Cunning Risadiran

The Noldo Elf glanced at the several big, burly men. A flash of contempt seemed to pass through his eyes, but he immediately turned to Li Ang and put on a frightened expression.

"I told you, would you guarantee that you'll let me go?"

Li Ang tilted his head and said nothing, staring at the Noldo Elf until that less-than-sincere look of fear gradually faded from his face.

"I feel like anyone who answers with a question like that probably isn't going to tell the truth... Forget it, who the hell cares who wants to kill me... Kloze, cripple him, then clock out and get some sleep..."

The lord suddenly seemed to have lost interest in questioning him. He yawned, turned around, and walked away.

"Yes, my lord!"

Kloze looked delighted. He hadn't expected to be able to clock out so soon; he'd thought they would be busy all night.

"Don't kill him... Tomorrow, find a noble and sell him. This pointy-eared fellow should fetch a good price... He's so pretty, he'll definitely appeal to both men and women..."

Li Ang was deliberately bluffing—he figured the elf would not be so easily persuaded to tell the truth, but a little intimidation might make him accidentally let something slip.

So the lord yawned and turned to leave.

Several burly men closed in with vicious grins, grabbing his arms and twisting his legs with considerable brutality.

"Don't, don't, don't! I'll talk! I'll talk... It was the Crimson Brotherhood! I took the job at a tavern!"

The elven assassin struggled desperately, looking as though he was about to lose his mind.

Li Ang didn't believe that bullshit at all. He turned back slowly. "That's the same as saying nothing..."

"I don't know the employer! Employers don't give their names for jobs like this! Don't touch me..."

The lord sighed and turned to leave again. "Looks like he's just a small fry... Then there's even less reason to question him..."

"Don't! Don't be like this... What do you want to know? What do you want? I'm a top-tier assassin. I can get intelligence, and I can solve any problem for you!"

Seeing that Li Ang really was leaving and apparently had no intention of wasting time on him, the assassin cried out.

"Tch, you couldn't even handle me, yet you're still boasting so shamelessly..." The lord scoffed at such bragging. He had already reached Alice's side, but he turned around in the end.

The Noldo Elf nodded, looking much more sincere. "This afternoon, I merely mistook you for someone else... Otherwise, you would already have..."

Li Ang's expression darkened. "Hm?"

"What I mean is... you must have divine protection... I swear I will never make another move against you!"

This Noldo Elf changed his tune rather quickly.

Li Ang pulled out the silver arrow from his saddlebag, his expression still grim. "What's your name?"

"Risadiran."

Li Ang nodded and waved the arrow in his hand. "All right, Teddy. You should know the consequences of that arrow. Murder must be repaid with a life, debts must be repaid with money—it's only natural..."

Risadiran froze for a moment, but he did not care about the name Li Ang had called him. "Indeed. I shot one of your subordinates dead... There is a treasure in my waterskin that I can use as compensation. And I can serve you until I have repaid my debt of life. Human lords are always at odds with one another. I believe you will need my abilities."

This time, his attitude seemed fairly sincere. He had even begun using an honorific, yet he still spoke remarkably lightly of a human life. And he was clearly very confident, likely believing that anyone struck by his arrow was certain to die.

Li Ang frowned and gestured for the burly men to tie Risadiran up first, lest he try anything.

After binding Risadiran tightly, Kloze reached out and took off his waterskin. He unscrewed the leather container and held it upside down, pouring its contents onto the ground. Along with the stream of water fell something that looked like a gemstone.

It appeared to be an irregular gem streaked with blue and purple. It gave off a faint glow beneath the firelight, looking crystal-clear yet strangely sinister.

"What is this?"

Everyone's gaze was drawn to the gemstone.

"Dragon Tear! The tear of a dragon! It is a treasure produced only when a true dragon experiences an irresistible sorrow!"

Risadiran's voice still sounded sincere, and his gaze remained fixed on the gemstone.

"A dragon's tear? But I heard dragons cannot feel sorrow... They say they went extinct precisely because they had no emotions..."

It was Ansen speaking. He could not sleep at all, and upon hearing the commotion outside, he had thrown on some clothes and come out.

Risadiran seemed to curl his lips. "Precisely because of that, Dragon Tears are all the more precious..."

The burly men were clearly seeing such a treasure for the first time as well. They passed it around and played with it for a while, marveling at it in wonder.

"Pfft... Neigh!"

At that moment, Alice, the golden-maned horse, suddenly snorted violently. She even reared up and cried out, "Neigh! Neigh!" as though she had been frightened by something.

"Alice?"

Li Ang glanced at the horse. Her nostrils twitched as she whinnied.

Li Ang immediately realized what was happening. He covered his mouth and nose, then reached out to stop Ansen, who was about to walk over. "Don't go over there! It's poisonous!"

Then he whipped his head around and caught a glimpse of cunning in Risadiran's eyes.

He also saw the several burly men beside the Noldo Elf, who had been examining the treasure, suddenly collapse limply as if they had been possessed.

And Risadiran, who had appeared to be tied up and long since incapable of resisting, suddenly sprang into the air. He threw a curved knife no longer than a finger at Ansen, then swiftly snatched up a sword from beside him.

No one knew where he had hidden that little knife. In such a short time, he had silently cut through the ropes binding him!

This elf was truly skilled and extremely cunning. He had seen that Ansen had little fighting ability, so he deliberately threw the knife at the weakest person present!

Yet the airborne elf nearly fell the moment he landed. He even dropped his sword and reached back to clutch his rear once more...

His handsome face twisted painfully into a bitter-melon grimace.

Then he immediately spun around, abandoning the sword on the ground, clamping his legs together and covering his backside as he bounced away toward the woods in a frantic escape.

Even so, he remained nimble and incredibly fast—though his posture now made him look more like a wild deer.

As for Li Ang, he had to save Ansen first and had no time to give chase immediately.

By the time Li Ang swung his sword to block the dagger for Ansen and then turned to pursue Risadiran, it already seemed too late. He had fallen more than ten meters behind.

After that delay, Risadiran was already about to disappear into the woods.

Though he was running with his legs clamped together, the moment he darted into the forest, his clothes and armor rapidly blended in with the trees. His equipment provided excellent camouflage in the woods.

When Li Ang reached the edge of the forest, he no longer dared to charge inside—he had completely lost sight of Risadiran.

That elf was like a ghost in the forest, truly beyond anything a human could match. Who knew how that guy could run so fast with his legs clamped together?

And after only those few steps of pursuit, Li Ang felt a little dizzy.

Though he had covered his nose with one hand, he could not hold his breath forever. He had been mildly poisoned as well.

No one had expected that, despite being so cautious, they would still let Risadiran escape... He truly was a top-tier assassin!

Everyone had been extremely careful. Kloze had even poured the gems directly onto the ground, yet they had still taken effect!

Ansen had already covered his mouth and nose with his clothes as he carefully picked up that "gem."

Li Ang turned back and gestured for Ansen to put the "gem" back into the waterskin.

Just as the gem was tossed into the waterskin and the cork was tightly fastened, Alice, the golden-maned horse, snorted through her nostrils. Then she let out a soft neigh, stamped her hooves, and pawed at the ground.

She also tugged at the reins with her neck—clearly signaling for her master to let her go.