Master Halsin

Although arrogant and conceited Eruien was detestable, Marvin still felt somewhat wistful seeing him reduced to this fate.

Not long ago, he had been a "hero" adventuring with his harem. Now, he was about to become cannon fodder in the Blood War. Amid the endless slaughter of devils and demons, his scrawny body would not last more than a few seconds before being ground into pulp.

That was why, in a place like Faerûn, one had to be cautious in dealing with others. Falling from heaven into hell could happen in the space of a single thought.

Though Marvin reflected on Eruien's fate, he had no sympathy for the man. Instead, he wanted to squeeze out every last bit of his value.

He said to Ahli, "That toy of yours is wearing some rather valuable equipment. Since he's already changed from a fighter into a warlock, he has no use for his old gear anymore. According to supplementary clause 2.2.1 of the contract, your servant's property..."

"All right, stop reciting it..."

The Cambion woman held her forehead. Whenever she heard the word "contract" from Marvin's mouth, her head began to ache faintly.

A devil developing post-traumatic stress disorder over signing contracts was truly a rare sight.

"Toy, strip your armor."

At Ahli's command, Eruien obediently removed his armor, then took off his sword, belt, gloves, boots, rings, necklace, and all his other equipment in one go.

"Slicked-back Hair has been drooling over that mithral plate armor for ages. When he sees all this gear, he'll be dancing with joy and singing Waukeen's praises." Marvin smiled.

In the battle against Ahli, Marvin had contributed the most and naturally deserved the greatest share of the spoils.

But keeping everything for himself was not a good idea.

The equipment Eruien had dropped would be treated as shared loot for the party.

No matter how close the Goddess Body Fragrance Squad was to him, if too many situations like "my brothers drive Audis while I ride an electric scooter" arose, negative feelings like jealousy would inevitably take root.

Hearts changed easily, human nature was fragile, and relationships had to be maintained with care.

"All right, Master, I should be going. I'm looking forward to our next meeting."

Ahli opened a portal and left with her toy.

Better not meet again.

Marvin summoned a Tenser's Floating Disk, then used Mage Hand to load Eruien's equipment onto it.

He arrived at the dining hall and found everyone there.

Miss Wuke sat with one leg crossed over the other, elegantly holding a teacup. Behind her stood a tiefling girl, her hands and feet bound in magical chains.

"This is..."

"The Sacred Eternal Sun Squad is finished. She is the only one whose destination has yet to be decided. I believe that while her betrayal of Eruien was understandable, she still violated morality and the law.

"So I've decided to take her to Elturel and let law and justice determine her fate.

"Besides, this can help us establish ties with the Shining Blade Family. If we can gain a foothold in Elturel through this, the Infennar Family will not miss such an opportunity."

It seemed Miss Wuke was truly determined to change her family's ways. More than a century ago, anyone who heard Red Wizards speaking of law and justice would probably have had their jaw drop.

Marvin had no interest whatsoever in Miss Wuke's plans to revive the Infennar Family.

He turned to Slicked-back Hair and pointed at the equipment on the floating disk.

"The devil matter is settled for now. All of Eruien's equipment has become our spoils. Let's appraise it first, then divide it up."

Slicked-back Hair sprang from his seat with a look of delighted surprise. "May the goddess bless you, my generous friend. The Goddess Body Fragrance Squad will become your most loyal companion. Whatever you need in the future, we will do everything in our power to help!"

With the alchemical herbs gathered from the Druid Herb Garden, the loot from the devils they had killed earlier, and Eruien's "gift," the Goddess Body Fragrance Squad would not only make up all the losses from their previous mission, but also turn a handsome profit.

Grinning happily, Slicked-back Hair called his teammates over to clean every piece of equipment before beginning the appraisal.

The most valuable item was naturally the set of mithral plate armor, which could sell for more than ten thousand gold coins.

The Shining Blade Family of Elturel seemed to be quite powerful.

For that very reason, after consulting everyone, Slicked-back Hair decided to erase the unique crest from the mithral plate armor, dismantle it, melt it down into mithral ingots, and then sell it.

Equipment like mithral plate armor was far too conspicuous. Selling it rashly would be asking for trouble.

As for the other equipment, after carefully inspecting it and confirming that no hidden magical marks remained, Slicked-back Hair decided to sell it in Nashkel to the south.

It was a border region of Baldur's Gate, rich in iron ore and separated from Amn by only the Cloud Peaks.

In Nashkel, Elturel's influence was negligible. They would not need to worry about the Shining Blade Family coming after them once the goods were sold.

"The total value of this equipment exceeds 15,000 gold coins. Including our earlier gains, the total value of the spoils we have on hand exceeds 23,000 gold coins. I believe the most reasonable distribution is fifty percent for Marvin, thirty percent for the esteemed Lady Infennar, and twenty percent for the Goddess Body Fragrance Squad."

Although the Goddess Body Fragrance Squad had not contributed much in the battle against Ahli, they would be responsible for safely converting this equipment into cash, which would take considerable effort. Twenty percent was perfectly reasonable.

"I have no objections," Marvin said.

"My share will all go to Marvin." Miss Wuke took a calm sip of tea. "He saved my life. He deserves it."

What else could Marvin say? Of course, he gladly accepted the wealthy woman's generous gift.

With the division of spoils settled, Marvin still had one final matter to resolve.

His true purpose in coming to the Druid Herb Garden had been to find a safe place to set up a teleportation anchor, making it easier to flee in time if anything happened in Friendly Arm.

But now, this place had been abandoned by Emerald Grove and left unattended.

Marvin worried that if he set up a teleportation anchor here and some evil force occupied the place later, then when he teleported over in the future, would he not be escaping the tiger's den only to enter the wolf's lair?

"Miss Zorana, do you know what happened at the druid grove in Sharp Tooth Forest that forced them to abandon this herb garden?"

"Not really. When I visited the grove before, the atmosphere there was very tense. There were meetings and arguments every day, and personnel were being moved around constantly.

"But I can help you contact Master Halsin, the grove's leader."

"That would be wonderful." Marvin nodded.

The two entered a rather spacious stone hall.

At the center of the hall stood a teleportation circle formed by five stone pillars encircling one another. Between every pair of pillars was a water basin carved from a single block of stone.

Miss Wuke walked to one of the basins, tossed a glass bead into it, and recited an incantation.

The water rippled and rose, condensing into a human shape.

It appeared to be a rather tall man.

"Greetings, Lady Infennar. It seems you've arrived at the herb garden. How are things there? We left in a great hurry, and I hope nothing serious has happened."

"Master Halsin. Unfortunately, something serious did happen here just now—the devils came..."

After Miss Wuke explained the entire course of events, the tall man said, "Please wait. I'll be there immediately. I need to inspect the site myself and learn every detail."

Before long, the teleportation circle amid the stone pillars began to activate.

Passing through the emerald-green teleportation passage, Master Halsin arrived before Marvin and Miss Wuke.