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

This was their own choice.

When no one else mustered the courage to step forward and end their own lives, after a while, Chancellor of the Exchequer Griffin finally stood up, his skin and fat jiggling as he looked at Raslaufer.

“Your Excellency Raslaufer, I…I have a proposal.”

Chapter 658 Buying Life with Money

“I have seen the coins that King Felix minted for you. As gold coins, their face value is too high. Don’t you think so? And, and here, look, there is a silver mine here.”

Griffin didn't wait for Raslaufer to speak and blurted out, "If I survive, I can mint another series of silver coins for you! Only I can do that—in the fastest way possible!"

Griffin knew perfectly well that Kendall was the one these people wanted to promote, but so what? It didn't conflict with anything!

“McGold will abdicate,” Griffin’s heart pounded. Even now, Leslaufer did not interrupt him. “Kendall can be her queen again, and I am merely a minister—a minister who can help Arkent regain her position in the kingdom! You can rest assured that from now on I will never dare to have any improper thoughts. I only wish to help Arkent regain her rightful place!”

As if still afraid that Raslaufer wouldn't believe him, Griffin crawled forward a few steps on his knees, dragging his flabby body: "Look, look at all this, I know perfectly well that I won't live much longer. That's why an uncontrollable queen must be eliminated to avoid unnecessary conflict—"

"But now you're here!"

“Felix can obey you, Kendal can obey you, and I can obey you too! As long as you are here, there will be no conflict between me and Kendal, and the Kingdom of Arkent can reappear before the world. And when that happens, no, before that happens, silver coins bearing your image will flow into the market and into the hands and pockets of every merchant!”

He was not a believer in the devil, and the devil's life or death meant nothing to him. Even if that merchant died, it would only mean the loss of a business partner—but now he saw another one!

More powerful, more prestigious, and more invincible.

If he were an enemy, Griffin might be terrified to death just hearing the name of Raslaw in the middle of the night, but as an ally, he could sleep ten times better than a pig!

The only question now is whether this mercenary, who recently helped Felix ascend the throne, will agree to his surrender.

Griffin waited anxiously, feeling like a domestic pig waiting to be slaughtered, while Raslaufer was the butcher with the knife.

His head lowered, and at the same time, Raslaufer turned his gaze back to Angelita beside him.

“Anne, you arrived later. What do you think of Princess Kendall? Can she single-handedly take charge of the entire Arkent?”

Angelita blinked. "I don't know. Only Mary stayed behind. Daisy and I came right away."

"Hmm...so what do you think she will do with Griffin?"

The girl still stared wide-eyed at Leslaufer with clear eyes: "I don't know. Only Mary stayed behind. Daisy and I came over immediately."

"then you……"

"I don't know, I just... ouch!"

Angelita, tears welling in her eyes, buried her face in her hands and looked up at Raslaufer with a pitiful expression: "That depends on whether you mean the 'little kingdom' or the 'kingdom' of Arkent."

Angelita disliked Griffin and had been avoiding the topic, but if Uncle Raslaufer insisted that she give a reason, she would have no choice but to tell the truth.

“Kendall should be able to handle political affairs quickly, but she probably has less military talent than I do. If we only consider her, Arkent can probably only maintain the current situation at best—or it might be worse. Under her, Arkent’s territory may experience fluctuations.”

The girl made two hand gestures, meaning that the small kingdom of Arkent would initially lose some territory, but might be able to regain it later. However, given this loss and gain, returning to its current territory would be very difficult; the only question was how much would be lost.

In Angelita's view, this level of change was acceptable, as it ensured that the Jenner family's power would not be delegated to a mere minister. As for the loss of territory... well, Arkent already had a lot of land left, so one more piece wouldn't make a difference.

Leslaufer hummed in agreement, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and then asked another question: "Annie, in which situation do you think the money would be more 'valuable'?"

Some things only happen zero times or countless times, and it was obvious that after Felix issued his gold coins, Raslaufer couldn't wait to see a second currency closely associated with him.

“The bigger the better, of course,” Angelita now knew how to answer, and she quickly turned to Griffin, “Mr. Griffin, you understand, right?”

Griffin understood, of course. Although he had to admit that his previous plea for his life had involved an element of gambling, he had won the gamble first, and secondly... he had won the gamble again!

As long as you keep going in the right direction, that's the way to survive!

The Chancellor of the Exchequer quickly swore that he would complete the task he had intended to accomplish as soon as possible, and that unless absolutely necessary, he would not require Raslaufer and his associates to lift a finger.

Although it was rather shameful for the powerful minister of the entire small kingdom to act like this, the surrounding cultists were all defeated men who had been terrified of Raslaufer. So none of them should laugh at each other. Perhaps after this, they would even thank Griffin for his quick wit in saving their lives!

Raslaufer was satisfied with the other party's attitude, but he was still somewhat dissatisfied with the price promised by Griffin.

“You’ve been talking about silver coins all along, Minister,” Leslaufer slowly walked up to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The oppressive aura of the defeated minister caused the minister’s pupils to shrink to pinpoints, and the lumps of fat on his body jiggled uncontrollably once again. “This isn’t enough.”

Griffin swallowed hard, a smile twisting his utter fear: "But if I may be so bold... Your Excellency, if you want standard gold coins, you'd better not let us be the first to issue them..."

Even if Arkent were to regain its status as a kingdom, it would still be an insignificant member among the kingdoms of Central Inasas. They certainly have a unique advantage in handling silver coins, but gold coins... well, that's probably not quite enough.

Unlike Felix, whose position was forged in iron, blood, and fire, even Felix's most despised figures had to acknowledge the power of his currency. Kendall, however, was just a young girl. The turmoil in Arkent unfolded entirely at the bottom of the mine, unknown to outsiders, and they could not allow outsiders to know. Minting coins for Raslauver required borrowing another name, and whatever that name might be, it could not surpass crowning a knight.

“Alright,” Leslaufer waved his hand, indicating that Griffin didn’t need to be so afraid of this, “it’s just silver coins. By the way, Griffin, do you know why we came from Tarlecher toward Arkent?”

"This...please tell me, I really can't guess the reason."

Doble licked his lips and glanced casually at Angrita and Daisy behind him: "Dream Falls, that's what we came to see. Margaret hasn't arrived yet, and we... at least I don't like being disturbed by outsiders while enjoying the scenery, you understand what I mean?"

Chapter 659 Silver Coins and Dragonborn

Twilight flowed like molten gold, staining the veins of the mine. The spray from the waterfall, like silver ore, adorned the landscape, cascading down the rugged cliffs and merging into the river that seemed like liquid metal.

The bloodstains that had seeped into the water during the day had not yet been washed away, and many broken armor and weapons were still stuck in the riverbank. Even the turbulent currents rushing down from above needed enough time to drive these hard objects away, wash away the last trace of murderous intent, and allow the place to return to peace.

Just like the three mines that have been returned to Arkent.

“Although it may seem novel at first glance, it’s just like that once you’ve stayed long enough,” Mary commented, having understood Angreta’s thoughts.

“Indeed, if we have to look for other variations in the silver gaps, the color changes are too monotonous,” Angelita said, sounding as if she were agreeing with Mary. “If only there were dragons here. I heard from Griffin that long ago, this was the lair of a brass dragon, and the Dream Falls was its creation.”

If it were still here, this place might not be so misnamed. The image of the brass dragon would still be used in proverbs and adjectives today. It's just a pity that shortly after the earliest inhabitants of the Kingdom of Arkent negotiated mining with the brass dragon, the dragon left because it couldn't stand the noise. In Middle Inassus, it was one of the last few active dragons.

"I wonder where it will go..." Daisy muttered to herself. Even now, this dreamlike waterfall, which has become dull due to the large-scale mining of silver, still shows traces of magical light that has been used to transform it. She really wanted to know what the scenery here was like in its most glorious days.

Is it usually the same as the view at dusk, or does it far surpass the waterfall's most magnificent moment?

“Finding a dragon isn’t easy, especially when you don’t know where it is,” Leslauver said, lying on the grass. He was watching the sunset rather than the top of the waterfall, with the waterfall merely providing some accompaniment. “Speaking of which, has Griffin gone back yet? How is he doing?”

Mary knew this was a question directed at her, so she straightened her collar and replied, "Very honest, as if he had always been a loyal minister. Kendall was initially unwilling to reconcile with him, but because of your involvement, and because Griffin only returned after taking over the mines here, she had no choice in the matter."

Griffin was a seasoned man; he had already prepared explanations for himself and Kendall before returning. Unless the unprepared Kendall could come up with an overwhelming reason on the spot, accepting Griffin's help to govern again was the only way out.

Fortunately, she can now relax: Griffin will no longer frequently try to kill her, and he himself doesn't have many years left to live. Kendall only needs to accept the minister's service and loyalty with a clear conscience, and take over power after his death, and everything will be fine.

Although she is currently the young queen—and may become queen in less than two years—she will still not be the true backbone of Arkent. Unless Griffin becomes power-hungry and decides to kill Reslaufer and succeeds, Kendall need not worry about any further changes until then.

Raslaufer became the savior of the Arkents for his meritorious service in "finding the little queen who had been abducted by the demons." Sistine and Rosso also benefited, not only regaining what they had voluntarily given up, but also receiving further rewards for their loyalty.

Overall, it was a happy ending for everyone. Apart from the fact that two devils died for no reason, the snake people like Sabermon went to hell, the kingdoms around Arkent lost the silver mines that their predecessors had acquired, and the sorcerers who had been ignored were recruited into the army by Griffin under the guise of sorcerers, everything was perfect.

So perfect that in the past few months, Raslaufer and others even built a cabin nearby and lived a semi-secluded life, watching Arkent's changes from an outsider's perspective.

I'll spend the winter here, in a place that's much warmer than Eastern Inas.

Mary suddenly remembered something, reached into her pocket, and pulled out two coins, handing them to Raslaufer: "Here you go. These are the Leso gold coins I left with Kendall, and some of their newly minted silver coins."

Leslaufer took it and examined it. It was clear that Kendall and Griffin had created the silver coins based on the gold coins minted by Felix. Apart from the difference in material and size, the face value was also changed to "1" instead of "100". As for the rest, it was almost exactly the same as the Leslaufer gold coin.

In fact, these silver coins were given another name, but since Felix was the one who made the first move and the portraits on them were the same, "Leso," which evolved from the name of Lesouf, became their unified name, distinguished only by gold and silver coins.

This wasn't Mary's invention; nowadays, almost everyone near Arkent calls these newly appeared silver coins this way and gives them a fairly good exchange rate: six Leso silver coins can be exchanged for five Imperial silver coins, which is already more valuable than the Essen silver coins of Ironforge. As for the 100-gold coins, there isn't a precise quantity yet, but many speculators have sensed a business opportunity and are willing to pay high prices to acquire them.

Most of those who do this are convinced that the status of the "Leso" will rise further in the future, and may even reach the level of the imperial currency - after all, with the empire's internal strife year after year, even the once stable imperial gold coin is now somewhat unstable.

As for the "new coins" newly issued by Richard VII? If they were spherical instead of round, children of all ages on the street could play with them like marbles.

After Raslaufer and his party left the Empire, His Majesty the Emperor issued several more rounds of new coins, each one of increasingly poor quality, yet they were always claimed to have the same value as before. It is entirely understandable that they have now fallen to this state.

“People outside are speculating whether you’re planning to follow in the footsteps of Emperor Richard and unify the entire Inasas,” Anne said with a grin, snatching the silver coin from Leslaufer’s hand. “It’s said that some lords have secretly begun to unite, while others have started to study Leslaufer’s model to pave their own way out!”

“Then they’re destined to be useless,” Leslaufer flicked the remaining gold coin to Anne. “If they come to me on their own, I will never refuse any of them, but if they’re waiting for me to do it, then let them wait.”

Now that he has gold and silver coins, whether he has copper coins or not is irrelevant. There's no need to repeat the same thing, especially since those lords don't intend to come looking for him.

Just as the group was enjoying themselves, suddenly, a green figure flew crookedly towards them from the darkening sky. Only when it got closer could they make out that it seemed to be a petite human figure wearing a large mage's robe.

“Ha, someone just comes to you as soon as you ask.” Daisy only glanced at it and didn’t pay any more attention, but soon Mary pulled her up from the grass.

"What?! Hurry and save them! That looks like a Poison Wing!"

Chapter 660 The Edge of the Terrifying Swamp

Green dragonborn are not uncommon among dragonborn, but apart from Tokochinlin Poisonwing, there is no other green dragonborn mage like Raslaufer and the others.

"Over here, over here!"

The poet lady jumped up and began to hum a simple tune. Immediately, dazzling fireworks shot into the sky, announcing the group's location to the dragonborn in the air.

The Poison Wing, still in the air, seemed to be startled at first, and then immediately changed direction and flew towards this side. However, for some reason, she only flew a little over half of the not-so-long distance before, to everyone's astonishment, she plummeted straight down towards the waterfall below.

Daisy tried to help, but Veruna was a few steps faster. The unicorn took to the air, and the tip of its horn shone with a crystalline light, seemingly transforming into a hand that lifted the falling dragonborn and placed it steadily on its back before turning and landing on the grass near Leslaufer.

“She is seriously injured,” the unicorn said without anyone asking, as her magical power surged, enveloping the poison wing’s body in a hazy mist. “Many of them are burns caused by magic.”

"burn?"

The group exchanged glances. Among the Five Friends of the Lawscale, if we were to talk about the mastery of fire magic, Ember Crown would undoubtedly be number one. And if we were to talk about healing, as a blue dragonborn, Gleaming Stone should also be able to help Poison Wing alleviate his pain.

Why is she here?

“Sir Raslaufer…”

As everyone speculated, the poisonous wing on Veruna's back slowly awoke, though her voice remained weak. She opened her mouth and called out Reslaufer's name. When Dople rushed forward upon hearing the sound, the little dragonborn finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Please go and save them...in the Kingdom of Pope..."

After saying that, Poison Wing's mouth tilted to one side, and he fell unconscious again.

The Kingdom of Pope is located at the border of western and central Inasas, and is also adjacent to the Dreadswamp. Raslaufer once likened it to "a small butterfly near the border of western and central Inasas that is leaning towards the Dreadswamp" because of its shape. It is probably for this reason that Venomwing was able to come here.

“I’m afraid it’s that formidable opponent they mentioned before,” Anne said with worry, looking at the unconscious Poison Wing. “They’ve lost even worse this time than last time.”

Previously, the Five Friends of Falin were able to escape to Central Inasas and had the resources to wipe out the Popenos family's branches here. But now, only Poison Wing has escaped. It's unknown how bad the situation is for the remaining four.

“Early spring is a wonderful time of year,” Raslaufer said, seemingly talking about something unrelated, but casually picking up his greatsword and tucking his helmet under his arm with his left hand. “The flowers in the Kingdom of Pope are always beautiful; I’ve seen them once. We should be able to make it there in time.”

This time is different from before; there probably won't be any reward, but since Raslaw doesn't care about that, no one else will care either.

Anyway, I've seen enough waterfalls here.

Poison Wing woke up on the third day of their journey. The little girl was severely exhausted, and even with Daisy and Verunara taking turns using healing and restoration spells, it was only then that she barely recovered. They were now less than two days' journey from the border of the Kingdom of Pope.

"Did we... come from the edge of the Fearswamp?" Poisonwing looked around and saw strange plants that were almost impossible to find in Inasas. Even those that were the same or similar showed a completely different side here.

For example, there was the carnivorous plant that Angelita had just cut down with her burning blade—the monster had grown to twice its normal size in this fertile yet barren swamp, and its stems and leaves were covered with thick "spiky" hairs—those hairs were actually enough to tear thick leather to shreds.

“This is the fastest way!” Angelita, who had been walking all this time, handed Verunara’s steady back to the dragonborn. “Honestly, I don’t want to see flowers at all now, not even a little bit!”

The flowers here could devour them, man and horse, without even a burp—they don't burp at all!

In the past, Angelita was afraid of ferocious animals or monsters, but after just walking along the edge of this swamp, she felt that these plants were what she should really be afraid of. Compared to those poisonous, hallucinogenic, acid-spitting, or miniature clone plants that could uproot themselves from the soil, all other creatures seemed kind and friendly.

No wonder this place is called the Fear Devouring Swamp! She always thought it referred to the snake-men and other monsters inside!

The Terrorswamp, a region that has made the northern tundra almost a legend among the people of the Empire, and which Central Inassus and Eastern Inassus can only reach the Empire by crossing the Goringoton Mountains to the southwest, is far more terrifying than it has been described in ink and speech. Not to mention, even Leslaufer has suffered many new wounds while trying to take this shortcut.

However, after hearing all this, Poison Wing sighed softly. She sat up straight on her horse and looked at the various plants that had just been driven back by the crowd but had quickly surrounded them again. Finally, she took out her spellbook, flipped through a few pages, and found a spell that could solve the current predicament.

She glanced at the unicorn beneath her, confirming beforehand: "This unicorn... Madam, you wouldn't mind if I killed them, would you?"

What could Veruna say? No matter how much she loved plants, it wasn't worth sacrificing her own and her friends' lives—or rather, fertilizer.

“Please,” the unicorn sighed, “but if I may be so bold, the Wither spell can only counter one target at a time, and the more powerful Death spell… I’m afraid you can’t cast it, can you?”

This dragonborn is at most just an adult. If she could use the Withering spell at this time, no, even the chosen ones of several magical gods could not do it. She is not a true dragon!

“No need for the Withering spell…” Poison Wing said softly, but had already begun his incantation. Upon receiving the signal, the others quickly tightened their defenses. Just then, a thick, almost solid yellow-green fog rose from Poison Wing’s hand. A gentle breeze swept by, and it transformed into a terrifying dark cloud!

There seemed to be some kind of substance in the clouds that had a special effect on plants. No matter how wild and resilient they were, they could not resist such a force. The lush or vibrant branches and leaves quickly began to wither and decay in patches, eventually lying prostrate on the ground, making the surrounding area seem as if it had returned to late autumn.

“Death Cloud Technique, I don’t know if you’ve heard of it,” Poison Wing smiled shyly at the astonished gazes of the crowd, “I’ve slightly modified the ingredients and added casting materials to make it more effective on plants.”

Chapter 661 The Dragonborn's Rival

A mage who truly masters arcane magic is far more reliable than a spellcaster like Angrita or Daisy—in the realm of arcane magic.

It's difficult for a bard to make all his spells so adaptable, let alone Angelita: she hasn't even mastered a spell at the level of Fireball yet, let alone this level of power.

“It’s hard to imagine…” Daisy covered her mouth and nose, moving forward with the others as the Death Cloud spell drifted by. “You can use fifth-ring spells now, what level is the guy who almost wiped you all out?”

The strength of the Five Friends of the Lawful Scales is not too different, so...

The scales on the dragon's face immediately dimmed: "We... fell into a trap. Onuma got a clue and learned that the Popenos family was going to hold an unprecedented 'competition'—no matter the means, until death. It was a blood sacrifice disguised as a 'competition'. Of course, Onuma quickly infiltrated it, but we never expected that it was all a scam targeting us."