Its popularity even surpassed that of the Zhentil Fort army that was invading the West Heartland region in just a few days, and became the most concerning issue for all parties.
After all, this 150-meter-long super-giant Purgatory Red Dragon is the first to appear on the continent of Faerun.
Countless people want to find out where Wilmes came from and why he grew to such an exaggerated and amazing size.
The purpose of the good forces gathering information is to determine how big a threat she poses;
Those in the evil camp want to find a way to make all dragons bigger, stronger, and more destructive; the druids who advocate neutrality hope to find out whether this red dragon is a normal evolution or has been integrated with some unnatural and strange bloodline.
All of a sudden, a large number of outsiders suddenly poured into Zazesipo, the city closest to the Xingxuan Mountains.
Many hostile forces also began to fight openly and secretly in the city. Almost every morning, several or even dozens of unrecognizable corpses were carried out from the streets.
Given the poor governance of the Zazesipo Noble Council, it was clear that there was no good way to deal with this kind of struggle involving factions, ideas, and doctrines.
They can only do some superficial work and allow the other party to treat their territory as a battlefield.
Because compared to these "small things" that will not threaten their own rule, they have more deadly and severe situations to face.
That is King Shane VII and his huge army coming from the south.
When they first learned that Mannon, the most important port city on the west coast of Kalinshan, had been captured, the Noble Council of Zazesipo also showed a certain degree of tension and vigilance, but they always felt that there was still the city of Mylatma in front of them, so the problem was not too big.
Especially the ruler of Myratma, Count Wix Target, has been doing great business in maritime trade in recent years.
Not only did he repay a large amount of foreign debt he had previously borrowed, but he also accumulated a huge fortune.
His private army can be said to be well-trained. They have been advancing steadily along the Is River and have captured large tracts of fertile land with water irrigation.
Whether in terms of economy or military, they can be regarded as the most powerful aristocratic force in the Kingdom of Tethyr, without a doubt.
Even those dukes were just younger brothers in front of him.
Many people believe that Earl Wicks Target is the man most likely to end the civil war and unify the country as a strong man.
In addition, with the tall and sturdy walls of Myratma, even if it was besieged by the army of Shayen VII, it would be able to hold out for several months or even years.
But who could have imagined that when Shane VII's army arrived, Wicks Target had no intention of resisting at all. He directly declared unconditional surrender and accepted the rule of the Shane Empire.
This action instantly shocked the nobles of the entire Kingdom of Tesser.
The noble council of Zazesibo was even more dumbfounded and was completely caught off guard.
What was even more terrible was that after announcing the surrender, Wicks Targett seamlessly led his original army to turn north and cooperate with Shane VII's fleet to encircle Zazesibo by land and sea.
This series of actions can be described as flowing smoothly.
Even a fool wouldn't believe that the two parties had not reached any secret agreement before.
But there is no point in discussing this now.
The Council of Nobles must make a decision before the enemy arrives at the city: whether to resist to the end or choose to become part of the Shane Empire again.
At least legally, Shane VII did have an undisputed claim to the entire Kingdom of Tethyr.
Moreover, even if we take a step back and consider his bloodline, he is more qualified to inherit the throne than the Rhineton family, to which the queen nominally belongs.
Therefore, voluntarily surrendering is not something unacceptable or shameful, and ordinary people do not have any strong resistance to it.
The only problem now is that the Council of Nobles is unsure whether King Shane VII will continue to recognize their lands and privileges after he unifies Calimshan and Tethyr.
You must know that the founder of the Shane Empire, old Akaba Shane, after stealing the throne of Tethyr through a series of insidious and despicable means, carried out repeated cleansing of the original aristocratic forces in this land for decades until there was no longer any resistance.
The brutal methods used by Shane VII to overthrow slavery in Kalinshan and eliminate the entire nobility and slave-owning class made many people worry that he would most likely follow his ancestors and do the same thing.
Of course, these people don’t know that their worries are completely unnecessary.
Because after receiving the information sent by Vera, the powerful Undead Emperor has decided to plow through the entire nobility of the Kingdom of Tethyr and completely wipe them out at the root.
Anyway, it won't be him who will rule this land in the future.
Since Zuo Si said that he had a way to solve the management problem after the disappearance of the nobles, what was there for him to hesitate about? He could just start killing them directly.
Count Wicks Target had secretly defected to Zuo Si a long time ago, and he would definitely enter the core and become a new noble of the empire in the future, so he didn't care about the lives of other nobles in the Tessel region at all.
It can be said that the two hit it off immediately.
In addition, in the process of cleaning up the nobles, the huge wealth accumulated by them over hundreds or even thousands of years can also be confiscated.
As long as it is announced that a portion of the money will be used to reward the army, the soldiers' combat enthusiasm will immediately increase by several levels, and the rest can be put into their own pockets.
Why not do such a good thing that kills two birds with one stone?
In comparison, such a small matter as the nobles uniting to organize a rebellion was nothing.
As for Elminster and the Harpist Alliance who like to do things in secret, Shane VII plans to let the law enforcement department composed of the God of Justice, the God of Suffering and the Church of the God of Loyalty and Courage deal with them.
Since having in-depth exchanges with Zuo Si, the Undead Emperor has learned how to suppress those forces that do not obey his rule by dividing the camps.
Although the two organizations above can be classified as kind as a whole, they do not get along with each other.
The Lawful Good Church of Gods believes that the Harpers are a bunch of psychopaths who do things without rules and without considering the consequences. They are extremely irresponsible and can basically be equated with dangerous criminals.
Chaotic good Harpers feel that lawful good paladins and clerics are rigid, inflexible, and dogmatic. By the time they find evidence and go through the complicated legal process, the bad guys will probably have already disappeared.
So this wave of operations is to use the forces of order to fight against the forces of chaos.
No problem! At the moment, the nobles of Zazesibo have held several emergency meetings in a row, eager to discuss a result.
But unfortunately, the division caused by the long-term civil war has caused them to have deep resentment towards each other, and if there are people who support a proposal, there will inevitably be people who oppose it.
In the end, no agreement could be reached except quarreling and swearing.
After listening to meaningless nonsense for several hours, Marilyn Harleston, feeling dizzy and confused, finally broke down and turned to leave the parliament hall, which once symbolized the country's highest power.
She didn't stay on the street for too long and went straight back to her hotel, intending to reunite with her companions first.
As a member of the "Eight Greats of Tethyr" adventure group and an active promoter of the "Recover Tethyr" movement, Marilyn and her teammates expelled the greedy and corrupt Duke Nividan Ilehon from their territory in the northeast region in DR1351.
Two years later, in DR 1353, Ernest Garroglas's reign in Ysmond ended in much the same way.
The members of the adventure group believed that as long as they eliminated all the "unqualified" nobles, the remaining nobles would reunite around the royal family, and the civil war in Tethyr would end and peace would be restored.
It has to be said that this is a typical feudal aristocratic way of thinking.
In the eyes of these guys, maintaining the stability of a country basically depends on the relationship between the great aristocratic families and whether they can mediate the conflicts between them.
As for the civilians...
They know nothing about politics. They just obey the rule of their lords and just want to have food to eat and not starve to death.
Marilyn, who calls herself a patriot, obviously does not like the period when Tesser was ruled by the Shane Empire, and considers it a symbol of shame.
So she is a determined rebel, hoping that the nobles can unite to resist the invasion of the Kalinshan people.
It's a pity that although she also has aristocratic blood, she also played a certain role in mediating conflicts among aristocrats.
但在把持议会的老牌贵族眼中，仍旧不过是个连领地和爵位都没有的“低贱”冒险者，根本没资格在贵族议会中发言。
就这样，带着一肚子的愤怒和憋屈，玛丽莲回到了居住的旅店。
才刚一进门，早已等候多时的哈瑞德三世便猛地从椅子上站起来，用充满期待的语气问：“如何？贵族议会那边讨论出什么结果了吗？”
玛丽莲一把夺过对方手里的酒杯仰起头一饮而尽，然后重重的叹了口气，愁眉不展的抱怨道：“唉——别提了，简直一团糟。
几位公爵之间因为相互敌对的关系，只要有一方赞成另外一方就一定反对。
他们根本不在乎这个国家怎么样，满脑子想的都是如何保住乃至扩张自己的领地、获取更多的权力。
如果夏恩七世的军队真打过来，我觉得主张投降的那一派肯定会主动打开城门。”
“你的意思是扎泽司泊肯定守不住了？”
哈瑞德三世脸色顿时变得异常难看。
要知道为了给贵族议会通风报信，让这座泰瑟尔王国的首都有充足时间进行战争准备。
他和另外几名队友可是冒着巨大的风险对卡林衫的军队进行了侦查，甚至还使用了许多魔法卷轴跟药剂。
可谁知道到头来居然是这样的结果。
更重要的是，一旦扎泽司泊陷落，将会极大打击泰瑟尔境内贵族们的抵抗意志。
“我觉得够呛。
你应该很清楚，扎泽司泊城内只有差不多四千名守军。
而夏恩七世的军团则有至少三万，威克斯·塔吉特伯爵也有接近七千军队。
除此之外，他们还拥有许多可以打造攻城器械的工匠，以及成建制的法师团。
如果贵族议会提前发布命令进行紧急动员，把军队数量扩充到一万五千人，或许团结一致还有守住的可能。
但现在嘛，我甚至不确定这一仗究竟能不能打起来。”
在说这番话的时候，玛丽莲语气中带着赤裸裸毫不掩饰的失望。
“该死！这可真是个糟糕透顶的坏消息。”
哈瑞德三世忍不住低声咒骂了一句，整个人就像是被瞬间抽干了了力气瘫坐回椅子上，两眼无神的望着天花板。
玛丽莲也苦笑着附和道：“是啊，的确是个糟糕到不能再糟糕的消息了。
现在唯一的希望就是去见威克斯·塔吉特伯爵的劳安莎·希伦迪亚和希尔瓦努斯·月落，能够说动这位迈拉特玛的统治者，让他加入我们这一边，然后调转方向去攻击夏恩七世。
如果失败的话，那么王国靠近西海岸最富庶的地区就会瞬间沦陷。
而我们也只能前往东边的内陆，去说服剩下的贵族联合起来组成联军做最后的拼死一搏。
说实话，我现在开始有点后悔，当初把你从伊尔明斯特身边劝回来了。”
“别这么说。
我当初选择回来，也是为了想要为自己的故乡做点事情。
另外，我们在前些年不是一直做得很好吗？
可谁能想到已经销声匿迹了那么多年的夏恩七世突然间复辟。
不仅杀掉了强大的蓝龙之王艾薇柯拉撒格兰，同时还在短时间内统一了卡林衫，并向北方的泰瑟尔进军。
要是能再给我们十年时间……
不！ 也许五年就足够了！
我们便能把分裂的泰瑟尔整合起来抵挡他的入侵。”
哈瑞德三世语气中明显带着强烈的不甘与愤恨。
毕竟从DR1351年回到泰瑟尔开始，他已经为了结束内战统一国家这个目标奋斗了十多年。
可在即将成功的时候，突然被外部势力横插一脚，眼看着所有的努力和心血全部都要白费，换成谁都无法接受。
试问人生中能有几个十年？ 而且还是在思想最成熟、精力最充沛的壮年。
玛丽莲当然知道这位好友此刻的心情，用略带无奈的语气说道：“自从动荡之年结束后，这个世界正在以超出我们理解的速度变化。
不管是南方夏恩七世复辟，还是北方安姆、博德之门和西哈特兰德地区正在发生的事情，都让我有一种恍如隔世的感觉。
有时候我真觉得自己年纪大了，有点不太适合继续从事这种四处游荡的冒险生活。
对了，伊尔明斯特对现如今的局势有什么建议吗？
我知道你和他一直都保持着书信往来。”
哈瑞德三世扶着额头反问道：“你确定想要听这些？他和竖琴手同盟给出的消息可不太客观。换句话说，我们要面对的敌人可不仅仅是夏恩七世。”
“什么？！”
玛丽莲猛然间从椅子上坐了起来，满脸都是惊骇的表情。
要知道一个夏恩七世就已经让她感到身心俱疲，甚至产生了一种无论怎样挣扎最终结果都必然是失败的悲观情绪。
可哈瑞德三世却丝毫没有察觉到这一点，自顾自的解释道：“根据伊尔明斯特给出的最新情报，整个费伦大陆西海岸最近这几年发生的剧变，其实都跟一个人有关。
这个人就是索斯，剧毒与疾病女神塔洛娜和魔法女神共同的选民，掌控着从剑湾到宝剑海的水上霸主，路斯坎和耐兰瑟尔群岛的主人。
当然，过段时间可能还要再加上安姆，以及从博德之门到巨龙海岸的广袤土地。
就连夏恩七世统一卡林衫和泰瑟尔的军事行动，最终目的也是为了通过联姻的方式，让他合法的兼并泰瑟尔与卡林衫，建立起庞大的西海岸帝国。
还记得那个被立为皇储的半精灵少女阿依莎吗？
她就是未来夏恩帝国的女皇，同时也是一个用来联姻的工具。”
“该死！照你这么说，我们岂不是从四面八方都被包围了吗？那抵抗下去还有什么意义呢？”玛丽莲死死攥着拳头质问道。
“别问我，我也不清楚。
反正伊尔明斯特说我们不能就这样让对方轻而易举的得逞。
必须要想方设法破坏这个庞大帝国的诞生。
更何况泰瑟尔是我们的故乡。
如果连我们都不努力维系它的存在，还有谁会愿意为它流血呢？ 希望劳安莎·希伦迪亚和希尔瓦努斯·月落能带回好消息吧。”
说完这句话，哈瑞德三世便不再理会对方，而是又给自己倒了一杯烈酒，想要用酒精来麻痹自己的神经，同时发泄心中的苦闷。
……
与此同时，远在距离扎泽司泊一百多公里之外的主干道上，威克斯·塔吉特伯爵正在会见“泰瑟尔八杰”冒险团中的另外两名成员。
其中背着弓箭的男性精灵，不用问也知道就是希尔瓦努斯·月落。
而另外一名人类女性则是玛丽莲的好友——劳安莎·希伦迪亚。
两人没有任何废话，一见面就表达了自己此行的意图，并且尝试着晓以大义想要唤醒这位实力强大贵族的“良知”和“正义感”，使其调转枪口一致对外。
不得不说，他们的胆子很大、也非常有勇气。
除了有点没脑子，其他的一切都挺好。
威克斯·塔吉特伯爵甚至都不知道该如何形容自己此刻的心情，抬起头注视着对方的眼睛问：“所以你们大老远跑过来，就是想要靠空口白话劝我临阵倒戈？
没有任何好处和承诺，更没有来自贵族议会的授权？
究竟是你们太愚蠢且狂妄自大，还是觉得我像个傻子？ 又或者你们对自己的口才很有信心？”
瞬间！
希尔瓦努斯跟劳安莎都傻了眼。
他们完全没想到，一番连自己都快要感动的话说出来之后，居然会是这样的结果。
劳安莎更是忍不住质问道：“伯爵大人！您难道对自己泰瑟尔王国贵族的身份没一丁点认同感吗？难道不觉的自己应该为了荣耀而战么？”
“为了荣耀而战？
哈哈哈哈！
你们能别逗我发笑吗？ 泰瑟尔的贵族但凡还有一丁点的荣耀，就不会陷入长达几十年的动荡与内战。
事实上，真正有荣誉感的贵族和氏族，早就已经在老阿卡巴·夏恩掌控这个国家的时候死光了。
现如今的贵族，无一例外都是当年匍匐在地上向夏恩帝国宣誓效忠者的后代。
所以像我一样主动献上忠诚为夏恩七世陛下而战，才是唯一可以终结内乱的方法。”
威克斯·塔吉特伯爵毫不留情的从根源上反驳了眼前这两个造访者，并把对方噎得半天说不出话来。
毕竟夏恩帝国的历史要比独立后的泰瑟尔王国长的多。
After a long silence, the elf Sylvanus took a deep breath and asked tentatively: "So you have made up your mind to be loyal to King Shane VII?"
Earl Wicks Target nodded without hesitation: "Yes! No matter who you represent or what your intentions are, I can tell you that no one can stop the army of His Majesty King Shane VII. Now get out of here and disappear from my sight."
Just as these words came out of his mouth, the elf Sylvanus suddenly pulled out a sharp dagger from his sleeve without any warning and rushed straight towards the army commander in front of him.
It was not difficult to tell from his crazy posture that he intended to assassinate Wicks Target directly in order to cause civil strife in the army.
But just when this guy thought he was going to succeed, he suddenly saw a black shadow appear out of nowhere.
The next second...
The elf instantly lost consciousness, and his body fell face up to the ground, then quickly rotted and disintegrated, eventually turning into a pile of white bones.
"Sylvanus!"
Lao Ansha shouted her companions' names in horror.
But just half a second later, she also lost consciousness instantly, and her body fell to the ground and quickly rotted and decomposed, leaving only a pile of white bones.
Just by looking at the almost bizarre way of death, one can tell that the souls of these two guys were forcibly captured.
The black shadow that appeared out of nowhere was none other than Shane VII himself, the half-lich.
After killing two members of the "Eight Heroes of Tethyr" adventure group, he just gently hooked his fingers, and a pin suddenly flew out of the elf's skeleton.
After a quick inspection, Shane VII sneered and mocked, "It turns out that he is an assassin from the Harper Alliance. It seems that what Soth said is right. Elminster and his followers only have this shady skill left."
"The Harper's Assassin?!"
Wicks Target's pupils suddenly dilated, obviously he had heard about the battle records of these lawless guys.
"Well! From now on you have to be careful. Not only must you take protective measures, but you must also never meet anyone alone." Xia En VII reminded casually.
"But...but why did they want to assassinate me? I didn't do anything against the law!"
Weeks Target was obviously frightened and asked incoherently.
King Shane VII answered without hesitation: "Because not long ago, your master Soth had completely broken up with Elminster, the founder of the Harper Alliance. From now on, they will fight each other as enemies."
"I don't understand! Aren't they all chosen by the Magic Goddess? Why would they fall out?"
Weeks Target was obviously confused and had no idea of the reason or logic.
“Who told you that believers and the chosen people of the same God will definitely live in harmony?
There are many cases of opposition and hatred between people for various reasons.
Given that Thors tends to be lawful evil, it is only natural for him to confront the chaotic good Elminster.
I wonder how he could have endured it for so long before turning against me.
But don't worry too much, the Harpist is not as scary as you think.
Later I will make you a magical device that can read and detect other people's thoughts.
When the time comes, when you wear it, you will be able to identify who the assassins sent by the Harper are."
While saying this, Sean VII closed his eyes and showed an expression of enjoyment.
Without asking, one could tell that he was devouring and digesting the two souls he had just captured.
There is no doubt that this unsuccessful assassination attempt was not instigated by the Harper leaders, but was an unauthorized act of the elf Sylvanus.
For harpists, as long as they think the time is right or it is the right thing to do, they can choose to take action.
It is this unpredictability that makes it hard to guard against, and makes the Harpist Assassin's glorious and fearsome record so terrifying.
But this time, they will face the methods of the Undead Emperor Shane VII. No matter how many of them come, they will eventually die.
In addition, the unsuccessful assassination also gave Earl Wicks Target a perfect excuse for war.
Anyway, no matter what the other party's true identity is, he just put it on the head of the Zazesipo Noble Council. He, who was originally a little lacking in confidence, instantly became righteous.
What’s even worse is that the adventuring team of “Eight Heroes of Tethyr”, which were once the guests of honor, immediately became the rats crossing the street that everyone wanted to kill.
In particular, the Council of Nobles, upon learning of the situation, immediately ordered the capture of the remaining members of the adventure group throughout the city, making it clear that they wanted to use the latter's heads to appease the anger of Earl Wicks Target.
In desperation, Harry III, Marilyn and others had to flee the city overnight.
Just as they were about to head inland to continue calling on the nobles to rise up in resistance, they suddenly discovered that under the midnight moonlight, they could vaguely see a person standing in the middle of the road not far away.
Before Marilyn could ask, the mysterious man hidden in the cloak slowly raised his head.
moment!
Everyone present saw the terrifying light flashing in those eyes.
"Hello, members of the Tethyr Eight Adventure Team. You may not know me, but that doesn't matter, since you are all going to die soon anyway."
As he spoke, the mysterious man took off his hood to reveal a young face with black hair and black eyes. It was Zuo Si himself, who had come all the way from Amn to wipe out the root of the problem.
Because he clearly remembered that without his interference, it was the members of this adventure team who finally succeeded in pulling the Kingdom of Tethyr out of the civil war through a series of means.
Among them, Harold III seems to have married the current queen and become the supreme ruler, while Marilyn became the wife of Duke Dorian Harleston and also a diplomatic ambassador with arbitrary decision-making power.
Since Elminster intends to use the power of this group of people to oppose him, Zuo Si will not hesitate to kill them all without leaving a single one alive.
"Are you here to kill us?"
Marilyn quickly drew her sword and raised her shield, taking a defensive stance.
Zuo Si nodded slightly. "That's right. You have hindered King Shane VII's plan to conquer Tethyr, and you have also hindered my plan to establish the West Coast Empire. So I have no choice but to ask you to die here to avoid causing too many unnecessary civilian casualties."
"Damn it! He's Soth!"
Harry III obviously recognized the young man standing in front of him and loudly reminded his teammates around him.
"What?!"
Marilyn was stunned for a moment.
Just when she was about to say something, a green light instantly shot out from Zuo Si's fingertips and accurately hit the shoulder that was not blocked by the shield.
In a flash, this woman with a high warrior level turned into a pile of green powder and dust.
Even people who don't know much about arcane magic can easily recognize that this is a six-ring disintegration spell.
If it fails to hold on, it will be reduced to ashes in minutes, without even a physical entity left.
"Asshole! He actually killed Marilyn!"
A sturdy man with short black hair immediately became extremely furious, his eyes began to turn bloodshot, he drew his weapon and charged forward.
Since the two sides were only a dozen meters apart, he arrived close in the blink of an eye, using the explosive power brought by his anger to split Zuo Si directly in half.
In the opinion of several other people, if a mage was approached by a high-level warrior and had no protective magic, there was a high probability that he would be killed instantly.
But in less than a second, the cruel reality shattered all their delusions.
Zuo Si raised his gloved left hand at incredible speed and steadily caught the opponent's powerful blow without even moving his upper body.
"You think you can rush over and kill me to avenge your dead teammates? Naive! In fact, my attainments in swordsmanship are much better than all of you combined."
As these words came out of his mouth, a dazzling cold light suddenly flashed in the air.
Phew!
The man who initiated the attack didn't see anything clearly before he found out in disbelief that his body had been cut in half. The part below his buttocks fell to the ground with a thud. A large amount of blood and intestines gushed out of the wound, and severe pain rushed into his brain, making him unable to help but howl in pain.
“Aa ...
"Considering that I still have a lot of things to do and I'm in a hurry, I'll let you die quickly today. Remember to be grateful, after all, I didn't torture anyone, nor did I detain and imprison your souls."
As he said that, Zuo Si swung his hand and smashed the guy's head with a punch, ending his painful struggle.
When Harry III saw this extremely bloody scene, his already shaken psychological defenses instantly collapsed. He immediately turned around and ran wildly, while loudly reminding the remaining teammates: "Run! Run! We have no chance of winning in a head-on battle!"
After his reminder, the other team members came to their senses and went into the surrounding woods.
Unfortunately, before they could run far, the Eight Heroes of Tesser were hit one after another by powerful attack spells, and soon turned into broken corpses that were either incomplete or burnt black.
Harry III could even hear the screams of his companions behind him, but he didn't dare to look back or stop, he just kept running.
He simply couldn't believe that such a terrifying enemy would personally come and hunt down the members of the adventure team.
The overwhelming magical power and melee combat level displayed by Zuo Si made this man, who had been Elminster's scribe for a long time, feel real despair for the first time.
Grief!
fear!
trembling!
Hared III now deeply regretted being persuaded by Marilyn to return to Tethyr.
Because if he hadn't come back, they wouldn't have encountered the current huge crisis, and the adventure team's companions wouldn't have died.
I don't know how long I ran...
Maybe it's a few minutes, maybe it's more than ten minutes or even half an hour.
In short, when Harry III felt that his lungs were about to explode, his muscles felt an indescribable soreness and swelling, and he no longer had any strength in his body, he stumbled and fell on the grass, gasping for breath.
Just when he thought he had escaped successfully, he suddenly saw a familiar face falling from the sky, and commented with a smile: "Seven kilometers, you ran a full seven kilometers in half an hour.
I have to say, as a spellcaster with not very good physical strength, your strong will to survive is admirable.
But the question is, if you are so afraid of death, why do you come back to the Kingdom of Tethyr?
After all, the reason why adventure is called adventure is that it is very dangerous.
No adventurer knows whether he will die in an accident in the next second.
And as Elminster's scribe, you should have enough knowledge and insight to understand what it means to be involved in politics.
There is no right or wrong in politics, only stance and winning or losing.
The loser often loses everything, including his life.”
"You're right. Political struggles are always cruel and bloody. But if it were you, after more than ten years of hard work, you were just a little bit away from achieving your ambitions and wishes. Would you give up easily?"
Harry III struggled to get up and asked excitedly.
"I will! Because without any confidence or trump card, I will actively provoke an enemy who is countless times stronger than myself.
This is something only lunatics and psychopaths would do.
I am a rational and calm person, so I won't make the same mistake as you.
Just the opposite!
I will pretend to surrender and submit, then slowly accumulate strength, collect the opponent's weaknesses, and then look for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack and seize everything.
And you are a typical example of being blinded by power and ambition and ultimately making a wrong decision.
Tell me, what assurances did Elminster give you that made you think you could fight me?
Will he show up when your life is in danger?"
As he spoke, Zuo Si pursed his lips and looked around, but did not find any trace of magical fluctuations.
Hared III responded with a sad smile: “No, Elminster made no promises.
It's just that the Harpers will provide some help when necessary.
But now it seems that he misjudged your behavior and thought you would not attack us directly."
Zuo Si smiled and spread his hands: "Haha, see, this is the biggest difference between him and me.
He always thinks highly of himself and thinks he should not bully the weak, so he tries to influence others with words and thoughts to achieve his own goals.
But I don't mind killing the enemies with my own hands, no matter what their reasons are or how weak they are.
After all, it's not my fault that I'm too powerful! Why should I take the initiative to limit myself, right?
Look at what Elminster has achieved after so many years of self-restraint. Countless young red wizards and newcomers to the Zhentarim want to defeat or even kill him in order to gain a greater reputation.
But have you ever seen a new member of the Harper Alliance dare to challenge Sazastan or Manshoon?"
"So you think Elminster is a big fool?"
Perhaps knowing that he was doomed, Harry III simply began to let himself go, and even lost the slightest respect for his former mentor and employer.
“I’m not a fool, but I’m definitely a pedant.
After all, strength is something that needs to be demonstrated frequently and at the right time, so that everyone can clearly see how powerful you are, and how cold-blooded and cruel you are when dealing with your enemies.
You know, mortals are often forgetful.
If you don't remind them often, they will think you are weak and start to test you.
At this time, you need to kill a few chickens to let the monkeys know the consequences of provoking them.
Unfortunately, you are now a chicken that will be slaughtered as a warning to other monkeys."
After saying that, Zuo Si reached out and grabbed the other person's hair and lifted him up.
The sudden pain made Hared III groan, but he quickly held it back and continued to ask: "If Elminster appeared now, would you still kill me?"
Zuo Si answered directly: "Yes!
And I will execute you in a more cruel and bloody way! Because if I want to kill someone, I can't stop him with his power.
Secondly, if he shows up and I let you go, wouldn't that make the monkeys watching think that I'm afraid of Elminster? So no matter what, you're dead.
However, as a token of my appreciation for your strong desire to live, I will now allow you to choose a less painful way to die."
"I'll choose beheading. I heard that this way of death only requires enduring pain for no more than a minute."
Hared III slowly closed his eyes and waited for death to come.
But at this last moment of his life, a portal suddenly opened out of nowhere, and then the Great Sage of Shadow Valley finally appeared and said in a very tired tone: "Sos, let's make a deal."
"Hahahaha! I knew you wouldn't give up on your former scribe."
Zuo Si put down the sword in his hand and burst into laughter.
There is no doubt that he just said so much nonsense and delayed for such a long time just to give the other party enough time to think.
You have to know that a scribe in Elminster is not an ordinary job, but is more like a butler, friend, apprentice, or half a family member.
Given the nostalgic nature of this old man, how could he watch Harry III being killed?
"So you have been waiting for me all this time?" Elminster's eyes flashed with vigilance.
"That's right! Otherwise, why do you think I killed everyone else so quickly, but only let this scribe live until now? Is it just a simple act of bad taste?"
Zuo Si gave a decisive affirmative answer and at the same time released his hand that was holding the prisoner's hair.
He is now looking forward to seeing what conditions the other party will offer, or what price the other party is willing to pay, in exchange for the life of Harry III.
Besides that, he was also very curious about what kind of emotions Hared III had towards Elminster after he survived? Was he grateful?
Or maybe they were immersed in the anger and even hatred that the other party had for watching the other members of the adventure team die one by one! It would be very interesting if this could turn the two of them against each other...
(End of this chapter)