Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

The Green Shade Court grew smaller and smaller behind us, the gray-white city walls gradually shrinking into a thin line before being obscured by the undulating hills.

The terrain ahead began to change.

The once lush grassland has become sparse, and the soil has changed from dark yellow to grayish-white. Occasionally, a few scattered white bones can be seen stuck obliquely in the soil.

Lin Gui manipulated the staff, slowing down the speed somewhat.

We've arrived at the Bone Heights.

His gaze swept across the terrain ahead.

The highlands were flatter than he had imagined.

The slope is gentle and the view is wide open with almost no obstructions.

The grayish-white soil covered the entire area, as if it had been covered with a thin layer of ash.

Occasionally, you can see some scattered bone fragments mixed among the soil and gravel, their pale white color gleaming in the afternoon sun.

It's very quiet.

There was no sound of wind, no chirping of insects, only the faint sound of air currents created by the fluttering staff.

Lin Gui did not let his guard down.

He kept the staff flying close to the ground, at a height of no more than three or four meters, and at a very slow speed.

Elvia was still holding his waist, her chin resting on his shoulder, her breathing steady, as if she was a little sleepy.

"So nervous?"

Her voice carried a hint of lazy laughter.

"Didn't you say this was the weakest forbidden area?"

Lin Gui didn't reply, his gaze still scanning the surrounding terrain.

He knew that the place was not dangerous.

The Scholars' Guild's intelligence is accurate, and the descriptions from those seasoned adventurers are also true.

But the fact that the system had given him necromancy was like a thorn stuck in his head, something he couldn't get rid of.

The staff continued to float forward, and the Forest Ghost, referring to the map given to him by the adventurer, began to move forward along the trade route.

The gray soil receded slowly beneath my feet, and occasionally I could see some twisted, low, dead trees, like finger bones growing out of the ground.

Several broken skeletons lay scattered beside the dead wood, some intact, some broken, all motionless.

Lin Gui manipulated his staff to bypass the skeletons and maintain his distance.

They did not encounter any undead along the way.

The entire highland was as quiet as a long-abandoned wasteland.

The sun slid from overhead toward the west, its light changing from dazzling to soft, and then from soft to a hazy yellow.

It got dark.

Lin Gui landed on a relatively flat area of ​​ground.

There were some rubble and bones scattered around, but the view was open and the surroundings were clear.

He put away his staff, took out firewood and flint from his storage space, and started a campfire.

Campfires are always a big no-no in the wilderness, as they attract too many demons.

But on the Bone Heights, the opposite is true.

Undead fear light and fire, so campfires can also help to dispel some mid-level undead.

Especially at night, when the spirits are most active.

Lin Gui sat by the campfire, a map of the Bone Highlands spread out on his lap, studying it carefully by the flickering firelight.

In the distance, from the depths of darkness, came several eerie howls, like sobs seeping from the earth, intermittent, sometimes near, sometimes far.

Occasionally, you can hear the faint sound of bones grinding together, as if something is slowly crawling in the darkness.

A few eerie blue flames occasionally flickered from among the skeletons.

It flashed by in the darkness, then quickly went out after the flickering flames of the campfire were visible.

Lin Gui used his peripheral vision to wary of his surroundings, his finger slowly moving along the lines on the map.

Elvia sat opposite him, hugging her knees, yawning, and listlessly fiddling with the magical artifact in her hands.

Just then, a faint light flashed in the darkness, like a will-o'-the-wisp flowing along the ground.

A skeletal beast somehow managed to slip past the vigilant forest ghost and appear behind Elvia.

With a slender frame, an arched back, and four claws silently digging into the soil, it was slowly approaching in a strange manner.

Its skull was lowered, and two clusters of dark blue ghostly flames flickered violently in its eye sockets, exuding a silent ferocity.

Its target is the blonde woman with her back to it.

As the distance drew closer, its speed increased.

In the instant it approached the woman from behind, it leaped forward, opened its mouth, and aimed directly at her neck.

Then, Elvia turned around.

She didn't even stand up; she simply turned to the side and reached out.

With precise five fingers, he gripped the skull of the skeletal beast and lifted it off the ground.

The skeletal beast's four claws were still frantically pawing in mid-air, making a cracking sound.

Elvia picked it up and examined it in the firelight.

The skeleton is slender, and the skull is round.

The eerie flames in his eyes were only the size of beans, but now they were throbbing rapidly and erratically, as if he had been frightened.

"Didn't you say that campfires can drive away the dead?"

She tilted her head, held up the palm-sized skull cat, and waved it at Lin Gui.

Lin Gui raised his eyelids, glanced at it, and explained.

"The rules of the wilderness do not apply to low-ranking demons. Those with an absurdly low IQ can be seen as demon brats hopping around even in the lair of the demon overlord."

Elvia looked down at the struggling skeleton cat in her hand.

He stretched out his finger, wanting to tease it.

The skeleton cat opened its mouth and tried to bite her finger.

"He's pretty fierce."

Elvia chuckled and shook it again.

"It's so cute, how about we get one?"

Lin Gui put down the map, looked at her, and said.

"The undead can also be considered as spirit demons."

"After a spirit demon leaves its birthplace, its soul will continuously weaken."

He held out his hand, gesturing for her to hand him the skeleton cat.

Elvia brought it to him.

As soon as the skeletal cat approached Lin Gui, the ghostly flames in its eye sockets suddenly flared.

It then revealed a ferocious expression to him, opened its mouth, and let out a hoarse cry.

Then it saw the ghost's eyes, which had turned from black to gray.

The skeleton cat's body froze.

The claws that had been scratching retracted, and the skull drooped.

The ghostly fire in his eye sockets instantly shrank to two faint sparks, and his entire skeleton curled up into a ball, trembling.

Lin Gui looked at it, its gray eyes reflecting the ghostly flame.

Under the gaze of the Eye of the Underworld, the skeleton cat's soul was tattered and broken, like a rag that had been torn apart and then barely pieced back together.

So fragile that it can barely sustain its own existence.

"Keep it?"

"If we leave this desolate place, we'll turn into a pile of bones in no time."

So, just forget about it.

After Lin Gui finished speaking, he found that there was no response.

Looking up, I saw Elvia squinting, staring into the darkness beyond the reach of the campfire.

Her right hand rested on the hilt of the sword, her knuckles slightly white, her movements silent and natural.

Lin Gui's eyelids twitched, and he followed her gaze.

In the far distance, in the shadows at the edge of the highlands, a figure stood.

A ghostly knight riding a skeletal horse.

Its entire skeleton was a dark grayish-white.

Two clusters of eerie fire in his eyes, like two cold stars, stared straight toward the campfire.

It neither moved, nor approached, nor left.

He just watched Elvia and Lin Gui quietly, which was very eerie.

"What level of strength?"

Elvia's voice was very low.

Lin Gui's Netherworld Eyes focused silently.

In his gray vision, the size, color, and frequency of the flickering flame were clearly reflected in his pupils.

"Heroes step down."

Elvia paused for a moment.

Then she loosened the hilt of her sword and sat back down by the campfire.

He picked up a piece of roasted meat from the campfire and took a bite.

"This looks rather intimidating; I thought it would be much more powerful."

"That's it?"

Now that she has broken through to the extraordinary level and is going head-to-head with several gold adventurers in Copper Gate City, Elvia is quite arrogant.

I really can't stand a demon who's a hero below the rank of hero.

She chewed on dried meat, crossed her legs, and the firelight cast flickering shadows on her face.

Lin Gui did not respond.

He was still looking in that direction, his brows slightly furrowed.

The Ghostfire Knight riding the skeletal horse remained standing in the same spot, like a silent statue.

Lin Gui sensed that something was wrong.

He felt that the other person seemed to be... looking at him?

He blinked and looked in that direction again.

But then they discovered that the figure had vanished.

All that remained was an empty, dark void.