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

"You'd better try this, though—it's made with owlbear milk. The Imperial custom is to add wine instead of tea, but I figured you wouldn't need any alcohol since you've just woken."

"Thank you, that's very thoughtful of you."

The sweet, warm drink flowed smoothly down his throat, causing Reslaufer to exclaim, "My dear Annie, are you staying here, heating this cup of milk tea over and over again until I wake up?"

"Don't be so self-righteous, Uncle Leslaufer," Angarita rolled her eyes. "You're not seriously ill or injured. I only heated it up once, and it was because Uncle Vondar said it tasted better hot than cold."

"And I really do have something to ask you. Remember when you killed Pierre? How was he in such a state?"

"The sword wound on my shoulder has healed," Leslaufer casually placed the empty cup on the bedside. "You did it? I'm not too surprised."

Chapter 194: Reslaufer's Accident

"But you'll definitely be surprised by what comes next," Angelita said, turning and walking towards the door. "I'll be waiting for you at Fengquan's training ground. You might need some protective gear."

"—But you don't have to wear the 'Broken Halberd', right?"

A moment later, Angarita stared in amazement as Leslaufer, clad in heavy armor and carrying a greatsword, stepped onto the edge of the training ground. She looked down at herself: the Shouzhi poem, and the studded leather armor.

Well, what will follow is surely going to be a well-matched and exciting showdown!

"Ah, I thought I heard you say I needed some protective gear," Leslaufer chuckled teasingly, then quickly straightened his posture. "This is to help you understand your own strength, young lady. Pierre is a skilled veteran, to be sure, but his light armor and rapier can't be considered 'real' armor. No matter what method you use, injuring him while you're injured yourself isn't exactly commendable."

"Not to mention he has a healing potion."

"Does this really make me understand myself?" Angelita was only a month or two shy of adulthood, so it was natural for her to be unconvinced. "If I remember correctly, you're a veteran soldier earning double, no, quadruple, the salary! And your armor is probably even more valuable than that of an average knight, right?"

"Then they'll complain about why they don't have a dwarf craftsman friend." Leslaufer obediently put down his greatsword and took a three-meter-long infantry spear from the weapon rack displayed nearby. "But since you said so—"

"How about I practice with you like a regular infantryman?"

"How dare you bully a child!" Before the spear even got close to Angelita, the girl's defense was broken. "I refuse to fight this thing!"

"You don't have a choice on the battlefield," said Reslaufer, putting his spear back down and picking up his greatsword again. "You must know that I have to fight against a hundred or eighty of those things in every battle. You haven't been to the border between Ampyri and Haidong, have you? Ampyri warriors fight like crazy, so some lords at the border choose to defend their interests with six-meter halberds and full plate armor. I fought that thing once, and if it weren't for my friends there, you would only see half of me now."

It takes unparalleled courage and skill to use a giant sword that is nearly two meters long to penetrate a three-meter thick forest of spears. It is six meters long, so even ogres and giants would have to take a detour when seeing it - and the frost giants on Ampiri's side did indeed choose to do so.

Unless there is an army formation with weapons of the same length or a sufficient number of mages, who would fight those bastards?

"To sum it up," Leslaufer said, rushing towards Angelita with a sneer, "this is an unfair world. Just accept it!"

"Leslaufer!" Angrita let out a sharp explosion and awkwardly dodged the landslide-like charge and slash. "You're forcing me to use my trump card!"

"The second lesson I'm teaching you: If you have any trump cards, use them immediately, unless there are countless enemies to come!" Leslaufer seemed to have no intention of showing mercy. The giant sword in his hand danced like a windmill, and a terrifying sword storm was set off in a large area in front of him.

This move can also be called a spinning slash, a diagonal slash, or a blocking slash, but Daisy is more likely to have heard of it as a "helicopter slash" or "death helicopter."

This terrifying sword technique targeting the head and shoulders can make a fully armed and heavily armored warrior faint or even die the moment he is hit. However, if there is another skilled warrior watching the battle, he will understand that Reslaufer is indeed letting up - the continuous use of this sword technique consumes a lot of physical energy, especially when Reslaufer is wearing heavy armor.

As long as Angelita is patient, she will soon find the right opportunity to unleash her killer move.

And that’s exactly what she did.

A flicker of approval crossed Reslaufer's face beneath his horned helmet. His movements had indeed slowed down over time, giving the dodging Angelita a chance to counterattack. Seizing a significant opening, the young woman leaped forward, swinging her sword and stabbing Reslaufer in the side.

This was her only way to safely attack Reslaufer. The range of the giant sword was completely different from that of an ordinary longsword. Even after practice, even though she knew Reslaufer would not harm her, she would never dare to put herself under the giant sword.

"Good choice, but your attack has left you vulnerable!" Leslaufer changed his moves and struck Angelita's shoulder with the hilt of his sword.

This blow was unlikely to be fatal, but it was enough to knock the girl to the ground. Angelita's heartbeat suddenly accelerated due to the tension of her nerves, but she could not escape! She had to wait for an opportunity!

The fact that attacking will expose one's own weaknesses does not only apply to her!

In an instant, Angelita surpassed the limits of her body and will, avoided Reslaufer's attack by a hair's breadth, dodged sideways behind the mercenary, and slashed at Reslaufer's Achilles tendon with a sword!

It worked! The girl was secretly delighted. She had worried that this would be like her previous spell, a mere "potential" that would only be realized in the distant future. But it turned out not to be! This was her power!

But just as she was about to succeed, Angarita was shocked to find that Reslaufer had suddenly changed his position and moves, and steadily intercepted her sword! This—

"This isn't a power that belongs only to you, my dear," Leslaufer said, effortlessly picking up Shouzhi's poem. "For me, I've seen at least ten people do the same."

"But you did surprise me. Should I say it's your talent or luck? Others, including me, only realized it after experiencing dozens of battles, big and small, and just before dying gloriously or unhappily. And you..."

"There's no such thing as talent or luck. This is all the result of my sweat and hard work!" Angelita glared at Leslaufer, trying to force him to admit it.

"Of course," the mercenary laughed dumbly, reaching out and ruffling the girl's hair with his cold, heavy gauntlet. "Sweat and hard work, that suits you very well."

"So... since you said this isn't a power that belongs to me alone, does it have a name?"

"Actions like waves, but I think fighting spirit like waves sounds better—it was the elf who came up with it."

For some reason, when she heard the word "elf" today, a certain elf that often appeared in Reslaufer's descriptions, whom Angarita had never met but regarded as an object of her longing for the future, suddenly became a vague cloud blocking her way to the distance.

Chapter 195 The Legend of the Road

It was undoubtedly a good thing for Angarita to become stronger, both for herself and for Reslaufer and the others. However, Reslaufer would not change his course because of this - a reckless adventure with insufficient rewards was simply seeking death.

"Philip, what did Witt say?" After resting in the town of Joffrey for a few days, Leslauf saw Philip Fengquan returning from outside the manor. Behind him, several carriages had been pulled to the door by pack animals.

"No problem, sir!" Philip hurriedly stepped forward and replied, "Sir Witte has already informed all the Louvalu family's bases along the way that they will provide us with shelter. My personal presence in Fengquan will be sufficient. I guarantee on the reputation of both families and even Qingzun City that this trip will be extremely secretive. The Dieu family, or even the entire Latour Kingdom, will never dare to touch Miss Antichi again!"

Reslaufer remained noncommittal about this assurance. If anything went wrong, he would still choose to leave immediately rather than seek shelter from the Fengquan or Luwalu families. But judging from the current situation, it was indeed a good idea to use the Qingzuncheng family's caravan to avoid the sight of the Latour Kingdom.

The group, already packed, quickly gathered and joined the caravan. Bella and Daisy each changed into less conspicuous attire, while the more conspicuous dwarf and Angarita would remain in the carriages for the entire journey. As Leslaufer prepared to board, six caravan guards were laboriously lifting a large wooden box onto the vehicle.

Just as they put down the extremely heavy "junk", they heard a "click" and the box was pushed open from the inside. A monster head that the guards had never seen in their lives poked out from it, and the vertical pupils on both sides reflected a greedy yellow light.

"Oh my god—" A man jumped back as if he had seen a snake and bumped into Leslaufer. "Sir! What is this?!"

Reslaufer looked over there, and Black Claw was also looking at Reslaufer from inside. The Deinonychus opened its mouth and turned its head, as if salivating, to look at the pack animals that had not yet been driven off by the driver. These poor animals were completely unaware that they would have to carry this hunter who might eat them at any time for a long distance.

"No," Reslaufer reached into the box and slapped the Deinonychus on the head, not too hard or too light. "Stay still and don't eat them—they don't belong to you."

After hearing the last sentence, Black Claw shrank his neck. He understood that those livestock were the property of Reslaufer. After his awe of the "Head Dragon" reached a new level, he gave up the idea of coveting those beasts of burden.

The "Alpha Dragon" must not be offended unless one is prepared to leave or defeat him. And Black Claw knew that he was not ready, and would not be ready for a long, long time.

"They're just cats and dogs, don't worry too much about them." Reslaufer turned to the guards and casually explained, causing them to look at each other in confusion - cats and dogs, so which one is a cat or a dog?

Obviously, Reslaufer would not answer this question, so they could only return to their respective posts with full of questions in their hearts. A moment later, with a shout from the leader of the caravan, this team of more than 100 people slowly left the town of Joffrey, took the main road, and began to move forward towards the northwest.

The reputation of the city of Qingzun was quite well-known in Western Inassus. Mercenaries and professional bandits on a break from their duties usually wouldn't target such caravans. Aside from the goblins and incomprehensible monsters that frequently roamed the mountains, few other beings would consider a group of this size a target. After a few days of this journey, the bard, who had been enjoying snacks and singing, lost interest. He shouldered his lyre again and began to observe his surroundings idly.

"This is so weird," Daisy muttered, trying to get Reslaufer's attention. When she realized the mercenary ignored her, she raised her voice a little more. "This is so weird! Hey!"

"What's strange about that?" Daisy was not the only one who was bored. Leslough was also a little drowsy in such a wilderness with almost no danger to deal with. However, the poet liked to pass the time by chatting with people, while Leslough really wanted to get into the carriage and start his sleep early.

"We're in the wilderness now, aren't we?" The bard kicked a stone away from his feet and watched the little creature tumble into the ditch beside the road. "Then who built this road? Logically, this place shouldn't be under the jurisdiction of any one force, right?"

"There are always caravans like this coming and going. If they don't build roads themselves, they'd rather just stay home and starve to death," Leslaufer raised his chin, gesturing to the caravans around him. "They're the ones who build them. Localities also regularly post commissions and bounties, recruiting unemployed mercenaries, adventurers, and even civilians to repair the roads outside. With everyone doing this, the main roads naturally formed."

"You said repairs, I meant construction," Daisy said, clearly dissatisfied with the answer. "Of course they build roads within the Empire, but what about here? If every lord and caravan had to build their own roads, how could it end up like this?"

"I mean, look at the road width all the way here. It's almost the same width. Who set such a size? It's impossible for all the people in Western Inassus to be so tacitly agreed."

"You're a poet, Sister Daisy," Angelita's voice rang out from the carriage, sounding as if she had just woken up. "Don't you know that the three Inassas were once under the same emperor's jurisdiction? These systems must have originated from that time. Of course, such a thing wouldn't be possible through tacit understanding alone, but tradition and custom could."

"Isn't that right?" Daisy looked at the carriage suspiciously. "I remember you mentioned before that there was an emperor who unified Western Inassus—"

"That's him. It's generally believed that these two are the same person," Leslaufer continued. "Although there are also claims that the latter is the former's son, but those have become ancient legends, and almost no one can verify them anymore."

"Son?" Daisy was intrigued. "Old Lei, can you tell me about it? Never mind whether it's true or not. I'll take whatever you say seriously."

"Then if you write this into poetry in the future, be prepared to engage in a few battles with others," Leslaufer snorted. "In my opinion, that emperor was actually as great as Flavius, the 'elder' who founded the empire. But unfortunately, no matter what twists and turns Flavius's empire experienced, it ultimately survived. Meanwhile, Richard the Great's excessive mercy in his later years caused the empire he founded to fall apart just twelve years after his death."

Chapter 196 Richard the Great

"Emperor Richard?" Daisy was stunned for a moment and subconsciously looked towards Angelita's carriage. "Now the emperor of the empire is also..."

"That's where the term 'seventh' comes from," Angelita responded. "The Marte family believes that Richard the Great is one of their ancestors, so his lineage is included in the coronation."

"I think when he ascended the throne, he intended to follow in the footsteps of that great emperor—but he messed it up."

"He's far less wise than that man, and even more foolish—don't blame me for that assessment," Leslough sneered and continued, "Richard the Great can also be called Richardman, or Emperor Richard, which means something similar. He was born into a noble family in the kingdom of West Inassus before that empire. His grandfather had made immortal contributions to the kingdom—immortal contributions of that era, of course."

Now, even the deeds of Richard the Great himself are only left with these sporadic accounts from the mouth of Reslough.

"His grandfather was a very loyal knight, but his father was not. As the king's fear of the emperor's grandfather grew, his father finally challenged the king to a duel, killed him in one blow, and won the entire kingdom."

"No one knows whether he won the game honestly or through cunning, but since the king is dead, he will have to wear the crown and die of old age many years later."

"Some say he died in a conspiracy involving a dragon, but since it's all related to dragons, there's naturally no evidence." A caravan guard couldn't help but interrupt and add, just as a pastime during the boring journey.

"In short, after his death, the crown of the kingdom was placed on the head of Richard the Great's brother, and Richard himself received a large and fertile territory. In the beginning, the two could be said to be brothers and worked together to rule the kingdom. However, after a natural disaster, everything changed."

"King Richard later claimed his brother had been instigated and bewitched by an evil sorcerer, while many believed it was out of the king's kindness that he concealed the fact that his brother had committed all this. After the natural disaster, relief food arrived late, and then the kingdom refused to send troops to help suppress the rebellion. Similar situations occurred repeatedly, and the rift between the two men widened."

"Next, I guess it's going to be a melee within the kingdom," Daisy sighed. "I've seen that episode."

"No, you probably haven't seen this episode," Leslaufer said with a sudden, absurd smile. "Almost everyone thinks the same as you, but when everything inevitably slid into this chaos, the Emperor's brother died."

"died?"

"It's generally believed that he died suddenly from poisoning due to an overdose of plaster of Paris at a banquet," Angarita said. "And in Joffrey Town, I'm sad to find that this way of eating is still practiced today—it's incredible."

"Anyway, the kingdom was spared from civil strife, and the emperor naturally took over all the territories. This would be the pinnacle of an ordinary person's life, but his legendary story had just begun." Even Reslaufer couldn't help but look longing when he talked about those stories. "Internally, he encouraged scholars and mages to conduct research, and externally, he launched conquests year after year. Ultimately, within three to five years, he unified all of Western Inassus, heading west to Corazonde and north to Middle Inassus, which wasn't even considered Inassus at the time—Annie, what was it called before?"

"No one remembers, not even me, Uncle Leslaufer," Angarita replied. "Since he completely conquered Middle Inassus, I'm afraid no one remembers what it was called."

"Because whether or not I remember is meaningless," Vondar also joined the conversation. The dwarf still had some memory of that era. "After unifying Western Inassus, King Richard the Great's westward conquest was frustrated, so he decided to move north and east. Over the next thirty or forty years, he launched nearly twenty wars against Central Inassus and later Eastern Inassus—note my word, wars."

"The mercy Old Lei claimed was not manifested in the slightest when the great emperor dealt with the recalcitrant natives. An elder of the Haidong Dwarf Clan once witnessed his atrocities: after breaching a fortress that refused to surrender, the bodies of the executed captives were piled up into a small hill below the city, and the surrounding river was filled with the stench of blood for months afterwards."

"So...ah," Daisy looked at Leslough suddenly, "so you, Old Ray, should be considered a descendant of the people who moved to East Inassus after that, right?"

"That's got me stumped," laughed Rathlough. "I have no recollection of my family, but considering the time span between Richard the Great and us, you're probably right."

"Murder, arson, and scalping—" Daisy sighed, then asked curiously, "What happened to him after that? Why didn't he continue to fight Haidong, or attack Corazonde for revenge? What happened to the Empire then?"

"It took him nearly forty years to unify Inassus, Sister Daisy. He was already nearly seventy years old at that time," Angrita reminded her. "He may have considered incorporating Haidong into his territory, but ultimately gave up because the residents of Haidong threatened to push the barbarians and frost giants of Ampiri into the inland. And the war between him and Corazonde has never stopped, but neither side has been able to make any further progress. As for the Empire..."

"What do you think is the reason why the Matt family recognizes this emperor as their ancestor?"

"Marriage, huh? I get it, I get it... Oh my god, wouldn't that mean the two empires would unite?" Daisy was shocked by the thought that naturally emerged as soon as she said this. "What if this empire lasted until the Matt family ascended the throne? The two empires—"

"A family," Angelita said, her voice filled with unspeakable regret. "If that's the case, then it's probably an epic that even dragons would sing about."

"But unfortunately, Richard the Great was already very old at that time. After reaching an agreement with the empire and naming the vast land he had conquered throughout his life Inassus, he died suddenly one winter night. As is common with the elderly, he sat down while using the toilet at night and never got up again."

"Incidentally, the meaning of Inassus in Imperial and Inassus is 'joyful' and 'innocent' respectively. However, considering the great emperor's conquests during his lifetime and the poison left after his death, it's probably difficult to associate this land with this word."

Chapter 197: Only the Road Blocked, No One

The caravan was largely populated by Ignasians, but no one would dispute that Richard the Great's achievements were as remarkable as his blunders, and vice versa.

"He loved his family very much, especially his wife and three sons," said Leslough. "This love reached its peak after his wife's death, prompting him to make a will to split the empire into three after his death, giving each to his three sons. The second son also had the surname Richard, and thus obtained the Western Inassus. This is why I said that the emperor who unified the Western Inassus was likely one of the two."

"And his eldest son got Middle Inassus, and his third son got East Inassus."

"I think he might be suffering from Alzheimer's," Daisy couldn't help but complain. "I don't understand! Such a huge empire split into three? Is this an idea that carbon-based creatures came up with?"

"...Anyway, the will was eventually carried out," Leslough shrugged. "I think he probably felt that if he gave each of his children a crown, the drama between him and his brother wouldn't happen again."

"But he was wrong, terribly wrong."

"Just three years after the death of Richard the Great, the two sons of East and Middle Inassus conspired to overthrow the second son. The second son retaliated fiercely, ultimately leading to the third son being killed instantly by a fireball from the Western Inassus Mage Corps during a melee. His body was also taken away and could not be revived."

"And the second son died young, just like his uncle. Several noble families supported his younger children, and they eventually established their own families. And Inassus..."

"The eldest son has no heir." In just a few words, Vondar described the outcome. The empire that had once captivated the world quickly disintegrated after the death of the first emperor. Today, when people mention the word "empire," they only refer to Angrita's family.

"Talking about the ancient empire always brings up a lot of emotions," a relatively unfamiliar voice interrupted the conversation. Everyone looked over and saw that it was the leader of the caravan, a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties. "But I'm afraid you were so engrossed that you didn't notice that our team had stopped."

Everyone looked around hurriedly, and sure enough, the caravan had stopped moving since they didn't know when, and they simply stopped and didn't notice it at all.

"What's going on?" asked Leslaufer. Before the leader of the caravan could speak, Philip Fengquan came running up to him, panting.

"We've encountered some problems up ahead, and we're a little undecided," Philip reported to Reslaufer, panting. "Sir, I've never experienced anything like this before, but perhaps you'll understand."

Leslaufer raised his eyebrows, picked up his weapon from the outer wall of the carriage, and walked forward. Daisy beside him hurriedly followed.

At the front of the convoy, the road was artificially dug, and a one-meter-deep trench lay across the road like a scar. On the opposite side of the trench, several burned and overturned carriages were piled there desolately, as if conveying some message.

It would obviously take some effort to continue moving forward. Although it was feasible to go around the main road and then return, that was obviously not the effect that the being who arranged all this wanted.

"Have you found any bodies, bones, blood or anything like that?" asked Reslaufer.

"No, we've already checked," Edward said, looking at the wreckage of the carriages with some worry. "If it were bandits who wanted to rob us, shouldn't they have taken action now?"

"That depends on their size," Leslaufer said, looking around. There were only a few shelters in the wilderness, and it didn't look like there were any bandits lying in wait. "It seems like if they are really robbers, they're not many, so they want to test their numbers first."