is not a permanent medium that uses blood and sweat or core soul fragments."

"When the distance is far enough, the sensory connection will always weaken, and there will always be a way to temporarily block it or get rid of it."

"Tracking isn't as absolute as you think."

Lin Gui's smile remained unchanged as he continued.

"Then... will you let me take the saintess out of your perception range?"

Carlyle's smile deepened, radiating an air of complete control.

"Hehe, clever."

"Although I am in the capital, this little girl's position has always been under my control."

"If you try to leave a certain area, I will take action immediately."

"At my speed, it would take me one minute to get here from the capital... that's enough."

He stopped and stood less than ten meters away from Lin Gui.

His dim old eyes were now as sharp as an eagle's, staring straight at him.

"Boy, hand over the Holy Maiden. You can't protect her."

Faced with these words that were almost an ultimatum.

Lin Gui remained seated, even adjusting to a more comfortable posture.

He smiled, his tone revealing no hint of nervousness, but rather a tone of negotiation.

"Could... I try? Please go easy on me, don't kill me, spare my life, okay?"

"Pfft—Hahaha!"

Carlyle was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter as if he had heard the funniest joke.

But the laughter wasn't mocking; instead, it was filled with undisguised appreciation and...pleasure!

A high-ranking mid-level mage, knowing full well that he was a legendary high-ranking assassin.

There was no breakdown or begging for mercy, no despair or waiting to die.

Instead, she seriously discussed "giving it a try" with him and even asked him to "go easy on her"?

How is this cowardice?

He's clearly arrogant to the core!

Carlyle laughed, but his gaze lingered on Lin Gui's calm and composed demeanor.

Caesar, with a few hundred men, set up a barrier and besieged the mine.

The results of it?

Apart from Viper, who was seriously injured and left, all the other core assassins died.

The more than two hundred elite rebel soldiers outside were piled up in the pit like dead pigs, unconscious.

And all of this was almost entirely due to this seemingly harmless black-haired boy in front of us.

He accomplished this with two extraordinary lower-level beings!

Two lower-level transcendent beings, one upper-level high-level being, and one middle-level high-level being.

How to break through the encirclement of hundreds of rebels?

They wiped out hundreds of rebels, along with more than 20 extraordinary individuals and 4 high-level extraordinary assassins.

This feat! Even the mighty hero himself couldn't have accomplished it!

A genius? No, a monster.

A cunning, audacious, and resourceful monster.

A strong urge to completely bring the young man before him under his command ignited within Carlyle like wildfire.

He stopped laughing, looked at Lin Gui with burning eyes, and spoke with unprecedented seriousness:

"Kid, join me."

He extended an invitation directly.

"As long as you agree, I will spare no effort to nurture you."

"Resources, secret techniques, guidance... I guarantee you, within five years, you will reach legendary status!"

"Achieve epic status within ten years!"

"I, Carly, can vouch for my words in the name of my Lord!"

These conditions are undeniably tempting.

Five years of legend, ten years of epic.

This is a threshold that many geniuses cannot reach even after a lifetime of hard work.

Especially with the name of a legendary high-ranking expert, the strongest pillar of the capital, and the reputation of the master behind him as a guarantee, it carries a weight far exceeding a thousand pounds!

However, Lin Gui just smiled.

There was neither excitement nor immediate refusal; the meaning behind that smile was enigmatic.

Seeing this, Carlyle didn't press the issue; instead, his smile widened.

He bent down and picked up the Soul-Slaying Blade from the ground, casually spitting it out with a "poof".

The dagger was planted in the ground between the two men, and the blade trembled slightly.

"How about this," Carlyle clapped his hands, as if he had come up with a brilliant idea.

"Although I don't know why you insist on protecting this girl, whether it's for the so-called Avalon clues or some other reason... I'll give you a chance."

He held up three fingers, his gaze fixed on Lin Gui.

"Three minutes."

"If you can protect this little girl from dying for three minutes under my attack..."

"I will spare your lives. This matter ends here."

He paused, then changed the subject, his tone sharp and undeniable.

"But if...you can't do it,"

His eyes were like knives.

"You have to join us, how about that?"

"..."

Lin Gui fell silent, bowing his head slightly, as if weighing his options.

Carlyle looked at his silent expression.

I thought he felt three minutes was too short, and I was about to say that this was already a huge concession.

However, the next second, Lin Gui suddenly raised his head.

His lips curled into an almost arrogant, confident smile.

Those dark eyes shone brilliantly in the moonlight.

"Then you can't go back on your word."

Carlyle was taken aback by his sudden, extremely confident reaction.

"????"

Why?

It wouldn't even take me a minute to kill a legendary mid-rank knight known for his defense.

Why is he so confident?

Carlyle stared intently at Lin Gui, watching the confidence rising in his eyes.

He smiled.

This seemingly predictable three-minute game has suddenly become interesting.

Let him see what the other party is really relying on.

It allows him to defend against an assassination attempt by a legendary high-ranking assassin while the saintess is marked by his soul.