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

"Pinky finger?"

This time it was Finnan's turn to be surprised: "I heard you fought him at least three times, and you don't even know this? Five Fingers, that Fidel, why do you think he's called Dragon Finger? He's the so-called 'Index Finger'!"

"That old sword saint is said to be the 'middle finger,' while East Inasas has a 'little finger,' and according to Sid, there's also a 'thumb.' If that person hadn't been so incredibly strong, that position should have been his teacher's."

Although the specifics were unclear, if Finnan described it that way, it didn't seem too difficult to guess. The images of a gigantic cocoon made of flesh and blood, and the collapsed mausoleum, quickly surfaced in the minds of Raslaufer and the others.

Joki Popazobote, the one who should have died from a physiological, physical, social, and even mystical perspective, could that Dragon Finger have actually resurrected him?

“If Jinmian and Edward are prepared to continue opposing them, then they’re probably in trouble.” Angelita sighed softly. They had originally thought these guys were only active around Western Inathas, but now it seemed they were present from Corazonde to Eastern Inathas. This challenge was going to be quite difficult for the dragonborn warlocks.

"I heard some time ago that they were still retaliating against the Popenos family. They probably haven't realized this yet, and I haven't heard of any Dragonborn-related activities recently."

Everyone turned around and saw Louise and Count Cartier at the doorway. The two of them were standing there, having apparently overheard the entire conversation, and now they looked like they wanted to come in but didn't dare.

“You’re all standing there, so come in,” Leslaufer waved casually. “I’m not going to eat you.”

Well... it's hard to say.

“You’re not known as the ‘Demon’…” Count Katina began in a low voice. Although Raslaufer had already glared at him, his strong aristocratic pride made him insist on finishing the suffix, “‘Gnawing One’.”

For that reason alone, even if he really fell head over heels in love with Skadi, and even if Skadi was interested in him too, Raslaufer had to get rid of this guy, and no one could stop him.

In contrast, Louise was much more pragmatic, and it was she who spoke just now: "A few years ago, I heard that the Dragonborn, who were originally restless, suddenly became docile. Most people thought this was a sign that they had accepted reality, but now it seems that this is not the case?"

“The Dragonborn is a race, much like humans,” Angelita said. “They may not be many, but they still can’t be viewed as a whole. Some accept their fate, some actively seek change, and of course, some have ulterior motives. That’s normal.”

"Not to mention, there is an ambitious figure behind them who wants to restore the dragons' rule."

“He has at least one or two powerful weapons, strategic-level weapons,” Leslaufer thought for a moment and decided to reveal this information. “They can move an entire army from one place to another, and perhaps that’s why he’s not in a hurry to make a move.”

"The more people are dragged into the quagmire of chaotic war, the more advantageous it is for him."

If dragons were to once again rule the world, any kingdom or church that dared to raise such a banner would surely rise up against them. However, if the latter were to start fighting first, they would not only have no time to deal with them, but might even regard them as allies and helpers that could be used. If they were allowed to continue operating in this way, it would not be impossible for them to take over most of western Inasas or even most of Inasas when the time was right.

This situation was not hard to predict; it's just that Fidel had always kept it well hidden. If they hadn't happened to encounter the halfling Finnan here, they probably wouldn't have realized it until after the fact.

“Inasas won’t be the only one to suffer then…” Angelita couldn’t help but think of her empire, which was still embroiled in war and was now just a vast, empty shell. Although from her perspective, the empire’s downfall came first, who could really guarantee that? “We’d better spread this news, we need to spread it to the west. In any case, at least let those people realize the danger right under their feet.”

Danger is dangerous because it is often not recognized. Once a conspiracy is brought into the light, even if it still exists, its harm will be greatly reduced.

As she spoke, she turned her head toward Louise and Count Cartier.

Raslaufer had a considerable reputation, but opinions on his character were subjective, and as a mercenary, he was unlikely to gain the trust of nobles.

With just a glance, Count Katina understood her meaning and quickly stood up: "I...I agree, this matter definitely needs to be done!"

"But... I'm afraid I can't do that."

"I can only influence my own earldom, but Western Inassassins is too far away, and I really can't reach it..."

As he spoke, he smiled apologetically at Angelita; "Excuse me, miss, heh heh."

“The Strongman family is also willing to support us,” Louise said after the Earl expressed his opinion, “but we also have some difficulties.”

“The Strongman family is not an aristocracy. Their relatives, both near and far, are all merchants. They are even very limited in their ability to protect themselves. As you just mentioned, they are all powerful sword saints and mages. If they were to seek revenge… I will go back and discuss this matter with my elders and other potential heirs. You can wait for news.”

"No? You poets?" Daisy was about to jump up. "Were you Aldorone or something? Didn't Finnan say that Littlefinger is even in Eastern Inathas! Right under your noses! And you're not even willing to help with this little thing?"

"And we just saved your lives!"

“This…” Count Katina and Louise looked extremely troubled. They rubbed their hands together as if looking in a mirror, and put on a standard wry smile. “We are very grateful for your righteous rescue, and we agree that this matter is dangerous and important. In principle, we are willing to give our full support to thwart that Dragon Finger’s conspiracy.”

"But?" Daisy slapped her forehead; she already knew what these two were going to say.

"But...it doesn't actually work."

Chapter 571 The Hunt Ends

For these people, on the one hand, they believe that this matter has nothing to do with them, and even if that Dragon Finger is really ambitious, it is unlikely that he will target them; but on the other hand, they also believe that if they expose the other party's existence, they will immediately face fierce and violent retaliation.

These two ideas seem to conflict, yet they also seem to have no conflict at all.

Bella was extremely indignant at the two men's reaction; she had never expected them to treat such a matter this way. Miss Daisy seemed somewhat prepared for this, but was equally dissatisfied. On the other hand, Angelita and Mary were already used to this situation.

“Forget it, even if we force you to do it, you probably have all sorts of tricks up your sleeves,” Leslaufer waved his hand. “Then we might as well save ourselves the trouble—Finnan, what are you planning to do? Stay here?”

"What else?" The halfling mage shrugged helplessly. "Thanks to that Sid, I attacked the king and he didn't die. I'm afraid I no longer have the ability to find anyone to sponsor my research. But at least I can die with these guys. Although it's not a good ending, it's still an ending, right?"

“You’re quite at ease.” “I need more than most halflings, but less than humans, so I left my village and then your society to hide in these mountains.”

Thinking about the monsters they had encountered before, Louise and Count Katina were quite tempted, but this was, after all, the territory of the Kingdom of Wenzel. Sponsoring funds was fine, but the cost of sponsoring materials was too high.

Leslaufer wouldn't force the other party to "surrender," but he couldn't let this trip go to waste, so he simply took the monster corpses lying in the corridor as the spoils of his hunt, and also as Finnan's own "ransom." Guided by the halfling mage, they easily found the king's party again, and along the way, almost all the monsters had disappeared, making the journey exceptionally smooth.

They will certainly "disappear," since most of them are already on the loot list of the Raslaufer group.

Therefore, when they saw the king and the mountain of monster corpses that Bella had to transform into a pack animal to carry them back, the nobles who were celebrating and boasting about their recent monster attacks almost had their eyes pop out of their sockets, thinking they were having a nightmare.

“It seems that even if this hunt continues for another month, no one will be able to take your championship,” Henning greeted the returning group with a wry smile. “To be honest, we experienced a beast tide attack before, but it seems that their total number may not even be as much as what you slaughtered—where exactly did you find so many?”

“That mountain in the distance,” Leslaufer casually pointed to the mountain that had been half-hollowed out by the halflings, “is teeming with monsters that are practically bursting out of the ground. I think most of the monsters here probably came from there, Your Majesty.”

"To protect the safety of the civilians in the surrounding villages, why don't we head straight there and continue the hunt?"

Let's forget about it then!

If Raslaufer had simply said this, the nobles would likely have been skeptical. However, the mountain of flesh behind him, which was beginning to rot, was convincing enough—if Lord Raslaufer said that the monsters came out of the ground, then they might really have!

At this moment, many loyal subjects surrounded Henning, all advising His Majesty the King to consider the kingdom, the government, his health, and so on. In short, from now on, even the smallest matters are far more important than continuing to deepen the hunt!

Henning knew he wasn't in any real danger, but it would be a lie to say he wasn't afraid. Looking at the monster corpses in front of him, which seemed to be stitched together from several versions of the Monster Compendium, he finally decided to back down and spare his own and his subjects' lives.

“Hmm…that makes a lot of sense, but for the safety of Count Katina and Mr. Louise, it would be best if we put this on hold for now. The subsequent hunt can wait until next year. The hunting system has now been restored, so we might as well let them go for now,” His Majesty the King politely declined Leslaufer’s request, while beckoning for someone to bring over the rewards. “It seems that the champion of this hunt is none other than Your Excellency, and these prizes will naturally all belong to you—does anyone have any objections to this result?”

“It doesn’t matter if they do,” Leslaufer immediately grinned. “Let’s send these two back first. Anyway, the theoretical deadline hasn’t passed yet, so we can continue the competition!”

Now, no one can deny that Leslaufer has won the title ahead of schedule.

However, despite saying that, the ceremony still had to be performed. However, Raslaufer did not put away the piece of bark, but instead threw it directly to Bella: "You keep it, and consider it a return to its rightful owner. You've stayed with me for so many days, it's time for us to go and have some fun in the Rebellion Zone."

“Personally, I would welcome it,” the druid said, suppressing a laugh as he carefully tucked the wooden plaque, which looked no more valuable than ordinary tree bark, into his side. “But if they try to fork you out, don’t blame me for not being on your side.”

"I wasn't planning on fighting them, so why are they attacking me? Besides, I trained a druid for them beforehand, so that all their carnivores won't suddenly switch to a vegetarian diet. They'll be thanking me for that—hey, the king's here, don't mess with me! You really think you're a goat?!"

"If I really turned into a goat, you wouldn't be able to subdue me with one hand!"

Although Bella was blocked by Raslaufer's outstretched arm and couldn't get even half a step closer no matter how hard she tried, Bella and Raslaufer's sparring was always a matter of winning by talking.

As for the other two wands, they naturally belonged to Daisy. Apart from her, no one else would have time to use these magical items during battle, so it was best to let her keep them safe, at least to prevent the situation from being captured underground before.

Besides Leslaufer and his group, the others also received rewards of varying degrees based on their prey. Those who served the king directly received further rewards or titles from him, while the rest were rewarded by their respective lords. For example, a knight under Skuld and his squire were promoted for their joint efforts in killing a giant scorpion and a saber-toothed tiger, a promotion so significant that it made the knights under other lords envious.

However, none of this concerned Raslaufer. Seeing that Henning had some free time, Doble slowly approached him and pointed to the empty tent beside him: "Your Majesty, we can be considered half of our own people. Shall we talk in private?"

Chapter 572 The Letter, from Zebrech

"The deal fell through?"

As evening fell, when Raslaufer entered the tent, his companions knew the outcome just by looking at his expression.

Needless to say, although the king was young, he was more cunning than his age suggested, and he was unlikely to agree to anything that Louise and Katina wouldn't agree to.

“It was somewhat expected,” Leslaufer shook his head. “In that case, we’ll have to find another way.”

“But I don’t quite understand,” Mary pondered for a moment, then couldn’t help but speak up, “why do we have to cause trouble for that Dragon Finger? Even if he succeeds, it won’t really concern us much, will it?”

"That guy disgusted us, are we just going to let him go?" Doble sneered, but not at Mary. "There's another one, a little guy I quite admired over there, and he and his companions have been fighting that wizard all along."

"Although it's a bit far, it would be best to help out in a small way."

“Edward?” Angelita asked with a touch of melancholy. “His luck… is indeed not very good.”

"But these nobles all disagree, so I'm afraid there's no other way, is there?"

“How can you call it ‘all’?” Leslaufer paused for a moment, then suddenly laughed. “There’s always one person willing to help.”

No matter what, Skadi will always be on his side, and it's always good to ask her for help in these kinds of situations.

"Also, I'll write a letter to that kid Dieter. Isn't he also a member of the Strongman family? His sister may disagree, but that doesn't mean he disagrees. Even if the two siblings are the same—wasting a little ink is no big deal."

Reslaufer didn't have high expectations for Dieter, but the other party's reaction surprised him. He started writing the letter after returning to the vicinity of the village in Scott territory with the king's party, and Dieter's reply arrived as soon as he returned to Zebrech.

The former third and current second heir of the Strongman family showed great enthusiasm for this matter. In the letter, he stated that he would immediately spread various rumors in West Inathas. In any case, the evidence would point to Dragonfinger himself, the Dragonborn Daldan-Julien clan, and Rodriguez, the Sword Saint of Corasund. The truth or falsehood of the information was not important. What mattered was to expose these people as much as possible and put their every move under the sunlight.

Even if we can't stop them, we can at least make them more cautious in creating messengers, thus slowing down their preparation time.

Muddy waters can't stay muddy forever; the silt will eventually settle. If they can't control the speed and the final point, they'll either have to spend extra effort stirring up the waters or they might be forced to act prematurely. Either way, it's a situation that Leslaufer would like to see.

Doble was not one to hold grudges. He would remember when Fidel suddenly appeared in the tomb, stole the flesh cocoon, and even planned to bury them alive. He would not let it go until Fidel died in front of him.

But there's no need to go back to West Inathas to find him—once everything has fully erupted, someone will naturally recruit mercenaries, and then we can go. Why not?

Now, the most important thing for Raslaufer is to go to the Land of Refusal, where he's heard there's a little griffin waiting for its new master!

Griffin mount.

Standing in front of Black Claw's den, Leslaufer couldn't help but click his tongue, and with a hint of exasperation, he vigorously stroked Black Claw's feathers from head to back: "Why can't you grow two sizes bigger? Why can't you let me ride on you?"

Cavalrymen are paid much more than infantrymen, especially since they can ride alongside their masters on mounts that can attack with anything except trampling. Fortunately, he should soon have a replacement that can bite and fly.

Black Claw, who had been abruptly woken from his nap by the leader, was completely unaware of his impending fall from favor. He merely let out a groggy cry to express his dissatisfaction, then curled up deeper into the depths of his body and closed his eyes again.

"This guy's getting lazier and lazier," Leslaufer chuckled, turning to see Bella. "Did you start feeding it vegetables?"

“Nonsense! This guy usually finds some wild vegetables to eat,” Bella rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. “Besides, I’ve been with you guys in Scott Territory for the past month. Where have I been to feed it?”

“It’s just been living too comfortably lately,” the druid said, walking up and slapping Black Paws’ increasingly strong and powerful hind legs. “I heard from the neighbors that even though it acts like a house cat when we’re home, it’s been secretly going out into the wild to catch small animals for itself—look at this meat!”

According to the bard, the Blackclaw seems to be different from cattle and sheep, and is more like a crocodile or lizard. Fat makes up a large proportion of its weight, and the fact that the Blackclaw has been getting fatter and stronger lately seems to confirm this.

She also mentioned that the fat and muscle of the black claw turtle might be separate, similar to those of alligators, turtles, and tortoises, making it suitable for frying or grilling...

Black Claw jolted awake in its half-dreaming state, immediately jumped up with a loud cry, and ran outside. It was unclear whether it sensed what Leslaufer was thinking or simply felt that Leslaufer and Bella had disturbed its nap.

"Jump, follow it," Bella waved her hand, and a series of squirrel calls rang out from the trees in the yard. Immediately afterward, the red shadow leaped out quickly, following the black claw outside. "Black Claw is very smart. It knows not to hurt people indiscriminately, but it's still better to keep an eye on it."

"On another note, while you were writing to others, I also wrote to my fellow believers. They already know you're going to the 'Resistance Zone' and have made ample preparations. Those who are prone to fighting, argumentative, or unfriendly to your line of work have all been sent out for various reasons, so there's no need to worry about you getting ganged up on."

Bella wasn't worried about Leslaufer being ganged up on; she was concerned that the Refusal to Fight might be wiped out by a furious Duple. While some in the society scoffed at this, the leaders were doing their best to prevent it from happening.

However, Raslaufer himself was not worried at all. He took out the pendant he had obtained in the Colin Otto Mountains and proudly showed it off to Bella: "If you ask me, you're just worrying for nothing—look at this, I used it not long ago."

"I am a person blessed by the Mother of Water. Even if you druids are more unreasonable than mercenaries, how can you not even spare me?"

The red-haired druid glanced at the pendant with respect, then glared at Raslaufer with hatred: "That's exactly what I was worried about!"

Chapter 573 The Realm of Refusing to Fight

Sunlight pierced through the morning mist, bathing this druidic sanctuary, known as the "Realm of Resistance," in a golden-green glow. The vast woodland was naturally surrounded by hundreds of verdant trees, many of which were ancient, millennia-old specimens. On some of the trunks, spiraling fluorescent lichens formed ancient druidic runes, flickering like stars with the rhythm of breathing. In the center of the druids' main residence, a spring shimmered with a bluish-green light, its surface dotted with water lilies and glowing moon dew ferns. At the bottom of the spring lay acorn-shaped emeralds, cast by generations of druids—their origins varied, but now all shared the protection of the Water Mother, Adas.

Beside the spring, a massive oak tree rises from the ground, as if the entire community and even the woodland grow from its roots. It is said that this ancient tree was once bestowed with a title by the Elf King and that a brass dragon once kept it company.

Now those creatures have all gone far away, leaving only this oak tree, representing Sylvanas, standing here, continuing to guard the peace of this forest.

Further away from here, on one side lies a vast and prosperous wilderness, while on the other side, closer to "civilization," a huge stone archway has been built as the entrance for visitors.

Although the druids, who disliked man-made things, did not draw up more walls or other restrictions, they took a more radical approach: only those who passed through here would be considered friends or visitors by the druids and priests, and those who did not intend to abide by this rule should not blame these peace-loving druids for restoring peace to this place.

It was still early, and even the most devout believers from the surrounding villages had not yet arrived. However, it was noteworthy that three people were already standing under the archway. One of them was a middle-aged woman wearing a light blue dress, and judging from the wavy hem, she was probably a follower of Adas.

Of the other two, the man who appeared to be around the same age as his peers wore a suit of armor made of layers of leaves; the other young man wore a yellow sleeveless blouse with red accents and a unicorn head pendant carved from bone above his heart.

Their attire could all be considered druidic clothing, making it relatively easy to identify the deity they worshipped: the older man was a follower of Sylvanas, while the younger man followed Melichai.

In the usual mythology, Sylvanas is considered the father of Melique and Idas, and the two goddesses are sisters. Although this view is often refuted, it is still considered to be true most of the time, especially here, where the original founders of the Rebellion were the followers of these three nature gods.

"I mean, do we really need to stand here like idiots this early?"

The young man yawned widely: "I know that Leslaufer, but even if we're not this respectful, what can he do to us?"

"We're supposed to be in charge here, so why are we all standing at the door like doormen this early in the morning...?"

“It’s better to avoid trouble, Bug. As a high druid, you still need time to mature and hone your skills,” the woman said softly, glancing at him. “We are welcoming him not because of his fame or bravery, but because he is the one chosen to be blessed by Adas.”

“I know that his current actions may not be entirely in line with the Goddess’s teachings, but one day… when that day comes, I’m afraid we will still be standing here to welcome him.”

"I wouldn't dare say that..." The young man raised his hand to touch the hilts of the twin swords on his back, shook his head, but said nothing more.

Yesterday, the Holy Spring of the Water Mother issued a summons; this was not something they could decide.

Bouger may be similar to other radicals who are temporarily "avoided," disapproving of or even hostile to Raslaufer, but he will decide his thoughts and actions based on his position, not the other way around.