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

"But..." The mercenary suddenly thought of something. "You mean, you want a book that teaches swordsmanship, one that clearly describes every move, even calculates the angle and force of the sword, and analyzes the psychology of both sides?"

“…Really?!”

"There are so many things you don't know about Corazonde!"

Chapter 217 Mercenary in Progress

Leslaufer's knowledge was enough to make a fledgling who had left its golden nest for a few months forget most of its worries. When Angelita fell asleep contentedly, the daylight had reappeared on the distant horizon.

"It's not easy to tell Her Royal Highness the Princess the Thousand and One Nights, right?"

Daisy came over with dark circles under her eyes. It was not known when the poet started eavesdropping, but it was probably at least in the first half of the night.

"Did you come through the star port of Qingzun City?" Instead of answering her, Leslaufer asked.

"I wish I were, and perhaps I could book a ship to Toril," Daisy spread her hands. "But Lei, do you really believe I can run all the way from Zunqingcheng to Xinmucheng to meet you all by playing the lute, and then run back again?"

"Maybe it's smuggling." I don't know if Leslaufer is referring to the starport or the journey on the ground, but either way is not very realistic.

"The 'Toril' you mentioned, isn't it the same as the 'Waterdeep' you mentioned?" Raslaufer suddenly asked doubtfully. "I thought you would rather go home than wander somewhere else."

"Ha, I used to spend more than half my time every week running group games, and I spent a similar proportion of my money on it. And you tell me this is 'wandering'?" Daisy put her hands on her hips proudly. "People back home have a hard time even going to the moon. I finally got out, so I'm not going back so easily!"

As a mercenary who had been traveling around since his teens, Leslaufer quickly gave up the futile act of making others homesick. "Home" to him was either an illusory concept or an extremely real entity.

Most of his savings were hidden there, waiting to be dug out and taken away by him or someone else one day.

The bard didn't seem to intend to discuss the matter any further. After all, even with her zither, she could guess that going to another world through "formal channels" would definitely be very expensive. She definitely had no hope as she was currently in debt to Angelita.

But she didn't really have to be obsessed with this, so after just a while, the caravan started moving again, and beautiful singing was heard as before.

……

"Your caravan really has a lark, Master Philip."

While passing through a small town, the local guard chief happened to be one of the Fengquan family's retainers. Despite the huge difference in status, for various special reasons, Philip Fengquan still had to call him "uncle." In such an environment, the other party was bound to make a few more remarks.

"But I never expected that we would team up with the Luwalu family."

"It's just a personal relationship," Philip said perfunctorily. "This time I'm going to the Kolin Otto Mountains, there's an old man from the Lovallu family who's quite nice. I'll introduce him to you someday."

Of course, this was just a polite remark. Even ignoring the physical distance, the guard wasn't qualified to "get to know" a member of the Louwalu family. But such words always made people happy, and the guard was no exception. Feeling more relaxed, he quickly turned to other matters.

"You've chosen a great time. It'll be hard to get around in a few days," the man said, raising his thumb and pointing back at the brand-new notices on the old wooden planks at the city gate. "It looks like there's going to be another war soon. We don't know who they'll be fighting against yet, but the recruitment notices are already posted. Take a look!"

"I'm so damn envious of these mercenaries. Their prices have gone up again compared to the past two years! This is just their official salary. I wonder how much they've made behind the scenes." He kept sizing up Reslaufer as he spoke. This was the truth, and the mercenaries not only didn't bother to defend themselves, they were even proud of it. "Brother, after your trip, aren't you planning on joining in the fun?"

"I have other business to attend to," Reslaufer patted the man's shoulder and pushed him aside. "Spearmen are 287 valus and 69 sous, crossbowmen are 303 valus... The increase isn't that much, but if a war breaks out, prices will rise for everything. After all, things aren't like they were a few years ago, and the Empire is in chaos."

"Ah, earning Imperial Gold Coins," the other person's face showed a little more understanding, and his eyes were less provocative, "but even one Su is still an increase, right? We all get a fixed salary."

"Everything has its advantages, man," laughed Lesloff. "You'll be in trouble when your salaries increase!"

"Oh—screw you! That's going to have to wait until all of you bastards are wiped out first!"

Reslaufer was telling the truth, and his opponent wasn't lying either. Both sides could basically believe that such a moment would rarely come. If the mercenaries really fought to that point, they would be bloodthirsty, and even if they won, the group wouldn't be able to stay in the circle.

Yes, perhaps you could command a regiment of twenty or thirty thousand men, perhaps all of them heavy cavalry clad in iron armor, but then what? People grow old and die. Even the "Mercenary King" is no exception.

Only when everyone can survive can it be called a business. The "Mercenary King" here is not a false reference. The guy who once held this title eventually died at his own birthday party, and his former subordinates carried him to his own table.

Such a tragic precedent is enough to persuade future generations to think twice before acting, so neither Leslough nor the guard thought that such a day would really come.

"Rieslover, what do you think this means?" Bella asked worriedly after the caravan left the city and Reieslover rejoined the group. "I don't know what I should be worried about... but when I saw those notices just now, the voices of nature and the goddess were both issuing some kind of warning."

"Peace is always short-lived. After all, war is coming, that's obvious," Reslaufer nodded. "It shouldn't be a big deal. Price fluctuations are normal. The Empire is at war, so the value of Inassus's remaining mercenary bands has naturally increased."

"It's just business. Even though they're human beings, they're no different from the vegetables in the market. But..." Reslaufer paused and looked at the dragonborn on the other side. "I say, you ran away like this, do you have any way to contact your families?"

"I don't want to be dragging a bunch of kids around during this chaotic time. It's just pathetic no matter how you look at it!"

Chapter 218 The Dragon Soars in the Sky

"The kid you're talking about is probably better at fighting than you, uncle!"

Upon hearing this, Jinman turned around and made a face at the mercenaries: "If we are surrounded by the army, we might even have to clear the way!"

"It sounds even more tragic." Vondar pulled at his beard that hung down to his chest and sighed.

"Don't worry, we, the Spellscale Five, aren't here to cause trouble!" Shimmering Stone smiled and waved his blue claws. "We have lightning bolts! We even have fireballs! Mr. Reslaufer, what's the price for spellcasters like us in the warband?"

"There's no price," Reslaufer said without even thinking. "Let me ask you, if someone you don't know wants to form a warband and needs mages to support it, would you go for 300 Imperial gold coins a month?"

"No," Jinman immediately crossed his arms across his chest, "We don't even know him, why should we go?"

"Besides, it's not like I'm doing good deeds... I'm going to kill people on the battlefield," Poison Wing rarely expressed his opinion, "It's just gold coins... I don't want to."

"What if your clan is preparing to join the battlefield?"

The dragonborn looked at each other and fell silent.

"You're unlikely to refuse without payment, right? That's how spellcasters are," Leslaufer shrugged. "Working hard for people you know is fine, but doing it just for the money is demeaning."

"Most mercenaries' connections are limited to other mercenaries. They might know a few spellcasters like Daisy or Bella—but Daisy, when do you think you'll be able to cast fireballs or lightning like them?"

"That's hard to say," the bard patted his harp. "When I reach a certain level and get inspired, maybe I'll get it soon..."

"That's a no-go," Reslaufer interrupted. "Should I use most of my gold coins to sponsor her and then make her debut? Wait ten, or twenty years?"

"I want to say 'should', but I wouldn't wait either," Cinder Crown shook his head. "Well, at least I understand—and even if I'm willing to work for the clan, that's between us and the clan. If the clan is hired to follow one lord to fight another, wouldn't that be meaningless?"

"So, large-scale mage corps are extremely rare, even fewer in number than priests," Angelita interjected. "Even in the Empire, only the Emperor and a few Grand Dukes possess some. Normally, they can handle crises in the Empire, but right now, the Empire's mage corps are clearly at a stalemate."

The mere use of those armored cavalry is enough to make any mercenary leader and lord nervous enough to clutch their souls, and this is naturally even more true for spellcasters who are more expensive than this - most importantly, the latter may not agree to put themselves in danger.

"And we actually have a way to contact home," Frostbone coughed, two streams of white air coming out of his nostrils. "If the clan is in danger, we will rush back quickly. But I don't think it's necessary now."

"They just want to play outside," Angelita, a peer, easily saw through these excuses. "But each of them is almost as strong as Mr. Boll, so I think there shouldn't be any problem."

"I just don't want a new Dragonborn to come and stop me and cry about the losses they've suffered because of my problem. Am I looking more and more like an old woman?"

"No one's babysitter thinks about killing people every day, Uncle Raceloff. If you want to change your career, you're still far from it... Oh!"

Before Angelita finished speaking, a violent jolt caused the girl in the car to scream, "What happened?"

"The pack animal is frightened!" The caravan members in front started to move and went to their emergency posts.

This was something they had trained for countless times, and they didn't even need to know what was happening - because if they knew in advance, they would probably be no better than those beasts of burden.

A massive rumble echoed across the earth without warning. Turning his head, Leslaufer could see the small town he had just left was already in chaos. The mercenary instinctively looked up, only to see a blurry black shadow emerge from the sunlight against the clear blue sky and then vanish again.

It was a winged creature of some kind, with a long neck and an even longer tail, its wings seemingly tiny by comparison, yet even with these, it soared across the dome, passing over the sun with unparalleled majesty.

Not sure if it was an illusion, but Leslaufer felt as if he had seen that thing somewhere before...

"what is that?"

"Dragon! It's a giant dragon!" The caravan leader's terrified cry spread far and wide, aided by a magical item. "Everyone take cover! Take cover where you are!"

It had been many years since a giant dragon had appeared so ostentatiously in this world. Yet, that awe remained buried deep in everyone's memory, passed down through generations. No one cared about the beasts of burden anymore, and everyone sought cover, fearing that the powerful being above them would notice them, the ants.

But after all, some people are exceptions, such as a few dragonborn with dragon blood, or Daisy, or Leslaufer.

They craned their necks, their hands draped over their heads, and didn't look away until the dragon's shadow and the noise it brought vanished completely. This was an unplanned encounter. The dragon showed little interest in them or the small town behind them. It seemed like a mere passerby, appearing suddenly and disappearing again.

"Did you see clearly what kind of dragon it was?" Before Reslaufer could even begin to speak, several dragonborn interrupted him. "We only saw a black shadow! That being must have cast some spell that prevented us from seeing its true appearance!"

"Then it certainly isn't hiding it from us alone," Daisy said regretfully. "I didn't see it clearly either. It's really strange! But I always feel that—"

"Familiar, isn't it?" Raslough said suddenly. "I've probably seen more than you have. It has a long tail and neck, and its wings are a little small in proportion."

"Old Lei?!" Daisy shuddered suddenly. Leslaufer knew that she must have thought of it. "Could it be... 'that'? It, she, he, that thing woke up?!"

The poet used several pronouns in quick succession to refer to the same object: "Isn't it too early for us to go hunt an adult green dragon with a challenge rating of at least 15?!"

"You're too nervous, Daisy," Leslough held her shoulders and forced her to calm down. "You all saw it, it was just passing by. If it was really looking for someone who broke into its lair, we wouldn't be standing here now!"

"Then let's..."

"Everything is the same as before. There is nothing to be afraid of. It's just an episode." When Leslough said this, his own heart was beating wildly and disorderly.

The difference between facing a sleeping dragon and gazing at a soaring dragon was so great! The mercenary even had the illusion that the other party could kill him with just a glance!

However, at this moment, the green dragon was not interested in doing such a trivial thing. It kept shouting and cursing in the world's earliest dragon language above the sky. The mortals below could only hear the rumbling thunder. However, in the ears of some powerful beings, the shrill roar was repeatedly pointing to the same target, the same god.

"Eldas!!!!"

Chapter 219 Outside Qingzun City

"It...left."

Even after the team had set out again for over an hour, Vondar still couldn't forget the fear that shook the world that day: "Is that a living dragon?"

Legend has it that dwarves once raised dragons to forge their craft, but would such beings really surrender to mortals?

"Look at it in a positive light. That was Esmir, 'Golinotto's Bite'. Not all dragons can kill more than 10,000 knights silently." Angelita's voice was a little hoarse.

"But I'm confused. Is this a coincidence? Or did we drop Eldath's artifact there, and that became the trigger for it to awaken?"

"If it was just to admire the treasure that fell from the sky, it wouldn't have flown here," the bard plucked the strings absentmindedly. "Did you notice just now? It was flying in the opposite direction of the Kolin Otto Mountains. Maybe it was going to have afternoon tea with its friends? Whatever."

The thoughts of the creatures in the sky were obviously beyond everyone's comprehension, but the commotion caused by the giant dragon was so great that perhaps they would hear further news soon. Before that, waiting rather than tracking its footsteps was undoubtedly the best option.

As the caravan got closer to Qingzun City, the largest city in Western Inassas, there were fewer and fewer inspections on the road. Even though there were checkpoints for inspection, when they saw the flags of the Luwalu family and the Fengquan family on the caravan, they would naturally choose to make way for an unobstructed road and let everyone pass.

After a journey of about a month, the shadow of a huge building towering into the clouds finally appeared at the end of everyone's sight on a cloudy morning.

"It's Qingzun City! We're almost there!" Philip and the caravan leader simultaneously shouted with relief, and Edward couldn't help but clench his fists. The others, curiously, poked their heads out, gazing at the magnificent city from afar.

It was a column standing obliquely on a huge base, its cross section forming an almost vertical angle with the earth, and the column itself outlined a thrilling turn above the city, giving people the feeling that it would fall down at any time and smash everything below into ruins.

"That's... Qingzun City..." Angelita looked at the architectural style she had never seen before in astonishment. If someone in the empire designed Magpares like this, then his whole family would definitely not want to live.

However, it is this strange shape and structure that can inexplicably give people a unique feeling, making her obsessed and indulge in it unconsciously... But where does this attraction come from?

"That's not Qingzun City," Leslaufer pointed at the tilted column above. "See that one up there? That's Qingzun City, the upper city."

The upper town areas of some cities are just a concept, and the upper town areas of some cities are built on high slopes, while the upper town area of Qingzun City is a more precise concept: it is really built on top of the entire city!

"Could this be... magic at work?" Angelita quickly figured out the reason. "But this is definitely a huge expense!"

Even if the Matt family wanted to be so extravagant, it would be difficult to achieve!

"So it's borne by the Church of Dionysus, not just one or a few families in the City of the Fallen, Miss Barty," Philip explained smugly, stepping forward. "The Upper City of the City of the Fallen was once a gift from a devout Dionysus bishop. Delnesus, the god of feasting and wine, was delighted by this, so he sent an order to solidify it and allow people to create residential areas on it."

"As a tribute to this miracle, the Dionysian Church pours approximately twelve tons of wine into the 'River of Joy' connecting the upper and lower city every year. 'Servants offer wine to the gods, and the Supreme Being gives them a feast.' This is what is written in the Dionysian teachings, and it has been true for centuries."

Daisy looked at Philip hesitantly. "Wait, are you saying... if you pour wine into that river, you can get enough food for the whole city?"

"Well..." Philip glanced away. After all this time, if he still didn't know what these distinguished guests from the empire liked to hear, he would be foolish - but there was no room for avoidance. "Theoretically, there should be enough food for the entire city."

"But it's actually just enough to cover the daily banquet expenses of the people in the upper city," Edward refuted his brother's statement, "plus the city's consumption during several important festivals like the City's Founding Day and the Dionysian Festival."

"But it's not entirely their fault. After all, Delnissus is the god of feasting, not charity. Once these foods fall down the river into the lower city, they will become low-quality food: black bread, hard flatbread, and so on."

"But the nobles shouldn't have to collect corresponding taxes from the citizens, right?" Angelita thought for a moment and added an extra question uncertainly, "Right?"

"All they need to do is pay for enough wine. After all, staple foods and fruits can be used to make wine. It's up to the common people to grow whatever they want and brew whatever they want. We don't care about that," Philip said. "You'll soon see that outside of Qingzun City—outside of the lower city—are the villages that are affiliated with Qingzun City as a city-state. Then you'll understand why Qingzun City has the best wine in the world!"

Philip was quite proud when he said this, because even the empire would import a large amount of alcoholic beverages from Qingzun City every year. It was one of the main sources of income for most nobles, including the Louvalu and Fengquan families.

In addition, Qingzun City also produces a large amount of grain to various places every year. This is also the reason why the gold coin Valu from the "mere" city-state of Qingzun City can flow freely throughout Inassas.

The scene was exactly as Philip had described. Soon, golden wheat fields stretching like the ocean appeared on both sides of the road. A large number of farmers and farmwomen were busy among the ridges. It seemed that the harvest season was approaching.

"In the city of Qingzun, it's said that the 'Golden Imperial Wheat' variety, invented during the reign of Richard the Great, is the primary grain and winemaking crop. Almost one-third of the land in West Inassus is planted with this wheat," Philip explained, gesturing to the fields on both sides. "This wheat matures four times a year: once in spring and autumn, and twice in summer. What you're seeing now is the last crop of the year, which primarily feeds the farmers themselves."

"If you're not a particularly lazy guy, the first three batches are enough to complete the task—"

Before Philip could finish his words, suddenly, a cold light shot out from the dazzling wheat field and went straight to the eyebrow hole of the unfortunate noble!

Chapter 220 Scarecrow

"clang!"

Philip's mind flashed through the reels of his twenty-plus years of life. But after that unremarkable record played out, he saw neither the Kingdom of God nor the void before him. The broad blade of the sword lay before him, blocking the sudden, fatal blow.

Who else could it be but Leslough?

"This is……"