Chương 108: Champion Knight

However, this is not Phoenix.

Who would be willing to help a bard they've just met?

Richard was troubled for a moment.

Why not try seducing a few humans, or just spend some money?

"Hey! You despicable thief! Stop right there!"

Suddenly, he heard a commotion nearby. Peeking out, he saw a man dressed in old, tattered clothes but with an unusually tall stature, leading a teenager, chasing a thin man holding a money bag.

Was my wallet stolen?

Although strictly speaking, everything in the painting is fake, and whether it is good or evil is meaningless, Richard still chose to take action.

As the skinny man passed by, he used a move from the Flowing Water Shattering Rock Fist, hooking his foot and twisting his wrist, tripping him to the ground with a snap, and also grabbing the money bag in his hand and handing it behind him.

"You, you————" The skinny man fell awkwardly, but seeing Richard's extraordinary demeanor, he didn't dare say anything and shrank back into the crowd.

A moment later, the man and the boy caught up. The man took the money bag Richard handed him, grinning broadly, "Haha! Thank you, buddy! You're a good man!"

You're welcome~ Richard answered casually and was about to turn and leave, but the next second he froze on the spot.

He had seen the man's profile with his Eye of Insight.

Name: Dunk Schneider Race: Human [Class: Warrior Iv6] [Attributes: Strength 20, Agility 13, Constitution 20, Intelligence 8, Perception 9, Charisma 9] 【————】 Wow, this panel is powerful!

Is this the stat line a professional with Iv6 should have?

Wait, what's his surname?

Just as Richard was surprised, the painting confirmed his guess: [That's right, this is the main character of the painting, the future champion ancestor of the Schneider family, and the man next to him is his attendant, who will also be the first steward of the Schneider family.]

"Hey buddy, don't rush off, I'll buy you a drink!"

Here, a warrior named Dunk grabbed Richard and walked with a silly grin toward a large tent nearby—an open-air tavern temporarily set up by small vendors to serve the spectators who came to watch the martial arts tournament.

Richard blinked, thinking, "Are you sure? Your purse isn't that heavy."

But after hesitating for a moment, he did not refuse.

Once outside the tent, the three of them found a wooden stake to sit on, bought a few glasses of ale (Richard took a sip, found it tasted like paint, and then didn't touch it anymore), and started chatting enthusiastically.

"That's right, I'm here to participate in the martial arts tournament!"

Richard Ben had hoped to use negotiation skills to get information out of Dunk, but after only two or three sentences, Dunk patted his chest and introduced himself: "Although I'm just a wandering knight right now, I believe my hard work will pay off, and I'm here for the championship!"

Upon hearing this, several patrons nearby immediately began to whisper among themselves: "Heh, according to him, everyone else is here just to compete for second place?"

"Another delusional fool—" Although it was said to be spoken softly, Richard and the others could hear it perfectly well from their positions.

Dunk's servant clenched his fists, feeling both ashamed and angry.

However, Dunk himself didn't seem to care at all. He simply took another big gulp of ale, wiped his mouth, and asked Richard with a smile, "Hey buddy, what are you doing here?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he slapped his hand and said, "Judging from how good you were just now, you wouldn't happen to be here to participate in the martial arts tournament too, would you?"

"Well—" Richard, not wanting to be seen as a rival by Dunk, quickly tried to think of a good excuse. But in the blink of an eye, Dunk slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "That would be wonderful! With someone like you as an opponent, this match would be even more exciting!"

Richard: "————" After a few seconds of stunned silence, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

The Schneider family's ancestor was surprisingly a very sunny and open-minded person, which contrasted sharply with his descendants.

In that case, some things actually become more convenient.

He then waved his hand and said to Deng Kezhi, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, brother. I'm not here to participate in the martial arts tournament. I'm here to save a young girl."

"A girl?"

Dunk paused for a moment, then leaned forward and said earnestly, "Buddy, could you elaborate? Helping women is a knight's duty, and I'd be happy to help if you need it!"

That's exactly what I wanted to hear— Richard raised an eyebrow, about to explain in detail, when he suddenly saw a hooded man carrying two petite and familiar figures bound by iron chains flash by between the tents a few dozen meters away.

If I'm not mistaken, isn't that Elsa?

But how come there are two?

"Brother, instead of just talking about that girl, why don't you come and see for yourself?"

Richard didn't have time to think much before he left those words behind, got up, and followed.

Dunk and his attendant exchanged a glance and followed closely behind.

At this moment, in the real world outside the oil painting.

The open-air tavern where Richard had just been was located in the upper right corner of the painting, so everyone saw him first drinking with Dunk and then seeing Elsa.

Marek and his sons looked somewhat embarrassed.

After all, the figure in the painting is their ancestor.

And this ancestor even became sworn brothers with that poet at the dinner table!

This scene looks incredibly awkward no matter how you look at it!

When that poet comes out, if he were to try to argue with them about who was superior, they wouldn't know how to answer!

Meanwhile, Isabella asked the high priest, "Why are there two Aisas?"

The latter replied, "There are more than two, actually more, but they are not real people; they are fragments of this little girl's soul."

"Soul fragments?"

"That's right. As I said before, the ritual can only barely stabilize the little girl's soul. In other words, as the curse continues, a small portion of her soul will still be absorbed into the painting."

The priest sighed and said, "What the vampires are doing is gathering these scattered fragments of soul together to further amplify the curse until my ritual can no longer be sustained—" Isabella understood the situation, her throat tightened, and she became even more anxious.

However, there's no point in her being anxious now.

Everything, everything — We can only rely on Richard!

Inside the oil painting.

Richard, along with Dunk and Elsa, tracked them to the back gate of the castle, where they watched as the hooded man used what appeared to be a kidnapping method to bring the girls into the castle.

During this time, the hooded man was even seen taking out a bag of blood and taking a couple of sips.

Although he didn't have the same extensive knowledge as the old pastor, Richard could guess that this must be the process by which vampires cast curses.

The two Elsas must be closely connected to the real Elsa, and are most likely symbols of the soul or spirit.

At that moment, he said to Dunk, "They are the girls I want to save—" Dunke nodded silently.

Having already developed a liking for Richard, he had no more doubts about Richard's words after witnessing this scene.

Richard then pressed on, "Brother, when you said you were willing to help me, were you serious or not?"

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