After leaving the administrative district, Fed, who had been holding it in for a long time, finally couldn't help but ask a question.

As a "little follower" who entered the council for the first time and watched the whole process, she couldn't believe that she would hear such explosive news.

He even saw with his own eyes the person representing the top brass of Shadow Thieves being suffocated and then kicked out like a stray dog.

At this moment, the demon elf assassin finally understood how strong this young human who always had a gentle smile on his face was in his bones.

Especially when he releases that terrifying aura, he is simply an absolute tyrant who will never allow anyone to disobey his will, otherwise they will immediately suffer a catastrophic disaster.

"why not?"

Zuo Si casually threw a copper coin to a street vendor, then took a few oranges from him and gave half of them to the demon elf behind him. He continued to stroll in the bustling market and asked without turning his head: "What do you think of this gold coin city under our feet now?"

“Uh…I think it’s pretty good.

At least it's much better than when I first arrived and there were ragged children everywhere.

Nowadays most of the poor and common people can find jobs and fill their stomachs.

Especially in the past two years, the City Hall has ordered the renovation of slums and dock areas.

Many residents who used to sleep on the streets or live in dilapidated shanties now have houses that can shelter them from the wind and rain, as well as relatively clean drinking water.

I believe that many ordinary people, like me, can feel that Askatla is getting better and better. "

When saying this, there was a hint of emotion in Fed's tone.

At least of all the large towns she had seen as a slave escaper as a child, none had been comparable to the present-day Askatla.

Even the poor people at the bottom of society have the light of "hope" in their eyes, instead of being cold and numb like those in other cities, as if they had long lost their souls like the walking dead.

It is precisely because of this that this Demonic Elf Assassin did not choose to leave even after being wanted by the Shadow Thieves Guild, but wanted to live here forever until the end of his life.

"Then do you know where these policies and the current economic prosperity came from?"

Zuo Si peeled an orange, put one segment into his mouth, savoring the sweet and sour taste, and continued to ask questions with a smile on his face.

Fide was stunned for a moment, then asked tentatively in an uncertain tone: "Because of you?"

Zuo Si nodded without hesitation: "Yes, it's because of me.

Otherwise, do you think that those powerful families who control Athkatla will suddenly become so kind overnight? It is me who continuously provides more, better and cheaper goods to this city.

It was also me who stabilized the relationship with the local indigenous people of the Maztec continent, avoiding possible contradictions and conflicts between the two sides, and increasing the trade volume between the two sides year by year.

This indirectly led to a large number of workshops springing up like mushrooms after a rain, which began to absorb a large number of laborers and provide job opportunities for people at the bottom of society to support their families.

Most importantly, the goblin slaves I raised did all the dirty, tiring and extremely dangerous work at a very low price.

This also means that the original exploitation of civilians and the poor by the nobles and wealthy businessmen has been diverted to a certain extent.

After all, exploiting humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings and other races that are generally considered to be highly intelligent creatures requires bearing pressure from many aspects, including public opinion.

But goblins are different.

Even in academia, many scholars believe that they should not be classified as intelligent creatures, and are not as smart and social as magical creatures such as winter wolves and wargs.

So as long as they are not deliberately abused, tortured, or starved of food, no one will care about their life or death.

In addition, I strictly control the goblin slaves and do not allow them to enter the fields of agriculture, handicrafts and services. I deliberately create the current environment of labor shortage, forcing merchants to increase their wages and benefits.

That's why you see all this.

Why do you think the Council spent a lot of tax money to transform the slums, docks, bridges and other places where poor people gathered, building spacious and bright buildings for them, and even introducing clean drinking water? This is because the prosperous trade attracted a large number of merchants from other places, causing the price of land in the city to soar, so that even the dirty and messy areas that they looked down on before began to become profitable, and the profits were amazing.

And I just happen to be able to provide a kind of cheap building materials, which can be used to construct buildings with several or even more than ten floors, and accommodate a large number of civilians with a small amount of land.

Guess who got the freed-up land and the money from selling it after the transformation was completed?

Compared with the few families that control the Council, I have the ability, power, and desire to make this city and the entire country a better place.

In that case, why can't I be the King of Amn?

You don't think ordinary people really care who is ruling the country and what kind of political system is adopted, do you? "

Feder shook his head quickly. "No, of course they don't care. As far as I know, most ordinary people only care about how much money they can make and whether there are more or less bread, butter, cheese, eggs and sausages on the table."

“Hahahaha! See, that’s the problem.

Most people do not care about politics and do not have the ability to participate in politics.

Therefore, the legitimacy of rule does not come from family, bloodline and inheritance as many traditional land aristocrats claim.

Rather, it comes from whether the rulers or the ruling class can provide the people with a fair and stable social environment, a good life, and protection against all kinds of monsters and foreign invasions.

As far as I know, in many villages near remote mountainous areas and wastelands, local residents would rather swear allegiance to the dragons that build nests nearby than to the human nobles.

Do you know why? "

When asking this question, Zuo Si had a playful smile on his face and threw the orange peel in his hand into a trash can not far away.

"Why?"

The demon elf assassin asked back with a puzzled look.

Zuo Si replied meaningfully: “Because compared to the dragons who are only interested in gold, silver and gems, and occasionally ask for some labor, the greedy noble lords will even take away the food they depend on for survival.

In addition, after swearing allegiance to the dragon, your safety is guaranteed and you don't have to worry too much about being invaded by monsters and wild beasts.

Especially under the rule of dragons that are not so evil, cruel and tyrannical, the villagers in many villages live quite wealthy and stable lives.

This also proves my point about the legitimacy of rule.

Since people don't mind letting a dragon with devastating destructive power rule them, why would they take the so-called noble bloodline seriously?

What's more, I am playing this game of thrones according to the rules.

Through Vera's efforts, I have gained vital military power.

The next thing to do is to rebuild a strong army and watch Baldur's Gate be completely defeated and fall, with the entire Sword Coast shrouded in the shadow of Zhentil Keep's army.

When everyone is filled with fear and despair, I will stand up as a savior to shatter this huge shadow and become the hero who turns the tide in everyone's mind.

He was finally crowned king amid the cheers and support of the people, ruling all the lands south of Baldur's Gate to the border of Amn.

Following public opinion is the most correct way to gain power in the process of human beings moving from barbarism to civilization. "

"What about the nobles and wealthy merchants in Amn who monopolize wealth and power? What will happen to them in the future?"

There was a strong curiosity in Fed's eyes.

"If they are smart enough and honestly comply with the new laws and regulations, then at most they will only face a certain degree of suppression and restrictions.

I won't do anything too extreme.

After all, a prosperous country needs businessmen and more importantly, capital accumulation.

But if someone is so ignorant as to challenge my political skills...

I also don’t mind letting them completely exit the stage of history first, and in a way that is despised and infamous by everyone.

By the way, why don’t you eat oranges?

Is it because you don’t like it?”

Zuo Si stopped and glanced with interest at the fruit that the demon elf assassin had been holding in his arms for a long time without touching.

Feder smiled and shrugged his shoulders and explained, “It’s not that I don’t like it, but I’m not used to eating in places with so many people.

On the one hand, this will interfere with my reaction and judgment;

On the other hand, the smell of peeled orange peel is too strong, and it is easy to leave the smell on the body, which is not conducive to sneaking and escaping.

On the contrary, you seem to be very relaxed no matter what you do, which is really a bit strange.

As far as I know, you should have quite a few enemies, right?

Why can people shop and eat so casually on the street, as if they have no fear of being attacked suddenly? "

Zuo Si answered nonchalantly, "Because all my enemies know very well that ordinary attacks and assassinations have no effect on me.

Not to mention how low the success rate is and the serious consequences it may cause.

Even if the assassination succeeds by chance, do you think I don't have some means to transfer fatal damage and resurrect? Moreover, have you seen legendary spellcasters like Elminster, Khelben, Simb, Elastro, and Les Zastan being attacked frequently? High-level spellcasters are not warriors, thieves, and other professions that do not master magic power. It is not an easy task to really kill them.

So I never worried about being attacked or assassinated.

Because my enemies would never do such a stupid thing.

If anyone does that, he is not worthy to be my enemy."

"Why do I feel a naked discrimination against warriors, thieves, assassins and other professions from your words?"

Feder's head suddenly looked up, his face full of suspicion.

"You are too sensitive. I am just stating the facts. It is far from discrimination." Zuo Si responded with a sneer.

If he really wanted to engage in occupational discrimination, he could tell a dozen different jokes in a row to describe the miserable conditions of professions such as warriors, thieves, and assassins.

Leaving aside other things, just the ability to fly is enough to widen the gap between spellcasters and non-casters.

Take the famous "Tarasco" as an example.

For ordinary melee professions to defeat this monster that has a huge body, a solid shell, a terrifying regeneration ability, a vitality comparable to that of the legendary Dragon King, a large number of immune characteristics, and can only be killed by making wishes or miracles, they must have at least a very high professional level or even cross the legendary threshold to do so.

But for a spellcaster who has the ability to fly, he just needs to stand outside the attack range above its head and then carry out spell bombardment without restraint.

After all, the tarrasque can't fly.

Apart from passively taking the beating and helplessly raging, there was no other means of fighting back.

It is said that arcanists of the Netheril era would often seek out this giant beast, bomb it into a half-dead coma, and then calmly descend to rip open its stomach to take out the spellcasting materials they needed.

Later, after the spells of wishing and miracles were invented, high-level wizards reached a private agreement that no one would be allowed to kill the tarrasque.

They even set up a secret supervisory and protection organization in private.

Prevent this "treasure" that can provide unlimited amounts of precious spellcasting materials from being killed by ignorant fools.

For a long time, the Tarrasque was basically a living material extraction machine, which was simply too miserable.

And because it has the properties of immortality and infinite regeneration, no matter how many kidneys, hearts, stomachs, and eyeballs are removed, no matter how many times its skin is peeled off, and how many times its bones are disassembled, it will eventually recover to its original state.

Fortunately, its intelligence is only three points, and it is basically a giant magical beast that moves on instinct.

Otherwise, we must launch a "Beast Lives Matter" movement to severely denounce those greedy and evil wizards for their inhumane crimes against us.

High-level elven magic archers who also have the ability to fly can use the kite-flying tactic to kill the tarrasque.

Zuo Si had a lot of precious materials on hand, which he stripped from the magical beast by having his follower, Storm Shooter Lantis, attack every now and then.

So far, we have collected nearly a hundred complete skeleton structures.

In particular, the mechanical tarrasque made from these skeletons, flesh, internal organs and oil is simply a real war machine.

Although its size is not as terrifying as that of the fully-formed Earthshaker, its combat power is not weak at all.

In terms of flexibility, speed and nearly unlimited regeneration ability, it is incomparable to the Earth-shaking Elephant.

Now, Storm Shooter Lantis is following behind the Tarrasque.

As soon as it recovers from its near-death coma, the former will immediately appear and pin it to the ground and beat it up, then pull out its tendons, peel off its skin, and suck its marrow from its bones, over and over again until it has gathered a large army of mechanical behemoths.

Of course, Zuo Si didn't care at all about the miserable situation of the tarrasque.

All he was thinking about at the moment was how to make use of the Chaos Hound, Kozef, which had been disassembled into parts and sealed in a container.

Obviously, it is unrealistic to complete it relying solely on Shuoyou's current capabilities.

Maybe he could try it after the Shining Oil in Zariel's body, which is a fusion of divine power and divine blood, has evolved.

In this way, the two walked one after the other along the bustling streets and markets of Askatla and arrived at the dock area.

Since this is the headquarters of the Shadow Thieves Guild and also the place with the most bizarre and dangerous situation, Fed immediately became cautious and alert after arriving. He was even reluctant to speak, for fear of being recognized by the thieves who were everywhere in the streets and alleys.

After passing the tall building of the Shadow Thieves Guild headquarters, she finally couldn't help but ask, "Where are you taking me?"

"A place where you can know the truth. Don't ask so many questions, just follow me."

Zuo Si blinked mysteriously and walked straight towards the building opposite the "Gift of the Sea" tavern.

He didn't know if it was some kind of bad taste that was kicking in, but he found that he seemed to like being a "riddler" more and more.

Often only say half of what you want to say, or reveal a small amount of seemingly plausible information, and then let the other party guess for themselves.

It's really interesting to see others getting so anxious that they can't do anything about it.

Zuo Si also felt that with his current bad personality, if he lost all his abilities and returned to his original world to become an ordinary person, he would be beaten to death in a matter of minutes.

fortunately!

Fed grew up in the Shadow Thieves Guild and knew how to control his curiosity to avoid getting himself killed.

She did not ask any further questions, but followed the other party silently to the door of a mansion.

Zuo Si walked up to the door and said something to a man who looked like a guard. The latter's eyes widened instantly, and an expression of shock and disbelief suddenly appeared on his face uncontrollably.

As an observant assassin, Fed could clearly notice that in an instant, this guy's hand was on the hilt of the sword, as if he wanted to make an attack.

But in less than a second, he stopped all movements and stood there with a dull look in his eyes.

"Come on, we can go in now."

Zuo Si turned around and waved as if nothing had happened.

"Are you sure? I don't want to be seen as an intruder as soon as I walk in."

Feder finally realized that the poor security guard had been bewitched and controlled by some kind of mental magic.

"Don't worry, even if I'm treated as an intruder, I can easily handle everything. Besides, we're not here to cause trouble this time, but to make a deal."

After saying that, Zuo Si pushed open the tightly closed door and walked in.

The demon elf assassin obviously hesitated for a moment, but still followed closely behind.

However, she did not close the door. Instead, she pulled the latch to the back so that she could rush out of the house as soon as possible when she turned around and ran away.

It turned out that Fed's caution was necessary.

As soon as they entered the spacious hall of the building, several fully armed men emerged from the darkness. Some held swords, some drew bowstrings, and some had halos of arcane magic flashing on their fingertips. It was obvious that they did not welcome the two intruders.

The leading man asked in a very stern tone: "Who are you? Why did you break into our territory? What organization or force instructed you? And what happened to the people guarding the door?"

Facing this menacing appearance, Zuo Si immediately made a calming gesture and responded directly: "Don't worry about the harpist at the door, he is just temporarily controlled by magic.

As for who I am and what my purpose is, you are not worthy of knowing.

If I'm not mistaken, Elminster should be in this base now, right?

Go and tell him to come out to see me."

"Damn it! This guy is coming for Elminster!"

An elf holding a bow and arrow suddenly changed his expression and shot the arrow in his hand without hesitation.

Whoosh! With the sound of breaking through the air, the sharp enchanted arrow flew straight towards Zuo Si's face.

From the fleeting green light, it is not difficult to tell that this is either a strong acid arrow or a poison arrow.

Just the opposite!

Even the lowest-ranking Harper carries at least one or two magical items worth thousands of gold pieces.

This is why they can always defeat the strong with the weak and the majority with the few.

但是很遗憾，箭矢这种东西对左思的威胁性可以说是忽略不计。

他甚至没有使用任何魔法，而是直接凭借超高敏捷属性所带来的反应速度，一把将箭矢抓在手心里。

此刻，锋利的箭尖距离右边的眼球只有不足一公分。

只要再慢上那么一点点，说不定箭矢就已经顺着眼眶直接插进大脑。

光凭这一点就不难看出，射箭之人的职业等级绝对不会低于LV14，并且使用的弓也至少是附魔等级+3的高级货色。

否则连环绕在身体周围的偏斜力场都穿不透。

左思像丢垃圾一样把这支附魔箭矢扔在地上，用冰冷的眼神扫过这些佩戴着竖琴手大师徽章的家伙。

“看在伊尔明斯特的面子上，我原谅你们的这次冒犯。不过要是还有下一次，我保证每一个动手的人都会死的很惨。”

“你在威胁我们？”

一名穿着附魔铠甲的人类男性突然变得非常愤怒，并且展现出了非同一般的攻击性。

旁边另一位半精灵女性一把拉住他的胳膊提醒道：“冷静点！盖佛瑞！他好像认识伊尔明斯特！而且难道你没看见他徒手抓住了奥维斯射出的箭矢吗？”

“那又怎么样？我们是竖琴手！代表了正义！如果你怕的就待在这别动！我可什么都不怕！因为正义必胜！”

说着，被称之为“盖佛瑞”的男人拔出剑，像头被激怒的公牛一样冲了上去。

而他的这个举动也让其他竖琴手们不得已采取了攻击姿态。

但就在两名法师刚刚开始吟唱咒语的刹那，突然感觉自己好不容易聚集起来的能量，在某种无形力量的操控下变得异常混乱且不稳定。

还没等他们反应过来发生了什么，可怕的爆炸便如期而至。

轰！！！！！！！！！ 伴随着刺眼的蓝色火光，恐怖的能量从魔网中喷涌而出，迅速席卷了方圆十几二十米的范围。

虽然威力并不算大，但也让好几个人瞬间身受重伤，横着飞出去两三米远，撞在墙壁或是天花板上，然后哇的一声从嘴里喷出黑红色的血浆。

还有些倒霉蛋脸上和手上的皮肤呈现出大片骇人的焦黑色。

至于冲上去的盖佛瑞，先是被一记比格拜摔绊掌按倒在地，紧跟着一只脚便狠狠踩在他的右手上，发出一阵骨头断裂的咔嚓声。

“啊啊啊啊！！！！！！！！”

剧痛让这个男人忍不住发出惨叫，并且再也没办法保持抓握的动作。

“知道我最讨厌什么样的人吗？”

左思拽着衣领将这个没脑子的白痴从地上拽起来，抡起了佩戴着【暴君的铁拳】的胳膊。

“你……你不能杀我！否则伊尔明斯特是不会放过你的！”

在死亡的威胁面前，刚才还很勇的盖佛瑞终于露出了懦弱胆怯的一面。

“呵呵，你似乎搞错了什么。在我跟伊尔明斯特之间，我可不是那个弱者。还有就是我最讨厌不自量力的蠢货。”

说着，左思整条手臂的肌肉开始绷紧，魔法能量、氧气迅速涌入细胞之中，眨眼功夫便积蓄了可怕的力量。

可能是刚才魔法爆炸的声音惊动了二楼，伊尔明斯特和另外几个人终于出现在楼梯口。

看到周围一片狼藉的景象，他立刻扯着嗓子大声呼喊道：“等等！先停下听我说！这是个误会！他们并没有认出你……”

还没等对方把话说完，左思便挥出了这一拳。

瞬间！

一道肉眼几乎无法捕捉的残影闪过。

紧跟着盖佛瑞整个人像是炮弹一样向后飞了出去，脑袋在半空中就仿佛受到外力挤压的西瓜，砰的一声炸裂开。

粉红色的血浆跟白色脑花四散飞溅，甚至有许多撒在了伊尔明斯特的身上、脸上。

最后无头的尸体从他身边擦肩而过，轰的一声撞向洁白的大理石墙壁，变成一滩根本分辨不出人形的肉酱。

毫无疑问，这一击没有任何技巧可言，就是最纯粹、最野蛮的暴力。

以左思现如今的力量属性，再加上【暴君的铁拳】带来的一切攻击自动达到最高上限的效果。

别说是区区一个人类，就是巨人来了挨上一拳估计都得当场暴毙。

同样的，他也体会到了为何暴政之神班恩会那么喜欢用铁拳打人。

与使用魔法轰杀目标、拿刀剑将对方切得支离破碎都不一样，这种攻击方式更能激起潜意识中对于暴力的渴望跟宣泄。

换个简单点的说法就是更爽，更能带来感官上的强烈刺激。

施展清洁咒语将手套上沾染的鲜血和碎肉清理干净，左思这才故意装出一副不好意思的样子回应道：“抱歉，你说的太晚了。

而且我之前已经明确发出了警告，但某个白痴还是想要自己找死，那就没办法了。

另外，像这种分不清情况的家伙，早点死了对竖琴手同盟未尝不是一件好事。

不然要是惹上不该惹的人，这个秘密基地里的竖琴手恐怕都要跟着一起陪葬呢。

毕竟世界上像我这么通情达理、恩怨分明的人可不多。

最后提醒一句，你最好多制作一些我和我重要手下的画像，明确告诉竖琴手同盟的每一个人我是谁，以防止类似的情况再次发生。”

“你……你……”

伊尔明斯特气的浑身发抖，但又不知道该说些什么。

毕竟这次冲突的确是竖琴手先动的手，然后对方“被迫”做出自卫反击。

尤其是被打成肉酱的盖佛瑞，他从见到的第一天就能感觉到这家伙的心理和行事作风有问题。

但考虑到对方在安姆辛辛苦苦工作这么多年，没有功劳也有苦劳，所以并没有立刻指出。

可谁能想到这才一眨眼的功夫，盖佛瑞就被他那狂妄、自大、总是认为自己代表了正义的性格给害死了。

更让伊尔明斯特感到焦虑的是，在竖琴手同盟中像盖佛瑞这样的人并不是特例，而是一种普遍存在的现象。

或许在对付散塔林会的时候问题不大，反正对方也不是什么好人，所以手段激烈一点没什么。

但现在对付左思的时候，这些鲁莽冲动的成员明显更像是一个个不稳定的炸弹。

非但没办法给对方造成威胁，反而有可能让原本就在安姆、泰瑟尔、卡林衫一带名声不佳的竖琴手同盟，民间声望变得更加臭不可闻。

要知道竖琴手之所以能在北地无往不利，最重要的一点就是得到了广大民众的认可，觉得他们是一个代表善良、正义的组织。

当遇到困难的时候，很多平民都愿意为其提供帮助。

“伊尔明斯特！他究竟是什么人？”

被叫做奥维斯的精灵射手挣扎着从地上爬起来，满脸都是惊骇的表情。

他还是第一次见到有人敢当着阴影谷大贤者的面，毫不留情把一名竖琴手大师用拳头砸成肉酱。

那一瞬间所展现出来的恐怖力量，甚至让他觉得这个闯入者肯定是巨龙或者其他某种巨型魔法生物变化而成的。

“他就是索斯，新一代魔法女神唯一钦定的选民，同时也是我之前跟你们提到过的新敌人。”伊尔明斯特脸色阴沉的回答道。

“什么？他就是索斯！”

奥维斯瞳孔骤然放大，紧跟着突然想起了什么，继续追问道：“他怎么会知道我们在阿斯卡特拉的秘密基地？”

“我想这个问题你应该直接问他比较好。”

说着，伊尔明斯特将目光投向了左思。

后者不动声色的笑着反问道：“你该不会真觉得这个地方很隐秘吧？

实话告诉你们，我对于竖琴手在整个西海岸所有的据点和相关成员都掌握的一清二楚。

甚至有很多竖琴手成员就是我的人。

只不过看在女神的面子上，之前没有采取任何行动罢了。

不光是你们，就连散塔林会的黑暗情报网也是一样的。”

“这不可能！每一名竖琴手都要经过反复的考验！他们拥有最坚定的意志，绝对不会可能叛变，就算暂时被魔法控制也会迅速被发现。”奥维斯语气激动的咆哮道。

可左思压根就没有理会这个精灵，而是似笑非笑盯着伊尔明斯特。

伊尔明斯特脸色铁青的沉默了片刻之后，很快开口说道：“不，身为旅法师的他确实有这个能力。”

伴随着这句话脱口而出，在场所有还活着的竖琴手都纷纷张大嘴巴，有点不敢相信耳朵听到的事实。

作为一个完全靠崇高理想凝聚起来的组织，他们完全无法相信自己身边有同伴会是被敌人安插进来的间谍。

要知道成为竖琴手可不会得到任何好处，反而要经常执行各种危险的任务，搞不好还要自己倒贴钱。

如果是从利益的角度出发，根本不会有人愿意成为竖琴手。

So when the beautiful bubble of ideals is burst, everyone inevitably develops a fear of the collapse of faith.

Elminster was clearly aware of the mental state of the Harpers around him, and sighed helplessly: "Ah - Thors, let's make a deal. What should I do so that you can withdraw all the spies planted in the Harper Alliance?"

"If I'm not mistaken, you should be actively planning to repel the army of Fu Zuoer Chamberlain before I send out my troops, so that I have no legitimate excuse to annex this area, right?" Zuo Si asked, staring into the other person's eyes.

He knew very well that the old man in front of him was too smart to adopt a strategy of direct confrontation, but would instead find ways to deprive him of the legitimacy of his expansion.

As long as this is achieved, the other party will be considered the winner in this political game.

In particular, defeating the seemingly powerful army of Zhentil Keep is actually not as difficult as outsiders imagine.

Because in this magical land of Faerun, good and evil, order and chaos always maintain a dynamic balance.

This means that there are as many forces of good as there are forces of evil.

For example, there is a small village standing in a remote mountain area that has never been invaded by monsters and beasts. Maybe there is a kind metal dragon nearby that is silently guarding it in secret.

Any evil forces that want to get their hands on it must first find a way to kill this metal dragon.

In some small towns, there might be a retired adventurer with a professional level of LV13 or above living there.

On weekdays, they live and work like ordinary people, and there is nothing strange about them.

But once the town is invaded by outsiders, the invaders will soon find that they have provoked the wrong people.

Even the most ordinary warrior, when the profession level exceeds LV13, can single-handedly slaughter an entire tribe of gnolls or orcs, not to mention those professions with spellcasting abilities.

Therefore, it can be predicted that after occupying so many towns and villages, Fuzor Chamberlain must have secretly gathered a large number of enemies, among which there may be several metal dragons of the good camp alone.

What is lacking now is probably someone with enough prestige to bring them together.

Elminster, the founder of the Harper League and a man with countless allies, happens to be such a perfect candidate.

As long as he stood up and raised his arm, he could immediately gather enough people and drive Fuzol Chamberlain into the sea without even waiting for Baldur's Gate to send troops.

"You want me to stop this action in exchange?" Elminster narrowed his eyes and tested cautiously.

He was not at all surprised that Zuo Si could sense his intentions. He just felt heartbroken that such a good plan had ultimately gone to waste.

Zuo Si smiled and nodded. "Yes, you guessed it right. As long as you and the Harper Alliance don't do anything tricky in this incident, I will withdraw all the spies planted in the Harper after I complete the integration of this area."

"How do we know you'll keep your promise afterward?"

Another woman wearing the Harpist Master pin looked up and questioned.

"We can sign a contract as a guarantee. I believe you have all heard of the devil's contract?"

Zuo Si raised his hand and snapped his fingers, instantly creating out of thin air a parchment scroll that smelled of sulfur and was covered in tiny handwriting.

But before the human woman could reach out her hand to take the scroll, Elminster stepped forward and interrupted, "No need to sign the contract. I believe you will fulfill your promise."

"So you agree?"

Zuo Si smiled like a winner.

Because no matter what choice the other party makes, he will definitely win this game.

If the original plan had been carried out, the idealism that had sustained the Harpers would have slowly faded, and they would have eventually evolved into an organization filled with internal chaos and a constant struggle for power.

If he chose to give up, Zuo Si would be able to get rid of the interference of the Harpist Alliance and advance his plan in an orderly manner.

"Ah! I agree. I can't believe you would force me to make a choice in this way."

Elminster took out his pipe, stuffed a large amount of tobacco into it, then lit it and took a deep puff, trying to use this method to calm the violent fluctuations in his heart.

Zuo Si shrugged and replied, "Because I know you too well.

As an idealist and perfectionist, when ideals conflict with reality, you will always choose to save the former.

Because in your cognition and values, ideals, beliefs and the like are far more important than life.

I am the exact opposite of you.

I believe that reality is more important than ideals. Things in the future are too far away and not worth spending too much time and energy on. The most important thing is to grasp the present.

As for ideals and beliefs, although they are great and can provide people with spiritual guidance, they are far less important to most ordinary people than the bread and sausages on the plate. "

"So you despise ideals?"

Elminster frowned subconsciously.

Zuo Si shook his head gently and corrected him, “No, I respect ideals, but I don’t want them to drift too high or too far and become an unrealistic fantasy.

In addition, in my opinion, most idealists have flaws in character and thinking, and these flaws are very huge.

And this defect itself is the most fatal weakness.

Only a very small number of mature idealists who understand the importance of reality are qualified to change the world.

The choice you made just now, and the reactions of senior members of the Harper Alliance, just prove that you are immature and even a little naive.

The reason why you were able to achieve successive victories against organizations such as the Zhentarim and the Cult of the Dragon in the past was mainly because the enemies you faced were too low-level.

But from now on, I guarantee that you will constantly be forced to choose between ideals and reality.

I do not intend to destroy your bodies, because that would be too easy and too boring.

Of course, the premise is that you don't seek death.

What I want to destroy is the spirit, ideals and beliefs, and make every harpist believe from the bottom of their hearts that what they did before was wrong.

You represent neither kindness nor justice. As for the so-called theory of maintaining balance through interference, it is ridiculous to the extreme.

Perhaps the Harpers had good intentions, but the cruelest thing in this world is that many self-righteous good intentions will eventually turn into a disaster.

The Dawn Blight, brought about by the Morninglord Lathander, is a vivid example of this."

There is no doubt that these words deeply hurt every Harper ally present, even Elminster's most sensitive nerve.

Many people showed angry or horrified expressions.

Because for idealists, death is not scary. What is scary is that their ideals and everything they believe in are destroyed by reality...

(End of this chapter)