At the southern gate of the Holy City, Ed was riding his warhorse, Lightning, with Melissa following closely behind. They both gazed at the massive city walls ahead, slightly taken aback.

The walls here were much taller than those of Dorey City, resembling a giant serpent lying on the ground, deep in slumber.

Ed observed the pedestrians around him. Most of them wore lavish clothing, typical of the middle class, but there were also many peasants with vacant expressions, ragged clothes, and fearful eyes, as if they were afraid of everything.

Just as the group was about to enter the city gate for inspection, Ed suddenly turned around, locking his gaze on a man in a black robe.

Hunter's instincts alerted Ed that the man had been watching him from a distance.

As soon as the man noticed Ed's attention, he quickly retreated into the crowd, vanishing from sight.

Ed furrowed his brow. He hadn't even entered the Holy City yet, and already someone was watching him in secret. This puzzled him, as, logically, there should be no one in the Holy City with any hostility towards him.

While Ed was deep in thought, Eng reminded him that it was time for the city inspection.

Soon, the group entered the Holy City.

Under the guidance of Eng and Finniel, Ed and Melissa began to take in the sights of the Holy City as they slowly made their way towards Morton Family's estate within the city.

As they arrived at the gates of the Morton Family estate, Ed saw a group of armored Hunters riding their warhorses, quickly approaching them.

These Hunters were clearly battle-hardened, each one exuding an aura of murderous intent, vigilantly watching every passerby.

Behind them, a majestic white horse galloped swiftly toward them.

Amelia appeared on the white warhorse, her sharp eyes scanning the surroundings before settling on Finniel. A smile suddenly appeared on her face.

Amelia's smile felt like a weapon that had killed countless people, but for a moment, it softened, giving off an oddly warm aura.

She dismounted and quickly walked up to Finniel, reaching out to pat her on the head, smiling as she said, "Well done, little Finniel!"

"With the Undead Crystal, we can finally take it a bit easier for now."

A proud expression appeared on Finniel's face as she carefully handed the Undead Crystal to Amelia. Then, she turned to look at Ed and said seriously:

"Lady Amelia, this mission was made possible thanks to Ed's help. Otherwise, we would have had a very hard time obtaining this Undead Crystal."

Amelia glanced at Ed without saying much. To her, Ed's strength was too low; a high-tier Silver Hunter was practically useless.

However, to avoid making Finniel feel awkward, Amelia spoke a few words to Ed: "Well done. Holy City won't treat you unfairly. Your reward will be delivered to you soon."

After saying this, Amelia didn't wait for Ed's response. She called over a powerful guard and whispered some instructions to him.

Finniel, slightly embarrassed, lowered her head and spoke softly to Ed: "Ed, please don't mind. Lady Amelia is very busy, but as long as you stay here a bit longer, she'll definitely give you more attention."

Ed, however, didn't mind much. His main purpose for coming here was to find Finniel's uncle, Evan Morton.

At that moment, the ground beneath them suddenly shook, causing the warhorses and pedestrians around them to lose their balance.

Only Eng, Finniel, Ed, the armored Hunters, and Amelia managed to maintain their balance perfectly, not a single wobble in their stance.

Amelia's brow furrowed instantly. She turned to look at Finniel and said, "You stay here and rest. There's another issue that's come up, I need to go check it out."

Finniel instinctively glanced at Ed and immediately said, "Lady Amelia, I also want to go see what's happening below. I need to speak with Uncle Evan, is that alright?"

Amelia nodded and then led the group of armored Hunters toward the palace at the highest point of the Holy City.

Finniel moved to Ed's side and whispered, "Just follow me later, don't worry. Uncle Evan is down there. He can't come out, but you can go inside."

Ed nodded. He, too, wanted to meet Evan Morton as soon as possible to resolve the Moonlit Frost Poisonous Mist afflicting him.

He briefly explained to Melissa, asking her to stay at Morton Family's estate temporarily, and that he would come back to find her once everything was settled.

Then, Ed mounted his warhorse, Lightning, and followed Eng and Finniel toward the palace on the high mountain of Holy City.

Soon, under the guidance of Eng and Finniel, Ed entered the palace. He saw that everyone's face wore a deep seriousness, with an unspoken hint of concern, as if something dangerous were about to happen.

After passing through numerous checks, Ed, along with Eng and Finniel, entered a hidden passage. The passage twisted and turned as they descended, and after nearly half an hour of walking, a vast underground space appeared before Ed's eyes.

In the center of the underground space stood a massive golden door, surrounded by many well-equipped Hunters, ready for combat at any moment. They remained alert, watching everything around them.

At that moment, the ruler of Holy City, Amelia, was standing cautiously in front of the golden door, carefully embedding the Undead Crystal into it.

As the Undead Crystal was set in place, it began to emit a faint black glow, and the surrounding tremors noticeably subsided.

Only then did Amelia let out a sigh of relief. She turned her gaze toward Finniel, and upon seeing Ed, her brows furrowed slightly.

Finniel, feeling a bit guilty, kept her gaze lowered, quietly watching Amelia.

Fortunately, Amelia didn't say anything further. She simply pushed open the golden door, and an invisible light spread out, rippling like the calm surface of water when disturbed. She stepped inside.

Finniel quietly exhaled and turned to Ed, saying, "Alright, there's no problem now. Let's go in."

Ed stared at the golden door, a puzzled expression on his face.

Finniel then explained, "Oh, I forgot to mention. The golden door leads to a special space where the legendary Pale Death God, the Giant Hound Soth, is sealed. Uncle Evan is inside, making sure nothing goes wrong."

The Pale Death God, the Giant Hound Soth?

Ed heard the name once again. He looked around at the Hunter's who stood on high alert, realizing that they were there to prevent any accidental weakening of the seal.

He carefully observed the Hunters around him. Almost every one of them seemed to have a strength similar to Eng's group. They were likely Gold-level Hunters, and in this underground space, there were at least thirty to forty Hunters keeping watch.

Moreover, according to Finniel, the golden door was the entrance to the place where the Pale Death God, Soth, was sealed. The Hunters guarding that area would undoubtedly be even stronger.

This, in turn, highlighted just how dangerous and terrifying the Giant Hound Soth was.

With that in mind, Ed slowly followed Finniel toward the golden door. It was only then that he noticed the golden door was engraved with many mysterious patterns and inscriptions.

The inscriptions seemed somewhat familiar, resembling the ones Ed had seen on the ancient stone tablet in Dorey City.

Before he could examine them closely, Finniel and Eng entered the golden door. The light curtain, rippling like water, instantly enveloped them. Ed quickly followed them inside.

After a moment of dizziness, Ed opened his eyes and realized he had arrived in a far more unique place.

The place was utterly desolate, devoid of any trace of life. Everything here was made up of some unknown gray substance—the ground, the hills, and the gray rocks were all that existed in this place.

When Ed stepped onto the gray earth, he suddenly froze, for at that moment, he faintly heard eerie screams, cries, and pleas for mercy, accompanied by fleeting visions of blazing fire and blood.

Finniel turned her head to look at Ed and spoke, "Ed, don't rush. The environment here is quite special; just take your time to adjust. When I first came here, it took me more than ten minutes before I could move normally."

After Finniel had just finished advising Ed, her mouth dropped open in astonishment. She stared at Ed, incredulous, because she saw that Ed seemed to be completely unaffected, continuing to walk forward without hesitation.

This sight made Eng's eyes widen in surprise. He carefully scrutinized Ed and asked in shock, "Aren't you feeling uncomfortable?"

Ed shook his head in confusion. He truly didn't feel any discomfort—just at the very beginning, there had been some auditory and visual hallucinations, but they quickly passed.

In fact, it was the unique environment here that piqued Ed's curiosity.

He turned to Eng and Finniel and asked, "What is this gray substance? It feels so strange. What is it exactly?"

Finniel glanced at Ed and, with a somewhat heavy expression, replied, "According to legend, this gray substance consists of soul fragments of those who died at the hands of the Pale Death God, the Giant Hound Soth, their souls tortured in agony."

Soul fragments?

Ed fell silent for a moment. Slowly, he lifted his gaze, looking out over the endless expanse of gray space, and sighed softly.

How many people must have died at the hands of the Giant Hound Soth?

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