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

Chapter 10 Burning Hands

Teacher Boll fainted, and Sister Grandin's lower abdomen was pierced by the radiation. At this moment, she was in a desperate situation and had no way out. She could only give it a try!

She just saw two figures in the corner on the way here!

The wizard immediately mobilized his remaining strength and barely opened a protective magic field. At the same time, with the help of the light spell, his eyes penetrated the surrounding darkness as much as possible, trying to find the source of the attack.

However... it was quiet all around, nothing happened.

Six seconds, one minute, ten minutes, the mage remained motionless. All that could be heard in the entire tomb was the tense breathing of a few people, and the occasional painful groans of Bol and Grandin. Finally, the mage, whose patience was completely worn out, dispelled his shield with a gloomy face and looked at Her Royal Highness the Princess, whose face had completely lost all color.

"Cheating is not a good habit, my dear Princess." The wizard almost gritted his teeth and spat out the words syllable by syllable.

"My mage armor can last for a full eight hours, and they can only wait for death during that time! Your Highness, it is your willfulness that killed two people who could have escaped and lived! Give up your meaningless struggle and follow me!"

The princess nodded stiffly, and the soles of her shoes landed on the ground with a humble sound.

At the same moment, in the darkness that could only be illuminated by the light magic, a giant sword with a blade length of 1.6 meters, with a despairing sound of breaking through the wind, smashed towards the wizard's head that was looking down at the princess like a spear!

The giant sword that broke through the air made a huge sound. The mage raised his head and tried to dodge it at the first moment. However, the size and weight of the thrown object also made him despair. There was a heavy muffled sound in the tomb, and the princess looked at the mage in a daze as he flew to the side - like a civilian who had crashed into the royal convoy.

On her other side, Reslaufer and Benjamin slowly walked into the range of the light spell.

"Your Highness, we are too late to save you." Benjamin made a clumsy attempt to salute the princess, while Leslough just nodded slightly at the young woman.

The other party's shouting just now disrupted his plan of a surprise attack, otherwise the mage would have died here ten minutes ago.

Instead of being able to stand up after pushing away the giant sword that was pressing on him like he is doing now.

A heavy greatsword was different from a javelin; even Reslaufer couldn't guarantee its blade would accurately slice into the target's flesh. However, the weight itself was also a weapon. The mage gasped and trembled as he raised his right arm. The palm at the end was twisted at a strange angle, seemingly unusable for a short while.

"You uncivilized barbarian!" He judged from the color of Reslaufer's eyes that he was not a pure imperial, and he couldn't help but become even more furious. "Ah! Ah! Do you know what you have done? This is a hand used to release arcane spells and record magic!"

"How dare you destroy it!"

"You reached out to take it subconsciously," Her Royal Highness said mercilessly, "It's your own fault."

"Shut up, we'll settle the score later, Your Highness." The wizard glanced coldly at the member of the Matt family who had escaped from Magpaleth, and pointed at Leslaufer with his surviving left hand. "Who are you? The legendary 'Royal Shadow Guard'? It doesn't matter. Even with only one hand, you can't defeat me!"

"Burning Hands!"

The right hand that he had just declared "destroyed" suddenly reached for his belt and tore open a scroll. The spell fixed between the paper and ink no longer required precise movements and chanting to release. The mage's raised left hand suddenly released a large amount of light and heat, turning into a cone-shaped flame, spewing towards the people in front of him!

"Danger!"

Benjamin Russo yelled, ready to protect the frail-looking princess, only to discover she was even quicker than him, dodging behind the sarcophagus. The cavalry had no choice but to charge in the other direction, quickly pulling Bol and Grandin, who lay gravely wounded but not yet dead, out of the spell's reach.

Leslaufer was not so lucky. The armor on his body was not light, and he was closer to the wizard. However, when the high-temperature flames engulfed him, everyone couldn't help but widen their eyes.

They saw that the mercenary's shadow was in a charging posture just before being swallowed!

He doesn't want to die?!

The same thoughts as everyone else surged in the mage's mind, but in just a moment, the flames in his hands stopped, and a cool bloodstain spread across the mage's throat.

"You..." The mage widened his eyes and subconsciously reached for his neck with the incomplete right hand that had torn the scroll. However, the sword was faster than him and easily pierced the fabric on his chest. An adult male, with the weight of his armor, smashed into his front like a sledgehammer, knocking the man hard into the wall behind him.

The burned face, more hideous than the devil in purgatory, gradually shrank and receded in the wizard's unfocused eyes. Reslaufer reached out and closed the eyelids of the still warm corpse, and with his right hand, he used the blade of the fighting sword that was pulled out of his chest to cut the wizard's belt. The belt, which still had many unused props hanging on it, immediately slipped to the ground.

"Is he, is he dead?" The princess poked her head out from behind the sarcophagus with lingering fear and watched Leslaufer pick up the belt from the ground. "Thank you, are you okay...?"

Leslaufer was definitely not in "good condition" at this moment. His armor and weapons were all scorching hot, and a lot of his flesh was burned or even scorched. However, this strong man said nothing, but just checked every item on the wizard's belt, and finally took out a small and exquisite transparent potion bottle.

The potion bottle seemed to be made of glass, with red liquid sloshing inside, emitting a dim fluorescence in the dim light.

"Healing potion," Bol sighed after being awakened by the burning. "Ms. Grandin, it seems we are doomed to be unable to defeat that guy on our own."

If Reslaufer had not advanced instead of retreating while the opponent was casting the spell, the injury on the mage's hand would not have been a problem at all. Even this warrior would have found it difficult to end the battle so quickly.

"Friend, have you ever fought a spellcaster?"

Reslaufer drank the potion in one gulp and carefully put the empty bottle away. Magic potion bottles were usually specially made and could be exchanged for at least three or five silver coins. After confirming that his injuries were healing rapidly, as if they had never occurred, he glanced at the mage and the head maid, who were still being held by Benjamin, and tossed another bottle of healing potion over.

"No, I just heard a friend talk about mages," the mercenary said. "Most mages aren't very good at close combat, so they always have some methods to avoid such situations. If you want to defeat them, you have to attack them when they can't use these methods."

Chapter 11: Persuasive Friends

"The easiest time to find them is when they are casting other spells."

"That's easier said than done," Bol's beard twitched slightly. "How many people dare to face the arcane with flesh and blood?"

Grandin caught the potion bottle thrown by Leslaufer. She uncorked the healing potion and handed it to the old wizard's lips, but the latter turned his head away:

"Use it yourself. It's only a small bottle. Splitting it in two would be a waste. You need to stop the bleeding first."

"Then you?"

After this incident, Grandin could still return. As long as she shifted the blame onto the old wizard, saying that he, as her teacher, had abducted the princess and escaped, no one would overly criticize her. But if Bol used the same rhetoric, no one would believe her.

He also had to leave.

"Don't worry about me, I'm a spellcaster," the old wizard coughed twice and added in a mumble, "I'm just a little old..."

"However... Your Highness, it seems that neither Ms. Grandin nor I can continue to accompany you. A spellcaster like me would be too conspicuous a target and would only bring harm to you."

"Teacher Boll, it's okay, I can do it myself..." The princess said subconsciously, but even she couldn't continue.

Could she do it herself? Coming here was already the farthest she had ever walked in her life! And she hadn't even left the central region of the Matt Dynasty yet!

She'll die on the road! Before anyone finds her body!

"Don't worry, Your Highness," Bol coughed and laughed. After drinking the potion, Grandin, whose injuries had healed somewhat, helped him to stand up, hunched over. "Don't we still have your followers here? The legendary 'Royal Shadow Guards'."

"I don't remember having such a duty. I was hired by Marquis Marek to earn military pay on the battlefield, not to come here and dig into a cave." Leslaufer glanced at the old man and the young man. "To be honest, just coming here to find and rescue you is beyond the scope of my duty."

The mercenary took the other items from the wizard's belt and put them on himself: two scrolls and a bottle of unfamiliar potion. Reslaufer didn't know what the effects of these were, but it was rare for a spellcaster to have something worthless.

"If you still have any conscience, you should at least settle this account first. Otherwise, we will have to take you back and exchange you for gold coins."

Benjamin Russo straightened his back slightly. Although he admitted that he had basically not contributed much, at least he dragged Bol and Grandin out from under the wizard's spell. If the other party was willing to pay a reward, he felt that he could still get... a small share.

mercenary?

Bol and Grandin exchanged glances. People like them were destined not to have much interaction with their counterparts from Reslaufer, but these days all lords, big and small, would use mercenaries to supplement the quantity and quality of their standing armies, so they were not unfamiliar with this.

"Young man, be patient, okay? Perhaps my friend can convince you." Pol rubbed his hands together and magically revealed half a gold coin from between his fingers. "How about you come and meet His Majesty Henry III, the father of the current King Richard?"

Looking at the gold coin that was more than twice as thick as the new coin, the two mercenaries' gazes froze instantly.

These are genuine imperial gold coins! In today's world of "new coins," these coins minted by the previous kings naturally can't maintain their original value—they're even more valuable!

However, how much it is worth depends on the person. In the eyes of a street vendor, it may be worth at most one new coin plus dozens of silver coins. A skilled craftsman or mercenary may be willing to exchange it for two or three new coins. For someone like Leslaufer, it is worth at least five new coins!

Imperial gold coins are a hard currency outside the empire! You can use them to exchange for more barbarian counterfeit coins, and if you trade them back, you can get as much new currency as you want!

But no sane person would do that: as long as His Majesty is on the throne, new coins will only become more and more numerous and less valuable, while imperial gold coins from Henry III and even earlier periods will become increasingly scarce.

"How much do you have?" Reslaufer asked cautiously. If the other party had enough imperial gold coins, it would not be unacceptable to let them go.

"As much as you want, my friend!" Paul took back the gold coins, stroked his beard and laughed as Benjamin looked at him disappointedly. "But I can't show it, otherwise I can't guarantee you'll have other intentions."

"I'm a cavalryman of the Horseshoe Mercenary Group!" Benjamin said quickly. "Have you heard of the light cavalry in the eastern part of the empire? We have two types of contracts—"

"I understand, I understand," the old wizard raised his hand and pressed it down. "You are from the Empire, so I can trust you. But I think our lives will depend on this friend who is not from the Empire."

The young rider remained silent. On the one hand, it was obvious that Reslaufer had more say than him. On the other hand, Benjamin believed that this Doppler would never do anything that was not in their best interests.

"What suggestions do you have?" Leslaufer asked in a declarative tone, looking at the old wizard.

"It's simple. We'll achieve our goal, and you'll make a quick buck," Bol said. "Let's sign a contract. You'll escort Her Highness out of the empire, and we'll pay you, along with this thank-you gift. Once the agreement is reached, we'll pay half as a deposit, and the other half once the princess is settled outside the empire."

"This is definitely much more reliable than fighting for your life on the battlefield. At least you can get part of the deposit quickly."

"How fast?"

"Well... at least wait until we're out of here," the old wizard shrugged. "I'll send my familiar to get the money. Mages have their own specialized organization, more reputable than the current empire."

At least you won't deposit one hundred Henry III gold coins ten years ago and then withdraw a hundred or so new coins ten years later.

“No new currency.”

"Don't worry, there won't be a single Singapore dollar. These are all my savings over the years."

"Is that okay with you?" Reslaufer looked at Benjamin, "Or would you rather exchange them for new coins and merit?"

Benjamin was a little surprised that Reslaufer would actually ask for his opinion. He immediately showed his two rows of white teeth: "I think the imperial gold coins are more reliable, sir. But I'm afraid I can't just walk away like you, you know..."

"Of course, not every mercenary has the right and ability to come and go freely," Leslaufer nodded. "Don't worry, everyone who sees it will get a share."

If Benjamin had not rescued the two men from the wizard's burning hands, they would have had no choice but to capture the princess and send her back.

"Then I'll go back right away," Benjamin said immediately. "I'll go explain the situation to Lady Amantha and bring your luggage back!"

Chapter 12 Escape Route

The young cavalryman immediately ran towards the tunnel they came from. Naturally, the others could not stay in this dim tomb any longer. Reslaufer turned his head and glanced at the sarcophagus that had not responded during this period. Perhaps this was the normal situation.

"Why did you come here? Is the person buried here someone you know?"

"No," Bol seemed to have regained some strength. He waved his hands and, with some difficulty, restored the two broken stone walls of the tomb behind him to their original state. "It's just a coincidence. I guess this might be the mausoleum of a noble from the past. It can't be of a very high status."

When they left the tunnel, it was completely dark outside. Leslaufer lit a bonfire in a hidden place. As long as the cavalrymen who had suffered setbacks here did not return to this sad place tonight, the three people except him would be safe.

"Let's discuss the details of the agreement." After the tense escape, even the old wizard looked relaxed. "Our original plan was to travel east to the land of the elves and seek some refuge there as a wizard. But I'm not in good condition right now. The magic I exude will make me a target for other spellcasters."

"I suppose you don't happen to be familiar with elves?"

"My elf friend is still stuck in this war," said Leslaufer, taking the dry rations from Grandin. Those exquisite snacks were much better than his own food. "If Her Royal Highness the Princess isn't familiar with the east, I suggest we bypass the battlefield and head west."

The princess, who was eating in small bites, raised her head slightly and shook it when she heard this.

"I'll listen to you." The maid sighed. They were naturally unwilling to hand the princess over to those barbarians, but it seemed that there was no other way.

Reslaufer nodded. "I'm quite familiar with the western part of the Empire. If you don't plan to seek the protection of the elves, I can take His Highness on a detour, completely avoiding the Emperor's army and the Imperial faction, crossing the Golinoto Mountains from the west and heading to Western Inassus or Central Inassus."

"If you feel unsafe, you can consider going further north to East Inassus or Haidong. I suggest not going to Ampiri further north or Corazonde further west. One is too cold and the other is too humid, and both are frequently ravaged by war."

"No matter what your purpose is, if you want to end it all, you don't need to run so far."

"Several kings in Western Inassus have always had close ties with the Empire," Bol pondered. "How is Central Inassus, Your Highness? It's not peaceful there either. I heard there was some fighting going on..."

"It's over, at least temporarily, a few months ago," interrupted Leslough. "'Bald' Wright lost his territory to three other families."

"I almost forgot, we have a real guide here," the old wizard chuckled. "So, my friend, what price are you offering? This journey doesn't sound easy, and don't forget, simply arriving isn't enough. We'll need you to look after His Highness for a while until we arrive in person or through someone else to pay you the balance."

"My current pay as a mercenary is ninety-six new coins. In the past, my pay was seventy-two imperial gold coins per month. Optimistically, it will take me seven months to complete the journey," Leslaufermo calculated and replied, "I won't intentionally delay the journey, as that would hinder my full pay. Therefore, I'll be charged extra for each additional month of delay."

"For every month after seven months, it will be calculated at ninety-six Imperial gold coins," Boll replied immediately, "but this will not be settled until the end."

Reslaufer nodded. "After we arrive, I can wait for one of you for free. No, two months, or so. Any time beyond that will be charged extra, but you can't wait too long."

Taking care of a runaway princess meant it was difficult for him to get decent work, and the loss would inevitably be blamed on them.

"In addition, ordinary encounters in the wild don't count. If you encounter an enemy like the mage today, you will have to pay more."

"Her Royal Highness the Princess has to pay extra for her food, clothing, housing and transportation. I am not an Imperial, but a mercenary, and not her servant."

"Plus saving you this time..."

Boll and Grandin's eyes gradually became dull as Reslaufer wrote and calculated in the dirt. Finally, even the princess was attracted and looked at the series of formulas nervously.

"I've only heard that our Empire's mercenaries are skilled in this..." Bol muttered with his mouth half open. "So it's also done outside the Empire?"

"Anyone who has served in the Empire for a long time has learned something," Leslaufer's finger paused on the last number. "When you call outsiders demons, they also see you as demons."

The former, coming from the abyss, is chaotic and disorderly, while the latter, coming from purgatory, is best at playing with contracts. However, the natures of these two well-known alien creatures are difficult to erase, and mortals who are compared with them will learn from each other.

Therefore, the combat effectiveness of the highland crossbowmen in the north of the empire is even stronger than the cavalry in the east, so Leslaufer will also use the same method to calculate the salary of the imperial mercenaries.

I heard that those who are good at this will use more complicated formulas to gain more benefits, but those are captains or group leaders. Leslaufer himself has no use for them.

"But don't you think this price is ridiculous?" Grandin pointed at the four-digit number on the ground. "One thousand one hundred and thirty-six Imperial gold coins! Not even His Majesty the Emperor would hire an entire regiment for that price!"

"Because not every mercenary is priced that way," Reslaufer shrugged. "Even under the richest lord of East Inassus, someone like me can only arrange for one out of four to ten."

"Wait, four to ten..." Bol looked at Reslaufer's two-handed giant sword and suddenly thought of something, "Are you a 'Doppler'?"

Apparently, neither Grandin nor the princess had heard of this word, so the old wizard had to explain it to them again.

"No wonder you want such a high reward," Bol looked Leslaufer up and down. "Well, if that's the case, then I can accept it. Grandin and I can feel more at ease too. Cole!"

The wizard suddenly clapped his hands, and a magic circle appeared in front of him out of thin air. As the green light lit up and went out, a large duck appeared in everyone's sight.