Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

In a secluded, dark attic.

The cold iron wires cut deep into her luxurious dress, binding her hands and feet tightly.

The sound of letters being sorted rustled in my ears, along with the soft clinking of metal coins.

Elvia slowly regained her senses from the daze and dizziness, and opened her eyes with difficulty.

Looking around, I found myself in a corner filled with clutter.

Overhead, there were sloping wooden beams, and the distant chirping of insects could be heard from outside the window.

The arrogant mage was standing by the magic lamp.

He sorted through the mountain of letters with a blank expression, his eyes revealing a hint of collapse and numbness.

Behind him, unprocessed letters were piled up almost like another small mountain.

The half-demon ranger, on the other hand, covered his nose in disgust, as if he were picking up trash.

The worn-out copper coins were tossed into the cloth bag, making a crisp, clinking sound.

"Oh, you're awake?"

Lin Gui didn't even look up, as if he were just casually greeting an acquaintance.

Elvia instinctively struggled for a moment, immediately feeling the stinging pain of the wire digging into her flesh.

A chill ran through her.

He was taught by the most elite knights in the palace from a young age, and at a young age he had already reached the level of a high-ranking knight.

It possesses considerable strength and can easily break ordinary ropes.

But this iron wire... was exceptionally tough, and the way it was tied was extremely tricky and professional, leaving her powerless.

However, she had just gathered her strength and was trying to break free.

A sharp, icy killing intent instantly shot straight towards her brow!

Elvia looked up abruptly and found that the half-demon ranger had turned around at some point.

The elven longbow was fully drawn, and an arrow gleaming with a cold light was steadily aimed at him.

"Ha ha……"

Elvia quickly gave up all resistance.

He chuckled twice and turned to the person in charge.

"Oh, isn't this the post office manager? Good evening! What brings you here...?"

"Kidnapping."

Lin Gui finally looked up from the pile of letters and stared at the smirking Elvia.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Forehead……"

Elvia was speechless for a moment.

After a long silence, she tentatively asked.

"Um...did I do anything to offend you?"

Lin Gui looked up in shock, as if he had heard something unbelievable.

"Are you... suffering from dementia?"

"Have you already forgotten what you threatened me with in my shop this morning?"

"But didn't you say you hated me and wouldn't contact me again?"

Elvia tried to argue.

"What's wrong with you...?"

"I regret it now."

Lin Gui lowered his head and continued sorting through the letters, his voice flat.

"After all, you are a person of incomparably high status and power."

"It's all too common for them to hold grudges and cause trouble afterward."

"Hearing you laugh so wickedly in the castle room, I felt relieved."

Elvia's lips twitched violently a few times.

"So... now that you've brought me here, what are you planning to do next?"

She took a deep breath, trying to regain a semblance of royal authority, her voice low and threatening.

"Seriously, you're playing with fire, you know that, civilian."

"Release me now, immediately."

"Perhaps I can still show mercy and spare your life, before the royal knights raze the city of Kalan!"

Lin Gui paused in his sorting of envelopes, then surprisingly nodded in agreement.

"really."

"Within the original territory of the Carter Kingdom, there has never been a complete baptism of the Black Tide."

"Therefore, the density and strength of demons in the wild are generally not at an extraordinary level."

"As long as one's strength reaches the extraordinary level, theoretically, a well-equipped extraordinary adventure team can traverse the wilderness."

"I believe that if the capital wants to, it can field several more knightly orders like the one led by Lyon."

"Not kneeling before a member of the royal family is enough to warrant a death sentence, let alone kidnapping."

"Since you know the stakes, release me right now!"

Elvia felt a little relieved, thinking that the other party was afraid.

So I plan to...

As Lin Gui spoke, he stretched out his finger, making the shape of a pistol, and aimed it at Elvia's fair forehead.

"To destroy the evidence."

"Anyway, nobody knows we kidnapped you."

"Killing you will save me the trouble of having a whole knight order come to capture me later."

Cold sweat instantly streamed down Elvia's forehead.

Even though the other party spoke so casually.

But she knew perfectly well that the tone didn't sound like a lie!

He really would kill himself!

That almost indifferent look in his eyes, as if human life were worthless.

She had seen it countless times in that venomous brother who saw her as a thorn in his side!

"you……"

Elvia forcefully suppressed the tremor in her voice.

"I didn't intend to do anything to you! You just killed me without even knowing what happened, how...how could you be so heartless?"

She even tried to struggle a little.

She tried hard to strike a pose that highlighted her strengths, a pose that was both beautiful and vulnerable.

"Besides, I'm so beautiful..."

The word "丽" was not uttered yet.

The murderous intent in Shia's eyes suddenly surged.

With a slight adjustment of the arrow tip, it locked onto any of her smallest movements.

Elvia immediately shut her mouth.

Shea stepped forward, the moonlight outlining her breathtaking profile and stunning figure.

She looked down at him with a cold smile and retorted.

"Are you sure you want to compete with elves in terms of beauty and allure?"

Elvia choked up, gave a snort, and did not refute.

She has always been very confident in her appearance.

She was also a renowned and beautiful lady in the capital.

She has many suitors.

But compared to the blood-eyed elf before them.

Whether it's the exquisiteness of her facial features or the ethereal quality of her temperament, she is indeed a notch below.

If hard methods don't work, soft methods don't seem to work either.

Elvia steeled herself, trying to create one last bargaining chip.

She suppressed her inner fear.

He let out a sudden, cold snort, stiffened his neck like a martyr who was not afraid of death, closed his eyes, and shouted loudly.

"Then kill me! And do as you say, destroy the evidence!"

"Let me tell you in advance! The capital city has a demigod-level diviner!"

"It won't be long before you and that despicable half-demon come down to join me!"

Shia's fingers, which were gripping the bowstring, trembled almost imperceptibly.

A barely perceptible wavering flickered in his eyes.

Lin Gui calmly nodded, as if accepting the suggestion.

He actually emerged from the pile of debris behind him.

He pulled out a wooden axe that looked quite old, with a somewhat dull blade.

He carried the axe and walked step by step toward Elvia.

Elvia still held her neck stiffly, her eyes tightly closed, looking like a martyr ready to be executed.

But when the faint sound of the axe cutting through the air and the cold aura of the axe blade approached her vulnerable neck.

Her eyes continued to twitch uncontrollably.

Lin Gui raised his axe high and swung it down without hesitation!

"Clang!"

When the axe blade was no more than five centimeters from Elvia's fair neck.

A crisp buzzing sound rang out!

A pale golden light shield, shimmering with magical runes, instantly appeared.

It firmly blocked the fatal blow.

Although his face was as pale as paper and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Elvia laughed, as if she had just escaped death, her voice carrying a hint of smug, boastful pride:

"Haha! See that? A commoner!"

"This is a magical amulet specially made in the capital! And now you've triggered it with your axe."

"The capital must have received the news! They've already started sending troops!"

"I advise you to know what's good for you and release me right now!"

"Perhaps I could plead for you, since you've finally seen the light!"

Lin Gui glanced speechlessly at Elvia, who was creating cards from nothingness, and said calmly:

"The color of your protective shield, a gold tinged with black, and the direction of the magical runes at its core..."

"Isn't that just a high-level amulet sold at Ross's Magic Item Shop in the magical city?"

"Priced at 1243 gold coins, it can be automatically triggered to block one fatal physical attack that does not exceed its own rank."

Elvia's expression suddenly changed drastically, her eyes filled with panic, yet she remained defiant.

"W-What?! Rose's General Store, a magical city?! I don't understand any of your nonsense!"

"This was personally made by the demigod mage of the capital for the members of the royal family!"

"Oh~~ Is that so~~"

Lin Gui drawled out his words, a hint of fear on his face.

Seeing that Lin Gui seemed somewhat intimidated, Elvia was overjoyed and was about to press her advantage.

But Lin Gui's fear vanished instantly, and he put his signature dead fish eyes back on.

He raised the broken wooden axe high again, his tone flat and emotionless:

"I'm so scared~"

"Now that the capital knows, at least we've both perished."

"Holy crap!"

Elvia finally broke down completely, unable to maintain any composure, and began to curse.

"What the hell do you want?! Just say it! Don't scare me again!!"

If the other party really wanted to kill me, they wouldn't waste so much time talking to me here, much less use a broken wooden axe.

But this guy's behavior was truly terrifying.

Completely unpredictable, Elvia felt like she was being driven crazy!

Seeing that Elvia had finally given in, Lin Gui quickly put down his axe.

His face instantly switched to a bright and kind smile.

It was as if he wasn't the one who had just wielded the axe to strike someone.

He clapped his hands, his tone light and cheerful.

"Oh dear, I was just joking with you~ Look at you, why did you take it seriously?"

He even took a few steps forward.

He "thoughtfully" brushed away a few specks of dust from Elvia's somewhat messy golden hair.

Elvia watched his speed, comparable to flipping through a book, her lips twitching wildly, unable to utter a single word.

Lin Gui crouched down, looking directly at Elvia, who was tightly bound.

His smile grew even more amiable, as if he were offering a perfectly reasonable suggestion:

"Actually, it's nothing serious~"

"I just want you to be my dog~~"

"???"

Elvia was completely dumbfounded; her brain couldn't process the information from that sentence for a moment.

Soon, scenes of some outrageous and disgusting "games" from the decadent aristocratic circles of the capital were revealed.

It flooded her mind uncontrollably.

A chill ran down her spine, and goosebumps rose all over her body.

Shia, who was standing to the side, clearly also knew that kind of "knowledge".

He looked at Lin Gui in disbelief, his bloodshot eyes filled with shock.

She instinctively took a small step back.

Lin Gui was completely unaware of how absurdly his words had been misinterpreted.

He casually pulled a small glass bottle containing a strange purple liquid from his pocket.

It was the medicine he always carried with him.

He smiled and shook the bottle at Elvia.

"Come on, drink it."

Elvia became highly alert and shrank back.

"What...what is this?"

"Poison!"

Lin Gui answered with a smile, his tone cheerful.

"A banned drug listed as the third on the Mage Association's list, 'Devil's Kiss'."

"It won't kill you immediately after taking it, but it will recur periodically."

"When it strikes, it feels like thousands of poisonous insects are gnawing at your bone marrow, causing unbearable pain, until your organs fail and you die from extreme suffering."

Lin Gui emphasized that without his unique antidote to suppress the disease, death was inevitable.

The antidote can only be obtained by those who purchase it from specific black market channels.

Elvia had clearly heard of the infamous "Devil's Kiss".

My back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

But she still forced a cold snort.

"You...you're lying! How could such a precious and dangerous medicine possibly be in the hands of a low-level high-ranking mage like you?!"

Lin Gui didn't argue, but simply gave a place name.

"Magic City, Shattered Star Bridge, Third Echo."

"The bidding started at 100 million gold coins, and the final bid was 9874 million gold coins."

"And I am that buyer."

Elvia immediately retorted in a shrill voice.

"Impossible! You don't have that kind of money!"

She knew that Lin Gui was poor and only accepted copper coins for his post office, and she could also tell his financial situation from his faded robes.

Even Xia, who knew Lin Gui's financial situation, cast a suspicious glance at him.

Lin Gui didn't look at them; his gaze seemed to be fixed on the void, lost in some kind of reminiscence.

He seemed to see again the image of the 357 people who were pushed onto the gallows and burned alive.

He looked at Elvia, a smile playing on his lips, but his eyes were icy cold:

"Okay, I was just scaring you."

"Actually, it's just a glass of water with some paint added."

"You must be thirsty after being tied up for so long, right? Here, I'll feed you myself."

Elvia struggled and shook her head desperately; she knew perfectly well that this was no good!

But now she has no choice.

Lin Gui picked up the broken axe again.

It has the implication of "If you don't drink it obediently, I'll break your teeth and force it down your throat."

Alvia felt a pang of panic, closed her eyes in despair, and opened her mouth in humiliation.

The cool liquid, with a strangely sweet and fishy smell, slid down my throat.

There is no such thing as being consumed by lust.

Almost the instant the liquid entered my stomach.

An incredibly intense pain, as if it were tearing all her nerves apart, suddenly exploded from her abdomen and instantly swept through her entire body!

"Ughh ...

Elvia couldn't help but let out a piercing scream, her body convulsing violently, her eyes bulging outwards in a horrifying way.

Experiencing this extreme pain, comparable to being thrown into a furnace, and recalling the other party's description of the symptoms of the "Devil's Poison Kiss"...

Elvia was horrified.

Is this true?!