Your Majesty's money, why don't you engrave my name on it?

It is said that even a powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake. If snakes are like this, then if the dragon returns to its lair, who can suppress it?

“Don’t be so absolute,” Leslaufer said, taking off his helmet and stretching his stiff neck. “Bella’s feeling isn’t entirely unfounded. Lately, I’ve also had a feeling that I’m being watched, but when I look closely, I can’t find any clues.”

"And I have a feeling... it's like they're after Annie."

“Targeting me?” Angelita blinked, somewhat uncertain. “Probably not, right? Neither blades nor arrows are likely to reach this side—it’s too far from the Empire.”

Even in peacetime, the two organizations dedicated to serving the emperor would not waste this manpower and resources, let alone now that the empire is in turmoil and it is the time to tighten its grip.

“I hope things don’t turn out this way,” Leslaufer took a deep breath. “That’s what we fear most in this line of work.”

"But what you fear most always comes to pass."

The one on the other end of the line was von Dahl, who was gazing into the distance at the road he had come from, his eyes gleaming with a special light in the dim twilight.

In his vision, on the distant horizon, billowing dust was rolling in, engulfing the group of people.

"I've never seen anything like it before... what exactly is that thing?"

The ground began to tremble. Black Claw, who had been resting on the ground, suddenly leaped up and raised its feathers and scales, revealing two rows of sharp teeth, as if in a show of defiance.

Daisy and Angreta each imbued their weapons with light magic, while Bella grabbed a wooden stick, her wet hands instantly bursting into flames. Meanwhile, Mary, though seemingly unprepared for battle, had her fingers constantly twitching, ready to draw a dagger at any moment and deliver a fatal blow to any approaching creature…

hope so.

Raslaufer immediately issued a warning as is customary for mercenaries, but the other party ignored it and continued to rush towards them until they reached the end, at which point they could see the appearance of the giant beast shrouded in the smoke and dust.

It was a gigantic monster resembling a troll, ogre, or something similar, with thick hind legs supporting its heavy body. Each of its powerful front claws gripped a half-twisted tree trunk. Upon seeing Leslaufer and his companions, it immediately unleashed a series of reckless roars without any regard for the situation, and brandished its two single-section clubs, pounding them like drums!

"Ughh ...

Amidst the echoing roars in the wilderness, Raslaufer charged forward with his sword, engaging the behemoth head-on in battle. However, the mercenary appeared so small before the three-meter-tall torso that the pair of broken logs almost completely obscured him.

“Where did this thing come from?” Daisy attempted to cast a spell to make it obey her commands, but she quickly encountered the same predicament she had faced when she first met Raslaufer and the others—the behemoth was so stupid that her magic was completely ineffective. “Are you kidding me? You can’t even understand human speech?!”

Chapter 342 Druids and Beasts

Fortunately, the bards of today no longer rely entirely on those bewitching spells. As the music turned more passionate, in the troll's eyes, a strange green knight appeared on the wasteland, riding a black warhorse, shouting and brandishing his weapon as he charged toward him.

It immediately turned its anger towards the newly appeared opponent, but the opponent's horsemanship was so superb that it was beyond its comprehension. No matter how it attacked, it could not even hit or graze the knight's clothes. Instead, the knight and the man wielding the greatsword worked together to leave white marks and bloodstains all over its body.

Perhaps because it had sustained many injuries, it began to feel dizzy and lightheaded—but where was its owner?

"It's caught in that spellcaster's illusion!" A hidden orc cursed from nearby, then slapped the nearby Quickling. "Go, go and disrupt that woman's spellcasting! We can't let her continue like this!"

Although the so-called "Green Knight" was completely invisible to the others, the orcs could guess what it was facing from the monster's already chaotic and now even more haphazard and meaningless swinging.

It was completely bewildered; its intelligence rendered it utterly incapable of distinguishing truth from falsehood. If this continued, how could it possibly reap the benefits? The two opponents alone were more than enough to deal with the gray-bag beast!

Based on general observations and the orcs' estimations, the strength of the members in an adventurer's party should be roughly equal. Therefore, after careful consideration, he believed that a single gray sack beast was likely insufficient for such a task. However, if he were to be even bolder, he might discover that the truly capable members of the party he was attacking were completely entangled by the monster.

Raslaufer turned and wielded his sword, slicing off pieces of bark, but he couldn't harm the monster in the slightest—its strength was no less than that of his right arm, and its enormous, cumbersome size rendered his skills useless.

As Daisy said, the opponent wasn't very intelligent, and the meaningless actions only wasted energy and did nothing to distract them. If things continued like this, even though it was currently a two-on-one situation, defeat was only a matter of time.

"Black Claw!" Leslaufer had no choice but to call for help again. The Deinonychus, which had been waiting for a long time, suddenly sprang up and excitedly pounced towards them.

"No, don't come any closer! Go find its instigator!"

The monster, freed from its struggle with the illusion, lunged downwards at Leslaufer with a foul mouth spewing spittle. The mercenary's blade sliced ​​through the stench, but before it could meet the oncoming log, the monster's tongue struck, sending sparks flying: "Bella, you're coming with me!"

The druid immediately agreed. As he leaned forward, feathers and scales that were almost identical to those of the black claw replaced his original clothes and fur. The Deinonychus was taken aback at first, then cried out in delight and ran past the gray bag beast as if it had come from nowhere, chasing after it in the direction it had come from.

"Damn it!" Seeing that the two unfamiliar monsters had broken away from the battlefield and were charging straight towards them, the orc was both anxious and annoyed. "Gloves! Come and help!"

He was very confident in his ability to hide, but he wasn't sure if the beast was just as proud of its hunting skills! If he just kept hiding, it would be too late once those strange claws kicked him!

Thoughts flashed through the orc's mind. Feng dared not delay any longer and immediately leaped out from his hiding place, firing a barrage of arrows from his short bow at Black Claw and Bella's necks.

Although the weapon was just an ordinary bow and arrow, when the arrows with cross-shaped blood grooves left the bowstring, their tips all lit up with magical light. These arrows even adjusted their trajectories to ensure that they could hit their targets more accurately!

At the same time, a whirlwind suddenly swept up from the ground, and in the wind, Bella smelled the same scent as the wind from that night not long ago!

It's him!

Bella's nerves immediately tightened. The Deinonychus's body was better suited to dodge the arrows, but two were still embedded in her thigh and arm, making it almost impossible for her to hold onto the flaming wooden stick.

However, just when the orc thought he had taken down at least one opponent, the druid suddenly threw up a wooden stick, sending it flying straight toward the orc. But it would be a stretch to say that such a trick could hit a seasoned hunter.

"Whoosh—" Feng casually discarded his bow and arrows, drew his single-edged axe from his waist, and easily deflected the flying fire stick to the side.

Just as he was about to calm down and wait for his animal companions to arrive so they could attack the "two" beasts together, the uninjured one suddenly accelerated toward the spot where the fire stick had been thrown—what was that all about?

To actually keep such a strange creature as a dog... The orc hunter shook his head inwardly. Just as he thought this was a waste of resources, he saw Black Claw catch the flying wooden stick in its mouth. As it leaped into the air, it seemed to be wielding the weapon to strike the orc on the head!

what is this?

The hunter, who had lived for over thirty years, had never seen such a beast before. He quickly raised his axe to parry. He thought he had been cautious enough, but the creature had only feinted before turning and kicking him hard in the abdomen.

Just as he retreated to avoid the claws, the wooden stick he had just flipped over suddenly came flying back towards him with a blazing fire. By the slightest difference, the scorching flames were about to lick his eyes!

In just about ten seconds, a beast that a druid could imitate and transform into actually performed a set of staff techniques on him right under his nose—even incorporating its own kicking skills!

What is wrong with this world?!

"Well done, Black Claw!" Bella had already transformed back into human form. The two arrows that had been stuck in her body lost their target and fell limply to the ground. The druid herself was unharmed. Instead, with a series of incantations, a longsword of flame swept out from her palm, joining forces with Black Claw to attack the orc who had jumped out.

This guy is ridiculously smart! Feng was filled with mixed feelings at this moment. However, Bella, as his companion, knew even better how intelligent this beast, which did not belong to this world, was—when she was imitating Black Claw's behavior and trying to apply it to her own avatar, this Deinonychus was actually imitating her in return!

Women's upper body strength is usually weaker than their lower body strength, so it is common for Bella to incorporate kicking techniques into her own martial arts. Black Claw obviously saw this and actually learned all of these techniques!

Chapter 343 Feint to the East, Attack in the West

Although some of the best among humanoid creatures often possess considerable martial arts skills, how many could an orc have encountered in his thirty-plus years of life? For a moment, he was caught off guard and his hands were scrambled. If it weren't for his superb skills, Feng would probably have been defeated by the man and the dragon before his animal companions even arrived.

However, with a roar like that of a tiger or a leopard coming from behind Bella and Blackclaw, the orcs' helpers finally arrived.

It was a large, glossy, bluish-black cat with six legs and two flat, barbed whiskers extending from its shoulders. This unusual appearance suggested that it might not have originated from the material world, and indeed it did.

If the orc hunter hadn't saved the creature's life during an avalanche when he was young, they probably wouldn't have been able to establish contact even with a message in a bottle.

Although others would always tell it what to do, Blackclaw didn't actually need such a strange command. As a social predator, it naturally knew how to react in this situation.

Before the druid, who was fighting the orc with his flaming sword, could even speak, it immediately turned and pounced on the suddenly appearing monster. The long, flaming wooden club swept across, piercing straight through the six-limbed, or rather eight-limbed creature's body and head.

...It penetrated?

Blackclaw immediately realized something was wrong, but just as it managed to tense its muscles and prepare to retreat, the hundreds of pounds of weight had already overwhelmed it. The massive cat, far more real than the magical illusion from before, held Blackclaw firmly to its side.

The Deinonychus's upward-facing eye could only see that behind this fellow predator, the two tentacles had just closed, their magical light fading.

“A Displacement Beast!” Bella immediately recognized the creature's species. The reason was simple: this method of using illusions to hunt prey capable of resistance was simply too infamous! “You actually named a Displacement Beast 'Glove'?!”

"It's better than you naming that monster Black Claw!" Surprisingly, the other party could understand Bella's Imperial language, which had almost no Inasas accent, but he still responded in the language he was more familiar with.

There isn’t that much difference between Imperial and Inasan languages.

“That’s its own name!” Bella retorted immediately. “Only arrogant people like you would ignore their own wishes!”

Taking advantage of the orc's pet's advantage and his subsequent reluctance to continue the conversation, Bella's hand axe drew a sharp arc in the air. She immediately swung her sword to block, and at the same time, she flicked a pebble that had been ready to be thrown from her left hand, which accurately struck the orc between the eyebrows.

The stone wasn't particularly lethal, and it couldn't penetrate the orc's skin and bones, which were much tougher than those of a human. However, when it hit Feng, the orc's vision went black, as if he had been blinded by the force of the stone.

"Damn it!" Sudden blindness is undoubtedly fatal in battle. The orc immediately leaped backward, his weapon flashing in a blur. "You cunning druid, what have you done to me?"

Bella wouldn't answer him, and just as she was trying to find an opportunity to take him down, Black Claw kicked away the Displacement Beast on his body. The two beasts were locked in a stalemate, circling back and forth, each trying to find a position where they could attack the other.

"Aha! I see through the effects of magic!"

Just as Bella finally found her chance and was about to declare her victory, the orc's eyes suddenly cleared again. He laughed triumphantly at Bella, "You actually used a blinding spell with a flying stone, very clever! But you're still far from being able to beat me!"

"Gewush is watching you!"

As he spoke, the orc raised his hand, showing Bella the blood-red symbol etched on his palm. Almost simultaneously, a faint red glow appeared on the druid's body, making her, as a fellow spellcaster, feel a potential threat at any moment.

"Now, you're out of spells, aren't you!" The orc pounced again, seemingly no different from the previous struggle, but for some reason, Bella always felt a strange change, as if the hand axe could always accurately avoid her interception, and the level of threat had almost doubled.

It was that mark! In a flash, when she saw the hand axe change direction and the red dot on her body also change position, Bella realized the gravity of the situation—she had been marked by the opponent's magic!

"Blackclaw, let's switch!" Seeing the situation becoming increasingly unfavorable, Bella hurriedly summoned her Deinonychus, attempting to escape the predicament by changing her opponent. However, how could the orc hunter let her have her way? He also summoned his beast, but this time, he wanted to turn this one-on-one fight into a two-on-two free-for-all!

As long as he and his animal companions launch an attack together, the two opponents will surely fall to their combined strength!

Just as a fierce battle raged on one side, the fight on the other was equally intense. The gray sac beast hurled a tree trunk from one of its paws at Raslaufer, smashing a mercenary who couldn't dodge in time to the ground. Green flames instantly erupted into the air, surrounding and burning the gray sac beast that had injured the mercenary.

An ordinary creature would be unable to move under such a fierce counterattack, but this monster's madness and ferocity were as terrifying as its strength. It actually swung its empty claws against the hellfire and tore at Leslaufer.

Dobul spun around to avoid the attack, and at the same time, he swung his greatsword horizontally, aiming straight for the flat skull while his opponent was hunched over.

Seeing that even such a behemoth was about to become a headless ghost, the others who were covering for Raslaufer all breathed a sigh of relief. However, the blade froze in mid-air just as it was about to overlap with the monster's head—the gray sac beast had actually bitten the sword with its fangs. Sparks flew between the greatsword and the two rows of teeth, but it could not advance an inch no matter what it did.

Just as the monster was about to rise and Raslaufer was about to be forced to take to the air, the melody on Daisy's mattress suddenly changed.

In the eyes of the gray sac beast, the green-clad knight who had not posed any threat to it for some time suddenly burst into flames. He abruptly spurred his horse into the air, shouting something it couldn't understand at all, such as "Where the sword points, none dare to stand against it," and swung his sword at it. The gray sac beast hurriedly used the broken wood in its other hand to block, but saw that the knight had vanished into the wind of the wilderness before he even touched its "weapon."

But why... does my chest... hurt?

The monster lowered its head in a daze. The music around it stopped abruptly, and a pink rapier was stuck in its chest, with only the hilt showing, still held in the hand of the woman who had been playing the piano.

Daisy tilted her head back and drew her sword before the gray sac beast could shove her into its chest with its claws. Taking advantage of the moment, Raslaufer braced his arms, and with a furious roar, half of the monster's head was lifted into the air, sawed off by Dobler!

"That's called a feint!" Daisy laughed and ran far away to avoid getting her dog's head covered in stinking blood. But just as she was finally able to relax, she saw that fleeting afterimage again.

It was streaking across the darkened night sky, heading straight for the unsuspecting Angelita!

Chapter 344 One Death, One Escape

"Annie!" A dangerous whistling sound whistled past his ear. Von Dahl's body reacted faster than his mind, but even so, he was still no match for the unpredictable blade's edge.

The dwarf reached out to intercept, and a large burst of sparks exploded in the night. But Quickling's curses continued to attack Angrita along with her body, leaving only a twisted and deformed arm behind her.

But just stopping them once is enough.

The little goblin moved so swiftly and agilely that even Angrita herself could not stop it. In fact, if the dwarf had not intervened in advance, the pair of needle-like daggers in her hands would have easily pierced the girl's throat.

As for what to do next... Santi hadn't thought about it. She definitely wouldn't have time to take the sword with her, but the orc should have a way.

Fairies' plans are often so short-sighted that they don't consider the consequences, but most fairies don't cause very serious consequences because they are always forgiven. But this Clair is different—she has no chance.

Although the dwarves' interception only bought them a mere two or three seconds, for a well-trained warrior, those few seconds were enough for him to close the distance with Angelita. Just as Clairne raised her dagger, a large hand covered in iron armor suddenly grabbed her from the side with the force of thunder and held her tightly in its grasp!

"No—" Kuai Keling's voice quickly turned into a cry from within the cage, barely audible even to herself. Beneath those gauntlets, the pounding of her pulse felt like a cataclysmic upheaval—she had almost never heard of anyone whose heart could beat so violently!

The last one she had ever seen was the "Martial Arts Master" among those dark-skinned, pointy-eared allies. That guy was so powerful that he could kill her with just a glance!

Santi wondered if she had also provoked such a person, but now she had no chance to look into Raslaufer's eyes. Her tiny bones were clenched together, and no matter how hard she tried, stretching them out was futile. The two daggers meant to take lives were now pressed tightly against her skin; if the other party continued to tighten his grip, she would be pierced by her own weapons before being crushed to death!

"Wait! I surrender, I surrender!" Quickling futilely used his hands and feet, hoping his strength could buy him some time. "Don't you want to know why I'm doing this? There's a reason for all of this. Someone wants you dead!"

"Let me go! Let me go and I'll take you to those guys! They're the real culprits! Let go—gulp—oh—"

When Raslaufer opened his palm, the talking little thing had completely turned into a puddle of minced meat. The friction between the steel plates not only shattered every bone in Quickling, but even the flesh was not spared.

Whatever she knows or wants to do, it has now become a dream she knows but cannot reach, like a fairy wilderness.

“Actually, perhaps we could give her a chance to speak?” Angelita let out a long breath, still shaken, and staggered back half a step. “This is definitely not my father’s doing.”

If Richard VII only wanted to kill her, she would not have only experienced such a dangerous situation a few times.

“I don’t see any benefit in keeping a mosquito around,” Raslaw said, turning his palm over so that the small mass of flesh was crushed under his boot. “Don’t worry, we should still have one survivor.”

Following his gaze, everyone saw that on the other side, Black Claw's roar had not yet ceased.

The plan failed.

The moment Feng noticed the gray sac beast he had linked with fall, he knew his plan was doomed. The gray sac beast was extremely unintelligent, yet it had an extraordinary obsession with allying with intelligent beings. This was the main reason he could control it, and for this reason, the giant beast would never be afraid or even run away; it would fight to the very last moment.

Therefore, the only explanation for why he could no longer sense the presence of that giant beast was that it was far more powerful than he had imagined.

However, at least that Quick-Clear should still be somewhat effective.

The orc thought this way, but reality is always cruel. As the two beams of light drew closer, his fighting spirit grew weaker and weaker until it was completely gone.

He couldn't continue like this; he had to escape, and quickly.

"You're finished!" Bella's flaming blade interrupted the hunter's thoughts. "Surrender now, and you might still have a chance to live!"

"You think you can survive after messing with a Dobul? Do you think I'm some three-year-old human cub?" The orc bared his protruding canines and sneered. "Don't worry about me, think about yourselves!"

"Gloves, activate the contingency plan!"

There was a contingency plan? Bella, who was already at a disadvantage in the battle, was immediately taken aback, and her movements inevitably revealed many flaws. Although she could definitely cripple the druid if she attacked now, Feng had no desire to face an enraged Dubler, so she feinted an attack and immediately jumped away.