Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

Elvia looked at Bob's gradually cooling body not far away.

Reflecting on everything that had just happened in the blink of an eye, I felt a chill run down my spine.

Previously, sitting on Lin Gui's raft, enjoying the comfort brought by that outrageous concealment magic, I only felt at ease.

Only by personally experiencing its power in a surprise attack can one truly feel a chilling terror.

In a head-on confrontation, Shea might not be a match for the battle-hardened Bob.

But under the cover of Lin Gui's elusive magic...

They managed to sneak up behind an extraordinary expert without anyone noticing, and the arrow struck the back of his head!

Such an assassination team could be so dangerous that even a highly skilled expert could be instantly killed if they were careless!

And this was even with Lin Gui's magic power almost completely exhausted.

If his magic was abundant, he could take Shia and instantly kill Bob before disappearing again...

Those six city garrison soldiers, I'm afraid none of them will escape.

An extraordinary ranger, a high-ranking low-level mage.

It's unbelievable that their combined efforts could produce such an overwhelming effect.

"It seems they're not entirely without confidence in their plan to cross the forbidden area..."

Elvia's eyes flickered, and her mind began to race.

"If this ability were used for assassination..."

Just as she was secretly making plans.

Suddenly, Xia's emerald eyes narrowed, and she drew her bow again!

Elvia's eyes flickered slightly as she quickly picked up her sword from the ground.

He took a step to the side and stood beside Shia.

The two of them tightly protected the unconscious Lin Gui in the middle.

-

With a slight tremor, Lin Gui awoke from the deep darkness.

He sat up, rubbing his throbbing forehead, and was shocked to find himself in a dimly lit, man-made cave.

The raft beneath them was lifted off the ground and was slowly moving forward.

He immediately looked at the wooden box next to him and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the letters were intact.

Then, he looked at Shia and Elvia, who were carrying the raft forward one after the other, with a puzzled expression.

And several unfamiliar figures leading the way.

"Who are they...?"

Hearing the noise, Shia turned around with a happy smile on her face.

"Lin Gui! You're awake! How are you feeling? Are you alright?"

Lin Gui rubbed his temples, feeling the empty, sore sensation in his body and the exhaustion in his mind, and replied.

"It's nothing, just a bit of magic depletion. Where am I?"

Elvia, who was carrying one corner of the raft on one shoulder, answered without turning her head.

"We have entered the Withered Rift."

"This man-made ancient road is said to have been a mining tunnel dug by the hyena people a long time ago."

"Who are those people in front of us?"

"They are members of the Karan Golden Adventurer Group 'Dream Weaver,' who is the target of your special commission."

"Yeah?"

Lin Gui raised an eyebrow slightly. He did not receive any system notification that the task was completed, nor did his magic power increase.

"Wasn't the letter delivered to them?"

"How should I put it..."

Elvia's tone was somewhat subtle.

"You should ask them yourself; things are a bit complicated."

At Elvia's suggestion.

In the Dream Weaving Adventure Team, a woman dressed in a mage's robe and exuding a capable air walked over.

With a formulaic smile on her face, she reached out her hand to Lin Gui, who was sitting on the raft.

"Hello, I am Catherine, the vice leader of the Dream Weaving Guild, a high-ranking mage."

Lin Gui jumped off the raft and shook hands with her briefly.

"I heard about the guild's request from my teammates."

Catherine glanced at Shea instinctively.

A fleeting, almost imperceptible hint of wariness and rejection crossed his eyes, but he quickly concealed it, his smile remaining unchanged.

"Thank you for bringing the guild's urgent summons from afar. Please hand me the letter; that will complete your mission."

Lin Gui did not immediately produce the letter, but instead asked a question.

"Where is your troupe leader, Rona? The task is to deliver the letter directly to the troupe leader, Huimeng."

Catherine's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, clearly indicating she didn't want to answer the question.

But under Lin Gui's calm yet persistent gaze.

She paused for a few seconds, then finally spoke in a deliberately calm tone:

"The regimental commander... sacrificed herself."

She paused, as if organizing her thoughts, a hint of sorrow in her voice.

"Just recently, a fierce battle broke out between demon lords within the Rift."

"The aftermath of the battle was extremely terrifying, altering the surrounding landscape and revealing many previously unexplored ancient mine tunnels and ruins."

"Guild Leader Rona, as a veteran extraordinary assassin in the guild, has been stuck at a bottleneck in her strength for a long time."

"She saw this as a rare opportunity and, despite advice against it, insisted on venturing into the newly discovered ruins, hoping to find a breakthrough..."

Catherine's voice lowered, filled with regret and helplessness.

"And then...she never came back."

She raised her head and looked at Lin Gui, her eyes carrying a perfect blend of sadness and determination.

"Therefore, I will temporarily assume the role of guild leader. All guild correspondence will be handled by me."

Lin Gui noticed that when Catherine uttered the word "sacrifice".

In the Dream Weavers team, a petite female assassin suddenly clenched her fist.

He bit his lower lip tightly, a hint of resentment and unwillingness flashing in his eyes, as if he wanted to rush forward and say something.

But another teammate beside him held him tightly and gently shook his head.

Lin Gui understood in his heart, but remained expressionless, shaking his head regretfully.

"Ah... I'm sorry, that urgent summons letter was unfortunately destroyed in the recent attack."

His tone was sincere, with just the right amount of regret.

"However, the letter mainly urges you to return to Karan City as soon as possible to stabilize the guild's situation. This does not affect your decision to withdraw."

Catherine's gaze sharpened instantly, scanning back and forth between Lin Gui's face and the intact wooden crates on the raft.

"I see that your wooden crates are undamaged. Moreover, according to our scouts who were monitoring Bob's group, the crates were not damaged during the battle."

Her tone carried a clear hint of doubt.

However, no matter how Catherine tried to subtly probe, Lin Gui always managed to find a plausible excuse to deflect the question.

His tone remained calm throughout, yet he was completely discreet.

Catherine's face gradually darkened; her patience was wearing thin.

She stepped forward, her tone firm.

"Since you say the letter was destroyed, then let us check the wooden crate to make sure no other guild items were missing. Is that alright?"

Lin Gui didn't speak, but simply raised his hand and waved it lightly.

A faint light swirled, and the enormous raft, along with the wooden crates on it, instantly floated up, half a foot off the ground.

This precise and steady Levitation made Catherine's pupils shrink slightly, and she subconsciously stopped in her tracks.

As a mage, she knew all too well the difficulty of mastering this rudimentary magic to such a level.

Lin Gui, whose hands were now free, simply looked at her indifferently.

Shia and Elvia stepped forward in unison, standing on either side of Lin Gui.

Shia's fingers rested seemingly casually on the bowstring, and although Elvia's sword was not drawn, the oppressive aura of a high-ranking knight already permeated the air.

Especially Shia's cold, blood-red eyes made Catherine feel a real threat.

"snort!"

Catherine snorted coldly, knowing that her wish would not come true today.

She glared at Lin Gui and threw down a sentence.

"In that case, please make yourselves at home. Our Dream Weaving Group's base is classified, so we won't entertain outsiders like you!"

After saying this, filled with displeasure, she turned and led the other members of the group to disappear quickly into the dark, winding mine tunnels.

Once they were out of sight, Lin Guicai slowly lowered the raft.

He looked at Shia and Elvia.

"What exactly happened while I was unconscious?"

Shea gave a brief explanation.

It turned out that after scaring away the remnants of the city defense forces, Shia had keenly spotted scouts hiding not far away.

Under the threat of arrows, the other party revealed himself, stating that he was a member of the "Dream Weaving" adventure group in Kalan.

Shea had heard about this predominantly female Gold-rank adventurer group while she was in Kalan, and told them that she had an urgent guild document to deliver to their leader, Rona.

The other party then led them into this ancient mine tunnel in the rift valley.

"Originally, the plan was to take us to their base to rest."

Shea shrugged, her tone tinged with anticipation.

"But for now... we'll have to camp out in the wild~"

As she spoke, her emerald eyes sparkled, clearly indicating that she missed Lin Gui's cooking more than the dry, hard, and choking rations she ate at the Dream Painting Stronghold.

Elvia also swallowed subconsciously, clearly equally looking forward to Lin Gui's cooking skills.

Lin Gui glanced at the faint light occasionally seeping into the mine tunnel and the complex network of branching passages ahead, and sighed helplessly.

The mental ache caused by the overexertion of magic has not completely subsided, and I definitely need to rest.

"Alright, let's find a suitable place to rest nearby."

He rubbed his still throbbing temples.

"While we're still relatively close to the edge of the forest, there are few traces of demons around."

"Okay!"

Shea responded and darted out like a nimble cat, darting through the various mine tunnels in search of a suitable temporary base.

As an experienced ranger, she had already mastered this skill.

After Shia left, Elvia sat on the edge of the raft next to the Forest Ghost, staring at him intently.

Lin Gui was somewhat puzzled by the look he was getting.

"what?"

Elvia was silent for a few seconds before speaking in a low voice.

"Just now... when we were surrounded by those city guards, I thought you were really going to abandon me."

Lin Gui said calmly.

"How could that be? I still have so many letters in the wooden box."

Elvia looked at Lin Gui's expressionless profile and suddenly said something very softly.

Thank you.

This thank you made Lin Gui pause for a moment. He pointed to himself, his tone somewhat absurd.

"I poisoned you, threatened you with my life, and just now I made you act as bait, and even prevented you from escaping."

"The main reason you were saved wasn't you yourself, but these letters. And you're thanking them for that?"

Elvia smiled but offered no explanation.

She sat cross-legged on the raft, stretching out lazily without a care for her image, revealing her curves.

Then he asked casually.

"When you leave the capital for Avalon... will you take me with you?"

She tilted her head, her golden hair falling down.

"I have no idea about the 'Golden Road' that leads there."

"And you probably wouldn't even consider me capable, would you?"

"With your cooperation with that half-demon, as long as you're not a being above the extraordinary level, basically no one can do anything to you."

She paused, her tone tinged with confusion.

"Other adventure groups mainly focus on completing guild commissions, exploring ruins, slaying demons, collecting alchemical items, protecting nobles, and participating in wars... all in order to make money and become stronger."

"And your 'adventure group'... no, to be precise, your 'post office' only delivers letters."

"Collecting meager copper coins, risking their lives to traverse the demon-infested wilderness, all to help those commoners convey their longing..."

Elvia shook her head.

"This is simply one of the most 'foolish' things ever done in the city-state era."

"But if you really intend to continue down this path..."

Her gaze became somewhat distant.

"Actually, assassins, rangers, scouts, diviners, scholars, cartographers, or special mages like yourself who are skilled in perception, reconnaissance, and escape would be more suitable for your team."

"Instead of a more 'clumsy' knight like me."

Lin Gui listened quietly before speaking calmly.

There are many reasons why I chose you.

"The most direct thing is that you know the golden road from Karan to the capital."

"Secondly, you are a member of royalty, have long been involved in the center of power, are well-versed in the workings and interactions between nobles and powerful figures, and possess keen political insight."

"You'll inevitably have to deal with these guys in the future, and you can provide a lot of information and help."

He looked out into the dim light of the mine tunnel.

"Kalan is a transportation hub in the borderlands and an important transit point for the city-state alliance in the southwest."

"It would be relatively convenient to travel from the capital to other city-states in the border regions."

"Your help is indispensable if I want to establish a foothold there and build a post office node."

He paused, then lowered his voice.

"Moreover, upon arriving in Avalon, we confirmed that the city-state was indeed, as Shia had said, the legendary 'City of Equality'..."

"Shea will be leaving me soon."

Elvia's eyes widened in surprise.

Lin Gui continued.

"The main purpose of this trip to Avalon is to help Shia find a place that can truly accommodate her."

"By then, my team will be missing an important combat unit."

What Lin Gui didn't say was that, at least before completing the system's advanced tasks and improving his proficiency in intermediate-level magic, his own combat strength was indeed limited.

This mage devoted almost all his energy to sensing, hiding, and escaping.

Although he knows a few offensive spells, his proficiency is average, and their power is insufficient to deal with powerful enemies.

【Night Veil】is not invincible, especially when his magic is exhausted and he is at his weakest.

He needs a strong and trustworthy bodyguard.

Elvia listened and nodded thoughtfully.

"So that's how it is..."

She repeated the word in a low voice, her eyes somewhat unfocused.

"The City of Equality... Avalon..."

As if remembering something, she softly hummed an ancient folk song passed down among the common people, her voice ethereal and filled with longing:

"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..."

Her singing voice echoed softly in the deep mine tunnels, carrying an indescribable complex emotion.

As the song ended, Elvia smiled.

"Oh, Avalon, I remember now, it's the place mentioned in this poem."

"Does it... really exist?"

Lin Gui nodded, his tone very certain.

"exist."

Elvia was silent for a moment, her golden eyes reflecting the unknown darkness deep within the mine, as if recalling the beautiful scenes depicted in poetry.

She suddenly turned her head and looked at Lin Gui, her face filled with an almost naive curiosity.

"I see... Then I really want to see for myself what this so-called 'equal city-state' is really like."

Just then, from the shadows on one side of the mine, Shia's figure silently appeared.

With a relaxed smile on her face, indicating that she had completed her task, she jumped back to the edge of the raft and pointed to a fork in the road deep in the mine.

"It's over there, there's an abandoned hyena-man storage room, it's spacious and well-hidden."

"I've searched the entire area, and I've also cleared out the few little tunnel devils hiding inside."

After saying that, she sat down at the back of the raft, hugged her knees, rested her pointed chin on her knees, and stared into the void, seemingly lost in thought.