Elvia, who was kneading dough, raised her eyebrows in extreme displeasure.
Looking at Morgan's cold, harsh face and hearing his aggressive interrogations, her hands came to a stop.
Dough remained stuck to her palms, and flour cascaded down through the gaps between her fingers.
She lowered her head to glance at her flour-covered hands, then looked back up at Morgan.
Setting aside the dough she was kneading, she stepped around from behind the worktable.
“Hey!”
Her voice was sharp and loud, exploding through the quiet stone chamber.
“We crossed the Withered Wood Wasteland all this way, dodging demons, dodging those damned magic families, and dodging the perception veil to bring grain to this godforsaken place with so much effort.”
She drew a deep breath, her pitch rising several degrees higher.
“We even kneaded the dough and baked the bread with our own hands, feeding it right into your people's mouths!”
She thrust out a hand, pointing at those emaciated half-demon commoners holding bread.
“Look at them! How starved have they become?”
“What we gave them is bread, not poison!”
“And yet, as the leader of these half-demons, is this how you repay our effort?”
She had plenty of momentum, her voice was booming, and her accusation was entirely reasonable.
The only issue was that as she said all this,
her entire body was hidden behind Lin Gui, with only her head poking out and both hands clutching the rear hem of Lin Gui's mage robes.
She was like a cat with its fur bristling, hiding behind its owner while baring its teeth at a passing dog.
Lin Gui speechlessly turned his head aside to glance at her.
Elvia guiltily pulled her neck in, but she didn't let go of his robes or close her mouth; she merely tucked her face further behind Lin Gui's shoulder.
Lin Gui let out a sigh, withdrew his gaze, and looked at Morgan.
“She's right.”
Lin Gui's voice was not loud, but it was steady.
“If you don't welcome our arrival, we wouldn't mind leaving right now.”
He paused, his black eyes calmly meeting Morgan's gaze.
“Leader of the half-demons, Lord Morgan.”
The moment those words were spoken, Guy's expression instantly changed.
“Brother Gui!”
He let out a cry and hurriedly ran between Lin Gui and Morgan, stretching out both arms—one in front of Lin Gui and the other before Morgan.
“Wait, Brother Morgan didn't mean it like that.”
The surrounding half-demon commoners also panicked; putting down the bread in their hands, they stood up one after another, all clamoring at once.
“Lord Morgan, they are good people!”
“That's right, they brought food, so much food!”
“That Mage Lord has been baking bread non-stop, his hands haven't rested for a second!”
“That blonde sister too! She's been kneading dough for nearly half an hour, her arms are swollen!”
“Lord Morgan, please don't drive them away...”
Morgan's gaze swept over those anxious faces, and he fell silent for a long time.
Then, the pressure of the Legendary aura pressing down on everyone's hearts slowly receded like an ebbing tide.
The magic glowstones stopped flickering, the flames within the fire circles stabilized once more, and the floating magic circles ceased their humming.
Morgan looked at Lin Gui, his blood-red eyes still carrying scrutiny, but with several degrees less hostility.
“I don't know why you have come.”
His voice remained deep, but it was no longer as aggressive as before.
“However, you had better leave as soon as possible.”
He paused.
“Edwin and the others will be back soon.”
“The people of the City of a Thousand Towers will not allow outsiders to interfere in this hunt.”
Lin Gui looked at him and nodded, saying,
“Indeed, so we have to hurry.”
Morgan froze for a moment.
“Hurry?”
“Hurry with what?”
Lin Gui didn't answer. Instead, he stepped out from behind the worktable, walking past Guy and the half-demon commoners until he reached the exact center of the second floor.
There was a small open space there, with the light of the magic glowstones pouring down from above, illuminating his whole figure clearly.
He turned around to face everyone.
The elderly, children, the injured, and the sick—over four thousand pairs of blood-red eyes were all staring at him in this moment.
Lin Gui drew a deep breath and spoke.
“Have you ever heard of Avalon, the City of Freedom?”
His voice was not loud, yet in this quiet space, every single word rang out crystal clear.
Over four thousand pairs of blood-red eyes watched him; no one spoke.
Lin Gui didn't wait for their answer, beginning to recite on his own.
“Beneath the crown unreached by moonlight, blood nourishes the branches of power.”
“Legend tells of a city on the far shore named Avalon, free of oppression, free of high and low birth.”
“The shadow of demons cannot touch it, and the bells of freedom chime day and night...”
His voice was very flat, devoid of deliberate emotional appeal or pretentiously deep pauses.
He was simply reciting, as if reciting a poem he had long known by heart.
Once finished, he paused for a moment.
“This is Avalon, the Land of Freedom, described in poetry.”
“This poem is widely sung and recited throughout the borderlands.”
“At first, I also thought it was merely a beautiful vision forged in these apocalyptic city-states, nothing more than a vessel of hope crafted by desperate people for themselves.”
He looked around, his gaze sweeping across the emaciated faces of those half-demons.
“It was not until I personally stepped onto that land and set foot in Avalon, the City of Freedom, that I realized the descriptions in the poem were not false.”
“Avalon is just as described in the poem: free, equal, and without discrimination.”
Morgan stood to the side with arms crossed over his chest, his brow slightly knitted together.
He did not speak; he simply looked at Lin Gui, scrutiny lingering within his blood-red eyes.
Lin Gui did not look at him and continued speaking.
“I stayed there for only seven days.”
“In those seven days, I did not see a single person discriminated against because of their race.”
“On the streets at dawn, I saw a line forming outside a human blacksmith's shop, and in that line were beastkin, elves, and half-demons.”
“They chatted about everyday matters, and not a single person looked at another with strange or judging eyes.”
“In a tavern at noon, I saw a half-demon sitting by the bar playing chess with an old human man beside him. If he lost, he bought drinks; if he won, he laughed out loud. The people around joined in the banter, and no one thought it strange for a half-demon to appear in a tavern.”
“In the square at dusk, I saw a group of children playing together—humans, beastkin, and half-demons.”
“Their clothes were very worn, some even patched up, but no one was considered superior to anyone else, nor was anyone afraid to play with another.”
Lin Gui did not stop.
“Do you know why I went looking for the so-called Avalon?”
He looked around, his gaze once again sweeping across the emaciated faces of those half-demons.
“Because my lover—she too is a half-demon.”
“A half-demon elf.”
Over four thousand pairs of blood-red eyes widened slightly.
“A chance awakening caused her to be driven out of the Elven Forest.”
“Friends who were once close spat harsh insults; respected elders glowered with cold fury, taking up weapons and baring murderous intent.”
Lin Gui's voice remained flat, yet every word was like a nail driving straight into the ears of everyone present.
“Because of those blood-colored eyes that suddenly awakened, she lost everything.”
“Cast out of the Elven Forest, she began wandering among human city-states.”
“The people of Greyrock City threw stones at her and called her 'red-eyed harbinger of calamity.'”
“When a plague broke out in White River Town, the mayor pinned the blame on her without a second thought, nearly burning her to death.”
“With great difficulty, she became an adventurer in Ironshield City, only to work for three days before a noble young lady claimed her eyes caused her nightmares, prompting the guards to expel her from the city.”
Though recounted plainly, it carried a suppressed anger that even Lin Gui himself was unaware of.
The half-demons listened quietly.
At first, they were merely shocked.
This black-haired mage actually had a half-demon wife?
How could a human like him be willing to marry a half-demon?
Gradually, the shock transformed into empathy.
They were all too familiar with those experiences.
Being driven out, having stones thrown at them, being framed, being expelled.
Every single word felt as though it had been carved right out of their own memories.
Greyrock City, White River Town, Ironshield City—different names, the same story.
Like the same nightmare replaying over and over for each of them under different backdrops.
Lin Gui continued speaking.
“Last year, the Alliance drafted the resolution to expel half-demons.”
“Because of that, I took her with me on an adventure to find Avalon.”
“In the end, we arrived there.”
“For the first time, she felt a sense of belonging there, felt respect, and felt the stability of knowing she would not be expelled.”
“It was there that I saw her smile with relief for the very first time.”
“She said it was the first time she had ever been treated like a normal person by others.”
When his voice fell, the hall remained quiet for a long time.
Morgan stood off to the side with arms crossed, his brow furling even tighter.
He opened his mouth and demanded,
“What are you trying to accomplish by telling us all this?”
Lin Gui looked at him, then glanced at those half-demon commoners, voicing his true objective.
“I want to build a city-state that is free, equal, and without discrimination, just like Avalon.”
His voice was not loud, but every word was firm.
“The Alliance will not allow such a city-state to exist.”
“So I need power—I need people who can fight alongside me.”
“I want you to join me.”
“In return, I will give you everything you crave.”
“Enough food to fill your bellies, equal rights like any other city residents, and respect.”
When his words fell,
no one responded.
Over four thousand pairs of blood-red eyes stared at him; no one spoke, and no one moved.
Lin Gui was not surprised by this.
Could ethereal promises, a poem, and a story alone pull several thousand half-demons into following him?
If success came so easily, Lin Gui would actually start worrying instead.
Worrying whether he had chosen the wrong allies.
Although his words were insufficient to persuade them, Lin Gui didn't need to go out of his way to convince them.
Because... Lin Gui gave a cold sneer, then looked at the half-demons and said,
“Of course, you have another choice.”
“That is to become test subjects for those mages out there from the City of a Thousand Towers.”
The moment those words were spoken, the air abruptly tightened.
The sense of urgency that had been temporarily suppressed by the delicious bread snapped back like a released bowstring.
The expressions on the half-demons' faces changed.
Satisfaction and happiness faded away, replaced once again by surfacing fear and anxiety.
Only then did they remember that half-demons were currently facing a crisis of extinction.
Everyone's eyes turned toward Morgan.
This leader who was supposed to be outside fighting for them, yet had entered at this critical juncture.
Standing beneath the gaze of the crowd, Morgan's lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.
His hands hung at his sides, fingers curling slightly.
He wanted to say: I plan to use myself as a bargaining chip to trade for your survival.
Those words tumbled through his throat over and over, yet he couldn't bring himself to utter them.
Lin Gui didn't look at him; instead, facing all the half-demons, he began recounting the severity of their situation.
“All the half-demon warriors sent by Lord Morgan to break out in scattered groups have been captured by the mages.”
“Am I right, Lord Morgan?”
The half-demons looked at Morgan in surprise, expecting him to refute it.
However, Morgan did not answer.
He stood there like a hollowed-out stone statue.
Silence was his answer.
The air in the hall turned several degrees colder once more.
Lin Gui continued.
“This time, among the combatants sent by the City of a Thousand Towers for the hunt, the eight core magic families have sent ten people each, every one of them a High-tier Transcendent.”
“And that doesn't even count the Master of the Concealment Tower, High-tier Legendary Edwin Mores, along with two Mid-tier Legendary assassins he brought from the Assassin's Court.”
He paused.
“Plus one more... young man of extraordinary status.”
He didn't state the name or the identity.
Yet that single pause allowed everyone present to feel the weight of it.
“Do you believe you can survive this calamity?”
The stifling atmosphere pressed down on everyone's chest like a giant boulder.
Someone stepped forward, their voice raspy yet filled with unwillingness.
“We still have Sathoggua!”
“The City of a Thousand Towers won't wipe us out completely, or else we'll drag everyone to die with us!”
Others chimed in, voices echoing sparsely from different corners like wind blowing through withered branches.
Lin Gui didn't refute those statements; he simply listened quietly.
Only after the voices died down did he speak up.
“Do you think the City of a Thousand Towers will suffer a devastating blow just because these hunting magic family members and the Master of the Concealment Tower die?”
“That they will feel enraged or remorseful?”
He shook his head.
“They won't.”
“Because this is merely a fraction of the power of the City of a Thousand Towers.”
“If one batch dies, they can simply replace them with another.”
“What magic families lack least are ambitious young people eager to make a name for themselves.”
“Moreover, even if they were to back down because of your value...”
He paused.
“What about after that?”
His gaze swept past those empty grain bags, past those emaciated bodies, and past those tattered clothes.
“After being completely blockaded by the surrounding city-states, do you think you can survive in this Forbidden Zone?”
“Looking at your condition just now, I feel you'd all starve to death in this wasteland from food shortages without the people from the City of a Thousand Towers even lifting a finger.”
Lin Gui's tone carried a hint of genuine surprise—it wasn't feigned.
He had guessed the half-demons might be low on food, but he hadn't expected them to be this desperate.
When he stepped into this sanctuary led by Guy, his first impression was that he had walked into a mass grave.
Every red-eyed half-demon was starved to skin and bones, eyes sunken deep, cheekbones jutting high, and ribs countable one by one.
The sight was terrifying.
Lin Gui's words struck the most vulnerable spot in the hearts of every half-demon present.
Even before the hunt had begun, they had nearly been wiped out by famine.
If Morgan hadn't returned, everyone might have starved to death in this sanctuary.
Those emptied grain sacks, stripped tree bark, and over-hunted Low Rank demons were memories carved deep into their bones.
No one refuted him.
Morgan stood to the side, remaining silent for a long time.
Then he spoke up; his voice wasn't loud, but every word was packed with angry interrogation.
“You've said so much.”
He paused, his blood-red eyes fixed on Lin Gui.
“Do you mean to say you have a way to solve the half-demons' current predicament?”
“Relying on just you...”
His voice suddenly cut short.
His pupils shrank slightly, and his brow furrowed even tighter.
He re-examined Lin Gui from head to toe, top to bottom.
His magic perception swept over him again and again.
There was no mistake...
This mage who claimed over and over to save the half-demons seemed... to only be a High-tier High Rank.
Morgan: "???"
Rate on N.U.
