The Bard

After steering the flying vessel behind a partially collapsed residential building, Lin Gui and the other two quietly landed.

The moment their toes touched the dust-covered stone slabs, a small puff of gray dust kicked up.

With the Blackwater Ruins serving as a crucial safe point within the Wall of Sighs, Lin Gui planned to use it as a base before heading toward Avalon.

Avalon's location had already been confirmed.

It was only about fifty kilometers away from Blackwater City.

But Lin Gui did not plan to just barge straight through.

The reason was simple.

The location of Avalon that Eve had prophesied happened to fall right on the path that Shadow Blade Lynn had forged back then.

And Shadow Blade Lynn's team was fundamentally different from bounty hunters like Ryan.

Their goal was to completely cross the Wall of Sighs.

In exchange, they would receive the divine artifact promised by the dwarves, the “Heart of the Towering Mountain.”

To complete the crossing, they had to rely on a guide to avoid the staggering number of demons.

For peak Epic Rank experts, even Transcendent Rank spectral demons could pose a serious threat if their numbers piled up.

Therefore, to avoid clusters of demons and to make the absolute most of their guide's fading, candle-like life, Shadow Blade Lynn and her team had chosen the shortest and most dangerous path.

Along the way, they had crossed through a total of thirteen nests of Legendary and Epic Rank spectral demons.

Although the dying could help them avoid most spectral demons, it was not absolute.

For spectral demons that had reached the High-tier Legendary or Epic Rank, a guide was completely useless.

Because of this, Ryan and his team had taken a roundabout route inside the Wall instead of crossing directly to reach Blackwater City.

And somewhere along the path they had previously traveled, near a bend in a forest stream, it was only ten kilometers away from the selection meeting's test site.

And to this day, no one had dared to cross those ten kilometers.

For nestled there was a High-tier Epic Rank spectral demon.

Serafina the Deathspeaker.

Its presence turned that area into a forbidden zone for the living.

Once, Shadow Blade Lynn had led three Title Rank experts in an attempt to force their way through.

In the end, the barbarian “Blood Butcher,” Woodrow—who possessed the most tenacious vitality and a defense comparable to solid rock—lost an arm there.

As for the other two Title Rank experts in the team, they emerged covered in blood.

On the Akara Continent, although the Epic Rank was the pinnacle for mortals, it was still far from enough when facing the Wall of Sighs, which was teeming with demons, especially a spectral lord of that caliber.

It was simply not enough.

And the region where Avalon was located lay deep within that perilous path.

Aside from Shadow Blade Lynn's team, no other bounty hunters had ever approached it.

Consequently, Lin Gui could only use Blackwater City as a base.

He would have to forge a relatively safe route there on his own.

He pulled out a map and spread it across his lap.

His gaze fell upon the point heavily surrounded by countless red crosses and skull markers.

That was the prophesied location of Avalon.

Lin Gui smiled wryly to himself and shook his head.

What kind of city-state would choose to establish itself in such an absurd place?

Were they really not worried that one day, some Epic Rank spectral demon out for a 'stroll' would stumble upon them and casually devour the entire city-state like a quick snack?

Since they had chosen Blackwater City as their base, Lin Gui and the others needed to find a place to stay.

In this dead city, the one thing they did not lack was vacant housing.

Before that, however, Lin Gui still had one more thing to do.

He had to figure out what exactly Ryan and his team were so terrified of.

Once he found Avalon, he would still need to return along the same route.

He did not want whatever 'thing' Ryan feared to become an obstacle on his return journey.

After storing the flying vessel, supplies, and temporary living essentials inside a relatively intact, abandoned house, Lin Gui instructed Theia and Eve to stay behind and guard the place.

He then mounted his staff alone and quietly took to the sky, flying soundlessly toward the faint glimmer of firelight he had noticed earlier from high above.

He remembered the location of that light; it was in the central district of Blackwater City, inside a ruined, steepled cathedral.

Lin Gui had heard Blackbeard mention it before.

Quite a few bounty hunter groups were stranded in the various abandoned city-states within the Wall of Sighs.

Most of them were forced to retreat to these 'safe havens' under the pursuit of spectral demons after their guides died midway, leaving them unable to escape because they had no new guide.

A single guide could only lead up to five people safely through.

The more people there were, the greater the uncontrollable risks became.

Therefore, once a guide died, any extra members would be trapped there, waiting for other bounty hunters to pass by with another guide so they could follow them out.

Under the protection of the Shroud of the Gloomy Night, Lin Gui quietly arrived outside the ruined archway of the cathedral.

The interior of the cathedral was even more spacious than it appeared from the outside.

Several large holes had broken through the high vaulted ceiling, letting in a few beams of faint light.

In the center of the open ground, a large bonfire crackled and popped.

The firelight illuminated over thirty swaying silhouettes.

Some sat in a circle drinking, while others wiped down their weapons amidst a noisy chatter.

Most prominent was a bard sitting by the bonfire, cradling a lute, singing softly with her eyes closed.

She was strumming and singing a solemn epic.

Beside the bonfire, the bard plucked the strings.

In a raspy voice that possessed a strange, captivating resonance, she sang:

“He rose from humble beginnings with sword in hand—”

“Standing alone as the Dark Tide swept across the land.”

“Seven times he ventured deep into the demon realm, slaying the false offspring of the Demon God.”

“The King bestowed upon him a crown, and upon the ruins, a covenant was sworn...”

Her song echoed through the vast, empty cathedral, carrying the desolation and valor of a shattered era.

The hunters sitting around the fire fell silent for a brief moment.

Someone lowered their head and took a heavy swig of alcohol.

Others stared into the flames, their gazes drifting far away.

The bard paused, the tone of her lute shifting to a deeper, low register.

“Yet the Demon God is immortal, and the Dark Tide never rests...”

“In the final battle, the rift became a tomb...”

“The Hero's bones were buried, and the Royal Capital turned to ash...”

The song gradually faded, dissolving into a long, drawn-out sigh.

The bard's performance was incredibly moving.

The hunters in the cathedral, both men and women, were completely immersed in the tragic epic.

Their eyes were dazed, as if they were looking through the firelight at a distant battlefield.

Not a single person noticed the movement outside the door.

Seeing that no one was paying attention, Lin Gui stopped concealing himself.

He openly pushed open the half-closed, broken door and walked in.

His boots made a soft crunching sound as they stepped over the gravel on the floor.

However, the crackling of the bonfire and the music of the bard drowned out everything else.

He walked straight to a dim corner far from the firelight.

There, he calmly sat down on a dust-covered bench.

Throughout the entire process, not a single person actually looked up at him.

...No.

One person had noticed.

The bard strumming the lute.

Her singing did not stop, and her fingers continued to fluidly pluck the strings.

Yet, her downcast eyes subtly lifted.

She quickly scanned the direction from which Lin Gui had entered, her gaze lingering on him for a brief second.

A clear trace of confusion flashed through her eyes, which then turned into a look of deep meaning.

She made no fuss, but the melody beneath her fingertips shifted subtly.

The lyrics also quietly veered, as if in response to the arrival of this uninvited guest.