Chương 49: We meet again, Miss Paladin

There are people ahead!

And... they?

Could it be referring to Grace?

Richard frowned, slowed his pace, and approached cautiously.

Although he couldn't stealth, the environment was dim, and the people in front of him were focused on their conversation, so he managed to get within five steps without being detected.

Then he squatted down on the spot and secretly observed.

But a few meters away, there was a sudden, square pit on the ground, which looked like some kind of triggered trap.

The surface of the pit was deliberately covered with an iron fence that had been removed from somewhere, and four guards stood beside it, holding weapons such as spears and bows and arrows, watching the pit warily.

It's as if they're preventing something from running out.

Just then, a guard with a bow and arrow spoke up—judging from his voice, he was the one who had just reminded his companion to be alert.

He leaned closer and said to the area below the iron fence:

"Hey, you two, isn't it about time you gave up?"

"You have no hope, and no one will come to save you."

"And aren't you thirsty? Aren't you hungry? Lord Harald said that as long as you lay down your weapons and surrender obediently, we will treat you like the most honored guests!"

A few seconds later, a woman's voice rang out from the bottom of the pit:

"You are the ones who should give up."

"Hope resides in our hearts and remains unchanged by external circumstances. No matter how dark the night, dawn will eventually come."

"And you, you villains who irrigate evil spirits with your own blood, thinking yourselves so smug, are nothing more than reserve sacrifices in your boss's eyes. Sooner or later, you too will be sent to the altar and your souls will be annihilated!"

Upon hearing this, the guard, who had originally intended to persuade the others to surrender, widened his eyes and angrily shouted, "Shut up!"

Richard, who was eavesdropping nearby, also stared wide-eyed.

This woman's voice... sounds familiar!

Isabella Swain, is that you?

at the same time.

Down in the deep pit.

After Isabella finished her tirade, she retreated to the horizontal depression at the bottom of the pit. This was partly to prevent the guards from throwing stones in anger, and partly to secretly grip her sword and gather strength so that she could retaliate if they actually threw stones.

This won't help her escape, but it will at least teach the guards a lesson.

Beside her, the black-haired girl, Amelie, with reddened eyes, whispered, "I'm sorry, Your Highness. It's all my fault for being careless and not noticing the hidden door, which led to your humiliation..."

Isabella turned around, pinched Amélie's cheek, and said softly:

"It's okay. Accidents happen during battle. What you really need to do is not dwell on regret, but simply remember this lesson."

"Besides, although this is a dead end, there is plenty of space. Those cultists don't dare to come down, so we still have a chance to continue to deal with them."

"Even if we can't manage to win in the end, we have teleportation scrolls, so we can leave whenever we want."

Amélie lowered her head: "But wouldn't all our previous efforts be wasted?"

Yes, it's all for nothing.

That's why I've been refraining from using the reel.

But then again, how exactly do we break this deadlock?

Isabella squinted, staring at the top of the pit.

With her and Amelie's abilities, climbing out of this pit shouldn't be a problem.

With weapons at our disposal, breaking down that makeshift iron fence wouldn't be difficult at all.

But they couldn't do this despite the guards' interference, especially now that their stomachs were empty.

If you're not careful during the process and get hit by a spear or an arrow, things will become even more complicated.

After thinking for a long time, Isabella still couldn't come up with a solution; her elegant yet spirited brows furrowed even more deeply...

Suddenly, she heard some strange noises coming from above.

What happened?

Could it be...!

Richard took action.

He pulled out a smoke bomb and, mimicking the dwarf's appearance from his memory, threw it on the ground.

"Cough cough! Damn it, who threw this thing away like that!"

In an instant, smoke filled the passageway, and the guards coughed from the smoke, but they assumed that one of their fools had accidentally messed up the props.

Richard, however, seized the opportunity to approach the nearest spearman, first covering his mouth, then aiming at his back, his white sword flashing as his red sword flashed, swiftly finishing him off!

Although he wasn't a thief, he did know a little bit about backstabbing!

[Experience points +2] After taking care of the first person, he immediately approached the archer next to him. The archer noticed something was wrong and swung his bow down like a stick.

But this was hardly an attack for Richard, who knew the Water Stream Rock Smash Fist. He easily dodged it and then unleashed the Wild Dance Slash!

Pfft!

[Experience points +2] The blade pierced flesh, the body fell to the ground, and only two guards remained.

At this moment, the smoke dissipated slightly, and the two men saw Richard's appearance, their faces immediately filled with panic.

"Intruders!"

"Damn it, how could he have found this place!"

How else could I have found it? I just stumbled upon it by accident, guided by a book...

Richard took a deep breath and unleashed a flurry of movements!

His body instantly became a blur, first dodging the arrows shot by the guards with his killer instinct, then chanting a spell at double speed and striking the archer with a maniacal laugh.

Taking advantage of the moment when the man was laughing so hard he couldn't stand up, he suddenly charged at the last one holding a spear, unleashing another flurry of attacks while cursing:

"Does your mother know you work in such a dark place? Or does she simply not care about you at all?"

"Hey! My mom isn't... damn it!"

The man opposite him was clearly a warrior of some rank. Seeing that Richard was too close and his spear was inconvenient to use, he decisively threw it away, drew his short sword from his waist, and attempted to engage in close combat.

However, Richard's cursing made him somewhat dazed.

With the added power of his rapid-fire attacks, Richard's already dazzling slashes became even more difficult to defend against.

Ultimately, his plan completely failed, and Richard slit his throat with a rising dragon strike from below.

[Experience points +4] Then Richard approached the archer who was still laughing loudly and thrust his sword down.

[Experience points +2] With that, all the guards were dealt with.

Richard breathed a sigh of relief and walked to the edge of the pit.

But as soon as he stood still, he saw a flash of red light, and the iron fence was instantly cut open.

Immediately, Isabella and Amelie climbed out of the pit one after the other.

"It really is you, Miss Sven."

Richard quickly stepped forward and pulled them apart, while observing the two people who had been separated for more than half a month.

Unlike their usual appearance in the tavern, they were now fully armed.

Isabella had her blonde hair tied in a ponytail, wore an obviously expensive silver-white knight's armor, and carried a two-handed greatsword on her back that seemed completely out of place with her slender figure.

Amélie had cut her hair short, gripped a dagger, and wore a dark purple suit of armor that clung to her body... Richard couldn't tell what material it was made of, but the Eye of Insight gave it a very rare rating.

But compared to their luxurious equipment, they looked tired and disheveled.

"I never expected to see you here, Mr. Poet. You can just call me Isabella."

Despite this, the Paladin's words remained calm and composed, and she gave Richard a beautiful crescent-shaped smile: "Thank you for saving us..."