At this moment, City Lord Gavin of Dorey City was completely drained of strength, collapsed on the ground with a blank expression. He stared vacantly at Vil and the others.

He couldn't accept the situation and could only repeatedly mutter, "How could this happen? How could this happen?"

Andrew stood beside Gavin, attempting to help his father, the City Lord, up. His legs were trembling as he cautiously watched the monsters in the banquet hall, fearful that they might suddenly make a move.

At that moment, one of Dorey City's usual high-ranking, noble citizens, unable to suppress the panic inside, turned and tried to flee.

However, the red-eyed crows circling above the banquet hall swiftly surrounded the person.

In just a few breaths, the red-eyed crows dispersed, leaving behind a living person who had been transformed into a white skeleton, silently lying on the ground.

This scene instantly shattered the escape plans of many, and most people could only focus their gaze on the Morton Family's guards.

Eng had already moved away from Ed's side. Along with the other three guards, he protected the incapacitated Finniel Morton.

At this moment, his expression was extremely serious. The enemy was strong. Apart from Duke Morton, the other enemies gave off an aura that indicated they should all be Gold-level Hunters.

He still wasn't sure of Duke Morton's strength, let alone the eerie, continuous sound of the flute that made him feel increasingly uncomfortable.

Eng didn't dare to act recklessly. Right now, he just wanted to find a way to get Miss Finniel out of there as safely as possible.

The image of the powerful Morton Family guards standing still, unmoving, only deepened the despair in the hearts of the others in the hall. They dared not make any moves, fearing that the red-eyed crows circling above might suddenly descend and devour their flesh and blood.

In this atmosphere filled with the threat of death, some people instinctively turned their gaze toward Ed.

One person murmured, "We didn't believe what Ed said earlier. We thought he had lost his mind."

"Now, what he said is actually happening. He might have a way out. No, he definitely has a way out!"

Hearing this, the other guests in the banquet hall also turned their attention to Ed, silently hoping he had a way to stop everything from unfolding.

Eng too turned his gaze to Ed. They couldn't afford to act impulsively now, nor did they want to let Vil and the others continue their actions unchecked. All they could do was hope Ed could break this brief yet despairing silence.

Listening to the sound of the flute, Vil looked up toward the outside of the banquet hall, where rustling noises began to emerge.

Vil slowly said, "Ed, the ones who were once full of disdain and misunderstanding toward you now seem to see you as their hope."

"Will there be hope? Four of the Morton Family's guards, along with these cowardly Dorey City Hunters, they won't be our match."

Vil's description was quite fitting, as up until now, none of the Dorey City Hunters who had come to the banquet had stepped forward.

A large part of the reason was that these people had never expected such danger to arise in the City Lord's mansion. Many hadn't even brought weapons with them.

Anyone who dared to make a move would immediately become the primary target, and no one had the courage to step forward.

In response to Vil's words, Ed didn't answer. He remained silent.

The situation had already exceeded his expectations—whether it was Arya turning into an enemy or the appearance of an additional powerful harpy—it had left him feeling weighed down.

At that moment, someone suddenly turned their head toward the direction Duke Morton had been looking.

Large rats, in enormous numbers, began flooding into the banquet hall, like a rising tide.

Someone instinctively said, "Where did all these rats come from?"

Ed snapped his head around. He looked at the enormous rats and immediately understood. These were the residents of Dorey City.

At the same time, memories from the last mission in the village, the bloody and terrifying scenes from the ruins, and Alice's small figure, her face frozen in despair and numbness, surged out of Ed's heart like a volcanic eruption.

He had never forgotten those events.

Vil seemed to notice Ed's disturbance. Smiling, he pointed at the rats and said to Ed:

"You must be familiar with them, right? These are all Dorey City residents. Don't worry, this time their fate will be different. We won't have to go through the trouble of separating the skin, flesh, and bones."

"Soon, they'll melt like ice, slowly turning into a puddle of blood, flesh, and bone mixed into liquid."

"Of course, throughout this process, they'll be fully conscious, feeling every ounce of pain. Right now, they're still aware. Everything we're saying, they can hear."

Ed clenched his fists and drew his steel sword and mithril sword from his storage pouch.

This action immediately drew the attention of everyone in the hall.

Vil saw this and his smile grew even more intense. He spoke:

"I thought you might have some other method, but it looks like you're going all in. Too bad, though, while your strength has grown quickly, right now, you'll need at least one Gold-level Hunter to appear if there's even a sliver of hope."

"Ed, if you stay quiet and clap properly, I'll make sure you're the last to die."

Hearing Vil's words, those who had been looking at Ed with hopeful eyes a moment ago immediately shut their eyes in despair.

The Dorey City residents who had been turned into rats, desperate and fearful, their bodies controlled by the flute's sound, began to move.

More and more rats appeared, and under the control of the flute, they piled up, forming a massive wall that surrounded them.

At the same time, a faint black light began to shine on the floor of the banquet hall, forming the shape of a giant eye.

It was clear that this was a ritualistic pattern for a sacrifice. Vil had already prepared to perform some horrific ritual, intending to sacrifice everyone except Finniel Morton!

Ed gripped his steel sword tightly, slowly exhaled, and asked Eng:

"Would the appearance of another Gold-level Hunter be enough to stop all of this?"

Eng took a deep breath and replied, "There's a good chance. The Piper you mentioned is secretly controlling the residents of Dorey City right now, so they can't use their full power."

"The Morton Family guards have a combined attack technique that can briefly increase the power of the four of us. With the other Hunters here, we might be able to hold off Arya, the red-eyed crows, the harpy, Reve, and the Piper."

"Then, there's Duke Morton. No one really knows how strong he is, but the fact that he's managed to get the monsters at the banquet, along with Arya, Reve, and others, to cooperate with him means he can't be weak."

After finishing, Eng looked at Ed and asked, "Ed, do you have a way to bring out the other Gold-level Hunters?"

Ed shook his head and replied, "No, no other Gold-level Hunters are coming."

Hearing this, the faint hope that had just appeared on the faces of Eng, Finniel Morton, and the others quickly faded away, and the sense of despair grew even stronger and more intense.

Ed looked at the steel sword in his hands. He raised it upright and placed it against his chest before pointing it in Vil's direction, speaking earnestly:

"Why stop all of this? I can't think of a grand or particularly convincing reason."

"Maybe it's because Dorey City is where my journey began, maybe because I've met some important people here, or maybe because I can't forget the Alice you tormented, along with those villagers."

"But I do know one thing: I am a Hunter, and it is my duty to rid the world of monsters like you and sinners like you."

At hearing Ed's words, Vil burst into loud laughter, even shedding a few tears, as if Ed's words were so absurd that they were unbearable.

Vil patted his chest and asked, "So? What are you going to do to stop all of this?"

Ed slightly lifted his head, then suddenly smiled and answered:

"I don't know why, but I have a feeling that today, my luck is going to be really good."

In front of everyone, under their watchful eyes, Ed spoke confidently:

"The missing Gold-level Hunter—let me be the one to take that place. Vil, last time, I let you escape, but not this time."

A Silver-level Hunter saying they could replace a Gold-level Hunter—under normal circumstances, no one would believe such words.

But in this moment of despair, when there was no other hope, looking at Ed, calm and confident, no one thought he was joking.

Finniel Morton, unable to move but her eyes locked on Ed, was slightly lost in thought. She didn't know why, but deep in her heart, she felt that perhaps this Hunter named Ed could actually do it.

Under the gaze of everyone, Ed took out a silver die, smiled, and tossed it into the air.

The silver die flipped and tumbled in the air before quickly landing on the ground.

As the final number was about to be revealed, a pair of small, translucent, gray-white hands suddenly appeared and flipped the die.

Six!

Ed looked at the Lucky Dice on the floor and the small, translucent gray-white hands. He smiled slightly and murmured:

"So it was you. I was wondering why I had such a good feeling about my luck. Thank you."

The gray-white translucent hands waved once, almost as if in farewell, and then disappeared in the blink of an eye.

At that moment, Ed's aura surged!

From mid-tier Silver Hunter to high-tier Silver Hunter, and then from high-tier Silver Hunter, he broke through to low-tier Gold Hunter!

A miracle happened right before everyone's eyes!

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