Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

It floated above Shadowmoon City.

Lin Gui rode his staff, his gaze sweeping over the purple ruins below.

He was looking for the hunters.

Is the other party in Shadowmoon City?

He wasn't sure.

If not, then proceed directly to the next stop.

If in...

He didn't mind speaking up for the angry residents of Whitestone.

Let off some steam.

Fortunately.

He quickly found the trail.

On the west side of Shadowmoon City, next to a half-collapsed elven temple.

Several bonfires were burning in the open space.

Shadows were everywhere.

Lin Gui lowered his height and hid in the shadow of the building.

The Eye of the Netherworld quietly opened.

The view suddenly became clear.

The number of people is incorrect; it's not five.

There are ten.

In addition to the five Scarred Hunters, there were five more guys who didn't seem like easy targets.

Five hunters sat around the fire, eating dry rations.

The other five...

They were vigilantly guarding several large iron cages that were tightly wrapped in black cloth.

The iron cage was very tall and very heavy.

A faint, clattering sound could be heard from under the black cloth.

And... suppressed sobs.

The hunters looked tired, but they couldn't hide their excitement.

The scarred assassin was speaking in a low voice to another unfamiliar face.

The other person was wearing a heavy fur coat and had a long sword at his waist.

Its aura... is also extraordinary and superior.

Lin Gui's eyes darkened.

The sudden addition of a few people significantly increased the difficulty.

And in the corner next to them.

Lin Gui saw three old men.

It wasn't those two dying men from White Stone City.

They are new faces.

Thin and frail, with his ankles bound by hemp rope, he huddled in the snow, shivering.

It seems they were guides "supplemented" from other nodes by another group of hunters.

And beside these elderly people.

Three iron cages, shrouded in black cloth, stood silently.

Lin Gui's gaze fell on those iron cages.

The cage pillars were as thick as a child's arm, entirely black, and covered with fine, dark red runes.

That was a confinement array specifically used to imprison slaves.

Seeing this, Lin Gui could be certain.

This group of people were slave hunters.

Initially in White Rock City, I noticed their attire and the disdain they expressed towards bounty hunters...

Lin Gui had some doubts.

Seeing the iron cage now is not surprising.

only……

He frowned.

Why choose to go through the Wailing Wall?

This route is extremely dangerous, teeming with spirits and demons, and shrouded in eerie mist.

It is far less "safe" than regular wilderness routes.

Why would they choose this path to hunt slaves?

And just then...

The glass bead in his arms trembled suddenly.

Claudia's spirit appeared out without warning.

She stared intently at the iron cages below.

My gaze was fixed on one of the cages.

A wisp of long black hair peeked out from the gap in the black cloth.

And a...pointed ear.

"That is..."

Clotina's voice was trembling.

"The elves of the Night Clan... those beasts!"

Her eyes were filled with anger, and her soul trembled slightly.

However, when she finally peeked through the crack and saw the face of the elf inside...

Claudia was stunned.

Lin Gui had assumed she would rush over like the elves of the deep forest sentry.

The anticipated outbreak did not occur.

He only saw a certain... on Claudia's face.

A look of astonishment, confusion, and even some complex emotions.

Behind her, Eve's voice sounded softly:

"The difficulty has doubled."

"From my perception, there are two high-level transcendents, five mid-level transcendents, and three low-level transcendents below."

Lin Gui's gaze swept downwards.

"Not just doubled."

His voice was very faint.

"These newcomers... include a priest, a mage, and a scout."

"It's a very complete set of components."

"The level of trouble is even higher than that of the team that assassinated Saint Caesar."

Eve turned her head to look at him:

"Do you need my help?"

"No need, I can manage on my own."

After a quick glance, Lin Gui's strength was determined to be high-level.

Then look at the strength of the hunters below; they are all exceptional.

A high-ranking official, facing 10 extraordinary individuals, only needs to speak to one person.

Like a reckless fool lacking self-awareness, or an inflated ego.

But Eve thought it was only natural for Lin Gui to do so.

Eve asked curiously.

"So what do you plan to do?"

Lin Gui's gaze fell on the three old men who were tied up in the corner.

Eve understood instantly.

"You want to kill those guides while they walk through the fog."

"Let them walk naked within the Wailing Wall..."

"Torn apart by unseen demonic spirits?"

Lin Gui turned to look at her speechlessly:

"Even a dying person cannot have their life taken away at will, Miss Saint."

"What's more, there are elves in the cage."

"If you follow your approach, they will also be buried with you."

"It's not worth it, Miss Saint."

Eve sensed the sarcasm in his words and her smile deepened.

"Then, merciful saint, what do you intend to do?"

Was I being insulted?

Lin Gui thought to himself, speechless.

To call him "compassionate" is no different from calling him a "saintly mother."

Shaking off his gloom, Lin Gui looked again at the elf in the cage below.

If it weren't for those elves...

He did indeed plan to assassinate the guide during the hunters' journey.

It wasn't murder, it was theft.

Let these hunters experience the terror of the Wailing Wall.

Stealing from a dying person is not difficult.

The hunters below were on high alert, but paid very little attention to the dying man who would determine their fate.

After all, in this godforsaken place, there probably isn't a single living person besides them.

As for the dying old men, few high-ranking, extraordinary figures would take care of them.

Moreover, their team is currently very strong.

It would even be enough to sweep through some small city-states.

For example, in New Testament City, Lin Gui's strength at that time was only at the lower level of the high rank.

This person is already considered a high-ranking official in the New Testament City.

Therefore, they are confident that no one dares to mess with them.

This also made it easier for Lin Gui to target these old men who had been overlooked but were exceptionally deadly.

It would be easy for Lin Gui to steal the guide.

But those iron cages holding the elves...

It's a big problem.

It's too big, and it makes a lot of noise.

Once it moves, it will be detected immediately.

Lin Gui pondered for a moment, then silently approached on his staff.

He stopped next to the nearest iron cage, using the building's shadow for cover.

Look inside.

Three elves were locked in a cage.

They are all adult males with black hair and black eyes.

Typical characteristics of a night elf.

They huddled at the bottom of the cage, their clothes tattered and barely covering their bodies.

On the exposed skin, old and new scars were interspersed.

Whip marks, burns, and marks that looked like they were torn by sharp claws.

Her hair was dry and brittle, like withered grass, clinging to her thin cheeks.

One of them had his finger joints twisted unnaturally.

It was clearly broken.

The other person had a deep, old wound on his leg that exposed the bone, which had been hastily bandaged and was already festering.

All three men wore heavy shackles on their ankles and wrists, the edges of which were worn raw and scabbed with dark red blood.

What caught Lin Gui's attention the most was...

They all had subtle magical branding marks on the back of their necks and on their shoulder blades.

That was a restriction specifically designed to disable the flow of natural magic power in elves.

This cut off their last chance of resistance.

His eyes were empty.

There was no anger, no fear.

There was only a deathly silence and numbness.

Occasionally, one of them will twitch unconsciously.

A soft, hissing sound came from his throat, like a leaky bellows.

Lin Gui watched quietly, not surprised to find that there wasn't a single female elf inside.

In the slave market, handsome male elves were often more expensive than female elves.

He didn't know about this at first.

Until Elvia mentioned it in a casual conversation, with a mocking tone:

"My elder sister, Princess Diana."

"I spent a billion gold coins to buy a male elf."

Women generally held a low status among the Akara nobility...

But there are always a few who possess astonishing influence and wealth.

And their extravagance in "enjoying" things.

It's well-known.