Chapter 27

"We are willing to apologize for this matter and compensate for your losses," Mali said in a deep voice.

Jialisen showed a contemptuous smile. "Compensate for losses? You make it sound like we are robbers on the side of the road, arresting people just to earn ransom."

"She was arrested for lying, slandering my guards in public, and tarnishing the honor of the Morales Family. This is not something that can be made up for by an apology or a few gold coins."

"I didn't lie!" Xia'er said angrily. "Although I am not a noble, my father told me to be an upright person. I will not slander someone for no reason!"

"How about we both take a step back?" The old alchemist stood up to smooth things over. "We... we came to your castle with great respect, in order to solve this dispute peacefully. Why don't you set a condition and let us see how it can be achieved."

The figure on the high-backed chair seemed to be moved, his body leaned forward slightly, but then looked at his uncle again.

Jialisen was indifferent. "The honor of the Morales Family is priceless, and the laws of the principality should be respected."

"So you want to pull out the girl's tongue no matter what?"

"That's not necessarily the case."

Before the old alchemist could breathe a sigh of relief, the middle-aged noble continued, "You can also choose a trial by combat."

"What?" Liweier was stunned.

"Since both of us have our own words and no one can convince anyone, why not leave it to the gods to judge," Jialisen said slowly. "This will not only violate the laws of the principality, but also bring the truth to light. Whoever wins the martial arts can prove that the other person is lying."

"But..."

"There is no 'but'," Jialisen interrupted the old alchemist. "You sought a solution outside the law from me, and I gave you the answer, and I guarantee it is fairer than you expected. Come in, Hente!"

The middle-aged noble raised his volume at the end, and a tall figure wearing armor walked in from outside the door.

He was very big, nearly two meters tall, with lush hair, and weighed at least two hundred and twenty pounds. When he walked, his footsteps fell on the ground, making a drum-like bang, echoing in the meeting hall.

Liweier's face became unprecedentedly ugly.

Xia'er's eyes also flashed with fear. The size gap between the two was too large. The half-elf girl looked less than half the size of the guard named Hente, but soon her gaze became firm again.

"I need my bow and arrow and sword."

"Please show some mercy," the old alchemist protested. "You let a girl face an armored brown bear. What kind of trial is this?!"

"You can also choose an agent to fight for her," Jialisen said. "As long as you don't leave this castle, you can change whoever you want, or you can go up yourself."

"But this castle is full of your people. As for me, I am just an alchemist, not a mage, and I am at this age, how can I still do it with people..."

"That has nothing to do with me," the middle-aged noble turned the emerald ring on his index finger, his expression indifferent.

"I'll do it," Mali stood out.

However, he was pulled aside by Liweier as soon as he said this.

"Are you very close to the girl named Xia'er? Who is she to you? Ah, I'm not saying you shouldn't save her, but... you are the key to the revival of the Fusion Alchemy School, and it is crucial for the research of ancient alchemy. Even if it is not for yourself, from a more distant perspective, it is better not to put yourself in danger easily."

"I know, I have the confidence to defeat that guy."

"Really? How confident are you?"

"Ninety percent."

The old alchemist was still not at ease. He took off his boots and handed them over.

"Change into this. This is an alchemy creation. As long as you stomp your feet three times, you can activate the magic runes on it and release the spell of greasing the soles of your feet, making your running speed at least half faster. It can be used to save your life at critical moments."

Mali didn't refuse. Having more insurance was always good. Although it was unlikely to be used, he still took off his mountaineering boots and exchanged them with Liweier.

The old alchemist didn't pay much attention at first, just felt that Mali's boots were well-made, but his face changed after putting them on.

Liweier naturally didn't understand support and foot feel, and strictly speaking, this pair of shoes didn't fit his foot shape very well, but the old alchemist still made up his mind that he must ask Mali for the shoemaker's name and address afterward.

On the other side, Mali had also changed his boots, stood up and tried to walk two steps, feeling a little tight, but it was not a big problem.

As for the feather fall ring, he hadn't figured out how to use it, so he didn't wear it.

Xia'er was still worried about him. The half-elf girl remembered that Mali had said he was not good at fighting, and shouted at him, "This is the trouble I caused, let me solve it! Besides, how can you be sure I didn't lie? We have only known each other for two days."

"Didn't you sleep in the same room as me because you were poor last night? And I'm curious, how did you pay for dinner?"

"Well, I participated in that... tavern's seven-cup challenge, but I didn't expect the cup used for the challenge to be enlarged," the half-elf girl said with a red face. "My stomach was almost burst."

Jialisen didn't want to listen to their gossip and said to Mali, "Are you ready? If you need any armor and weapons, speak up early. I'll let people go to the armory to get them for you, so as not to spread it out and let people say that the Morales Family is bullying people."

"No need, this is fine," Mali said.

The middle-aged noble clapped his hands, signaling others to step back, leaving enough space for the two to compete.

Hente walked to Mali with big strides, stopped about five steps away from him, and then drew his weapon.

It was a two-handed greatsword, exaggerated in shape, more than 1.5 meters long, and there was a section of unsharpened sword body above the cross-guard nearly 30cm wide, and there were protrusions similar to the sword guard on it.

This design brings convenience to the user, not only can swing the sword to chop with both hands, but also can transfer the other hand to the unsharpened part of the sword guard when close to the enemy, and hold it in a "strangle" way, so as to use the two-handed sword as a short spear.

The strong man also took out a whetstone and polished the blade in front of Mali.

"I will try my best to ensure you have no pain."

Mali ignored him, drew the Type 92 pistol from his waist, followed the tutorial in the book, removed the magazine, checked the loading situation, and then pulled the sleeve twice to check the chamber.

After confirming that everything was fine, he pushed the magazine back and pulled the sleeve again to complete the loading.

Hente watched Mali's movements from the side, with a look of disapproval on his face.

"Oh, alchemist, there are always all kinds of strange little gadgets, but I really doubt whether you have a chance to use it. My sword is famous for its speed!" ===== CHAPTER 28 =====