Chương 66: When the Dwarfs Met the Hobbits

"No one can completely erase their own scent..."

Levin wouldn't be able to detect the invisibility spell, but as a ranger, he also had his own techniques.

He took out some kind of powder from his pocket and put it under the hunting dog's nose. The dog sniffed it lightly, sneezed, and then widened its eyes, meowing and barking at a spot not far away.

Almost simultaneously, Grace also looked in that direction and made a gesture to Richard.

Without saying a word, Richard aimed at a point seven or eight meters above them and unleashed a shattering sonic wave!

Rumble!

Because of the great height, this spell cannot cause much harm to people on the ground, but it is enough to knock people down with its strong tremors!

Sure enough, everyone immediately heard a cry of pain and saw that a patch of weeds on the ground had been crushed by something.

"Whoever you are, show yourself!"

With a roar, Iron Hammer pounced, followed closely by the hound, Big Cat, who meowed loudly.

As for Mendel... due to his illness, he was still feeling nauseous, but he still managed to cast Entanglement, causing the area to be covered with vines.

With everyone's combined efforts, the invisible man was no longer able to escape. After being punched by the iron hammer, the magical effects on his body disappeared.

But then, to everyone's surprise, they discovered that the person opposite them was not a dangerous thief at all, but a young halfling who was not carrying any weapons and whose clothes and appearance were no different from those of an ordinary citizen!

Richard frowned, recalling information about the halflings in his mind.

This race is as short as dwarfs, but they are more agile, have a milder body odor, and possess a pair of distinctive long legs that can absorb the sound of footsteps—no wonder the hounds didn't notice anything unusual at first.

However, this race is naturally lazy and easygoing, and neither likes nor is good at fighting. Why would they come to this dangerous forest and use invisibility to steal their scrolls?

Just as Richard was wondering, the halfling spoke, his tone maniacal, like a dog that had discovered its food bowl had been used by its owners to cover firecrackers during the New Year:

"You despicable killers! You heartless bastards who've lost their conscience to gold coins! Go ahead and kill me, but one day you'll pay for your actions!"

Everyone:?

You stole our reels and then turned around and cursed us?

I've never seen such an arrogant thief!

Honest Hammer immediately retorted, "Despicable? Heartless? Damn it, I've never been insulted like this! Listen, halfling brat, I won't kill you, but if you don't apologize for your words, I swear I'll wring water out of your skinny legs!"

"Don't get excited, Hammer."

Richard sensed something was amiss, so he quickly calmed the dwarf down, took out his lute, and played a resting tune.

The music calmed the halfling down somewhat; although he was still cursing, his voice was much quieter.

Seeing this, Richard asked:

"Friend, there may be some misunderstanding between us."

"We're not killers; we're just here on a commission from the church to clear away the weeds that might cause a plague."

"And who are you? Why are you stealing our scrolls? If you have a valid reason, we won't do anything to you."

The halfling swallowed hard and scanned Richard and the other four men over and over again.

Ultimately, Richard's 18 points of charm worked; he looked directly into Richard's eyes and slowly said:

"You... you're really not assassins from the Church of the Goddess of Wealth?"

"Of course not, they offered a lot of money, but not that much."

"The church told you that purple clover causes plague?"

"Yes, is there a problem with that?"

"This is a huge problem! They're lying!"

The halfling roared and began to tell his story…

His name was Amy, and for many years he had been an assistant to a pharmacist named Camus in Phoenix.

Originally, their lives were quite ordinary.

Little did he know that a month ago, Camus accidentally discovered that the juice of purple clover had a very special effect on patients with stomach worm disease. He then had a burst of inspiration and developed a new special medicine with purple clover as the main ingredient!

Its cost is less than one-tenth of that of similar drugs on the market. As long as it is promoted, it can reduce the terrible stomach worm disease to a minor ailment that is not painful or bothersome!

After creating such a masterpiece, Camus, a believer in the goddess of wealth, immediately sought out the goddess's church, hoping to use their power to spread the potion to the widest possible audience.

At that time, the church sent a priest named Bill Benjamin to negotiate with him.

The priest praised Camus's achievements, generously granted his naming rights, and provided a large sum of gold coins, promising that the potion would soon be produced, making the stomach worm epidemic in Phoenix a thing of the past.

Camus believed this explanation, went home to wait, and then a week passed, then two weeks...

The new medicine promised by the church has never materialized.

On the contrary, the prices of older medications on the market have all increased, causing considerable hardship for many patients with limited funds.

Camus was puzzled by this and repeatedly asked the church, only to be told that the side effects still needed to be studied.

Finally, unable to resist, he concocted his own medicine and sold it to people around him...

"... Then, he was murdered by the church! I hid in the closet and witnessed it all!"

As Amy spoke, she almost burst into tears.

"Those people wanted to kill me, but they couldn't find me and assumed I had run away, so they left the house."

"I was terrified and didn't understand why the church would do this, but I forced myself to run away, planning to leave the city that night and go to a safer place."

"As soon as I got outside, I was discovered by the church. I had no choice but to keep using my treasured invisibility scrolls to escape the pursuit and leave Phoenix City."

"Next, because I was afraid to take the main road, I took a side path into the old elm grove."

"On the way, I remembered that there was a lot of purple leaves here, so I thought I would pick some to keep in reserve—because I also knew Mr. Camus's prescription, so I wanted to prepare the medicine after we got to a safe place to prove his achievements and fulfill his last wish."

"Then I met you, and saw you clearing out the purple leaves. I mistook you for the church's lackeys, and in a fit of anger..."

... So you stole something, right?

Richard frowned, unsure how to respond.

Although he harbored a natural malice towards Bill and the Church of Fortune, and felt from the beginning that something was amiss with this mission, the story told by the halfling Amy was indeed too bizarre to be easily believed.

Fortunately, They might have a very simple way to prove the story's truth or falsehood.

Richard thought this as he looked at Mendel, who was feeling nauseous...