Spellcasting Gods

“Okay! This is the first time, and I don’t want it to happen again, or you’ll get me killed.” Viya rubbed her temples helplessly. “Actually, I haven’t found out much, but judging from the recent large-scale transformation and crime cleanup, it seems that the black dragon is really preparing to reshape Luskan into a prosperous trading hub.”

"So they pose no threat for the time being?"

"No! Quite the opposite, they are a greater threat than before. That dragon wants to conquer the North and establish a powerful, evil empire. However, in the next few years, they will lie low and slowly accumulate strength for their next expansion."

After hearing this, the intruder secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness, so there won't be a war for the next few years. As for the future, let's not worry about it for now. Winter City's financial situation is terrible right now, and we must restore maritime trade as soon as possible."

"Understood! I'll keep an eye on them."

"Thank you! Lord Nasir will not forget your contribution."

……

Chapter 0476 War in the Shadows

The dock area, which was originally the most chaotic and dangerous area in Luscan, is now gradually returning to order thanks to the patrols of 100 fully armed soldiers. There are even some small stalls selling seafood such as fish, shrimp, crabs, and oysters.

However, as the saying goes, where there is light, there is shadow; where there is order, there is chaos; where there is justice, there is evil.

No matter how harsh the laws or how powerful the law enforcement agencies, they can never eradicate criminal organizations rooted in the grassroots of society.

They are like weeds in the wild; even if they are repeatedly harvested and burned, they will stubbornly grow back again and again.

As a girl who grew up in a dangerous and complex environment, Whisper knew very well that she could never be a match for the wizards in the Spire. So when Zhang Cheng tightened the noose around the gang's neck, she decisively chose to surrender and provided him with relevant information. As a result, she was not only spared from being slaughtered, but also received a lot of financial, material and human support afterward, becoming a semi-official thieves' guild.

The mission is quite simple: on the one hand, to control all shady and illegal transactions within the city to prevent external forces from infiltrating; on the other hand, to gather information and secretly investigate and monitor the behavior of law enforcement agencies and administrative personnel to ensure that there are no traitors or spies from the enemy.

Of course, as a price for surrendering, she had to hand over her important assets and the power to appoint and dismiss personnel.

Even so, it's still far better than before when I relied on illegally selling maps and various information to make a living. At least as the king of the underworld, I no longer have to worry about anyone wanting to kill me.

"Boss! Our spies have just delivered a top-secret intelligence report." A thief suddenly burst into the room and placed a note marked in red on the table.

"Oh? Who delivered it?" Whisper looked surprised.

According to the rules established by the guild, under normal circumstances, a red marker is only allowed when a spy who has infiltrated the upper echelons of the management system is discovered.

"It's Evra!"

"Evra? Wasn't he in charge of keeping an eye on Gildan? Could it be that he's been bribed?"

Whisper frowned, slowly unfolding the thin, finger-sized note. His face quickly contorted with disbelief: "Damn it! Viya is actually a spy from Winterfell! Quick! Send this intelligence to the Spire! Make sure to deliver it to that lord personally."

"Understood!" The thief clearly realized the seriousness of the situation, nodded vigorously, and quickly grabbed the note and ran towards the tower.

……

About ten minutes later, Zhang Cheng, who was testing the effects of the potion in the public area of ​​the central spire, received the note and said with a smile to the moon elf beside him, "See? This is what so-called good people do: infiltration, assassination, sabotage, and intelligence theft. They're no different from us."

"Do you need me to get rid of her?" Valindra asked with a half-smile.

"No, it's not necessary. Although she's a spy, her management skills have been quite good lately, so let her continue to serve Luskan."

Don't forget to keep me under 24-hour surveillance. I need to know who she meets and what she says every day.

Remember, to make a city or even a country prosperous and strong, force alone is not enough; it also requires talent from all walks of life.

For a long time to come, our course of action will revolve around domestic affairs, such as developing trade, cultivating farmland and pastures, mining mineral veins, increasing the number of workshops, and so on.

Therefore, try not to be aggressive, and in this way, Neverwinter will gradually lose its vigilance in a few years.

When the time is right, we'll launch a war and defeat Waterdeep before it can react.

Zhang Cheng pursed his lips and stated his plan directly.

After all, in just over half a year, the continent of Faerûn will enter a terrible year of turmoil, a time when gods are everywhere and liches are as insignificant as dogs. He doesn't want to be the subject of trouble at such a time.

"Just surveillance?" Valindra frowned slightly, clearly dissatisfied with this inaction.

“No, of course it’s not just surveillance, but also corruption and recruitment. You have to understand, everyone has desires: money, power, beauty, strength. We can use these desires to trigger the dark side hidden deep within a person’s heart. Once they do something irreversible, they will naturally be unable to maintain their original mindset.” Zhang Cheng calmly offered some advice.

Although this world is never short of strong individuals with unwavering will who can resist all kinds of corruption, in general, most people are ordinary. With proper handling, turning a few spies to defect is a piece of cake.

Moreover, there is the power of magic, such as charm, suggestion, mind control, and so on.

“I see. I think I understand your plan.” A strange light flashed in Valindra’s eyes.

Just as Zhang Cheng was about to say something, a ring on his hand suddenly emitted a blinding white light.

next second...

A portal opened out of thin air, and without a word, he passed through it and disappeared from everyone's sight.

dark!

An endless expanse of darkness!

The surroundings were all moss-covered rocks and an extremely quiet environment, where you could even hear your own heartbeat.

Suddenly, a dark figure emerged from the corner and said in a completely emotionless tone, "You've come?"

"Yes, I'm here. So, have you seen your own shadow?" Zhang Cheng asked with great interest.

“I’ve seen him! You were right! The Dark Elf will be a formidable opponent! But he has quite a few friends, and I need your help.” With that, the shadowy figure took another step forward, revealing an extremely ordinary face.

He was none other than the infamous assassin Artemis Entreri.

"Heh, why should I help you?"

"Because I can agree to your previous conditions!"

"You've agreed to work for me?!" Zhang Cheng raised his eyebrows in surprise.

He never expected that the other party would accept his invitation so quickly.

“Yes! But before that, I need to complete the task assigned by my former employer. I'm sure you wouldn't like an assassin who betrays his employer before even finishing his work, would you?” Entri stated his request expressionlessly.

"No problem!" Zhang Cheng nodded without hesitation. "Where are they right now? This seems to be underground, right?"

“They have ventured into the deeper underground world. According to my reconnaissance, there are not only thousands of gray dwarves down there, but also a dragon, a terrifying black dragon called Shadowstrike.”

"That sounds interesting. What are you waiting for? Lead the way, you know my time is very precious."

"Come with me..."

As the last word escaped his lips, Euntri Ridge leaped and squeezed through the gap between the two rocks.

Chapter 0477 Each Other's Shadows

After navigating through complex tunnels and dodging endless attacks from the grey dwarves, Drizzt and his companions finally arrived at the end of their adventure—Mithril Hall.

This is the legendary treasure trove of mithril, and also Bruno's childhood nightmare and the homeland he has been searching for for over a hundred years.

Standing before a vast, empty underground valley, the old dwarf pointed ahead and introduced it to his companions: "This is Glenn's Canyon! You can throw your torches down here; they will go out before they hit the ground."

The others followed the direction he was pointing and soon saw a spectacular sight they would never forget.

Giant stalagmites stood like mountain peaks in the unfathomable darkness, connected only by a solitary arched bridge. Countless gray dwarves on the other side of the bridge used the fire from the earth's core to smelt ores, crafting mithril armor and weapons that would drive the humans of the surface world mad.

In the deepest part of the earth, might a chilling growl emanate from?

"My God! There are at least four thousand fully armed gray dwarves here! Are you sure we want to go down now?" Regis was trembling slightly all over.

I couldn't help but tremble!

You must understand that the Grey Dwarves are not a fragile human army on the surface!

First, they are completely immune to illusions, paralysis, and poison, and like dark elves, they possess considerable magic resistance, though not as extreme.

Secondly, they also possess innate magical abilities, including the ability to transform and become invisible once a day.

Finally, and most importantly, their long-term underground living allowed them to evolve a kind of dark vision, enabling them to see clearly even in the absence of light.

The halflings could hardly imagine the terrible disaster that would befall them if their whereabouts were exposed.

"Shut up! We have to get down there! There's a damn enemy waiting for us to deal with!" Bruno roared furiously.

He was so agitated that he completely ignored his companions' warnings.

"Calm down! Calm down, my friend! I know you want to take back your homeland, but..."

Before Drizzt could finish speaking, a figure suddenly darted out of the darkness, first kicking the barbarian off the cliff edge, then pushing Bruno toward the arch bridge, exposing him to the sight of the two grey dwarf guards.

"An intruder?!"

"Go! Kill him!"

……

Without a word, the guard swung his axe and lunged at Bruno.

Although the grey dwarves are cousins ​​of the dwarves, their relationship is far from good; they can even start a fight to the death just by seeing each other.

"Damn it! Watch out! Drizzt, he's the assassin I mentioned." Katie Brie immediately shouted a warning after recognizing the attacker.

Entreri completely ignored the shouting girl, drew his weapon, and bowed slightly: "It's a pleasure to meet you, dark elf. You know, I've been observing you in the shadows for a long time, including your superb martial arts skills and your disgusting kindness. Today, let's settle this once and for all."

"Who are you? What do you want?" Drizzt also drew his scimitar, cautiously raising his guard.

He could sense a fighting technique remarkably similar to his own from the opponent's elegant gait—or rather, a dance of death.

“Heh, I was originally hired by Bashar Puck to help him retrieve the pendant that had been stolen by some petty thief.” At this point, the assassin paused deliberately and glanced back at the trembling Regis.

The latter seemed to be targeted by a venomous snake, and quickly took several steps back, constantly looking behind him, as if he might turn around and run away at any moment.

Fortunately, Entreri's gaze didn't linger for long before he quickly continued, "But now, I've changed my mind, and that is to kill you. By the way, that girl and the thief had better not interfere in our duel, or my new employer will kill them without hesitation."

"A new employer?" The dark elf ranger quickly scanned the surrounding tunnel.

Unfortunately, he found nothing.

"Stop looking! You won't find him unless he shows himself. Now, let's begin this destined battle."

As the last word escaped his lips, Entreri crouched down like a cheetah, swiftly closing in on the dark elves' defensive perimeter. His dagger and short sword flashed up and down, piercing at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, leaving trails of silver light.

Not to be outdone, Drizzt wielded his two scimitars with impenetrable force, producing a series of clanging metallic sounds and occasionally sparks flying.

The two evenly matched opponents were so focused that they had no energy to pay attention to anything else, because they both knew that if they were to lose focus even slightly, their opponent would immediately end the game.

"What a wonderful competition, wasn't it?"

Just as Katie Brie drew her bow to launch a sneak attack, a man completely shrouded in a hood suddenly appeared and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Undoubtedly, this action startled the girl so much that she nearly jumped up, quickly taking several steps back and loudly demanding, "Who...who are you?"