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

“No, don’t oversimplify things, surface dwellers,” Sylvia said with a smirk. “There are indeed people trying to sabotage our transport routes, but they have five families, two of which are more powerful than the Evans family.”

"Adding one more is nothing. If the enemy is already stronger than us, it doesn't seem like a big deal," the bard interjected.

“That’s the problem,” Sylvia snorted. “It’s not as simple as just adding one more. This Pirnaen family could have been considered our ally, since a lot of the alchemical materials transported down from the surface ended up in their pockets.”

Now they have to be eliminated... Needless to say, this is another test that Rose is putting on the Evans family.

Power or loyalty. Either the Evans family becomes powerful enough to win this battle by pushing their allies to the opposite side, or they must choose between loyalty to the gods and the temptation of profit.

Choosing what to give up is not even a question. The problem is that this deal is incredibly profitable, and even the subterranean dwarfs would be unwilling to give it up, let alone them.

If neither option can be abandoned, then other methods must be adopted, and the intricacies of this matter have been a source of much worry for Sylvia's mother, Lilindra, the matriarch of the Evans family.

“We’ll discuss the specific details when you arrive,” Sylvia’s figure began to rapidly become transparent. “I need to hurry back under the cover of night; the scorching sun is bad for my skin…”

"By the way, when you go there, you should try to persuade that Lion Dahl. According to our spies, many of his men are urging him to abandon us and ally with other families instead. We probably don't have any bargaining chips that would tempt him, and Lilindra doesn't have time to pay attention to this right now, but as the next matriarch of the Evans family, I have to think about this issue."

"You can go and have a talk with him, Lord Leslaufer. Think about it, centuries of elven allies, why not?"

Chapter 485 The Army Sets Off

Making the dark elves allies is a dangerous and audacious idea.

After all, the gods worshipped by these elven subspecies are not benevolent beings. If she were to suddenly decide to act on her whim, the Evans family would inevitably have to choose between allies and gods—and the latter would most likely be the better choice.

That's their foundation.

But Raslaufer agreed anyway, saying he would talk to Dahl when they met again: after all, his chapter's trading partners would be dark elves, and since that was the case, acquaintances were always better than strangers, and he believed Dahl himself could figure this out.

Dieter's party returned a week after Sylvian left. This time, although he had deliberately toned down his entourage, it still had a great impact. So much so that Skadi stopped them before they arrived and only allowed them to continue their journey after confirming that Dieter did not want to start a war with either her territory or her kingdom.

Three thousand mercenaries, five hundred duples, thirty-nine priests, and eleven mages! An army of this size is enough to make a kingdom tremble!

“But unfortunately, only about one-tenth of this can truly be considered the strength of the Strongman family,” Dieter said as he stepped out of his carriage at the village entrance, without any fanfare. “If someone were willing to pay more gold coins, the actual power these mercenaries could unleash would not be any greater than this.”

As mercenaries, these people are more than happy to plunder from both sides while watching both sides of the war go bankrupt trying to win their support—this bidding war is entirely beneficial to mercenaries.

“The highest bidder wins; this principle applies to a wide range of situations,” Raslaufer said, dragging his two-handed greatsword and leading his companions toward Dieter’s group. “You should be glad that this time you’re facing creatures from the underground; they shouldn’t be competing with you for this.”

In other words, these mercenaries must engage in real combat to earn their pay.

“Actually, I think this is the normal ‘logic’,” Dieter shrugged, “but you’re right, this is East Inasas after all.”

You get what you pay for. The high commission brings combat power far superior to that of the Imperial mercenaries, but correspondingly, it also comes with a moral standard far below that of the Imperial mercenaries.

"Have you been in contact with Dahl recently?" Leslaufer didn't continue the topic, but instead asked, "Is that guy's warband waiting for us to get there before settling things up, or has it already started?"

The opposing force was an alliance of five dark elf families. Even when facing the Evans family alone, the Lionda's warband could not gain much advantage, let alone on the underground battlefield.

“It has never stopped,” Dieter nodded. “According to him, there has not been a real head-on conflict yet, so both sides have won and lost, and it is relatively restrained. But this restraint is unsustainable, and our involvement will inevitably escalate the situation completely—hopefully the scales of victory will tip in our favor.”

The spellcasting team of several dozen people was relatively close by. As some mages noticed the conversation, one of the middle-aged men in the lead laughed: "Mr. Dieter, please don't worry! The elven army has never been very large, and the dark elves have lost the protection of Corellon. From the moment we gathered together, their defeat was already destined!"

“Don’t be too careless,” Dieter cautioned. “Remember when I asked you about the dark elves? Almost every one of them is a natural spellcaster, and there are also priests and skilled warriors among them. Moreover, the underworld is their territory.”

"I hope you have prepared appropriate countermeasures."

“You don’t need to worry about that,” a voice said. “However, if Master Yalma were here, perhaps our preparations could be even more complete…”

When Raslaufer heard the sound, he looked over and saw two wheelchairs. The two spellcasters sitting in them were glancing at him with venomous eyes. When they realized they had been noticed, they quickly turned their gaze away.

coward.

Duple sneered. If he weren't unfamiliar with underground battles, he could have easily eliminated them completely. Dieter's relationship with him was more like a partnership than a subordinate one, so there was no need to consider the other's feelings.

“Please calm down,” Dieter said, clearly noticing this as well. He sighed and moved closer to Reslaufer. “We need spellcasters now, and I need them personally as well.”

Although the Strongman family doesn't often reveal their identity to the outside world, the internal power struggles are no less intense than those of any other family. The loss of Master Yalma has already shaken Dieter's position somewhat. If he were to lose these two more mages, he would probably be relegated to double digits—which would be tantamount to being completely stripped of his inheritance rights.

Leslaufer didn't intend to argue with the two cripples any further: "Don't worry, I can still give you face."

After receiving Reslaufer and his men, the army quickly set off again, crossing the eastern and central borders of Inasas and heading towards the Forest of Riha. Since that forest had never been the primary territory of any noble, most forces withdrew their attention after their route was confirmed, with only a few remaining capable enough to keep watch on the periphery and monitor the army's every move.

The chaos in Central Inassus is almost on par with that in the west. As long as this army is not their enemy, there is no need to interfere further.

"Everything is in chaos."

On this day, Dieter's troops rounded a mountain pass, and beyond that lay the Forest of Riha. The pennants of several different warbands fluttered in the air, but they did not advance any further.

In that mountain valley, hundreds of corpses lay scattered on the ground. Only a few of them were wearing armor; most were just civilians—but the conflict here was precisely among them.

"We found several cooking pots, all of them empty," the scout ran back and reported the reconnaissance results. "It looks like two groups of refugees are here, fighting over food."

Such a conflict produces no winners, only the living and the dead. The survivors will be fed, and the rest should be here.

Unless those who survived still don't have enough food.

“I heard that the monasteries and churches here can’t even accommodate one person, and the priests themselves are going hungry,” a priest said, looking at the flail he was carrying. “War, but this is the will of Oak Valley. Only through conflict can civilization continue to move forward.”

"Can you identify where they're from?" Dieter asked. "Tell the supply team behind to spread out and see if they can send the identifiable bodies back to their hometowns. That's probably all we can do."

Chapter 486 Doubt Born from Intuition

This was no easy task either, but the mercenaries were full of hidden talents, and they managed to identify about 30% of the corpses in the ravine. Several small teams carrying carts quickly broke off from the supply convoy behind the more than 3,000 soldiers, and they were responsible for helping them return to their homeland.

As for the rest... flames soon shot into the sky from the mountain valley, and the priests chanted prayers, sending off these poor souls who were stranded in the mortal world on their final journey, praying that their souls would soon return to the divine kingdom.

“At least we got there before some necromancers,” a warlock observed the scene. “They love this kind of chaotic situation.”

“That’s right, free experimental material,” another mage chimed in. “I’ve heard that in the area further south along the Moser River, many necromancers have already been recruited, and they’re living a very comfortable life.”

Moser River?

Upon hearing the name of a place she had visited before, Angelita's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly asked, "What happened over there? Is there a war there too?"

"What else could it be?" The mage shrugged, glancing at Angrita who had interrupted. "You don't look like someone from around here. You're from the south?"

“Yes,” Angelita didn’t deny it; her face wasn’t easy to hide. “But as far as I know, the war over there just ended not long ago—”

“One thing at a time. I know which one you’re referring to—the time when Earl Moser reclaimed his family’s property, or their previous war with the West. But that’s all in the past. Now they’re at war with their own king.”

“‘Traitor’ Felix,” Dieter said with a sigh as he overheard the conversation. “A cousin of mine who ranked ahead of me made a lot of money supplying weapons and equipment to that king. But Felix is ​​really tough. Anyone else would probably have given up long ago.”

"More than just able to carry?" Dubler, carrying a greatsword, grinned. "I just came back from there a few days ago. You wouldn't believe it, but they even breached the Moser River in their attempt to overthrow the king! The sight was... oh my god!"

Although he described it vividly, as a mercenary, it's unlikely he actually witnessed it firsthand; he was more likely to have seen the scene after the Moser River flooded.

“In this way, even if their rebellion fails, the king will still lose a large amount of fertile land,” Dieter shook his head. “If they hadn’t been pushed so hard, that ‘traitor’ probably wouldn’t have gone to such lengths.”

Traits such as incompetence, cruelty, and paranoia often tend to be concentrated in a particular ruler. The most effective way to remove them is often to eliminate the person who embodies them. However, the success rate of such actions is not high. Felix was able to do this to such an extent that even if he did not succeed in the end, it was enough to earn the admiration of those who had never met him before.

Unfortunately, the last name that is remembered will be preceded by the word "traitor".

Leslaufer was silent for a moment: "I've met that man, and he knows what he's doing."

Of course, it wasn't just a matter of "seeing" each other; Raslaufer and his companions played a significant role in Felix's first rebellion.

But this time, Sir Felix's side probably won't have any helpers like Raslaw.

"Did you anticipate this situation?"

This "irrelevant" topic quickly came to an end, but within the group, a certain bard began to silently question the devil in his heart.

"Those songs I sang for him before...were you hinting at something back then?"

For most people, this wouldn't be an easy connection to make, but Daisy trusted her intuition, and more importantly, she believed that these devils were definitely not benevolent by nature!

“Oh, Daisy, those words really hurt me,” Zhengling’s voice quickly responded. “Isn’t this what you wanted to see? Or did you hope that he would have been driven to the brink of despair by an earl? I may not have meant well, but I certainly did a good thing!”

"As for why he was not content with being a count in one place, but instead rebelled against his own king... who knows, ha."

Daisy had an unusually cold expression, but no one else noticed: "You're starting to get annoying, Zhengling."

"Perhaps this is the devil, otherwise what do you think I am?" The devil's laughter was still so melodious, but it was mixed with a harsh mockery. "But don't worry, Miss Daisy, that's an outsider. I still know very well how to distinguish between close and distant relatives."

"To be honest, I didn't expect you to be so sentimental. How much interaction do you have with that guy? I've always been by your side."

The bard didn't answer immediately. After a moment, she slowly reconnected with her soul: "Perhaps you've become less sentimental, Zhengling. What do you think of this hypothesis?"

“You said you chose me as your starting point because we have some similarities; at least we are both art students. But now, I think you might be switching to STEM fields.”

"...an interesting hypothesis."

The devil's response was much slower this time: "But I have to say, you're overthinking it. This idea started a long time ago. Remember what I said back then? When the flames are lit, they will see all sorts of wonderful illusions, and if they don't want to lose them, they need to keep lighting the flames."

“It’s all part of the plan, Daisy. You shouldn’t doubt me about this.”

The poet, holding the matte, seemed to unconsciously stroke the strings: "I don't doubt you, Zhengling."

"So you are..."

The flames of the fourth level of purgatory seemed to never go out, but on the stage of that theater, a demon raised her hand and stroked the two horns on her forehead, interrupting her performance and causing the audience to put down their quills and look up at her.

"What are you thinking?"

“I don’t know, mistress,” the devil named Zheng Ling smiled, following muscle memory, but then fell into confusion again. “It just suddenly came to mind.”

“How will I know what you’re thinking if you don’t tell me?” A trembling sound came from the devil’s nose. “Tell me, I’m very interested to hear it.”

She already knew. Zhengling felt her soul tremble. She belonged to her, and as her master, the other party could certainly sense any of her thoughts—but she wanted to hear her say it herself.

“Master, please tell me, I…” Zheng Ling struggled and trembled. She felt as if there were two different phantoms in front of her, one of which was herself, and the other… was also herself.

Do I look more like the devil?

A smile crept across Philna's lips: "Of course, darling, you're getting closer and closer."

"All that's missing is a soul of equal value to yours."

Chapter 487 The Enemy Underground

"Reslaufer! It seems our savior has arrived!"

On the outskirts of Riha Forest, Raslaufer and the others finally met Dahl.

After several months apart, Dahl didn't look much different from before, and beside him was Erwin, who looked like he had shed some of his "childishness".

The battlefield is a place where people mature quickly, and in Dubler's eyes, this young man had become somewhat different from before.

“Dal,” Leslaufer stepped forward, completely ignoring Dieter’s gaze, and gave Daal a tight hug, “I heard you were fighting with those elves underground. I thought you would rush up there too.”

“It’s ‘charging down’,” the old lion laughed heartily. “Do you really have to make me keep emphasizing my age? I’m not ready to go into my coffin yet!”

"Besides, it's pitch black down here, I can't even see my own fingers, so my eyes are really not good enough to lead the battle."

"But at least, it works very well on the ground."

A light, melodious voice approached from afar as Lillendra, the matriarch of the Evans family, swayed her hips as she walked over, her hands on her hips, a coiled, highly poisonous whip tucked into her hand.

Elves are already more beautiful than most other races, and the dark elves' unique skin color adds to their mystery. As soon as Lilindra appeared, the mercenaries behind Dieter were thrown into chaos, with whistles and other noises coming one after another.

Among them were even female mercenaries.

"Is this your reinforcement?" Madam Evans glanced at them with some disdain, which only fueled another round of celebration among the mercenaries. "I'm starting to worry that they might defect to the enemy."

“Then we can kill them all at once,” Leslaufer nodded at the other party, implying something, “Anyway, adding more of them won’t make a difference.”

Sylvia had already informed them that she was also planning to eliminate a group of "allies."

“Don’t worry about that. Between the gold coins they can get and the woman they can’t have, I think they know how to choose,” Dahl snorted, seemingly unsurprised by this. “Lilindra, you can move a little closer and let them see the skull hanging on your waist. They’ll know to behave themselves.”

Without knowing the truth, poisoned wine can easily be mistaken for fine brew, but once the truth is revealed, very few would still be willing to drink it. Sure enough, as Lilindra and the other dark elves used the guise of "transfer" to make contact with the mercenaries from Eastern Inathas, when the leaders gathered again, the distant commotion had become so faint as to be almost inaudible.

“Here is the map below,” Lilindra said, pointing to a city-shaped marker as a scroll made of some kind of creature’s leather was unfurled among them. “Alagi’Belbol, which can be translated as ‘Gift of Vengeance’ in Inatharthian, is the vital passage between the underground and the surface. As you can see, if you try to take a detour from other places, you will have to pass through the territory of underground gnomes or fungus people, or other monsters.”

"It might be suitable as a marching route, but not as a trade route," Dahl added. "But right now, this 'city of Agibor' doesn't welcome us, or rather, it doesn't welcome us to eat meat; they can only lick the plates clean."

“It’s Alagi’Belbol,” Lillendra glared at Dahl, but the old mercenary couldn’t quite get the words out of his mouth. “Our enemies are a hastily put-together alliance of five families. Three of them are relatively easy to deal with; I’m too lazy to even introduce their family names. But the other two require our utmost care: one is the Lar Embas family, and the other is the Mara family.”

"The name Larembas means 'third' in our race's language. This family was the third and weakest when the city was first established, but now they are the only family in the city that witnessed its founding. They live up to Rose's will, are very ambitious, and are vengeful."

The matriarch occasionally used sign language to supplement her speech, which was also the native language of the dark elves, but none of the "surface people" present could understand it: "Eight out of ten times, they have robbed our goods. Not only that, but some of Dahl's mercenaries and members of my family have also been captured. Some have been executed, and others have been enslaved. This is blatant provocation, and there is no room for negotiation with them."

“Either give up, or hand over the lion’s share of the profits, or settle the score,” Dahl agreed, glancing at Raslaufer. “You don’t need to worry about the possibility of a reconciliation.”

"Have you tried... other methods?" Dieter pondered for a moment and asked, "I wonder if the mistress has heard of Ironforge? There, they usually use some more subtle methods to resolve disputes."

"Theoretically it's possible, but practically it's not."

“Spies, assassins, poison, I know what you’re thinking, but neither the Lar Embas family, the first family, nor the Mara family, the second, are easy to deal with,” she pointed to her crimson eyes. “The Evans family received the Rose Blessing, which is different from other families. It allows us to move more easily on the surface, but it also makes us an outcast underground, almost unable to infiltrate other families.”

The goddess's "grace" cannot be concealed so easily, especially since the people on the other side are all believers of the goddess Rose.