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

It was a worn leather boot with five toes exposed for air, but there was not much dust on it, indicating that someone had worn it not long ago. But as Feng Dahl said, they did not find any trace of other people on the way here - so where did this leather boot come from?

With the help of the brightness of the battle axe imbued with the light magic by the poet, the mercenaries' eyes pierced through the darkness far ahead. There, there seemed to be something standing in the shadows, of different heights, waiting for their arrival.

"Everyone, get your weapons ready," Raslaufer ordered. "I'm not sure what they are, but it looks like we're unwelcome guests."

Chapter 112: Fox Girl's Attack

Beyond the narrow passage, the ruins of a completely collapsed ritual site slowly approached the crowd. The dark shadows of varying heights were not living creatures, but rather columns carved from marble.

They didn't support the overall structure of the underground facility, and the few frivolous, redundant markings still remaining on their surfaces suggested they served a greater purpose than mere decoration. However, over time, the vast majority of these pillars had become utterly dilapidated, their relief carvings roughly peeled off, and the main structure also suffered varying degrees of cracks and damage.

The most severely damaged item is a stone pillar with a diameter of more than one meter. Perhaps when it was intact, it was the most outstanding thing here, but now only a stone pier that is only as high as a human ankle is left. No matter what was on it in the past, there is no trace of it now.

"What a sin, what a sin..." The dwarf's rough hands stroked these works. Although they were not made by him, and even not by dwarven craftsmanship, Fengdal could still feel the whimpering and wailing of the ruins. "This is not a sign of natural damage. Someone must have come here and destroyed them completely."

"Maybe it was the fox people who used to live around here?" Daisy looked around. "Fate said they've all moved away, but these things definitely can't be moved."

"But they won't all be destroyed!" Feng Daer was heartbroken. "I can't imagine how a group that can make these artifacts can treat them so roughly?!"

"It could also be done by later generations. Obviously, they know a little about art, but not much," Angreta said softly. "Maybe they just understand the extent to which these things can be exchanged for money."

"Let's just stick their heads on gold coins!" the dwarf raged helplessly. "At least they can keep these things intact—who?!"

There was a slight "crack" sound, and although the dwarf had raised his shield as quickly as possible, he was still attacked. When he realized what was happening, a strand of burnt yellow hair was slowly falling to the ground.

"My beard!"

"Over here!" Fate's eyes instantly turned a strange grayish-white. The shaman pointed to the left and shouted a warning, "It's too fast! I can't keep up!"

There was another scraping sound, and a small hole was cut in the robe on Leslaufer's shoulder. Some light metal sharp object seemed to try to break through the chain mail around his neck, but failed.

A series of soft giggles appeared in Bella's ears, but passed directly over her. The sword blade, which only reflected a hint of light under the light magic and torch light, appeared in front of Angelita and went straight for the girl's heart.

At this moment, light and shadow were mottled in the dim underground. The imperial sword made of shining steel finally caught up with the attacker and intercepted the sinister sword edge at the critical moment.

Cold sweat rarely oozed from Reslaufer's forehead. Only he knew that his sword did not actually "catch up" with the attacker, but rather "predicted" the location of the opponent's attack based on his experience. In terms of speed alone, he was no match for the opponent.

A ripple appeared in the air, accompanied by a light exclamation, and as if a veil was lifted, a slender female figure that was almost human emerged from the shadows. She looked like a human, but had a gray-white fox head. Her dark green eyes moved cunningly, indicating that her owner was a real living creature.

"Caught you!"

The luck in his heart did not affect the speed of Reslaufer's sword. The black flame sword in his left hand brought up a strong gust of wind and rushed towards the half-human, half-fox attacker. At the same time, the sword in his right hand also counterattacked along the opponent's weapon like a poisonous snake, blocking almost all of the opponent's retreat routes.

However, what was incredible was that the fox only showed a hint of surprise on its head, and then just before Reslaufer was about to hit her, the creature was shrouded in silver-white mist and disappeared on the spot as if it had evaporated, leaving no trace.

Invisible? Mirror image? Neither. Reslaufer was certain it was its true form, seemingly using some kind of teleportation magic to escape his attack.

The irritating laughter sounded again and quickly disappeared. By the time the others reacted and gathered together, the attacker had probably already escaped without a trace and could no longer be found.

"What on earth was that?" Angelita subconsciously covered her chest. Even though the other party didn't actually touch a single hair on her, it didn't prevent her from still being affected by some kind of phantom pain.

The mercenary sheathed his sword. "If I'm not mistaken, that might be the so-called 'fox person'. She has a fox head."

"Fox people..." Fate's eyes returned to normal. "So, there have always been people living here? But that's unlikely... How does she feed herself? Those millipedes?"

Foxmen and werewolves are relatively similar. Both need fresh meat to maintain sufficient physical strength, but such conditions are unlikely to exist underground, which is sealed by a disguised magic door. Relying on those insects to maintain life is not unimaginable, but that is just "maintenance".

The energy required to perform the ghostly movements that the attacker had just performed was definitely not something that could be provided by a few insects.

"And she's at least level three or above, a second-ring spellcaster," Daisy said. "She at least used a Phantom Step just now. I'm not sure if that was the effect of invisibility, but I think it's very likely."

"Level Three?" "What's the Second Ring?" "What's the Phantom Step?"

The bard, sensing the vast difference between different professions and the fact that there was more to them than just "different professions," choked. "To put it simply, when it comes to magical attainments alone, she's a level above me. Got it? Phantom Step is the spell that made her disappear just now."

"But I suspect she's more than just that..." Daisy hesitated and looked at Leslough. "Old Ray, what do you think of that guy's martial arts? I mean, apart from the magic part."

"A veteran, I can defeat her in a head-on fight, but it won't be easy," Leslaufer said after a moment's thought. "Besides, she's very familiar with the environment here, which is very disadvantageous to me."

Under the light spell, his icy blue eyes carefully scanned each of the surrounding stone pillars. The opponent was the type who excelled at guerrilla warfare. If he relied on these pillars to continuously attack the rest of the team, it would put considerable pressure on him.

The fox girl did try to do so, but she didn't continue. What was the reason?

Chapter 113 Another Passage

"Change positions. Vondar, Bella, the three of us will be on the periphery and keep moving forward. Fate, you lead the way. Tell us if you see anything familiar." Leslaufer didn't like the other party's attitude, not at all. He decided to keep moving forward and see what the fox girl was doing.

The gods they worship here are not theirs. If the fox girl is willing to let these intruders visit here openly, she can just continue to hide!

The werewolf shaman quickly agreed, his eyes taking in every detail around him, not daring to miss a single thing.

The group fell silent, but the fox girl vanished like an illusion, leaving no trace of her. Instead, as they advanced, a gentle breeze blew past them.

"There's another entrance." Even Angelita, who wasn't very sensitive to this, realized the problem. "We only found one entrance. There's a second one."

"And it's not sealed, but I suspect it might be hidden near an underground river. Listen carefully, you can even hear the sound of water," said Feng Dahl. "Now we know why that thing is so full of energy."

"Besides..." Leslaufer thought of the broken boot and his expression changed slightly. "Daisy, what kind of life do fox people usually lead?"

"How do they live?" The bard was taken aback by the perplexing question and answered subconsciously, "Ordinary foxfolk are not much different from ordinary humanoids, but priests who believe in Isabara might imitate their goddess's ways, enchanting or seducing male creatures into serving them until they tire of the pleasure..."

The size of that boot doesn't seem to belong to the fox girl - she has other accomplices!

"Evacuate immediately! We can't stay here and clash with her!" Leslaufer shouted. "Quick, quick, get out of the front exit first!"

What is the difference between attacking a priest in a temple and attacking a mage in a mage tower?

Everyone was horrified when they thought of this, but when they approached the second passage leading to the outside, the situation seemed to have become quite bad.

It was a cave formed by natural collapse, which could accommodate three to five people at the same time. There was a campsite around it that was obviously still in use. What was even more "coincidental" was that four fully armed strong men just came in from outside the cave!

These people seemed to have just experienced intense exercise, and they were all sweating profusely. They did not seem to expect to see strangers in their own stronghold. Although they were holding weapons, they all stood there in a daze.

"Attack!" The mercenaries didn't give them any chance to react, nor did they have time to inquire about their origins and identities - there were no good guys or bad guys. Only the dead were good guys!

The black flame sword rushed forward along with the armored body of the mercenary, and in an instant it was stained with blood!

"You're a bunch of millipedes hiding in their caves!"

That was the bard's magic. Time was short and Daisy couldn't think of any other words. She could only use whatever she could think of. Anyway, with the help of magic, they were all pretty much the same.

Bella screamed and turned into a giant bat, and together with Angelita, she attacked a guy holding a big stick. On the other side, Fate rolled his eyes again. The last man who finally reacted launched a counterattack, but he was no different from a drunkard. Vondar knocked him down with one foot and easily killed him with his battle axe.

And as the druid tore another piece of flesh from the neck of her and Angrita's opponent, Leslaufer freed his hands and swung his sword to cut off the head of the man influenced by the poet. The man's huge flail fell to the ground helplessly before he could swing it.

Reslaufer noticed that these people's equipment was not very sophisticated, and one of them was even barefoot. However, the old bloodstains on their weapons proved that they were not good people. The reason why they were being hacked and killed like lambs to the slaughter was that they were caught off guard and did not have time to resist.

The mercenaries soon found out why these people were so surprised.

"The madmen should leave!"

Along with the angry shout, a head with a ponytail rushed in from the cave entrance behind those people. When he saw everyone, he did not allow any explanation and swung the long sword in his hand directly towards Leslaufer.

"You are the core members of the Stone Fox Gang, right? Finally, we found you!"

"You will pay for the lives of thirty-two people in Pamiti Village!"

It was hard to tell whether the person was a man or a woman. He was covered in scale armor, but the two long swords in his hands were extremely sharp. Reslaufer was beaten back for a moment and was forced to give up his relatively advantageous position.

"I can not understand what you say!"

Leslaufer growled, and the anchor claw on the Black Flame Greatsword blocked the opponent's right hand's slash, but the man seemed to be very experienced in this. He immediately raised the sword with a longer blade and hilt in his left hand, making it impossible for the mercenary to continue to restrain his actions.

"Haha! Of course you understand. That's the sin you committed!" The warrior who suddenly charged out roared and continued to follow. "It's just that I didn't expect Jamie to not be your leader - you are right, right?!"

The others who had been confused by the series of retorts also reacted at this moment: the other party must have misunderstood something - after all, if he came to seek revenge on Leslaufer, it would be reasonable, as the mercenaries probably had a lot of blood on their hands, but to come after all of them, that would be too outrageous!

But the man's sword moves were flawless, and Feng Daer tried several times to rush forward and separate the two, but ultimately failed. And when the thorn whip in Bella's hand was also easily cut off by him, the others had no chance of using their bodies to stop the fight.

"You must have misunderstood something! You're here to look for them, right? I'm afraid the gang you mentioned has already been killed by us!" Daisy desperately tried to use words to invoke magic, so that they would listen to her. "Stop fighting!"

"What nonsense! A poet-robber? A robber-poet? Doesn't matter, let's go together!" Unexpectedly, the man was not affected by Daisy's magic at all. Instead, her act of casting a spell next to him seemed to anger him, and the two swords in his hands added a bit of determination.

"you--"

"Shut up!" This time, it was the enraged Reslough who interrupted Daisy. Doppler's face revealed a bloodthirsty grin in extreme anger. "You like to use a sword instead of your tongue? Very good!"

"Let me see how 'glib' you are!"

Chapter 114: Holy Slash

The way that man held the two swords was a little strange, because usually, when a warrior held a weapon in each hand, the weapon in the dominant hand would be longer, and the off-hand weapon would be more inclined to defend and fill in the gaps.

But this person was just the opposite: he was obviously right-handed, but the longsword in his left hand took over the dominant position. What surprised people like Vondar and Bella who were no strangers to fighting even more was that despite this sense of incongruity, the man could still wield both swords like the wind without affecting each other!

"This is a master," the dwarf couldn't help but mutter, "Old Lei has met his match this time."

Leslaufer had indeed met his match. Ever since he could command wages several times higher than those of ordinary mercenaries, few on the battlefield could survive his sword for so long. One-eared Amantha was one, that Lamia was one, and the stealthy fox girl who had retreated after just touching him was only half a match. And now, he had encountered another!

Is there anything more...exciting than this?!

"Kill, kill!" The power of the giant sword in his hand increased several points. The bulges installed by Vondar Halfhill on the armor of the mercenary named Breaker came in handy at this moment. As Leslaufer attacked, those bulges were wrapped in the sword blade like a war hammer and chiseled towards his opponent, forcing the opponent to use his double swords more for defense rather than attack.

In such a dangerous confrontation, whoever shows fear first will fall into an irreversible disadvantage!

"Open it for me!"

When the man was forced to cross his swords above his head and half-kneel to catch the sword that was chopped down by Leslaufer, he shouted angrily, and the sword in his hand instantly turned over. The hilt inlaid with a skull rose from the ground like thunder and hit the opponent's open chest firmly, causing him to fall backwards.

Leslaufer didn't dare to breathe at all. In a flash, all the muscles in his body tensed up again against common sense. The surging fighting spirit like a tide drove the flaming giant sword to sweep across, determined to cut the opponent in half!

"Bang!" With a loud noise, Reslaufer's bloodshot eyes widened in surprise. He saw that the man in front of him was still in a half-kneeling position after losing balance and falling backwards. The blade of the long sword in his left hand was pressed against the outside of his arm, and he actually blocked his unstoppable attack!

"I didn't expect that the gangs actually have hidden talents. We really shouldn't underestimate them..." The warrior with the two swords rasped, finally revealing his masculine voice. "But it doesn't matter. It's time to end it."

"Sword is shield!"

A force similar to Bella's natural power and Daisy's musical magic, yet distinct from both, surged with his low chant. The longsword in his left hand responded instantly, dissolving its original form like flowing water before the eyes of the crowd, becoming more generous and steady.

That's a shield!

"Attack to defend, advance to retreat, fight to defend..." Each syllable has a similar rhythm. When the warrior completely finished this prayer-like chanting, the black flame sword was no longer slashing on a sword held up by the arm, but slashing on a shield!

"This is the skill of the elves' 'Blade and Armor Unity'! How did it appear in your hands?!" Seeing such an incredible scene, the dwarf craftsman couldn't help but scream!

The elves love to combine seemingly opposite things into one, and are particularly known for their "Sword Chant," which blends magic into swordplay and combines graceful dance moves with superb swordsmanship into spellcasting. However, for the dwarves, who have been competing with the elves for countless years, the elves have another similar skill in the field of forging, which is the so-called "Blade and Armor Unity."

It can fuse armor and weapons into one, allowing the holder to transform into different forms at will when needed. Regardless of the form, this magical equipment can simultaneously combine the effects of both forms!

Just now, the long sword was able to block Reslaufer's heavy sword like a shield, and now this shield can also slash like a sharp sword!

Caught off guard, Leslaufer was hit!

The mercenary lowered his head in disbelief, looking at the torn robe with a long tear on the chest. If it weren't for the dwarf-made Broken Halberd underneath being strong enough and having a special cavity left on the chest, he would have been seriously injured now!

Hit by a shield? This is ridiculous... Hehe, hahahahaha!

Leaning on Black Flame, Reslaufer, feeling that the world was so absurd, couldn't help but burst into laughter. Just as the successful impact with the hilt of the sword just now did not make Reslaufer relax, the expression of the warrior opposite him became more and more solemn as Reslaufer's laughter became more and more crazy.

Instead of continuing to attack, he held the shield in front of him, with the long sword in his right hand hidden behind the shield, and the tip of the sword pointing upwards in front of his chest.

Amid the mercenaries' ridiculous laughter, he began another prayer:

"I swear--"

"Don't lie, don't cheat. What I say is the path I practice."

"I swear that I will face all obstacles head-on and overcome all obstacles."

"I swear to lend a hand to the weak and the good, and to draw my sword against the strong and the evil."

"I swear I will use my heart to reform the evildoers and treat them with leniency until their crimes are beyond forgiveness."

"I vow to treat all beings equally, without snobbery or discrimination, to uphold honor and set an example."

"I will do my utmost to protect the people I protect, even if I die, I will have no regrets and will not be responsible..."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Leslaufer suppressed his smile, tore off his now unusable robe, and raised his two-handed sword again. "What's the point of swearing an oath at this moment? No god would favor someone like you."

"Indeed, no, because I don't believe in any gods," the man with the ponytail said with a calm smile. "I pray to myself, because the only one who can respond to me is myself."

The long sword in his hand began to emit a sacred luster. The light grew stronger and stronger, and soon it overshadowed the light of the light spell and the torches, but the black flame giant sword in Leslaufer's hand was still pitch black.

"But someone like you surely can't understand that, right?" The man seemed to be talking to himself, but also to Reslaufer. "I haven't sensed much darkness in the others around you, except you—you are beyond redemption."

Reslaufer's eyes narrowed slightly, and as he swung his sword forward, the man raised his blade high at the same time.

"Evil will be destroyed in the light! Next, if you dare - Holy Slash!"

Chapter 115 Paladin