A sneeze destroys a magical civilization

If you want to control the political power, you must first control the army.

This is the valuable experience and truth summed up by countless regimes on the earth.

Then, they gradually control the bureaucracy, win over scholars, manipulate public opinion, endorse their legitimacy and justice, and finally rebuild order to achieve rule over a city or even a country.

However, in the magical world, especially in Faerûn, a place where high-level mages can easily crush and massacre an army, powerful mages and the towers they build are obviously much more threatening than the army.

In fact, a building like the Mage Tower, which has both a fortress and a large-scale magical destruction weapon, is not something that can be built casually in the city.

Usually, if a mage or warlock wants to build a mage tower in a certain town, the first thing he or she needs to do is to apply to the official spellcasting organization established in that town.

For example, in Amn, this organization is the only authorized masked mage guild, in Waterdeep City it is the famous Anmin Mage Guild, and in Neverwinter it is the Starry Cloak.

Of course, if there is no such organization locally, you need to find the lord or municipal council directly.

Generally speaking, most applications from strangers will be rejected without hesitation.

Only a very small number of mages and warlocks who have earned trust or have lived in the town for a long time and have no bad records will be qualified to build a mage tower.

Moreover, after the construction of the mage tower is completed, the tower owner must also assume some corresponding obligations.

These include several apprenticeships, selling a certain amount of potions, scrolls and magic items to the official, providing corresponding spell support when the town is invaded by foreign enemies, etc.

Therefore, anyone who can build a mage tower in the city basically has a very close relationship with the local ruler.

However, what is slightly different from most cities in Faerûn is that the situation in Calimport is a little more complicated.

As early as the Xian Empire period, a large number of mage towers were built here, and they swore allegiance directly to the emperor himself.

Later, when Ivicola Sagrain destroyed this regime, it also overturned all the original order and affiliations. As a result, the owners of the Mage Tower were not loyal to anyone for a long time in the future. independent state.

Following the two to three hundred years of mutual competition between the entangled talisman and various careerists, nobles, merchants, and thieves guilds, a weak balance was slowly formed.

The nominal emperor who lives in the palace is essentially a consensus reached through compromise between all parties, so the rights at hand are very limited.

Even the Imperial Guards and the City Defense Forces, who were superficially loyal to the emperor, had already been infiltrated into a sieve, and more than half of the officers were directly or indirectly controlled by the entangled talisman.

As the symbol of the highest power of the central government in the feudal dynasty, the emperor lacked actual power, which meant that there was no way to effectively rule.

Not to mention winning the allegiance of the mage tower owners, even the thieves guilds and gangs scattered throughout the streets of Calimport would not necessarily take the government seriously.

The corruption and money-power transactions in the bureaucracy are even more shocking, and they do not shy away from anyone at all, and the prices are clearly marked in a semi-public manner.

This means that mages and warlocks can build a mage tower of their own as long as they spend a sum of money to bribe officials and reach an agreement with the thieves guild that controls the area.

In other words, the mage tower in Calimport is actually in a completely unsupervised state and growing wildly at an extremely fast speed.

The only one with the ability to control this situation, the Entangled Talisman, in order to make the game more interesting, had no intention of interfering from the beginning to the end. On the contrary, it secretly added fuel to the flames.

However, this chaotic situation finally came to an end with the return of Shane VII.

More than two-thirds of the Mage Tower owners swore allegiance to him on the spot.

Some of the rest were not at home at all or did not dare to come, and some were subordinates of the Masters of Talisman. Basically, they either died in the fierce spell confrontation just now, or were killed by Zuo Si when they ransacked his house. Even if they slipped through the net, The fish should have fled by now, not daring to stay and wait for death.

After integrating the arcane magic power of Calimport, Shahn VII immediately sent his most trusted subordinate, Shaud Tarowan, to take over the guards and city defense troops in an orderly manner, and ordered them to march into the streets to maintain order. .

As the supreme ruler of a huge empire, his political skills were obviously much better than Ser Lalan El Pisakkar.

Coupled with the strong strength as a backing, anyone who dared to show any signs of resistance would be slaughtered without mercy.

In just a few hours, thirty powerful families were wiped out, and more than a dozen chambers of commerce were uprooted.

As for the thieves guilds and gangs that were originally rampant, large-scale suppression began after a large army entered the streets.

Although at the beginning, many leaders of the thieves guild tried to use their original methods of bribery or threats, they soon discovered that the tried and tested methods did not work this time.

The officers unceremoniously issued attack orders to the soldiers, and all gang members wandering the streets were taken to jail. Anyone who showed the slightest tendency to resist would be shot with crossbows.

In desperation, the leaders of the Thieves Guild could only choose to swallow their anger and hide in their lairs to carefully observe the changes in the situation.

After a day and a night, the residents of Calimport were surprised to find that this city, which was originally full of chaos, was so orderly for the first time, as if everything had become orderly under the rule of Shane VII.

There are no longer gang members in the market who collect protection money indiscriminately, corrupt bureaucrats do not dare to openly ask for bribes as before, and there are no nameless corpses in the streets.

Even the slums that have been neglected are stationed with a patrol team to maintain basic order.

Most importantly, a notice written in red ink was posted everywhere.

The above content is also very easy to understand. Starting from today, the Shane Dynasty, which disappeared in the long river of history, is back.

His Majesty the Great Shane VII announced that slavery will be completely abolished in the empire from now on. Slavery is not only no longer protected by law, but is a serious crime.

It must be said that this decree instantly caused an uproar.

Those who were unwilling to be enslaved were naturally happy, but many people who had been slaves for more than ten or even decades had blank expressions, not knowing what they should do after losing their masters, and what should they do. How to make a living.

In contrast, a large number of slave-holding nobles, merchants and slave owners began to resist by all means they could think of.

Including but not limited to boasting that slavery is the cornerstone of the country and has been a tradition of Calimshan since ancient times. Once abolished, it will inevitably cause social unrest. Calimport’s current administrative capabilities are simply unable to deal with so many slaves who have regained their freedom. placement.

In addition, they also tried to unite to organize strikes and parades, and paid large sums of money to the thieves guild, which was also suppressed, and hired assassins to assassinate law enforcement officers, hoping to put pressure on Shane VII.

Obviously, these guys regard Shane VII as the semi-puppet who had no real power at all.

At this moment, the powerful emperor was sitting in his seat, looking at the information sent by his subordinates with great interest. After a full minute, he couldn't help laughing and joking: "Interesting! It's so interesting. It’s amazing! I didn’t expect that after the Entangling Talisman and Ivicola Sagram were dealt with, these guys who don’t know their own abilities would still dare to jump out. I’m starting to admire their courage.”

"No, this is not a sign of courage, but a subconscious and fierce resistance after the most fundamental interests are touched.

Believe me, even in Cormyr under the enlightened feudal monarchy, if the royal family with great prestige dares to announce that it will take back all the noble territories, those originally loyal noble lords will immediately launch a rebellion.

After all, no one in this world is willing to give up the power and wealth in their hands.

The most important thing is that your previous methods were not tough enough, bloody enough, or cruel enough.

Even though thirty noble families were wiped out and more than a dozen chambers of commerce were destroyed, it still did not instill fear in the original vested interest groups in the city.

You must know that authority is largely based on awe and fear.

What's more, Calimshan has experienced chaos for too long, and many powerful people are using conspiracies and tricks to continuously climb up and gain more power and wealth.

They don't like to be bound by the law, and they don't like to have an emperor above their heads who can kill them at any time.

So in my view, the abolition of slavery was just a trigger.

The real conflict is that the upper-class ruling class that controls Calimport's wealth and social resources want to keep what they have, and you must take that back in order to become a de facto monarch capable of taking life and death. "

Zuo Si gave his unique insights with a smile on his face.

Because when he promised to abolish slavery to Ilmat, the God of Suffering, he had seriously considered the possible consequences of doing so, he had already anticipated the current seemingly critical situation.

"Oh? Then how do you think it should be solved?" Xia En VII asked with great interest.

Zuo Si touched his chin and thought for a moment before responding immediately: "Actually, it's very simple to deal with, just kill them all and leave no one behind.

No matter what kind of social change it is, it will inevitably satisfy the demands of another class at the expense of harming the interests of another class.

For the former, no matter what methods are used to win over and appease them, it is impossible to quell their inner resentment, and may even pose a huge threat to their rule.

So my suggestion is, just get rid of it completely.

In this way, wealth and resources can be redistributed through the confiscation of their property.

For example, they distributed land and housing to the freed slaves, operated confiscated workshops to provide them with stable jobs, and ensured that most slaves could be successfully transformed into free people who could engage in production and labor.

The advantage of this is that it can minimize the short-term financial pressure that the abolition of slavery may bring. After all slaves are converted into freedmen, both market prosperity and tax revenue will increase exponentially.

In addition, clearing out the bugs in these countries will also allow those talented people in society to gain access to upward paths, especially the special talents among adventurers and mercenaries.

You can also take this opportunity to cultivate more loyal cronies and transform the existing bureaucracy and military system.

Most importantly, Calimport is one of the few cities in Faerûn with a large number of spellcasters, craftsmen, and scholars.

With such a large talent pool, you don't have to worry about killing them all and not having anyone to help run the country. "

Hearing these words, Shane VII couldn't help laughing immediately: "Hahahaha! Well said! Originally, I was worried that you were too young, although you also controlled places like Nelanthel Islands and Luskan Such a place, but you have no experience in dealing with such a complicated situation. But now it seems that you are not only a powerful spell caster, but also an excellent ruler. After I restore the glory of the Shane Empire, You can safely leave it to you."

"Isn't it too early to say this? Don't forget, you haven't even settled Calimport yet, let alone the vast land that extends eastward to the Lake of Steam. Even if Calimshan is unified, it will only be a At the beginning, there was Tethyr in the north who was caught in a civil war." Zuo Si shrugged nonchalantly.

To be honest, he was really not interested in the undead emperor's proposal to build a huge empire spanning the entire west coast of Ferenc through marriage.

After all, he owns an entire planet in the floating city and can completely transform it according to his own ideas and will.

But what about here in Faerun?

No matter what you do, you need to take into account the reactions of the gods, as well as the group of monsters that cannot be killed no matter how hard they are killed, as well as the devils from hell and the devils from the abyss.

But Shane VII obviously didn't think so.

His ancestor, the founder of the Shane Dynasty, the old Akaba Shane, finally obtained the crown of the Kingdom of Tethyr through marriage and a series of conspiracy assassinations, and completely integrated the two countries. Created an empire that was most prosperous in the history of Faerûn.

Because of this, in the eyes of Xia En VII, if a stronger empire can be established through marriage, and the blood of his descendants can flow through the imperial royal family, it will definitely be a good thing for both parties.

Not only can it deeply bind Zuo Si, a powerful ally, but it can also hand over the Shane Empire to a reliable person to avoid the tragedy of another demise.

You must know that over the long years, he himself has long lost interest in things like power and rule, preferring to study esoteric magical knowledge and explore the endless planes of the universe.

Of course, another very important reason is that among the several descendants found so far, none are suitable to be cultivated as the heirs of the empire.

The only male among them not only has part of the orc blood, but is also infected with lycanthropy. Every full moon night, he will lose control and go berserk. No country will ever let such a person become the supreme ruler.

His only future development direction is to be trained to become a powerful warrior or army commander.

In contrast, the situation of the five women was slightly better, and one was even trained as a scholar.

But they all lack the most basic quality, which is strong enough personal strength.

Yes!

In Faerûn, a land full of conspiracies, assassinations and all kinds of terrifying monsters, if you want to become the leader of a force or even a country, personal strength is an indispensable part, and is even given priority over other abilities. .

Not to mention those devil worshipers and evil god believers with abnormal brains and extremely crazy.

For example, in the traditional feudal powerhouse Cormyr, the kings of all dynasties were basically legendary warriors above LV20;

Grand Duke Iltan, the supreme military leader of Baldur's Gate, is also a legendary warrior with considerable strength;

Needless to say, in Waterdeep City, there are several legendary mages among the many lords, and even the worst lord has a professional level of at least LV10 or above;

Alustriel Silverhand, who rules the Silver Moon Alliance, is the chosen one of the legendary mage and goddess of magic;

As Aglalon, who faces the threat of the red-robed wizard of Ther, its current supreme leader "Witch Queen" is the Storm Queen Ximbu;

The lord of Neverwinter, Nasir, has a warrior level of LV12, and he himself knows that he is not strong enough, so he formed the "Nine Guards of Neverwinter" to ensure his safety;

Even Amn's six-member council, which in the eyes of outsiders seems to have little personal strength, has an average career level of around LV13 to LV15.

In a world where assassinations, poisoning, and curses through magic are as common as eating and drinking, if the top leader is an ordinary person, he usually may not survive a day, or even an hour.

All it takes is a tiny bit of poison, a small magical curse, a cold arrow or a dagger thrust out of the shadows to kill him on the spot without even a chance to save him.

But if you switch to someone with a high enough professional level, the difficulty of the above actions will be greatly increased.

Even a warrior who knows nothing about poisons and magic can use his strong physique and immunity to resist for a while, waiting for the priest to come to treat and detoxify.

Shane VII himself had been assassinated more than once, so he knew very well the basic qualities needed to rule a huge empire. He subconsciously glanced at the five people standing in the corner wearing silk with a slightly disappointed look. A female offspring wearing a long skirt and looking slightly nervous.

The eldest among them is already twenty-seven or seventy-eight years old, and he always tries to hide his calloused hands from long-term work in his sleeves.

The youngest one is only ten years old, looks very thin, and has very obvious signs of malnutrition.

You don't need to ask to know that the future princesses of these empires generally have poor backgrounds, and some are even slaves.

It was precisely because they didn't know that they had the royal blood of the Xia En Dynasty that their ancestors were able to survive the brutal and bloody massacre.

However, among the five people, there was a sixteen-year-old girl with long black hair and a bookish air all over her body, who obviously stood out from the crowd.

She has the typical wheat-colored skin of the Calishites, and her pointed ears indicate that she is of elven descent. She is about 1.6 meters tall. She is far from restless like the other sisters. Instead, she is holding a book and reading with relish.

Shahn VII's eyes stayed on the girl's face for a few seconds, and then he said in a slightly playful tone: "The Shahn Empire has the right to claim the entire land of Calimshan and Tethyr, and I am The only legitimate emperor of the empire.

Therefore, the war of unification will not drag on as long as you think. As long as one or two decisive battles are won, most towns will be defeated.

If all goes well, this goal can be accomplished in about two years.

Rather than this trivial matter, which is not difficult at all, I am more concerned about who I will choose as my marriage partner.

You must know that only after you make your choice can I make her his heir and conduct a series of necessary related educations. "

"Let's talk about this kind of thing later. I will be very busy in the past two years, and I will not have the time and energy to take care of this. What's more, marriage is a political method. If you haven't changed your mind by then, , does it matter who the marriage partner is?" Zuo Si asked with an indifferent expression.

"In that case, how about I choose one for you?" Xia En VII tried with a smile.

"Okay, please do as you please."

Zuo Si made a very generous gesture of invitation.

"Aisha! From today on, you are the crown prince and first heir of the empire."

Xia En VII announced his decision directly to the half-elf girl who was reading a book.

When the latter heard these words, he froze in place at first, followed by his throat moving up and down and swallowed, and asked in a stammering tone: "First... Ancestor, why me? I can't manage well." A country cannot become an emperor as decisive as you."

Xia En VII responded with a smile: "You don't need to be able to manage a country well, nor do you need to be a decisive emperor. Do you see the young man next to me? His name is Soth, and yours The mission is to marry him and facilitate the birth of a great empire in the future."

"Ming...understood."

The girl nodded in understanding.

Because she had read a lot of books, she understood that she had no ability to resist this ancestor's decision, or that it would be useless to resist.

There are too many spells in magic that can forcibly change a person's memory, thinking and personality.

So instead of making trouble for herself, she chose to lie down directly.

Anyway, the so-called "imperial princess" is a tool for marriage, which has been clearly mentioned in many books.

Compared with marrying those old or middle-aged men, Zuo Si, who looks young and knowledgeable, is obviously much better.

Seeing that the girl was so well-behaved and sensible, Xia En VII immediately showed a satisfied smile, turned to Zuo Si and said, "How about it, are you satisfied with this result? You must know that Aisha is the most outstanding of all my descendants. She is smart, knows how to be measured, has the tolerance unique to Calishite women, and will never interfere with a man's private life. After some time, I will start to train her to become a qualified mage."

"I don't have any reason to object. Everything will be done as you say." Zuo Si agreed simply.

After all, Xia En VII is one of his important allies in Faerûn. Maybe we can carry out some more in-depth cooperation in the future. The marriage is indeed beneficial to both parties.

What's more, the marriage system in the land of Calimshan has never been monogamous, but the standard polygamy.

The number of concubines of some nobles and wealthy businessmen can even reach astonishing three digits, and their races are even more diverse, including frost giants in the far north.

Therefore, the women of Calimshan are often very open-minded in this regard. As long as they can ensure a comfortable life for themselves, they don't care how many concubines their husbands have at home and how many lovers they have outside.

"Very good! Then this matter is settled. And how should we deal with the relationship with Ilmat, the God of Suffering, and the Church of Tyr, the God of Justice? Although they publicly support me now, I will always be with you. They are not from the same place."

Shane VII asked a question that bothered him.

Although he seemed to be able to deal with nobles, merchants, and thieves guilds with ease, he really had no experience in dealing with the gods.

Because when the Xian Dynasty collapsed, the gods did not interfere with the material world as frequently as they do now, and there was no need to spend too much effort to deal with religious conflicts.

But what about now?

Warring churches often mingle physically!

Especially the followers of Cyric, the Prince of Lies, who is afraid of chaos in the world. Every one of them is a scourge to society.

If it weren't for the fact that the other party was powerful and had a strong desire for revenge, Xia En VII would have taken advantage of last night to kill all the garbage without leaving any trace behind.

Obviously, he had the same idea as Zuo Si on how to deal with the Cyric Church.

"On this point, I think the easy way to deal with it is to give them some enforcement powers, but not legislative and executive powers."

Zuo Si gave the answer directly without even thinking.

He had already thought carefully about how to use the church power of these good gods to serve himself.

In particular, Tyr, the god of justice, has always placed great emphasis on procedural justice.

In other words, as long as the laws of a city or even a country are slightly biased toward good neutrality, they will choose to comply with them and actively join law enforcement agencies to maintain order.

This means that as long as the church of Tyr, the God of Justice, is used in the right place, it is not a threat to the ruler, but a lubricant that promotes stability and alleviates social conflicts.

After all, in the eyes of the lower-class civilians, Tire represents absolute justice and will not favor anyone when dealing with matters, so they are generally quite convinced by their judgments.

Having such a group of people as law enforcers can not only strengthen the government's prestige, but also inhibit the growth of corruption.

The most important thing is that since they have no legislative power, they actually do not hold the highest authority in the country, let alone have any influence on decision-making. They are just a group of simple tool people.

On the Maztec continent, this is how Zuo Si used the paladins of the Knights of the Burning Heart.

In Luskan, he also used the same method to make these kind and lawful people serve him.

In particular, the paladin Kaidong has not only been stationed in Luskan for a long time, but also established a training base to continuously train a large number of professional law enforcement personnel.

Although at first, he simply wanted to train paladin apprentices.

But Zuo Si cleverly crammed in two hundred people in one go, euphemistically claiming to provide them with enough students.

As we all know, training a paladin is a very time-consuming and labor-intensive task.

Generally speaking, a paladin can only take up to two or three apprentices at a time.

Just like this, the elimination rate is often as high as over 70%, not to mention leading hundreds of people at once.

After all, the paladin is not a warrior. As long as he learns fighting skills, he can become a warrior.

The most difficult part of becoming a paladin is the training of the mind and will, as well as the dedication to a just cause.

Since this seriously goes against the instinct of living beings, it is not something that most people can do. It must be taught by an older paladin.

But Kaidong brought two hundred people at once, and he had no time and energy to teach and influence them one by one. He could only teach the apprentices how to wear armor and use various weapons to fight, and then explain the experience and skills in law enforcement. The results are self-evident.

Not a single paladin was trained, but instead a large number of low-level law enforcement officers were created who only followed procedures.

Of course, Kaidong is not aware of the problem yet.

When something really happened, he would realize that the students he had trained were actually far different from what he had imagined.

"That's it! What a perfect idea."

Xia En VII was so smart that he immediately understood the subtext that the other party wanted to express, and a meaningful smile suddenly appeared on his face.

Zuo Si also smiled and added: "Any stable society needs law to maintain the most basic order, but maintaining it often requires paying high costs. The Church of Tyr, the God of Justice, can not only significantly reduce this cost , and at the same time, it can also reduce the people's resistance to the rulers, why not? Believe me, you will like them."

Just when Xia En VII was about to say something, a fat-headed figure suddenly walked in from outside, put one hand on his chest and bowed deeply.

"Your Majesty, as per your request, I have investigated how many thieves' guilds in Calim Port are involved in this operation."

"Oh? How many are there?" Xia En VII asked calmly.

"Ten...twelve! Except for the dock area that I control, almost all thieves guilds have sent out their most elite assassins."

The fat man wiped the sweat from his forehead and face with very subtle movements, then raised his head and revealed a pair of eyes full of tension and fear.

He was none other than Apke, the leader of the Thieves Guild who had worked closely with Zuo Si.

It was precisely because of this relationship that his guild power was not suppressed, but instead received a series of benefits and privileges.

However, it is obviously not easy to obtain these benefits. The price is to lose independence and become a subordinate agency under the control of the Undead Emperor, responsible for collecting intelligence and seeking information.

If Shane VII fails in this struggle, what awaits Apke is to be besieged by all the thieves guilds in Calimport.

But if he succeeds, then he will suddenly become the master of the underground world of Calimport, truly one person is inferior to ten thousand people.

In the future, you might have the opportunity to clear your name and go ashore to become a high-ranking official or noble, and establish your own family.

In order to realize his ambition, the fat man decided to risk all his wealth and life after careful consideration.

"All? This is really good news, what do you think?" Xia En VII turned his eyes to Zuo Si.

"It's indeed good news. All the enemies couldn't help but jump out. Now you can kill them all." Zuo Si agreed with a relaxed look.

Xia En VII nodded slightly: "Yes! It's time to take action. If you don't mind, can you help me deal with these nasty thieves guilds? As the emperor of the empire, it seems a bit inappropriate for me to go into the sewers. identity."

"No problem, it's just a small matter. Davian, go and accompany Epke."

Zuo Si gave orders to the flame dragon knight standing behind him.

Obviously, he didn't want to go into Calimport's smelly sewers, which were full of rotting corpses and bones.

"As you wish!"

Davian was as hard-working as ever, bowed to his master, stood up and followed Epke outside the palace.

There was no communication between the two along the way.

It wasn't until he walked out of the palace and returned to the territory he controlled that Apke let out a long breath, raised his head and asked in a slightly worried tone: "Your Excellency, before I take action, I want to confirm first, how is your strength?"

You don't need to ask to know that he didn't recognize the strong man in front of him as the soldier who followed Zuo Si.

After all, it has evolved several times, causing great changes in its appearance.

Let alone Apke, even the little werewolf living in the mage tower, the half-orc Rhett, and the dwarf berserker Korgan might not be able to recognize it when they see it.

"You just need to tell me who to kill." Davian responded expressionlessly.

"You mean...you are so strong that you can defeat all thieves guilds on your own?" Apke opened his mouth in shock.

Although he has seen many arrogant people in his life, including the killer who can make the entire Calimport fearful just by mentioning his name - Artemis Entreri.

But he was the first to be so arrogant.

Just when Apke was about to tell Davian about the strength of each thieves guild, a black shadow suddenly came out of the broken window on the second floor of the house above him, holding a dagger in one hand and carrying a magic halo in the other. The long sword stabbed the fat-headed and big-eared leader of the Thieves Guild at an extremely fast speed.

Because everything happened so suddenly, the surrounding bodyguards had no time to react. They could only watch as the swords and daggers got closer and closer to their boss, and blood would soon be spattered on the spot.

At this critical moment!

Davian jumped up faster, took up the red dragon scale shield in his hand and faced him.

The next second...

boom!

Boom! ! ! !

The man who jumped down from the second floor was first hit hard by the front of the shield and flew five or six meters away. Then his whole body smashed a wall nailed with wooden boards under the huge impact, and It slithered along the ground and knocked over numerous tables and chairs, scaring the tavern patrons.

Normally speaking, with Davian's exaggerated strength attribute of fifty-five points, most of the "frail" assassins who were hit by this blow would probably have suffered fractures all over their bodies, accompanied by ruptured internal organs and massive bleeding. They should have died when they landed on the ground. .

But not only did this man not die, but after vomiting out a large amount of dark red plasma and blood clots, he took the dagger in his hand and started killing people in the tavern.

Whenever he killed someone, his injuries improved significantly.

After killing all the living people in the entire tavern, the killer had fully recovered and was staring at Davian who had almost killed him just now.

"Ah... Artemis Entreri? Why are you here!"

Epke, who was surviving the disaster, instantly recognized the identity of the person who assassinated him, and couldn't help shouting.

Unfortunately, Entreri obviously did not intend to speak, but raised his left hand high.

Before anyone else could react and understand the meaning of this action, several drow emerged from the darkness, raised their specially made crossbows, aimed at Apke and pulled the trigger.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Under the refraction of the sun, you can see that the front ends of these sharp crossbow arrows are emitting purple light. They are not only enchanted, but also obviously quenched with poison.

But unfortunately, these people underestimated Davian's reaction speed.

With an agility attribute of up to 30 points, he is an out-and-out superman to a certain extent. He quickly raised his shield to block Epke.

As expected, all the crossbow arrows were blocked by the strong dragon scale shield.

At this moment, Epke's body was completely soaked with sweat, and even his pants were wet.

Because he is not a fool, he understands that someone must have spent a lot of money to hire Artemis Entreri and those dark elves to kill him.

And if it weren't for Davian, he would have turned into a corpse in the first blow.

thump!

thump!

thump!

Epke's heart was beating violently, and his eyes revealed a strong fear of death. He subconsciously activated the amulet worn around his neck.

moment!

A ring of magic [Shield Technique] appeared on his body.

But just as the shield took effect, another dark elf rushed out from the alley behind him.

Since he was wearing a pair of magic boots, he didn't make any footsteps at all. He raised the rapier in his hand and wanted to punch Epke through from behind.

At the critical moment, Davian's high perception attribute and blind sense from the red dragon bloodline sensed the danger, pushed Apke to the ground, and used his body to receive the opponent's attack.

When the rapier collided with the red dragon armor, the former was bent at ninety degrees on the spot and failed to penetrate the body at all.

"Damn it! Who are you? I don't remember that there is a master like you in the Thieves Guild in Calimport."

Seeing that the sneak attack failed, the dark elf quickly retreated to a safe distance.

From the conspicuous wide-brimmed hat and the numerous rings, jewelry, and amulets he wore, it was easy to identify him as Jarlaxle, who had just left the Underdark not long ago.

Just when Davian was about to respond, Apke took the lead and asked loudly: "Why did you come to kill me? Are you hired by other thieves guilds?"

"Yes, you guessed it right. You have to know that your life is very valuable now. No matter who can successfully complete the assassination, they can immediately get a bounty of 200,000 gold coins. We just need a lot of money now As starting capital, so..."

Jarlaxle deliberately drew a long note, and the implication was self-evident.

"Who posted the reward?"

A fierce light flashed across Apke's eyes, and he asked through gritted teeth.

"Ivo, Kevin, Antoun..., all the thieves guilds in Calimport have united to issue a reward for you, because you are a traitor and have violated the long-standing tradition here." Entreri said without any trace of guilt. replied in an emotional tone.

"Violating tradition? Traitor? Hahahahaha! What a lame excuse, they are just jealous of me."

Apke got up from the ground and laughed sarcastically.

Davian pulled out the red crystal sword hanging from his waist and gave the assurance without looking back: "Don't worry! As long as I am here, no one can kill you."

"Humph! That's not necessarily the case."

Jarlaxle suddenly grabbed the ruby ​​pendant around his neck and used a spell to activate the spell stored inside.

An orange fireball flew out from his fingertips and hit Epke's position.

"Don't even think about it!"

Davian's legs suddenly exerted force, and he rushed out like an arrow, directly blocking the path of the fireball.

boom! ! ! ! ! ! !

With a loud noise, the dazzling fire engulfed him directly, and then he fell heavily to the ground.

Seeing this scene, Jarlaxle immediately mocked triumphantly: "Idiot! You actually used your body to block the fireball? I really don't know whether to laugh at your stupidity or admire your bravery. But it doesn't matter, now I want to Go get that head worth two hundred thousand gold coins.”