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

Chapter 122 The Mount's Counterattack

Of course, Reslaufer and his companions were unaware of the existence of the little tracker. At this moment, they were still some distance away from Karochuk, but the flames of war between civilizations had already spread to the wilderness.

The group crouched behind a hillock, cautiously peering forward. There, two groups of men, each under different banners, were engaged in a chaotic battle. The scale of this conflict couldn't compare to the clash between Marek and Queeg. Most of the so-called "soldiers" were mere peasants, few even wearing shoes, let alone horses.

"Why is there a war here too?" Angelita frowned. "My Earl of Xinmu City isn't involved. I thought no nobles further west would be interested in this."

"Do you really have no confidence in our 'Majesty'?" Raslaufer asked with a half-smile. "Although this place is quite remote, there may still be loyal ministers."

"I have no confidence in his gold," Her Royal Highness snorted. "And even if there are nobles here who support him, where do the followers of the Grand Duke of Reims come from? There's no way his influence will extend all the way here."

"But the Imperial Gold Coin does have an influence," Vondar added. "If a lord knew his neighbor was planning a long journey, with the goal of reducing his future gold receipts by two-thirds, it would be surprising if they didn't start a fight."

"Oh, look, the rider is about to be stabbed down by the pitchfork!" Bella didn't care much about the gold coins. She just watched with interest as a group of old farmers surrounded a rider and waved their pitchforks around.

This kind of disorganized attack and crude weapons would hardly cause any trouble to a fully armed rider if used alone, but once the number of them increased, the rider on horseback could not withstand it. A fork that came out of nowhere pierced the hind leg of the warhorse under his crotch. The creature felt pain, raised its hind hooves high, and kicked over several farmers while also knocking the rider off its back.

"Oh, hitting someone! Bullying a horse is nothing!" The druid immediately became unwilling and cursed under his breath, "What did the horse do wrong?!"

"They don't dare actually hurt anyone," Leslaufer pointed at the rider who had fallen off his horse and was surrounded. "See? That's not an ordinary cavalryman, it could be a knight. How dare a group of peasants harm a noble lord? At most, they're just 'prisoners'. Even if they damaged the horse, they'd have to pay compensation."

Of course, the farmers will not have to pay the money directly. The gold coins will be converted into the ransom after the war. The captured knights can exchange their freedom for less money, and the lord who collects the money will make less money, so he will naturally have to get it back from the farmers under his rule.

This was slightly different from the battles fought by the wealthier nobles who hired mercenary warbands to serve them. Although Reslaufer was required to avoid harming the "noble" gentlemen as much as possible during his service, anything could happen in a melee, and the mercenaries came from all over the world, so it would be impossible to find the murderer afterwards.

As for demanding compensation from the wargroup? It's good news that the mercenaries didn't take advantage of the war to rob. Compensation?

"It looks like it's over," Daisy observed. The intensity of the battle quickly subsided as the knight was captured and dismounted. After all, there were only two or three mounted men, presumably the commanders. "What is this? A brawl at the village entrance?"

"What else do you want?" The mercenary thought the poet was being overly suspicious. "Why are you leaving peasants to be slaughtered at will and instead letting a few knights come out to duel?"

"Let's wait a little longer. They've blocked our way, so it's a good time to rest for a while. We'll have to continue our journey after they disperse."

Perhaps because the recent battles had spoiled their appetite, the mercenaries had no interest in scenes of this magnitude and soon closed their eyes to take a nap. Most of the others also lost interest, leaving only the curious bard and the druid who felt sorry for the warhorse still watching.

The situation was not much different from what Reslaufer had expected. With the knight being captured, the two groups were quickly separated. The leaders of both sides gathered together, probably to discuss issues such as compensation and ransom, but just when everything seemed to be becoming boring, something strange suddenly happened.

The warhorse ridden by one of the knights suddenly raised its front hooves and kicked the captured knight standing on the ground in the face. The latter reacted quickly and immediately lay on the ground to avoid this dangerous attack. However, before he could get up, a shadow that no longer belonged to the horse enveloped his entire body. The rough beast kicked with all its weight on the knight's back, and instantly trampled him into a puddle of mud!

"The horse turned into a rhinoceros!" Daisy shook Rathloff's shoulders in fear. "Something terrible has happened!"

"That's a druid!" Bella's reaction was even faster, and she rushed out like an arrow. "Go save them! Those horses are also transformed from humans!"

The few people here were shocked by this sudden change, and the knights and peasants in the middle were even more stunned. Their horses transformed into various beasts, attacking their riders in return. Even among the old peasants, there were some who were different. They quickly plunged their weapons into the bodies of the ordinary people around them, then quickly transformed into their wild forms and began the massacre!

"What's going on!" Leslaufer rushed into the chaotic crowd just two steps slower than Bella, but unlike the druid, he did not choose to save people, but went straight to those "animals". Although the unrepaired cracks on the armor damaged by Patrick were shocking, it would not cause him any inconvenience - these animals could hardly break through the attack range of the giant sword, let alone inflict their claws and teeth on the mercenaries.

"How would I know!" Bella frantically threw a farmer to the ground, saving him from being pierced by the antlers. "But they are definitely not from our Quiet Creek Society! I suspect they are from the 'Returners', the most radical druid group!"

It is also the most notorious.

"Get out of the way, sister!" The giant deer that had just tried to attack Bella stopped and transformed into a man with muddy patterns on his face. He looked at Bella with a cold expression, "I didn't expect your Quiet Creek Society to arrive so quickly, but you can't stop anything. You can't defy the will of the wilderness!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Bella jumped up, and the grass on the ground grew wildly under her power, wrapping around the man's feet. "Of course, that's not what I said!"

Chapter 123 The Returner

"Entanglement technique? It's just a budding technique."

Facing Bella's spell, the man sneered and threw a ball of fire in his hand, burning the vines created by the magic. "What do you know? Get out of here now, or you will die here too!"

"Don't even think about it!" As the druid rushed towards Bella with his short club, a war hammer came across and blocked his attack. "The druid's rank cycle is like the four seasons. You mistook the budding for the primary level, which itself is a betrayal of the creed!"

Angelita gripped the hammer handle with both hands, and the owlbear-headed hammer circled around the druid's short staff, narrowly dissipating a force far greater than her own. "You want to kill her?! You just called her 'sister'!"

"A heretic deserves death even more than people like you!" Seeing that the surprise attack failed, the druid immediately transformed back into the form of a giant deer. "How dare she spread such foolish ideas to you? Very well, you can all die together today!"

Bella threw stones in her hands, and quickly distanced herself from the opponent with Angelita. However, the druid, who had turned into a beast again, had thick skin and flesh, and Bella's attack could only cause him some trouble. The giant deer moved its front hooves, and simply pointed its antlers at them, then rushed towards the two of them!

Seeing that it was difficult to resist, Bella immediately entered the wilderness form, transformed into a giant lizard, raised her upper body, and used her claws to resist the huge antlers, while Angelita dodged carefully between the four dangerous hooves, trying to hit the relatively fragile joints.

In the distance, a burst of passionate music, enveloping the magic, infused Angrita's body. Two druids who tried to interrupt the poet's spell were forcibly stopped by a single dwarf. Apart from these druids, and a few who were still chasing the peasants and knights, everyone else was "temporarily" held back by Reslaufer.

The reason why it is temporary is that soon they will not even be able to move.

As Reslaufer roared, the black-flaming greatsword slashed through the air with a bloody twist, cleaving a smaller black bear with the brute force. If the druid hadn't released his wilderness form at the last moment, he would have been cut in two. Behind Reslaufer, a massive owl spread its wings and extended its claws, but the momentum of the greatsword swung towards it, breaking off half of its wing and emitting a series of terrifying cries.

"Come again!" The mercenary rushed towards a black panther that had just knocked down a farmer and had not yet started to bite his throat. The ferocious posture scared the panther so much that it fell to the ground, and without even time to coordinate its limbs, it rolled and crawled away.

"Warrior! Warrior! Help me!" Just as Reslaufer was about to chase the man, a cry of pain diverted his attention. He saw a hapless man being torn apart by the mastiff, metal and leather parts flying everywhere. Although he was once adorned with armor, under such a bite, even if his armor was not just for show, he would soon die.

"I am a knight under Lord Karochuk! If you can save me, you will get gold coins! And a title - ah, don't, don't bite me!" The knight was afraid that Leslaufer would not come to save him, so he racked his brains, but soon all the words were swallowed back into his stomach because of the mastiff's tearing.

But while the druid, in mastiff form, bit fiercely, he was actually afraid of both. When Leslough charged at him, sword in hand, he immediately abandoned his hostage and fled, whimpering. Nearby, a giant deer's eyes flashed with resentment, and it shoved Bella to the ground, raising its head and letting out a series of unusually high-pitched cries. Upon hearing this signal, the druids, relieved, abandoned their opponents and followed their leader into the depths of the wilderness.

"Don't run!" Daisy's voice, which sounded domineering, spread far away along with the sound of the piano. Upon hearing this, the group of druids dared not delay any longer and retreated even faster.

"Thank you so much! You saved me! I'm Peter Traky, a knight appointed by Lord Karochuk. Thank you again for your bravery!" The knight tumbled to his feet and, still in shock, thanked Reslaufer. If you ignored the massive crack on the Broken Halberd, Reslaufer's equipment was even better than his, so he definitely wouldn't put on any airs in front of him. "Your chivalry is admirable! While I gather my men, how about you all come to my manor for a while?"

"I have the best tea there, and I also have a blacksmith shop. I can help you repair your equipment."

"It's so lame..." The poet on the side repeated the knight's surname in a special way, but no one understood why she was trying to hold back her laughter.

"Forget the tea, it's not cheap, but I do need a forge," Reslaufer calmly accepted the other party's thanks and invitation. "I saw you fighting here earlier. What was it about? Was it a conflict between the Imperial faction and the Emperor's army?"

"A place like ours doesn't have the right to get involved in those... disputes over water and land." Peter smiled awkwardly. He turned to look for someone, but all he saw were dead bodies lying on the ground. "Tott is dead, Bruce is dead too. Sigh. It seems I'll have no choice but to reluctantly take over their land and people from now on. How sad."

Although he said this, Peter did not seem too sad, probably because those who survived the disaster would become stronger.

"It's all the druids' fault. These savages—ah, I don't mean to insult you, young lady. You are obviously different from them." Peter cursed the druids again, but he quickly removed Bella from the target of his condemnation. "Your selfless act of saving others is touching, but it would be better if you could save people like me first next time. These people... don't deserve your nobility."

Bella glared at the knight with a sly look. "It would be better if you could stop talking, but unfortunately: all beings are equal."

"But you're right about one thing. I'm indeed different from them. You and the two who have died, or your lord, have you provoked them recently, those 'returnees'?"

"I don't understand what you mean by 'returnees,' but it's clear they were the ones who provoked us first," Peter sighed. "Actually, this isn't the first time. We were attacked outside of Karochuk not long ago."

"That's right. The Returners are an extremely radical sect among the Druids," Bella nodded and explained to the others. "They advocate that humans should abandon all towns and villages and return the land to the wilderness—that's 'return.' But don't you have the monastery of Avandra here? Didn't those priests condemn and fight against them?"

"Elsewhere, the 'holy war' launched by other believers against groups like the Returnees is justified and considered part of the natural balance, and other groups will not interfere."

If the priests and dignitaries who were also blessed by the gods launched an attack, the returnees would not be able to deal with these 'ordinary people'.

"That's the problem," Peter's face turned purple. "As I just said, those druids have already attacked the outskirts of Karochuk, and the target of the attack..."

"It is the monastery of Evandra."

Chapter 124: No War in the West

Knight Peter Traky had a manor located in the larger of the two villages he governed. On the hill behind the manor, he could overlook the monastery not far away.

Gazing at the temple from afar and listening to the morning bells and evening drums had once been one of the most enjoyable daily entertainments for him and even the relatively wealthy villagers. But now, as he stepped onto the hillside again, the ruins covered with vines and thorns only made him suffer.

These druids, called the Returners, are different from the cultists. They will not occupy a temple like the cultists, but correspondingly, the cultists will not tear down a centuries-old building and destroy it into rubble.

Even Fengdal, who felt sad when he saw the ruins of the fox altar, couldn't help but sigh a little bit of grief when he saw this scene.

"Although I don't mean to blame you, druids, you really should take care of these bastards," the knight sighed and shook his head. "I've heard of the Quiet Brook Society. Are you considered one of the largest druid societies in the western part of the empire? Why can't you rein in the other druids?"

"I think you're overthinking it," Bella pursed her lips. "We are different from the priests of the God of Nature. We serve the way of nature and the way of balance. Do you think forcing dissidents to act according to a specific set of rules, or even to change their attitudes, is in line with the laws of nature?"

"Why not?" Peter asked matter-of-factly. "Isn't that the case with wolves? And lions, and..."

"Wait until you can understand the conversation of animals." The druid tucked a few locks of red hair behind his ear. "Perhaps it's too early to tell you this now."

If it was Rufo, maybe he could have explained it to him directly, but it's a pity.

After the knights had toured the ruins of the monastery that had been ravaged by the Returner Druids, they were all taken to his manor to rest. Vondar went straight to the blacksmith's shop to find a forge to further process his materials and repair Raslaufer's armor.

Bella did know a druid trick that could repair various damaged objects, but since there was a real blacksmith nearby, there was naturally no need for her to do it. At most, she could use the repair technique to bridge the cracks in the finishing stage so that the patch would not look too obvious.

Due to the previous attack by the returnees, the town of Karochuk has been tense for several weeks. If it weren't for the introduction of Knight Peter, Reslaufer and others would probably have to break into the town by force. However, the knight is now busy taking over the jurisdiction of his two colleagues. In the past few days, everyone has had a rare chance to rest.

According to the news that reached here, Marquis Marek in the central part of the empire has completely defeated Marquis Queeg's army. Marquis Queeg himself was defeated and captured. The famous September Mercenaries, under the command of their leader Velveti, have turned all the way into the depths of the wilderness. It is unknown whether they will have the opportunity to continue to appear in this war in the future.

The old lord was quite tough and refused to surrender no matter what. His children led the people in the territory to continue to resist, but those militias were as fragile as paper in front of the mercenary group. Perhaps when the news reached the vicinity of Karochuk, the place had already been captured.

But although the battle on the front line of Marquess Marek was going smoothly, the emperor's army as a whole could not hide its decline, especially on the front line where Richard VII personally led the army. Due to the mutiny in the army caused by the continuous depreciation of gold coins, His Majesty the Emperor was defeated in the most recent battle and lost many territories of the Matt family to the Grand Duke. It is said that even his helmet was seized.

"Compared to direct warfare, he's more adept at those underhanded tactics of swords and arrows." After reading to Leslaufer the battle report that Lord Karlochuk had relayed to Peter, Angelita lazily straightened her back, seemingly unsurprised. "He quickly knows who's disobeying or dissatisfied, and then formulates appropriate countermeasures. He's boasted about this feeling of control at the dinner table more than once."

"But unfortunately, the Grand Duke of Reims also has similar methods. Now he is in trouble."

"From your tone, it seems that you are looking forward to his failure." Leslaufer lay in the shade of the tree with his arms as his head resting on them, wearing only a suit of white linen - Vondar had repaired his armor, but that thing could not be worn as casual clothes.

"Yes and no," Angrita said with a complicated expression. "If he loses, I won't have to leave the empire. Although I'm still within the borders, this place is far inferior to Magparesh. As a travel scenery, it's very nice, but to live here, or even in a place that might be worse than here... Sigh."

"But I don't want him to lose either. As long as he's on the throne, I can still wear the fancy title of princess, and this empire will still belong to our family. Once he's torn off the throne—"

"Is His Majesty the Emperor about to become 'Lance I'?"

"Lance II, there was another emperor before the Matt Dynasty, and that was Lance I—but his was a name, while the current Grand Duke is a surname," Angelita corrected her, "but neither the First nor the Second will be him. You don't pay much attention to this, right?"

“As long as he doesn’t issue any new coins.”

"You can rest assured about this. I heard that the person who reserved the crown is a descendant of the side branch of the Matt-Pabis family, Xavier Pabis. I've never heard of him, but his family was one of the first to vow to serve the gods, and Pabis means 'priest.' I guess the Grand Duke of Reims also took note of this and wanted to find a lord who is easy to control and has a good influence."

"How do you know all this?" Raslaufer asked curiously, "I remember you were like a bewildered and helpless puppy not long ago...Okay, okay, little deer, is this okay?"

"I've been learning heraldry and other knowledge since I was five!" Angrita glared at the mercenary, pretending to be angry. "Of course I should know this!"

"Rather, I'm shocked by your inattention to this, Uncle Reslaufer. We were in Xinmu City before. Even if the lord there is only an earl, he should know more than the knights here. And you didn't even think about paying attention to the war in the empire?"

"Even if they beat people's brains out of theirs, what does it have to do with me? I can't even eat a single hot bite," the mercenary said nonchalantly. However, he suddenly stood up, his eyes fixed on a flower bed not far away. "What you eat is the most real thing—who's there? Get out here!"

Chapter 125 White Blade and Black Arrow

"Pa, pa, pa", the unoriginal applause came from behind the flower bed, but the man enjoyed it and didn't think it was a clichéd way of making an appearance.

It was a little man less than one meter tall. Under the black cloak, the brown smiling face and big white teeth were particularly eye-catching. On the side of the face, some blue hair stretched out from the cloak in a messy manner.

"Look, Your Highness, you've really chosen a competent guard," a shrill voice rang out from the man, speaking quickly. "But I see he doesn't seem to be carrying a weapon. That's not the state of a good attendant. Someone could get killed."

"Dwarf," Angrita's face darkened, "Are you a white blade or a black arrow?"

"That's just my job, Your Highness. Please don't use it to refer to me. It would be very sad. You see, I am a dwarf, and I am not like most people living in the empire."

"Let me introduce myself. Since our cultures may be different, I will only introduce three names: Muliwei, Ninger, and Tiexue. These are my first name, last name, and nickname—"

Leslaufer didn't give him any time to talk nonsense. He just picked up a branch from the ground, jumped out, and attacked the dwarf directly!

"And nicknames!"

A hint of red suddenly appeared on the dwarf's brown face. He forced himself to finish his sentence before launching his counterattack. A scimitar with a handle wrapped in white gauze flew out from under his cloak and chopped off the branch in the mercenary's hand with a single blow.

"You're just going to get rid of me with this? You're so disrespectful!" Muliwei seemed quite angry. "That old wolf treated me like a fool, and now you treat me like a fool too! How can you look down on me like this? Is being tall such a big deal?!"

"But I'm taller than all of you!"

"Maybe I can run around again in my next life." The mercenary kneed the dwarf, who was not even as tall as his waist, in the face. The branch just now was just a deliberate flaw. When the dwarf swung his knife, the exposed gap could not block his knee strike at all!

Reslaufer's knee hit the dwarf's face hard. When the little man screamed and turned over twice in a row before he could stand firmly, two lines of blood had already flowed to his lips. His nose was tilted abnormally to the side, and it was obvious that the cartilage was broken.

"It's not fair! It's not fair!" Mullive's shouting, having lost his nose, was quite comical, but anyone could hear his anger and resentment. "You all bully me! You all bully me just because you're big! I'm going to crush you all!"

The iron boots stomped hard on the ground—he did have a pair of iron boots. With this movement, an obscure power gathered in Mullive's body. The scimitar in the dwarf's hand swelled to twice its original size at an exaggerated speed, but the dwarf did not seem to lose his grip on it. Because at the same time, he himself was like being inflated, expanding to more than twice his original size!

A dwarf who was originally less than one meter tall was now two heads taller than Reslaufer and even stronger!

"I'm going to crush you!"

Mullive's voice became stronger and rougher as his body grew. Although the cloak he wore could also expand and shrink with the power of magic, under his extreme anger, this specially made cloak could not bear the weight. With a "rip" sound, the dwarf, who was no longer a dwarf, tore it into dozens of pieces of cloth.

Amidst the flying strips of cloth, Mullive roared and rushed forward, chopping down Reslaufer's head with the scimitar in his hand, while the iron boot on his left foot was ready to kick at any time.

He was imitating Reslaufer's previous moves, wanting to fight back! However, he was not carrying branches or flat leather shoes, but sharp machetes and heavy iron boots!

"Leslaufer!" Angelita hurriedly wanted to go over to help, but she touched her waist but found nothing: she didn't bring her war hammer with her in the knight's manor!

This dwarf really picked a good time!

"Wait for me, I'll go call them!"

Leslaufer had no habit of waiting to be killed. He pounced to the side without any image and then rolled over. After dodging the two fatal attacks, Angelita was slightly relieved. She quickly turned around and left, trying to find reinforcements to save Leslaufer.

Or you can just go and take out his big sword. In Angelita's opinion, the effects of the two are not much different.

However, just as she took a step, a featherless arrow shot into the ground where she would land next. The arrow seemed familiar and was pitch black. It was the iconic equipment of the Black Arrow.

"No one will come to save him, Your Highness, and you can't go anywhere." A thin shadow was cast in front of Angelita. A black archer holding a short bow was watching her quietly in the shadow.

"Please cooperate. As long as you do this, you won't be hurt."