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

"You're attacking my uncle, yet you still have the audacity to claim I won't be 'hurt'?!" Angelita pointed angrily at the Black Arrow, "Get out of here! I order you in the name of the Imperial Princess! It's not yet time for the Grand Duke of Reims to take power, are you thinking of committing treason?"

"I think you need a little reminder. As far as our organization is concerned, we are not affiliated with the Empire. We only follow the instructions of the Matt family." Black Arrow did not give in to Angritta's outburst of momentum. His slow tone was completely different from Mullive's. "And personally, I am not a servant of your noble family. I am only carrying out the will of His Majesty Richard."

He represents... his father?

At that moment, Angelita's blood ran cold, and she didn't realize that her voice had begun to tremble: "What does he want me to go back for?"

"Your question is strange. His Majesty is your father, but this barbarian is not your uncle." Black Arrow put another arrow on his bowstring, but did not draw the bow. He had a ring on each of his right ring finger and thumb, and another on his left hand, but it had a broken pattern on it. "You are a princess of the empire. Of course, you should be in the palace, not staying in this desolate village inn."

The knight's manor looked like a palace to the farmers, but in the eyes of those who had actually come out of the palace, it was not much different from the thatched huts and adobe houses that surrounded it.

"As for what His Majesty requires of you, I'm sorry, but that's not something a servant like me can inquire about. But I imagine it's nothing more than reading and praying, horseback riding and hunting, and banquets and parades."

It seems that I will die, Angelita thought silently.

Chapter 126 The Knight Does Not Die Empty-Handed

"Someone come quickly! Someone come!"

Breaking in by force was impossible, but Angelita still spread her cry for help throughout the entire manor. However, the manor, which was usually crowded with people, was now empty, without even the slightest scent of human.

"No one will answer you even if you scream your throat out, Your Highness!" Mullive grinned cruelly and chopped down the flower bed where he had been hiding. Reslaufer's figure leaped out from behind and dashed off in the other direction.

If he could hide in the knight's beautiful house, Reslaufer could almost declare victory, but his attempt was immediately seen through by the Black Arrow, who shot two black arrows almost at the same time, one piercing the ground in front of him and the other going straight to the back of the mercenary.

"Don't try to be clever. It's better for you to die obediently, barbarian," Black Arrow said coldly. "In fact, we can 'invite' the princess back in front of you, but that will easily lead to trouble. It's better for you to die here."

He had done sufficient reconnaissance on the others and there was no need to worry about them. They didn't even know Angelita's true identity.

This sneak attack didn't kill Leslaufer, but it completely deprived him of a way to win. Mullive, who reacted quickly, pressed on step by step, never giving him the chance to get close to the house.

However, it did give him two usable weapons.

The tip of the black arrow deflected the trajectory of Mullive's scimitar. As the terrifyingly large scimitar sliced through Reslaufer's shoulder, another black arrow simultaneously pierced the giant dwarf's abdomen. It felt like piercing a solid block of wood. Reslaufer didn't want to check the possible outcome of the battle, so he turned around and continued to dodge.

Although the dwarf's size became larger after it grew to a gigantic size, it was still limited and would not put Reslaufer in a completely desperate situation. On the contrary, the head could serve as a shield for him, preventing the black arrows that were sweeping across the battlefield from locking onto him easily.

The spy serving the emperor himself certainly wanted to end the battle with one arrow, but if he dared to waste his energy aiming at Reslaufer, Angrita in front of him would definitely not sit idly by and watch this happen - a black arrow of this level would have a dagger mixed with gray silver, which Angrita knew as well as its owner.

Black Arrow had considered disabling Angrita first, but he didn't really understand his master's intentions, which was why he had just listed the things every noble would do in an attempt to appease Angrita. If he accidentally caused this highness to suffer undue harm...

Your Majesty's military situation has indeed not been going well recently, but it is not so bad that you are reluctant to shoot a black arrow.

In this way, it seemed as if a temporary balance was reached among the four people. Although Mulivi and the other man had the advantage, they were unable to capture Reslaufer for a while. Instead, every time the mercenaries showed signs of wanting to meet up with Angelita, the two of them would be in a panic for a while.

Mercenaries and barbarians, neither of these two is synonymous with keeping promises. If the other party really threatens Angelita's life, they might really let him go!

However, this balance is extremely fragile and may be broken if any change occurs on either side, not to mention... if outsiders intervene.

The manor's sealed gate was suddenly pushed open at some point. A man in scale armor, carrying two long swords on his back, walked in with a frown on his face. As soon as he entered, he shouted loudly, attracting the attention of several people:

"Sir Knight Peter Traki, I am Patrick Cormon Holmgren! I was once knighted as an honorary knight by Sacerino City Inquisitor Holmgren. I recently heard from the druids that your place was being invaded by the Returned, so I came to assist you!"

"His Excellency Rufo, the Archdruid of the Quiet Creek Society, will be arriving shortly. Please come out and meet him!"

Who else could this person be but that Holy Knight Patrick?!

"Uncle Patrick!" Angelita responded as if she had seen a savior. "Come to the back! The garden! We're being attacked!"

"You are... being attacked?!" Patrick didn't hear who was shouting for help for a moment. After all, Angelita would deliberately modify her voice when she was Batti Antichi. But his chivalrous spirit made him absolutely unable to ignore the "attack", and he quickly rushed to the backyard.

"This is impossible! We are clearly fully prepared. No one is allowed to enter the manor at this moment!" Black Arrow was shocked. "Your Highness, who is he? How did he do this?!"

"You serve my father, go ask him!" Angelita didn't care about this. The moment Patrick's ponytailed head appeared from a distance, she dodged the black arrow and rushed past him towards the paladin, "Uncle Patrick, save me!"

The plan suddenly changed, and Black Arrow had no time to care about anything else. He immediately drew the black arrow and shot it at Angelita's left leg tendon - if he let Her Royal Highness escape, he would not survive if he went back!

"stop!"

The paladin's roar was like thunderclapping from the sky. A bolt of lightning shot out from behind him, knocking the black arrow that had just left the bow to the ground. "How dare you shoot me from behind? How shameless!"

Black Arrow had no time to argue with him. When he saw clearly that it was a long sword that shot down his arrow, he hurried forward and tried to grab it. However, Angelita was closer and reacted faster. The tip of the sword flashed with a cold light and went straight to Black Arrow's heart, forcing him to draw out his dagger to resist. At the same time, he quickly rushed to Mullive and Leslaufer on the other side, trying to use the strength of the two to get rid of the mercenaries first and then as soon as possible.

This was obviously a wrong decision. Reslaufer deflected his dagger with only an arrow in his hand. Although he was inevitably kicked in the abdomen by the iron boot on the dwarf's foot, at this critical moment, every bit of time he gained was the key to survival.

"To outnumber the enemy is disrespectful!"

After throwing a weapon, the paladin continued forward, unsheathing his other longsword with his backhand, outsmarting the dwarf Mullivite: "To wound an unarmed person with metal, to defeat one with two men, is a sign of lack of courage!"

"Stop pulling, help me!" Leslough, who had just been kicked by Mullive, felt dizzy and had a fishy-sweet taste in his throat. He wished he could pull out Patrick's tongue!

At this time, Patrick was still some distance away, but the dwarf's scimitar was already close at hand. Without thinking too much, Reslaufer rushed into the dwarf's arms. He used the arrow in his hand to block the scimitar, but the arrow was split into two pieces. However, the remaining part of the arrow shaft was carried upward by Reslaufer and pierced directly into the dwarf's eye socket!

The dwarf, who was shocked, angry and in pain, fell into madness and tried to fight Leslaufer for his life. He turned the scimitar over and stabbed it into the mercenary's back and his own arms, but at this moment, Patrick's sword finally arrived and narrowly knocked open the sharp blade that exceeded its original size.

"Now's the time to talk bullshit!" The mercenary took this opportunity to jump out from in front of Mulivi. Although he fell to the ground in a rather awkward position, he laughed loudly and didn't care. "Angelita! This is a knight who will not die empty-handed - give me the sword!"

Chapter 127 Proof

"Angelita?"

Leslaufer waited for a few seconds, but the hilt of the sword was not handed to him - not even the tip of the sword. "What are you daydreaming about? Give me the sword!"

Patrick had already engaged in combat with Mullive and the Black Arrow. Although the dwarf was still blind in one eye, this made him even more frantic, forcing the Paladin to be extremely alert in order to cope with the attack from both of them.

Seeing that the black arrow tried to rub against the ring on his hand from time to time, Leslaufer knew that he could not wait any longer: the other party had an item with broken lines in his hand. According to what Angelita had said before, it was a disposable magic item that could release powerful spells.

It is undeniable that the Holy Knight is also very powerful, especially when he uses the power called "Holy Slash", but they cannot take the risk. They must kill the Black Arrow - at least they have to chop off his fingers.

But Angelita still did not hand the sword to him. On the contrary, Leslaufer frowned and saw the girl holding the sword and continuing to move forward step by step after passing him.

"Uncle Leslaufer, you... were injured just now, it's all because of me." Angelita murmured, but the mercenary could not escape her ears.

"You hired me, so it's reasonable—don't go any further!"

"No, you're injured," Angelita tilted her head. "That bite must have hurt a lot. You need to rest. Leave it to me from now on."

"Uncle Patrick? Can you create an environment for me? I want to have a one-on-one duel with him." The girl pointed the sword at Mulivi, leaving all four people stunned.

"Duel? With me?! Ha—" The dwarf's bloody eyes dyed half of his face red, making his smile extremely distorted. He shouted at Angelita, "Now even a little girl dares to look down on me! Who do you think you are? Are you worthy of fighting me?!"

"Look, I'll crush all your bones—"

"Muliwei, wake up!" Black Arrow's face changed, "Don't forget her identity!"

"That's no reason for her to look down on me!" the dwarf roared. "Even the chief doesn't dare look down on me, so what kind of stinky bugs are you?"

Patrick was also shocked by Angelita's words, but the paladin did not stop her directly. After a brief silence, he asked Angelita: "Are you sure you want to fight him?"

"Perhaps you don't know this guy's strength, but even if he lost another eye, you probably wouldn't be his match."

"I've thought about it. It took me... about ten seconds," Angrita nodded. "Karochuk isn't far from the Kolin Otto Mountains. Across the way is Western Inassus. I need a battle like this before I leave my homeland."

"Your Highness, Sienasas, you can't leave the Empire!" Black Arrow was stunned. "Out there are only barbarians who eat raw meat and drink blood. Someone like you can't survive there! Come back with us. His Majesty, the Queen, the Princess, and the other Highnesses all miss you very much."

Hearing Black Arrow's emotional reference to his family, a hint of sadness welled up in Angelita's eyes. However, she quickly put the emotion aside and shook her head firmly. "That's why I need this battle. I have to prove that I can survive out there—so that I can meet them again in the future."

"You can't prove it, little one," the dwarf Mullive looked down at Angarita, "you should just come back with us obediently, otherwise I can't guarantee that your little body can withstand my sword!"

"You don't need any promises," Angelita slowly raised the long sword in her hand, the hilt slightly above her head, the tip of the sword pointing diagonally forward, "Come on, defeat me, or be killed by me!"

This was not a fair battle. No matter how angry Mulvey was, he could not really kill Angritta. They did not ask to bring the dead princess back; but Angritta could kill him.

But that was impossible. Both spies, assigned to White Blade and Black Arrow, thought so. Mullivier drew his anger from the contempt of others, and from that anger, he drew strength. Angelita's choice was the ultimate disdain for him, and his power would reach its peak. Even if Black Arrow didn't make a move, he was 20% confident he could capture Angelita.

The only thing we need to be wary of is the mercenary and the man who broke in and caused trouble.

"If you lose, you must return with us. They can't stop us," Black Arrow said. "Patrick, that's how you introduced yourself just now, right? If you're still a warrior with a sense of honor, swear an oath like this. If that barbarian tries to block our way, you must stop him."

"And if you dare to interfere, I will chop off your head immediately," Patrick glanced at him and said coldly, "On this premise, I can accept your request."

The paladin raised his sword, and a soft golden light emanated from it, evidently reclaiming his oath and power. This light enveloped a circular area with a radius of approximately ten meters. Angelita and Mullive remained in the center, while Black Arrow, Reslaufer, and even himself were excluded, unable to interfere with the proceedings.

"My name is Patrick Coad, a sworn warrior for justice. This is consistent with my oath, so I shall be a witness to the duel between the two men."

"How can this be considered as not violating the law..." Black Arrow grumbled softly. The Imperial Princess's escape was a matter of great importance, of course, concerning order and honor, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. What if this paladin, a direct descendant of the Imperial royal family, suddenly changed his mind and declared his personal protection?

This kind of person is definitely capable of doing this! Then all their efforts would be in vain!

"Both parties, please wait a moment. I will declare the legitimacy of this battle. If the city is established, it will attract the attention of the gods..."

"No need!" Mullive rudely interrupted the paladin, "Galdar Ironhand (the war god of the dwarven pantheon) is with me!"

"I don't need it either." Angelita took a deep breath. She didn't know if it was an illusion, but the beasts that only appeared in her nightmares suddenly appeared vaguely on the edge of her vision. They did not have the cruelty and resentment in her dreams at all. They just looked at the girl curiously as if they were looking at a stranger.

Did he do it? How?

The paladin could naturally sense these phantoms, but when he looked at Reslaufer, he didn't see anything unusual about the mercenary. The spirits around him were also silent, just watching the scene.

Could the girl control these spirits on her own? No, she didn't have the power, nor did she have the desire to do so.

The phantoms simply appeared to...get a sneak peek at their new companions.

Chapter 128 Talent

"Ah, look at that! A kitten calls himself a tiger, and a chick pretends to be an eagle! Since you're so brave, well, I can't teach you well with something stuck in my eyes—ah!"

The dwarf raised his hand, let out a scream, and actually pulled the broken arrow lodged in his eye socket, along with the eyeball, and tossed it aside. However, unlike the previous bleeding, this time no blood splattered. Instead, his wounds healed rapidly. Clearly, some magical item had been triggered.

Patrick's heart sank, but a duel was a duel, and the spell had been activated, so he couldn't intervene.

"I don't need to call myself that, nor do I need to pretend. The blood of Alexandra Mater flows in my body," Angelita raised her head slightly and looked into the dwarf's single eye. The Alexandra Mater she mentioned was one of the ancestors of the Mater family, a legendary hero who founded the empire together with the first emperor of the previous dynasty. "I was born a tiger, an eagle."

"Then I think you're overthinking it," Mullive said with a loud "tsk tsk" sound. "In order to find you, I've read your life story. You have no talent for magic, and you haven't learned much about fighting! Do you really think that just because I'm blind in one eye, you can beat me?"

"I doubt you could even bring the sword down on me—even if it had two blades!"

"Then you can try it," the girl looked at the dwarf and shook her head slightly. "You seem to hate others looking down on you, but you are actually doing the same thing."

Muliwei stared at Angelita and suddenly uttered a curse that was completely different from human language and pounced on her!

Facing an opponent who wasn't a beast, Angarita remained composed, starting with a sweeping strike. She used the intersection of their weapons as a kind of fulcrum, effortlessly but resolutely dissipating most of Mullevi's brute force. As the two passed each other, her blade switched to a slashing back, and as Angarita turned, she slashed at Mullevi's side. As the two switched positions more frequently, the girl's longsword, circling the giant dwarf with her body, danced like a steel butterfly!

Although Angelita's movements included a lot of feints and turns to make up for her physical disadvantages, as the fight became more intense, the impact of the hilt and shoulder she added to the sword's slashing attacks made it clear at a glance that there was a lot of Reslaufer's shadow in it!

"Stop spinning! I'm going to faint!"

Muliwei felt his blood pressure rise every time Angarita turned around. Although the barbarian couldn't fight him head-on due to lack of weapons, that wasn't how he fought! At this moment, the disadvantage of missing an eye was undoubtedly revealed. He always had a blind spot in his vision, and Angarita seemed to take advantage of this, constantly dodging at that angle and launching cunning counterattacks.

"You taught her well," Patrick said sincerely when he saw Reslaufer approaching. "You let her find her own way instead of blindly imitating you."

"She's very talented," the mercenary said, not taking all the credit for the achievement. "She's also a good learner. With the influence of others, it's no small feat for her to develop a set of tactics that work for her."

"But I think you might need to teach her some serious swordplay—a lot of her movements still look like she's swinging a warhammer."

This actually doesn't have a big impact, but there are still some differences between the two.

"That's up to her to choose." A cunning glint suddenly flashed in Reslaufer's eyes, a rare glint in him. "Her warhammer was made by a dwarven craftsman. Although it's not a magical weapon, it's much better than an ordinary sword. She should use a better weapon."

The long sword in Angelita's hand now is the "blade and armor as one" elven craftsmanship of the Paladin. The Paladin is not stupid, how could he not know what Leslaufer is planning?

"It was a gift from an elf, so it's not impossible to pass it on. However, it's a magical weapon that needs to be tuned, so she might not be able to use it. By the way, what's her name? Can I know?"

"Don't you know I've always kept my mouth shut?" Leslough pointed at the Black Arrow who was looking at him with hostility. "Ask him and see if he'll tell you."

Black Arrow naturally refused to say anything, and even if he was willing to join the conversation, he was in no mood. Among the two people dueling, Muliwei was gradually losing the upper hand - wait!

"Haha, you've been fooled! Look at the knife!"

Angelita used the same trick again, trying to get into Mullive's blind spot, but this time it was a flaw that the dwarf deliberately exposed. Although Angelita hid in the blind spot, there was no room to dodge at this moment. The dwarf immediately raised his knife to chop, and fiercely hit the only position -

He raised his leg and kicked it!

"Bang!" The defenseless Angelita was hit hard, the sword in her hand flew out of her hand, and the whole person flew sideways into the distance and fell into the dust.

"Did I say look at the knife? Sorry, I meant to say, 'look at the legs.'

One-eyed Mullive smiled with satisfaction, his iron boots stained with crimson. "You've already lost, Your Highness."

Angelita on the ground didn't react at all, and remained motionless like a rag doll.

"Open the barrier, you idiot!" Leslough, who had just been chatting and laughing, grabbed Patrick's collar outside. "Open this damn barrier!"

"Sorry, I... cough!" The paladin just opened his mouth when he was punched in the face. "This is not my decision, and I can't open it..."

"You killed her! This is on you!"

"This is a fair one-on-one duel..."

"Then why don't you go to the Nine Hells and duel with the Devil Dukes? Bullshit fairness!"

Patrick tried to explain that Mullive's injuries made the duel fair and valid because his spell had indeed worked, but Reslaufer was clearly not listening. As Mullive approached Angarita, even the Black Arrow grew nervous.