This necromancer is going to seduce the beautiful girls who are already dead.

“Alright, last time this lady ordered it but it was out of stock, so I ordered two bottles after that, and sure enough, it came in handy.” Dahl laughed.

……

Helen carefully pushed open the tavern door, looked left and right, and then stepped out.

The street was quiet, there wasn't a soul in sight. She hesitated for a moment, then continued forward.

Just a few steps after she took a step, the shadow behind her suddenly began to twist and turn, gradually becoming taller and more alluring, with a pair of long, pointed ears twitching slightly on the shadow's head.

Before Helen could react, a tall woman with dark purple skin leaped out of the shadows. She held a dagger made of magic and plunged it directly into Helen's heart from behind, the dagger instantly piercing through her body.

"The Shadow Sisters will send their greetings to you."

Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Principled Dark Elf Assassin

The magic dagger is not only much sharper than a regular steel dagger and does not require sharpening, but the magical energy it contains can also inflict secondary damage on the enemy's wounds, disintegrating the injured area.

Being stabbed in the heart by a magic dagger is practically a death sentence. Not to mention, in this remote area, the body might not be discovered for minutes.

The dagger was swiftly pulled from Helen's back, and the woman who appeared behind her flicked her wrist, causing the magical dagger to vanish into thin air. She wore a tight-fitting ochre-red cloth armor and an ochre-red cloak—one of the most popular colors in Golden Griffin City, where most houses favored ochre-red roof tiles. She wore leather gloves and boots made of supple, sound-absorbing ogre skin. Only half of her face was visible, with a veil embroidered with spider patterns covering her face below the nose.

She was taller than most women, with dark purple skin peeking out from under her cloak. Her bright purple eyes shone beneath the cloak, and she had two long, pointed ears that peeked out from a deliberately left opening in the cloak. All these features told one thing: she was a dark elf.

The female dark elf kicked Helen in the back, causing Helen to naturally collapse to the ground with a relaxed expression.

"I thought assassinating a princess would be quite a spectacle, but it seems I won't be able to ask for much reward this time." The female dark elf muttered to herself in Elvish with some annoyance, "So this princess of the mighty Western Empire, whom the nobles consider a thorn in their side, is such a naive fellow. Humph, what a bunch of good-for-nothings, what a waste of my strength."

Her eyes were full of disdain, and she showed no respect whatsoever to the nobles who had paid her to work for them.

“I agree with you. Many nobles are really just good-for-nothings,” Princess Helen, who was lying on the ground, said to her in Elvish at this moment.

"Of course... um?"

The female dark elf was startled by Helen's sudden words. She leaped back and instantly disappeared into the shadows under the eaves.

Meanwhile, "Helen," whose heart had just been pierced by her, slowly got up.

"There's no need to hide anymore. From the moment you touched my body, you were no longer in the original world."

Helen gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes fixed on the shadows beneath the eaves. These eyes weren't her natural blue, nor the emerald green they'd acquired after using a potion; instead, they were a turquoise blue-green, both eerie and beautiful. She spoke fluent Elvish to what appeared to be an empty space, her face showing no fear.

"You are not Princess Helen."

The silence lasted a long time before a pair of eyes reappeared in the shadows. Clearly, her attempt to contact her organization had failed.

"That's right, I am not Princess Helen."

The imposter Princess Helen stretched out a finger and shook it in the air. Her body began to change rapidly, growing taller until she became a boy with gray hair.

This is, of course, the Abyss. Princess Helen is currently sitting in the tavern, protected by Leona and Flora, while the Abyss decides to step out and take the blow for her.

Necromancers are still mortal beings; a punctured heart would immediately plunge them into a coma, leaving them with only a few minutes to live. But the Abyss is different from ordinary necromancers—his body has been influenced by Leona, his strength amplified several times over, and his vitality increased many times over as well. Even with a pierced heart, he can guarantee he won't die for several hours, enough time for him to heal his wound ten thousand times over with magic or divine spells.

Abyss deliberately refrained from using any fancy magic to evade the dark elf assassin's attack, simply to test just how much his vitality had been enhanced.

He was very satisfied with the result—he had become so resilient that he was now as strong as half a healthy two-headed ogre.

"You're from the Shadow Sisters? I've long admired the Sisters' reputation. Seeing their assassins now, I'm truly impressed by their skill." Abyss wanted to applaud the dark elf lady opposite him, but then he thought she looked too much like a villain and didn't fit his current stance, so he withdrew his hand and gave a slight bow. "If I were an ordinary person, I'm afraid I would have died at your hands long ago."

The dark elf assassin's eyes widened in confusion. As the shadows under the eaves rippled like water, her graceful figure emerged from them.

Quite proficient in shadow magic. Abyss immediately recognized the school of magic; very few mages on the continent practiced this extremely niche school. Shadow magic focused on concealment and was generally used by assassins and thieves.

Dark elves live in a strictly matriarchal society. The female dark elves, who hold the dominant position, are generally taller, more agile, and more intelligent than their male counterparts. The woman before him was no exception; even in flat boots, she was still several centimeters taller than the Abyss. Her eyes held pride and wariness as she maintained a distance from the Abyss, moving slowly in an arc. In one hand she gripped a magically formed dagger, while the other held a short-range escape spell. Having already discerned the Abyss's formidable strength, she had no intention of engaging in a direct confrontation.

“You cannot leave here until I agree, so I expect you to answer a few questions.” Abyss was in no hurry. He crossed his arms and looked at the dark elf lady in front of him. “I suppose you’ve tried communicating with your organization using magic, haven’t you? Did you fail? That’s because you’re currently in my domain.”

"What do you want?" the female dark elf asked. Her Common was not fluent and had a heavy elven accent, but since she was speaking to a human, it showed that she was willing to talk. "I am just following orders. The Sisterhood received a commission from the Golden Gryphon City, so I came here to carry out the mission. It's that simple."

“You should know who your employer is, right?” Abis chuckled, revealing his pearly white teeth. “You gave yourself away when you were talking to yourself after you knocked me down. Tell me his or their name, and I’ll let you leave.”

"Hmph, that won't do." The dark elf shook her head. "Client information is the Sisterhood's top secret. How could we possibly tell you that so easily?"

“I never expected that the dark elves, who consider betrayal a virtue, would say such a thing,” Abyss said, tilting his head.

"Tsk, you know a lot, young man." The dark elf's eyes narrowed slightly. "If you want me to tell you... you'll have to pay extra."

Chapter Seventy: One-night stands are out of the question.

Upon hearing the assassin's reply, Abyss couldn't help but let out a wry smile.

If we're talking about the most notorious intelligent races on the continent, the Dark Elves are second to none. They are infamous for their greed, lust, dishonesty, and lack of moral boundaries, and the member of the Shadow Sisters before me is a quintessential female Dark Elf.

They'll do anything for money, never questioning the legitimacy of the commission or caring whose rules they're breaking. The Shadow Sisters are a mercenary organization that specializes in assassination commissions. They're efficient and decisive, but unreliable—if they fail to kill their target immediately after a strike, giving the target an opportunity to negotiate, and the target can afford a higher price, they'll immediately turn on their former employer and eliminate them.

And now, revealing the employer's information in exchange for money has become commonplace. Loyalty is not a rule in the Shadow Sisters' discipline, because betraying other races for greater benefits is considered wisdom and a traditional virtue in the dark elves' values.

"I don't know how those nobles managed to get Princess Helen to hire such a powerful mage as a bodyguard, but since we've met, it must be fate." The dark elf seemed to sense that Abyss didn't want to kill her, and her tone became more composed. "Since Princess Helen can afford to hire a master of your caliber as her personal bodyguard, she should also be able to afford to buy my information, right?"

Abyss thought about it and realized that this made sense. However, he was actually helping Princess Helen for free, and his reason for doing all this was simply because he liked her.

Before he could answer, the female elf opposite him continued, "Of course, if you don't want to pay, that's fine too. I can still tell you the information, handsome young man."

"What is the price?"

"Haha, it's simple, just spend the night with me." The dark elf puffed out his chest proudly, revealing his exquisite figure. "To spend a romantic night with a beauty like you, by the gods of light and shadow, I will have no regrets in this life. Look into your eyes, they're practically stealing my soul."

“My eyes can indeed steal souls, because I am a necromancer.” Abyss blinked. “Forget about spending the night together, I have no interest in the living, but I can offer you something in exchange for information.”

The dark elf seemed somewhat surprised to hear that the Abyss was a necromancer. She had initially assumed he was a master of illusion, but now it seemed he was more complex. If he were a dark mage, then the Abyss might be even more formidable, since dark mages were rarely bound by rules, living as freely and lawlessly as the dark elves.

"What do you have to exchange for information, little beauty?" The dark elf straightened his posture slightly, appearing a bit more serious. "Considering your beauty and power, I can lower the bar a little for you."

“I’ve been traveling for many years and I have a broken dagger on hand. I don’t know its value.” As Abyss spoke, he summoned a magical catfish and pulled a dagger, now only half its original size, from its mouth.

The dark elf chuckled, "Oh, my little beauty, you wouldn't get a good price for something like this even at the antique market. If you're going to use this to exchange for information, I think you should forget it. Seriously, you should really try going on a date with me. My skills are quite impressive, and I won't bother you afterwards..."

"I only took this out because you're a member of the Shadow Sisters. You can take a closer look at this dagger and see what you think." Abyss wasn't in a hurry, nor did he intend to have sex with this alluring dark elf older sister—he genuinely had no interest in living people.

The dark elf stopped laughing, took the dagger that Abyss handed her, examined it for a moment, and her expression became serious.

"Oh my god, where did you get this?"

"Found it at the antique market. If you agree to accept this dagger, please give my regards to the leader of the sorority when you return. I'll be visiting her in a while." Abyss said, hands behind his back, "What do you say?"

“Yes, the chieftain will definitely want this dagger.” The dark elf, contrary to his previous disdainful attitude, nodded and said, “Our assassination operation is canceled. I will give you the complete evidence. After that, it is up to you whether to take legal action or settle it privately.”

Abyss watched with satisfaction as the dark elf accepted the dagger, then took out an envelope from his pocket, pulled out the papers inside, and unfolded them.

The completeness of the evidence even surprised Abyss: one was a letter of commission to hire an assassin from the Sisters of Shadows, another was the Sisters of Shadows' confirmation reply, the client used a pseudonym, and the Sisters of Shadows, for their own convenience in the future, had also thoughtfully found out the client's real identity, and the third piece of paper contained the client's detailed information.

"Quite a few people. So it's a coalition of three nobles... Hmm, General Bet is indeed among them. That guy really won't hesitate to use any means to ensure his own safety." Abyss flipped through the documents and muttered to himself, "Very good, a pleasure to cooperate."

The dark elf tilted his head curiously. The young and handsome boy in front of him spoke with great confidence, not like a subordinate of the princess, but more like a master.

"May I leave your territory then?"

“Of course you can. Take this dagger with you, and when you leave, also remove the banishing spell you set up on this street.” Abyss rolled up the three pieces of paper and held them in his hand. “Although you almost succeeded in assassinating Princess Helen today, I have decided not to pursue the matter against you. The people who hired you should pay the price.”

"You see things very clearly," the dark elf chuckled. "That's right. The reason we dark elves have been able to continue in this line of work is because there are really a lot of people who need us to do their dirty work."

Abyss reached out and grabbed the dark elf's wrist, then snapped his fingers, leading the dark elf out of the Underdark.

"Alright, goodbye, handsome young man of unknown origin." The dark elf said, about to disappear into the shadows and flee.

"Oh, wait a minute, I have another question to ask you."

"Go ahead and say it, as long as it's reasonable."

Do you know where the owner of the dagger I gave you is buried?

"...You mean...Ms. Sophia?"

"Yes, Sophia, your Shadow Sisters' former ace assassin."

"She seems to have been dead for over forty years. The clan chief buried her himself, so her exact location is a secret known only to him." The dark elf pondered for a moment. "Why are you asking this? The dead cannot be brought back to life... Wait, you seem to be a necromancer..."

"I want her remains, maybe in a while."

"I see... Hmm? Oh... Tsk..."

The dark elf immediately recalled Abyss's earlier statement that he wasn't interested in the living. She immediately got goosebumps, shivered, and patted her body before disappearing into the darkness.

Chapter 71 That Moment, Helen Grew Up

"That's it?" Leona stared wide-eyed at the three pieces of paper in Abyss's hand. "That assassin not only didn't fight you to the death, but also gave you paper evidence?"

“It was a dark elf.” Abyss sat back down and said with a smile, “The mastermind hired dark elf assassins to kill Helen. Those guys were really skilled. They not only used magic to dispel the presence of bystanders to prevent anyone from witnessing it, but they also pierced my heart with a magic dagger. If it had been the real Helen who just left, she would probably be dead by now. Although I could resurrect her, it’s better to keep her as is.”

“Oh, dark elves, huh? Well, they deserve it.” Leona suddenly understood. “They only thought that dark elves would act swiftly and decisively, but they didn’t realize that if an assassination attempt failed, dark elves would try to negotiate with their target, which is their ‘fine tradition’.”

“That dark elf even wanted to spend the night with me.” Abyss placed the evidence in front of Helen. “Take this. The evidence is conclusive. Dark elf assassins have a habit of investigating the identities of anonymous clients, which has made things much easier for us.”

"So, did you agree or not!" Leona immediately became alert and grabbed Abyss's wrist.

"How could that be? Do you think I'm the kind of person who would be interested in the living?"

"Pah! You pervert! Why are you so proud of yourself?!"

Helen watched the Abyss chatting and laughing, a lingering fear creeping into her heart. It seemed she had indeed been too careless, thinking that having leverage over the nobles meant she could rest easy. Without the Abyss's help, she might already be a corpse—or one of the Abyss's undead.

She picked up the three sheets of paper and carefully read the text on them. The letter of authorization was written in Common, while the reply and investigation report were written in Elvish, which was no problem for her, given her good education.

The more she looked, the more serious her expression became.

The letter of commission not only detailed the assassination request but also outlined the nobles' next steps: immediately after the princess's death, they would disband the princess's personal guard under the pretext of inadequate protection, and execute the captain and vice-captain by hanging to ensure that the princess's secrets would not be leaked. These words were originally intended for the Shadow Sisters to allay their concerns, but now that Helen had seen them, they enraged her.

Although Helen held a noble position and was a jewel of the Western Empire, she had few friends in the court. The Emperor and the late Empress Dowager treated her as their own possession, protecting her closely and forbidding her from contacting others casually. Only when the palace was in chaos could Helen find an opportunity to sneak out. Her only true friends were her personal guards, a group of highly trained female soldiers who had undergone rigorous training since childhood. They regarded Princess Helen as their sole leader, adhering strictly to chivalric code and remaining utterly loyal. Besides her personal maids, Princess Helen had the most contact with the captain and vice-captain of her guards—the two of them would regularly visit her, bringing her things not available in the palace and awaiting her orders.

After reading the contents of the power of attorney, her eyebrows furrowed tightly.