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

"There was even a guy who broke into my shop in the middle of the night. Damn it, if he had told me where he came from, I might not have had to go through so much trouble to kill him! And killing him would have only made me even more miserable!"

"Neither White Blade nor Black Arrow usually reveals their identities," Angelita said with an apologetic smile, "so please forgive me, I cannot reveal my identity either."

"...You're one of them? That's strange." Vondar looked at Angrita curiously. Could this girl be a newcomer to the hand-to-hand combat training? But what was so special about a little girl who had barely mastered any combat skills?

Even he, a foreigner, was troubled!

Vondar admitted that this might be more because he killed one of their members, but if that Bai Ren was not "like that", he certainly would not be "like that", right?

"Oh, never mind. Things have come to this point anyway. And to be honest, I'm to blame for raising two ungrateful apprentices—they actually reported me! I can't believe it! I taught them all the skills that make me a living. Is it my fault that they can't learn?" The dwarf thought of the two dull-witted "Loth Beasts" again, and couldn't help but get even more angry. "Now, the forge is given to them! Let's see if they can earn a living!"

"Oh, Lao Lei, what did you ask me before? Injuries?" The dwarf tugged at his beard and looked up at the mercenary. "You're not referring to the wounds I got from those skeleton monsters, are you? What exactly are you referring to?"

Chapter 79: The Name Stripper

Due to his lack of arcane knowledge, Reslaufer had no way of explaining to Vondar what kind of power it was. He could only use the three-headed flail that injured him as an example and ask the dwarf if he had ever been hurt by similar weapons and powers.

"No, Old Lei, my friend, I have no recollection of that," the dwarf replied firmly. "I am a craftsman, and given the right materials, I can forge magical weapons myself. I fully understand what you are talking about. That is the power attached to cursed weapons."

"But I haven't seen anything like it. If it were right in front of me, without being hit by it, I would have noticed what it was. Unfortunately, no."

Vondar groaned. "But I'm definitely feeling unwell right now. I can't deny I was tricked. I'm afraid some sinister and cunning guy is attacking me in secret, but don't worry, it's nothing serious. Old Vondar won't be defeated by such tricks."

"By the way, this...ah, Old Lei, what should I call your niece now? Are you used to using that war hammer? How does that leather armor feel?"

"Buddy, just call me Buddy," Angelita said softly. "Thank you for your gifts. They're all very useful equipment, and I like them very much. However, the leather armor has been damaged under the ribs in a previous battle."

"That's not a big deal. Come here, let me take a look. Although I generally don't provide after-sales service, we might be together for quite a while now, so leave these small matters to me."

The dwarf beckoned Angarita over and carefully inspected the visible and invisible damage on her armor and weapons. The dwarf was indeed in poor condition, but it was not so bad that it affected his eyesight. "These are all minor problems, Buddy, believe me. I can give you a list later. Purchase the items listed on it. You don't even need a stove. I can fix them and make them as good as new!"

"There's no rush for this kind of thing. It's better for you to rest for a while," Angelita said quickly. "Now—"

"I don't know what's wrong with me, but that's why I have to do this." The dwarf smiled under his beard. "The equipment I made is broken, and I am the one who suffers? I don't want to be that unlucky person!"

Dwarves are notoriously stubborn. While the Halfhill Dwarves aren't as stubborn as their rivals, the Zhakot Clan, they're also unyielding on this matter. Angrita had to make a circuitous route. Although the items listed by Vondar were easy to find, she still wandered the streets until sunset before returning to the inn.

When she stepped through the door, the soothing piano music in the house gradually stopped. Daisy looked at Angelita, made a silent gesture, and whispered:

"Shh, keep your voice down, the dwarf uncle just went to bed."

"He's so stubborn," the bard grumbled quietly. "I'm almost breaking my hands trying to make him sleep."

"Dwarves are stronger in spirit and physique than humans, especially skilled craftsmen like Vondar," said Reslaufer, taking the item from Angrita. "The dwarves in the east of the sea have long been searching for a lost forge city. It's said that the dwarves who once lived there imprisoned dragons and used dragonfire to smelt metal for them."

"Toxic fumes, intense heat, and the pressure of the dragon itself—you can only imagine what kind of people could work in that kind of place, crafting some of the most powerful tools in the world."

"Ah, I've heard of such a thing!" Daisy said excitedly, but she soon realized that her tone was a little too high, and quickly lowered her voice again, "It's a red dragon named Xibochad. It was raised by the gray dwarves underground since it was young, and it used its fire power in exchange for treasures and services..."

It has to be said that the bard Daisy has a lot of stories in her mind, even though these stories are full of loopholes to veteran mercenaries like Leslaufer. For example, he has never heard of the "gray dwarves" branch of dwarves. The dwarves living deep underground are usually called dark dwarves, and their appearance and customs are very different from other dwarves. But it is undeniable that Daisy's stories are indeed interesting enough.

"...The dwarves fed Hibochard enough food, allowing him to enjoy all the benefits without leaving his house. But this treatment came at a price - guess what happened to him in the end?"

"What happened?" Angelita couldn't stand this kind of suspense and asked quickly.

"What else could it be? He's fat as a ball, of course!" The poet slapped his thigh and laughed. "He can't even fly. He can only flap his two little wings to move around! Even his rolling speed is faster than flying!"

The poet vividly described one of Hiberchard's hunting operations, as if she were there herself, except that in her story, the only poet in the group of prey of the red dragon was a man.

Perhaps it was word of mouth among his peers? Reslaufer couldn't help but think. These poets are truly remarkable.

Although Daisy made quite a noise, the dwarf seemed to be sleeping soundly and was not woken up by her laughter. He slept peacefully until midnight without any unusual movement, which made Leslough and the others feel relieved.

But this is not a good thing for Vondar Banqiu himself.

In the dream, he and dozens of other dwarves lined up in a row, standing in front of a city gate made of cast metal. On both sides of the team, one dwarf after another looked down on them and looked at them coldly, as if they were examining sinners.

They are indeed sinners.

Vondal lowered his head. A pair of mithril handcuffs were shackled on his wrists. Chains of the same material rattled under his feet, connecting every individual in the team. Whenever the dwarf in front took a step forward, Vondal would move forward uncontrollably, without any room for thinking or retreat.

"Isn't this that coward? Why is he back?" Vondar heard a voice blowing past his ear, which might be someone he knew.

"Of course he's back to face trial," another voice said disdainfully, "He's brought shame upon the clan! He must face his own judgment!"

"Only if he confesses his guilt," a third voice followed. "Can you imagine? After leaving the clan, he shamelessly continues to use his name!"

"That's not his name! Names belong to the clan. He should be a 'Name Stripper'. He doesn't deserve a name!"

"Bullshit!" The dwarf craftsman could no longer tolerate such ridicule and protested angrily, "You have no right to take away my name! It was given to me by my father!"

Chapter 80: Dwarf's Dream

"Because back then, you weren't a coward!"

A thunderous roar echoed from the front of the column, and Vondar's face immediately turned pale. He turned his head and looked straight ahead. The dwarves who had been in front of him had now vanished into thin air. Only a dwarf with gray hair and beard, who looked about half like him, stood at the gate, holding a black and red long-handled battle axe, glaring at him with his hair and beard standing up.

That was his father, the patriarch of the Banqiu clan, but there was no trace of either of them on his damaged, blood-soaked plate armor.

"From the moment you were born, I knew my son would be different from ordinary people." The old dwarf looked up at Vondar, but seemed to be leer at him. "I thought you would be a giant, a giant who could support the prosperity and glory of the entire family. I never imagined it!"

"My son is a coward! A deserter!" The Banqiu clan leader slammed his battle axe to the ground in grief. "Where have you put my teachings? Where have you put our clan's traditions and honor? You are not worthy of being a member of the Banqiu clan. You are not worthy of being my son!"

"That's not true, father!" Vondar stretched out his handcuffed hands and tried to grab his father's shoulders. "That's not true, listen to my explanation! I'm not a coward, I really have received divine revelation, I must--"

"Shut up, nameless one!" His father took a half step back, raising his battle axe in a fighting stance. "Stand back! You bastard! You can tarnish our honor, but how dare you slander our gods?!"

"You claimed you had divine revelation. You led us to believe you could forge a masterpiece comparable to our ancestors', a masterpiece that would lead us to the Forge City! We believed you, even going against our ancestral teachings to comply with your demands. But you deceived us all! You simply don't possess such skills!"

"I heard that you actually fled to the human kingdom after obtaining the materials? And were betrayed by two human apprentices there? Pah! This is your retribution!"

"That's not true, please listen to me--" Vondal was choked to tears by the continuous rebuttal, but no matter how he tried to explain, the other party ignored him. On the contrary, the axe blade was getting closer and closer to the dwarf's neck.

"Then kill me, come on!" Finally, the dwarf's rage erupted. He reached out and pressed the sword in his father's hand to his throat. "Kill me! Cut off my head! Let the Father God and the ancestors decide, father! Throw this head into the hottest lava! If I'm guilty, it will sink and burn to ashes! But I know it won't! Come on!"

"The Hammer of the World is watching! I have never forgotten my mission! I just, I just—"

"You just can't do it, right?"

Feng Daer was stunned. Suddenly, his father's face softened. He remained serious, but without the anger and indifference. Instead, he looked filled with endless disappointment. "You received divine revelation, but you discovered you weren't cut out for it, right?"

"No matter how hard you try, a scrap of cloth can never be forged into a blade. The skills of our ancestors have long been lost. Haidong doesn't have the answers you seek."

Two lines of turbid tears flowed from the dwarf craftsman's eyes. "I'm sorry, father. That's why I decided to... I feel guilty towards you and every member of my tribe, regardless of whether they believed in me or not."

"You don't need to blame yourself for this," the Banqiu tribe leader said in a gentler tone. "It's not your fault. You're just a mortal. How can you guess the mind of a god?"

"However, I recently found some clues in Haidong. Come back, my child, and you will get what you want. But before that, there is a material that can only be obtained in the human world today, and you need to complete it."

"I will fulfill my mission!" the dwarf swore. "Tell me, tell me what it is and where it is, father!"

Opposite Feng Daer, the old dwarf's expression became subtly strange. "It's very close to you, very close, in Xinmu City, underground in Xinmu City... Do you remember where your back was injured? It's right there. You just need to--"

The old dwarf was unable to continue speaking halfway. He lowered his head in astonishment. Half of the sword blade of the fighting sword was exposed in his chest, without a drop of blood on it.

"How did you--" He, or "it" turned his head resentfully, trying to see who was attacking him, but this was doomed to be impossible. As the will of the instigator began to dissipate, the entire dream collapsed synchronously, and Vondar was about to wake up.

"Ahhhhhh!" The dwarf screamed in pain and jumped up from the bed. His face, body and even beard were covered with sweat. He looked like he had been fished out of the water.

His face was once again covered with those dark lines, as if they were about to devour him completely. Even the melodious piano music and the emerald green light that enveloped him at the same time could not stop it.

"Do something, please, Uncle Leslaufer!" Angelita looked nervously at the tall figure standing in front of the dwarf's bed. Leslaufer stood there like a sculpture with a sword in his hand, but did not move.

"I've done it," said Rathlough, his voice unusually cold. "Now it's up to him and them."

They? Who are they? Angrita was stunned for a moment, but then she thought of the person Leslaufer was referring to: "You mean... you can actually control them?"

"I can't. I'm not a wizard," the mercenary shook his head. "They're moving on their own. In fact, they were the first to discover Vondar's anomaly."

In Reslaufer's vision at this moment, phantoms were flowing and dancing in the house like crazy. Some of them pounced on Vondar, while others surrounded him, constantly signaling him to raise his sword.

It wasn't Reslaufer who was controlling these phantoms, but rather these phantoms were controlling—or guiding—him, guiding him on how to fight an enemy that was invisible and intangible, and that had no target for him.

The phantoms' various behaviors were extremely difficult to understand, and Reslaufer could not find a second person who could see them to interpret them, but when these obscure hints came together, what he needed to do was actually very simple.

In an area around Vondal, the phantoms suddenly scattered, revealing an empty space. Leslauf immediately stepped on the edge of Vondal's bed, raised his sword, and stabbed.

"Ah——" A strange howl that did not sound like a human voice turned into a painful roar the moment it appeared.

Chapter 81 Monsters Underground

At the same time, in the basement of Xinmu City.

After being tormented for several days by a woman and a dwarf, the monsters languished in groups of three or five, awaiting further instructions. These monsters ranged from gnolls to jackals, skeletons to will-o'-the-wisp, and even quite a few, like the woodcutter's wife, cloaked in black. They seemed completely oblivious to the racial differences between them, with several cultists even engaging in conversation with the mute skeletons.

Even though every word came from the mouths of these still-sort-of humans.

However, this tranquility was soon shattered. With a shrill cry, the body of a jackal suddenly swelled up, rapidly expanding into a ball as if inflated. Before the surrounding monsters could react, there was a loud "bang," and the abominable creature was reduced to a cloud of bloody fragments. Body fluids, flesh, and broken bones were scattered everywhere.

The remaining monsters finally reacted, but instead of fleeing in fear, they rushed towards the explosion, vying to grab the twisted debris. Fierce clashes broke out between the monsters in their quest to grab more and larger pieces.

The jackals among them have a clear advantage in this regard. Relying on their sturdy physique and amazing bite force, they will not let go of even those large bones. They bite them into small pieces and swallow them whole, leaving only insignificant debris for the jackals and those cultists.

A pair of eyes that sparkled like sapphires watched all this with interest. Even though it was happening right in front of her, the owner of these eyes had no intention of leaving the soft and comfortable bed to stop her men's brutal behavior.

In fact, she enjoyed such scenes very much: the more brutal these slaves were, the more they would highlight her superiority and elegance.

The creature stretched out its six limbs. The pair of arms closest to its head and the front third of its body looked like those of a graceful young girl, while the four limbs at the back were strong and agile lion claws, connected to the back two-thirds of its torso, which also looked more like a black lion than a humanoid creature.

The upper body of this monster is naked, but the lion part is decorated with a lot of jewelry and clothes that are very valuable at first glance. A small part of them were robbed by her followers, and more of them came from the cultists who were tempted by her magic and "voluntarily" went to this underground world to serve.

Unlike half-baked monsters like the jackal, her race was closer to that demon lord and her power was far greater. Generally speaking, she didn't need to transform into a human form to seduce mortals. Even if their will was strong, she could use her magical black claws to weaken their will, turning them into complete slaves—until she grew tired of them or broke them.

But this monster here was more powerful than her ordinary brethren: more beautiful, stronger, more patient, as now, even when the target of her deception briefly broke free from her grasp, even when the medium of her spell exploded into countless fragments, she showed no sign of impatience.

On the contrary, an intoxicating smile appeared on her face. She stared at a copper basin filled with clear water in front of her, and the scene in the basin was exactly what happened in the inn with Leslaufer and others.

"First he freed himself from the curse, and now he can actually help others? Interesting, this is truly interesting," the monster muttered to itself, extending its scarlet tongue and slowly sliding it across its own lips. "He's just a reckless man, yet he possesses such power... And even without that, he was able to kill my most capable subordinate head-on, preventing him from even reaching the gates of Xinmu City."

"And this dwarf actually has such a secret. I must get his 'that thing'. If I present it to the master, what kind of reward will he give me?"

The monster waved its arm casually, shifting the scene on the water to focus on the other two prey. "And this girl, this chirping little bird, I will definitely catch her, lock her in a cage, and make her sing for me every day! When she has nothing more to sing, I will take her soul and voice away from her!"

"Of course, we can't forget her." When the scene turned to Angarita, the monster smiled with his eyes bent. "My sharp little rabbit, do you really think that escaping from Magpalez means escaping from everything? Someone is looking for you everywhere! But..."

"I'm not going to let that bitch off!" The black lion claws suddenly shot up, smashing the basin in front of it into pieces. "Let's see how long that foolish, lustful Earl can hold out! Once the entire Xinmu City is under my control, you'll become my most valuable bargaining chip!"

"'Empire', 'Emperor', bah." The monster's tone turned sour, full of malice and viciousness, "Isn't it just that you climbed into a mortal's bed before me? There's nothing to be proud of! Just wait, I will peel off your skin to make my blanket and show the master that only his most loyal servant, 'Fun', can do the best job!"

The mistress's sudden outburst silenced the surrounding monsters, but this wasn't the outcome she had hoped for. Looking at these worthless subordinates, the half-man, half-lion monster suddenly felt bored. Her most beloved slave, the gnoll leader, had died outside the city, along with Yeenoghu's fangs! What good was it for her to gather more of these useless people?

"You, you, come here," the monster, having lost interest, pointed at a human cultist and a gnoll, "start fighting. The one who survives will get my reward. Go ahead."

In the first moment, the cultist was still quite afraid of the werewolf who could crush him, but the next second, he pounced on it with red eyes and launched an attack with a pair of daggers!

It’s a pity that his mistress could not see such a “heroic” scene, because after casually sending two slaves to start fighting, she disappeared into the dark passage without even looking back. A moment later, with the end of the battle between the two “gladiators”, the smaller physique of the loser soon led to another chaotic feast.

At the end of the passage, the half-human, half-lion monster transformed into a tall, dark-skinned beauty draped in a sky-blue veil. She twisted her waist and walked to the wall of a basement. With a wave of her finger, a secret door creaked open, and arcane-powered lights immediately lit up, illuminating the basement in front of the monster and the bald head of the haggard man in a black robe.

Chapter 82 Show of hands

Master Jonata is still missing today.

This may not be something unusual for the mage himself, but it is not a good thing for those who need his help.

"Perhaps I should go back to keep my appointment," the dwarf couldn't help saying on the way back, "In my dream, the monster made me-"

"You're crazy!" Daisy interrupted Vondar, "You just got your life back from down there! Let's go, right?"

"You still plan on fighting those monsters like this? How many bombs do you have left?"

"...No more," Vondar muttered. "I didn't know that the wall was the water room of the Angora Temple. The remaining bombs were all soaked..."

"But this time we don't have to fight alone, we have five of us now."

"We won't take this risk with you, Master Vondar," Angrita extinguished the dwarf's hope. "It's too dangerous."

Now all the problems and clues point to the underground of Xinmu City, from the gnolls outside the city to the cultists inside the city, but this also means that there are extraordinary dangers underground, and it may be difficult for just a few of them to solve them.

"Haven't the city lords turned their attention to the underground?" Bella couldn't help but feel a little anxious. "They're only focused on blocking and arresting people above ground! What good will that do?"

"The real danger doesn't lie with the ordinary people on the surface!"

"That's what you think, Sister Bella." Angelita stopped and looked across the street. There, a lumber mill was being shut down by Xinmu City guards. Dozens of people were arrested, but they were not honest and kept shouting that they were wronged. "Earl Xinmu has other considerations."

As one of the largest cities in the empire, Xinmu City has never chosen its side between the emperor and the grand duke. This in itself is an attitude, and now the earl is carrying out this action that only treats the symptoms and not the root cause in a big way.

Most people might think he just had no clue, but Angarita and Leslaufer knew he had it. If he and the four arcane masters were determined to find and eliminate the culprit, that "fun" shouldn't be particularly difficult.

But neither the Earl nor the four masters did so. They must have reached some kind of tacit understanding to use a crisis that was still under control to deal with a disaster that might be out of control.