Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

In fact, Lin Gui had been mentally prepared for this for a long time.

Delivering a message to the outpost deep in the forest will not go smoothly.

To my surprise, almost four days have passed and not a single elf has come to visit.

Neither of them touched the letter hanging at the door, its contents displayed.

Lin Gui's psychological preparation came from the spirits who sent him letters.

There were only 103 letters sent to the forest outpost.

I just met the minimum requirement for the system to issue rewards.

These letters all came from the scattered elves who remained in the preceding city-states.

When they wrote to us, they made it clear that:

"Even if we have our own handwritten letters as proof..."

"The members of the same clan as the forest sentry will probably not show themselves on their own."

the reason is simple.

Elves hate humans.

Since the Demon God descended upon the world, the balance of power among races in the Golden Age has completely collapsed.

The once rare "elf hunts" became rampant and frequent during the era of city-states where human power was at its peak.

Too many elves were captured because of their beauty, enslaved, and subjected to unimaginable humiliation and torture.

This has led to the current situation where elves harbor extreme hatred towards humans.

It even got to the point of "drawing a bow upon meeting".

The reason why the elves who remained in Blackwater City were able to coexist with human ghosts was...

It was initially just for trade.

In the era of city-states, the wilderness was too dangerous, and the living space was constantly shrinking. Many city-states were short of resources, and the elven city-states were no exception.

They were disguised and traveled to human city-states to purchase necessities.

As a result, the Kuroshio Current descended, trapping them outside, and they could never return.

In their more than ten years of boring ghostly existence, they and equally bored human ghosts...

They gradually developed a strange "friendship".

In particular, those human souls proved one thing to them through their actions.

That is, they also hate humans.

They hated nobles and slave traders even more than elves.

The elves witnessed it firsthand.

A group of angry human ghosts tore the soul of a slave trader to shreds and devoured him.

The scene of swallowing the kneeling, begging nobleman alive.

At that moment, they suddenly felt...

His hatred for humanity was directed at these people from the lowest rungs of society.

It seems everyone has to step aside.

They were in the same situation, and they had a common "enemy".

It has actually caused the souls of spirits and humans, who should have been sworn enemies, to be separated.

In places like Blackwater City, they coexisted in a strangely harmonious way.

Lin Gui remembered it was at the Blackwater City post office.

He once saw a spirit and an old human ghost exchanging barbs.

Bored times after becoming a ghost.

Lin Gui had only ever seen such a scene in Avalon.

Even Lysa, the forest elf from the North Wind Caravan.

Lin Gui had never seen her be too close to her teammates.

Only when she talks to Freya and Betty does the icy layer on her face melt a little.

As for the high elves I saw in the City of a Thousand Towers...

That's a different matter altogether.

Since the High Elf leader announced his joining the City-State Alliance.

They were stripped of their elven status by the Elf Forest.

As a result, the Elf Forest lost the tribe that had been the most intact.

They also lost their highest faith—the World Tree.

So, apart from the high elves...

Other elven tribes generally harbored hatred towards humans.

Including sentry posts in the deep forest.

The system has a limited time for receiving packages.

If the task cannot be completed within one week, all rewards will be forfeited.

The reward of over a hundred letters was not much for Lin Gui.

The Forest Outpost is close to Whitestone City, so the magic reward won't exceed one hundred points.

The reward is better than nothing.

But Lin Gui wouldn't give up so easily.

Because of the next few city-states.

Moonlit City, Dark Forest.

They were all city-states of elves.

If we cannot break the elves' hatred here...

He will also find it difficult to move around in the following stops.

Lin Gui stood up and dusted off his hands.

He walked to the doorway and looked at the silent purple ruins.

The elves have a long history of hating humans.

Lin Gui did not believe that he could easily eliminate such hatred on his own.

And all within such a short period of time.

If you disguise your appearance before entering.

Perhaps we can still get away with it by deceiving them.

Unfortunately, Lin Gui was still careless.

Sigh, it's all because I've spent too much time with Shia, that overly unconventional white-haired elf.

All of this made Lin Gui forget what the elf originally looked like.

Cold, xenophobic, and hostile to humans.

How can we get these elves, who are filled with hatred for their own race, to...?

What about the letter he sent?

Actually, the method is quite simple.

Lin Gui raised his dead fish eyes, his face full of resistance.

but……

He finally sighed and, gritting his teeth, began.

Although his method is slightly morally questionable, at least the effect should be very good.

How good is it?

Lin Guicai executed his method in just three hours.

On the snow outside the post office, glass beads began to float silently.

Within Lin Gui's Netherworld Eyes.

Those were the faces of elves.

Pointed ears, delicate facial features, and a soul shape that is more slender and solid than that of a human soul.

But at this moment, there was no beauty in these faces.

Only twisted, almost spitting fire.

Ferocity and rage.

Why are they so angry?

because……

Inside the post office.

Lin Gui was holding a sharpened wooden stick.

The other end of the wooden stick was firmly pressed against something he had blocked with his arm.

On the neck of the elven child's soul.

Eve, meanwhile, stood at the counter, watching strangely as he poked a glass bead with a stick he'd casually picked up.

The sound of an elf's roar came through the air, like listening to a story.

That's right.

In order to successfully deliver the letter, Lin Gui chose the most direct method.

Use force.

Using a basic soul-binding technique, he managed to control the weakest spirit that was wandering nearby.

They used this to coerce the other spirits into showing themselves.

They forcibly shoved the letter into their hands.

Of course, all of this is fake.

But he had to pretend it was real.

Otherwise, there would be no deterrent effect.

"cough."

Lin Gui cleared his throat, trying to make his voice sound even more menacing.

He deliberately lowered his voice and grinned maliciously at the growing number of elven spirits outside the door.

"Oh dear, look what I found in this desolate place where there's nothing at all!"

"A cute little elf."

"There's another group, high-end goods that can be sold at high prices."

"Do you see the weapon in my hand?"

"This is a Soul-Devouring Blade that can terrify even the soul."

"Can you feel the pressure emanating from your soul?"

Lin Gui used his Netherworld Eyes to scan the spirits and souls before him.

Immediately, the other party felt a sense of oppression from the depths of their soul.

"Haha, this is the real deal."

"And it can also harm the soul."

"so......."

"I don't want this little guy to be completely destroyed..."

"Just be a good boy and listen to me."

The spirit of the elven child in her arms trembled.

The elves outside the door were instantly in an uproar upon hearing this.

Angry voices surged forth like a tidal wave.

"Evil humans!"

"Shameless! Despicable!"

"Let her go! You heartless beast!"

"You're not human!"

Over and over again, it's just the same few words: "evil," "shameless," and "inhuman."

The insults were... remarkably simple.

Lin Gui even drifted off into thought, wondering if the elf's vocabulary was somewhat limited.

"Let her go!"

An older-looking elven spirit, resembling an elven warrior, shrieked.

"Otherwise, we will never let you go!"

"Oh?" Lin Gui raised an eyebrow and deliberately made a light scratch on the child's neck with a wooden stick.

"Why should I let go of this 'top-quality goods' that I've already got my hands on?"

He tried to force a cunning, greasy smile.

But after my lips twitched for a while, I felt like I had completely failed at managing my facial expressions.

In the end, he gave up the performance, coughed lightly, and resumed his usual expressionless demeanor.

"In short, according to the rules, it's time to negotiate."

The elves, of course, understood what the forest ghost meant by "negotiation."

Kidnapping weaker spirits to blackmail other, harder-to-control spirits.

It has always been the work of those hateful slave hunters.

"You want to trade her for more elves? Dream on!"

"Greedy maggot! You will be cursed by the spirits of nature!"

Amidst the insults, many elves tried to rush forward and tear the forest ghost to pieces.

But in the end, he forced it back by tightening the wooden stick.

They glared angrily at Lin Gui, wishing they could tear him to pieces.

At this time.

A figure slowly floated to the front.

That was the soul of an adult female elf.

She was tall and slender with an extremely beautiful face.

Even in its spirit form, one can still see its former unparalleled brilliance.

She raised her hand to stop the commotion behind her.

He looked at Lin Gui with icy eyes.

"Trade me for her."

Her voice was cold, yet carried an undeniable resolve.

"I'll go with you, just let the child go."

The surrounding elves instantly became excited.

"Captain Arya! No!"

"You know very well what humans will do to you!"

"That's a humiliation worse than death!"

The elven guard captain, known as Arya, remained unmoved.

She just stared coldly at Lin Gui.

"Adult female elves command a much higher price in the human market than children."

"You made a profit on this deal."

"Now, release her."

"I...won't resist."

Arya slowly lowered her hands, adopting a completely submissive posture.

The soul floated lightly, no longer showing any hostility.

She even tilted her head slightly, revealing the long, delicate lines of her neck.

They seemed prepared to be chained by slave collars.

"I will not resist, I swear in the name of the World Tree."

Her voice was calm, yet it stirred even stronger waves of grief and indignation among the surrounding elves.

"Captain! No!"

"We cannot give in to you."

"Shut up!"

Arya coldly stopped her, but her gaze remained fixed on Lin Gui.

Behind her, several spirits with exceptionally solid outlines stood, clearly elite warriors in life.

They quietly retreated, using the cover of other souls, and slowly dispersed to both sides.

They cleverly avoided Lin Gui's direct line of sight, attempting to circle around to his blind spot.

To prevent the other party from realizing Arya's intentions.

As the captain of the Forest Sentinel, Arya naturally couldn't just give in to the other party's wishes.

The other elven warriors, however, could not simply give up.

A very concise solution.

The moment they learned that the human who had inexplicably broken in had kidnapped the elf child.

The idea had already been conceived in the minds of Arya and the other elves.

Using their own appearance as bait.

As long as the other party agrees to the exchange...

As long as the child gets out safely...

She will unleash all her soul power the moment she confirms it.

Kill this filthy human, who deserves to be destroyed by the creator god, on the spot.

As the captain of the outpost, he possessed strength approaching that of a transcendent being during his lifetime.

Even now, as just a soul, he could still kill a high-level mage...

It's by no means a difficult task.

If the opponent is a warrior, it might be a bit more troublesome.

But the opponent is just a fragile mage, and his physical strength isn't that great.

As long as Arya gets close to the opponent, she is confident that she can seize the vital point and kill him in one blow.

His other extraordinary companion will be stopped by the warriors who have just retreated.

However, despite this plan, Arya's mind was filled with too many questions.

It started when his men rushed in with a panicked report that humans had kidnapped tribal children.

There are too many things that are not right.

"Kidnapping".

To the elves, this word meant the deepest hatred.

She had seen her own kind dragged away in chains, and warriors crippled by having their tendons severed.

I've seen those beautiful faces reduced to commodities with marked prices in the human market.

But now...

They are spirits.

How can the soul be "kidnapped"?

Kidnapping? How are they going to "sell" them?

For 16 years, no human has set foot on this land.

Suddenly, two humans appeared and kidnapped the "dead elf".

Only this human can see them.

That was enough to surprise Arya and some of the soldiers who weren't blinded by their emotions.

What surprised Arya the most was...

This human can not only see them...

How could I actually touch them?

The reason, according to this person, is because of the... Soul-Devouring Blade in his hand.

He stared intently at the "Soul-Devouring Blade" held in the other's hand.

Arya: "........"

It has absolutely nothing to do with blades.

and.

Why did she feel like she had seen this smooth wooden stick before, in what used to be the elves' storage warehouse?

At the time, the mentor also said...

This stick is perfect as a tool for teaching elf students.

He was quite envious, but now that he had become a spirit, there was no point in teaching or training him.

So Arya had some recollection of it.

He stared intently at the wooden stick.

The more I look at it, the more it resembles the real thing.

And in the depths of his soul, there was that aged, wandering knight-errant teacher.

He recognized the wooden stick at a glance.

He almost couldn't contain his anger.

The stick was indeed that stick.

But the feeling of being able to oppress one's soul, as described by the other party, was very real.

However, it seems to originate from the other party's gray eyes?

Ahead, Arya suppressed her churning doubts.

In any case, this human did capture the child.

The threat is real.

It's also true that the other party has captured your soul.

She didn't dare to gamble.

Take a deep breath.

Arya floated slowly forward.

Her steps were light, and her posture even carried a hint of deliberate fragility.

She stopped three steps in front of Lin Gui.

She slightly raised her face, revealing her stunningly beautiful features to the other person's view.

His eyes held a chilling, icy edge.

But a tragically beautiful smile curved at the corners of her lips.

"how?"

Her voice was very soft, like snow falling on ice.

"My appearance... in your human eyes, should be considered 'presentable,' right?"

"Is it qualified... to sell for the high price you're satisfied with?"

Arya was very confident about her appearance.

She believed that this human would agree to such an exchange.

However.......

The other person merely glanced at me, then, as if by magic, produced a list.

With a flick of his right hand, a letter from the display board outside the wooden house drifted into his hand with a few snowflakes.

Lin Gui's sudden action startled all the angry elves around him.

They considered all the possibilities.

The other party might pull out...

Slave collars, magic chains, and even vicious slave cages.

result……

The other person pulled out a letter?

Or was it just randomly picked from the display board outside the door?

Did it just drift away?

For a moment, even the angry shouts were silenced.

Countless eyes were fixed on the letter floating in the air.

The fiery gazes around them seemed to pause for a moment.

Lin Gui coughed lightly.

He forced that same ferocious expression onto his face again, but it didn't work.

"Hmph... Foolish elf."

He deliberately dragged out his words and lowered his voice.

"You've been trapped here for over a decade, the magic outside..."

"It has already developed to a point that you cannot even imagine."

He shook the letter in his hand.

"Do you know what this is?"

"This is..."

Lin Gui took a deep breath, as if announcing something extraordinary about hope Yao.

"The legendary 'slave contract'!"

The elves: "..."

Arya's eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly.

"Once you read this letter..."

Lin Gui continued in that exaggerated tone, as if a bard were telling a ghost story.

"Your real names will be recorded."

"The soul will be branded."

"From this day forward, I will be the one who wrote this letter..."

"Permanent slavery."

He paused, then added:

"Then even if you go to the Nether Sea, you won't be able to escape its control."

A dead silence.

The only sound was the faint rustling of snowflakes falling on the roof.

The anger on the elves' faces was gradually replaced by an expression that was a mixture of bewilderment, absurdity, and extreme vigilance.

Even Arya's icy expression cracked slightly.

She looked at the ordinary, even slightly yellowed, letter.

Then look at Lin Gui's face, which is trying hard to look like an "evil villain" but is obviously not very skilled at it.

A strong, almost comical sense of incongruity welled up inside me.