Chapter 375

Stoll laughed. "What bullshit rules. Everyone knows our President was the one who drove off the Church of Myrkul and the Wyrm Guard and took this place first. Now suddenly it's yours?"

"If whoever discovers a place gets to own it, then I discovered the Moonshae Isles when I went to sea twenty years ago. Guess that makes me Lord of the Moonshaes."

The red-bearded man's face flushed slightly, though his dark complexion made it impossible to tell.

"That's sophistry. No one will accept an argument like that." He steadied himself, showing no sign of panic.

Durlag, the heart of the Holrewen Federation, was itself a city of adventurers. He was certain the other side wouldn't recklessly antagonize the adventuring community.

"This place had no owner to begin with. First come, first served. You can't just seize it and refuse to let anyone else in." He spoke again, determined to cling to that convention no matter what.

"Then let's see how sharp my sword is..." Stoll raised his greatsword, his expression hostile.

Anser raised a hand, signaling for him to stay calm, then lowered his hovering altitude so everyone could see him clearly.

The die slowly turned, and information on the red-bearded man appeared:

[President of the Beregost Branch of the Dessarin Adventurers' Guild, Human, Level 17 Fighter (Outlaw)]

"Everyone." He swept his gaze across the crowd, drawing everyone's attention as he spoke calmly. "This place was previously guarded by a death knight. It was extremely dangerous, and I issued a public notice warning everyone about it."

"Later, Thay, the Church of Myrkul, and the Cowled Wizards occupied the underground city. They took practically all the treasure. You should have heard about that."

"Well... that is true."

Under Anser's gaze, the red-bearded man couldn't help feeling ashamed. He couldn't bring himself to utter even half a lie.

Most of the other adventurers had heard at least some of the rumors. Even those who hadn't didn't question Anser.

"There really isn't any treasure left inside. The reason the gates were sealed is because there are undead left behind by a Thayan lich. It was done to protect you." Anser looked every bit like someone earnestly trying to talk sense into them.

"Thank you for your kindness, but adventurers aren't afraid of death." Seeing how reasonable Anser seemed, the red-bearded man couldn't help growing bolder. "We all know the risks. If something happens, we have no one to blame but ourselves."

"In that case, I won't stop you anymore." A trace of coldness flashed through Anser's eyes.

The man was taking advantage of the fact that Anser wouldn't indiscriminately slaughter people. So why should Anser stop them from throwing their own lives away?

If the Holrewen Federation wanted to grow and prosper, it absolutely couldn't leave others with the impression that it was weak and easy to bully.

"You are the most magnanimous man I've ever met. The Holrewen Federation is sure to prosper more and more with each passing day." The red-bearded man grinned broadly as he flattered him, revealing a mouthful of chipped teeth.

The other adventurers also looked delighted, as though the treasure were already beckoning to them.

"Not so fast. Before the gates are opened, I have a few things to say."

"Go ahead."

"First, when the Holrewen Federation was founded, the Wood of Sharp Teeth was incorporated into its territory, and that claim has been recognized by Waterdeep, Paros, Daggerdale, and other places."

"So this isn't unclaimed land. You're free to explore it, but you must obey Federation law." Anser was formally asserting sovereignty.

The greatest opposition to that claim came from their neighbor, Amn, but an enemy's opinion didn't matter.

"Of course, of course." The red-bearded man grumbled inwardly, though his face showed nothing but agreement.

Adventurers were here for money. Nobody cared who the place belonged to as long as it was open to them.

"Second, this castle will be open to everyone for three days. After that, it will be closed for reconstruction. I intend to build a city here, so I hope everyone understands. There's a magical wonder at the center of the castle with considerable research value. I hope none of you damage it."

"Perfectly reasonable," the red-bearded man agreed.

By adventurers' conventions, Anser had discovered these ruins first, so it was perfectly reasonable for him to claim that magical wonder or whatever it was for himself.

"Then... good luck." With a wave of his hand, Anser dispelled the Arcane Locks on the castle's doors and windows.

He then landed, cast Fly on Stoll, and led the other two away from the castle gates.

Iris leaned close to his ear and snorted softly. "You're terrible."

"What else was I supposed to do, stop them by force?" Anser curled his lip. "People never listen to advice. How are they supposed to learn their lesson without taking a few hard knocks?"

A paladin wasn't a saint. He only saved those who deserved saving!

Stoll moved closer and said cheerfully, "Heh. That's exactly what I wanted to do earlier."

He was an old hand at this, with a bellyful of dirty tricks. If Anser hadn't ordered him to guard the castle properly, he would have tricked those people into going inside himself long ago.

By then, the red-bearded man had already opened the gates. He cautiously observed the interior for a moment but saw no undead.

The other adventurers had long since run out of patience. They rushed over, each trying to squeeze inside first.

The red-bearded man had gathered so many people and taken such a huge risk. There was no way he would let someone else beat him to the prize, so he decisively led his group charging inside.

The other adventurers refused to be outdone. They poured in after them in a disorganized mob, each terrified of falling even a single step behind the others.

Anser shook his head slightly. He had gained a new understanding of adventurers as a group.

"Wait, that's not right. Where are all the undead?" Stoll scratched his bald head, looking puzzled.

Iris had previously taken him on a quick patrol through this partially sealed castle, and he remembered quite a few undead gathering near the entrance.

Some of the undead weren't unintelligent. Realizing that they had been abandoned, their desire to regain their freedom drove them to search everywhere for an exit, leaving them scattered throughout the place.

"That is a little strange." Anser rubbed his chin as the death knight inexplicably came to mind.

He had already noticed last time that the death knight's resurrection time was unusual. There was a very high chance it would resurrect again.

As the three of them wondered what was happening, shrill screams and cries for help erupted from inside the castle, all mingling into utter chaos.

Before long, adventurers came sprinting out one after another, moving even faster than when they'd gone in. Some had even thrown away their backpacks. Those who fell scrambled onward on all fours, terrified that their companions might get ahead of them.

They had gone in full of excitement and came back out in equal measure of disarray.

Undead followed close behind them, their shadowy eyes brimming with hunger for slaughter and blood.

The red-bearded man's group didn't come out. Obviously, they had charged too quickly and too deep and were now trapped inside.

"Help—!"

"President Holrewen—!"

"That bastard fooled us..."

"I was wrong! I'm an idiot..."

"..."

Anser didn't stand around putting on airs. With a spread of his dragon wings, he flew straight to the castle gates.

These undead were all his prey. He couldn't let them get away.

Stoll raised his greatsword and plunged downward. "Useless bastards!"

It wasn't that the adventurers were too weak. The undead were simply too strong. These were elites handpicked by Thay; surrounding and slaughtering a few dozen adventurers was child's play for them.

Boom—!

The greatsword crashed down, splitting a zombie in half from the top of its head. The sheer force of the blow smashed a small crater into the ground.

"Now that's more like it!"

Stoll felt immensely satisfied. The frustration that had been bottled up inside him was finally released.

Iris cast her specialty, Melf's Minute Meteors, and used her advantage in the air to chase down the undead and bombard them.

Streaks of red light cut through the dim underground space, forcibly stopping more than a dozen undead in their tracks.

Anser summoned his Wildfire Spirit in the form of a firebird and had it work with Iris and Stoll to intercept the undead.

The Wildfire Spirit was completely bound to him and was quite powerful. It had no trouble fighting independently.

Anser watched the undead and casually waved his hand, sending one Guiding Bolt after another blazing through the darkness. One or two bolts were enough to destroy an undead creature.

Not a single undead managed to make it a hundred meters from the gates on its feet.

[Target killed. Gained 107 experience points.]

[Target killed. Gained 435 experience points.]

After thirty or forty undead had died, the area around the gates fell completely silent. No more adventurers emerged, and there were no undead in sight either.

'Something's wrong. Someone is commanding them.' Anser stared into the pitch-black gateway.

A moment later, several flickering points of fire appeared within the passage.

Illuminated by the firelight, the figure of a black-armored knight emerged.

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