Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

Shea and Eve exchanged a puzzled look.

Looking at Lin Gui's strange soliloquy just now, it was as if he was talking to someone who didn't exist.

Seeing that Lin Gui had finally stopped, he closed his eyes and leaned against the wooden box, his face somewhat pale.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Shia leaned closer and whispered:

"Lin Gui? What happened to you just now? That bead..."

She pointed to his pocket. "And who are you talking to?"

Eve didn't speak, but her deep brown eyes gazed at him silently, with the same question in them.

Lin Gui slowly opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and his face returned to its usual indifference.

"It's nothing," he waved his hand casually, "just a small problem, but it's been taken care of."

He was clearly unwilling to talk more, turning his gaze to the seemingly endless darkness outside the window.

"This silent abyss is much larger than I imagined."

He subtly changed the subject.

"According to Master Poser, it almost stretches across the entire southern part of the Silent Sea."

"The depth is even more terrifying, surpassing even the legendary deepest trench in the Atlantic Ocean outside the continent."

He paused, his voice low.

"Rather than calling it an abyss, it's more like... a massive, endless chasm in the ocean floor."

"A scar that has torn the world apart."

Shea was captivated by the scene he described and temporarily forgot to ask about the beads.

Eve frowned slightly, seemingly sensing that he was hiding something, but she didn't point it out.

About two hours later.

The intense sense of oppression that had been hanging over the team began to subside quietly.

Stone Tooth and Alvin, who were leading the way, seemed to be walking more briskly.

Poseidon and Freya, who were maintaining the bubbles, relaxed their tense expressions slightly.

When the soldiers carrying the train finally stepped forward with steady strides,

When you step onto a relatively flat seabed, no longer adjacent to the bottomless darkness...

Everyone vaguely realized—

They left the area of ​​the Silent Abyss.

As scholar Elie previously assured,

This journey through the core of the forbidden area was thrilling but ultimately safe.

A few soft sighs of relief even rang out from the group.

However, only Lin Gui himself knew the truth.

To what extent did this so-called "surprise" affect him?

He subconsciously touched the beads in his pocket; the cold touch was still there.

Compared to the scholars and other team members who knew nothing about this and simply thought it was another successful crossing,

They had just emerged from the "domain" of a sleeping demigod demon.

They crossed it silently on foot.

That tremor deeply rooted in the soul,

Perhaps only he, and the trembling soul in his pocket, could truly understand.

After leaving the suffocating area of ​​the Silent Abyss, the atmosphere of the entire caravan became noticeably more lively.

The heavy footsteps seemed to lighten up a bit.

Low voices of conversation and occasional laughter returned to the ranks.

Betty even started humming a cheerful melody softly.

Although the scholar immediately stopped him with a look.

But the sense of relaxation that comes from escaping extreme oppression has already spread.

The vice-captain Aubrey's loud laughter, and the barbarian warrior Barton and the orc Grom's low echoes,

All of this showed that the team members' tense nerves were finally able to relax a little.

However, Lin Gui was unable to truly relax like they were.

Compared to the gradually lively atmosphere around him, he appeared unusually silent.

In a field of vision unseen by others—

The Eye of the Netherworld remains active.

Those tiny, hair-like, crimson soul threads originating from the demigods of the abyss,

They did not completely disappear even after leaving the main vein of the Silent Abyss.

They still linger in the surrounding seawater.

Like an invisible yet omnipresent spider web, it fills the entire silent sea.

Lin Gui once secretly reached out his hand, his fingertips probing the edge of the bubble.

Trying to touch the nearest red thread.

The anticipated corrosion or impact did not occur.

The thread seemed like a mere illusion, piercing through his fingertips.

There was no sensation, nor did it trigger any abnormalities.

But this did not reassure him; instead, it made him even more vigilant.

Unknown and incomprehensible existences are often more unsettling than known dangers.

The team continued along the undulating seabed.

In this eternal darkness and deathly silence, the concept of time becomes blurred.

Perhaps the extreme repression of the Silent Abyss had exhausted his senses.

Perhaps the renewed activity of the caravan at this moment diluted our senses.

They have been walking on this "path" explored by their predecessors for a long time.

So long that Shia and Eve started whispering about what they wanted to eat after getting ashore.

So long that even Lin Gui felt a sense of weariness creeping into his heart.

The surrounding seawater remained an impenetrable, dark black.

Only the beam of the magic lamp stubbornly cut through a small patch of darkness ahead.

Illuminating the rugged and unfamiliar seabed landscape beneath our feet.

It's as if this silent journey across the ocean has no end.

I do not know how long it has been,

Until they came to a flat, upward-sloping area.

When shadows with distinctly demonic features began to appear swimming in the water ahead,

An uncontrollable commotion erupted throughout the convoy.

"I see them! I see them!"

Betty was the first to jump up excitedly, pointing at the demon opposite her.

"We're about to leave this awful place!"

Even Freya, who was usually so composed, relaxed her lips almost imperceptibly.

She murmured to herself, "It's good that you're alright."

Scholar Elie smiled and said to Lin Gui beside him:

"Once we leave the area of ​​the silent sea, the buoyancy will be restored instantly."

"At that time, I'll have to trouble you to take over control."

Lin Gui nodded and silently walked to the top of the carriage, preparing to take his position.

At this moment, under Freya's command, the ranged professionals on the roof of the vehicle were already on high alert.

The forest elf Lysa drew her longbow to its full extent, the arrowheads gleaming with a cold light.

Scout Alvin toyed with a dagger in his hand, his eyes sharp.

Even Betty gripped her staff tightly, ready to cast a spell at any moment.

This display of force immediately put Shia on alert.

Although she didn't understand the specific reason, she immediately went into battle mode.

She quickly instructed Eve to retreat to the relatively safer carriage.

He then nimbly leaped onto the roof of the car and entered the defensive circle formed by Freya and the others.

As soon as she steadied herself, the forest elf Lysa tossed her a heavy quiver.

"Once we reach Stronghold, change your arrows."

Lysa's tone remained calm.

But when his gaze swept over the simple quiver at Shia's waist, it carried a clear hint of disapproval.

Shea took the quiver and immediately noticed its difference.

The arrows inside are all made of high-precision steel, with neat fletchings and excellent workmanship.

It was in a completely different league from her crudely made wooden arrows.

She did not refuse the kindness.

Looking at Lysa's focused profile, Shia hesitated for a moment before asking softly:

"Why...why did you leave the Elf Forest?"

Lysa paused slightly in her nocking motion, not looking at her, but gazing at the dark sea ahead.

"To become stronger."

Her voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable firmness.

"To protect my sisters, to protect my family."

She briefly explained that the Fairy Forest was not a paradise.

With the threat of demons drawing ever closer, she could not guarantee when the peace of the Elf Forest would be shattered.

In order to gain the power to protect their homeland,

She chose to leave the comforts of the forest and join the perilous North Wind Caravan.

Temper yourself on this road fraught with death.

"Isn't that cliché?" She twitched the corner of her mouth, seemingly with a hint of self-mockery.

Shea laughed and shook her head.

She deftly drew a steel arrow, nocked it onto the bowstring, and turned to stand back-to-back with Lysa.

"No."

Her voice carried a sincere warmth.

"Fighting to protect my family..."

"This kind of reason is never cliché."

"I would be so proud if I could have a sister like you."

Lysa did not respond, but her tense shoulders seemed to relax almost imperceptibly.

Two elves, one with silver hair and one with green hair, stood back to back.

The bowstring was drawn taut, the arrowhead pointing directly at the increasingly dangerous sea ahead.

Prepare for the final challenge before leaving the silent sea.