Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

In the distance, in the deep, dark passageway of the tomb.

Rona endured the excruciating pain from the steel needles.

Leading the Knights of John cautiously through one "deadly" trap area after another.

The energy fluctuations emitted by those traps are extremely dangerous.

Lorna had no doubt that either of them was enough to tear the extraordinary adventurer to shreds.

But strangely, they are all excessively "safe".

Everything is exposed on the surface, as if afraid that intruders might not see it.

The knights following behind did not suspect anything.

They naturally assumed that this was when Lorna had broken in earlier.

The tricks they took to ensure their own safe evacuation.

But only Rona herself knew the truth.

She had never set foot here before!

Catherine led her into a ruin that was not this place at all.

Even though the same switch is being turned, the final channel points to completely different destinations.

Who exactly changed the final direction of the passage after her and Catherine?

Who set up these seemingly dangerous but actually "thoughtful" guiding traps here?

Rona suppressed the doubts surging within her, not daring to let the knights behind her notice anything amiss.

Whatever the purpose of the person lurking in the shadows who guided her, or rather, this order of knights, to this place...

She had no other choice.

At least... even in death, I'll drag these knights from the capital who abandoned Linno down with me.

With such a resolute thought in mind.

She eventually led the Knights to the core area of ​​this tomb.

Suddenly, a vast, empty underground palace opened up before them.

There were no mountains of gold and silver treasures or dazzling artifacts as one might have imagined.

Only the densely packed, neatly arranged coffins, like a silent army, guarded the center.

And the most eye-catching of them all.

It was not the enormous crystal coffin in the center, whose lid had been pushed open and which emitted a dazzling light from within.

Instead, it was an ordinary coffin near the entrance, which looked dilapidated and whose wood was rotten.

It is conspicuous because it is surrounded by piles of bones that look like small mountains!

The skeletons were piled up in heaps, layer upon layer, and there were probably thousands of them.

All the skeletons were in a strange, forward-crawling posture.

Without exception, their necks were twisted at unnatural angles, or even broken.

The empty eye sockets stared blankly at the dilapidated coffin.

Lorna was completely stunned by the scene before her, which resembled a slaughterhouse.

A chill ran from the soles of my feet straight up to the top of my head.

She couldn't imagine what kind of brutal and terrifying battle could have caused such a scene.

The Knights of John, who followed closely behind, were also awestruck by the sight before them.

Ghosn's face was grim, while John frowned deeply.

Although the souls of these skeletons have long since vanished, it is not difficult to deduce their former power through the equipment they left behind.

Ghosn and John even keenly noticed a few pieces of equipment scattered among the bones.

It is engraved with a radiant pattern that only legendary powerhouses could activate, but which has now faded and lost its luster!

"Where's the artifact!" Ghosn growled in frustration.

His gaze swept across the entire hall like that of a hawk.

Finally, he fixed his gaze on the opened crystal coffin in the center.

"There! The coffin has been opened!"

John also looked at the crystal coffin.

The aura emanating from the equipment inside was so powerful that even he could clearly sense it; it was definitely not an ordinary item.

But isn't this light... a bit too dazzling?

Ghosn excitedly tried to rush forward, but John grabbed him.

"Wait," John's voice was calm and unwavering as he turned to the pale-faced Lorna, "ladies first."

Lorna swallowed nervously, knowing she couldn't disobey, and was about to step forward with a stiff upper lip.

"Thump...thump...thump..."

A series of dull, muffled sounds, like the striking of rotten wood, suddenly rang out in the deathly silent hall!

Everyone was startled and instantly tensed up!

The sound came from a broken coffin piled with bones not far ahead!

Ghosn and John quickly exchanged a glance.

Then look at the bizarre state of death of the skeletons scattered all over the ground.

They all seemed to have been instantly cut in half or shredded by some extremely sharp weapon!

The body of a transcendent warrior is incredibly tough and could never be so easily and neatly severed.

Even John, a legendary mid-ranking paladin.

I know I could never have carried out such a clean, efficient, and widespread massacre!

Moreover, several of the corpses belonged to legendary powerhouses.

John gestured with his eyes.

The entire knightly order retreated slowly and in unison, forming a defensive formation.

Lorna tried to retreat, but Ghosn locked her in place with a steel needle that was poised to strike.

"You, go up there!" Ghosn's voice was cold and cruel.

"Lure out what's inside the coffin!"

Lorna's face was ashen, but she had no choice.

She moved slowly, carefully avoiding the bones on the ground.

He picked up a scout dagger that looked fairly intact from beside the skeleton of a superhuman warrior and gripped it tightly.

She slowly and laboriously approached the broken coffin that kept making "thump-thump" sounds.

Sweat streamed down his face and dripped onto the cold bones.

The knocking sound seemed to strike her heart directly.

Every time it rang, it sent a shiver down her spine.

Ghosn behind her continued to threaten her with steel needles and his eyes, urging her to hurry up.

Rona gritted her teeth, took a step, and finally arrived in front of the broken coffin!

Seemingly sensing someone approaching, the knocking inside the coffin abruptly stopped.

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

Lorna could even clearly hear the frantic pounding of her own heart.

She reached out her hand, trembling, her fingertips about to touch the decaying coffin.

suddenly!

"Squeak~~"

The coffin lid was suddenly pushed open from the inside, creating a gap!

A slender, pale hand with eerie eye patterns painted on the back.

It shot out like lightning and grabbed Rona's wrist tightly!

The dagger in his hand fell to the ground with a clang.

To Lorna's utter horror, the coffin was pushed open completely from the inside out.

A "corpse" wearing a mottled and tattered helmet.

He was slowly, haltingly, sitting up from the coffin!

The "corpse's" neck emitted a grinding, teeth-grinding sound.

It looked like it was laughing, but also like its bones were misaligned.

Lorna looked at him in fear.

His two arms were still hanging limply at his sides!

Where did that third hand grabbing my wrist come from?!

The "corpse's" laughter grew louder and louder.

It lingered in the empty hall, then abruptly stopped.

It turned its head stiffly, and the shadow beneath the tattered helmet seemed to have two pairs of eyes locked onto Rona.

Then, it pulled something out from deep inside the coffin and stuffed it into Lorna's hand that was being held.

Lorna swallowed hard and subconsciously looked down.

It's a piece of paper.

It was written on the paper…

[Recall Notice. Sender: Adventurers' Guild of Karan City.]

"????"

Lorna was completely stunned, her mind went blank.

Just then, the terrifying "corpse" came close to her ear.

A very low voice rang out:

"If you don't want to die, quickly repeat 'sign for delivery' in your mind!"

Lorna was even more bewildered by these sudden words, which were completely at odds with the terrifying scene before her.

But her survival instinct made her do it unconsciously.

Sign for it!

The thought had barely formed in her mind when she felt the strange hand gripping her wrist tighten suddenly!

"ah!"

She cried out in alarm as a tremendous force suddenly pulled her down and dragged her directly into the broken coffin.

"Bang!"

The coffin lid slammed shut behind her!

The surroundings returned to deathly silence.

All that remained was the broken coffin and the mountains of bones piled up around it.

They silently faced the paladin order, who were filled with suspicion and apprehension.

Just as Rona was being pulled into the coffin and the lid was closing...

An even stranger scene unfolded.

The dilapidated wooden coffin was right there in front of everyone.

It vanished into thin air, as if erased by an eraser!

All that remained were mountains of bones piled up around the temple and a deathly silence within.

The knights stared in horror at this incomprehensible scene before them.

Even the well-informed Holy Knight John was so astonished by this unbelievable sight that his pupils contracted.

Except for Ghosn.

His face was gloomy.

There was not a trace of confusion in those sharp, eagle-like eyes.

Only a chilling killing intent and precise judgment.

He moved almost the instant the coffin disappeared!

The legendary low-rank archer unleashed a powerful burst of energy.

He suddenly drew back the spare longbow in his hand, and the bowstring twanged.

Ten powerful arrows, each imbued with terrifying penetrating force, were unleashed.

It was not shot at the spot where the coffin disappeared.

Instead, it directly covers the entrance area of ​​the tomb passage!

"Boom boom boom boom!"

The arrows struck the stone walls and the ground.

This triggered a series of violent explosions and roars.

Pebbles flew everywhere, and dust filled the air.

However, one of the arrows seemed to hit something in mid-air.

It produced a dull, unusually loud impact sound!

Immediately afterwards, in the smoke and dust of the explosion.

Three figures were suddenly blasted out as if squeezed out of the water curtain.

It was the forest ghost whose [Night Veil] had been forcibly broken.

Elvia, severely wounded and coughing up blood, faces a legendary arrow.

And Rona, who has just been "signed for" and is still in a coma!

This sudden turn of events not only shocked the members of the Holy Knights, but also deeply terrified Lin Gui!

This is the first time that Youye Shayi has been exposed since she was bound to the system!

This is the third time that Lin Gui has been exposed since he created Youye Shayi.

The system notification that had just rang in his mind, "Special commission completed, reward being distributed...", hadn't even completely faded yet.

Before he could confirm, Lin Gui yelled at Elvia.

"El!! Quick! Emergency plan!"

The emergency plan was a scheme Lin Gui devised before entering the tomb, in anticipation of several potential unforeseen events.

The worst-case scenario is that Youye Shayi's disguise is exposed.

Almost at the same time he spoke.

Elvia stood at the forefront, instinctively raising the heavy shield she had picked up to block the arrows.

I felt an indescribable force slam into the shield!

"Snap! Bang!"

The high-quality shield shattered instantly!

Elvia was struck hard and flew backward.

The blood that spurted from his mouth drew a glaring red line in the air.

Fortunately, the terrible arrow did not pierce her; instead, she deflected its force and redirected it to the other side.

"Let me fly!" she roared at Lin Gui as she flew backwards.

The demon's staff flashed.

The light of the [Levitation] spell instantly enveloped Elvia.

It offset most of the impact on her.

Elvia took a deep breath.

He slammed his feet against the top of the tomb passage.

Use leverage to twist your body.

The sword in his hand burst forth with an unprecedentedly dazzling golden light.

Her blood-stained face was illuminated as if a Valkyrie had descended.

"Holy Light Slash!!"

She shouted angrily.

He poured all the remaining energy in his body into this sword strike.

A golden sword aura, condensed to its extreme, seemingly capable of tearing through the darkness.

He slashed at Ghosn, who had raised his bow again.

Strangely, the blade disappeared instantly as soon as it was drawn from its sheath.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lin Gui wielded his staff and charged forward.

He caught the severely injured and weakened Elvia with one hand, and scooped up the unconscious Rona with the other.

He pushed the [Levitation] spell to its limit and fled for his life without looking back towards the exit of the tomb passage!

Behind him, Ghosn snorted coldly.

I sensed several slender entities moving through the tomb passage within my sea of ​​souls.

He drew his bow again and locked onto his prey once more.

Just as his bowstring was about to be fully drawn.

A golden sword aura appeared on his face without warning.

Ghosn's pupils contracted sharply.

His exceptional reflexes were those of a legendary archer.

He managed to dodge to the side at the last second!

"Sizzle!"

The sword energy grazed past his shoulder armor.

It split a gap in the hard stone wall behind him!

Ghosn stared at the incision, a look of disbelief and disorientation on his face for the first time.

"When...?!"

"Why can't I sense any energy?"

The sword energy appeared out of nowhere, far exceeding his expectations.

It was like I'd encountered a ghost.

"What happened?!" John and the others finally realized what was happening and rushed forward.

"We've been tricked by a few petty thieves!" Ghosn's face turned ashen.

I stopped thinking about the strange scene that had just happened.

Without much explanation, he swayed.

Like a gust of wind, he rushed into the tomb passage and chased after the direction in which Lin Gui had fled!

A high-ranking mid-level mage and a high-ranking upper-level knight dared to steal their prey right under his nose?!

Letting them get away would be the greatest insult to Ghosn!

However, the moment Ghosn rushed into the tomb passage...

"Boom! B ...

The entire tomb suddenly began to tremble violently!

The stone walls on both sides emitted a teeth-grinding grinding sound and began to slowly close inward!

On the ground, on the walls, on the ceiling...

Countless previously unseen mechanisms, exuding a truly deadly aura.

They popped up and started from their hidden locations one after another!

Poison arrows, falling rocks, spikes, twisted arcane traps...

In an instant, what was originally a "safe" passage was transformed into a labyrinth of death!

The rest of the knights were shocked and disregarded everything else, quickly following Ghosn's direction.

But John stopped him.

John said calmly.

"No need to chase after them. I just took a look, and that charlatan is very weak."

"Besides, this is Ghosn's own prey. If you want to disturb his hunt, then go ahead."

Immediately, the other members shook their heads.

Disturbing that madman's hunt? They want to live a few more years.

"But, Commander, the mechanisms have all been activated, and the tomb is about to collapse. If we don't leave now, we'll be buried alive."

Knight John glanced speechlessly at the mage who had asked the question.

"Do you think I have legendary strength just to sit around doing nothing?"

"Even if this tomb collapses completely, it's better than breaking through that trap. Let's hurry and find valuable treasure before it completely collapses."

"That old codger king won't live much longer without the Shadow Tree Flower. Soon, this battle for the crown prince will come to an end."

He instructed his men to quickly search the tomb for valuables.

He himself went to the stone coffin in the center.

Excitedly looking ahead, I saw that the stone coffin was full of dazzling... magic stones.

John barely managed to utter a curse, just as he was about to leave.

A noise came from inside the stone coffin, and John was startled.

He sensed the afterglow of a divine artifact.

He rushed back to the stone coffin, and the scattered pieces of magic light stone allowed him to see a sliver of a sword blade protruding from below.

John was overjoyed. The light magic emitted by the Magic Stone was enough to overshadow the afterglow of the artifact.

He almost fell for it.

John excitedly reached his hand inside, into the sarcophagus, which he could not see.

A drawing of a black eye silently observes this scene.