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

"Mullive, she must live! Do you hear me? Because her last name is Matt!"

"There are so many people named Matt!" the dwarf snorted coldly. "I don't work for that damn emperor. I only listen to my boss! If this little thing refuses to come back alive, I'll bring back her body!"

"Hurry up and ask the one with the pigtails to remove the spell!"

Patrick was stunned for a moment when he heard this: "If one party loses consciousness or even dies, the spell should automatically dissolve..."

Before he could finish his words, as Muliwei approached, Angarita suddenly jumped up from the ground and stretched out her hand towards the long sword not far away, saying: "Sword is shield!"

"It needs to be adjusted..." Patrick subconsciously wanted to put an end to Angelita's plan, but the next moment, the long sword actually made a buzzing sound on the ground, and then it broke through the air with a "pop" sound and fell directly into Angelita's grasp!

"Kill!" The princess raised her head and gripped the sword again. Her eyes glowed green like a wolf's and she attacked Muliwei again with the sword!

Chapter 129 Spark of Magic

"Again?"

The dwarf was startled by this sudden resistance, and a bloody streak appeared on his face. But this was not enough to make him retreat: "No matter how many times you come, the ending will be the same! You took my kick, let's see how long you can hold on!"

"If it doesn't work, bringing your head back would probably do the same!"

"Muliwei! If you do this, the entire empire will regard you as an enemy!" Black Arrow was still trying to persuade us from outside, "Hold back, hold back!"

"Shut up!" The annoying noise caused the dwarf to start a series of curses. "At worst, I'll go home after this job and return to the tundra! There's nothing good about Magparesh!"

"But before that, you have to go back!"

Angelita did not answer, but let out a series of wild beast-like roars in a low voice, her voice sounding like a wolf or some kind of bird, but in short, it was completely different from the pleasant sound she usually spoke. If the light cavalryman Benjamin had heard this voice, he would probably not have had the slightest thought of stepping forward!

"Kill--" In her hand at this moment, the style of the long sword has completely changed. It seems that rather than swinging the sword, she prefers to swing a war hammer to smash the enemy's spine and crown!

"What's going on?" Leslough let go of Patrick and looked at Angelita in shock, who looked like a madman.

"You taught well," the paladin repeated his previous words, but this time, there was no praise in his tone. "The spirits surrounding her originated from you. Now she is being taken over by those animals."

"Are you surprised? I tried to dissuade you, but now it seems it's too late. You will influence those around you, and she, who is under your guidance, will be affected the most profoundly - she is sane, but like a beast."

"Sanity?" Rathlover turned and glared at the paladin, who nodded without flinching.

"She is conscious. Those spirits are merely animals, far from being able to take over her soul. But as you can see, she is still affected... What are you going to do?"

Under the shocked gaze of the paladin, Reslaufer lay directly on the barrier and shouted:

"Angelita! Follow your instincts! Watch your own movements, imitate them—"

Patrick returned the blow. "What are you teaching?! You're trying to make her as crazy as you are!"

"That's all!" Leslaufer pushed the paladin away. "It's enough for her to survive now! And to continue living in the future—Angelita, isn't this what you've always wanted?"

"Defeat him, kill this dwarf! From now on you can act on your own and no longer need me!"

As Leslaufer expected, the green in Angelita's originally brown eyes became brighter, and the sword in her hand danced more and more frantically.

"See! I told you she's talented!" Leslough laughed. "She's just a little more 'unrestrained' in battle. What's the big deal? She can avoid a lot of my mistakes!"

"Have you ever considered that these avoided detours would drive her completely insane?" Patrick shouted angrily. "You are a beast thirsting for killing. You know nothing! But she! She shouldn't have become like that!"

"Stop! Feel the sword in your hand. It comes from the 'City of Truth' of the Eastern elves. Calm down and listen to the voice of your heart!"

"Do as the pigtailed guy says!" If the words of Leslough or Patrick outside sounded like vague persuasion, the roar of the dwarf in front of him could be said to be a wake-up call - Mullive had to do this, otherwise he would be smashed to death in a minute or two!

Yes, "smash!" He was now a little giant over two meters tall, but he was about to be smashed to death by a sword from a little girl who was only a few months away from adulthood!

Such humiliation caused his anger to rise rapidly, but at this moment, it could not bring him any strength, but only fear! It came from the fear of the inferior for the superior, the fear of the prey for the predator!

You must listen to him! The dwarf raised the scimitar in his hand with all his strength and blocked Angelita's way before she rushed up again.

Two voices swirled in Angelita's heart and mind. The first seemed like a cacophony of dozens. She couldn't make out any distinct words, only a single, emotional roar. That was the source of her power at the moment. She was perfectly lucid, but she needed to temporarily cede a small amount of power to this voice, allowing her to defeat the enemy before her.

The other voice was beautiful, elegant, and rational, with clear words and the same was true of the various points it expressed. Although this voice appeared after the Paladin and even the dwarf's shout, it was undoubtedly "more" correct, wasn't it?

But if she returned to her previous state, she would be kicked half to death again. Before, she could rely on her healthy body to deal with Muliwei, but now this advantage is gone.

She doesn't need that wild madness, but there must be a more compromising idea that she can choose.

This hesitation gave the dwarf an opportunity. He immediately organized his counterattack. The scimitar came across, with a sharp sound of wind, and went straight to the neck that was no longer white, but still slender.

I absolutely cannot delay any longer, I must kill her immediately! Muliwei warned himself like this. Although he never held back, the potential that Angreta had just shown still made her particularly wary.

But at this moment, in Angelita's sight, the beasts around her suddenly lost their shapes and became illusory. Although she still remembered what they looked like, it now seemed that they served some...higher-level existence.

The bloodthirsty madness and dangerous rationality were reconciled at this moment. Facing the scimitar that was getting closer and closer, Angelita closed her eyes and swung her sword.

The alarm bell almost rang in Mullive's heart. The dwarf forced his next move to be hidden in his attack, trying to use the same trick again to completely defeat and kill Angelita.

But this time, he couldn't get what he wanted.

The two extreme thoughts transformed into a strange, warm power that rose from Angelita's body. As if a blessing had come to her mind, she began to softly chant a spell that she had memorized by heart but had never been able to perform normally:

"What I see in my heart is inevitable—to defeat the enemy first!"

That power replaced Angelita's eyes and saw through all of Mullive's back-ups and defenses in an instant. The dwarf only felt a chill on the back of his neck, and then he fell to the ground. He saw his body, which had not yet fallen but was shrinking rapidly!

A puff of hot blood was thrown to the ground along with the remaining force of the sword. The surrounding barriers disappeared with the death of the dwarf. Angelita stood quietly there, her black hair fluttering, and the brown and green in her eyes continued to blend with each other. In the end, the hungry green light was finally completely obscured in her eyes.

"Thank you for your guidance," the Imperial Princess whispered softly, looking down at the head that had returned to its original size. "Praise Corellon."

Chapter 130: Flexible or Not

"Angelita!"

Reslaufer rushed forward, and the girl instinctively tried to swing her sword, but fortunately, before that moment, her eyes had regained their clarity. Reslaufer was not like Mullive, who was caught off guard. In the mere moment of opportunity, his hand was already on the hilt of the sword.

The sword seemed to have formed some kind of special connection with Angelita, causing the mercenary to feel an inexplicable resistance the moment he wielded it. To be on the safe side, he didn't continue trying to take her weapon.

"How do you feel? He just kicked you. Blunt injuries may not show up right away. Be careful. We need to wait for Bella or Daisy to come and treat you."

"I'm fine, Uncle Leslaufer." Feeling a little heavy in the head, Angelita forced a smile. "Aren't you injured in the same way? If you're fine, I shouldn't be any problem either... Let's focus on the present."

Leslaufer glanced sideways and saw that the Black Arrow did not run away immediately, but followed Patrick nervously. So he nodded, picked up the scimitar that had returned to its normal size from the ground and stood aside.

Just like wearing armor or not, having a weapon in hand and being bare-handed are two completely different feelings. When the smooth and glossy metal surface appeared in his peripheral vision, Leslauf finally relaxed a little.

"Come here," Angelita nodded at Black Arrow, "Are you still going to keep fighting?"

The tall and thin Black Arrow glanced at Leslaufer, who was standing beside him with a sword, then looked at the paladin on the other side and shook his head bitterly: "My mission has failed, Your Highness."

"I only hope to bring back Muliwei's body. He and the White Blade guy are said to be close friends, so he can't stay here."

"You should indeed take him away, but before handing him over to White Blade, you should first bring him to my father."

Black Arrow opened his mouth in surprise.

"This is my proof," Angelita said. "You witnessed the whole process. I killed him in a one-on-one fight. Am I right?"

"exactly……"

"If they're only worried about my safety, they can relax now. I'm capable of protecting myself, not to mention I have an even more powerful guard by my side." The girl nodded slightly to Reslaufer. "He can detect your presence and even destroy this dwarf's eye unarmed. Even if you can't imagine how powerful he is when fully armed, there are people who can."

Black Arrow did not refute. Before this, he and Muliwei had already been to Xinmu City and had a very specific understanding of the mercenary's strength - so they decided to wait until he was completely off guard before taking action.

But judging from the results, perhaps such caution is still far from enough.

"Take him back. We won't kill you." Angelita leaned on her sword, panting and sweating. The burden of her previous state was slowly becoming apparent. "But in exchange, I'll leave you one of your rings."

"Your Highness, this is against the rules." Black Arrow placed his right hand on his left hand with some hesitation. "If I lose this ring..."

The ring with the broken lines could unleash a volley of arrows, so powerful that even arcane masters would feel threatened. An endless hail of arrows instantly blanketed an entire area, scattering everything and everyone in it like a sieve. The Empire maintained strict controls over these magical items, with usage and loss being treated as completely separate matters.

"I don't need that plain one," Angelita held out her hand. "Don't you have two? Give me one, and you'll have an explanation."

Although the power of the two rings was weaker, they could be used repeatedly. Hei Jian was still in a dilemma, but he had no choice now. He could only take off the one on his right thumb and hand it over respectfully.

"Your Highness, although I cannot take you back, please listen to me: your roots are still in the Empire, more precisely in Magparece. Outside, fighting is not the only danger. I hope you can still consider it carefully. This is not only for your own safety, but also for you..."

"I've been preparing to leave Magpares for quite some time. This isn't a spur-of-the-moment decision." The princess stared at the black arrow for a long moment, then sighed softly. "As you said, contention isn't the only danger. Think about it carefully. If you have the courage, seek the answer yourself, and you'll know."

"Leave now, before I change my mind."

Black Arrow gave up trying to persuade her. He saluted Angarita once more before leaving with Mullive's body. The dwarf was dead, but perhaps he could be resurrected if the "White Blade" he was referring to truly had a close friendship with. After all, resurrecting the dead, especially those who had been dead for many days, was not easy to achieve. Even someone of that stature might not be able to summon such power.

"Huh... Uncle Reslaufer, it looks like we've survived." Seeing Black Arrow carrying the dwarf's tiny body over the wall and disappearing from everyone's sight, Angelita finally breathed a sigh of relief. "I did pretty well, didn't I? Will you blame me for... not listening to you?"

Angelita remembered some fragments of memories from that time. Leslaufer seemed to hope that she could control the madness brought about by those phantoms, but she did not do so.

"I just hope you can survive, whether it's out of my duty or personal feelings," Leslaufer patted the girl's shoulder. "As for how to do it, I don't care, and I don't expect you to care. That's why I never taught you any fixed moves."

"You should remember my fighting style," Leslaufer took the longsword from Angrita. The weapon somersaulted under the twist of his two fingers. "Black Flame is a greatsword, but if it is more useful as a warhammer, then it is a warhammer; if it is more useful as a shield, then it can also be a shield."

"I originally thought that a warrior with such a magical sword would also have such awareness, but now it seems..." The mercenary threw the sword back to Patrick, "To him, the sword is just a sword."

"Strength is different from weapons. If you only use 'usefulness' as the criterion, you will pay the price one day." The paladin said coldly.

"Ha—you're talking as if that Holy Slash of yours just fell from the sky!" The mercenary immediately shot back, "Tell me what kind of power comes without a price? Doesn't sleeping make you unconscious for hours?"

"You're just sophistry!" "Otherwise she deserves to be kicked to death by that dwarf while she's still awake—don't even mention a fair duel! Otherwise, don't blame me for chopping you down!"

Chapter 131: A Long Poem of Guarding One's Will

"Alright, alright, stop arguing," Angelita quickly intervened between the two who were about to fight. "Look, no matter what, I'm fine now, right? There's a kind of noble rationality in that sword that prevents me from going completely crazy. It's all become the source of my strength. Isn't that great?"

The paladin sighed upon hearing this, and Leslaufer crossed his arms. There was no need to continue their debate; the parties involved had clearly taken sides.

"This sword is called 'Poem of Guardianship'. It was once given to me by an elf friend. As you said, it does have rational will. Although it is far from being called a weapon of wisdom, it can indeed provide help to the holder in some special circumstances." Patrick stroked the sword, his eyes full of reminiscence, but in the end he gritted his teeth, held the sword in both hands and presented it to Angelita.

"I used to use it to spur myself on, to constantly remind myself to keep my oath, but in the last incident, I discovered that this kind of external assistance only made my heart duller. Once the heart gives up seeking, external things, no matter how powerful, are ultimately just external things. But for you who are still young, it is indeed a good medicine."

"Take it. I heard you're not an adult yet? This is Uncle Kou Meng's early gift for you to become an adult."

"How, how can this be? This is too expensive--" The sudden words of the Paladin confused Angelita. She looked at Leslaufer for help, but the latter did not look surprised--after all, it was he who made the request.

"Not long ago, I doubted whether you could use it. After all, it's a true magical weapon, and ordinary people can't unleash its full power." Patrick seemed to smile, "But you just proved that you can indeed control it. And you need it more than I do."

"But, I can't accept it," Angelita tried to refuse. She saw the other long sword Patrick was carrying. "Can I switch to this one? It doesn't have much power, does it?"

"This one?" The paladin was slightly stunned, then burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, this is just an ordinary longsword, but I can't give it to you, or anyone else."

"This sword came from the noble lord I spoke of before. He bestowed it upon me, and it has taken his place, accompanying me on my sacred journey. Though it is but an ordinary longsword of fine iron, it is no less precious to me than any divine weapon."

"So please accept it. Although the 'Shouzhi Long Poem' is also a gift from a friend, he would surely be very happy if he knew that I gave it to the right person."

People do indeed attach irreplaceable value to ordinary things, and this is particularly evident in people like paladins. Angelita hesitated for a long time, but finally accepted the gift with a solemn thank you.

While the Shouzhi Changshi is often called a longsword, it's actually more of a "hand-and-a-half sword." Its blade is eighty to ninety centimeters long, gleaming with a turquoise metallic sheen. The hilt, behind the guard, is one-third the length of the blade, allowing it to be wielded with either one or two hands. Like the Black Flame, the end of the hilt features a round counterweight, though it's not carved into the exaggerated shape of a skull.

The most striking qualities of elven craftsmanship were their elegance and lightness. Although Angarita had initially refused to accept the weapon, when she took it up for the second time, she felt almost reluctant to lose it. As the girl's fingertips caressed the uneven surface of the blade, the connection was reestablished, and lines of writing in Elvish (the elves themselves called it True Language) gradually lit up with a faint glow.

Angelita had learned some of the Elvish language, but she didn't need to read these words. As long as she thought about it, the meaning would automatically appear in her mind.

"These are the oaths that elf once swore," Patrick explained. "Even if you're not a paladin, they can be of some use."

"Whoever wields this sword shall not be an enemy of goodness." Angelita slowly read out the words above.

"He who wields this sword shall be in the company of the brave."

"Whoever wields this sword must fight for honor."

"Whoever holds this sword must not be blinded by personal gain." Patrick knew this, of course. When Angelita recited, he also responded.

"If you hear of evil at work, you should approach with your sword."

"Don't be an enemy of the elves."

"Whoever wields this sword must fight for the truth."

"Those who hold this sword should perform acts of kindness."

"Those who wield this sword may not rely on the majority to attack the minority."

"Whoever holds this sword should swing it against the stronger one."

"Those who hold this sword must fight to protect the right of mankind to survive."

"If you hear that the world is in danger, you should take up your sword and go forward."

"Twelve, that's a lot of rules. Luckily, not all elves are so rigid." Listening nearby, Reslaufer guessed the elf was also a paladin. Amantha had never cared about these rules.

“Birds of a feather flock together.”

Rathlough felt that Patrick was being sarcastic, but he had no proof—and the same could be said of the paladin.

"Speaking of which, shouldn't I call you Miss Barty Antich now, but Her Highness Angelita Matt?" the paladin asked, turning to Angelita. "It's truly unexpected that members of the current royal family are using the surnames of descendants of the previous dynasty as aliases and even disguising themselves as half-elves."