Chương 93: New Teammates and World Map

"Who are you? Are you also friends of that poet?"

"A mere loaf of bread has no right to ask questions!"

"Wait, I have money—" Ping pong!

A few minutes later.

"Is this all the Imperials' ambushes are capable of?"

"This fat guy has a lot of gear, but his strength is far too weak—ugh, and his blood is so greasy!"

"How about I get you some garlic to cut through the greasiness?"

"Are you serious?"

"Alright, let's stop wasting time here. We have important things to do—" The three vampires easily dealt with Oliver's low-level servant, drained most of Oliver's blood, and left him deep in the alley.

Completely unaware of who they had just killed, they turned and left to continue their pursuit of the Ash Duke's bloodline.

Standing there, on his deathbed, Oliver gazed at the sky, unable to believe that this was his fate.

I should have brought more guards.

I should have known better than to seek revenge on that poet.

I should have eaten more cold food at night and ended up collapsing in the toilet!

Why is all this happening?!

As the stars twinkled, the current head of the Phoenix family died in the slums.

This not only drastically changed the situation in Phoenix, but also indirectly spread the fame of a certain "Robin Hood" further—after all, many people believed that his death was inextricably linked to Robin Hood.

Richard was unaware of all of the above.

A little over a day after leaving Phoenix, he and Isabella arrived in Creektree Town, east of the city, and met the guards summoned by the princess in the town's tavern.

Richard glanced at them and found that there were about ten people, who could be roughly divided into two different groups.

The group was clearly made up of adventurers or mercenaries. The leader was a burly man with a thick beard who was 1. 9 meters tall. His Eye of Insight showed that he was a level 8 warrior. The rest of them were also fully armed and probably all of the same profession, such as warriors, rangers, barbarians, or thieves.

The other group consisted of three siblings, one man and two women, all around thirty years old, with red hair and baby faces, looking remarkably alike. They were also dressed in luxurious clothes and had an elegant demeanor, forming a stark contrast to the adventurers in the tavern.

Looking at their professions, the man is a level 9 mage, and the two women are a priest and a warlock, both at level 7.

Goodness, all my brothers and sisters are spellcasters.

Let me introduce myself.

Isabella then looked at the bearded man and said, "This is Holcher Vanha, the leader of the Iron Axe Mercenary Group. He and his men have fought for the Empire for many years, and they are trustworthy in both ability and loyalty."

"You flatter me, my most beloved prince. I merely did what I should do. As a glorious citizen of the empire, one should dedicate one's heart to the great empire—" Holcher faced Isabella and made an exaggerated bowing gesture, which, combined with his nearly two-meter-tall physique, gave him a comical look, like a brown bear performing in a circus.

At the same time, he uttered a string of compliments. Despite his rough voice, his vocabulary was so rich that Richard, as an observer, couldn't help but scratch his toes.

Fortunately, Isabella was able to maintain her composure. As an imperial princess, she had heard this kind of flattery countless times. She immediately and tactfully stopped Holcher, turning to the three siblings and saying, "These three are from the Pegoti family in the southern border of the empire. The elder brother is named Jon, the current Baron Pegoti, and the two younger sisters are Josie and Jonia. I studied Elvish with them in the capital—"

"They've been traveling in the Gulf region for the past few years; it's quite close, so I called them over—" As Isabella introduced them, the three siblings smiled and greeted everyone. Among them, Johnny even crossed her arms in front of her chest, making a religious gesture.

Richard paused for a moment before realizing that this was a unique ritual of the Church of the Earth Mother—after all, Phoenix was a free port, and there were very few believers of the Earth Mother in the city.

Isabella then introduced Richard and the others, and that's how they got to know each other.

After the initial meeting, given the time constraints, the group didn't linger at the tavern to bond, but quickly packed their bags and set off again.

On the way, Isabella gathered several key figures together and had Jon Peggotty use the 0th-tier Trickster's Hand to conjure a map out of thin air in front of everyone to facilitate explaining the route.

Richard blinked, then suddenly realized that this seemed to be the first time he had ever seen a world map of Terella.

The diagram above fully depicts the inverted trapezoidal ancestral continent, as well as a series of islands to the south, including Twin Islands.

The southwestern edge of this continent is the bay region where everyone is located. Further east, after crossing the long Dragon Tooth Mountain Range where Red Mountain City and Stubborn Stone Fortress are located, lies the Miracle Plain in the center of the continent.

The plain is bordered by hills and grasslands on the north and south sides, but in the middle is a vast desert.

In the eastern part of the plain, there is a place called Silver City, which is prominently marked. Further east, the land is painted a light red to indicate that it is the territory of the Empire.

Good heavens.

From this perspective, the empire occupies nearly a quarter of the entire continent.

Just as Richard was sighing, Isabella pointed to the map and said, "Our destination is Silver City in the western border of the Empire. There are more than two Master-level professionals there, enough to deter vampires, and enough manpower to escort us to the capital."

"To get there, there are roughly two paths to choose from, one going up and one going down, corresponding to the north and south sides of the Miracle Plains respectively."

"The south side is closer and has better road conditions, but it's also easier to be spotted, so I arranged for the Pegasus Mercenary Group to go there to attract the vampires' attention."

"We will take the north route, which is a longer way, but there are more hidden paths along the way, and we can also pass by Count Schneider's Longgun Fortress, which is heavily guarded and rich in supplies, making it an ideal place to rest."

"These are my thoughts. Do you have any suggestions?"

No one objected; they all nodded in agreement. Holcher even sang a hymn once again, saying that His Highness's strategies were extraordinary, and that his admiration for him was like a surging river, endless and unstoppable, like the overflowing of the Emerald River.

Even Isabella was starting to get nervous and quickly stopped them, urging everyone to hurry and focus on their journey.

They rushed until nightfall.

The group happened to come to a small river, so they immediately set up camp and were lucky enough to hunt two deer that were drinking water (deer: I don't think I'm lucky), which they used for dinner.

After roasting the deer over the campfire, Holcher removed the best parts of the leg and tenderloin and respectfully handed them to Isabella and her daughter Cinderella.

"Um, thank you, but we can't eat all of this—" The mother and daughter were not used to this scene, especially Elsa, whose little gray head was shaking from side to side, and she looked like she was about to leave a blur.

Isabella immediately cut the meat into smaller pieces and had Amelie distribute them to everyone, to show that everyone had something good to share.

However, instinctively, she kept the best piece and personally handed it to Richard, who was sitting next to her.

Upon seeing this, the three siblings of the Peiguoti family were somewhat surprised.

Holcher's jaw dropped to the floor.

He glanced at Isabella's expression, then at Richard's seat, and finally at Richard's appearance and the lute on his back. His brow furrowed, and he remained silent for a long time.

Richard noticed the other person's gaze and immediately sensed something was wrong.

This mercenary leader is clearly trying to woo Isabella, but without much success. Could this be causing him to become jealous, leading to a series of classic scenes of provocation and humiliation?

He was mentally prepared.

Sure enough, that very night, Holcher and his deputy sneaked into his tent.

Richard sighed softly, preparing to face the other party's provocation.

Then---- Holcher suddenly bent over almost ninety degrees and grabbed his hand with a fawning smile!