◎ Warden Orgrim (2)◎

"You are familiar with the palace?"

Xia Li, whose wrist was grabbed by Collins's backhand, made no comment, simply letting him hold her. With her free hand, she unleashed her swarm attack skill, Poison Bees. A dense swarm of black poisonous bees roared out, catching the jailers who were preparing to capture her and Collins completely off guard!

"A bunch of losers, they can't even catch two people!" Orgrim was so angry that his fat was shaking. He cursed while chasing after them with great effort. Unfortunately, his fat body did not allow him to run more. After chasing for only more than 20 meters, he was so tired that stars were appearing in his eyes.

"Damn...it!" Orgrim cursed angrily as he watched the two figures gradually moving away. If the queen knew that the witcher had been kidnapped, he would definitely not be able to continue his job as the warden!

No, if he was dismissed like this, he'd never find such a leisurely job again! He'd been a notorious slacker since childhood, unable to learn anything and incompetent at everything. If he hadn't accidentally discovered his gift of "Insight," which allowed him to successfully identify a prisoner's disguise and earn a good reputation in front of the Queen, the job of prison warden would have never fallen upon him.

Orgrim wiped the sweat from his cheeks breathlessly, his eyes narrowed and opened again. The position of warden must be his, no one can take it away from him. No matter what means, he must keep his position!

As for the alchemist Xia Rihua who disguised herself as his subordinate, I'm sorry, but you are the only one I have to target today.

A plan gradually took shape in his mind. When he thought of the damned Xia Rilihua being punished, Orgrim couldn't help laughing.

Over there, Xia Li, who had escaped from the jailers, followed Collins and dived into the bushes, completely hiding her figure in the darkness.

Doc also chased after him. Although he was a little confused and didn't know what had happened after the explosion, when he thought of his best friend Collins who had escaped, he immediately followed him.

Three dark shadows slipped to the palace gate one after another.

"Go!" Doge ordered in a low voice.

Arthur, Banke and Winry reacted quickly and prepared to leave, but Xia Li stopped abruptly.

Collins turned his head: "What's wrong?"

Xia Li pulled her wrist out of his grasp: "I have to stay."

Otherwise, she would be even more suspicious.

Collins frowned slightly, and his lips moved very lightly, as if he wanted to say something, but because the situation was urgent, he finally swallowed all the words, leaving only the two words he thought were most important: "Take care."

Xia Li: "Take care."

The demons left like the wind. Outside the palace gate, everything seemed so peaceful except for the majestic breeze blowing on one's face and the grass swaying in the wind.

[Demon: Collins has been rescued. Dog expresses his gratitude to you.]

[Gain Experience Points +3000, Gold Coins +800]

What a high reward! Almost on par with the reward for the mission the Queen gave her!

Xia Li excitedly checked her account balance, which was already over 3,000 gold, bringing her one step closer to purchasing the land in the royal city.

The effect of the disguise pill had not yet ended, but Xia Li still took the initiative to cancel the face-pinching, and then walked swaggeringly on the streets of the royal city.

Less than ten minutes into her stroll, a group of soldiers rushed up to her, handcuffed her, and sternly ordered, "Come with us!"

There is never a shortage of gossip and gossip in the player world, and soon, the news that Xia Rilihua was captured by NPC spread at the speed of light.

"This is the Queen's celebration period. What did she do to deserve being arrested?"

[Humph, everyone knows she's always causing trouble, and now she's in front of the Queen. She'll be in big trouble!]

Do you think she'll go to jail? I really want to see her crying in jail, haha.

[I want to see it too. How about going to the Mercenary Guild and posting a quest? Whoever takes a picture of her being held captive will complete the quest!]

[Oh yeah, this is awesome! Hurry up, don't just talk the talk, I'll grab the order!]

As they were chatting, some players who were not bothered by the excitement placed orders directly through the mercenary system. The moment the task list was issued, it was taken up by an inconspicuous player.

[Alright guys, the quests are being snapped up really fast, just wait and see, I'll upload the photos to the forum when the time comes]

"You still want to laugh at our Pear Goddess? Ha tui! Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself to see if you are qualified?" Pipixia looked at the task list that he had taken on, and expressed his true contempt without mercy.

At that time, Bubble Water was rushing to the palace without stopping. He had completed the investigation task assigned to him by Sergeant Wei Bamon very well. Wei Bamon rewarded him with regular experience points and gold coins, and also gave him an extra badge. Unfortunately, the badge had no practical effect and did not increase the character's attributes. It could only be worn on the chest to improve the appearance.

Even so, Bubble Water couldn't stop smiling. Badges couldn't be bought with money, but as long as he wore it on his chest, he would prove to the other players that he was different!

He walked happily all the way to the palace gate, and the soldiers led him to the queen.

"Dear Queen, I have successfully completed the task assigned to me by Sergeant Wei Bamon. I hope Your Majesty will accept my loyalty." When Bubble Water thought that he was about to become the Queen's confidant, he couldn't help but curl his eyes again.

However, he had been immersed in a world of joy all the way and didn't realize that there was anything wrong with the atmosphere around him. After waiting for several seconds without receiving any response from the Queen, he finally raised his head slowly.

Queen Shia was looking down at him coldly and angrily, as if she were looking down at the demons, the people's most hated race. Bubble Water's heart skipped a beat, and he had a bad feeling. But before he could ask more questions, the Queen slowly spoke, "I gave you the highest honor, and this is how you repay me?"

Sparkling Water was stunned: "What?"

The queen snorted coldly, glanced at him with disgust, then raised her chin slightly. An NPC with a frightened face was dragged into the hall by two soldiers.

Sparkling Water took a closer look - the prison warden Orgrim, and a bad premonition suddenly rushed into his mind.

Orgrim let out a terrifying howl, then dropped to his knees, practically prostrating himself on the ground. "Your Majesty, I am wronged! Please forgive me!"

"Really?" Queen Shia's face was expressionless, only her lips moved a few times. "Tell me, how exactly was the great warden wronged?"

The ten minutes or so that Orgrim cried were the most difficult ten minutes since Sparkling Water entered the game. It was even more painful than when he messed up the task assigned to him by Mantian Feixue. At this moment, he couldn't stand or kneel, and he was completely restless.

"My esteemed Queen, this is what happened. I was actually deceived by her. If it weren't for her contributions to our royal city, I would never have allowed her to get close to that demon hunter."

After listening to this, Bubble Water finally understood why the queen was angry with him.

Because he failed in his mission.

The traces he'd uncovered outside the city were nothing more than a demonic sleight of hand! It looked as if they'd fought a battle with the players and were ultimately forced to leave the royal city, but in reality, the demons had never left the city at all! Using some method unknown to Bubble Water, they'd snuck in from outside the city, tied up two soldiers, deceived the patrol leader, and finally reached the royal prison. They'd brazenly kidnapped the demon hunter right under Orgrim's nose.

And the reason for his mission failure was actually because of summer pear blossoms!

According to Orgrim's crying, Xia Rihua forged the queen's edict and then came to pick up people with the fake edict. At first, Orgrim trusted her and did not doubt her. However, the moment he opened the prison door, Xia Rihua and the witcher pointed their guns at him.

The queen stared at Orgrim, who was so frightened that his entire body stiffened and sweat covered his forehead. After a long moment, the queen slowly spoke, "Don't you have the gift of discerning eyes? Why is it that your gift is no longer effective?"

"No, no! My talent hasn't failed!" Orgrim quickly replied, "It's all that damned Xia Ri Lihua's fault. I was actually suspicious of her, so I asked a few more questions at first. Who knew she would directly bring up your reputation, Queen, and say that questioning her is questioning your authority."

"Oh?" The Queen narrowed her eyes, raised her left hand, and gently placed it on her chin. "She threatened you with my reputation?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Orgrim added, seeing that his plan was almost complete. "She even brought up her contributions to the royal city and her reputation. I... I was foolish enough to believe her. Your Majesty, it's all my fault. I didn't have the courage to question her. If I were as wise and brave as you, I wouldn't have made such a big mistake!"

It was clearly an NPC, but its mind and mouth worked faster than his. Bubble Water couldn't help but sigh inwardly. What a shame. No matter how realistic it was, it didn't matter. NPCs were always NPCs. The only ones who could dominate the game were them, the players.

However, even though he thought so in his heart, Sparkling Water remained polite to the Queen and other important NPCs on the surface.

Perhaps Orgrim's words struck the right chord with the Queen. Her deep remorse for Orgrim and her expressions of loyalty softened her nerves slightly. After a few seconds of silence, she finally spoke, "Get up."

The sweat on his face instantly slid down, and Orgrim wiped the cold sweat off with a smile, then struggled to stand up from the ground.

"What about you, Sparkling Water? Do you have anything to explain?"

Bubble Water had breathed a sigh of relief, but the next moment, a chill suddenly rose from the soles of his feet. His mind raced, and Xia Rilihua's face kept flashing through his mind.

"Reporting to Her Majesty, Sergeant Wei Bamon told me that Xia Rihua was the first person to be investigated outside the city. I think I was also misled by her scheme."

After Bubble Water finished speaking, he pulled the corner of his mouth proudly and said, "Summer Pear Blossom, this is what happened to you when you joined forces with Fengyun Tianxia to drive me away. I want you to also have a taste of what it feels like to be the target of public criticism."

-over-