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

He didn't care. If these mercenaries shared the same resolute stance as Raslaufer in their fight against the material world and the abyss, then... letting them succeed didn't seem so bad.

"Is there anything else I need to do?" The demon scholar sighed. "If not, I need to go back and talk to the bishops. What you're doing... isn't quite in accordance with the rules, and it will definitely be difficult to do without the support of the major churches."

“Actually, you could kill them all,” the Beast said instinctively, but his recent time as an advisor to Skadi had made him somewhat more sensible, so he waved his hand. “Then you can go, but I suggest you inform Duncan and the others first, otherwise there might be some unpleasantness.”

Heinrich nodded and immediately withdrew from the mercenaries' simple crushing of the noblemen's sons. Shortly after the last enemy fell, Raslaufer and his group, guided by the assassin who had been arranged in advance, caught up with them.

“Even in the City of Broken Jars, this isn’t exactly a sophisticated method,” Mary shook her head disapprovingly after hearing the Beast’s somewhat presumptuous plans. “But if this is what you want… fine, then so be it. But Lord Raslaufer, do you really think it’s a good idea to go to such lengths to wipe out your entire family?”

In any case, she was ultimately born into a noble family, and this scenario of mercenaries overthrowing the local lord was still somewhat too radical.

And what about the aftermath? What will happen next? Let the nobles elect a new lord? That would inevitably lead to repeating the same mistakes. Support a puppet noble? Ironforge would become a laughingstock and an object of covetousness, which wouldn't necessarily be good for the mercenaries either. These mercenaries probably only think about the end of this conflict, but what follows will be a mess.

Even with the support of the church, without the support of the nobles' resources and connections, an organization built solely by mercenaries would ultimately be ineffective. Not to mention, the person in charge, Mr. Duncan... he can't even take care of himself, which is definitely a hidden danger among hidden dangers!

Few of the lords of Ironforge throughout history have lived to see their predecessors die a natural death!

Mary's concerns were not unfounded. After she raised these issues, not only Leslaufer and the Beast, but even Daisy and the eavesdropping devil fell silent. They were not good at handling such complicated matters. Although there were a few compromise or concession solutions, all their efforts along the way would inevitably be in vain.

Simply replacing a lord out of dissatisfaction is not an option; dissatisfaction can't be tolerated indefinitely. A stable solution must eventually be found. If they cannot establish a new order for Ironforge, the surrounding kingdoms will have to step in—and in that case, Ironforge's history as an independent city-state will inevitably come to an end, and the mercenaries' influence there will be weakened.

“Otherwise, why not just let old Rae be the lord? After all, he has a pretty good reputation here.” Daisy suggested this, but even Raelaw himself didn’t agree.

Dubler rarely showed a wry smile: "Why beat around the bush with those gentlemen? Let's just be straightforward and turn Ironforge into an empty city this time! Killing nobles alone is definitely not enough. Sooner or later, new nobles will appear, and in the end, we'll have gone through all this trouble for nothing!"

Many of these nobles are themselves or their ancestors were commoners or mercenaries. Do we really have to solve the problem at its root?

“But neither Mr. Duncan nor Ms. Caristella is capable of the job,” Angelita said helplessly. “One is physically unable to do it, and the other is simply a Typhoon, and the leader of a rat swarm at that? If this were discovered, everything would have to be done all over again, or even several times over, because we would be on the defensive!”

"Let's put these things out of our minds for now, ladies. We can think about them when we have time," Leslaufer decided to temporarily abandon his thoughts. On the one hand, these things were far beyond his capabilities, and on the other hand, the work that was truly within his purview was fast approaching. "Let's see who's coming—they're wearing SS uniforms, am I seeing things?!"

He deliberately raised his voice dramatically. Following his gaze, Lovisa, who had just fled, had returned, followed by a dense mass of heavily armed infantry. They silently followed behind the nobleman, and upon seeing Raslaufer and his group, immediately formed an attack formation.

“You are utterly depraved,” Lovisa said, her face grim, yet her brows held an air of righteous indignation. Looking at the noble youths she had abandoned and left their corpses here, she lowered her voice even further. “You have killed civilians, seized city defenses, attacked the garrison, and now you are even slaughtering nobles! Your actions have completely crossed the line for Ironforge; this is a blatant declaration of war!”

“I, Lovisa Richter, am hereby ordered by the Lord to temporarily take command of the Royal Guard—their numerous crimes need no trial; take them down immediately!”

The soldiers dressed in the Ironforge Royal Guard uniforms responded with a roar, and without the slightest hesitation, launched an attack directly on Raslaufer and his group. Most of these men were former mercenaries turned family guards; after further training and arming, they had become the current Royal Guard, their combat prowess no less than that of ordinary mercenaries, and perhaps even surpassing them. If they were to directly join the battle, they would undoubtedly have a significant impact on the situation, which explained Lovisa's previous confidence.

Unfortunately, they were not dealing with ordinary mercenaries.

Before they could even take ten steps, in their sight, the young woman with flaxen hair suddenly stood in front of them, holding a matte. As a stirring and generous melody rang out, the streets, houses, and everything on the ground in front of them were instantly torn apart by an invisible force and plummeted into the bottomless abyss below!

This was not the empire after the return of magic, but they had never seen such powerful magic with their own eyes before!

"An archmage! That's an archmage!" The girl's manipulation of the terrain was so terrifying that many in the guard cried out in panic, "Is she a mercenary too?! For the sake of the Arcane God, you can't cast an earthquake spell like that in the city!"

No wonder those mercenaries dared to launch a riot! And they even gained the upper hand—look at the powerful spellcasters they hired!

Amidst these shouts, the girl who had been holding the zither seemed to shed all pretense in the eyes of the guards, transforming into an elderly, white-robed mage with white hair and beard. She, or rather "he," no longer held a zither, but instead gripped a sword in one hand and a staff in the other, gazing at them with a profound gaze that seemed to see through the past and the future, his tone authoritative:

"You cannot pass!"

Chapter 594 Illusion

The earth trembled, and the sky seemed to collapse. In the soldiers' ears, they could almost hear the desperate cries of citizens falling into the abyss. The smell of blood, the stench of burning, and the scorching heat from the depths of the earth burned their nostrils. Even when they looked around, the vast rift seemed endless, as if the old man in white robes had single-handedly torn apart the entire Iron Fortress and even a wider space!

Is this all like the end of the world...?

"You bunch of idiots! This is just an illusion!"

Lovisa's shrill voice ripped through the apocalyptic scene, pulling the royal guards back from the shock of the world's destruction. She squinted, everything before her seeming like a blurry image shrouding the real world—how could they have been fooled by something like this?

"Charge! Nothing happened at all!" Seeing the soldiers around her still hesitating, she could no longer restrain herself and charged towards the illusion that she found utterly unbelievable. "See that? No cracks! No destruction! No earthquake spell! Kill them all!"

The guards, realizing what had happened, were immediately enraged. They roared and charged at the person who had just deceived them. Some of the soldiers who knew simple magic even summoned fire and ice, trying to kill the crazy girl who even disguised herself first.

An old mage in white robes? Is she serious?! Does she think this will make her more convincing, or—

“Just for fun, my dear,” Miss Daisy said, placing two fingers above her head while holding her mattress in the other hand. She nestled carelessly behind the bloodied, battered man from Leslaufer. “Having good luck with dice is all that matters? Then come and meet this one.”

As for me...

A blush of pink appeared in the bard's eyes in an instant, and the smile on her face vanished as if it were an illusion. As her fingers brushed across the strings of the matte again, a mirror maze appeared in the pupils of some soldiers. In each mirror, they could no longer see any of their teammates, only golem-like figures of Doples wielding their flaming greatswords and slashing them down at their heads!

"Another illusion? Are we going to fall for it twice?!" Some soldiers were stunned by the sudden change, but most of the guards were even more enraged. They immediately swung their weapons at the surrounding mirror images, but this time it was not an illusion. The Dobuls were like ants, caught off guard and killed or wounded. There were also chaotic shouts and pleas for mercy!

Lovisa narrowly avoided a guard's frenzied slashing attack, her face turning pale, her earlier confidence gone. She also heard the eerie music; her willpower could help her break through the illusion, but the problem was… these soldiers couldn't! They were just warriors, untrained in dealing with spells of this level.

There's probably no other unit in the entire Inasas that has ever had the opportunity to undergo this kind of training! A confusion spell? Even just having a mage cast such a spell once would be incredibly expensive! And this woman can actually cast the same level of power twice in a row?

With her... lyre? A bard?

Unlike mages who learn arcane arts through diligent study... if this woman in front of her isn't the world's number one genius, then she's the world's number one lucky one!

Jealousy raged within Lovisa, burning so intensely that it threatened to reduce her last shred of reason to ashes. But soon, she realized what she needed to do most right then and there.

Kill her! At least interrupt her spellcasting! Otherwise, at least half of the royal guards will die here for no apparent reason!

Realizing what was happening, Lovisa acted swiftly, tearing off the necklace from her chest—another magical item. The power of the shadows intertwined in her hand, instantly solidifying into the shape of a strange short blade. Caught in the chaos and confusion of the crowd, she couldn't care less. The blade sliced ​​across the neck of a guard, and as the man's mind shattered in bewilderment and darkness, Lovisa seized the opportunity to break free and rush towards Daisy.

Under her leadership, the royal guards, who hadn't been affected by the confusion spell but whose morale had been dampened by the strange atmosphere, rallied and regrouped to join Lovisa in the attack. Faced with these well-equipped and regrouped soldiers, the goblin-trained assassins were no match, quickly routed and scattered, causing the heartbroken beasts to roar as if wounded.

The training costs for each of these assassins are no less than those for these bodyguards!

"Reslaufer, you have to stop this woman!"

The Beast and Lovisa clashed. His short spear was nimbly parried, but the blade pierced straight through the shaft of his raised spear and fell on him without any resistance. In that instant, the Beast felt as if he had returned to the time when he was still ignorant and mingling with a goblin and a group of goblins—and all the familiar faces instantly transformed into demonic claws that almost tore his soul apart!

There's a reason the beast has survived this long; he immediately realized this woman was beyond his capabilities, so he decisively handed her over to Raslaufer.

However, Dubler still showed no intention of shifting his target. He focused intently on dealing with each opponent in front of him, as if to vent his frustration at not achieving complete success when facing the heavy cavalry charge. Wherever his sword swept, even if an enemy was killed in one blow, he would have to finish them off with another strike, tearing them apart—even if it meant expending more energy and strength.

However, Lovisa ultimately couldn't reach the bard. With a thunderous roar, her steps faltered abruptly before she leaped backward. Only then did the captain of the Cold Iron Guard raise his head to look at the girl blocking his way.

“I remember you, from that gladiatorial match,” Lovisa narrowed her eyes, shifting the Shadow Blade she was holding in her forehand to her backhand, and then back to her forehand. “I studied your technique quite thoroughly for a while; it was very interesting.”

Angelita placed her other hand on the sword, using a special technique that allowed her to grip the sharpened blade without getting cut, while making her martial arts even more agile and versatile: "Oh? Is this your last words?"

Lovisa unconsciously clenched the Shadow Blade, a vein slowly bulging on her forehead: "No, I think that's... yours!"

In the blink of an eye, Lovisa's figure vanished from the spot, a fragment of a scroll drifted down from her left hand, which had already turned into a blur, while another piece, which was rapidly dissolving, appeared behind Angrita along with her hand!

Chapter 595 Emotional Trauma

The moment she sensed something was wrong, Angelita immediately spun around to block, her longsword not aimed at the Shadow Blade in Lovisa's hand, but instead slashing outwards at Lovisa's wrist.

Although it may seem like an exchange of injury for injury, in reality, even wielding a mid-length longsword would inevitably result in a faster hit than a short blade. Using both hands would make the strike decisive and clean, completely cutting off any potential counterattack from Lovisa.

Lovisa had clearly noticed this as well. After her sneak attack failed, she immediately retreated, adjusted her position, and then pressed forward again, constantly trying to exploit any gaps in Angelita's defenses. What she had just said was not an exaggeration; she had indeed carefully studied the martial arts Angelita had learned, which allowed her to maintain the upper hand throughout the battle. Even though Angelita was simultaneously manipulating magic, she was unable to turn the tide in her favor.

Seeing that she couldn't win, the girl became somewhat impatient. Taking advantage of a counterattack opportunity, Angelita's movements became so fast that they defied logic. She drew her pistol and fired it at Lovisa's forehead. However, Lovisa was no ordinary warrior either. Her body began to dodge even before Angelita made her move. With a flash of light, she dodged the shot at close range and remained firmly in place after taking two steps back.

“A handgun,” she said, her hair stained black with blood, indicating that although she had avoided a vital spot, she hadn’t completely dodged it. “Do you really think this little trick can take me down?”

The ringing in her ears and the piercing, numbing pain made Lovisa's face turn somewhat cold. She suddenly raised her hand, and the cold air gathered at her fingertips, but instead of condensing into rays, it shattered and dissipated instantly: "After being 'cared for' by you with magic for so long, it's time for me to return the favor—Frostbite!"

"You're not the only one who can manipulate magic while fighting, little girl!"

An unexpected chill instantly enveloped Angrita, a thin layer of frost forming on her eyelashes, and even her breath turning into white mist. This sudden spell inevitably slowed her movements by a fraction of a second, and as she swung her sword, Lovisa seized the opening, her Shadow Blade piercing her shoulder in an instant, just centimeters from her heart.

Even the balanced breastplate that von Dahl Halfcho painstakingly crafted could not keep this short blade, which was between reality and illusion, out of the metal. The Shadow Blade cut straight into Angelita's body without any hindrance. Although it did not leave any external wounds, the sharp cutting sensation began to tear at her heart!

Such a sword strike would be difficult even for a spellcaster to defend against; perhaps only those races rumored to possess innate, powerful mental strength could mitigate its damage. Lovisa's smile returned to her face. She knew this girl was someone that damned Dubul valued highly; if she were used as leverage, he would likely have no reason to refuse most of her demands!

However, Lovisa could never have imagined, nor could she have known, that the moment the power of the Shadow Blade eroded into Angelita's body, it had stormed into the girl's mental world. Here, there were forests, pools, and the spirits of countless wild beasts! Upon seeing the intrusion of a foreign object, these originally numb and quiet spirits suddenly became agitated, rushing towards the power of the Shadow Blade to share the blow that struck directly into Angelita's heart!

These spirits were extremely weak, and the Shadow Blade easily tore them to pieces. If someone were to observe them at this moment, they would find that in their final moments of dissipation, they all showed expressions of human relief and comfort.

They are eagerly awaiting this opportunity, the chance to leave this place and return to nature!

Although these spirits somehow ended up near Angelita after leaving Raslaufer, it was a good thing for them. Angelita didn't have many secrets inside her, and they would dissipate as normal after they disappeared, without any burden. That's why they were so eager to do so—especially the wolves, who had been waiting for this moment for a long time!

But the power of the Shadow Blade had no foundation here. Even if it was completely worn away, it could not take away all the essence, let alone truly hurt Angrita. In the very end, it trembled and hummed within Angrita's body, then dissipated into nothingness with resentment—if it had any.

Meanwhile, far away in Zebrech, Veruna's eyelashes fluttered, and she reopened her eyes:

"Since it is the power of the shadows... then let it return to where it came from."

As celestial beings, unicorns possess abilities unimaginable to mortals, and their ability to sense Angrita even from such a great distance is one of them. However, this is not surprising, as some individuals among these creatures can even act as the patriarchs of contract masters, signing contracts with them.

She was simply confirming that the Shadow Blade was just a normal spell and wouldn't have any side effects.

“This is completely unnecessary, Verlianari,” a voice that Angrita might recognize, for she had heard before, echoed in Verunara’s mind, “that girl is wielding the Long Poem of the Guardian, the legacy of our King. If an invasion were to occur, we would certainly not stand idly by.”

Upon hearing the name "Velianari," the unicorn couldn't help but sigh softly: "It's been a very, very long time since anyone called me by that name."

“Although you are heroic spirits, in some ways you are not much different from those spirits and shadow powers. I will try my best not to let you consume so much power—you did not survive until now to deal with such trivial matters.”

“Like those spirits, sometimes completing our mission quickly isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” the voice hummed, then fell silent again. “We are elves… though our bodies perish, our souls return to the embrace of Sahani Moonbow… and journey to Avandor…”

Veruna stood up. The danger in Angreta's heart had been completely eliminated, and she could no longer reconnect, but this did not stop the unicorn, who had arrived in this world twice before, from talking to herself:

"Avando...what's so great about that place? I don't want to go, not at all!"

“A long time ago I had a friend who served the lion god Nubian… and he went there and never wanted to come out again—even if I tried to pull him out, it wouldn’t work! Really…”

Chapter 596 What suggestions do you have?

"How...how is this possible?"

Lovisa stared in astonishment as Angelita, seemingly unaffected, resumed wielding her longsword with fluid grace after a brief period of freezing and stiffness, nearly shaving off half of her hair.

She quickly parried with her short blade. If it weren't for the fact that the sword didn't even have a physical form and that the magical item that summoned it was a family heirloom passed down for three generations, she would have thought it was a fake!

How could this girl take that sword strike straight to the heart without any reaction?!

“If you want to kill me, you’ll have to try harder.” Angelita’s gaze remained unchanged as she calmly threw herself back into the fight. Unlike Lovisa, she knew what had happened—at least part of it. But even this small difference was enough to shift the balance of power.

If the opponent is completely immune to damage, what's the point of continuing the fight?

Lovisa had to start thinking about her escape route, but just then, as she dodged Angelita's attack, a heavy sound of wind breaking came from behind her—the black flame greatsword had finally made room.

"Uncle Raslaufer, please wait! I think I'm about to win!" Angelita shouted urgently, her attacks suddenly becoming even more ferocious. Lovisa felt the attacks behind her actually withdraw, but facing Angelita's eagerness to win, and with the pressure from Raslaufer behind her, how could she possibly calm down and continue fighting?

In a daze, she seemed to have returned to that underground arena, where Angelita's figure was still standing below the arena, but this time, the one standing opposite her was her!

"Tear--"

The longsword nimbly slashed across, tearing a long gash in Lovisa's right side clothing. The leather sewn beneath the fabric clearly couldn't withstand the blade's sharpness, and blood gushed out instantly. At that moment, Raslaufer finally made his move, slamming Lovisa down into the mud and dust. The Shadow Blade vanished without a trace as it left his hand.

Although she could still summon them back, looking around at the Royal Guard that had been slaughtered and whose remaining members, numbering about 70%, were retreating and fleeing, Lovisa knew that she was no longer able to resist.

"No, no, don't do this," the woman cried, struggling to breathe due to her prone position and recently injured ribs. "I surrender, I give up! Loosen up... you're pressing too, too hard!"

“We have to be careful when dealing with someone like you,” Mary said, having somehow produced a rope and helping Reslaufer tie Lovisa up tightly. “Don’t move! The more you move, the tighter I’ll tie you!”

Daisy watched from the sidelines, having no objection to how tightly the woman was bound, but rather that Mary should do it...

"Hey, weren't you one of our prisoners back then? We didn't treat you like this, did we?"

"Me back then?" Mary chuckled. "To put it nicely, I was a secret agent or spy, but in reality, I was just a petty thief. Why would I need such treatment? Besides, I 'repented' beforehand. How can I be compared to this guy?"

Upon hearing this, Lovisa immediately begged for mercy: "I can repent! I can start over! I know magic, I have many connections, and I can command and train troops! I surrender, even if it means becoming a mercenary, or I can vow to become a nun! I will definitely not let you down!"

"Think about it, gentlemen! Sir Raslaufer! If I were to join, what could we possibly achieve?"

Leslaufer loosened his shoulders, first sizing up the woman who was almost bound like a cocoon, then turned to Angelita: "Hmm, Anne, you just fought her, what do you think is the best way to deal with her?"

He was already somewhat satisfied; killing Lovisa wouldn't make a difference whether she was there or not. This woman seemed like the type who could mentor Anne, so keeping her around wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Angelita hesitated for a moment, then turned to Mary: "Mary, do you think she should stay?"

Mary paused for a moment, not expecting the question to fall on her, but looking back at Angrita's expression, demeanor, and subtle subconscious movements, Mary suddenly realized and immediately replied, "No, Anne, this woman is just afraid of death right now; she will never repent. Keeping her around is always a ticking time bomb, and if we put her in Iron Keep or anywhere else, she might cause trouble again—in today's situation, once should be enough."

“Hmm,” Angelita seemed unconvinced by Mary’s answer, then turned to Daisy. “Miss Daisy, what do you think?”

The bard was also stunned. If Mary had understood the reason later, she wouldn't have known why this question was related to her even now: "Me? I don't care. If all else fails, just make her vow to become a nun. That should strip her of most of her power and influence, right?"

Dedicating oneself and one's body to the gods undoubtedly means minimizing involvement in other affairs. Just like those priests in this case, they wouldn't have stepped in to act as peacemakers if the conflict hadn't occurred in the inner city of Ironforge.

After listening, Angelita seemed to sigh slightly, or perhaps relieved, before finally turning her gaze to Lovisa: "So, lastly, it's your turn. I heard you're called Lovisa Richter, right? Tell me, if you weren't the one being tied up, but rather my companion, and the person tied up here is someone else with basically the same conditions as you, what suggestions would you have?"

Lovisa opened her mouth, but the wound between her ribs began to twitch—how could she answer that?

She said she should release her? Then didn't she not completely follow the girl's—no, this lady's—demands, and not assume that she wasn't currently a prisoner?

They're saying she should be killed? But this prisoner is undeniably her! Isn't it the same thing—she has to die?

She gave a bitter laugh, the blood she coughed up leaving mottled stains on her expensive clothes: "Are you trying to humiliate me? Is this how the nobles of the Empire treat prisoners?! Then hurry up and kill me! But you can't execute me here! I am a military noble! I demand a fair and just trial after the war—at that time, whether you hang me or burn me at the stake, it's up to you, I will have no complaints!"

Does this mean they've completely given up?