Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

7 Copper Coin Post Office, Shield City Branch.

The sound of gunfire came from outside.

Boom—Boom—Boom—

Each blast made the walls tremble slightly and the window frames creak.

The sound was not intermittent, but continuous, like thunder that never stops.

Further away, the howls of demons could be heard.

Sharp, deep, and frenzied sounds blended into a chilling roar.

Occasionally, the sound of gravel rolling down the cliff could be heard, hitting the city walls, the streets, and the rooftops.

The entire city of Fortified Shield was trembling.

Inside the post office.

Lin Gui stood behind the counter, head down, sorting through the letters.

He left Shield City almost a month ago.

Those letters are left here, untouched.

Letters were neatly stacked on the counter, one by one, in stacks and piles.

He carefully checked everything and found nothing missing.

Nobody has ever touched it.

On the corner of the table, Shadow Blade Lin's soul orb rolled gently.

She moved closer to the edge of the table, and her soul light condensed into a blurry, tiny sprite.

Leaning over the edge of the table, he watched Lin Gui organize the letters.

A telepathic message echoed in Lin Gui's mind.

"The recipients of those letters are all dead, what are you still cleaning up here for?"

Her tone was filled with confusion.

She didn't know about the New Testament or those small places like Kalan, but she did know about the capital, Carter.

The location where the Black Tide is currently erupting is very close to King Carter.

It's safe to say that the people in that city-state had virtually no chance of survival.

So she didn't understand.

Why is Lin Gui sorting through these letters that will never be delivered?

It's a complete waste of time.

Lin Gui paused for a moment while tidying up.

Then he continued his actions.

"It can be considered as preserving a trace of this dark era for them."

He said softly.

Shadow Blade Lin remained silent for a second.

Then he coldly uttered two words:

"Pretentious."

Lin Gui's lips curled up slightly.

"That's definitely being pretentious."

He put the last stack of letters back on the counter and tidied the corners.

Then he asked:

"How long do you think this city-state can last?"

Before even arriving at the city of Shield, he was shocked by the sheer number of demons surrounding it.

This was the first time Lin Gui had truly faced the Black Tide directly.

I truly witnessed what a tidal wave of demons is like.

From the foot of the mountain to the mountainside, from the coast to the forest, everywhere you could see was teeming with demons.

Those twisted figures climbed the rocks.

They weaved through the cracks in the rocks, stepping over the corpses of their companions to move forward.

There are countless ordinary demons, like ants on the ground.

Extraordinary demons roamed the hillside in droves.

The legendary demon roams freely, occasionally letting out a deafening roar.

And epic demons.

Lin Gui had only glanced at them briefly; there were at least ten of them.

They occupy different locations at the foot of the mountain, their bodies as large as mountains, their aura as deep as abysses.

Each one was enough to easily crush this city-state.

If it weren't for the fact that Shield City was originally a defensive city-state.

It boasts city walls reinforced with the hardest building materials and arrays of magic crystal cannons.

If it weren't for the continuous financial support from various major powers over the years...

This city has long since fallen.

What Shield City experienced was merely a small part of this black tide.

Before long, they will all gather in the border areas.

The true Black Tide begins to descend.

How long Shield City can hold out is a crucial question for Lin Gui.

If the city falls in the afternoon, then he won't need to replace the magic energy stone.

Just run away.

Shadow Blade Lin's soul light rose from the corner of the table, condensed into a semi-transparent elven figure, and landed by the window.

As a former top expert.

Her judgment of strength was naturally far superior to that of someone like Lin Gui, who hadn't seen many big scenes.

At least, Shadow Blade Lin has personally ventured into the Black Tide several times.

I have personally witnessed the city-states that were swallowed up by the Black Tide riots.

She paused for a few seconds before concluding.

"At most three days."

Her voice was soft.

"At this intensity of the siege, the energy of the barrier stone will be consumed very quickly."

"Once it's all used up, this city will be gone."

"The Starstone that forms the city's structure will be breached in a maximum of ten minutes by a demon of this size."

Three days...

Lin Gui surveyed the furnace-like city-state built in the heart of the mountain.

Those thick stone walls, those scorching hot forging furnaces, those streets he had walked through just a month ago.

Those magic crystal cannons that Shia and he played with.

He let out a long sigh.

Upon learning that the Kuroshio Current had broken out in a remote border region.

After Karan, the New Testament, and the Carter Kingdom are all reduced to ashes.

He even considered settling down in Jiandun City and using it as the base for his mail delivery business.

It seems like it's hopeless now.

He quite liked the city-state.

Without those things, he was left with a numbing sense of decay and despair.

Only pure fire and hymns.

Just then, Shadow Blade Lin's alert voice suddenly rang in his mind.

"A master has arrived."

After she finished speaking, her soul shadow instantly shrank back into the soul pearl.

The bead rolled gently and drifted inside Lin Gui's robe.

master?

Before Lin Gui could even look up at the door, he smelled a strong stench of blood.

The smell was so strong, a mixture of demon's black blood and the dwarf's own blood, it went straight into my nose.

He looked up.

There was a person standing at the door.

Fortress Lord, Bahrain.

He was covered in blood, and blood was still dripping from his plate armor, pooling into a small puddle on the threshold.

Behind them followed a group of powerful dwarves with strange expressions.

Some of them were Grom, whom he knew, and some he didn't.

At this moment, everyone's eyes were on him.

Bahrain was visibly taken aback when he saw Lin Gui.

An expression of disbelief appeared on his tired face.

"Kid?"

He stared at Lin Gui.

"When did you get back?"

Lin Gui looked at him calmly.

"In the morning."

He paused.

"They slipped in while you were tearing open the barrier."

Bahrain nodded.

"Oh, I see."

He paused.

"So you came back to pick up something?"

Lin Gui nodded.

"Yes, we took the items, exchanged them for the Magic Gathering Stone, and left."

Bahrain nodded again.

"Sigh, it's better that they're gone."

There was a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Staying here means certain death. The Black Tide is coming, and we won't be able to hold out much longer."

Lin Gui fell silent.

He could sense the helplessness in Bahrain's tone.

The desolation of a city-state that one has guarded for a lifetime is about to fall in one's hands.

He was also infected, and a touch of sadness welled up in his heart.

But what can he do?

He was just a high-ranking mage.

Among those demons outside, they are merely figures on tiptoe.

He can't change anything.

Behind Bahrain, the legendary dwarves watched this scene unfold.

Barna leaned close to Grom's ear and whispered:

"Is he the black-haired human you mentioned who can levitate without chanting?"

Grom nodded.

"Yes, this guy is pretty good. I've even had drinks with him."

Barna looked at him strangely.

"What is the fortress lord still dawdling about?"

His brows were furrowed.

"Just grab them and leave! The outer barrier won't hold for much longer!"

Grom's expression became even stranger.

"Carry it over??"

He lowered his voice.

"How are you going to start this? Don't forget, the Fortress Lord is an epic-level expert, while the other party is just a high-level mage."

He paused.

"Do you think the fortress lord would stoop so low as to ask a high-level mage for help?"

"And it's a very dangerous job."