Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

Lin Gui stayed in Karan City for five days.

The post office counter was unusually quiet.

The surging crowds had receded, leaving only a few scattered guests.

He delegated the daily registration and storage work to several literate shop assistants he had temporarily hired.

He then took a moment to go into the inner room.

In the corner, Elvia sat there, her aura so oppressive it was almost palpable.

Lin Gui looked at her and spoke.

"I say, as the new city lord, aren't you going to manage Karan?"

"You've been absent lately, and there are signs of disorder in the city."

"Wealthy businessmen took the opportunity to seize land, and thefts occurred frequently."

These were all things I heard from the people who sent letters to me.

Elvia raised her head, chuckled, her smile full of sarcasm and self-abandonment.

"My own life is in your hands, why would I care about the commoners?"

Lin Gui's tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable air of authority.

"What if this is my order?"

He tossed an old book into Elvia's arms.

"If you want to live, follow this book and reform the entire city of Karan."

"I will be leaving for the capital in about six days."

"Before that, at least restore basic order to Karan and maintain basic operations."

He paused, then added.

"After that, come with me to the capital."

Before leaving, Lin Gui turned back, glanced at Elvia whose expression was constantly changing, and left a message.

"Your time is running out."

Back at the counter, Lin Gui pondered silently.

If he could, he didn't want Elvia to become completely despondent.

He desperately needed Elvia in every way.

This person was born into nobility, possessed considerable strength, and came to Karan from the capital.

He began to chant a spell in a low voice.

The subtle light flowing around the [Levitation] spell.

Envelopes floated up automatically from under the counter.

As if guided by an invisible hand, they fell precisely into different classified wooden boxes.

As your [Levitation] proficiency level increases.

His control over the levitation of various objects has improved by more than one level.

In the New Testament City, he could barely make multiple objects float at the same time.

Now, he can precisely control their flight trajectory and landing point.

The number of letters collected in Karan far exceeds that in New Testament City, far exceeding what a large parcel could contain.

The increased proficiency in the Levitation skill makes this problem easy to solve.

However, this also means that the pressure of mana consumption that he needs to bear will increase accordingly.

The security risks are higher.

Shea could mitigate this risk, but Lin Gui didn't want to rely on her too much indefinitely.

After all, this long journey will eventually come to an end, and she will eventually leave.

Therefore, Elvia's addition became necessary.

With the "Devil's Poison Kiss" present, he felt confident enough to reveal some of his trump cards to her.

Shea walked in from outside the post office.

These days, she has been busy preparing supplies for her long trip.

In this respect, she is far superior to Lin Gui.

Lin Gui relied on the stealth and speed of the [Night Veil] to get to the magic city.

Shea was banished here from the distant Elf Forest.

The reason they survived was because of their truly rich experience in wilderness survival.

She threw the large, heavy travel bundle to the ground and asked a question.

"Are you okay on your own?"

Lin Gui sighed and focused his attention.

The travel bag's clasp pops open automatically, revealing the items inside.

Dried meat, water bladders, ropes, spare arrows, simple tents, medical kits, etc.

They floated out and eventually categorized themselves into several reinforced wooden crates.

He manipulated the wooden crate to float up again.

Several boxes containing supplies and thousands of letters were stacked securely together.

Shea whistled in admiration.

"Lin Gui, your [Levitation] technique is getting more and more proficient."

"I remember when we escaped from the Black Demon Forest riot, you almost led me into a demon's lair."

There was a hint of envy in her tone.

If given the chance, who wouldn't yearn to fly?

"I'm really sorry."

Lin Gui replied nonchalantly.

As the number of objects that can be manipulated increases, the mana cost of [Levitation] also increases exponentially.

Fortunately, it hasn't reached the terrifying level of maintaining the [Night Veil].

It can probably maintain full power for about four hours.

He put away his staff and looked at Shia.

"From Karan to the capital, our safety on the road will likely depend on you."

Shea smiled and patted the longbow on her back.

"Leave it to me."

Just as the two were chatting, the inner door was suddenly pushed open with a "bang".

Elvia, her face grim, clutched the book Lin Gui had given her tightly and strode up to Lin Gui.

Under the threat of life and death, the so-called royal pretense has long lost its meaning.

She gritted her teeth and growled at Lin Gui, enunciating each word clearly.

"What exactly do you want me to do before you'll let me go? Five years of loyalty? Ten years?"

Faced with Elvia's almost fiery questioning, Lin Gui simply smiled faintly:

Even if I give you any guarantees right now, would you believe me?

Elvia's face was grim, her eyes filled with undisguised killing intent, and she remained silent.

She turned abruptly and left, leaving behind only a cold sentence:

"I will do as you say. But remember, I will do everything in my power to cure this damn poison."

"Then I'll kill you."

The door was slammed shut.

"Isn't this a bit too much?" Xia looked at Lin Gui.

Lin Gui rolled his eyes at the other person.

"Who told me before that 'good people don't live long' and advised me not to deliver letters to these civilians for free?"

Shea shrugged and smiled.

"Aren't you afraid she'll really try to take you down with her?"

"Don't worry," Lin Gui said confidently.

"This Princess Elvia is extremely afraid of death."

"To survive, she was willing to abandon her dignity and beg for mercy from a non-existent assassin."

"She wouldn't do that to survive. Even..."

A sarcastic smile curled at the corner of his lips.

"She probably wants to protect me like a bodyguard right now. Because if anything happens to me, she won't live much longer either."

Outside the post office, there was a sudden, cautious knocking.

Lin Gui and Shia exchanged a glance, assuming that Elvia had returned.

However, it was a temporary shop assistant from outside who came in.

Behind him followed a burly warrior clad in leather armor.

The shop assistant spoke somewhat nervously.

"Master mage, this adventurer says he has something he'd like to discuss with you."

Lin Gui remained expressionless as the staff silently floated into his hand.

Shia also tacitly nocked an arrow, her blood-red eyes slightly narrowed.

Upon seeing this state of alert, the soldier's forehead instantly broke out in a sweat, and he quickly waved his hand and laughed it off.

"Um, don't get me wrong! I'm not here to cause trouble!"

In order to deliver that suicide note, Lin Gui suffered no shortage of difficulties from the adventurers of Karan.

Although it was to complete the mission, his good deed was betrayed, which ultimately made him very unhappy.

"Glug."

The soldier swallowed hard, and cold sweat poured down his back.

Lin Gui is alright; the intimidation of a high-level low-ranking mage isn't much.

But Shia is different.

He had no doubt that even as a high-level shield warrior skilled in defense, he would be no match for a few of Shea's arrows.

"Cough cough! Calm down, Red Eyes... cough cough cough! No, Lady Wind Chaser!" He hurriedly corrected himself.

"I'm here to deliver a message!"

"Deliver a message?" Lin Gui frowned.

"Why not just throw it outside?"

"Uh..." The soldier rubbed his hands together.

"Because the destination of this letter is not among the city-states marked on your map."

"I'm sorry," Lin Gui refused crisply.

"I do not accept mail requests from destinations outside the specified route."

"But, but!" the soldier hurriedly said.

"I'm delivering... to be precise, to the place the guild wants delivered to, which should be on your inevitable route! And a location you'll definitely pass through!"

"where?"

"A scouting outpost at the entrance to the Withered Rift!"

Seeing that Lin Gui did not immediately object, the soldier quickly continued speaking.

"As you know, the Black Forest operation caused the guild heavy losses... Even the extraordinary scouts responsible for guarding it died in the subsequent campaigns."

"The Adventurers' Guild no longer has a single extraordinary expert in charge."

"Except for the Golden Adventure Team, Luo Zhi Team, which went to complete the drawing commission three months ago."

"Their leader is Lorna, an extraordinary assassin."

"In order to open up the golden route from Karan to the capital, she led her team away from Karan three months ago."

"The guild urgently needs to recall her to maintain order!"

The soldier had barely finished speaking.

A crisp system notification suddenly rang in Lin Gui's mind.

[Ding! Special commission triggered!]

[Content: Deliver the urgent summons from the Karan Adventurers' Guild to the scout outpost at the entrance to the Withered Rift, and hand it over to Rona, the leader of the Gold-rank adventurer group "Dream Weaver".]

[Reward: 500 mana points.]

[Risk Warning: The energy field in the Withered Rift is disordered, with demonic activity exceeding 90%.]

The assassin Rona may not be at the scout outpost; you will only complete your mission by delivering the letter to her.

Lin Gui raised an eyebrow. 500 points of magic power? That much?

Enough to rise from a lower position to a middle position.

That's enough... to raise one level of magic proficiency, including... LV9 Night Veil.

Without showing any joy, Lin Gui stretched out his hand and announced a number.

"1 gold coins."

"What?" The soldier didn't react for a moment.

"I said give me 1 gold coins and I'll deliver this letter for you."

"But didn't they say it only costs 7 copper coins per envelope?"

"The place where you delivered the letter is not in any of the city-states on the map."

"This was an unplanned letter."

Lin Gui extended his hand and said calmly.

"So, 1 gold coins, or you can send it over yourselves."

The soldiers were speechless. If they could deliver it, why would they have gone to Lin Gui?

Now that the entire Golden Adventurer Group has been wiped out, the only one capable of traversing such a vast wilderness is Shia, the half-demon.

The warrior left, saying he needed to discuss it with the rest of the guild.

Lin Gui wasn't in a hurry, because he knew very well that they had no choice at all.