Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

Morgan's pupils contracted slightly, and his brows furrowed even more.

He looked Lin Gui up and down, then down and up again.

The magical senses swept over and over again.

No error.

This mage, who claims to want to save half-demons, seems to be just a high-ranking mage.

Morgan was stunned.

He glanced at Elvia again.

High-ranking knight.

I glanced again at Eileen in the corner.

A lower-level mage of extraordinary ability.

His lips twitched, but it wasn't a smile; rather, it was a feeling of absurdity, as if he was so angry he couldn't speak.

"you……"

His voice trembled slightly, not from fear, but from barely suppressed anger and absurdity.

"You have a high-level mage, a high-level knight, and a transcendent mage!"

He pointed at Lin Gui, his fingers trembling slightly.

"He ran into the forbidden land of the desolate wasteland and told over four thousand half-demons that he wanted to lead them away from here, to establish a free and equal city-state, and to fight against the alliance?"

He took a deep breath and his voice suddenly rose.

"Our shelter has one mid-level legendary mage, three low-level legendary assassins, one low-level legendary knight, and over a hundred extraordinary warriors! We still can't resolve this dire situation!"

"What gives you the audacity to speak so arrogantly!"

His gaze was like a knife fixed on Lin Gui's face.

"Relying on your high-level strength?"

Before he could finish speaking...

"boom--"

A muffled bang exploded behind Morgan.

Everyone was startled.

The half-demon civilians shrank back, and some instinctively hugged the children next to them.

Guy's legs went weak, and he almost sat down on the ground.

Eileen stood up from the corner, her staff already in her hand.

But they didn't know what had happened.

Everyone looked around blankly, their gazes finally settling on the earthen wall behind Morgan.

Gray smoke rose from the wall and slowly dissipated.

After the smoke and dust settled, a deep cut was revealed, about half a meter long, with edges as smooth as tofu cut with a knife.

Gravel and dust fell from the edges of the cut.

That appears to be a magical attack.

But no one saw where the attack came from.

There were no magical fluctuations, no surging air currents, and no signs of an attack.

It appeared out of thin air and disappeared just like that, leaving only a deep mark on the wall.

Morgan stood still, without turning around.

His body stiffened for a moment, then he looked down at his left shoulder.

On the shoulder of the robe, there is a thin, neat slit, as if it had been cut with scissors.

The shirt underneath was also torn, revealing a faint white mark on her skin.

There was no bleeding.

The skin wasn't even broken.

Sensing the dissipating magic from the cutting marks, he, as a legendary mid-level mage, instantly determined the type of attack.

It should be a mid-level wind magic spell, Wind Blade.

The power of mid-level magic couldn't possibly harm him; his magic shield didn't even trigger.

But that's not the problem.

The problem is that the wind blades passed right up to his face, yet his magical senses didn't issue any warning whatsoever.

I couldn't detect any fluctuations in the condensation of magic, any changes in wind pressure, or any feeling of being locked on.

He only confirmed its existence with his naked eye when the wind blade grazed his shoulder and sliced ​​into the wall.

Morgan felt a chill run down his spine.

He slowly turned his head and looked at Lin Gui.

Concealment magic?

It's not ordinary concealment, but the kind of absolute concealment that even legendary mages can't detect.

How is that possible?

The black-haired mage remained standing in the same spot, his black eyes calmly watching him, without even moving a finger.

I don't have time to waste on you.

Lin Gui's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.

"Now that the main force of the hunt has finally been lured away, I won't miss this last opportunity."

Morgan stood there, stunned, his lips moved but no sound came out.

Lin Gui didn't look at him again.

He turned around, walked to the railing on the second floor, and faced the more than four thousand half-demon civilians below.

"Now, you have two choices."

His voice echoed in the quiet underground space.

"Either you stay here and watch your family, your friends, your familiar faces be taken away by those magicians."

"They were tied to a cold stone platform, their skin was cut open, their blood was drawn out, put into bottles, labeled, and placed on a shelf, waiting for the next mage to use it."

"or--"

Lin Gui's voice rose a little.

"Come with me and leave this place to build the Second Avalon."

His gaze swept across those desperate faces, his voice carrying an unquestionable, cold firmness.

"If the plan goes smoothly, I might even be able to help you leave all those magical families in the wasteland."

He clenched his fists, a chilling killing intent surging in his gray eyes.

"Kill them all."

The hall was so quiet that you could hear the crackling of the flames in the fire ring.

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

Just then—

"Shh...shh..."

A faint noise came from Lin Gui's arms.

It's not magic, it's a sound transmission stone.

Everyone's attention was drawn to that sound.

Lin Gui didn't panic.

He slowly took the stone out of his pocket and gently stroked its surface with his fingertips.

The noise disappeared, replaced by a deep male voice.

"This is the Eli family."

"Our prey is still here. Those two half-demon warriors tried to commit suicide, but were stopped."

"One bit its tongue, the other banged its head against a wall, and neither died. Tsk, that's pretty fierce."

Lin Gui's Adam's apple bobbed.

A deep, hoarse voice, tinged with impatience, suddenly rang out.

"Keep an eye on them, don't let them die, the higher-ups want them alive."

The voice from the other end rang out again.

"Understood, Lord Ryan."

"May I ask how the negotiations are going?"

"Our delicate mages here are already finding it hard to withstand the harsh conditions of the wilderness."

"Of course, they don't want to rush the great hunt; they're just eager for the Tower Master's victory celebration banquet."

Lin Gui glanced at Morgan.

Morgan was staring intently at him, her bloodshot eyes swirling with shock, confusion, and something else she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Lin Gui withdrew his gaze and spoke to the communication stone.

"The negotiations are going very smoothly. Just wait a little longer, and it will be over soon."

The voice was still that deep, husky male voice.

A lazy reply came from the other end, and then the call ended.

Before anyone could react, another sound transmission stone rang.

"This is the Io family."

"Report on the prey: three half-demon warriors, two of them fainted from hunger, and one is still struggling, but all are alive."

"Excuse me, has the negotiation yielded any results?"

"Some people here are betting that that lowly race won't survive the night."

Lin Gui changed his voice again.

Young, with a hint of languid weariness.

"The negotiations are going well. Tell your people to be patient."

Another stone made a sound.

Then came the fourth piece, and the fifth piece.

Each sound transmission stone emits a different sound.

Different families, different positions, different prey situations.

Some people were complaining about the food, some were complaining about the mosquitoes, some were asking when they could go back for dinner, and some were betting on when the shelter would give in.

Lin Gui, however, responded precisely to each of his words with a different voice.

The hall was completely silent.

The half-demon commoners stared wide-eyed at Lin Gui as if he were a monster.

They couldn't understand the specific names and families in the conversations, but they could tell from the conversation.

In an instant, the black-haired mage changed his voice more than a dozen times.

Men's, women's, young, old, hoarse, clear—each one is completely different, each one is like another person.

Guy's mouth was agape, and his jaw almost dropped.

Eileen's eyes were filled with surprise.

Elvia peeked half her head out from behind the Forest Ghost, a hint of surprise in her golden eyes.

She had seen Lin Gui use voice-changing techniques before, but she had never seen him switch between so many different voices at once, so quickly, and so naturally.

Morgan, on the other hand, seemed to be rooted to the spot.

His mind was in turmoil.

Those voices... he recognized them.

If he heard correctly, they were all guards from the Thousand Towers City who were secretly monitoring the sanctuary from the outside.

Edwin brought his elite troops to surround them!

The sound from the communication stone finally stopped.

Lin Gui stuffed the last stone back into his arms, raised his head, and looked at Morgan.

Make a choice.

His voice returned to its original tone, flat, calm, and devoid of any emotion.

"I led Edwin and his gang to the Ross family's residence."

"They'll realize something's wrong in two hours at most, and then they'll come back."

He paused for a moment.

"At that time, you'll just become fish on their chopping board."

"You want to use these people who trust you to speculate about the butcher's morality..."

His gaze swept over the emaciated half-demon civilians before finally settling on Morgan's face.

"Let's take a gamble."

"You must tell me your choice now."

The hall was so quiet you could hear your own heartbeat.

More than four thousand pairs of blood-red eyes all fell on Morgan.

Morgan stood there, his hands hanging at his sides, his fingers clenching and unclenching repeatedly.

His face was contorted, his brows furrowed into a deep furrow, and his lips twitched as if he wanted to say something, or as if he was making a final struggle with something.

Countless thoughts churned in his mind.

Cedric and Leah left, and Hewlett left too.

They went to their deaths.

He almost agreed to Edwin's terms, offering himself in exchange for the lives of these civilians.

He thought that was the only way out.

But now, a high-ranking mage stands before him and tells him: there is another option.

Is it credible?

A high-ranking mage, accompanied by a high-ranking knight and a transcendent mage, killed more than a dozen transcendent high-ranking guards in the forbidden area, tricked all the hunters with a sound transmission stone, and lured Edwin's group elsewhere.

He said he wanted to build a second Avalon.

He said he wanted to fight the league.

He said he could get these half-demons out of their predicament.

Morgan took a deep breath, his voice hoarse, as if squeezed from the depths of his throat.

"How confident are you?"

Lin Gui did not answer directly.

He looked at Morgan and asked in return.

"I heard from Guy that you are a legendary mage specializing in earth, water, and wind magic."

He paused for a moment.

"Can you...drive a hurricane?"

------

And another gathering place for magical families.

The Perception Magic Pillar stood tall in the center of the camp, emitting a faint blue glow.

A huge sensing crystal is embedded at the top of the pillar. Countless tiny points of light inside the crystal move slowly, like a group of fireflies trapped in amber.

On the west side of the camp, right next to the area where people gathered, a makeshift cage stood crookedly.

Through the gaps in the wooden fence, several pairs of blood-red eyes stared intently at the mages chatting and laughing in the center of the camp.

Those were captured half-demon warriors.

They huddled in the corner of the cage, covered in wounds.

Some people had broken arms, and others had blood streaming from their foreheads—marks left from hitting their heads against the wall.

There was no fear in their eyes, only hatred.

The hatred was so intense it felt like it was about to bleed.

A body so hungry it could barely stand, hands and feet chained, and energy-blocking arrays surrounding the cell.

Everything pinned them firmly to the ground.

But they did not bow their heads.

Pairs of blood-red eyes stared intently at the magicians through the wooden fence.

His fiery gaze seemed to want to burn those people to ashes.

In the settlement, Marcus, the soldier who had just finished reporting the situation, put away the communication stone and turned around.

People immediately gathered around.

"How is it?"

"What did they say over there?"

Marcus wiped the sweat from his face, his tone relaxed.

"We'll have to wait a while longer. Ryan said the negotiations are going smoothly and we should be patient."

As soon as he finished speaking, a murmur of dissatisfaction immediately arose from the crowd.

Alberto, a young mage dressed in a magnificent robe, leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and fiddled with a gem-encrusted ring in his hand, his brows furrowed.

"Do we have to wait?"

His voice was clearly impatient.

"How many days have we been here? We haven't even had a hot meal, and we haven't seen a single woman."

A middle-aged soldier leaned over, lowered his voice, and gave a knowing smile.

"Young Master Alberto, speaking of women... among those half-demons we captured, there are quite a few who are rather attractive."

Alberto paused for a moment, then turned to look at the cage on the west side.

Those emaciated, ragged half-demons were staring at him with blood-red eyes.

His brows furrowed sharply, and his face revealed undisguised disgust.

"Are you crazy?"

His voice rose a few decibels.

"So skin and bones, like a skeleton, how could you bring yourself to eat him?"

He looked away and pursed his lips.

"Moreover, those were experimental materials."

"Touching them feels like raping a demon."

The middle-aged soldier gave an awkward smile and said nothing more.

From the other side of the cage, the sound of chains being dragged suddenly rang out.

Those bloodshot eyes were filled with even more intense hatred.

Someone muttered something under their breath in the cage, their voice hoarse, as if it were being ground out from the depths of their throat.

Alberto heard it.

He turned his head to look at the cage, a contemptuous smile playing on his lips.

"What? Still not convinced?"

He stood up, walked to the edge of the cage, and looked down at the half-demon warriors.

"You beasts, it's a blessing that you were even brought to the testing table alive."

He crouched down and, through the wooden fence, pointed to the forehead of the half-demon closest to him.

"Don't look at me like that. You don't even deserve to be raped."

The half-demon warrior's forehead tilted back slightly as his finger touched it, but his eyes remained fixed on it.

His bloodshot eyes were filled with such intense hatred that they seemed about to overflow.

His lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

But his body was trembling, not from fear, but from the uncontrollable rage of someone chained up.

Alberto laughed even harder when he saw his expression.

He stood up, dusted off his hands, and turned to walk back to his seat.

"A beast is a beast."

He crossed his legs and muttered a curse under his breath.

"Not even for fun."

Just then.

"rustle……"

A faint crackling sound came from Marcus's waist.

Everyone's attention was drawn to it at the same time.

The sound transmission stone from the shelter rang out again.