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

“We are here to guide you on behalf of Lord Duncan,” the two mercenaries exchanged a glance, then stepped forward and addressed Reslaufer, “These two couldn’t find anyone here and wanted to know which job you had taken on, but the Forest of Reha is just too far away, so we had no choice but to stay here until you return and report back. And in the meantime…”

“I’ve cleaned the whole house for you and found some pear wine that was almost over-brewed,” the dwarf’s beard twitched as if he were laughing. “Don’t mention it, little girl. If that wine were around today, you’d spit it out after just one sip.”

"I left it with the tavern owner; you can pick it up anytime—but I couldn't resist drinking half of it, haha."

"Uh... thank you?" Angelita put down the empty bottle, raising one eyebrow uncertainly. "Excuse me, what brings you here?"

“Oh, look at my memory,” the dwarf lifted the hem of his left chainmail, revealing a warhammer with its head carved into the shape of an owl’s head. “I am Osk Halfhill, von Dahl’s… well, nephew. He’s the one who asked me to come and take a look. He said this warhammer would be enough to prove my identity.”

“Of course, of course,” everyone, including Angelita, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the Owl Bear Head Warhammer. “How is Vondar now? We haven’t heard from him at all. We were just planning to go see him not long ago.”

“Fondal appreciates your kindness, but we’ll have to postpone this for now,” Osk chuckled heartily. “The Half-Hill Clan is currently… not in a position to receive guests. This is a tradition of almost all dwarven clans, and I hope you can understand. Once he has settled all the ‘trivial matters,’ he will surely send me to visit again with an invitation.”

"But this time, I brought something else—would it be convenient to go to the tavern? I've left all my things there."

Chapter 544 Tailor-made

“We were just out for a walk today. We heard that you had previously repelled a group of bandits and even buried them, so we stopped by to take a look. We ended up finding you on our way back.”

For dwarves, the only difference between a tavern and home is that they are pronounced differently. Although he is a stranger from the East Sea, once he steps into the tavern, Osk feels more like the host.

“Ever since Uncle Vondar went back, he’s been telling us all about his experiences, and you guys are frequent characters in those stories,” the dwarf said as he went into his room and came out a moment later dragging a large bundle. “Some time ago, he tried to forge a batch of weapons and armor using some new technique. Although it wasn’t very successful, it was still quite an achievement. And what happened? He neither sent them to the ancestral path, nor distributed them to other members of his tribe, nor even sealed them away.”

"They're all here."

"this--"

As the bundle was opened, Raslaufer and the others were all speechless. Inside were not only the armor and weapons that Vondar knew they used, but also all sorts of other equipment. It was practically everything that could be used!

“Carrying this thing took a lot of effort for me and my horse,” Oske said, pointing to the pile of stuff that covered the floor. “Now it’s your problem. Take it all. Use it yourself, sell it, or even melt it down. It’s not my business. This is von Dahl’s work. He gave it to you, so you have complete control over it.”

“Uncle Vondar…” Angelita was at a loss for words. “How much time did he spend? Why did he think of having you deliver it?”

“He calculated the time and said that at the rate at which you consume your equipment, those cheap, standard-issue items have probably been replaced several times over,” Osk scoffed, his gaze falling on Angrita’s leather armor, which was clearly made by dwarves and was now so damaged that it didn’t even need repair. “But don’t be too moved. Forging is part of the dwarves’ life, and he didn’t mean to make these things specifically for you.”

That's not necessarily true...

Raslaufer's gaze was quickly drawn to some of the armor pieces on the ground. They were jet black, gleaming with a menacing metallic sheen. If these pieces were assembled, Raslaufer would be all too familiar with every protrusion and horn on them.

The only difference was that it was no longer a half-body armor, but a full-body plate armor. Reslaufer saw two matching boots and leg guards.

The one who had lost his spear, Dubul, never dreamed that the armor he wore in the City of Broken Jars, which had been almost melted by the demon's magic, would reappear before him in a different form. And not far from the helmet, on the other side, he saw another flame-shaped greatsword. He rushed forward and grabbed it, but as he swung it, its weight was only slightly lighter!

Feng Dahl even considered the increase in his power after the collapse of the city!

Meanwhile, Mary found a swift sword among them, while Angelita immediately spotted a silver-white breastplate—the one given to her by Leslaufer.

The reason for this certainty is not complicated—because the scales symbol of the Matter royal family is engraved on the front of the breastplate.

“Oh, little girl, you’ve taken a fancy to this ‘Balanced Breastplate’?” Oske looked at Angelita, who had walked up to the breastplate, with some surprise. “It comes with these accessories… but I don’t recommend you use them; they’re not meant for you.”

Osk remembered this breastplate; he had seen it intact. It was the last piece of equipment Fondar forged: "Look here, he forged these arm guards rather carelessly. I think the flashy but impractical craftsmanship of the Elven Sprouts influenced him, which is why he turned perfectly good arm guards into this wing-like shape at the ends. You can use them as decorations, or sell them to someone for their collection, but don't actually wear them..."

Angrita did not heed Osk's advice. She first put on the main body of the armor, and the enchanted armor quickly began to fit her body shape. As she then began to arm herself with the other parts, Osk's eyes widened in disbelief.

As Angelita finished dressing, a turquoise sword flashed behind the scale pattern on her chest, and the wings extending from her elbows on her arm armor seemed to come alive, becoming like real feathers!

“This, this is…” Oske stared at the armor in astonishment. He was absolutely certain that it had never changed like this before.

Then there's only one possibility: all of this was custom-made for this young girl! This Balanced Breastplate was a gift from Vondar to her!

“Featherfall, Great Stride…” Osk strode over to Angelita’s side, examining the changes in the breastplate after she put it on. “Incredible! What is this? He even prepared a shield spell that can be triggered on its own?! This alone could be made into a magical item on its own!”

"He actually sewed so many things onto this one suit of armor!"

“And this…” He then noticed new patterns, attached to the arm armor he had previously considered a flaw. After Angelita put it on, faint blue magical patterns flowed across the girl's entire arm. “Magic missiles? He even equipped them with offensive magic? This is utterly absurd! Why would he want to—”

“Because this is for me, I guess?” Angelita looked at the dwarf, a slight smile playing on her lips. “Yes, without a doubt. Uncle Vondar gave it to me.”

Osk opened his mouth, and after a long while, he slowly spoke: "...He has never forged such equipment for the clan, never."

“Perhaps it’s because he’s been in the Empire for a long time lately,” Raslaufer patted him on the shoulder, reassuring him. “He’s a member of the Half-Hill Clan, how could he not leave something for the clan? That would be very un-dwarf-like.”

"Perhaps this is his new achievement. In a few days, this technique will spread throughout your clan."

Oske Banchou sighed: "I hope so, but to be honest, I... don't have much hope. As for him... never mind."

"Why do you only say half of what you mean?" Daisy said impatiently. "Even without these gifts, we would still do what we should. Is Old Feng in some kind of trouble? Aren't you his nephew? Tell us! We can definitely help!"

“No, I won’t tell you. This is an internal clan matter,” Oske’s expression suddenly turned serious, much to everyone’s surprise. “If he truly considers you friends, and vice versa, then I will be even less likely to tell you. At the same time, I must warn you not to get involved.”

"The biggest help you can give is to pray for his success, it's that simple—interfering with outsiders will only mess everything up!"

Chapter 545 Guests depart, guests arrive

When he first met von Dahl, Raslaufer mentioned to him another dwarf clan in the East Sea, the Zakot clan. In the East Sea dwarf language, Zakot means stubborn, and the dwarves of that clan truly lived up to their name.

However, this trait does not apply to any particular clan as well as to other races besides dwarves; in fact, the vast majority of dwarves are like this.

Therefore, if a dwarf repeatedly emphasizes not to do something, the best approach is to listen to his advice.

“I can assure you that von Dahl is perfectly fine right now. He just needs… ha.”

At dinner time, Osk tilted his head back and downed his glass of wine in one gulp: "Oh, this damn sweet and sour! Pear wine, is it? When Vondar has some free time, you won't even need to ask; I'll convince him to invite you. Other dwarves might not like it, but I certainly love this fruit wine!"

"As for von Dahl... yes, he just needs to focus... you know, he's a superb craftsman, and he needs to... prove himself further."

“Going a step further?” Leslaufer put down his glass. “It can’t be a challenge to find the Forge City, can it? That’s probably the only thing he’s not quite there yet.”

But how long would that take? The dwarves haven't found it in centuries, and Von Dahl is getting old; he might never achieve his goal in his lifetime.

“Very close, but that’s not in a rush,” Oske shook his head. “The Forge City… Ancestor, not to be pessimistic, but my generation is starting to feel like giving up—so many masters couldn’t do it! The earliest ones even had skills they brought from the Forge City, but they couldn’t find their way back. What can we do?”

“But that’s not what von Dahl has to do. No. He has to prove himself to the clan. He’s been gone for so long, and a lot of things have changed. He has to prove that he still belongs to the clan.”

“Uh, what if he can’t prove it?” Daisy quickly pressed. “In the end, how exactly is this proven? If you doubt him, then Old Feng will probably never be able to clear his name for the rest of his life.”

“That’s your way of thinking,” Oske waved his hand dismissively. “We have more objective standards, and preconceived notions are useless… or at least not entirely useful.”

"But precisely because of this, if he fails to prove it, the punishment will be very severe—at least for dwarves."

"Those who strip away their names."

Raslaufer refilled Oske's glass. Although Angrita was not easy to make, the young woman would be happy to use it to get this von Dahl's nephew to loosen his grip.

“Ha, you know,” the dwarf didn’t seem too worried about Von Dahl, “that’s it! Strip away your name and surname, and become nothing. And the most important thing is: the nameless one cannot embark on the journey to find the Forge City.”

"Because those who strip others of their titles are nothing?"

“Nothing at all, that’s right. No surname, no given name, no matter how great your skills are, they’re useless,” Oske said slowly and seriously. “Even for the most degenerate craftsman, this is a rather severe punishment.”

The bard nodded upon hearing this: "Not doing something and not being allowed to do it are two different things, right? So, Old Feng... he should be able to pass this test, right?"

“Judging from the armor he gave this little girl, I’m sure he has the ability—I was a little worried at first,” the dwarf said, his gaze falling on Angelita. “But I don’t understand, it seems that making these for you is more important to him. Either he has more confidence, or he should have a good chance of passing the test even with this balanced breastplate.”

"I can't figure it out, I really can't figure it out."

Osk shook his head seriously. He didn't really have much of an impression of Vondar. Vondar had left the clan when he was young and had only recently returned. Apart from the vague childhood memories that made them relatively close, there wasn't much else about this elder.

Reislaufer and the others at least didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble for von Dahl, and given his nephew's confidence in him, they were somewhat relieved for the time being. After handing over everything, Oske didn't linger. Early the next morning, the incredibly heavy drinker gathered three others, and he leisurely rode off on his pony.

The villagers expressed their deep regret at their departure, saying that without these outsiders, their lives would inevitably return to their previous mundane and uneventful state.

Until autumn in East Inasas, when they were too busy with the harvest to care about these things.

For Raslaufer and his companions, who had no fields or crops to tend, their lives were obviously not like those of the farmers. But this autumn was different. The arrival of a letter meant that they had to say goodbye to their brief period of peace once again.

"Lord Reslaufer, Lord Reslaufer!"

Temperatures in Eastern Inas always warm up more slowly than in the south, but cool down earlier. It was only late September, and the leaves near the village were already changing color. Birds that hadn't yet molted were facing their most difficult time—their brightly colored plumage made them stand out starkly among the branches. With the calls of people coming from the village entrance, these already exposed creatures seized the opportunity to take flight, soaring into the yellowing sky.

The messenger was dressed in a light, thick cloth robe, and a white feather was stuck diagonally on the side of the soft hat covering his head, indicating that he was a messenger. However, today the messenger did not bring his satchel, after all, this letter must not be mixed with other "unimportant" letters.

The gate creaked open, and a girl with flaxen hair hurriedly bent down, trying to catch the chickens and ducks that had taken the opportunity to "escape" back. However, her movements were not very agile, and she was unable to stop even two chicks.

"This is what they call being powerless to even kill a chicken..." she muttered helplessly, then sighed, seemingly giving up on trying to catch them.

The messenger rushed forward and, in a few steps, solved the problem for her. He easily picked up the two furry little creatures in the same hand and handed them back to the woman.

"Miss, please let me..."

Although the girl before him looked worse than even the clumsiest peasant woman, the messenger dared not show her any disrespect and bowed respectfully. Before arriving, he had been informed of every member he might encounter in this courtyard. If he remembered correctly, this was a powerful mage who had twice helped the lord defeat his enemies; she was arguably the second most dangerous person to provoke, second only to the infamous Dubul.

"Thank you, you're so kind," the female mage who had once "overwhelmed the enemy with a sea of ​​fire" blinked and stepped aside to make way for the doorway. "Please come in, and please throw them in as many as you can. The naughtiest ones are 'Great Failure' and '1d4,' I shouldn't have named them that in the first place."

"Was that you looking for Lao Lei outside just now? Well, you've come at the right time. If you had come another day, this guy would have been restless again."

Chapter 546 The King's Hunt

Raslaufer was indeed getting restless; in fact, he was planning to leave the next day. When the messenger followed Daisy into the house, he saw Raslaufer sitting at the table, with fifteen or sixteen letters from different warbands casually placed on it. Two or three of them had been opened, but most were untouched.

"A messenger?" Dople glanced at Daisy and the messenger. "Just throw him anywhere. I've already arranged a place for him. I'll leave tomorrow."

With the return of Dieter's mercenaries from the Forest of Riha, the name of Raslaufer became more widely known than in the previous years combined, and the rumors grew increasingly exaggerated. At least half of the unopened letters on Raslaufer's desk began with "Demon Eater".

That old bastard Dahl actually spread his joking nickname far and wide!

Raslaufer rejected all those who gave him this title, and that was precisely why he joined the warband: his opponents had also sent Raslaufer an invitation, and it started with this damned nickname.

Leslaufer couldn't wait to punch that bastard in the face.

“But Your Excellency,” the messenger paused for a moment, then quickly said, “I think you will definitely read this letter. The Earl said you must see it, otherwise I won’t be able to return!”

“Nonsense,” Leslaufer frowned immediately. “What earl would dare say such a thing? Even the king—”

“Count Dole, Your Excellency.”

"...Bring it here."

Some people, no matter how much gold coins you offer, would be a waste of time to even meet them, but others, even just their names, deserve your attention. Upon hearing that the letter was from Skadi, Leslaufer simply stood up, took two steps forward, and snatched the letter from the messenger's hand.

“Master, I’ve heard about your heroic deeds in the Forest of Riha, and of course, the title of ‘Demon Eater’…”

As soon as he saw the beginning, Leslaufer's wrist twitched, and then he let out a heavy sigh.

"...I imagine you were very satisfied with that trip, so much so that I haven't heard from you for several months. I imagine you must be quite unhappy about that situation, right? Well, I happen to have an opportunity that might offer you a change of pace..."

“Our new King, Henning V, is preparing to revive the long-abandoned ‘hunting’ system,” three days later, Raslaufer and several of his companions were already seated on either side of the long table, listening to Skadi explain the reason for the invitation. “Regarding the ‘hunting’ system, perhaps you and Anne are not very familiar with it, but it is actually a traditional activity in Eastern Inassassins, and it is practiced in all the kingdoms. The hunting is divided into two rounds, spring and autumn, with no fixed time. It is organized by the kings and is a large-scale hunt in areas within their territory that have been severely attacked by monsters or wild beasts.”

"Many years ago, the late King Erich abolished this system on the grounds of old age and inconvenience, and each territory could only deal with the beast problem on its own. But now the new king has ascended the throne and is in his prime, so not long ago all of us lords received a decree to prepare for the first hunt in two weeks to sweep away the previous lingering poison."

“It’s less of a hunt and more of an attempt to establish authority,” Angelita chuckled. “He’s finally settled his internal strife and has some free time now.”

A victory in suppressing a rebellion cannot be called establishing authority; that is merely paying the price for one's own or one's predecessor's mistakes. In contrast, this is a truly reassuring event that can put all the lords who have doubts or are restless at heart.

“Indeed,” Skadi nodded. “Generally speaking, these activities are participated in by the lords and their knights and squires. The nobles who reap the rewards will receive gifts and fame, while the squires will have the opportunity to be promoted to knights—of course, this opportunity is usually not open to the public, but it is still an opportunity.”

"But this time, the king invited many 'outsiders' as well, including wealthy merchants, warband leaders and even foreign lords. No one knows the reason for this change yet. Perhaps it's because his treasury is almost empty, or perhaps he needs to appease his neighbors. In any case, after discussing it with several other lords, we all think that we also need to make some changes. The knights and squires in our respective territories are no longer able to adapt to the changes."

"Your king isn't planning to invite trouble and use this opportunity to kill all his lords, is he?"

A knowledgeable and outspoken bard always brings a bit of "surprise." As soon as he said this, not only did the knights and nobles sitting next to him gasp, but even Skadi's eyes changed for a moment.

“Don’t be offended, I’ve just heard similar stories,” Daisy quickly added, realizing her slip of the tongue. “He’s not necessarily that bad… right?”

“…We have considered this possibility,” Skuld did not deny it, which surprised everyone even more. “But we have other considerations as well.”

"For example, if our Majesty hasn't lost his mind and only wants to show the outside world the strength of the Kingdom of Wenzel, compared to those wealthy merchants and members raised by the warbands, we don't have much of an advantage except for equipment. And if the top few in the hunt are taken by outsiders, not only will everyone lose face, but such a weakness will also easily attract unnecessary covetousness—which will not benefit anyone in the end."

“I understand,” Dobler said, standing up after hearing her finish speaking. “So you want us to step in and make things right? I’ll take the job.”

Although it may sound like just hunting, as a local, Leslaufer knew very well that these hunts were not aimed at ordinary wild beasts like wild boars and jackals, but at ferocious enemies that knights and even counts from all over the country would find difficult to deal with.

Goblins, trolls, owl-bears, dragon-snakes, gray sac-beasts… all sorts of creatures are on the list. Which ones are hunted doesn't depend on what the hunters want to hunt, but rather on which of these monsters is destroying territory. And in such hunts, the one who delivers the final blow often reaps both fame and fortune—no mercenary can refuse such an opportunity; they've simply been barred from participating before.

Now that Henning has set a precedent, it's easy to imagine that many will follow suit, including many skilled individuals who are not satisfied for various reasons. Therefore, Skadi and the others' concerns are indeed reasonable.

Therefore, when Skadi found them, she was definitely looking for the right people.

Where should this hunt be held?

“Grand Baron Scott,” Skottie beckoned for a map to be laid out, pointing to the intersection of a wasteland and a forest swamp, “Since the suppression of the rebellion, this land has been directly taken over by Henning. Whether he intends to continue owning this land or take the opportunity to bestow it upon someone, he must first solve the problem of monsters roaming here.”

Chapter 547 King Henning

As a territory, the Scott Grand Baron's domain is actually not very impressive. Apart from two villages and a brewery, it is crammed into a corner of the territory map, and the Scott family's former profits from the territory have come to an end there.

However, their family has remained exceptionally prosperous over the past few decades because the unfortunate Baron Scott, as a former favorite of King Ehrlich, had many of the kingdom's resources "illegally" flow into his family's hands.

In fact, one could argue that the entire Grand Baron Scott was part of this reward, so the exact proportions of good and bad were not really that important. The Scott family had never truly valued this place—until His Majesty Henning labeled them traitors and regicides.