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

Chapter 163 The Paladin's Farewell

Leslough did not intend to hide this matter, and when everyone gathered together at dinner, he showed the gift to everyone.

However, what surprised everyone was not that the gift was intended for Reslaufer, but that, aside from the mercenaries, neither Bella, who believed in Eldas, nor Patrick, who had pledged his devotion, could make the artifact display any extraordinary properties. Not to mention the others.

"It seems even the goddess recognizes you." The paladin lowered his head helplessly and returned the pendant to the mercenary. "I want to apologize, Leslaufer. Perhaps at that time, the fear of my own impending death made me lose my rationality."

"Now that I think about it, no matter what you were planning to do, you ended up doing the right thing, and that's what matters most."

"I'm not going to use this to justify myself," Leslaufer said, scooping a spoonful of soup from his wooden bowl. The soup was completely devoid of any oil, making him almost think it was just lake water. "No matter how many times I come here again, I'll always grab that artifact first."

"But the truth is, you pushed me away first," Angelita blew carefully on the steaming fruit porridge in her hand. Her dinner had double the fruit, so while it was twice as sweet, it also took twice as long to swallow. "I ran back on my own."

Several eyes turned to the young druid, who had been the first to rush forward to try to save Xander, and they were trying to save her more than the stranger.

"She didn't do anything wrong," Patrick couldn't help but defend her, "She just chose to save lives at the first moment..."

"But she nearly killed others along with him." The mercenary drank the vegetarian soup in one gulp. "If you use the definition of 'ultimately', she was completely wrong."

Bella's face turned pale, and she lowered her head without saying a word.

"Can……"

"So forget about your bullshit about 'rationality', 'emotionality', 'right' and 'wrong'! Idiot!" Leslough threw the bowl on the smooth stone surface that served as the dining table. "Did Bella do anything wrong? No! Did Angelita do anything wrong? No! Did I do anything wrong? That's it!"

"What on earth are you reflecting on? Do you have to use some kind of standard to distinguish right from wrong?" Leslaufer stared at the bewildered paladin in front of him. One of the latter's arms was still hanging in front of his chest. The injury came from the man who was scolding him.

"Let me tell you what 'standards' are, if you must! Whatever we do is right! The opposite is wrong! It's that simple!"

"But this isn't right! This can't be right!" The paladin tried to protest, but his voice faded away. Patrick could see that no one else, not even the archdruid Rufo, had any intention of expressing their views—this was already the outcome.

"Oh, so you're going to introduce another set of standards to judge another set of standards?" Doppler asked sarcastically, "Or are you going to use the standards themselves to judge themselves?"

"Hurry up and eat. I don't plan on breaking your other arm—do you still need me to feed you then?"

Another argument ended in vain. Leslough was far more powerful than the paladin. Even without considering his strength, the veteran's knowledge was far greater than Patrick's. The paladin realized that he was doomed to fail in convincing the man.

And his beliefs will never be shaken by those sophistry.

After realizing these two points, Patrick Coad realized the third point during the several sleepless days and nights that followed.

"You're not going to leave with us?" Daisy was caught off guard by the sudden news. "But you have the invincible Holy Slash! What would we do without you?"

Vondar echoed his friend, while Angrita pursed her lips but did not say anything to keep him.

"Leslaufer has the ability to ensure your safety," Patrick nodded at Leslaufer. "These past few days, I've realized that I've become an unstable factor in this team. Continuing to travel with you is not a good idea."

"I once thought you were a friend I could trust and rely on, but our paths are ultimately incompatible: I still cannot agree with your point of view. Continuing will only make the situation worse."

"If you really see so clearly, it can't be any worse," the mercenary responded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Are you going to continue being a chivalrous knight?"

"I'm just trying my best," Patrick shook his head. He looked at Angarita apologetically, "I'm sorry, I can't go to Qingzun City with you, but maybe this is for the best."

"I hope we'll meet again, Uncle Patrick."

"I hope so. By then, you should be a grown-up girl, right?" The paladin blinked. He suddenly remembered something and took out an envelope from the lining of his scale armor and handed it to the girl. "I originally planned to deliver this personally, but now it seems that I can't do it."

Angelita took the envelope. It was heavy inside. It didn't look like letter paper, but more like coins - but much smaller than gold coins, and even seemed smaller than silver coins.

"If you're ever passing through Zun Lonely, you could go to Lonely Island Lane in the outer city. There might be a bakery there. The owner's name is Weasley." Patrick released his hand and said goodbye to everyone, even Leslough. "I owed him twenty-two sous (about one and a half Imperial silver coins) back then. Later, I became that lord's attendant and went to the inner city. I never had the chance to go back, especially after leaving Zun Lonely. Perhaps you could repay this favor for me."

"But how should I tell him? Twenty-two sous, how much is that?" Angelita subconsciously looked at Leslaufer, who made a gesture, which probably meant it was a trivial amount.

"Just tell him it was the child from that rainy night," the paladin breathed a sigh of relief, as if finally letting go of something. "He'll know."

"And you... Old Lei," Leslaufer saw a certain sadness in the ponytailed man's eyes. He always seemed so sentimental. "I'm not by your side anymore, but... I hope that next time, my voice can still be in your ears, persuading you to stop."

"Then you'll have to shout louder," said Rathlough, glancing at his companions. "I might be hard of hearing by the time this deal is settled."

Chapter 164 Goblin Hunting Ground

Patrick left quickly, and Reslaufer and others were about to cross the western border of the empire and step into the land belonging to the "barbarians".

The Archdruid pushed Sander out to see him off. The man who had lost both legs did not choose to return to the Quiet Creek Society, but instead hoped to convert to the light of Eldath and atone for his past.

However, he was not the only one who officially began to worship the goddess of peace.

"Hey! Look at me, look at this outfit!"

Walking in the morning mist, as soon as they crossed the waterfall and passed through the forest that was no different from usual, Bella couldn't wait to show off her new clothes to her companions.

The previous attire from the Quiet Creek Society had been destroyed in the rescue, and in gratitude for her kindness, the priests of Eldath provided their clothing to this not-very-devout member of the church.

It was a water-colored robe that perfectly complemented the druid's red hair. The hem of the robe was specially trimmed into an irregular edge to simulate the shape of water foam. A gray belt was tied at the waist, and the buckle hung with some commonly used utensils and materials. A brown shoulder strap was placed higher up.

Bella loved the outfit, for it signified her acceptance by the other Eldathians, but it paled in comparison to another achievement she had gained.

"Of course there's this book!" Bella waved a ten-centimeter-thick book in her hand. "They said I might not be suitable to be a priest, but maybe I could join the Brotherhood and Sisterhood and become an armed priest."

"They gave me this book. It contains detailed teachings of the goddess and everything an armed priest needs to know. Daisy, Annie! You have to teach me. I can't even recognize all the words in it now!"

Angelita took the book curiously. If she remembered correctly, Bella should have received some education and shouldn't be illiterate. But she soon figured out the reason: the book contained a large number of specialized terms related to religion, mysteries, and martial arts. These were like enlightenment courses for nobles like her, but were extremely difficult for ordinary people to access, even druids. In fact, the knowledge passed down among druids was completely different from that of others.

"I can understand it..." Daisy leaned over to look at the content, but eventually looked away awkwardly. "But I understand it based on 'my understanding'. I'm afraid it would be difficult for me to teach you—unless you plan to become like me, uh, 'crazy' in the future."

The poet's way of looking at the world was clearly different, and Bella decisively gave up the option of following in her footsteps, and decided to study under the younger Angrita. This was not something to be ashamed of, especially after leaving the empire and truly knowing Angrita's identity.

"The princess of the human empire..." The dwarf, carrying a heavy bag filled with his own collected ores and related equipment, sighed at the end of the group. "This is far superior to some 'eldest son of the clan'."

"What's so great about it?" Angrita shrugged. "I've already escaped... half of the empire. A descendant of your dwarf clan wouldn't be like this, would you?"

"...How do you know it's not possible?" Vondar's big beard perfectly concealed the bitter smile on the corners of his lips. He moved his arms uncomfortably, as if his wrists were sore from the heavy luggage.

Xinmu City... The illusion of the monster from the abyss was still chasing him, or rather, it was just an illusion chasing his past.

As he continued to move west and north, the phantom, the past was approaching him at an unprecedented speed, and he... had to choose to face it.

Without the obstruction of the Returnees, there was almost no encounter worth mentioning in the mountains. Although he had been traveling in the mountains for several days, Leslaufer was still just holding the owl-bear-headed hammer, and there was no sign of it being stained with blood.

But this good thing, or "bad thing" for the mercenaries, was destined to be unsustainable. Soon after they had completely crossed the mountains and arrived at the territory of Western Inassus, some disturbing signs began to appear in everyone's vision.

"Bait, net, trap..."

With the butt of his warhammer, Reslaufer carefully parted the grass ahead. Sunlight filtering through the treetops revealed a thin rope tangled with sharp metal barbs and smeared with a mess of excrement. One end was tied to the base of a large tree trunk, the other to a small wooden stake. No doubt, any prey that strayed into this messy, disgusting, and vicious trap would be injured.

"...and tripwires," Leslaufer gestured for Bella to go to the other side, and sure enough, the druid soon discovered some bells that were already ready to go, and other alarms that could make noises.

"It's the goblins' work. The other hunters are either too smart to do such a poor job, or too dumb to set traps at all," Raslaufer got the answer from the messy footprints near the traps. "If we don't want to be entangled by these little creatures who are just stupid and weak enough, we'd better avoid this place. This is their hunting ground."

Angelita had heard of goblins and immediately agreed to Reslaufer's proposal; Daisy, who was standing by, knew a little more: once those evil little hunters acted in groups, they would be the nightmare of almost every novice adventurer.

"They usually leave a safe path for themselves," the mercenary said, identifying every detail in the complex environment and eventually finding that safe path. "Be careful—especially Bella, your robe, and Vondar, your luggage."

"The tallest goblins are only as tall as my waist. What they consider to be a wide path is not friendly to us."

Goblin settlements are often not dominated by goblins alone; stronger and more sinister goblinoids, such as bugbears or hobgoblins, often dominate them, using any means necessary to coerce their cousins into serving their purposes. However, Raceloff had not observed such tendencies among the goblins here—their passageways didn't leave enough room for the larger ones.

Everyone was not afraid of fighting the goblins, but they would not choose to fight them in their well-prepared hunting grounds. Therefore, everyone carefully followed the traces left by Reslaufer, unwilling to trigger any alarms. Unfortunately... things did not go as planned.

When Leslaufer was about to step over a pit that was not well hidden, a sharp and rapid sound of metal knocking against each other rang out in the forest!

"Who triggered the alarm? What trap!" The mercenary immediately retracted his steps and turned around to ask, but he saw his companions who were unharmed.

"It's not one of us." The noise hadn't stopped yet, but Vondar immediately understood the situation. "Some other daredevil broke in!"

"Over there!" The poet, who was more sensitive to sound, caught more information in the air, "right in front of us!"

Chapter 165: Prey Entering the Hunting Ground

Having a noose tighten around your ankles, with thousands of tiny burrs digging into your scales and the flesh beneath them, is not a pleasant experience.

Not to mention that the sky and the earth had been completely turned upside down in Edward's eyes at this moment. His huge body had now become a complete burden, and was of no value except to make his brain congested faster.

The half-human, half-dragon creature with gray-black scales sighed and continued to wander in the tree. Metal fragments hidden in the surrounding grass made a series of noises as traps were triggered. Before him, sixteen or seventeen figures were already "walking in the sky," approaching him.

"Ah, let's see who's fallen into the trap? The thief?"

A man wearing a reddish-brown soft hat tilted on his head and aristocratic attire of matching color finally relaxed after seeing this scene. He waved his hand backwards, and the mercenaries wearing half-armor and the followers wearing only leather armor tacitly spread out in a semicircle, surrounding the dragonborn who was hung upside down after accidentally touching the trap.

"Please put me down, Master," Edward looked pitifully at the 24-year-old nobleman with his blue eyes. "This is all a misunderstanding. I can explain it! Please put me down. My legs are about to be broken."

"You're truly unlucky. If you'd stepped on a bear trap, you wouldn't have to feel your foot right now," the young human scoffed coldly at the creature of a rare race trapped in the trap. "You little thief, you really shouldn't have come here. And what you shouldn't have done even more is steal from the Maple Springs family."

"I don't--"

"Stop talking nonsense and tell the truth!" the man shouted. "Where on earth did you hide my wand?"

It was an acacia wand nearly two meters long, blessed by Serak when it was crafted. Most importantly, it was the gift he would present to Master Ciel in a week's time! At his 110th birthday party!

If that weren't the case, he wouldn't have chased all the way here and into the Golinoto Mountains - it was too dangerous here even for someone like him!

Fortunately, all this could be over now. The panicked thief had stepped into the trap himself, and they only needed to capture him and then force him to reveal the wand's whereabouts in a safer place.

Even though he hadn't set the trap himself, the young man still felt immense pleasure in the scene before him. His family was experiencing an unprecedented turmoil, and he needed to be far away from the family residence to catch the thief, which would make him lose the upper hand among his brothers and sisters.

But if, if he completed this mission brilliantly, brought the wand back intact, and presented it to Master Ciel, he would definitely gain an advantage far beyond others!

When the young man thought of this, he felt the magic power boiling in his blood - he almost started to cast a spell - if he could really be like his genius brother who died suddenly!

The boy's death was shrouded in doubt even for the young man himself, but it gave him an opportunity to fight for the inheritance, so he was very protective of his little brother - on the premise that he was dead.

The young man raised his right hand and pointed his index finger forward in a seductive manner. The trusted servant beside him immediately drew his dagger and approached the suspect with a malicious smile.

"The Maple Springs family will not tolerate enemies, but they are happy to turn enemies into friends," the young man said, trying to make his cold words sound as friendly as possible. "I ask again: where did you hide your wand?"

"Master, I really don't know," the Dragonborn shouted in panic, looking at the knife getting closer and closer, "I can swear I never have the staff you mentioned..."

It was obvious that he would not confess at this moment. The young man gave up the relatively mild thought, while the servant's eyes began to consider how to cut off the dragonborn's big foot instead of untying the rope on his foot.

He was thinking so hard that the servant himself did not notice that the trip rope under his feet was suddenly reeled up because of his movement.

"What the—"

Before the servant could finish his words, he was tripped by the tough rope and fell to the ground. The fragile ground in front of him, which was disguised as a ground, suddenly rose up, and three sharpened wooden stakes pierced his fragile flesh at the same time!

"What's going on?" The young man was shocked by the sudden change. He was about to send someone forward to investigate when he saw a mercenary on the periphery suddenly clutching her neck in pain, eyes wide open, and falling straight to her knees. Only then did the others see clearly that a crudely crafted, but equally deadly, short arrow had accurately hit the artery on the side of her neck!

A low horn sounded from the jungle, where the direction was difficult to distinguish. The panicked mercenaries tried to find the location of their enemies, but they only triggered more traps and were then treated as living targets.

The remaining people gathered around the young man, cautiously defending against those sneak attacks from tricky angles. The young man himself also waved a small steel round shield, trying his best to save his life.

Their strategy did work, but it also brought two pieces of news, one good and one bad: the good news was that stray arrows were no longer effective and the ambushers' attacks had lost their effectiveness.

The bad news is that they don't intend to continue hiding in the dark, but are preparing to launch a frontal charge!

"Waaaaagh!!!"

Accompanied by loud but incomprehensible war cries (or just random shouts), more than thirty creatures, one meter tall or less, with warty green skin, emerged from the mountains and forests like earthworms coming out for air after the rain. With ugly faces with huge noses and ears, they brandished crude weapons made of bone or wood, but equally deadly, and attacked the prey that recklessly broke into their hunting grounds!

"Goblins--" the young man cried out in despair. He had just naively believed that the people who set these traps were just hunters!

"Meet the enemy! Meet the enemy!" The leader of the mercenaries shouted at the top of his lungs to organize his companions. At this moment, he knew better than the young man what kind of situation he was in, but the situation was beyond his control. He could only try his best to seek a glimmer of hope for survival.

"It's a goblin!"

The Dragonborn, who had stepped into a trap set by the goblins and was hung upside down, also let out a similar cry. He bent his waist as much as he could to relieve some of the pressure on his head, and then when the first goblin jumped barefoot towards the mercenaries and servants, he shouted with all his might:

"(Goblin) Kherek-nor!" (Translation: Go ahead, kill them!)

Chapter 166 The former empire

"That's a goblin..."

While those reckless intruders were fighting fiercely with the goblins, not far away, another group was quietly watching this unequal encounter from the gaps in the woods.

"They're all so ugly... uglier than the pictures in the books," Angarita commented quietly. "Is this the 'barbarian land'? I've never heard of them in the empire."

"There are fewer goblins in the empire, but they're not absent," Leslaufer said, carefully placing down a small green creature from his arms. This scout's bones had been crushed by the Halberd Breaker, so there was no way he was alive. "These guys are even more pervasive than gnolls, and they can reproduce in droves in a blink of an eye."

"The Imperials I know simply explain the origin of the goblins as 'they came from Inassus,' but my elf friend once gave me a more intriguing explanation."

Reslaufer looked at the mercenaries outside with his ice-blue eyes. These were all disappointing colleagues. Facing the goblins, they couldn't even meet such a low requirement of one against three.

"They're about to lose, and we'll have the chance to be the heroes, as Daisy says."

The young man was well-dressed, and saving his life would surely earn him a fortune. These days, hanging out with a group of druids and priests of Eldath in the woods, Raslaufer felt like he was about to lose his temper.

"What exactly did your elf friend say?" Angrita wasn't opposed to this behavior, nor was she enthusiastic about it. She was only concerned with the topic that Reslaufer was halfway through. "These mercenaries can at least hold out until you finish your story, right?"

"It's actually very simple. The current empire was once elven territory. There's no doubt about that, right?" The mercenary shrugged. He didn't think his peers had the ability to do so. "We generally agree that it was an early human leader, whose name is now lost, who accepted the support of the elves and established the prototype of an empire in this land."

"'The Elder' Flavius." Angelita nodded. She remembered this aspect more clearly.