Chapter 106: A Friendly Visit

"Hah!"

Li En withdrew his fire-stained blade and flicked the blood off.

His calm gaze swept toward the dark elves nearby.

No one dared meet his eyes.

After all, two burning corpses already lay before him.

Before the Paladin's Detect Evil, most of them would glow red; the Purge never knew the meaning of holding back.

"Clang." Ignoring those cowards, Li En sheathed his sword and silently turned to leave.

This shopping trip, it seemed, was off.

He walked a hundred-plus meters, then returned to the inn named "Song of the Unreachable Silk."

Carriages of the caravan were already parked alongside, and two Spider-folk warriors guarded the door; they were better adapted to the local environment than outsiders.

This inn, with its name reeking of dark elf madness, had only three floors, was decorated quite luxuriously, and had been entirely booked by the incoming Beastman embassy.

Yet most people remained in the ground-floor hall, for many feared that if they slept alone in a room, they would never wake up.

After all, in just this short night, they had already encountered at least four waves of assassins and countless thieves.

Li En's spare sword had been chopped until its edge curled, so he could only pick up the Heroine's Sword again.

He finally understood what benefit this so-called indestructible holy sword metal truly offered; cutting all the way here was truly satisfying.

Others had encountered similar problems; this wasn't just due to the enemy's armor, but also various potions and supernatural abilities.

Li En had already encountered several "bomb-men" with self-contained poisonous blood multiple times; if he hadn't reacted quickly, he would likely already be injured.

"How's the situation?" the guard at the door asked casually.

"Not very good... They probably don't want us to leave." As Li En answered, he turned and saw a pair of eyes watching him.

He walked back into the inn's hall; beyond the tightly drawn curtains lay countless gazing eyes.

Since checking into this inn, there had already been at least dozens of watchers outside.

Hostility and unhidden killing intent were laid bare in the open.

Within the caravan, which had shrunk to about twenty people, most were very tense.

Dark elves were notorious for poisoning and murder; although no one in the caravan had died yet, they had already encountered far too many attempted murders.

"Calm down, calm down, they are still quite friendly."

Only the Magical Girl Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei in the hall was cheerfully dragging others to play cards, seemingly completely unaffected.

"Two dark elf assassins, activate poison, curse chain... wuwuwu, chain complete! Little Kuku, your Red Dragon is dead!" Only this card game itself seemed a bit subtle.

"Terrible game! Late-game Red Dragon! How can it be poisoned to death by two little thieves! I'm not playing! I'm not playing!" Kuku jumped straight onto the table, furious, perfectly embodying what it meant to not play and to be a sore loser.

Not just Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei, but also Kuku, who had grown tired of acting, had completely let themselves go.

"How could you! I just bought these cards! Local limited edition!" Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei pouted and hurriedly tried to save her newly purchased local cards.

"Overpowered cards! Terrible cards! Banished from the pool!"

They were playing "Myriad Heroes Cards," a simple card game simulating real-world professions, races, and monsters, which also included cards for cities and terrain; it was a battlefield simulation game with a long history.

Basically, any city slightly larger than average had shops for enthusiasts; and since the cost was very low and there were absolutely no copyrights, many ordinary people loved playing it.

It was also because there were no copyrights that every region had its own "local cards," such as the locally overpowered assassin and poison cards of the dark elves here.

"Li En, you're back? Did you get the cards? Come play, come play!"

"Met two waves of troublemakers before even leaving the door."

Li En sat straight back on the sofa; surprisingly, it was still warm.

The dark elves' furniture and furnishings were quite nice, both elegant and sturdy; his own armor hadn't even collapsed it.

Li En had gone out under the banner of "I'm going out to buy a pack of cards," but everyone knew he was actually testing the waters to see how far they would allow his group to walk.

He was genuinely interested in the local customs, most interested in the local shops and markets; if he could visit a mage shop, that would be even better.

But unfortunately, forget about going to the commercial street; even getting out of this street was difficult.

"Hehe, I can sell you a set. Look, this is 'Doombringer' Solor Corwin, the dark elf hero who slaughtered seven families in a single night in legend! This card is also extremely rare locally."

And Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei was still showing off the local hero cards.

It even bore an official seal, meaning it was a card recognized by the authorities (the Continental Myriad Card Association), not just a locally overpowered card that other places wouldn't accept.

Li En was speechless. Did you really think I went out to buy cards? Although I was indeed a card enthusiast and did want to collect a bit, I'm not so foolish as to be unable to distinguish the current situation.

Li En risked going out also to test the locals' attitude toward his group; some things must be personally experienced to be felt.

But the result was quite terrible... The worst part wasn't that local powers and organizations held hostility, but that even the children on the road seemed to wish to shoot him with a crossbow.

This meant that if an ambitious person truly launched a war, they would only need to incite it slightly, and the fire would spread...

"This place is a firewood pile about to explode; they might view the difficulties the city faces as trouble we caused... uh, actually, that statement isn't wrong."

Beasts and Beastmen were destined enemies, a big trouble wrapped together.

These dark elves, "exiled" by dark elf society to guard this city, were truly unlucky victims caught up in the troubles of their own race.

During this period, with monsters increasing outside, this city of theirs would certainly be under insane pressure.

As long as someone guided them, they would naturally become hateful toward surface-dwellers; moreover, this hatred could be logically justified.

Li En lay on the sofa, too lazy to think; his group seemed unable to go anywhere, stuck right here.

After entering the city last night, they had submitted a request to meet the city lord, but had received no response to date.

This was undoubtedly a quite terrible development; the key person couldn't be met, while their side was vaguely detained here, with local residents all around watching hungrily.

Miss Shaliman sighed, looking out the window; she was almost depressed.

Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei, on the other hand, looked completely relaxed; was she truly unconcerned?

"No, no, no, this is actually the best possible development." As for these things, Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei held a completely different view.

"This counts as the best?" Li En fell silent; he didn't think Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei would deceive him.

If she takes her conclusion as the premise and looks at the problem from another angle, is there something she missed before?

"Indeed, not meeting is the best way to meet."

Driven by surging hostile public opinion among both the masses and the high officials, what good could come from meeting the envoy sent by the enemy? If the two, with tempers flaring, meet under the gaze of the crowd, they will only argue louder and louder, eventually fighting under the cheers of onlookers.

If she is truly granted an audience by the City Lord, what response can she give? A promise of non-aggression? If they truly exchange harsh words, any future cooperation will be utterly impossible.

The other party did not grant an immediate audience, nor did they publicly scold the envoy to boost public opinion and prestige, nor did they directly order the envoy's detention; it is very likely they intend to conduct private transactions and cooperation.

Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei was right; this reaction of no reaction is indeed the best development.

"Come, here is your deck, the starter pack for locals, with many powerful local cards. Pity you can only play with people here."

And the unopened card pack handed over by Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei as if currying favor was the true hint.

She has been in the inn all along; how did she buy local card packs, and bought them several times?

Li En understood instantly; it seems her avatar or some proxy is active outside right now.

True transactions and negotiations often happen in the shadows.

The envoy group arrived and expressed a willingness to talk; their presence here is already sufficient.

The rest? Wait for those who wish to talk to sneak up on their own.

"Great! Come, add me."

Thus, the happy card gamer Li En returned, continuing today's card game.

To be honest, the design of these cards bears a striking resemblance to certain card games in his memory; there are hero units and common units, and although the balance is terrible, it is truly quite fun.

He was surprised to find that the card face design of his Hero Soul cards was also quite similar to these hero cards.

And with his mood relaxed, Li En could also experience the local customs.

If this place were truly a tourist city, it would be quite good; the streets are clean and strongly designed, without the smell of livestock or rotting garbage found in other cities. Statues and decorations of the Goddess holding a water pitcher can be seen everywhere; it is clearly a theocratic city.

The various interiors are also tasteful, after all, they are the Elf race, but Li En heard that Dark Elves are a short-lived race of the Elf kind, with a maximum lifespan not exceeding two hundred years, yet their reproduction and growth abilities are also standard for short-lived races; it is hard to say whether this is degeneration or evolution.

By the way, Li En has started to suspect whether the Underworld is a matriarchal clan society; the streets here are still clearly dominated by female Dark Elves, and most noble Dark Elf priests are also high officials of various families, especially where the head of a family must be their matriarch.

In a sense, this is also the problem of the former Chief Goddess Lolth, but among the current seven Dark Elf gods, there is only one male, and one of unknown race (rumored to be a slime).

As a theocratic society, the priests and nobles here can be equated.

And the gaze these Dark Elf priests cast upon Li En was not friendly, as if looking at some rare collectible.

To avoid causing any extra trouble, or perhaps Li En should not go out casually.

"Tsk, I clearly sensed those two little black dragons are right here."

But now, obviously, is not the time to complicate matters.

And the envoy group's fishing tactic did indeed have some effect; late at night, locals began to sneak up.

But the first friendly person who hurriedly came to the door was quite subtle.

"Orc (Ark) compatriots, have you come to liberate us?"

The leader of the Slave Resistance Army had secretly come; and at least seventy percent of the slaves here are various branches of beastkin.

They have been enslaved by the local Dark Elves for a long time and never gave up resistance; now hearing that people from their homeland have arrived, they naturally grew anxious.

This is undoubtedly an unexpected "trouble." If they truly agree to their rebellion, one might as well consider how to start a war between the two cities.

After the Resistance leader left in disappointment, Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei spoke.

"They are used for fishing; the Dark Elves are a very cruel race, and their slave training techniques are quite mature. Appropriately cultivating a resistance army and conducting regular 'stress relief' can effectively alleviate the slaves' will to resist."

She paused for a moment and stated an even more cruel reality.

"Perhaps it was the Dark Elves who sent them over to test us, to test our attitude."

This is only the beginning.

Next, some visitors, real or fake, came to the door, and Miss Shaliman was numb from dealing with them.

Some came to sell their fakes, some came to threaten handing over all their goods, some came to proclaim their racial superiority, and others claimed to have connections to let the envoy meet the City Lord, all liars.

Ninety-nine percent of them were meaningless; Li En had also witnessed the diversity of the Dark Elves.

But finally, near dawn, a woman wearing a cloak came to the door.

"This is the City Lord of this city, 'Daughter of the Black Blade' Verna Talabar." Under the introduction of the servants, the figure lowered her cloak; she had white hair, red eyes, and a beautiful face, yet wore an icy expression.

And the servants behind her were holding plates, on which were placed the heads of all the visitors tonight!

The true envoy, Miss Shaliman, was already pale as death.

"Welcome, welcome." And the cheerful Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei stepped forward directly, as if she did not see this bloody warning shot.

(End of Chapter)