You Die, I Die, They Die!

The Minotaur Butler followed Landen into the Lord's Office. The first thing he saw was Ella, who was already waiting there.

As before, he was still wearing that hooded robe. The chains on his hands and feet, however, had all been removed. In fact, they had been taken off right after the successful capture of that group of hobgoblins. Even so, whenever he looked at Ella, the Minotaur Butler still found the robe extremely irritating.

Landen returned to his swivel chair and sat down. His gaze first landed on the Minotaur Butler, then shifted to Ella and lingered briefly before he said, "I've always considered myself a fairly magnanimous and benevolent lord. I wonder if you two feel the same way."

Clearly, he had no intention of letting them answer. He continued, "Of course, being magnanimous and benevolent doesn't mean being stupid. So there are some things I still have to investigate—such as the time I fell into a deep coma."

The Minotaur Butler's expression changed abruptly. Although Ella's expression couldn't be seen, the robe covering him trembled noticeably, showing his surprise.

"I know you two have things you want to say, but listen to me first." Landen waved his hand. The Minotaur Butler could only close his already widely gaping mouth, while Ella lowered his hand as well.

"I've always liked getting straight to the point, so I won't waste time this time either." Landen leaned forward, rested his elbows on the desk, crossed his hands, and propped his chin on the backs of them. He lowered his head slightly and looked at the two people opposite him from beneath his brows.

It had to be said that this posture, which often appeared in movies and television dramas—especially during interrogations—was truly extraordinary. The moment Landen adopted it, he noticed that the Minotaur Butler's bovine face stiffened another two degrees. Clearly, he had been suppressed by the aura conveyed by the pose.

"The reason I called you two here is simple. You should both know it yourselves." Maintaining this "extremely imposing and authoritative" posture, Landen said calmly, "Corona Ginger Juice was prepared by Ella, and then Old Niu brought it to me. Only the two of you came into contact with it during the entire process."

"There was naturally nothing wrong with the Corona Ginger Juice itself. The problem is that what you refined might not have been Corona Ginger Juice at all." Landen raised a finger toward Ella.

"Alternatively, you might have added something else while bringing it to me." He then pointed at the Minotaur Butler.

"So, is anyone willing to step forward and admit their mistake?" Landen asked.

"I... I..." The moment Landen finished speaking, Ella suddenly raised his hand, but he stammered so badly that he couldn't get the words out.

"So you're admitting that the reason I nearly gg smida that time was because of you?" Landen continued asking. His body leaned slightly farther forward, the fabric over his arms pushed up faintly by his muscles, as though he had already gathered his strength and could burst from behind the desk at any moment.

Although they didn't know what "gg smida" meant, they understood the meaning of Landen's entire sentence. Their reactions came immediately.

"No! No, my lord! I... I meant that the Corona Ginger Juice I refined definitely had no problems! I swear! I swear it in the name of my lord, Oghma!" Ella hurriedly raised one hand above his shoulder, formed a peculiar gesture with his five fingers, and spoke solemnly.

"Oh, so you're a follower of the God of Knowledge. That oath does seem quite sincere. Should I believe you?" Landen spoke while his gaze fell on the Minotaur Butler beside him.

"Gaze" was not quite the right word. Landen's eyes were like knives and needles, fixed relentlessly on the Minotaur Butler's face.

Silence.

After a long silence, the Minotaur Butler finally made another move.

He leaned his upper body forward in a standard ninety-degree bow and said, "My lord, Matriarch Isis personally sent me to your side to look after you. I don't believe I need to offer any further explanation."

"Not enough." Landen shook his head. "The matriarch herself has been betrayed by people she trusted before—and more than once. So that reason of yours isn't enough."

The Minotaur Butler opened his mouth and was just about to say something when Landen suddenly spoke again. "By the way, have you ever wondered why I only brought this up today, after so much time has passed? Do you really think I paid no attention to the matter at all during this period?"

The Minotaur Butler had originally been bowing. As Landen spoke, his body began to straighten. By the time he heard the question, he had just reached the halfway point—and then his body remained frozen in that posture.

Leaning forward was, of course, the posture of a bow. But it could also be the preparatory posture for charging forward with all one's strength!

The huge millstone-like battle-axe was naturally not at hand. A moment ago, the Minotaur Butler had still been preparing to cook, and then Landen had called him directly to the office. Unlike Lilith, their extravagant snake-demon beauty, he did not possess a spatial storage item, so it was naturally impossible for him to carry such a massive weapon around at all times.

However, the Minotaur race had never been a people that relied on weapons in battle. Their greatest strengths had always been their powerful limbs and their horns, which were comparable to divine weapons!

One of the Minotaur Butler's horns had apparently been broken in some battle, but even with only one remaining, it was still enough to inflict terrifying damage!

Yes, the Minotaur Butler charged out, rushing straight toward Landen!

The distance between them was less than a meter. Over that short distance, the horn on the Minotaur Butler's head, which had originally been only a few centimeters long, instantly grew beyond a meter—larger even than his head!

The entire process took only a few seconds. And after those few seconds, that enormous, terrifying horn brimming with killing intent was already in front of Landen!

Yet that single second was already enough for something else to suddenly appear in the room!

Clang!

The sound was exceptionally crisp, yet also thunderously loud, making Landen's eardrums ache.

However, that enormous horn had stopped!

Blocking it was, of course, a curved blade.

The curved blade descended from above. Then, following it, Lilith slithered down from the ceiling. With a flick of the blade, she forced the Minotaur Butler back in exactly the same posture he had used to charge forward.

Throughout the entire process, Landen remained seated in his swivel chair without moving. One of his hands, however, had already slipped beneath the desk, tightly gripping Crimson Bauhinia.

"All right. Now everything is clear." Landen spoke calmly. "I'm curious—how did my second older sister buy you off?"

The Minotaur Butler's voice sounded somewhat airy, and seemed to carry a hint of relief. "There were many of our people captured and brought to the underground world back then. I was given to you, but before that, they were given to Vivian. So this time, either you die, or I die, or they die."

His words were decisive, and so was his action. He suddenly raised both arms, seized the two horns—now restored to their original size—with his three-fingered hands, and exerted force!

A Minotaur whose horns had been torn off at the roots could not survive...

Landen sighed silently. Why couldn't he have talked a little longer? His loyalty had already risen to—ah.

"Big sister's mission is complete. Don't forget big sister's kindness from now on, okay?" Lilith, naturally unaware of his thoughts, giggled as she dragged the Minotaur Butler's corpse away with one hand.