The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 210 The Basic Qualities of a Bard (4k)

"Judging from the size of your village, there must be at least two hundred people."

Without a stable food source, it's impossible to feed these people.

Even if one relied on hunting for a living in the forest, it would be impossible to hunt enough prey for two hundred people every day.

The Dusk Forest is not suitable for farming, but it is mostly inhabited by humans, who at least raise some livestock.

Tang Qi didn't believe that these people couldn't produce even a tiny bit of food.

Federer gritted his teeth and said:

“Before each double moon, we would offer most of our food into the mist in exchange for our safety on the night of the double moon.”

During this period, we relied most of the time on selling our hunting spoils in the city to buy cheap rye to make a living.

But only two months have passed, and we haven't been able to store enough rye, so how could we possibly give you that much!

"Offer food to the mist?"

Tang Qi frowned, pondering this explanation.

"You're not suggesting that the mist that permeates the forest is a living thing, and that it forces you to hand over your rice every time the moon is double-moon, are you?"

“This is a tradition in our village. If we don’t do it, people will disappear or die on the night of the double moon,” Fide replied in a deep voice.

"why?"

"How the hell would I know? If I knew, would we need to send so much food every year?!"

So she actually agreed to the condition of exchanging food, but she couldn't provide as much as Tang Qi needed.

So Tang Qi's question then becomes:

How much can you give?

"I can give you a day's worth of food."

"Too little."

"Three days."

"Half a month."

"Impossible! The village will be plunged into famine!"

"Do you need me to show you the losses the tribe suffered? And while I'm at it, I can show you the severed legs and feet of the wounded?"

"Go to hell, stop pretending to be sympathetic. So what if a bunch of green-skinned orcs are all dead?"

"You are also an orc, and your skin is green too."

"Is this even the most important thing?!"

Fide found this human's mouth incredibly infuriating, and then turned to look at the silent priest.
“Look closely, those are orcs! Who knows how many lives they’ve slaughtered beyond the Southern Wall? Are you going to take their side?”

That's true, but since he was on this side after all, Tang Qi didn't mind arguing back:

"That's because they realized they had been deceived by the devil and followed the wrong prophet. I am now leading them on the right path. Will God not give sinners a chance to repent?"

"What can atone for the crimes of massacre?"

"Take them to the southern Great Wall to reinforce the city's defenses and block the orcs outside the Great Wall."

This is the path Tang Qi has chosen for Sivana.

As for myself, I will naturally send this group away and then continue my adventures.

"Lead orcs to fight orcs? Who the hell believes you?"

"Just like I don't believe your entire village doesn't have any food reserves."

"I never lie!"

"Then let the priest open the [Domain of Honesty], and he will be able to tell whether the truth has been told or not."

"Then open it!"

Tang Qi and Fede both looked at the pastor, which made him hesitate and look back and forth between the two of them.

He sighed:
"I did not prepare this divine spell."

"What use are you?!" Fede spat coldly.

"Feel sorry."

The pastor even sincerely expressed his apology.

Unlike the arcane magic mastered by mages and warlocks, the divine magic mastered by priests does not rely on study or training.

All their divine magic originated from the responses given by the gods in fixed prayers or rituals.

In other words, all the power they unleash actually comes from the feedback of the gods, rather than from their own power.

Therefore, they would spend time praying to the gods during their daily rest to receive blessings so that they could immediately release the power bestowed by the gods through fixed prayers on that day.

This is similar to a mage's 'preparation of spells', selecting a certain number of spells and memorizing them in advance in case of emergencies.

This requires them to be sufficiently devout and have a keen sense of the divine.

At the same time, it also implies the existence of deities—a tangible fact.

It is because Twilight's benevolent father, Valenne, can still respond to prayers and grant divine powers that people are assured that He has not abandoned his believers like other gods.

“If you cannot trust each other, you might as well wait until tomorrow. Today I will pray to the gods for the blessing of the Realm of Honesty to help you in your negotiations.”

"I have no opinion."

Tang Qi hopes the deal will go smoothly.

"I do not have either."

Fied intends to stall for time as much as possible—

We'll discuss everything once Kane wakes up.

He thinks and knows far more than I do; he should be able to find a suitable solution.

Seeing this, the pastor readily began reciting a prayer, and gradually, eerie purple runes began to shimmer beneath his feet, eventually transforming into a gray-black hemisphere that enveloped him.
"I will pray to the gods here, and in the meantime, I hope that neither of you will cross this boundary."

"I won't, I'm a very reasonable person."

Tang Qi waved his hand, signaling everyone to step back.

Federer snorted coldly and glared fiercely at Tang Qi:

"We'll be even more reasonable than the orcs!"

……

Eight hours later.

During a break, Tang Qi and his men secretly infiltrated the orc tribe to try and rescue the prisoners.

However, the crow-men, who were being watched over by Dawn beforehand, were knocked down one by one and dragged to Fide's front as newly captured prisoners:

"Is this what you call being reasonable?"

"Lucy, why the hell do you act like an undisciplined orc, making all the decisions for yourself!?"

Looking at the several bound crow people and Lucy, who had incited them to secretly rescue people, Fiddle felt that she was complicating a simple matter.

"Who knows if you'll even save Selova? You keep saying we're a team, but when something happens, aren't you only thinking about your own interests first?!"

"The brown bear thinks it and the raven are of one mind, but you are not even of the same blood, and there may even be reproductive isolation."

Tang Qi spread his hands and concluded.

"Strictly speaking, there is no reproductive isolation among beastmen. Because they are all essentially evolved from humanoid creatures."

The pastor solemnly pointed out Tang Qi's mistake.

Tang Qi opened his mouth, somewhat helplessly:
"Yes, of course I know. But it's a joke, can't you tell?"

"Jokes can often create unnecessary ambiguity. That's why I never joke."

"..."

Through the helmet, Tang Qi couldn't see the priest's expression.

But he guessed that the priest under the helmet must be a solemn, rigid, expressionless old man who fits all the stereotypes of being 'boring'.

That's why I can't get along with pastors; these lawful good folks have absolutely no sense of humor!

As he wrote in his diary, he glanced in the direction of the beastman—

There weren't as many beastmen standing at the village entrance as there had been eight hours earlier.

Seemingly realizing that the matter could be resolved peacefully, only Fied and a two-meter-tall human male actually approached this direction.

Tang Qi then instructed Shyvana to take the prisoners behind him, while he stayed behind with Dawn to negotiate.

"I am the chief!" Shyvana seemed to want to participate in the decision-making process. "Yes, of course you are. That's why we entrusted you with such an important task as guarding the prisoners." That's how he bluffed her.

As Tang Qi stepped into the radiant realm of honesty, he instantly felt an invisible gaze sweeping over his back—

That was the direct feeling brought about by divine magic probing the mind.

Once someone attempts to resist and break free from the constraints of the Realm of Honesty, the caster will immediately detect it.

Then he will be able to tell who is lying.

So Tang Qi tried to relax, letting that gaze strike his heart.

"Don't worry, I won't lie to anyone."

He glanced at his fingertips.

Yes, the [Mind Shield Ring] is perfectly invisible on my fingertip.

Since the [Ring of Harmony] and [Ring of Glory] already occupy two of his Synchro slots, the third Synchro slot becomes a constraint.

Fortunately, eight hours was enough time for him to break the synchronization with the [Witch's Eye] and replace it with this wondrous object that could resist any mental probing.

"You can now have an open and honest negotiation."

The pastor also failed to notice Tang Qi's unusual behavior.

After treatment and a day and night of recovery, Kane now looks to be in good health.

He had clearly learned everything from Fied and made his decision, so he spoke:

“If I had known that this hunt would lead to this outcome, I would not have targeted your tribe.”

He had no means to fight against the Realm of Honesty, so he could only speak from the heart.

"It's pointless to say all this now. I'm just here to demand compensation."

“It was you orcs who attacked first.” Kane wasn’t drawn into Tang Qi’s discussion.

"Because you look like a brown bear, they think they've found prey—this tribe has also been starving for many days, and you can't expect a group of orcs to stay sane when they're hungry."

Tang Qi is talking nonsense.

"Besides, can you honestly say you didn't intend to plunder the tribe at the time?"

"I don't--"

“You’re lying,” the pastor interrupted at the opportune moment.

“Damn it, I admit I had that thought,” Kane could only spit out.

Tang Qi straightened his face and, raising the banner of justice, pursued the enemy, saying:
"You should know that this is a chaotic group of orcs who have received a new doctrine and are trying to reform."

They are now marching towards the Southern Wall, attempting to atone for the killings they committed in the past and to contribute to the defense of the Lords' Alliance.

They will wield their axes, preach their doctrines to their evil brethren, pull those violent and sinful tribesmen back to the right path, and achieve the unification of the orc race.

Your actions have already caused harm to this tribe, including on a psychological level.

Some people have become discouraged by this, doubting whether anyone approves of what they have done, and wanting to revert to their violent nature.

The double blow to their bodies and souls has caused them immense suffering. As their prophet, I must collect food from you as compensation to soothe their hearts.

I am doing this not only for the orcs, but also for the defense of the Southern Wall and for the peace of the Lords' Alliance!

Do you understand my good intentions?

"..."

Seeing Tang Qi's mouth rattling off like a machine gun, Kane and Fied, unable to bear the interruption, slapped their thighs and glared angrily at the priest:

"This can't possibly be the truth, can it?!"

"He told the truth."

The pastor also seemed quite agitated.

He then looked at Tang Qi and patted his chest loudly:
"Friend, your heart is filled with peace and love. Please allow me to pay you my highest respect."

"Not worth mentioning."

Tang Qi shamelessly waved his hand.

Even the dawn beside him almost couldn't bear to listen anymore, and the urge to leave the Realm of Honesty was ignited within him.

That's certainly not the truth.

[Bickering, sophistry, factionalism, half-truths, occupying the moral high ground... Remember, language is the bard's weapon! Lying is the bard's basic skill! If you can't call white black and black colorful, don't say you've read this book!]

Ulasang's "One Hundred and One Praises" truly deserves to be considered a top-tier textbook for the Poets' Academy.

Either he's the dean.

"To be honest, please allow me to extend an invitation to you to go to the Holy City and listen to the teachings of the Father—I believe that with your great love, you can easily gain His approval, thereby embracing everything in this world and bringing leisure and rest to all people."

As expected of a pastor, he's unwilling to miss any opportunity to spread the gospel...

Tang Qi quickly waved his hand:

"Ahem, let's talk about that later. Right now, let's just discuss compensation—food and information, neither can be missing."

Kane gritted his teeth, refusing to believe that such a compassionate person could exist in this world.

But that wasn't the point of the negotiation, so he asked instead:
"I understand the food, but what message are you trying to convey?"

"You've met the witch, haven't you?" Tang Qi looked directly at Kane.

The other person's brow furrowed visibly, showing some hesitation:

"Of course, it was precisely because of their danger that I gathered the beastmen who were hiding in the forest."

"Perfect, why don't you tell me the last place I saw them? I'll see if I can lead the orcs to wipe out their gathering."

Kane asked curiously, "Why would you do something like this?"

"It is everyone's responsibility to rid the people of harm," Tang Qi said nonsensically.

“Friend, I am proud of you,” the pastor said sincerely.

"Not worth mentioning."

Is that even the truth?

Kane was speechless.

Could this guy have some kind of item that blocks the Realm of Honesty?
He sighed, and then said:
"In that case, perhaps it's a good match. I can tell you where they are and give you the food you need—but you'll have to go get it yourself."

"What do you mean?" Tang Qi frowned.

"I'm not trying to renege on my debt, but I'm saying that only in this way can your needs be met—"

Every year before the night of the two moons, we offer large amounts of food into the mist to ensure our safety.

But in fact, we don't know whether these foods were actually taken away..."

Tang Qi realized in an instant:
"You want me to go to the place where you offer food and take away what you contribute?"

"That's right, the portions of those foods will definitely satisfy you."

How do you know it's not a trap?

"But you'll go in that direction no matter what."

"why?"

"Because the last time I saw the witch, they were there."

Tang Qi looked at the pastor.

The pastor calmly replied, "He is telling the truth."

Kane continued:
“If you don’t find the right food there but kill the witch, I will do my best to compensate you for your share. That would be a fair deal.”

"It sounds... like it's not a bad deal."

After all, they couldn't provide any food, and he was originally going after the witch anyway.

“But I don’t recommend that you take a large number of orcs to that place,” Kane suddenly reminded him.

"why?"

"Because that place is a bit eerie."

Kane sighed.

"Sometimes, the fog there can drain your blood."

“It’s the truth,” the pastor said.

(End of this chapter)