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

Chapter 351 Taking the Initiative

"What's going on?" Dahl's eyes widened immediately when he saw another one arrive. "If you dare tell me that your partner is also dead, I'll send you to join him!"

He recognized the guy; tonight, the direction he was on duty was exactly the opposite of the one lying on the ground.

"N-nothing," the mercenary stammered, still bewildered when he arrived, but was startled when he saw the corpse on the ground. "Lion! What happened? Sixth Brother—"

"What can you do after being attacked?" Dahl said irritably. "Tell me about your own business first!"

The leader's growl snapped the flustered mercenary back to his senses: "Yes! We've been patrolling over there, but every time we turn around, we hear a strange laugh!"

This was in the dead of night, beside a dense forest; such a situation was undeniably frightening.

"We tried to find the source of the laughter, but to no avail; it was as if it were just a hallucination. But when we turned around, the laughter reappeared!"

“It was done by fairies,” the dwarf thought for a moment and then understood the connection. “Remember that little thing who attacked Angrita? It seems she wasn’t alone.”

"If an orc has an army behind her, she probably has her own allies behind her too. That's their masterpiece."

"Fairies?" Upon hearing this, the mercenary breathed a slight sigh of relief—just fairies, how much malice could they possibly harbor? Those little creatures are known for their mischievousness, but that's about it.

If that's the case, then he can actually rest assured.

“Well done, Beard,” Dahl said with a slightly puzzled look as the mercenaries returned to their posts, “but now that we’ve calmed them down, let’s discuss some more specific issues.”

"Most little fairies are not very harmful, but there are quite a few fierce and evil ones among the 'fairies'."

Mite spirits, red hats, and other goblins like little devils can truly kill people—like this unfortunate fellow lying on the ground.

"If these fairies harass us at night, and orcs attack us during the day, we're afraid we'll really be in a completely passive position." At this moment, even Dahl had to start considering the possibility of the so-called "orc army."

“I’m afraid the only option is to take the initiative,” said his adopted son, Erwin, standing beside him. “If we continue to be passive like this, by tomorrow night, morale will probably collapse.”

Mercenaries are certainly more formidable than militiamen, but they are just as vulnerable when faced with such inexplicable attacks.

“Father, I am willing to lead a group into the forest to investigate. If it is indeed the work of demons, we will drive them away so that at least the brothers can get a good night’s sleep.”

Dahl nodded, but before he could give the order, a sudden commotion arose from the edge of the camp on the side facing the jungle, followed by shouts and reprimands.

"What's going on now?!" The mercenary leader grabbed his sword and shield. By now, even the most obtuse person should understand that there were indeed enemies in the Forest of Liha, and these enemies had no intention of waiting until their morale was low by tomorrow night.

Instead, they planned to completely shatter and destroy them on the very first night!

"Everyone, prepare to defend against the enemy!"

Amidst the noise of news of the enemy attack, Dahl's roar gave the disorganized mercenaries a sense of direction. Awakened, they rushed to their aid, forming a formation around their leader and quickly moving towards the perimeter. To Dahl's surprise, however, Raslaufer did not join them. Instead, he and his companions formed another small group, subtly protecting Angrita within it.

Considering the girl's identity, this is a reasonable measure.

The already mobilized force wouldn't wait for those who hadn't joined. The mercenary group quickly arrived at the direction from which the camp had been attacked, but to their surprise, there was no sign of the enemy. Two guards lay dead on the ground; one had been stabbed in the throat and died instantly, while the other had been brutally hacked to death after being slashed in the leg.

Such atrocities were utterly heinous, but they also gave him the opportunity to raise the alarm. However, his colleagues were ultimately too late.

A terrifying growl erupted from deep within Dahl's throat.

"We can't wait any longer! Light the torches and advance!" He swung his sword forward, and several torches and lanterns were quickly hung up, illuminating the surrounding dark forest as if it were daytime.

"Damn surface people..."

Under such illumination, the attackers hiding in the darkness had to retreat even further. Lilindra looked grimly at the lighting equipment, which was as blinding as the scorching sun during the day, and pondered her next move.

Among the matriarchs, she was one of the youngest, which prevented her from sitting at home and issuing orders like the older women. However, on the other hand, she could get firsthand information more accurately.

“Master of Martial Arts.” She spoke, and a tall male dark elf immediately stepped out from behind her, a curved sword still dripping blood from it.

He is a capable member of the Evans family, and also Lillindra's brother and servant. Although his natural gender prevents him from getting any closer to Rose, his martial arts skills alone are enough to rival those of a young priestess like Sylvia.

The killing of those two guards was his doing.

“Now they have been mobilized as you wished, Matriarch,” the Master of Martial Arts said, looking down at his toes. In Dark Elf culture, looking directly at the Matriarch or even a priest outside of bed was considered extreme disrespect and blasphemy, unless they asked him to. “Now what should I do?”

“It’s simple, avoid them,” the matriarch of the Evans family had to give the order, despite her reluctance. “The fairies will disguise themselves as orcs and other monsters to lure these soldiers into various traps. What we need to do is attack when they are separated from our target.”

"See that man in heavy armor wielding a greatsword? You need to hold him off—by whatever means necessary, until we succeed."

"According to the messenger's instructions, there is only one person among them who needs to be especially vigilant; this is the most difficult task."

“This is my mission,” the martial arts master replied, raising his fist and tapping his chest. “Don’t worry, mistress, I will kill him on the other side and then go to support you.”

“Don’t think like that, Zorrian!” Lillendra warned in a low voice. “You’ve never been respectful enough to our gods, but at least you should listen to His advice!”

Perhaps realizing her tone had been a bit harsh, the female dark elf paused, trying to soften her voice: "Don't be careless, my brother. Proceed according to plan... Let us reunite around the goddess after this."

Chapter 352 The Temptation of the Deep Jungle

Zorian gave a soft reply and turned to disappear into the bushes.

He saw several more groups of his clansmen disperse, each group ranging from a few to a dozen people. This was the entirety of the Evans family's resources. If their unreliable goblin allies couldn't buy them enough time, only the flesh and blood of their own people could keep the human warring forces bogged down in the jungle.

Zorian's red eyes shifted to the other side, where he saw their opponents—even in unfavorable circumstances, their formation remained perfectly intact. The martial arts master secretly considered several possible attack strategies, but none of them yielded satisfactory results.

Trading lives for lives might lead to victory, but the problem is that dark elves don't have enough lives, and they are far more valuable than these surface creatures. In Zorrian's eyes, trading one for two, or even one, is a losing proposition.

A series of chaotic events, orchestrated by the fairies, occurred in the Forest of Riha. Zorian watched as the humans were mobilized as a result, and he also saw a small squad that was exposed as a result—ten people, the leader of whom was dressed in heavy armor and wielding a greatsword.

That was the target he had to hold back—he had to do it.

Zorrian saw what the other side was doing. This oddly dressed squad seemed out of place with the rest of the chapter, but the man had managed to keep them "hanging" around the chapter, allowing them to support each other without interfering with each other. If he wasn't lured away first, it would be difficult for Lilindra to guarantee that part of the chapter would come to their aid, no matter what she did.

Her judgment was correct; her sister should indeed be more favored by Rose than the matriarchs of other families.

The prerequisite is that she can obtain the evil elf's longsword tonight and offer it to the goddess.

The key to achieving this goal seems to lie with him.

Zorian mentally reviewed the entire process. When the battle group was once again drawn to the attention of the fairies, the martial arts master tensed up all his muscles. Like a lithe black panther, he leaped out of the forest and headed straight for the squad that had been exposed again due to the formation adjustment.

Raslaufer observed and listened. His strategy was to isolate himself and his companions from the battle in only one way, but now, this was happening far too often.

This is not normal. But Dahl's judgments were always correct—which is precisely what alarmed Dopler.

It was a trap. Although Raslaw wasn't commanding the battle group, he could still reach this conclusion based solely on his assessment of the situation and his personal intuition. The question was: who set the trap, and where?

How likely is it that the opponent is an orc? That's a question worth considering...

Suddenly, Raslaufer's eyes flashed, and in the lamplight, he caught a fleeting glimpse of a shadow. Dople immediately raised his sword to block in front of Angelita. With a clang, a strangely crafted arrowhead collided with the greatsword and fell to the ground with regret.

"Watch out, someone's attacking!" Raslaufer shouted, turning his weapon to intercept another arrow coming from a different direction.

Although the arrows were fired from different directions, judging from the force reflected off the swords, it was almost certain that they were fired by the same archer.

As Raslaufer deflected the arrow for the third time, he finally caught sight of the dark figure. "Got you, you coward!"

"Annie, you guys stay close to the group, I'm going to take care of this bastard!"

Seeing his opponent disappear into the darkness again, and his companions completely caught off guard, Raslaufer knew he had to deal with the one who had attacked him from behind. After briefly instructing the others on how to coordinate with Dahl's battle group, Doppler picked up his weapon and immediately chased after the figure that had vanished.

They've taken the bait. Seeing that Raslaufer had voluntarily broken away from the group, Zori relaxed a little. Judging from the other man's weapon style, he judged that this human was not someone who would remain unchanged in the face of all changes. The other man would definitely take the initiative to find a solution to the problem, or more simply, seek to eliminate the person who caused the problem.

Now he only has one task left: how to stall them.

Suddenly, alarm bells rang in the dark elf's mind. He abruptly halted his charge and rolled to the side. A massive sword swept across with terrifying force, cleaving a small tree in half in front of him. Had Zorrian not reacted in time, he would likely be the one cut in two!

How can it be so fast? !

Zorrian had no time to think further. The armored figure, having missed its first attack, showed no sign of stopping and swung its sword again. The dark elf dared not confront Dobler head-on. He lightly tapped his scimitar and greatsword a few times, dissipating some of the force before using it to propel himself up, landing lightly beside an old tree not far away.

Only then did Leslaufer get a clear look at the other person's face.

"...Elf? What exactly are you trying to do? What are you planning to do by teaming up with an orc?"

"Elves? What an offensive word," Zorian scoffed. "I have no connection with those things punished under the scorching sun."

"As for the other issues, I will tell you one by one before you die by my blade."

“That’s wonderful.” A slight smile appeared on Raslaufer’s lips. As he took a deep breath, he placed the sword at his waist, the tip pointing forward, and the atmosphere around him instantly changed.

“It seems you don’t get along with the other elves, but I happen to have an elf friend.”

“She can last thirty rounds against me. Come on, let me see how capable you are.”

“Two babies can fight back and forth just as well,” Zorian replied in slightly broken Inasasian, but judging from his posture, he was far from as relaxed as he claimed.

The air in the forest seemed to freeze for a moment, and the next instant, both sides rushed forward almost simultaneously.

Raslaufer aimed at the right side of the dark elf's head and thrust forward, while the latter swung his blade forward, aiming straight at the greatsword's blade, attempting to deflect the blade with a furious strike before thrusting forward again.

This technique is usually very practical, using strength to defeat weakness. Even if the opponent's strength is greater than one's own, they often cannot control the trajectory of the weapon. However, this time, it was Zorrian who underestimated Reislaufer.

There is a limit to the power gap that can be balanced through technology, and Raslaufer has clearly exceeded that threshold. Even in terms of swordsmanship, Dopler is not necessarily weaker than the martial arts master.

But the blade of the greatsword trembled slightly as it was struck from the side. Raslaufer's footwork changed immediately. As Zorian tried to take the opportunity to thrust forward, Raslaufer suddenly switched the blade in his hand. As he raised the scimitar upward, he immediately pressed forward, actually charging straight at the dark elf with the hilt of the sword!

Chapter 353 Martial Arts Master Zorian

"Zheng—"

A fierce sword shadow, accompanied by a venomous blade of light, clashed with the two more than ten times in a very short period of time. Any mistake would result in instant death. After his final, unsuccessful attack, Zorian finally managed to distance himself from the human before him.

The dark elf-crafted chainmail on his body emitted a faint, black mist, which was absorbed into his body with each breath, slightly replenishing his stamina. Before he knew it, he was completely soaked in sweat.

On the other hand, Raslaufer leaned slightly forward, his sword pointing downwards. He seemed to have also expended a lot of energy, but in Zorian's eyes, that was a fool's move. If he were to force his way in and attack, the balance of power would likely tip completely in his favor.

Despite the opponent's heavy armor and the fact that his two-handed greatsword was far heavier than a scimitar, it was not difficult to discern from his exertion that his expenditure was not necessarily much greater than his own.

"You're quite good." As the human spoke, Zorian was somewhat dazed—how many years had it been since he had been judged like this? Since he became the family's martial arts master, he had always been the only one to evaluate others in this way.

“But if you think you can kill me with that, you’re far from it,” Raslaw’s eyes narrowed slightly beneath his helmet. “As for holding me back, the initiative isn’t in your hands.”

Zorian's heart skipped a beat.

“I originally intended to defeat you with my martial arts skills,” the martial arts master said slowly, taking in the last breath of the surrounding black mist. “But now it seems I was too confident.”

"From now on, don't blame me for going all out."

"That sounds like, 'any means necessary'."

The dark elf opposite did not answer. A black aura suddenly appeared in his blood-red eyes. In the blink of an eye, the surrounding light suddenly dimmed, making it impossible to see one's own hand in front of one's face, let alone the scimitar and its owner.

“Dark magic? That’s nothing new.” Leslaufer said, but he had already closed his eyes, focusing intently on sensing every slight movement around him. Soon, a whoosh of wind aimed straight at the back of his head alerted him.

Doble immediately drew his sword to parry, but missed his target. Instead, he felt a sudden chill at his waist, as the elf had exploited an opening. Zorian's scimitar drew a deadly arc in the darkness, the blade precisely slicing through the gap in Reslaufer's armor, blood instantly seeping out. However, Reslaufer did not panic; instead, a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

“Interesting,” he murmured, his voice unusually clear in the darkness. “What kind of trick is this now?”

Zorrian did not respond; his figure moved through the darkness like a ghost, his scimitar once again silently striking at Leslaufer. For ordinary dark elves, in this magical darkness, they were no better than other races, but the Master of Martial Arts was already accustomed to relying on his innate strength.

This time, however, Raslaufer reacted even faster. He abruptly turned to the side, barely avoiding the opponent's fatal blow, and swung his greatsword out like lightning, the blade slicing through the darkness with a piercing whooshing sound.

"clang!"

The scimitar clashed with the greatsword, sparks flying. Zorrian was jolted back several steps by the force, his arm slightly numb. He was secretly astonished; he hadn't expected this human to be able to pinpoint his location so accurately even when completely blind. But he dared not linger, for the next moment, the fatal slash struck the spot where he had just stood.

"Is this darkness your ally?" Leslaufer's voice rang out again, tinged with sarcasm. "Or is it merely an enemy we all must face?"

The martial arts master sensed something was wrong. He gritted his teeth, and the surrounding darkness grew even denser, as if even sound was about to be swallowed up. But when he attacked Raslaufer again, Dopler once again ignored his feint. When he struck Raslaufer's left leg, his right shoulder was almost torn off his torso.

“It’s no use,” Raslaufer’s voice seemed to come from all directions, “I can smell your blood, in other words…”

"You're finished."

Zorrian's heart sank; he knew he couldn't delay any longer. While darkness magic could temporarily obscure vision, its effect on a master like Leslaufer was still limited. He wanted to buy time, but it seemed his opponent wouldn't give him that chance.

Thinking this, Zorrian stomped the ground and charged towards Leslaufer like a ghost. His scimitar flashed in the darkness, each strike aimed straight for a vital spot. But as Leslaufer swung his greatsword, the swirling slashes between the blades grew stronger and stronger like a tidal wave. The martial arts expert, at a disadvantage in weapon length, simply couldn't overcome this terrifying barrier.

If Leslaufer had adopted this level of defense when he first entered the darkness, Zorian would have been 80% confident of taking him down once he was exhausted. However, the Dark Elf's injuries now prevented him from continuing for long.

We have no choice but to fight! If we can manage to kill him and severely injure him, then we've accomplished our mission!

Zorrian had made up his mind. After a moment of silence, he seized an opportunity and launched a surprise attack on Reslaufer. This was supposed to be a brief opening where Reslaufer's old strength had not yet been exhausted and his new strength had not yet been generated. However, just as the dark elf was about to succeed, Reslaufer's greatsword suddenly turned at an unnatural angle and struck downwards blindly!

The instant he sensed something was wrong, Zorian also forcibly stopped his movements, but his reaction was still a beat slower than Leslaufer's. His curved blade was at a disadvantage, unable to exert force, and the attack nearly slipped from his grasp. Immediately afterward, Leslaufer kicked out, striking Zorian squarely in the chest. Zorian groaned and flew backward, the dark magic dissipating as he crashed heavily into a tree.

“It’s over,” Raslaufer said slowly as he walked toward Zorian, casually wiping away the blood seeping from his waist, and pointed his greatsword at the elf’s throat. “Prepare to die.”

Zorrian coughed up blood, raised his hand, and a strange purple glow enveloped the victorious human before him. He looked up at Raslaufer, a sinister smile playing on his lips.

"Do you really think...you've won?"

Raslaufer frowned, suddenly sensing a strong sense of danger. He widened his eyes, trying to find any reinforcements lurking nearby, but little did he know that this was exactly what the dark elves wanted.

Zorian closed his eyes beforehand, but pulled a spherical ceramic jar from his waist and smashed it to the ground. In an instant, it was as if a thousand needles had pierced Leslaufer's eyes, and his entire vision, after the extreme darkness just now, turned into a white blur again.

"Ah!" The mercenary cried out in sudden, intense pain, while the previously defeated martial arts master leaped up and swung his sword at Raslaufer's head.