The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 83 A Suitable Epilogue (4.3k)

Because of Ambi's unconsciousness, the group spent more time on their return journey.

But we managed to get back to camp before the next nightfall.

After handing the packhorse back to the groom, Tang Qi stepped into the central campfire and found Old David still holding a pitchfork, repeatedly stabbing the still-living corpse.

"Roar...roar..."

He dared not stop for a moment, fearing that the corpse, which was gurgling as if bubbling, might suddenly recover, break free of its restraints, and cause some disaster in the entire camp.

Tang Qi estimated that the round trip would take at least five hours from the moment he left the camp.

Are the zombies under the necromancer's command really that resilient?

【Undying resilience】does not mean it will always be lively and energetic.

This is a probability problem.

It depends on the necromancer's skill level and a certain amount of luck.

"Did this guy have the [Luck] specialization in his previous life?"

Tang Qi also took a few steps closer to examine the mercenary's unrecognizable corpse.

But even if you were that lucky, you wouldn't die on your way home.

The gravel couldn't help but suggest:

"Why don't we take this guy to Dragon Gold City too? There are bound to be some weird mages who would be willing to pay a price for this immortal corpse for research purposes."

Please don't do that.

Chenxi only transmits her voice to each person's cochlea when she is offering suggestions to the team.

“I could feel his pain—his soul was tormented, but his inner convictions wouldn’t allow him to die like that.”

She knelt quietly beside the zombie and gently placed her right hand on the mercenary's chest.

The helmet covered her non-existent head, making her truly resemble a kind knight.

Considering that there were only two bottles of [Restoration Glue] left, Tang Qi wanted to remind Chen Xi, but hesitated to speak.

Gravel patted his backside and muttered in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Do you know why I hate these charlatans? Because I was originally going to say, 'If it weren't for you, they wouldn't have become like this'—"

But whenever I see their compassionate faces, I feel I shouldn't have made those jokes.

"You already said it."

"I'd rather die than keep this bottled up!"

"Resurrection Technique: 500 gold coins"

"Screw you."

But it seems that Chenxi did not use any divine magic.

There was no holy aura shimmering around her, nor were there any scorched wounds on her arms, yet the stubborn zombie was indeed calmed down. Its limbs stopped twitching, and the grinding of its teeth ceased.

"What did you do?" Tang Qi asked curiously.

“I resonated with his soul. There are still people he wants to see.”

"who is it?"

"I can only sense his obsession and emotions. Some specific matters can probably only be handled through [talking to the dead] - but his body has been 'desecrated' and transformed into an undead creature."

Chenxi shook her head. If she were to take off her helmet at this moment, one would likely notice the lack of mist around her neck, revealing her regret.

She silently removed a red thread bracelet from the mercenary's wrist:
"If I meet that person, I will deliver your message to them."

Stubborn soul, may you rest in peace in your eternal slumber.

When her eulogy ended, the mercenary's body stopped twitching and fell silent.

Old David, drenched in sweat, wiped the sweat from his brow and asked Tang Qi:

"Who is this……"

Tang Qi comforted him, saying:
“A paladin. With her around, our journey to Dragongold City will be much safer.”

In fact, if Dawn were at its peak, Tang Qi felt they wouldn't need to rush to Longjin City.

Turn around, grab onto Holy Father's leg, and watch her wipe out that orc tribe in one fell swoop.

As for now...

It's safer to go to Longjincheng.

The title of "Paladin" is itself a prestigious brand.

Even Catherine, who has always lived in Starpine, can use slang like "the lying paladin."

Not only old David, but also Father Lynn beside him, and even the other townspeople who were in a state of panic and dared not rest, seemed to have their worries finally put to rest.

Tang Qi spoke up at the opportune moment:
"Everyone no longer needs to worry. We are safe now, and the road ahead will surely be even smoother."

Given the unexpected situation I encountered, I've decided to take a longer break.

We'll pack our bags and set off again after dawn.

During this time, this paladin will keep watch for us.

We've already talked along the way.

The dawn that is reborn, having broken free from the shackles of the ordinary physical body, is not subject to fatigue.

Unless her soul's energy is depleted and its fire dims, her soul will not need rest.

His reassurance livened up the atmosphere in the camp.

As night fell again, the stone mend their way through the wolf meat that had been roasted but was now cold and hard, without a care for appearances.

Starving, he no longer cared about the taste—

Frequent use of combat skills will continuously deplete a warrior's stamina.

The best way to restore vitality is to eat meat regularly.

Tang Qi then gradually gathered the townspeople, who were not yet in dire straits, around the campfire. They roasted some potatoes for a late-night snack, and Tang Qi recounted the journey to them to the accompaniment of a melodious lute tune.

"I'm going to have a good dream tonight."

Not long after, Sui Shi stretched and swallowed the last bite of wolf meat with sweet plum wine. When he staggered back to his tent, he fell asleep almost instantly and started snoring.

Old David quickly sobered up:

"Where's the thunder? Should we take shelter from the rain?"

Amidst a burst of laughter, Tang Qi noticed Melard, who looked somewhat lost and bewildered, huddled in the shadows of a corner of the tent.

He suddenly said:

"By the way, where was I? The necromancer escaped, right?"

But as you know, this forest is treacherous; the thin mist disturbs our senses, and as we walk, we lose our sense of direction.

"Thanks to young Master Merard, who led the way by himself and pointed out the direction when our group came to a standstill."

Old David spat coldly:
"Walking at the front, are you perhaps planning to escape alone sooner?"

Clearly, it wasn't the arrogance of the nobility that made him disdain gathering with these subjects.

Rather, it was the commoners who witnessed the nobles abandoning their territories and fleeing alone that found it hard not to reject this high-and-mighty young master.

Tang Qi shook his head:

"No one denies some of the less-than-ideal things he did in the past."

We shouldn't deny everything he did to protect the camp.

People grow up, especially our young master who is not yet an adult—

"He's better than his father, isn't he?"

I remember that my teacher, Ulasang, explicitly mentioned in class the highly effective content that wasn't detailed in the book "Praise":
"The best way to win the favor of a nobleman is to slander another nobleman who is at odds with him."

Praising one while criticizing the other is always a good way to improve your relationship.

However, please be careful to ensure that there are no other people nearby and that your voice is not being recorded while you are trying to slander someone.

the most important is--

Don't ever say I taught you this!

Lord Mel's beastly nature is deeply ingrained in people's minds.

This ironically made the townspeople's animosity towards Merard less intense.

After all, the young master only wanted to escape alone and had no intention of severing their Achilles tendons.

In addition, given the significant contributions made to the camp this time, after a brief silence, Father Lynn suddenly walked towards the little white pig curled up beside the tent and handed it a roasted potato:

"Young Master Merard, thank you for your hard work."

He could see clearly that Tang Qi had brought up this topic to ease tensions between the nobles and them.

This is very important. The main conflict between the two sides actually lies more with Huss's chief steward.

However, the fact that these townspeople fled to Longjin City did not mean that they would stay there forever.

Once Longjincheng's army wipes out the orc tribes, they might return to their homeland.

Those were legitimate nobles, after all. If things fall apart, it's the common people who farm the land who will suffer...

They were not rebels or traitors.

They were just ordinary people who wanted to survive.

The attitude of most citizens is actually confused and ambiguous.

Aside from their own survival, they have little to consider.

Now that Father Lynn has taken the lead, even the slowest people are starting to realize what's happening.

Old David also raised his glass to the stunned Melard:
"Young master, I can't speak either, but it's all in the wine!"

"If we hadn't found that 'skull,' we'd probably all be zombies like those mercenaries tomorrow..."

"I haven't even thought about going to see my grandma yet!"

Their knowledge was insufficient to support them in uttering more flattering words; they could only state the facts.

"Thank you, thank you."

He answered Father Lynn in a trembling voice, somewhat awkwardly, and couldn't say anything more.

His aristocratic pride made it impossible for him to set aside his dignity and mingle with these commoners.

Just looking at the roasted potato wrapped in a handkerchief in my hand, even through the prickly fabric, I could still feel the lingering warmth of its roasting.

"This is... a 'hero'?"

He couldn't describe the feeling—

Somewhat hot.

But it felt like it burned my heart.

Seeing this, Tang Qi stopped interfering.

He never thought of changing any social system or rebelling against the aristocracy.

For him, Star Plum Town was merely the starting point of his adventure.

While I don't expect every experience to have a happy ending.

Yet I still hope that while recording the stories of this land, I can write a suitable ending.

That's enough for now.

So, he played a gentle tune on the lute and led them in singing a melodious song:

"Borrowing the bright moonlight of tonight, we gather together in joy."
If you have uncertainty about the future, it's okay to forget about it for now.

Even though I'm far from my hometown, at least I can still sing softly.

Through the forest, overcoming obstacles, we welcome the fragrant future.

A simple song can always inspire others to sing along.

Music lingered in every corner of the camp.

It took away the fear and dispelled the panic.

As the crowd gradually dispersed and slumber enveloped the deep night, Tang Qi also gradually stopped playing the zither.

He had intended to return to his tent, but as soon as he got close, he saw Kulu, unable to bear the 'thunder' any longer, hurriedly running out of the tent.
"Kuru, ugh, noise!"

As it spoke, it sat down by the campfire and began studying magic.

"Kuru, I've seen you pondering this spell for many days now. Do you know its effects?"

Kuru doesn't like being disturbed when he's trying to concentrate on his studies.

But who can blame them when that person is Tang Qi?

It could only gesture wildly:

"Cliff, fall, survive!"

Although the kobolds' ability to express themselves was still limited to piecing together words, it was enough for Tang Qi to understand:
"【Feather Fall Technique】?"

"Rua!"

Kuru nodded as he mimicked Tang Qi's common language, marking syllables in his notebook.

It really loves learning.

"It seems that the adventurer's spellbook doesn't contain many damaging spells."

Kuru is currently studying the spellbook of that deceased adventurer.

Judging from the limited [Earth Shaping], [Freezing Ray], [Silent Illusion], and the [Feather Fall] spell which he has not yet mastered, this mage's research direction should be more focused on functionality.

This is something that mages should possess before large-scale destructive spells were available.

Especially in the current team, both Dawn and Shattered Stone have already demonstrated impressive problem-solving abilities.

As a mage apprentice, studying some functional spells to help them fight better is indeed a wiser choice.

"Keep it up. We have three spellbooks on hand, enough for you to study for a long time," Tang Qi encouraged appropriately.

"Rua!"

Not wanting to disturb the studious kobold any longer, he turned his gaze to the tent where thunder rumbled.
"Damn it, when will I ever learn the [Silence] spell?"

I paced back and forth outside for a while, but I had no interest in going in to listen to the snoring.

He suddenly remembered something and hurriedly turned around to walk to another tent not far away.

On the way, however, they were stopped by the completely obscured dawn.

"What's wrong?" Tang Qi asked curiously.

"No, it's just that I—cough cough, I dispelled the obsession of a deceased person."

Tang Qi blinked:

"Yes, you did very well..."

"never mind."

Tang Qi couldn't see the black mist beneath her helmet, but judging from her departing steps, it seemed somewhat...

Excitement?
Wait, is she here to see Kua Kua?
Tang Qi, belatedly realizing what had happened, almost burst out laughing when he recalled the "praise of me" at the temple.

As he approached the two girls' residence, he hesitated to simply lift the curtain and enter, so he called out loudly from outside the door:
"Ahem, this is Tang Qi. May I bother you?"

Catherine's reply came from inside the tent:
"please wait for a moment."

Then, he heard some soft rustling sounds, but they were masked by the snoring of the gravel, making it impossible for Tang Qi to hear any more sounds.

After waiting for a while, Catherine lifted the curtain first, and Tang Qi then discovered that she was only wearing a simple gray-white linen nightgown.

This is just an ordinary pajama set, a camisole style, and the texture is rough and doesn't fit the body well.

If it weren't for Catherine's well-proportioned figure, she might appear rather bulky.

But no matter how ordinary the style, when worn by Catherine, it seems to radiate a unique beauty, making people overlook its inherent flaws—

Especially that collar that couldn't hold back the abyss.

Although Tang Qi didn't deliberately avoid eye contact, he couldn't stare for too long, so he looked directly into Catherine's confused eyes and asked:
Did I disturb your rest?

"What did you say?"

Tang Qi increased the volume:
Did I say I disturbed your rest?

"No, of course not."

Catherine waved her hands repeatedly and responded loudly.

"I was wiping Ambi's body just now, so it took me a little longer."

"What body?"

"I'm wiping Ambi's body—never mind, let's talk somewhere else?"

"it is good!"

Tang Qi wished he could shut up the mouth of the rubble.

But there was a fear that this battle-hardened dwarf might be constantly on guard against danger even in his sleep, perhaps even kicking him away if he got too close...

He still chose to compromise:
"Then where are we going?"

"By the river?"

Catherine asked loudly,
"I just wanted to take a shower, but I'm afraid I'll get lost!"

(End of this chapter)