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

"My only experience in this area is getting takeout at the door in the middle of the night, avoiding my dog and cat," the poet said innocently, spreading his hands. "So, you're monitoring the entire Xinmu City? That's impressive!"

"Not all of it, just a small part," Bella explained quickly, "I don't have that much ability—"

"I see. So I want to know, why do you do this?"

"An evil creature called 'Fun' has infiltrated the city and is attempting to further harm it," Leslaufer took over, starting with the story of the three encountering gnolls and jackals outside. "Now the city lord has sealed off the entire Xinmu City. We want to resolve this issue as quickly as possible."

"I see. You know quite a bit," the woman, whose shirt was still half red and half white, rested her chin on her hand, pondering. "Although our methods of acquiring information are somewhat different, what we know is pretty much the same."

"You're quite impressive," she said, glancing at Leslaufer. "I also encountered monsters down there and ended up in this state. You're all surprisingly alive—could it be that other companions were lost outside the city?"

The poet's words were not without reason. She had seen the strength of Bella and Angelita, and they were probably only slightly stronger than ordinary people. It was obvious that Leslaufer had extraordinary skills.

"There are only three of us," Leslaufer shook his head slightly. "I've almost said everything I can say. Is it your turn next?"

"Stop—" The other party's face suddenly changed, and he quickly interrupted the mercenary, "Don't talk here. Those monsters that were chasing us were previously lured away by my illusion. They might turn back at any time."

"Have you any place to stay? Let's go there, and I'll tell you everything I find."

"Then at least introduce yourself," Reslaufer said without moving. "I'm sorry, although you two are close friends, for safety reasons, we still can't fully trust you. Until now, we know almost nothing about you."

"I'm Buddy, Buddy Antichi, and this is Miss Bella," Angelita reported her own names first, "and he is——"

"Restlover, I know your name, 'Miss Bartie,'" the poet laughed. Although her mouth never stopped for a moment, it didn't feel painful to listen to her talk. Instead, it felt like someone was playing music in your ears. "Remember? We met last time in the tavern."

"But since you've all introduced yourselves, I'll... well, just call myself this. Let's get to know each other again. I'm Daisy, Daisy Dewdrop Buttercup. I'm a bard. I like to sing and play the piano, and occasionally I write my own music. That's it."

The three of them fell silent, staring at this carefree "Maomao" with suspicion: She didn't even bother to hide the fact that it was a fake name! Who would have a name like that?!

"Change to another one," Leslaufer squeezed out a word through his teeth after a moment, "Our place of stay is not open to everyone. I don't want to introduce you to others like this."

"Is that so?" Daisy blinked in surprise, but soon came up with an idea. "Well, how about this? I'm Daisy Decarios. How does that sound?"

After changing her surname while chatting and laughing, Daisy observed Leslaufer's reaction with anticipation. The mercenary felt that this surname must have some meaning, but he had never heard of anything like it.

It resembled a noble surname in his hometown of East Inassus, but with obvious differences.

"Okay, Miss Daisy, let's leave here first," Leslough noticed that the other person's expression was slightly lost for a second, and then quickly returned to its previous state.

"Well, it seems you don't know about Waterdeep either," the young bard said, setting another trap, but it was bound to be fruitless. "Let's leave quickly. We've stayed here long enough. We might be in danger..."

Before Daisy could finish her words, Leslough suddenly raised his left arm. The poet felt a flash before his eyes. When the man's cloak fell again, a pitch-black arrow appeared in his hand.

This arrow was much shorter than the longbow arrows that Reslaufer was most familiar with, even shorter than those used for shortbows, and there was no feather at the end of the arrow. However, the sharp pattern of barbs and blood-letting grooves on its head undoubtedly showed that this was not an ordinary branch, but a carefully crafted killing weapon.

"Black Arrow!"

Before Reslaufer could continue to examine it, Angarita's expression changed drastically, and she blurted out in horror: "How could Black Arrow appear in Xinmu City?!"

What is a black arrow? Reslaufer felt almost numb. It was as if his experience had completely fallen behind him in the short time he'd been out there today. He was flooded with words he had never heard of before. But reality didn't allow him to dwell on it any longer. At the entrance to the dead end alley, a figure shrouded in a black cloak, carrying a shortbow, slowly emerged from the shadows.

"Half-elf, but from the Antichi family. It's not surprising that you've heard of our name, 'Black Arrow,'" the man said, his broad hood slightly raised, revealing a dark, unadorned mask beneath, identical in style to the arrow. "After all, the first generation of Black Arrows, under His Majesty's secret orders, were executed by none other than those of you, the old and young men with delusional ambitions."

"But I have no interest in you today. Get out of the way, you untouchables." The man raised his short bow and pointed it at Daisy, who was standing behind the three of them. "I want her."

Chapter 66 Black Arrow

In the Imperial language, there are many words to refer to those who are neither noble nor slaves. Before preparing to leave her emperor father, Angelita did enough theoretical accumulation and psychological preparation - she was even prepared to be called a "petty person"!

But the words of this "Black Arrow" still broke her defense. The reason was simple, because the word he said more often referred to people who made a living by selling certain parts of their body!

"how dare you--"

"I advise you to take what you just said, bastard." Leslaufer reached out and held Angarita down, then coldly threw the black arrow at the man's feet. "I don't mind, but I'm not sure what my brothers will think."

"Your brothers... Ha," Black Arrow sneered contemptuously, "Just you? A barbarian trying to pretend to be a Magparesian? What can your brothers do?"

"I'm glad you don't hold a grudge," Leslaufer said, taking a step forward with a slight smile on his face. "I have to say, my brothers and I have no blood relationship. We come from all over the world and may not even have met each other. So what can happen to people like us?"

"I'm just doing things for people for money, burning down a couple of towns and making a little money. Even if I'm bullied by a 'big shot' like you, I can only capture a few men and women to entertain them, or relax the muscles of the men who don't want to pay, or collect their bodies."

Reslaufer's upper body barely moved, his steps only gradually quickening in sync with his words. By the time Black Arrow realized he was rapidly approaching, it was too late. The mercenary instantly drew his sword, his left hand beneath his cloak pressing down on the opponent's shoulder, and thrust his sword straight into the man's heart!

"Mercenary!"

Black Arrow was indeed an organization serving the royal family. This member was able to respond even at such a close distance. His body, which was not very tall to begin with, immediately bent up, and while using his left arm to replace his heart to block Leslough's sword, he quickly stepped back to create distance, looking at the man who suddenly attacked him in shock.

For a bow user, the injury to the left arm is also an unacceptable loss, but it is at least much better than being killed in an alley by someone in a single encounter.

The eyes under the shadow of the black arrow stared at Reslaufer with complicated expressions, and he told him the group that the other party belonged to - he was so stupid just now that he subconsciously thought that this barbarian was a Magparesian, and the "brother" he mentioned was his real brother or some crony!

Those mercenaries, who treated each other like brothers and would swarm in droves once provoked, were creatures from completely different worlds! He had provoked a tough guy today!

These guys, while employed, are also feared. To protect their own interests, mercenaries always love to "cooperate" with their peers, even in wars, with a tacit understanding between the two sides, teaming up to defraud their employers of their gold! They are not pariahs, they are jackals! Hyenas! Vultures!

"But, but weren't you all hired to—" Black Arrow said in disbelief. Leslaufer continued to move forward, while he could only retreat step by step.

"Do we need to report what we intend to do, 'My Lord'?" Leslaufer twirled the sword in his hand sarcastically. "We can join the army of His Majesty the Emperor, but we also don't mind killing two of his spies for fun - if the spy insults me and my brothers."

"What do you want to do? The Black Arrows are not ordinary spies. All of their members have titles before the Emperor! If you really kill me, you will definitely—"

"Ah, ah, save those words about the consequences," Leslaufer said as he took another step forward. This time, the Black Arrow, on guard, didn't lose another arm, but a deep scar was carved into his thigh. "Don't be ridiculous. Do you really think people like us care?"

"Don't worry, how could I dare to really kill you?" Black Arrow reached out to touch the other weapons hidden on his body, but was kicked down by the mercenary. "But I believe some old brothers would want to do this, because this way, they can get enough money to support their other families. Even if you track them down, I'm afraid this is all you can do, right?"

Leslaufer was not lacking in awe of various mysterious spells and rituals, but he was very skeptical whether the black arrow in front of him was worth using such power.

"As for what I want to do? That's too simple. Like I said just now, take your words back and tell me why you want that woman."

For someone hiding in darkness, the moment they step into the light, their life begins to count down, and those who are defeated outside the darkness have no dignity at all. Black Arrow's cloak was casually shredded by Reslaufer's sword, revealing his face, pale with fear and panic, in despair.

"I remember your face." The mercenary's ice-blue eyes stared at Black Arrow carefully for a moment, and finally broke his last line of defense.

"Don't, don't kill me. I take back what I said before. I'll tell you everything." Black Arrow sighed. "Let me make it clear that I'm just a peripheral member. Don't expect to get anything more from me. I can only tell you what I know."

"Search him," Angelita's voice, disguised as a man, came from behind. "Members of the Black Arrows are all equipped with featherless black arrows. Those of higher status will have a dagger with gray silver, and those even higher will wear one to three black magic rings."

"Those magic items crafted by the royal mages who serve the royal family come in two types. Those without broken lines can be used repeatedly, casting a rain of arrows spell once a day. Those with broken lines can unleash a more powerful volley of arrows, but they shatter completely upon activation. In fact, these rings are the origin of the Black Arrow Organization's name; the featherless black arrows are just a deception."

Hearing the secrets of his organization being revealed one by one by an unknown half-elf, Black Arrow completely gave up all his illusions, closed his eyes and stopped resisting, allowing Reslaufer to search every place on his body where he could hide anything.

"It does look like just an ordinary guy, without a dagger, let alone a ring." Leslaufer shrugged, not taking the other party seriously at all. There was a real imperial princess next to him, so what was a royal spy?

"Tell me, what are you doing here?"

Chapter 67 A Turning Point

"My original mission was to track down an important person." Black Arrow sighed, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he almost made Leslaufer and Angelita think of destroying the body.

"But something went wrong with that mission. The fastest-moving group, the 'White Blades,' tracked the enemy all the way to the town of Kiranda, but were killed there. That ended the trail, and everything had to start all over again." Black Arrow paused, then added, "Since you know so much about Black Arrow, you must also know that the White Blades are a department on the same level as us."

"There are more of them than you, and they are more high-profile." Angelita nodded, but she couldn't remember whether the man killed by Leslaufer in the basement of Buddy's manor was a white-knife killer. At that time, she was busy dealing with those throat-strangers and didn't think about it at all.

"Exactly. They usually come in groups of two or three. It's very rare for them to be killed simultaneously," Black Arrow said seriously. "And even rarer still, the two White Blades died in vastly different locations. One died in the town of Kiranda, and the other died at the entrance to a winery's cellar outside of town. A large number of strange corpses and other remains were also found there."

"Come to think of it, the last owner of that winery was also an Antichi, just like you, but we found his ashes in his home."

One is a half-elf, the other is a handful of ashes. Besides, Antichi is a surname that was forcibly changed by a group of people. Even if Black Arrow has a rich imagination, he would not connect this Antichi with that Antichi together.

However, this became the reason for his transfer. After all, Black Arrow was specifically responsible for investigating these Antichi.

"So they sent you out," Angelita nodded slightly, "No wonder."

"Because the person is already confirmed dead, this clue is not the main focus of the investigation. More personnel have been dispatched to track down the murderer of another knife-wielding murder—you will never guess who the most likely suspect is."

"He's a blacksmith, a—"

"Dwarf," Daisy suddenly interrupted, "You must have targeted me because of this... Were you the dark figure who attacked me down there?!"

The poet suddenly became excited. If Bella hadn't stopped him in time, the Black Arrow member would have had at least one more flat shoe mark on his face.

"Are you human? Are you human?!" Daisy burst into tears before Reslaufer and the others could ask what was going on. "Can't you see any of those monsters down there? What emperor do you serve? So many monsters hiding under the city! You pretended not to see anything! And then when I was fighting them to the death, you shot me with an arrow?!"

"Are you human?!"

"Black Arrow only obeys the emperor's orders and does not comply with anything else..." Black Arrow spoke subconsciously. He had used this set of words more than once, but this time, he couldn't muster up the courage to finish his words. He just started to speak and his voice disappeared from his throat.

"Come on, continue."

The reflection of Black Arrow's unshaven chin was visible on the blade of his sword, and if he spoke one more syllable, Black Arrow was not sure whether he would let the sword fall.

"No, no, no, I just... never mind. That's probably what happened anyway," Black Arrow resigned himself to his fate and abandoned his righteous arguments. "The murderer of the town's White Blade is most likely a dwarf blacksmith. The body was found in his smithy, killed by a smoke powder explosion. And according to his two apprentices, they hadn't seen the blacksmith since the night of the explosion. He's likely absconded, fearing his crime."

Kiranda, the blacksmith, the dwarf! Leslaufer and Angarita looked at each other: That Vondar actually did such a big thing?

"That wasn't originally my responsibility. It was a strange coincidence that I discovered the dwarf's trail first and chased him all the way to Xinmu City. The dwarf might have sensed my presence and kept trying to get rid of me, but he clearly underestimated Black Arrow's ability. I still found him, and the person closest to him was you."

Black Arrow cast his gaze towards the bard, and in return he received a violent slap on the cheek.

"You rascal!" Daisy yelled. "I'd kill you for that! And you even dared to attack me!"

Who told you to hide the dwarf in the closet? Black Arrow felt a little aggrieved. Was that what he wanted to see?

The answer is yes - how else would he know!

"But that's not right, is it?" The poet, after a moment of revenge, calmed down a bit and questioned, "I've already left, so why are you looking for me instead of him? Whoever killed someone should go after them. Even if I'm hiding the criminal, shouldn't you catch the murderer first?"

"You didn't know?" This time it was Black Arrow's turn to be surprised. "He disappeared shortly after you left. I only know that he went into the sewer pipes of Xinmu City, but lost you. Then he ran into you down there. I thought it was all a plot."

"It was a devil's plan, you pig-head!" Another crisp slap sounded. "Isn't it obvious that it was his own idea?! Why don't you come out and ask me? How do you know I wouldn't tell you?"

Black Bolt's mind was buzzing, and it wasn't just physics: So he was wrong? He'd almost killed her while a civilian (or mercenary) was fighting a truly evil force? How could that be!

Despite reciting the organization's rules countless times in his mind, this Black Arrow member was very honest. Under Reslaufer's coercion, he did not dare to say, "The Black Arrow does not serve the nobles and citizens, the Black Arrow is just a servant of the Matt family." Instead, he said, "I repent, I am guilty, gentlemen and ladies, I beg for your forgiveness, I am willing to pay the price for my evil deeds, but-"

"Just what?"

"I beg you to spare my life! I have seven children at home who need to be fed and they can't live without me..."

"If you hadn't violated the laws of the Empire, even if your wife gave birth to one child a year, the oldest would be too old to be fed." Angrita's voice was icy. She had never imagined that the person who nearly killed her savior was actually a servant who had served her family and her former self! It was ridiculous!

And this rude guy actually used such obscene words towards three women! It's unbelievable! He should be thrown into that zoo in my father's house to feed the crocodiles!

Angelita naturally wouldn't give Black Arrow a good look, but Leslough didn't respond immediately. He straightened up slightly, as if listening to something. At this moment, Tiaotiao, who had been staying on Bella's shoulder, suddenly jumped up, climbed over the wall beside the alley, and disappeared in a flash.

"Something's coming, something evil," the druid's voice was a little nervous. "It's all because of this damn assassin. We might be stuck here!"

"Don't you want to repent?" Leslough grabbed the Black Arrow from the ground. "Now's your chance."

Chapter 68 The Price of Forgiveness

"What, what chance?" Black Arrow shrank his neck and looked cautiously at Leslaufer who still pointed the tip of his sword at his heart.

What I heard from the druid woman didn't seem to be a good thing.

There was no need for Leslaufer to answer. A chaotic sound of footsteps came from the alley. Black Arrow turned around in horror and saw a group of "people" wrapped in cloaks. There were seven members in this team, four of them were tall and strong, and the other three were much thinner.

But if he saw correctly, these monsters seemed to have similar postures to the ones he saw underground fighting with the bard!

"Go," the mercenary said without hesitation, pushing the Black Arrow forward, "Go to the front and protect those you have hurt!"

"At least this proves you're truly sorry!"

"I fight...?" Black Arrow wanted to refuse, but the humanoid monsters who were chasing him by smelling the scent had already opened their cloaks, revealing four hyena heads and three jackal faces. They drew out their bone scimitars and short swords and daggers, howling and rushing towards him with a clear target!

"We're all going to die anyway, so let's fight!" Thinking of the sword of the mercenary behind him that could kill him in an instant, Black Arrow bit his back teeth, picked up the short bow and shot at the werewolf rushing in the front!

The featherless black arrow slashed an unpredictable arc, seemingly avoiding the scimitar wielded by the gnoll, and pierced its ear. In the narrow alley, the monsters' charge was suddenly slowed down by the wounded companions in front.

"Come again!" A roar of life and death burst out from Black Arrow's mouth. The excited shouting allowed him to dispel the fear in his heart, and the extreme anger allowed him to stay sober in this situation.

But... what was he angry about? Was it because he was being pushed out to die? Was it his cold-bloodedness? Or was it his cowardice in not daring to turn and resist? Black Arrow didn't know. He only knew that the arrows in his body were dwindling, while the inhuman faces of those monsters were getting closer and closer.

"Help me block it! Just block it for a moment!" Black Arrow pleaded loudly, "I will atone for my sins! Give me some time! I need some distance!"

When the two sides were still far apart, the specially made black arrows could cause considerable damage, but once forced into close combat, he didn't think his small daggers could defeat the three remaining, burly gnolls!

Only the longbowmen in the warband have such exaggerated muscles, how can he arm wrestle with these monsters?!

"Please! Help me, I don't want to die in their hands!" A fierce claw brushed past Black Arrow's face. The latter had no time to put the arrow on in a hurry, so he could only use the arrow as a dagger, barely piercing the opponent's throat.

However, during this delay, the monsters behind had already pounced on him. Although there were only two gnolls and two transformed jackals left at this time, in such a narrow terrain, the Black Arrow had to face overwhelming pressure.

However, there was nothing behind him except rustling noises. If he had the leisure to look back at this moment, he would have seen that Leslaufer and the other three had followed the inspiration brought by Tiaotiao, climbed up the side wall, and stood on the roof.

"Are you really not going to help him?" Angelita hesitated as she looked at the "defense line" below that was about to collapse.

"Do you want to?" Reslaufer asked. If Black Arrow died fighting the monster, it would be a good ending. But if Reslaufer didn't want to give him an ending today, it would be a simple matter.

"No, forget it." Angelita was silent for a moment and shook her head. "Just do as he said and give him a chance. He's not a good man, but at least he deserves to be buried with more monsters."

Perhaps it was because of what Angelita said, the Black Arrow below roared in despair.