Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

Deep in the refugee district, in a half-collapsed wooden building, Elvia put the communication stone back into her bosom.

She stood amidst a pile of corpses, blood still dripping from the tip of her rapier.

Dark red blood beads slid down the blade, dripping onto the muddy ground and creating tiny dents.

The corpses lay scattered at her feet.

There were refugee thugs wearing tattered leather armor, and adventurers wearing standard equipment.

Several of the faces were particularly familiar; they were the same group of adventurers who had been staking out the post office a while back.

The scarred man who was leading the group was lying face up, his eyes still wide open, his pupils dilated.

There was a thin, clean cut on his throat, without any extra scars.

Several corpses of gold-level adventurers lay scattered nearby, their badges still faintly discernible in the bloodstains, their hands clutching their weapons, though the grip had loosened.

The blood on the ground was not completely dry yet.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, mixed with the smell of dirt and sawdust.

Several refugees knelt before Elvia, trembling, their foreheads pressed against the muddy ground, not daring to raise their heads.

She held the still-dripping slender sword, its tip slowly sweeping across their faces, as if measuring something.

"Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

The refugee kneeling at the front immediately kowtowed, his forehead hitting the muddy ground with a dull thud.

"It's gone! It's really gone! We've already explained everything that happened that day!"

His voice trembled, and he spoke rapidly, like a machine gun.

"This really has nothing to do with us!"

"It was all Black Tiger, the boss of the Southern District, who led those adventurers to hunt down those mail-delivering refugees and kill them!"

"We were just...we were called in to clean up the mess, we really didn't do anything!"

Elvia did not speak.

She crouched down, looking the refugee in the eye, a smile on her face.

That smile was radiant, shining especially brightly in the moonlight.

"But Black Tiger said—"

Her voice remained very soft.

"It was you who came to our door with the silver coins given to you by the adventurers and killed them."

"The elderly, children, and even infants in swaddling clothes were all dragged out of their rooms."

"They were then tied up at the post office and murdered."

The refugees' faces turned deathly pale.

He suddenly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes filled with terror and anger.

"He's lying! He's slandering us! He—"

His voice faltered.

Because Elvia's smile didn't change at all.

She just looked at him with a smile, like she was looking at a mouse whose tail had been stepped on.

"I know he's lying."

"I know you probably have nothing to do with this."

The refugee was stunned.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Elvia stood up and dusted off her knees.

"but--"

Her voice still carried a hint of laughter.

"Putting aside the facts, don't you people who act as bosses in this refugee neighborhood and bully other refugees have done anything wrong?"

The group of refugees kneeling on the ground looked at each other, none of them daring to speak.

Elvia hummed in response, her voice rising slightly at the end.

It's just one syllable.

The refugees trembled violently and immediately kowtowed.

"Yes, yes, yes! We were wrong! We'll never bully anyone again!"

"My lord, spare me! Spare me!"

Elvia did not answer.

She turned around, picked up a mailbag from the side, untied the drawstring, and took out a stack of brand-new propaganda newspapers.

The paper still smelled of ink, the edges were neatly trimmed, and several large characters were printed on it.

[7-Coin Post Office - Reopening]

She threw the stack of propaganda posters in front of the refugees.

The paper lay scattered on the muddy ground, stained with blood, but the words on it were still clearly legible.

"Now, you have one chance to atone for your sins."

Elvia raised her head and looked up at the dark sky.

The night breeze ruffled her golden hair, the ends gleaming dimly in the moonlight.

She didn't look at the refugees, her voice was indifferent.

"The news that the 7-copper-coin post office would reopen before noon spread throughout Copper Gate City."

She paused for a moment.

"Especially—"

"The noble district".

"Rostov's residence."

"Red Moon" Tavern on North Third Street.

"The 'Hidden Fog' opium den in the East Market."

"And the 'Golden Leaf' gambling den near the South Gate."

Her tone was flat, as if she were reciting a familiar route.

"Post the notices at the entrances of those places, and on the counters of those shops."

"Let that guy know—"

She lowered her head and looked at the refugees.

"The post office is open again."

The refugees hurriedly kowtowed, frantically picking up the propaganda posters from the ground, folding them neatly, and stuffing them into their pockets.

Then they scrambled away, their steps hurried, and disappeared at the end of the alley.

The wooden building fell silent.

Only Elvia remained, standing amidst a pile of corpses.

She looked down at the rapier in her hand.

The blood on the blade was half-dried, congealing into a dark red film.

She bent down, wiped the blade of her sword on the nearest corpse to clean off the blood, and then sheathed the sword.

Behind them, a figure emerged from the shadows.

Eileen walked over with light, quick steps, her staff in her hand, the tip still bearing the faint glow of magic she had cast.

"The workers have already started work."

"It will be rebuilt before dawn."

She laid her staff horizontally, softly chanted a spell, and the staff rose from the ground, half a foot off the ground.

She straddled him and reached out her hand to Elvia.

Elvia grabbed her hand and sat down beside her.

The staff slowly rose into the air, passed through the broken window of the wooden building, and flew into the night.

The night breeze brushed past their ears, ruffling their hair.

Below are the scattered rooftops of the refugee district.

Occasionally, one or two dim lights would shine through the dilapidated windowpanes.

Eileen maneuvered her staff toward the city gate, paused for a moment, and then spoke.

"It is not a wise choice to offend a powerful nobleman who is deeply rooted in the central city-state for the sake of a group of unrelated vagrants."

Elvia sat behind her, her hands on her shoulders, and chuckled softly.

"That's definitely unwise."

"Slaughter and bloody succession among nobles were very common."

"Power is always accompanied by bloodshed and slaughter."

"If we were simply acting as Lieyang and killing a high-ranking nobleman who had offended us, would anyone say anything?"

"We were the only ones who took action for the sake of the refugees we didn't know, and in order to keep the post office running smoothly afterward, we had to make everyone understand that we were doing this for the refugees."

"This will be a nail driven into the hearts of the nobles, and they will never be able to remove it."

"Even the allies we could make will steer clear, and if given the chance, we'll kick them while they're down."

Her voice still carried a hint of laughter, as if she were describing a game of chess that had nothing to do with her.

"Not to mention, those noble families also have intermarriages and business dealings among themselves. If you mess with one of them, a whole bunch of related people will be implicated."

"It's not worth the risk."

Eileen's hand paused slightly.

She turned her head and glanced at Elvia.

Those golden eyes gleamed in the moonlight, holding a calm and clear light within them.

Eileen was silent for a moment, then asked the question she had always wanted to ask.

"If you know that, why did you still do it?"

Elvia gave a bitter laugh, her voice carrying an indescribable sense of helplessness.

"Little Eileen, it's not that I want to do this."

"But if I don't do that, that bastard will definitely take matters into his own hands."

"If I were to come, at least I could control the situation."

"If he comes..."

Her voice trailed off, as if she were recalling some very unpleasant memory.

The night breeze brushed past her ears, ruffling the stray hairs on her forehead.

Her gaze fell on the brightly lit area of ​​the aristocratic district in the distance, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.

"I reckon the entire Copper Gate City is going to be haunted."

"The entire noble family, who had been missing for centuries, were suddenly found dead in the streets the next day, their heads hanging from the city gate, causing a huge uproar throughout the entire Bronze Gate City, and subsequently attracting the investigation team from Dawn City..."

She became increasingly uneasy as she spoke, and her voice grew softer and softer until it was almost a monologue.

Eileen's lips twitched slightly.

"It seems that Master Lin Gui... really hates nobles."

Elvia chuckled, her smile carrying a hint of "you just realized that?"

"His greatest dream was to cut off the heads of all the nobles in Akara, smash them, and feed them to the pigs."

Eileen was silent for a moment, then said something.

"What a...dangerous dream."

Elvia sighed.

"Yes, it's extremely dangerous."