If you want to control the government, 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 bureaucratic system, win over scholars, manipulate public opinion, endorse their own legitimacy and justice, and finally rebuild order to achieve rule over a city or even a country.
However, in the magical world, especially in the continent of Faerun where high-level wizards can easily crush and massacre an army, powerful wizards and the towers they build are obviously much more threatening than the army.
In fact, a building like the Mage Tower, which serves as both a fortress and a large-scale magical killing weapon, is not something that can be built casually in the city.
Normally, when a wizard or warlock wants to build a wizard tower in a town, the first thing he or she needs to do is to apply to the town to establish an official spellcaster organization.
For example, in Amn, this organization is the only authorized Guild of Masked Mages, in Waterdeep it is the famous Guild of Peaceful Mages, and in Neverwinter it is the Starry Cloaks.
Of course, if there is no such organization locally, you will need to go directly to the lord or municipal council.
Generally speaking, most applications from strangers will be rejected without hesitation.
Only a very small number of mages and warlocks who have won the trust or have lived in the town for a long time without any 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 certain corresponding obligations.
These include several apprentice places, selling a certain number of potions, scrolls and magic items to the officials, providing corresponding spell support when the town is invaded by foreign enemies, etc.
Therefore, anyone who can build a wizard tower in the city basically has a very close relationship with the local ruler.
However, what is slightly different from most cities in Faerun is that the situation in Port Calin is a little bit more complicated.
As early as the Shane Empire, a large number of wizard towers were built here, and they swore allegiance directly to the emperor himself.
Later, when Ivyklathagra destroyed the regime, she also overturned the original order and subordinate relationships, resulting in the owners of the Mage Tower being independent and not loyal to anyone for a long time in the future.
Subsequently, after two or three hundred years of competition between the Entangled Symbol and various ambitious people, nobles, merchants, and thieves' guilds, a tenuous balance was slowly formed.
The nominal emperor living in the palace is essentially a consensus reached through mutual compromise among various forces, so the power at hand is very limited.
Even the Imperial Guards and City Defense Forces, who appeared to be loyal to the Emperor, had already been infiltrated like a sieve. More than half of the officers were directly or indirectly controlled by the Entanglement Symbol.
The emperor, as the symbol of the highest authority of the central government of the feudal dynasty, lacked actual power, which meant that there was no way to rule effectively.
Not to mention winning the loyalty of the owner of the Mage Tower, even the Thieves Guilds and gangs scattered throughout the streets and alleys of Calimport may not take the government seriously.
The corruption and money-for-power transactions in the bureaucratic system are even more shocking. They are not hidden from anyone and are all clearly priced in a semi-public manner.
This means that mages and warlocks can build a mage tower of their own as long as they spend some money to bribe officials and reach an agreement with the Thieves Guild that controls the area.
In other words, the Mage Tower in Port Calim is actually in a completely unsupervised state and is growing wildly at an extremely fast pace.
In order to make the game more interesting, the Entanglement Symbol, the only one capable of controlling this situation, had no intention of intervening from beginning to end, but instead secretly fanned the flames.
However, this chaotic situation finally came to an end with the return of King 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 Talisman Masters. Basically, they were either killed in the fierce magic confrontation just now, or were killed by Zuo Si when he raided their houses. Even if there were some who slipped through the net, they should have fled by now and would not dare to stay and wait for death.
After integrating the arcane magic power of Calimport, Shane VII immediately sent his most trusted subordinate, Shaud Tarovin, to take over the Royal Guards and the City Defense Force in an orderly manner, and ordered them to enter the streets to maintain order.
As the supreme ruler of a vast empire, his political skills were obviously much more sophisticated than those of Ser Lalan el Pisakar.
In addition, with powerful strength as a backing, anyone who dared to show the slightest sign 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 once rampant, a large-scale crackdown began after the huge army entered the streets.
Although at the beginning, many leaders of the Thieves Guild tried to use the original methods of bribery, threats or intimidation, they soon found that the tried and tested methods were ineffective this time.
The officers unceremoniously ordered the soldiers to attack, and all gang members wandering the streets were thrown into prison, and anyone who showed the slightest tendency to resist would be shot with crossbows.
In desperation, the leaders of the Thieves Guild could only swallow their anger, shrink their forces, hide in their own lairs, and carefully observe the changes in the situation.
After a day and a night, the residents of Port Calin were surprised to find that this city, which was originally filled with chaos, was so orderly for the first time, as if everything had become well organized under the rule of King Shane VII.
There are no more gang members collecting protection fees in the market, corrupt bureaucrats no longer dare to openly solicit bribes as they did before, and there are no more nameless corpses to be seen on the streets.
Even the slums that had been neglected were stationed with a patrol team to maintain basic order.
On top of that, a notice written in red ink was posted everywhere.
The above content is also very easy to understand. From today on, the Shane Dynasty that disappeared in the long river of history is back.
His Majesty the great King Sean VII announced that slavery would be completely abolished in the empire from that day forward. Not only would slavery no longer be protected by law, it would be a serious crime.
It has to be said that this decree instantly caused an uproar.
Those who were unwilling to be enslaved were naturally overjoyed, but many people who had been slaves for more than ten years or even decades had confused expressions on their faces. They had no idea what they should do or how to make a living after losing their masters.
In contrast, a large number of slave-owning nobles, merchants, and slave owners began to resist using every means they could think of.
This includes but is not limited to boasting that slavery is the cornerstone of the country and is a tradition of Calimshan since ancient times. Once it is abolished, it will inevitably cause social unrest. With the current administrative capacity of Calim Port, it is simply impossible to resettle so many slaves who have regained their freedom.
In addition, they also tried to unite to organize strikes and marches, paid large sums of money to the Thieves Guild, which was also suppressed, and hired assassins to assassinate law enforcement officers in order to put pressure on Sean VII.
It was obvious that these guys regarded Shane VII as a half-puppets who had no real power at all.
At this moment, the powerful emperor was sitting in his own seat, looking at the intelligence sent by his subordinates with great interest. After a full minute, he couldn't help but laugh and said jokingly, "Interesting! It's really interesting! I didn't expect that after the Entanglement Talisman and Ivyklathagra were dealt with, these arrogant guys would dare to jump out. I'm beginning to admire their courage."
"No, this is not a display of courage, but a subconscious and fierce resistance after the most fundamental interests have been touched.
Believe me, even in Cormyr, which has an enlightened feudal monarchy, if the royal family with great prestige dares to announce the recovery of all noble territories, those originally loyal noble lords will immediately launch a rebellion.
After all, no one in this world would willingly give up their power and wealth.
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, the original vested interest groups in this city were still not frightened.
You have to know that authority is largely based on awe and fear.
Moreover, Kalinshan has been in chaos for too long, and many powerful people have been using conspiracies and tricks to climb up and gain more power and wealth.
They don't like being bound by laws, and they don't like having an emperor above them who can take their lives at any time.
So it seems to me that the abolition of slavery was just a trigger.
The real contradiction is that the upper ruling class that controls the wealth and social resources of Calimport wants to keep everything that exists, but you have to take it back in order to become a powerful monarch with the power of life and death. "
Zuo Si gave his unique insights with a smile.
Because when he promised Ilmater, the god of suffering, to abolish slavery, he had seriously considered the possible consequences of doing so, so he had already anticipated the current seemingly critical situation.
"Oh? Then how do you think it should be solved?" Sean VII asked with interest.
Zuo Si stroked his chin and thought for a moment before immediately responding, "It's actually very simple to deal with, just kill them all and leave no one alive.
No matter what kind of social change it is, it will inevitably satisfy the demands of one class at the expense of damaging the interests of another class.
As for the former, no matter what means are used to win them over or appease them, it is impossible to quell the resentment in their hearts, and it may even pose a huge threat to the rule.
So my suggestion is to 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 slaves who had regained their freedom, operated the 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 doing this is that it can minimize the short-term financial pressure that may be caused by the abolition of slavery. After all slaves are converted into free people, both market prosperity and tax revenue will increase exponentially.
In addition, clearing out the parasites in these countries will allow talented people in society to gain opportunities for upward mobility, especially special talents among adventurers and mercenaries.
You can also take this opportunity to cultivate more confidants who are loyal to you and reform the existing bureaucracy and military system.
Most importantly, Calimport is one of the few cities in the entire continent of Faerun that has a large number of spellcasters, craftsmen, and scholars.
With such a huge talent pool, you don't have to worry about having no one to help run the country after killing all these guys."
Upon hearing this, King Sean VII immediately burst into laughter: "Hahahaha! Well said! Originally, I was worried that you were too young. Although you control places like the Nelanther Islands and Luskan, you have no experience in dealing with such complex situations. But now it seems that you are not only a powerful spellcaster, but also an excellent ruler. After I restore the glory of the Sean Empire, I can safely hand it over to you."
"It's too early to talk about this now, isn't it? Don't forget, you haven't even taken over Calimport yet, not to mention the vast land extending eastward to the Lake of Steam. Even if you unify Calimshan, it's just the beginning. To the north, there's also Tethyr which is caught in a civil war." Zuo Si shrugged indifferently.
To be honest, he was not very interested in the Undead Emperor's proposal to build a vast empire spanning the entire west coast of Faerun through marriage.
After all, in the floating city, he owns an entire planet, and he can transform it completely according to his own ideas and will.
But what about Faerun? No matter what they do, they need to consider the reactions of the gods, as well as the monsters that can never be killed, the devils from hell, and the demons from the abyss.
But Sean VII obviously didn't think so.
His ancestor, the founder of the Shane Dynasty, Akkaba Shane the Elder, obtained the crown of the Kingdom of Tethyr through marriage and a series of conspiracies and assassinations, and completely integrated the two countries together to create an empire that was once prosperous in the history of the continent of Faerun.
Because of this, in the eyes of Shane VII, if he could establish a more powerful empire through marriage and let the blood of his descendants flow in the imperial royal family, it would definitely be a good thing that would benefit 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, thus avoiding the tragedy of its destruction again.
You have to know that over the long years, he himself had long lost interest in things like power and rule, and preferred to study profound magical knowledge and explore the endless dimensions of the universe.
Of course, another very important reason is that among the several offspring found so far, none of them is suitable to be trained as the heir to the empire.
The only male among them not only has partial orc blood, but is also infected with beastism. He will go out of control and run wild every full moon night. No country will ever allow such a person to become the supreme ruler.
His only future development direction is to be trained to become a powerful warrior or army commander.
In comparison, the situation of the five women was slightly better, and one was even trained as a scholar.
But they all lack one most basic quality, that is, strong enough personal strength.
Yes!
In the land of Faerun, which is full of conspiracies, assassinations and all kinds of terrifying monsters, personal strength is an indispensable part if you want to become the leader of a faction or even a country, and it even takes priority over other abilities.
Not to mention those mentally ill and extremely crazy devil worshippers and followers of evil gods.
For example, in the traditional feudal power of Cormyr, the kings of all dynasties were basically legendary warriors above LV20; Grand Duke Iltan, the supreme military leader of Baldur's Gate, was also a legendary warrior with impressive strength;
It goes without saying that in Waterdeep, there are several legendary wizards among the many lords, and even the worst lord has a professional level of at least LV10. Alustriel Silverhand, who rules the Silvermoon Alliance, is a legendary wizard and the chosen one of the goddess of magic.
As Agrallon, who directly faces the threat of the Red Wizards of Cyre, its current supreme leader, the "Witch Queen", is the Storm Queen Simb;
Nasir, the Lord of Neverwinter, 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 own safety; even the six-member Council of Amn, who should have no individual strength in the eyes of outsiders, has an average professional level of around LV13 to LV15.
In this world where assassination, poisoning and cursing others through magic are as frequent 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 minor magical curse, an arrow or a dagger from the shadows to kill them instantly, without even a chance for rescue.
But if it were someone with a high enough professional level, the difficulty of the above actions would be greatly increased.
Even a warrior who knows nothing about poison and magic can use his strong physique and immunity to resist for a while, waiting for the priest to come for treatment and detoxification.
Shane VII himself had been the victim of assassination attempts more than once, so he knew very well the basic qualities needed to rule a vast empire. He subconsciously glanced with a slightly disappointed look at the five female descendants standing in the corner, wearing long silk dresses and looking a little nervous.
The oldest one was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, and he always tried to hide his hands, which were calloused from long-term labor, in his sleeves.
The youngest one was only ten years old, looked very thin, and showed obvious signs of malnutrition.
It goes without saying that the future princesses of these empires generally have poor backgrounds, and some are even slaves.
It was precisely because they did not know that they had the royal blood of the Shane 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 scholarly air, who clearly stood out from the crowd.
She had the typical wheat-colored skin of the Calishites, and her pointed ears indicated her elven ancestry. She was about 1.6 meters tall. Unlike her other sisters, she was not fidgeting. Instead, she was holding a book and reading it with great interest.
Shane VII's gaze stayed on the girl's face for a few seconds, and then he said in a slightly playful tone: "The Shane Empire has the right to claim all the lands of Calimshan and Tethyr, and I am the only legitimate emperor of the empire.
So the unification war will not drag on as long as you think. As long as you win one or two decisive battles, most towns will surrender.
If all goes well, this goal can be achieved in about two years.
Rather than such a trivial matter which is not difficult at all, I am more concerned about who will be chosen as the marriage partner.
You must know that only after you make your choice can I make her my heir and provide her with a series of necessary education."
"Let's talk about this kind of thing when the time comes. I will be very busy in the next two years and I don't have the time and energy to take care of these things. What's more, marriage is originally a political means. If you haven't changed your mind by then, what difference does it make who the marriage partner is?" Zuo Si asked indifferently.
"In that case, how about I choose one for you?" Sean VII asked tentatively with a smile.
"Yes, please."
Zuo Si generously made a gesture of invitation.
"Aisha! From today on, you are the crown prince and first in line to the throne of the empire."
Shane VII announced his decision directly to the half-elf girl who was reading a book.
When the latter heard this, he froze in place, then swallowed his saliva with his throat moving up and down, and asked in a stuttering tone: "Ancestor... Ancestor, why me? I can't manage a country well, and I can't become an emperor as decisive as you."
Shane VII smiled and replied, "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 Sos, and your mission is to marry him in the future and promote the birth of a great empire."
"Ming...I understand."
The girl nodded, not quite understanding.
Because she had read a lot of books, she understood that she had no ability to resist the decision of her ancestor, or it would be useless even if she resisted.
So instead of making herself suffer, she chose to just lie down.
Anyway, the so-called "Imperial Princess" is just a tool for marriage, which has been clearly mentioned in many books.
Compared to marrying those old men or middle-aged men, Zuo Si, who looks young and knowledgeable, is obviously much better.
Seeing the girl so well-behaved and sensible, King Xiaen VII immediately showed a satisfied smile, and immediately turned to Zuo Si and said, "How is it, are you satisfied with this result? You know, Aisha is the most outstanding one among all my descendants. She is very smart, knows her limits, has the tolerance unique to Calishite women, and will never interfere with a man's private life. After a few days, I will start to train her to become a qualified mage."
"I have no reason to object. I'll do as you say." Zuo Si agreed straightforwardly.
After all, Shane VII is one of his important allies in the continent of Faerun. Maybe they can develop some more in-depth cooperation in the future. Marriage is indeed beneficial to both parties.
What's more, the marriage system in the land of Calinshan has never been monogamy, but standard polygamy.
Some nobles and wealthy businessmen have concubines whose number can even reach an astonishing three digits, and their races are even more diverse, including frost giants in the far north.
Therefore, the women of Kalinshan are often very open-minded in this regard. As long as they can ensure their own comfortable life, they don't care how many concubines their husbands have at home or how many lovers they have outside.
"Very good! That's settled then. And how should we deal with the relationship with Ilmater, the God of Suffering, and the Church of Tyr, the God of Justice? Although they openly support me now, I am not on the same side as them after all."
Shane VII asked a question that troubled him.
Even though he seemed to be at ease dealing with nobles, merchants, and the Thieves Guild, he had no experience in dealing with the gods.
Because when the Shan Dynasty collapsed, the gods' interference in the material world was far less frequent than it is now, and they did not have to spend too much effort dealing with religious conflicts.
But what about now? The mutually hostile churches often fight each other physically! Especially the followers of the Prince of Lies, Xirik, who is eager to cause chaos in the world, are all scourges in society.
If it weren't for the fact that the other party was a powerful being with a strong desire for revenge, Shane VII would have taken advantage of last night to kill all of these trash without leaving a single one alive.
Obviously, he and Zuo Si had exactly the same idea on how to deal with the Xirik Church.
"I think it's easy to deal with this, which is to give them certain law enforcement powers, but not legislative and executive powers."
Zuo Si gave the answer without even thinking about it.
He had already given careful consideration to how to use the church power of these kind 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 neutral and slightly more kind, they will choose to abide by them and actively join law enforcement agencies to become part of maintaining 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 rulers, but a lubricant that promotes stability and eases social conflicts.
After all, in the eyes of the lower-class civilians, Tyr represents absolute justice and will not favor anyone when dealing with things, so they are generally quite convinced of the judgments they make.
Having such a group of people as law enforcers can not only strengthen the government's prestige, but also curb the breeding of corruption.
Most importantly, since they have no legislative power, they do not actually hold the highest authority in the country, and cannot have any influence on decision-making. They are just a group of simple tools.
On the Maztec continent, Zuo Si used the paladins of the Knights of the Burning Heart in this way.
In Luskan, he used the same method to make these kind and lawful people serve him.
Especially the Holy Knight Kaidong, who is not only 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 a paladin apprentice.
But Zuo Si was very smart and crammed two hundred people in at once, under the pretext of providing enough students.
As we all know, training a holy warrior is a very time-consuming and laborious task.
Generally speaking, a paladin can only have two or three apprentices at a time.
Even so, the elimination rate is often as high as over 70%, not to mention leading hundreds of people at once.
After all, a paladin is not a warrior, he can become a disciple as long as he learns the combat skills.
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 instincts of living things, it is simply not something that most people can do. It requires the personal teaching of an older paladin.
But Kaidong was leading two hundred people at once, so he didn't have the 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 of law enforcement. The result was self-evident.
Not a single holy knight was trained, but instead a large number of low-level law enforcement officers who only knew how to follow procedures were produced.
Of course, Kaidong is not aware of the problem yet.
When something really happened, he realized that the students he had trained were actually very different from what he had imagined.
"I see! 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 laws to maintain the most basic order, but maintaining it often requires a high cost. The Church of Tyr, the God of Justice, can not only greatly reduce this cost, but also reduce the people's resistance to the rulers. Why not do it? Believe me, you will like them."
Just when Shane VII wanted to say something, a fat and big-eared figure suddenly walked in from outside, put one hand on his chest and bowed deeply.
"Your Majesty, as you requested, I have already investigated how many thieves guilds in Calimport are involved in this operation."
"Oh? How many?" Sean VII asked calmly.
"Ten... twelve! Except for the dock area that I control, almost all the thieves' guilds have sent out their most elite assassins."
The fat man wiped the sweat from his forehead and face with a very obscure movement, then raised his head to reveal a pair of eyes full of tension and fear.
He was none other than the leader of the Thieves Guild, Aipke, who had once worked closely with Zuo Si.
It was precisely because of this relationship that his guild was not suppressed, but instead gained a series of benefits and privileges.
However, it is obviously not easy to get these benefits. The price is the loss of independence and becoming a subordinate organization controlled by the Undead Emperor, responsible for collecting intelligence and gathering information.
If Shane VII fails in this struggle, what awaits Aipke is being besieged by all the Thieves Guilds in Calin Port.
But if he succeeds, he will become the master of the underground world of Kalin Port, truly second to none.
In the future, there might be a chance to clean up your name and become a senior official or noble and establish your own family.
In order to realize his ambition, the fat man decided to gamble his entire fortune and life after repeated consideration.
"All? This is really good news, what do you think?" Xia En VII turned his gaze to Zuo Si.
"That's good news indeed. All the enemies can't help but jump out, and now you can wipe them out in one fell swoop." Zuo Si agreed with a relaxed look on his face.
Shane VII nodded slightly. "That's right! It's time to take action. If you don't mind, can you help me deal with these annoying Thieves Guild? As the emperor of the empire, it seems a bit unbecoming of me to go into the sewers."
"No problem, it's just a small matter. Davian, go and accompany Apke."
Zuo Si gave orders to the Flame Dragon Knight standing behind him.
Obviously, he didn't want to go into the stinking sewers of Calimport, which were littered with rotting corpses and bones.
"As you wish!"
Davidian worked hard as always. He bowed to his master, then stood up and followed Apke out of the palace.
The two did not communicate at all along the way.
It was not until he walked out of the palace and returned to the territory under his control that Apke let out a long sigh, raised his head and asked in a slightly worried tone: "Sir, before we take action, I want to confirm your strength first."
Needless to say, he didn't recognize that the burly man in front of him was the soldier who had followed Zuo Si in the past.
After all, it has evolved several times, causing its appearance to change greatly.
Not to mention Apke, even the werewolf living in the wizard tower, the orc Rhett, and the dwarf berserker Korgan might not be able to recognize him if they saw him.
"You just need to tell me who to kill." Davian responded expressionlessly.
"You mean... you are so strong that you can deal with all the Thieves Guilds by yourself?" Apke opened his mouth in shock.
Although he had seen many arrogant people in his life, including the killer Artemis Entreri, whose name alone could make the entire Calim Port tremble in fear.
But this is the first time that he is so arrogant.
Just as Apke was about to tell Davian about the strength of each thieves guild, a black shadow suddenly broke out from the second-floor window of the house above his head. He held a dagger in one hand and a long sword emitting magical halo in the other, and stabbed at the fat and big-eared leader of the thieves guild at an extremely fast speed.
Because everything happened too suddenly, the bodyguards around had no time to react. They could only watch as the sword and dagger got closer and closer to their boss, and blood was about to splatter on the spot.
At this critical moment, Davian jumped up at a faster speed, swung the red dragon scale shield in his hand and rushed forward.
The next second...
Bang! Boom! The man who jumped down from the second floor was hit hard by the shield and flew five or six meters away. Then, his whole body smashed a wall nailed with wooden boards under the huge impact force, and slid along the ground and knocked down a lot of tables and chairs, scaring the guests in the tavern.
Normally, with Davidian's exaggerated strength attribute of 55 points, most "fragile" assassins would most likely suffer fractures all over their bodies, accompanied by ruptured internal organs and heavy bleeding after being hit by this blow, and should have died when they hit the ground.
But this man not only did not die, but after spitting out a large amount of dark red plasma and blood clots, he swung the dagger in his hand and started killing people in the tavern.
Every time he killed someone, his injuries would obviously improve.
After slaughtering all the living people in the 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!?"
After surviving the disaster, Apke instantly recognized the identity of the person who assassinated him and couldn't help but scream out loud.
Unfortunately, Entreri obviously did not intend to speak, but raised his left hand high.
Before anyone else could react to the meaning of this action, several drow elves 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 sunlight, one could see that the front ends of these sharp crossbow arrows were emitting a purple glow. Not only were they enchanted, but they were also obviously poisoned.
But unfortunately, these people underestimated Davidian's reaction speed.
His agility attribute of 30 points made him a real superman to some extent. He quickly raised his shield to block in front of Apke.
As expected, all the crossbow arrows were blocked by the sturdy dragon scale shield.
At this moment, Aipke's whole body was completely soaked with sweat, even his pants were wet.
Because he was not a fool, he knew 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 become a corpse after the first blow.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Apke's heart was beating violently. His eyes revealed a strong fear of death. He subconsciously activated the amulet worn around his neck.
moment!
A ring of magic [Shield] 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, his footsteps did not make any sound. He raised the rapier in his hand and wanted to pierce Apke from the back.
At the critical moment, it was Davian's high perception and blind sense from his red dragon bloodline that detected the danger. He pushed Apke to the ground and used his body to block the opponent's attack.
When the rapier collided with the red dragon armor, the former bent to ninety degrees on the spot and failed to penetrate the body at all.
"Damn it! Who are you? I don't remember there being a master like you in the Thieves Guild of Calimport."
Seeing that the sneak attack failed, the dark elf quickly retreated to a safe distance.
From the conspicuous wide-brimmed hat and the large number of rings, jewelry and amulets he wore, it was not difficult to recognize that he was Jarlaxle who had just left the Underdark not long ago.
Just as Davian was about to respond, Apke asked loudly, "Why are you here to kill me? Are you hired by other thieves' guilds?"
"Yes, you guessed it right. You know, your life is very valuable now. Whoever can successfully complete the assassination will immediately receive a reward of 200,000 gold coins. It just so happens that we need a large sum of money as start-up capital, so..."
Jarlaxle deliberately dragged out the word, and the implication was self-evident.
"Who posted the reward?"
A fierce light flashed in Aipke's eyes and he asked through gritted teeth.
"Ivo, Kevin, Antoine... all the Thieves Guilds in Calim Port have united to issue a bounty on you because you are a traitor and have violated the traditions here." Entreri replied without any emotion.
"Going against tradition? Traitor? Hahahaha! What a poor excuse! They are just jealous of me."
Apke got up from the ground and laughed sarcastically.
Davian drew out the red crystal sword hanging from his waist and assured without even turning his head: "Don't worry! No one can kill you while I'm here."
"Hehe! That's not necessarily true."
Jarlaxle suddenly grabbed the ruby pendant around his neck and activated the spell stored inside with a spell.
An orange-red fireball flew out from his fingertips and hit directly where Apke was.
"Don't even think about it!"
Davian exerted force with his legs and rushed out like an arrow, blocking the fireball's path.
Boom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With a loud bang, the dazzling flames directly engulfed him, and then he fell heavily to the ground.
Seeing this, Jarlaxle immediately sneered triumphantly: "Idiot! You actually used your body to block the fireball? I really don't know whether I should laugh at your stupidity or admire your bravery. But it doesn't matter. Now I'm going to take away the head worth 200,000 gold coins."
(End of this chapter)
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