Chương 78: The Unexpected Savior

This is getting a bit troublesome...

Richard scanned the guards with his Eye of Insight and found that only the captain was a Level 1 professional; the rest were all ordinary people.

Normally, he and Levin could easily handle this group of people.

But now they are exhausted, and if a real fight breaks out, the scene will probably be quite ugly.

In that case, we should avoid fighting as much as possible, but...

"Captain Follett, do you remember me? I'm Bill Benjamin, a priest of the Church of the Goddess of Wealth! Trust me! These men are assassins, extremely dangerous. They must be kept firmly under control!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Benjamin, I always do my duty! You lot, put down your weapons right now!"

... But it was clear that these guards knew Bill and had completely believed him.

Richard sighed softly, and seeing that Levin beside him was about to explain something, he quickly raised his hand to stop him.

Then, adopting the same righteous and indignant expression as Bill, and employing the performing skills that bards rely on for their livelihood, he said to the captain of the guard, "Fool! You've fallen for this guy's trick!"

Captain of the Guard: "?"

"You think he's Bill Benjamin? Wrong, he's actually the assassin who used shapeshifting! If you listen to him now and give him a chance, and any adult gets hurt afterwards, it will be entirely your responsibility..."

Richard simply put the hat back on Bill.

As for what explanation? What about proving one's innocence?

What a joke, anyone who does that is a fool.

Instead of proving your innocence, why not frame others? That's the charm of Lao Tzu's 18 Points—it's all about doing that!

opposite.

Seeing how natural Richard's demeanor was and how stern his words were, the captain of the guard wavered.

Thinking about it carefully, Bill's appearance is a bit strange.

The pastor I remembered was always polite and dignified, but this one was covered in mud and had a ferocious expression... Could it be that he really used a shapeshifting spell?

With my own abilities, I really can't tell the difference...

Seeing the captain of the guard hesitate, Bill grew anxious and quickly cast Healing Touch on himself: "Look at this divine spell! If I were truly a transformed assassin, how could I possibly need a divine blessing?"

Damn, I forgot about this.

Seeing that the captain of the guard was about to waver again, Richard quickly said, "Who knows what kind of magic he used to disguise himself? Captain Follett, you'd better keep your eyes open..."

For a time, the poet and the priest started a verbal war, while the captain of the guard was caught in the middle, wavering and unsure of whom to trust.

On the surface, Richard managed to turn an unfavorable situation into a stalemate through his charm and performance.

But he became increasingly anxious.

Because he knew he couldn't afford to delay any longer; the combined forces of the Church and the Phoenix family could arrive at any moment, and Grace, Hammer, and Mendel might also be in danger.

He must break this balance and enter the palace as soon as possible...

"What happened here?"

Just as everyone was arguing, a slightly muffled female voice suddenly came over.

Richard turned his head and saw a group of knights walking out of the palace gates not far away. The one in the lead was riding a white horse, wearing silver armor and a hooded helmet, and was looking at the group with curiosity.

"Oh, Your Highness, you've arrived!" The captain of the guards immediately showed a fawning expression on his face.

"We're here... Oh right, Your Highness, be careful, don't come any closer! These people might be dangerous assassins!"

After exchanging a few flattering words, he remembered the trouble he was facing and instead put on a rather deliberate act of being responsible, standing between Richard and the others and the knight.

Here.

Bill's spirits lifted again when he saw the knight arrive.

He didn't recognize the knight, but judging from the captain of the guard's attitude and the knight's equipment, he could guess that the man must be a person of high status, most likely the heir to the throne of some nearby city-state.

As the priest of the goddess of wealth, he was most adept at dealing with these born nobles!

And these born into nobility often like their church—after all, who doesn't like money?

Moreover, these people are knowledgeable and experienced, unlike that foolish guard captain who can't even recognize genuine blessing magic!

He could easily gain this person's trust quickly by leveraging his status, and then...

That damned poet deserves to be crushed!

Bill glared fiercely at Richard, then smiled at the knights and said, "Excuse me for disturbing you, I am Bill Benjamin, a priest of the Church of the Goddess of Wealth. Captain Follett is right, these people are indeed vicious..."

Richard was about to retort when he suddenly noticed the style of the armor of the knight in front.

Does it look familiar?

Well... um... I see.

He raised an eyebrow and said nothing more.

Levin and Amy, who were standing nearby, became anxious upon seeing this.

"David, refute him!"

"Believe me, it's not necessary."

"but……"

Levin and Amy were bewildered by Richard's choice and broke out in a cold sweat.

Bill, however, interpreted Richard's behavior as him resigning himself to his fate.

Ha, now that things have come to this, have you finally come to your senses?

Have you finally realized that the Church's foundation is invincible, and that victory belongs only to us, the rich and powerful, and not to you, you worthless poet?

late!

"Your Highness...!"

He continued talking to the knight, and seeing the knight nod frequently, his confidence soared. His previous frustration and embarrassment vanished, and he felt that he would be able to turn the tables and kill the knight in the next second!

And then the next second...

The knight removed her movable visor, revealing a stunningly beautiful face, framed by golden hair, resembling that of a Valkyrie. She tilted her head slightly and smiled at Richard:

"I don't know what misunderstanding exists between you, but I can assure you that these people are my friends, not dangerous assassins."

Captain of the Guard: "?"

Bill: "?!"

really.

Richard raised his hand in greeting, then said with a serious expression:

"Isabella, time is of the essence. Enough with the small talk. Levin and I need to see Ignas immediately. Also, Grace, Hammer, and Mendel are being held up at the foot of the mountain by this priest's accomplices and are in grave danger..."

That's right, the distinguished figure beneath the knight's mask is none other than Isabella, the paladin who fought alongside Richard before!

After hearing Richard's words, she stopped smiling and nodded solemnly in response.

"I understand. Leave the things down the mountain to me!"

She instructed the two knights beside her—one of whom also removed his helmet, revealing Amelie's face—to escort Richard and the others into the palace, and then personally led the remaining men down the mountain in the direction Richard had come from.

Seeing this, Richard finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Beside him, Bill's vision went black, his legs gave way, and he collapsed to his knees.