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

Bella transformed into a giant owl, flew forward for several hundred meters, then turned back, her expression not very good: "And even if someone is really that stupid, it's unlikely that they could be stupid three, four, five, six, seven, or eight times in a row."

"What do you mean..."

The group rushed forward and then understood what Bella meant: looking ahead, almost every few dozen meters there was a triggered trap, a pit, a net, or a cage, each one stained with blood and with corpses lying in them.

These traps are cleverly and mercilessly set, clearly indicating that the designer did not intend for their prey to leave alive. Judging from the horrific scene here, this person has indeed achieved their goal.

"It was triggered by magic, no wonder."

Bella scouted ahead to make sure there were no more hidden traps, while Daisy followed closely behind. After checking about half of the traps, they finally found the problem. She stood next to one of the already triggered traps and began to pluck the strings of her instrument. Streams of translucent silk danced up from the ground to the music, one end of each swaying in the air like a venomous snake.

“Look, these are the things. They’ve laid out a huge net on the ground,” Daisy said. “And they’re covered with a veil, so even a real mage probably wouldn’t be able to see through it. And whenever these traps are triggered, the magical threads attached to them break off, severing their connection to the entire net, making them impossible to track or check.”

If they hadn't been triggered so many times, not only she, but even Zheng Ling wouldn't have been able to see through the intricacies. It seemed that Louise and Count Katina had been blinded by those two monsters and had stumbled into such a meticulously set trap.

But... how did the two-headed tiger and the petrified lizard manage to evade them? They even had the strength to ambush them!

Chapter 561 The Goblins of Scott Territory

Bella stopped in her tracks. Ahead, there were still a few scattered, triggered traps, but their density was much lower than before. Even she dared not move forward easily.

But if you just want to move forward, there are still ways.

“Look here,” she said, pointing the tip of her stick at the ground ahead. Huge claw marks were deeply embedded in the soil, marks that could not have been left by a human or a hunting horse. “Perhaps we can follow the path they trod.”

At least judging from the vicinity of those already triggered traps, these claw marks indicate that the traps were carefully avoided.

“Let’s go, let’s follow this path.” Leslaufer agreed with Bella’s opinion and followed closely behind the druid, becoming the second to wade along the footprints. The soil beneath their feet had been compacted by the two monsters and the people who had walked up the path, and indeed, no traps would be activated when they were underfoot.

There might be an unfriendly spellcaster here, but they're not too worried, because coincidentally, their goodwill is also very limited.

As for the other party, could they possibly be stronger than that witch Nightingale?

They walked slowly along the treacherous path. Night soon fell again, and just to be safe, Daisy cast a light spell, but it was a dim blue light that only illuminated a small patch of ground ahead. Bella, meanwhile, transformed again, using her animalistic vision to observe the surroundings further away.

In such a dim environment, the three people behind, who were only focused on walking with their heads down, soon bumped into each other. Angelita even smashed her face directly into the back of Leslaufer, who suddenly stopped.

“Uncle…” Angelita looked up in confusion, only to see that it wasn’t Leslaufer who stopped on his own initiative, but rather Bella in her giant owl form who stopped first.

In the dim light, all they could see was the druid turning her flexible neck to a wide angle, staring intently in one direction. The next moment, accompanied by a high-pitched, piercing scream, she suddenly spread her wings and took off, swooping down in that direction!

The light spell on Daisy's harp immediately brightened, and only then could everyone see Daisy's target clearly—a gray-skinned, pointed-eared creature that was only about a meter tall. The creature was so frightened by the sudden appearance of the giant owl and the light that it was almost bulging out of its head.

And at its feet lay a pile of trap parts that were not yet fully assembled!

"Goblins?!"

The appearance of this little creature was truly unexpected, but their actions were even faster than their thoughts. Before the goblin could scream and run away, Angelita had already unleashed an extremely cold blast of air from her hand, striking the goblin's feet with pinpoint accuracy. At the same time, Bella extended her sharp claws, easily grabbing the goblin's shoulder and picking it up like a field mouse. She then flapped her wings and flew back, dropping it on the ground in front of Leslaufer.

Her claws loosened for only a moment. The goblin had just rolled over and hadn't even had time to stand up when she kicked him down again, her sharp claws landing squarely on his chest.

"Answer whatever you're asked!" Daisy, hidden behind the hill-like Reslaufer, spoke in goblin language. "If you don't cooperate, you die here!"

The goblin's open mouth froze for a moment, clearly not expecting anyone to understand goblin language. After realizing what was happening, he quickly nodded in agreement.

"Absolutely! You ask, I answer—please, please don't kill me!"

The group couldn't help but exchange glances: the goblin wasn't speaking Goblin, but rather Eastern Inathas, though it was mixed with other accents, making it sound rather strange.

"What's your name?" Since he could speak "human language," things would be much easier, so Raslaufer immediately asked.

"Hiss... Slo?" The little goblin looked fearfully at the man who could block out most of his vision, his two pointed ears pressed tightly against his head, the tips pointing backward. "But they also call me a stumbling block..."

“Alright, Slo,” Leslaufer snorted, “what are you doing here? Who told you to do this?”

"Uh, I'm setting traps for hunting!" Slo, the stumbling block, quickly said. "The foreman made me do it. Slo doesn't like doing this, but there's no other way; someone has to do the work the master assigns..."

He sighed resignedly, letting out a muffled sound: "If only those people had been as careful as you guys, they wouldn't have stepped on the traps. If the traps don't break, they won't break, and Slo wouldn't have needed to fix them..."

As for why the traps should be set up if they are not triggered, and what he would eat if they were, it's hard for a goblin's tiny brain to hold so many things.

"Foreman?" The group exchanged glances, and Mary asked, "You mean the 'boss'?"

“Oh, no, no, it’s the foreman, that’s what the master told us to call him,” Slo quickly denied. “He said our culture and system were too stupid, and everything had to be done according to his rules. The previous leader disagreed and was roasted to a crisp by him.”

"But...sigh, but actually nothing has changed..."

He still has to come out in the middle of the night to repair the traps, and then he gets caught again.

"What exactly is your master? He enslaves a whole bunch of goblins?" Leslaufer gestured for Bella to loosen her grip a little, to give the little thing a chance to catch its breath. Anyway, he was here, so he wasn't worried that the little thing might have any wicked ideas. "A big goblin? A bear goblin?"

Perhaps he should have brought wild animals, but this was, after all, a royal hunt, and that fellow was even less presentable than him.

Slo scrambled to his feet, but after searching for an escape route, he gave up: "No, that's not it. Master is a guy about our height. The priests said their race is called halflings. He's a powerful mage! Even ten of our priests couldn't defeat him!"

He gestured wildly, until suddenly he remembered something: "Oh right! My master is a powerful mage! Release his servants, or he will surely destroy you!"

This statement, less of a threat and more of a way to embolden himself, made Reslaufer laugh. He picked up the man with one hand and lifted him up to his chest.

“That’s great, Slo. Could you please show us the way? We’d like to see your master, especially me.”

"I really want to know what it feels like to be destroyed."

Chapter 562 A Door, Two Worlds

"This is it, this is the place."

A moment later, Sloan cautiously led the group through a maze of turns to the entrance of a tunnel that required them to crouch and curl up to enter. There were no traps around this very well hidden cave.

“This is the entrance we use ourselves…” Seeing Leslaufer turn to look at him, the little goblin quickly covered his head, looking like he’d been bullied a lot. “There are lots and lots of guards at the gate, and I’ll get yelled at if I get stopped…”

"So we won't be able to get in from here?"

“Only I and a few others who frequently come out to repair traps need it. This way, we don’t have to take a long detour and can travel more than half the distance,” Slo added cautiously after a pause. “Our master doesn’t know about this place.”

Angelita measured the entrance to the cave. Even goblins would have a hard time getting through, let alone normal humans. But perhaps that was precisely why even halflings couldn't notice its presence.

"Very good, are there any more traps inside?"

“No, it goes straight to our nest... I mean, ‘dormitory’,” which was clearly a term the halfling had taught them.

This is quite typical of goblins: a shortcut that can be used to be lazy and convenient is ultimately left to them, the "visitors." Other races would most likely not do such a thing, perhaps because their masters, even slave owners, do not employ the same harsh layers of exploitation and oppression as the goblins.

However, this situation will soon end.

“What should we do with you?” Leslaufer crouched down to crawl into the hole, but then suddenly stepped back, observing Slo’s reaction as he spoke. “Perhaps I should kill you to prevent future trouble? After all, you’re a goblin.”

"Please don't do this, I beg you!" The goblin was so frightened that he hurriedly knelt on the ground. "But this is not what you agreed on!"

“It is indeed different, but I’m not entirely at ease with you because you’re a goblin.”

Slo's face showed only panic and fear, as well as an empty sense of helplessness. Raslaufer was almost certain that this goblin didn't have as many tricks up his sleeve as a wild beast; he just wanted to survive.

"Then, what should I do?" At this moment, the little thing pitifully raised its head on the ground, and a series of watery sounds came from its large, flat nose.

"If you agree, how about enduring a little more hardship?"

Several large leaves bound the goblin's mouth, and several vines tightly bound its entire body. Reslaufer was still not entirely at ease, so he simply carried the goblin and the Black Flame Greatsword under his arm, one on each side. In case of an ambush or attack, he could simply pull out either one.

“Bella and I will go first. Once everything is alright, we’ll have her come out and call you.” Druids can change their size, making them ideal for this kind of environment. Leslaufer said nothing more and turned to go inside.

Sloe did not deceive them. The unusually straightforward tunnel, unlike the winding and meandering style of a typical goblin lair, led directly to a small, narrow room. Although twenty goblins were sleeping inside, when Raslaufer emerged, not one of them mustered the courage to shout or even rush up to confront the heavily armored Dople.

Looking at them, Raslaufer got the answer: these goblins were dressed much like Sloth, their tattered clothes barely covering their bodies, and only a few of them even possessed daggers or knives. Fighting them would be no more difficult than killing twenty chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs in his yard.

“Good, that’s it. Don’t move or shout,” Leslaufer put Slo down. “Make it clear to them that if any of them have any ulterior motives, you’ll all be going to see Angola together.”

“But our god is Mag…” a goblin muttered, but was ruthlessly interrupted by Leslaufer.

“Magnubier, I know, I know a goblin bear,” Leslaufer scoffed. “Do you think I’d let you return to the embrace of the gods after you die?”

The goblins weren't sure if it was true or not, but they were certainly frightened, especially when they finally noticed the two horns embedded in Raslaufer's helmet—the fear became even more pronounced when they probably mistook Dopler for a demon or something else.

But this was exactly the result Leslaufer wanted. Bella immediately turned back to call the others in, while the goblins who originally lived there shrank into the corner, trying to leave the "guests" and the ever-insufficient distance between them and the guests.

“There’s not much point in scaring these little things,” Dubul shook his head. Seeing everyone had come in, he picked up the middle of his greatsword with one hand and pushed open the door with the other. “Let’s go, let’s go see their master—”

"people?"

As soon as the door opened, the sudden light that streamed in almost made Raslaufer swing his sword. It was nighttime, but the other side of the door was as bright as day!

He steadied himself and, after confirming there was no danger, looked again. He saw that outside was a corridor with smooth, clean stone slabs paving the walls on all sides. At intervals above his head, a magic lamp hung, emitting bright and steady light.

He couldn't help but turn his head to look again at the filth and chaos where the goblins lived—it was just a door, yet it seemed like two different worlds.

“Even in Magpares, you can’t find a place this striking…” Angelita murmured. “The goblin masters built this place like this, but they’re unwilling to give you a change of rooms?”

This doesn't make sense! Even a king, if his castle is only in the countryside, no matter how luxurious it is, can only compete with the surrounding peasants. Meanwhile, a wealthy citizen in Magpares who isn't even a nobleman might eat better than the former.

Angelita was no stranger to this kind of environment. In Magpares, most of the places she frequented were of this standard. Incidentally, even the beggars and homeless people of Magpares could at least enjoy relatively safe, clean, and well-lit streets at night, but here…

“They’re just goblins,” the bard shook his head, following Leslauver out the door and onto the unusually tidy corridor. “It’s not surprising. Back in my hometown, people used to build big houses for their pet tortoises and make cranes generals. And even shoemakers might not have shoes to wear…”

Such a clean and bright corridor must have been tidied up by someone. Who could it be? It certainly wasn't that halfling mage himself. Even if it wasn't a goblin, it would probably be one of his summoned servants or magical creatures doing this kind of thing.

"What did they do after that?" Leslaufer asked casually, choosing a direction and slowly probing towards it.

“I don’t know, I didn’t look that closely,” Daisy’s eyes darted around. “Probably ended up like this guy here?”

Chapter 563 Two Prisoners

Raslaufer had no idea what fate awaited the owner of this place; all he knew at that moment was this corridor...

It's way too long!

“I think it’s almost dawn outside,” Mary said, raising the back of her hand and letting out a soft yawn. “But we’ve opened so many rooms, and they’re either empty or full of goblins or corpses.”

They opened about the same number of doors as the first room, but one glance was enough to tell what was going on: the rooms where the sleeping goblins were located were far less furnished than the corridor, and even the places that looked like they were used to dispose of corpses or other dead objects were better than their living quarters.

The best rooms, however, were completely empty, filled only with piles of instruments and materials, resembling some kind of laboratory whose purpose was unclear.

The last time they saw similar objects was at Heinrich's place in Ironforge.

“If we hadn’t actually seen the bodies of the knights and mercenaries, I would have thought we were in the wrong place.” Bella couldn’t help but shake her head. Although she was stronger and more energetic than Mary, she was the one who had been most exhausted tonight, and she was also starting to feel the strain.

If this continues, they might as well just find a room here and sleep for a while.

“Listen.” Suddenly, Raslaufer raised his hand, signaling his companions to be quiet. He walked quietly to another door and slowly pressed his ear against the door panel.

It wasn't an illusion; there were indeed voices in the room—and the voices of the people speaking were very familiar to him.

"Miss Louise, why hasn't your uncle returned yet? Could he have run away?"

It was the voice of Count Katina, only his voice was hoarse and he sounded exhausted.

“Call me ‘Your Excellency’!” The female voice was familiar to Reslaufer; she was Dieter’s sister, Louise Strongman. It seemed that the two of them had been lured into a trap by the two monsters and then wiped out by the owner of this place.

"Come on! That greenhorn Henning was just being lenient with you, and you actually think you're something special?" They started arguing. "'Your Excellency,' 'Sir,' 'Sir'! You spineless lowly commoners, do you really think you're so great just because you have a few stinking coins? Your family is just a bunch of rats who dream of sitting at the table and eating human food, but in reality, they can only hide in the gutter!"

"Because the adults in your family know that with the Strongman family's mediocre skills, if they were to buy a few titles and acquire a couple of territories, they could be devoured without leaving a trace in the blink of an eye!"

A merchant is a merchant. No matter how rich or how many generations of wealth they have accumulated, they are still just a merchant. Without real support or genuine accumulation of wealth, nobles have no reason to bother with them. But if someone has a title, that's a different story.

There are numerous legitimate means to smoothly "transfer" their wealth to other people's names.

"Just like you publicly professed your love to Count Doule? You underdeveloped dwarf, what a waste of a handsome face!" Louise retorted immediately. "She wouldn't even bother with you! And didn't you see that Leslaufer next to her? She says they're friends, do you really think that's all? You're not even worthy to carry his shoes!"

"He's just a mercenary..."

“Dubler,” Louise pressed her advantage, “Don’t make it sound like it’s so hard for him to get a title! Putting everything else aside, the profits my brother gives him are no small sum. Do you think the Strongman family is a pushover that you can just bully? Hmm? You try going up against him and see what happens!”

“He’s definitely a military aristocrat. He’ll probably kill himself on the battlefield in a few generations…” Count Katina gloomily wanted to retort, but in the end he gave up on this pointless argument. “Let’s stop arguing. Once that halfling loses interest in us, we’ll soon be thrown to the goblins as food reserves, just like our followers.”

"We need to find a way to escape."

Hearing this, Louise sighed helplessly, "Uncle had already used up a lot of spellcasting materials and his magic was almost gone. If it weren't for a potion of invisibility, he wouldn't even have been able to escape... But he would never abandon me. He watched me grow up. Yes... He must be hiding somewhere trying to figure something out... He should have recovered his magic by now, and maybe he's right outside the door, ready to rescue us!"

“I know you want to comfort yourself and me, but at a time like this, you’re saying this…”

"Squeak-"

Before Count Katina could finish speaking, the door in front of them was suddenly pushed open, and a warrior in black heavy armor, who looked like a devil, appeared before them like an angel descended to earth—with a bright light behind him.

"It's you!" Louise was only thankful that Count Katina had interrupted her earlier attempt to warn Leslaufer. "Quick, quick, save us!"

Count Cartina recognized Raslaufer, of course, but Louise's words about this Doppler were still ringing in his ears, so he opened his mouth but didn't say anything.

But the eagerness in his eyes was absolutely genuine.

"Keep your voices down, you two. Show some of your usual swagger and don't lose face." Daisy and Mary, one on each side, went over and freed the two prisoners who were bound to the cross like martyrs.

The iron armor beneath them served as both a cage to bind them and an instrument of torture. It had three telescopic devices controlled by the same winch, which could stretch the victim's arms and torso, making the torture extremely unpleasant.