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

"Take her down!"

When Louise screamed, Skadi responded with silence. Just as the Strongman family member behind her was about to knock her unconscious, Earl Doole suddenly dodged the attack to the side, and at the same time, the dagger in his sleeve slid into his hand and stabbed at Henning in the chest!

Chapter 721 Split Operations

Reislaufer discovered the anomaly much earlier than Henning and others had planned.

Kalista's swarm of rats had a control over Ironforge far exceeding the enemy's expectations. Even if the power of malice was enough to break through layers of obstacles, a letter bearing Pol's signature was still enough to be delivered by the old mage's duck pet to Zebreh and into the hands of Raslaufer.

However, unlike Paul who failed to become the target, the old mage was also unclear about what exactly happened. He only knew that someone had forcibly taken Duncan away, while Kalista was severely injured. Among the invading bandits, many of them looked like demons.

"She went to the appointment, and then never came back... Did the Beast go with her?"

When he left Dollard's territory, Raslaufer's face was more somber than ever before. Even his Nightmare horse could sense his emotions, its mane trembling almost imperceptibly in the air.

A spatial rift leading directly to the Iron Fortress was opened, and Dubler rode straight in, but turned his head and stopped his companions with a look when they were about to follow.

“But Uncle Leslaufer, this is a big deal!” Angelita said hurriedly, “We also…”

"Don't follow me. I don't want to say it a second time."

After uttering just a few words, Dubul turned and disappeared into the crevice, leaving four people standing there in a daze in the wind.

Bella was the first to move.

"Why are you looking at me?" The red-haired druid tossed his hair and shrugged. "He just said not to come along. What's wrong with me going back to the Rebel Zone?"

There is a green dragon that was moved from the Colin Otto Mountains. Perhaps she cannot interfere, but a giant dragon is definitely different.

“Then… I’ll go ask Zhengling,” Daisy said quickly, her eyes darting around. “Lord Paul’s letter clearly stated that there is a devil, so she must have some clues about this.”

Having said that, as if they were in a hurry to avoid something, the two left one after the other, leaving only Angelita and Marie still standing in the same place—not to mention Veruna, who was their mount.

If she could, Mary would have liked to avoid it, but she couldn't. She could only watch helplessly as Angrita's expression rapidly mirrored that of Leslaufer when she left, her target clear: the unicorn Veruna.

"As a celestial being, you should have some clues about who did these things, right?"

The unicorn's eyelashes fluttered, but it didn't blink. It simply spoke slowly, "I can guess some of it, but I can't be sure."

According to the descriptions of the knights and officials of Dole, Skadi disappeared after going to accept Henning's invitation to a banquet. It is not hard to guess who did it. The important thing is whether Henning was behind both. If not, going there rashly would only alert the enemy.

More importantly, according to Veruna's speculation, Henning would definitely not stay in the palace waiting for them to come looking for him, but would hide. And Angrita's target was probably still the capital of the Kingdom of Wenzel.

That's wrong, terribly wrong. Regardless of whether Henning actually did anything, his family should be innocent... or at least not deserving of death.

“Anne, you should understand that someone like Leslaufer is completely different from you,” Veruna quickly said, sensing the subtle tension in the air. “You can’t be like him, and you shouldn’t be, especially since even he didn’t…”

“Uncle Raslaufer has his things to do,” Angelita dismounted and patted the unicorn’s nape. “I have my things to do too. If you don’t want to go, I understand and won’t force you, but don’t stop me.”

"Annie, you—"

Angelita, who had already turned around, paused. When she turned back, her eyes were fixed on the unicorn. Veruna recognized that look; it was observing its actions and guarding against any substantial action it might take.

“Look into my eyes, Verunara,” Angelita said again, her tone seemingly changing in just a few seconds. “I am Angelita of the Matt family. My ancestor was Richard the Great of Inasas, and my other ancestors ruled the largest and only empire in the world.”

The girl gave a strange smile: "Even when I first escaped from the palace, nothing I was afraid of was... people. Come on, Margaret, find me a horse. We need to get going before Uncle Raslaufer beats us to it."

As Angelita set off, Raslaufer was already seated at the head of a long table, casually dragging a two-handed greatsword, its tip carving deep furrows in the ground. It eventually stopped beside Dobler, the blade of which faced almost all the prominent figures of Ironforge.

Some were indignant, some were indifferent, and some were reluctant, but what they had in common was that they were all standing here at this moment—the few people in this city who could sit down in front of Raslaufer were not present.

And Leslaufer came specifically for them.

“Your Excellency, Kingmaker, this really has nothing to do with us!” A nobleman, seeing Leslaufer’s gaze seemingly casually glancing their way, was the first to break down. He quickly raised his hand, his face contorted with pain, and said, “I swear I have nothing to do with this. When those demons swarmed onto the city walls, I was so scared I wanted to crawl underground…”

“I know this has nothing to do with you,” Leslaufer interrupted him, “which is why I’m sitting here.”

“But you have a responsibility and an obligation to find out who the murderer is who did this to your lord and commander. I need to know an answer.”

The people present exchanged bewildered glances. From the back of the crowd, someone timidly muttered, "How could we possibly know that..."

“This is your commander, this is your business. I only want answers,” Leslaufer said calmly, sitting in his seat. “They need to return safely, and I will personally make sure that happens—provided you get a conclusion as soon as possible, whatever it may be: whether it was done by the Nine Hells, whether it was revenge from the Abyss, or whether it was kidnapped by Henning of the Kingdom of Wenzel. It doesn’t matter, I only want answers.”

“But if the opposite is true, and your delays lead to any misfortune, and my blade is not pointed at by you all, then,” a sharp sound echoed between the metal blade and the floor tiles, “it will be pointed at every living thing I see.”

“If things were like this, the courtroom could be turned into a morgue!” Raslaufer’s attitude undoubtedly sparked discussion among almost everyone, with someone immediately protesting, “You can’t do that, you can’t do it…”

“I can, and whether I can do it is not your concern,” Leslaufer glanced at the man as if he were a corpse. “I will start with Ironforge, and the scope will be, for the time being, the entire Inazas.”

“I have saved you from the shadow of evil, and if you cannot meet my demands, I will take back every single one of your lives.”

The entire arena fell silent after Raslaw's remarks. They didn't believe Raslaw would actually do such a thing, but they couldn't afford to be completely unsure. Even so, how were they going to find the killer who took Skadi and Duncan? Henning? He could certainly be, but what if he wasn't?

“Your Excellency Raslaufer, please don’t do this,” a voice rang out from the back of the crowd. The crowd jostled to make way for an unremarkable-looking priest to stand before Raslaufer. “Do you remember me? I am Le Corneille! I have something to confess to you.”

Chapter 722 Le Corneille's Confession

All anyone could see was a flash of light that suddenly appeared before their eyes. When they came to their senses, the blade of the greatsword was already at Le Corneur's neck.

Raslaufer's gaze was more terrifying than ever, perhaps because of his return from the Nine Hells, or perhaps simply because of this recent turn of events.

"Speak." He looked at the priest in front of him who was struggling to keep himself from kneeling on the ground.

“I… Your Excellency, do you still remember the enemy you defeated before you fell into hell, that Dragon Finger Fidel?” Lecorney didn’t actively use any abilities, but his killing intent and power alone were enough to make the priest almost vomit. He barely managed to hold back. “If you know his power well enough, you should know that there are five so-called ‘Dragon Finger’.”

Leslaufer looked at him, raising the blade slightly upwards: "I don't see how this relates to what we're discussing now."

“No, it is related, if you remember what happened with the antique dealer,” the priest sighed. “That porcelain cat was actually meant for me, or rather, I should have bought it from Schultz ‘by accident,’ and I should have played the role of the one with dragon blood. I am… the little finger that Fidel planted in Eastern Inassassin.”

"The two batches of 'garrison troops' were also encouraged by me to do so, with the aim of supporting Fidel."

Le Cornelius's words immediately caused a huge uproar. Everyone present, especially his fellow church members and other friends, looked at the priest in disbelief. His words seemed to be completely different from the person they knew.

But they had no choice but to believe it was all true; otherwise, Le Corneille would have to be insane to willingly claim such titles for himself. It wouldn't bring him flowers and applause; the guillotine or the noose would be ready for him.

“You should know the consequences of saying these things,” Reslaufer said.

“I know, which is why I have to explain all this,” Lecorney nodded, his expression somber. “However, Fidel and I don’t have a particularly close relationship. He needs a trustworthy person in Eastern Inassassin to support his plans, while I aspire to one day shed my priesthood and ascend to a higher position, nothing more. In my eyes back then, I was far superior to those present here, and I had no reason not to take a position more worthy of me.”

"However... East Inassus is far too far away from Fidel, with countless variables in between, and the assistance he can provide is pitifully little. When Lord Raslaufer first thwarted my plan to organize a standing army, I already had the idea of ​​retreating; but when the bloodstone containing the blood of a dragon was stolen by a red dragon, and Fidel intended to use that little dragon to replace me, I urgently launched a second attempt, and the result was... I completely gave up."

“I have to admit that in front of you, I am just a nobody. I think my little tricks behind the scenes are nothing compared to yours. If there is a third time, I will probably be exposed. So when I found that things were not going well, I immediately sided with you and completely abandoned the plan. And later it proved to be a wise decision,” the priest smiled bitterly. “I found out the fate of that young dragon. If it weren’t for you, I would probably be the one who was sacrificed to summon the dragon queen’s incarnation—Fidel did not intend to keep his promise.”

Le Cornelius swallowed hard. “I thought this would end there, that it would all be buried with my secret methods that I’ve always been so proud of. But not long ago, a Tifflin witch came to me and asked if I intended to take revenge on you—specifically, by eliminating those close to you, one by one. And this witch I’m talking about admitted herself that she is the court sorcerer who works for Henning Wenzel.”

"You agree?" Leslaufer's voice came from the broad blade, close to his skull.

“No,” the priest quickly shook his head, “but I did not refuse immediately. I only gave my answer after hearing all her plans. That is why I am able to stand here and swear that I have absolutely no intention of deceiving you, and at the same time ensure that everything I say is true and credible: they plan to kidnap the Lord, Lord Duncan, and Mr. Dieter Strongman one after another, and then transport them together to a pirate's lair called Coldwater Island off the coast, to persuade Nior, the Ampier pirate you defeated before, to join him in the next step of their plan to deal with you.”

“Nio?” Leslaufer sheathed his greatsword and stood up. “That brute? They might as well just find any fish in the sea; it’s all the same—did that witch tell you why it had to be this way?”

“Well… I asked her, but I didn’t quite understand what she was saying,” Le Corneille said with a sigh of relief, “She just mentioned contracts, the deep sea, and something like the ancients…”

That must be the source of Nior's power. Perhaps he didn't use his full strength when they fought, or perhaps he gained some new power after his defeat. Raslaufer nodded, indicating that he understood.

“You did a good job, at least you were perceptive,” Leslaufer strode out, the crowd parting to the sides as if afraid the Kingmaker’s steps would falter even slightly. “As for the rest of you, whatever Le Corneille did before, he has now atoned—because of him, you can live.”

"And what you don't have to pay, I will get back from other people."

“Mr. Raslaufer,” Paul couldn’t help but speak up, even though he knew no one wanted to stop Raslaufer, “Well, Anne was very happy when she was with you, please, don’t…”

“She doesn’t need to get involved in this,” Raslaufer summoned Nightmare, who was waiting outside. Although Raslaufer didn’t know where the so-called Coldwater Island was, Nightmare could find the corresponding spatial coordinates. “You can rest assured that I don’t believe in ‘waiting’ or ‘planning’ when it comes to revenge. After it’s all over, there will be no repercussions.”

Accompanied by the howl of the gray nightmare, a spatial rift, similar to the one he had encountered when he arrived at Ironforge, appeared before Raslaufer. Without hesitation, Dople plunged into it, leaving behind only a deathly gray-white flame shadow.

Chapter 723 Coming from the Sea

The waves crashed against the rocks of Cold Rock Island. For most land creatures, the ocean is forbidden territory, but for sailors, this boundless expanse is both a forbidden zone and a treasure trove, a sanctuary and a graveyard.

For this small island, which stands amidst the vast ocean and is a full week's voyage from the nearest land, its residents have just welcomed a group of special guests today.

"Men, jump up and drink!" Nior, drunk, shouted to his men below the chair, holding a wine cup carved from a human skull. "For our honored guest!"

"For our distinguished guest!"

"For the impending destruction of Leslaufer!"

"For the destruction of Raslaufer!"

"for--"

“Chief, that’s enough,” Henning said hastily, his face flushed. He had a dagger-slashed scar on his face that ran across his cheek and had not yet healed. “The spirits of Ampiri are just… too delicious.”

At this rate of drinking, there's no need for Raslaufer; these Ampere barbarians could drink him to death.

"Hmm..." Nior was very unhappy that his drinking mood had been interrupted. He glanced at Henning, but in the end he didn't say anything. He just waved to the king and then took a big gulp of wine.

"Your Excellency, I'll drink with you!" Louise stood up, picked up the wine glass in front of her with a hearty gesture, and after downing the wine in one gulp without leaving a drop, she let out a "ha" and turned the glass upside down to indicate that she hadn't played any tricks.

"Good! Cheers to you!" Neo immediately beamed and roared down in a powerful voice, "Men, keep the music playing, keep dancing!"

On the isolated island, there was little entertainment available; the rough dance moves and barely harmonized music brought from Ampiri were the majority of what was available.

But for the distinguished guests newly arrived on the island, this was clearly far from enough.

“Chief,” Count Katina, already quite drunk, staggered over to Nior’s table, and after toasting the burly man before him, mumbled, “How could such a grand event be without… hiccup, how could it be without the most important event?”

Compared to these Eastern Inasa nobles, Nior was a much better drinker. He understood what Count Katina meant, and pointed to a few female pirates nearby: "Here, if you want some, go get it yourself, but let me tell you, be careful you won't even be able to stand up later, ha, hahaha!"

Seeing the "beauties" who were only half-heartedly posing, but whose arms were thicker than his thighs, the count was instantly sobered up. He hurriedly chuckled and stammered to Nior, "Oh no, Chief, these are your people, I dare not touch them casually... Didn't we... bring one more?"

Upon hearing this, Nior stopped drinking from his cup, coldly scrutinized Katina from head to toe, and finally uttered two words: "Now? No."

Shikoti was the daughter of another chief, and she had no conflict with that chief. According to the customs of Ampiri, she could not be disposed of casually and could only be treated as an ordinary prisoner.

So, what happens to ordinary prisoners of war?

She was locked up with all the other prisoners. If she volunteered or gave up, then there would be no more constraints, and the first criminal who succeeded could be released to atone for all his previous sins.

Even now, corpses are still being carried out of the prison cells.

“Count Katina, you seem to be getting a little carried away,” Henning said, his scar twitching as he listened to their discussion of Skadi. “Isn’t the more important thing now to guard against Raslaufer? Our last operation at Ironforge was a bit too big; there’s no guarantee we won’t be…”

“Ha, Your Majesty, you can rest assured!” Nior slapped Henning on the shoulder. “I’ve already heard from your witch that Raslaufer just escaped from hell, and the devil kidnapped Duncan. Even if he could pinpoint you, it would take him a lot of time. Let alone, how could he possibly know that you’re with me?”

"And look!" He pointed, and the towering waves outside Coldstone Island, the dozen or so large and small ships surrounding Coldstone Island, which encircled the entire island like an iron barrel. Not to mention, on this small island, a fortress made of huge rocks was set up by the sea, complete with firing ports, catapults, crossbows and the like.

"With the defenses here, even wyverns in the sky wouldn't have a chance to get close!" Nior smiled smugly. "Not to mention my men, including the three to five thousand you brought, if we just stand here, even a hundred thousand wouldn't be able to get near! The King, heh heh, not that I look down on him! How many people can he gather to go to sea with him? This is our home turf!"

"Not to mention we have the devil's support... In that case, we'll be the only ones hitting him, how can he possibly fight back?"

Nior, beaming with pride, took another large gulp of wine and casually wiped his mouth: "Your Majesty Henning, you can just stay here and watch. Once Raslaufer's so-called prestige has completely vanished, and he can't conquer my island, your kingdom will still be your kingdom—"

"Chief! Chief!"

Before Nior could finish speaking, a sailor shouted and scrambled to the center of the banquet. He was pale and his lips were trembling. When he looked up at Nior and Henning, he could only manage to utter one word: "Here, here!"

"They're here?! What's here?!" Niort's imposing figure suddenly stood up, and Henning felt as if a small mountain had appeared beside him. "You mean Raslaufer, they're here?!"

"How could he be so fast? Tell me, how many people did he bring? How many ships?"

The sailor shook his head in utter terror; if it weren't for his neck, the sphere would have almost rolled off his shoulder.

"Chief, he...he...there's nobody here! And nobody has a boat!"

"What nonsense are you spouting!" One of Nior's pirates rushed over and kicked him to the ground. "Nobody here, no ship, this is an island! How did he get here? Did he sprout wings and fly here?"

"No, no!" the sailor lying on the ground cried, his voice trembling with sobs. "Please, please go and see! He—"

Countless footsteps trampled over him. Nior and the others hurried to the top of the fortress wall. Just looking ahead, they could see a line of white vapor dissipating behind them, as if flames were steaming them.

At the very front of this rolling "army" of water mist, a swift horse burning with grayish-white flames is galloping across the sea. On its back sits a knight who is not a knight, holding the reins and carrying a two-handed greatsword.

Reslaufer, he's here!

Chapter 724 You will be jealous

"Reslaufer!" Nior stared in disbelief at the man and horse rapidly approaching on the sea. Even on the raging waves, nothing seemed to be able to stop this man. "You've finally come! I will take my revenge on you!"

The Ampiri's roar was full of energy, and even from that distance, Nior was certain the other party could hear it. However, he received no response, and Raslaufer didn't even bother to look up at him.

"Fire arrows! Throw stones! And fill the cannons with all the smoke powder we got from Haidong!" Nior waved his hand, ordering his men to get to work. "Bring out all our resources! I want to see his body sink into the sea!"

Crossbows were immediately drawn from the city walls and aimed towards Leslaufer. With a creaking sound of their bases turning, the ballistae on one side of the city wall began to operate. On the other walls, all the catapults and cannons were also put under the control of the pirates.

Their only purpose and goal was to smash this man who came across the sea into the ocean, so that he would never be able to surface again!

However, Raslaufer didn't even bother to look at them. He heard Nior's roar, and the sounds of dense mechanisms activating and arrows and cannon fire flying everywhere. But... he didn't need to hide.

Nightmare Warhorses are not used for this.