Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

Chapter 441 Lin Gui's Winning Over

Elvia, who was kneading the dough, raised an eyebrow in obvious displeasure.

Looking at Morgan's cold, hard face and listening to his aggressive questioning, she stopped what she was doing.

The dough was still stuck to his palm, and flour was falling through his fingers.

She looked down at her flour-covered hands, then looked up at Morgan.

Then put down your hands from kneading the dough and come out from behind the work surface.

"Hello!"

Her voice was sharp and bright, exploding in the quiet stone chamber.

"We traversed barren wastelands, dodging demons, those damned magic families, and the barrier of perception, finally managing to deliver the food to this godforsaken place."

She took a deep breath, and her voice rose a few decibels.

"They even kneaded the dough and baked bread by hand, feeding it to your people!"

She pointed to the emaciated, half-demon civilians holding bread.

"Look at them, how hungry they are!"

"What we gave them was bread, not poison!"

"So this is how you, our half-demon leader, repay us for all that we've done?"

They were very assertive, their voices were loud, and their accusations were quite reasonable.

The only problem is when saying these things.

She hid completely behind Lin Gui, only her head showing, her hands gripping the back of Lin Gui's robe.

Like a cat with its fur standing on end, it hides behind its owner and bares its teeth at a passing dog.

Lin Gui turned his head to the side speechlessly and glanced at her.

Elvia shrank her neck guiltily, but didn't let go or shut her mouth. She just hid her face behind Lin Gui's shoulder even more.

Lin Gui sighed, withdrew his gaze, and looked at Morgan.

"She's right."

Lin Gui's voice wasn't loud, but it was very steady.

"If you don't welcome our arrival, we wouldn't mind leaving now."

He paused for a moment, his dark eyes calmly meeting Morgan's gaze.

"Lord Morgan, leader of the half-demons."

Upon hearing this, Guy's expression changed instantly.

"Brother Ghost!"

He shouted and rushed between Lin Gui and Morgan, stretching out both hands at the same time, one in front of Lin Gui and the other in front of Morgan.

"No, that's not what I meant, Brother Morgan."

The surrounding half-demon civilians panicked. They put down their bread, stood up, and started talking all at once.

"Mr. Morgan, they are good people!"

"Yes, they brought food, lots of food!"

"That mage has been baking bread the whole time, his hands haven't stopped!"

"That blonde lady too, she's been kneading dough for almost half an hour, her arms are all swollen!"

"Lord Morgan, please don't send them away..."

Morgan's gaze swept over those anxious faces, and he remained silent for a long time.

Then, the legendary aura that had been weighing on everyone's hearts slowly receded like the tide.

The magic stone stopped flashing, the flames in the fire rings stabilized again, and the floating magic rings stopped buzzing.

Morgan looked at Lin Gui, his blood-red eyes still scrutinizing, but with less hostility.

"I don't know why you've come."

His voice was still deep, but no longer as aggressive as before.

"But you'd better leave as soon as possible."

He paused for a moment.

"Edwin and the others will be back soon."

"The people of the Thousand Towers will not allow anyone unrelated to this hunt to interfere."

Lin Gui looked at him and nodded.

"Yes, so we need to hurry."

Morgan paused for a moment.

"hurry up?"

"Hurry up about what?"

Lin Gui did not answer, but walked out from behind the chopping board, past Guy, past the half-demon commoners, and walked to the center of the second floor.

There was a small open space there, and the light from the magic stone shone down from above, illuminating his entire body clearly.

He turned around and faced everyone.

The elderly, children, the injured, the sick—more than four thousand pairs of bloodshot eyes were all looking at him.

Lin Gui took a deep breath and spoke.

Have you ever heard of Avalon, the city of freedom?

His voice wasn't loud, but in this quiet space, every word was clear.

More than four thousand pairs of blood-red eyes stared at him, but no one spoke.

Lin Gui didn't wait for their reply and started reading to himself.

"Beneath the crown where the moonlight cannot reach, blood drenches the branches of power."

"Legend has it that there is a city called Avalon on the other side of the river, where there is no oppression and no distinction between the poor and the lowly."

"The shadow of evil cannot reach, the bells of freedom toll day and night..."

His voice was flat, without any deliberate emotional appeal or affectedly deep pauses.

It was just reciting, like reciting a poem that I already knew by heart.

He paused after reading it.

"This is Avalon, the land of freedom depicted in poetry."

"This poem is widely circulated in border regions."

"At first, I also thought it was just a beautiful vision fabricated in a post-apocalyptic city-state, a vessel of hope that desperate people created for themselves."

He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the gaunt, half-demon faces.

"It wasn't until I set foot on that land, in Avalon, the city of freedom, that I realized the descriptions in the poems were not false."

"Avalon, as the poem describes it, is free, equal, and without discrimination."

Morgan stood to the side, arms crossed, brows slightly furrowed.

He didn't speak, but just looked at Lin Gui, his blood-red eyes scrutinizing him.

Lin Gui didn't look at him and continued talking.

"I only stayed there for seven days."

"In seven days, I did not see a single person who was discriminated against because of their race."

"In the early morning, I saw a line of people in front of a human blacksmith's shop on the street. There were orcs, elves, and half-demons in the line."

"They chatted and talked about everyday things, and no one looked at each other strangely."

"At midday, I saw a half-demon sitting at the bar in a tavern, playing chess with an old human man next to him. If he lost, he would treat the other man to a meal; if he won, he would laugh loudly. The people around him joined in the commotion, and no one thought it was strange for a half-demon to be in a tavern."

"I saw a group of children playing together in the square at dusk; there were humans, orcs, and half-demons."

"Their clothes were all old, some even patched, but none of them were more expensive than the others, and none of them were afraid to hang out with anyone else."

Lin Gui did not stop.

Do you know why I went looking for this so-called Avalon?

He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the gaunt, half-demon faces.

"Because my lover is also a half-demon."

"An elf half-demon."

The more than four thousand pairs of blood-red eyes widened slightly.

"A chance awakening led to her being expelled from the Elf Forest."

"Former friends spoke ill of each other, respected elders glared at each other with cold anger, and he picked up a weapon, revealing his murderous intent."

Lin Gui's voice remained flat, but every word was like a nail, driven into the ears of everyone present.

"She lost everything because of those suddenly awakened bloodshot eyes."

"Expelled from the Elf Forest, I began to wander among human cities."

"The people of Grayrock City threw stones at her and called her 'Red-Eyed Calamity'."

"When a plague broke out in Baihe Town, the town mayor did not hesitate to pin the blame on her and almost burned her to death."

"After finally becoming an adventurer in Iron Shield City, I worked for three days, only to be driven out of the city by the guards because a noble lady said her eyes were giving her nightmares."

The narration was understated, yet it carried a suppressed anger that even Lin Gui himself was unaware of.

The half-demons listened quietly.

At first, they were just shocked.

This black-haired mage actually has a half-demon wife?

How could a human like him be willing to marry a half-demon?

Gradually, the shock turned into empathy.

They were all too familiar with those experiences.

They were driven out, stoned, falsely accused, and expelled.

Every word seemed to have been plucked from their own memories.

Gray Rock City, White River Town, Iron Shield City—different names, same story.

It's like the same nightmare, with different sets, playing out repeatedly in each of their lives.

Lin Gui continued.

"Last year, the Alliance drafted a bill to expel half-demons."

"Because of this, I took her on an adventure to find Avalon."

"Finally, we arrived there."

"For the first time there, she felt a sense of belonging, respect, and security that she would not be driven away."

"That's where I first met her, and she smiled with relief."

She said that this was the first time she had been treated like a normal person.

After he finished speaking, the hall remained silent for a long time.

Morgan stood to the side, arms crossed, his brows furrowed even more deeply.

He began to question them.

"What are you trying to achieve by saying all this?"

Lin Gui looked at him, then at the half-demon civilians, and revealed his true purpose.

"I want to create a city-state that is as free, equal, and free from discrimination as Avalon."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was steady.

"The Alliance will not allow such a city-state to exist."

"So I need strength, I need people who can fight alongside me."

"I want you to join me."

"And I will give you everything you desire in return."

"The right to have enough to eat, the same right as other city residents, and respect."

The words fell.

No one answered.

More than four thousand pairs of blood-red eyes stared at him, but no one spoke or moved.

Lin Gui was not surprised by this.

Can you really rally thousands of half-demons to follow you with just empty promises, a poem, or a story?

If success comes so easily, then Lin Gui should start to worry.

They were worried that they had chosen the wrong ally.

Although his words failed to persuade him, Lin Gui didn't need to try to convince him.

"Because..." Lin Gui sneered, then looked at the half-demons and said.

"Of course, you have another option."

"That is, to become test subjects for those magicians from the City of a Thousand Towers outside."

The air suddenly tightened upon hearing this.

The sense of urgency that had been temporarily suppressed by the delicious bread snapped back like a loosened string.

The expressions on the half-demons' faces changed.

As satisfaction and happiness faded, fear and anxiety resurfaced.

They then remembered that half-demons were now facing the crisis of extinction.

All eyes turned to Morgan.

This leader, who should have been fighting for them outside, came in at a critical moment.

Morgan stood under everyone's gaze, his lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

His hands hung at his sides, his fingers slightly curled.

He meant to say, "I intend to use myself as a bargaining chip in exchange for your survival."

The words rolled around in my throat several times, but I just couldn't bring myself to say them.

Lin Gui didn't look at him, but instead faced all the half-demons and began to explain the dire situation of the half-demons.

"All the half-demon warriors who were sent out by Lord Morgan to break through the encirclement have been captured by mages."

"Am I right, Mr. Morgan?"

The half-demons looked at Morgan in surprise, expecting him to refute them.

However, Morgan did not answer.

He stood there, like a hollowed-out stone statue.

Silence is the answer.

The air in the hall grew even colder.

Lin Gui continued.

"This time, the warriors sent by the Thousand Towers City to hunt are from eight core magic families, ten people from each family, and each of them is of the superior level."

"This doesn't even include the Tower Master of the Hidden Tower, the legendary high-ranking Edwin Morales, and the two legendary mid-ranking assassins he brought from the Assassin's Court."

He paused for a moment.

"And there is another... young man of extraordinary status."

He did not give his name or his identity.

But that pause made everyone present feel its weight.

Do you think you can survive this disaster?

The oppressive atmosphere felt like a boulder pressing down on everyone's chest.

Someone stepped forward, their voice hoarse but filled with resentment.

"We still have Satoguia!"

"The Thousand Towers will not exterminate us, otherwise we will take everyone with us!"

Some people echoed, their voices rising from different corners, sparse and scattered, like the wind blowing through withered branches.

Lin Gui did not refute those words, but simply listened quietly.

He only spoke after the sound had faded.

"Do you believe that the Thousand Towers City has been severely weakened by the deaths of these members of magical families who came to hunt, as well as the Tower Master of the Hidden Tower?"

"Would you feel angry or frustrated?"

He shook his head.

"Won't."

"Because this is only a small part of the power of the Thousand Towers City."

"Just replace one batch with another when a batch dies."

"What magic families have in abundance is young people eager to make a name for themselves."

"And even if they back down because of your value..."

He paused for a moment.

"And then what?"

His gaze swept over the empty grain sacks, over the emaciated bodies, and over the tattered clothes.

"After being completely sealed off by the surrounding city-states, do you think you can survive in this forbidden area?"

"Judging from your situation, it seems that even without the people of the Thousand Towers City taking action, you will all starve to death in this wasteland due to lack of food."

Lin Gui's tone carried a hint of surprise, and it wasn't feigned.

He had guessed that the half-demons might be short of food, but he hadn't expected it to be this bad.

When Guy led him into the shelter, his first thought was that he had entered a mass grave.

The blood-eyed half-demons were so hungry that they were nothing but skin and bones, with sunken eye sockets, prominent cheekbones, and ribs that could be counted one by one.

That appearance was extremely frightening.

Lin Gui's words struck a nerve with the most vulnerable hearts of all the half-demons present.

Before the hunt even began, they nearly lost their entire army due to food shortages.

If Morgan doesn't come back soon, everyone might starve to death in the shelter.

Those empty grain sacks, the stripped bark of the trees, and the low-level demons hunted to the last man are all memories etched into their bones.

No one refuted.

Morgan stood to the side, silent for a long time.

Then he spoke, his voice not loud, but every word was filled with angry questioning.

"You've said so much."

He paused for a moment, his blood-red eyes fixed on Lin Gui.

"Do you have a way to solve the half-demon's current predicament?"

"It's all up to you..."