Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

Seeing that the other party had already noticed, Lin Gui made no attempt to hide it.

He came here so that Ryan and the others could "find" him.

Sitting in a dimly lit corner, he reached his fingers towards his waist.

Then, a silver coin flicked from his fingertip.

It traced a delicate arc and landed precisely in the ceramic bowl in front of the poet.

With a crisp "clink," it struck the scattered gold coins in the bowl.

The bard glanced down at the silver coin, and a barely perceptible smile curved his lips.

She looked up and gave Lin Gui a deep look, a knowing glint in her eyes.

Then, with a flick of his fingertips, the music and the singing suddenly shifted.

A new story, filled with adventure and serendipitous moments.

It began to flow between her lips and the strings of the instrument.

The beautiful melody and narration filled the entire church once again.

However, just as the song was beginning to play—

Outside the church's half-open door, a figure rushed in without warning!

It was so fast that it left only a blurry afterimage and a faint sound of wind breaking.

As soon as the figure entered the dimly lit church, it immediately disappeared into the deepest shadows in the corner.

They vanished without a trace.

The adventurers around were still immersed in the scene depicted by the poet.

Only a few people seemed to sense something and turned to look around in confusion.

But they found nothing.

But Lin Gui's eyes had already sharpened.

His gaze swept quickly across the floor by the doorway—a few drops of fresh blood, starkly visible against the dust.

His gaze then became fixed on the depths of the church, behind the shadow of a large, abandoned pillar.

Logically speaking, given the speed and stealth capabilities displayed by the opponent...

His strength was at least one major rank higher than his, and he was extremely good at hiding.

Although Lin Gui has excellent conventional perception, it is difficult for him to quickly lock onto such a target.

However, he possesses the [Eye of the Netherworld] bestowed upon him by the system.

Those eyes, capable of seeing through the dark night's veil, now gleamed with a faint gray light.

It easily penetrated the shadows of physics and the disguises of vision.

He "saw" it.

The figure huddled behind the pillar, struggling to suppress its gasps and trembling.

It was the Witcher I had met briefly at the Bounty City Inn not long ago.

Rosa, Cass's daughter.

In the Eye of the Netherworld's vision, her condition was extremely miserable.

He had at least four or five deep lacerations on his body, his leather armor was torn, and his clothes were soaked with blood.

The heaviest cut runs diagonally from the shoulder blade to the side of the waist, so deep that the bone is visible.

Lin Gui carefully examined the other person's wounds, his brows furrowing even more.

The edges of those lacerations were neat, bearing the characteristics of a sharp instrument.

It doesn't seem to be caused by demonic minions or magic.

It's more like... being hurt by someone else.

The city of bounties has only two legends on the surface.

Blackbeard, and her father Cass.

With Cass in the picture, who could hurt her like this?

Where is Cass himself?

Just as Lin Gui's mind raced...

The bard's song abruptly stopped without warning.

The strings suddenly stopped.

At the same time, the sound of orderly, heavy, and stiff footsteps could be heard outside the church.

We have clearly arrived at the door.

The sudden interruption of the song jolted all the engrossed hunters awake.

"Bang!"

The heavy wooden door was pushed open violently and slammed against the wall.

Sunlight streamed in from outside, revealing the silhouettes of a group of people.

Several eager hunters, hearing the sound, showed delight and quickly went to meet it.

"Is this a new team?"

"Is there a guide? Lead us—"

Before he could finish speaking, an excessively pale hand reached out from within.

Grab the shoulder of the person in front and give them a casual push.

The hunter staggered back several steps and fell to the ground with a thud.

His face was filled with astonishment.

The figures in the fog gradually entered the area illuminated by the firelight.

The leader was a young girl with an indifferent face and an excessively calm gaze.

It was Jesse.

Two men followed behind her.

A man with an inhumanly handsome face, a playful smile playing on his lips.

The other one had empty eyes and exuded a cold, deathly aura.

The last to enter the church were the "knights".

The iron boots clattered on the ground, their rhythm eerily precise.

But all the hunters' gazes were now fixed on that spot.

He was held in the middle by two gray-robed men, on top of that blood-soaked figure.

That's Cass's son, Maren.

His hands were tied behind his back, his face was covered in bruises, and blood was trickling from the corner of his mouth.

His eyes were filled with humiliation and anger, yet he was unable to move.

But what truly made everyone gasp in shock was...

It was something that another gray-robed man behind Jesse was dragging.

No, that's not a thing.

That was a person.

The man was grabbed by the back of the neck by the gray-robed man and dragged on the ground like a sack.

His dark brown hunting outfit was already tattered and soaked with dark red.

The exposed skin was covered with gruesome wounds, some so deep that the bone was visible.

The most horrifying thing was the right arm, which was twisted at a bizarre angle.

It's obviously broken.

He kept his head down, his pale golden hair matted together with blood.

The breath was so faint that it was almost imperceptible.

But when the firelight brushed across his downcast face...

Someone recognized the face, which had cold, hard features but was now deathly pale.

"Lord Ka... Kass?!"

A gasp of alarm suddenly erupted, followed by a deathly silence.

The only sound in the entire church was the crackling of the campfire.

And the heavy, suppressed breathing of the crowd.

In the corner, the moment Jesse stepped in, Lin Gui's dark gauze robe had already silently covered his entire body.

The figure completely disappeared into the darkness.

He manipulated his staff, and quietly floated into the air.

His gaze was fixed on the figure being dragged below.

It is indeed Cass.

That Witcher who spent eight years in Bounty City, a legendary underclassman.

At this moment, however, he was being dragged on the ground like a dead dog.

Lin Gui's eyelids twitched, and he cursed inwardly.

He just wanted to confirm something; he should have just left.

How did I run into this group of persistent ghosts again?

Just as Lin Gui held his breath, preparing to quietly retreat.

Below, the pale, handsome man beside Jesse suddenly raised his hand.

A faint, blood-red glow swirled around his fingertips.

Like a living creature, it meanders and swims in the air.

The next instant, the blood-red light suddenly turned around.

It points directly into the depths of the church, to the shadow behind that massive pillar!

"Found it."

A cold smile curled at the corner of the man's lips.

Maren's pupils contracted sharply as he was being held captive.

He suddenly looked up at the pillar, his face drained of all color.

"sister……!"

He managed to utter a single hoarse word before the gray-robed man behind him grabbed his throat and choked him.

He could only gasp for breath, his eyes red-rimmed.

Cass, who was being dragged on the ground, began to struggle violently.

He barely managed to lift his head, his unfocused eyes fixed on the shadows.

A beastly growl escaped from its throat.

The severed arm twitched weakly, and blood gushed from the wound.

Seeing this, the ghost above sighed silently.

He spread his five fingers on his right hand and pressed down.

The effect of the [Night Veil] subtly extends.

Like an invisible twilight, it completely enveloped the huddled figure behind the pillar.

Almost at the same moment.

The faint crimson light from the pale man's fingertips had already fallen precisely into the shadows.

However, they ended up empty-handed.

It circled aimlessly twice before silently dissipating.

The man's cold smile froze instantly.

"...Strange? Clearly..."

He muttered to himself, a hint of surprise and confusion flashing in his eyes.

Just now, his Blood Tracking Technique was clearly pointing in that direction.

But now it suddenly stopped, as if the girl had vanished into thin air.

Jesse frowned as well.

She closed her eyes, and a vast sense of magical power washed over her like a tidal wave.

I carefully scanned every corner and every shadow of the church.

There was nothing behind the pillar.

There was no breathing, no heartbeat, and no energy fluctuations.

There wasn't even a trace of residual blood.

It was as if no one had ever existed there.

She slowly opened her eyes, her gaze turning coldly to the side beside her.

"Modo, what about yours?"

Upon hearing this, Modo, whose eyes were vacant, twitched the corner of his mouth.

His gaze swept aimlessly across the sky above the church.

He finally shook his head, his voice flat.

My perception is only directed at "my kind".

"In this respect, I'm not much better than you."