The crowd was a mixed assortment of people, and among them were quite a few informants from various major factions. One particular group drew his special attention.
[Eye of the Iron Throne, Human, Level 4 Rogue (Thief)]
The Iron Throne was a very old merchant consortium. It had risen and fallen several times, yet had always endured.
For the sake of profit, they would stop at nothing. On the surface they disguised themselves as a legitimate merchant guild, mainly trading iron ore, weapons, and grain, but in reality they did everything.
Smuggling, drugs, slaves, monopolies, assassinations, intelligence, manipulating puppet regimes…
One person might be a coincidence, but when Anser made a round and discovered three or four of them, it was certain they had ulterior motives.
If not for the dice, it would have been very difficult for him to notice their presence.
On the surface he remained calm and unreadable, but he quietly memorized their appearances and positions.
"Most of you come from Claw Bay, don't you?" His voice was cold and firm, carrying far into the night. "I also come from there."
A stir passed through the crowd. Not many people knew Anser, and they had always thought the one confronting them today was some local merchant or minor noble.
Without waiting for anyone to respond, Anser continued: "Do you know this? At Cliff Fortress, I covered your retreat and held back the half-dragons and the kobold army for an entire night."
"Do you know this? In Bluewater City, I blocked the enemy alone—rising into the air to hunt wyverns and half-dragons, driving back the wyvern guard. Tens of thousands of people witnessed it with their own eyes."
"Do you know why the Emerald Kingdom and the people of Amn withdrew?"
"You know nothing. You only know that you survived, yet you don't know why you survived, nor how many people died because of it!"
The crowd fell completely silent, heads lowered without a word.
Some felt guilty. Some were frightened by Anser's strength and achievements. Others were pondering the information revealed in his words…
Anser knew his own motives were not so noble. But what about Tim, the lord of Cliff Fortress, Stoll who slew the dragon, and those Paladins who had died?
Were the foolish masses truly worth saving? Many Paladins had never feared fighting their enemies, yet were instead driven to mental collapse by the very people they had saved.
Of course, the reason he said so much was to use his past achievements and his identity as a Paladin to shatter any possible slander or suspicion. Without that layer of golden reputation, he would inevitably be plagued by trouble in the future.
"For the time being, Durlag does not lack food, nor does it lack meat. If you want to eat, go hunt for yourselves." He pointed toward the direction of the Wood of Sharp Teeth, his tone calm. "Something happened today—I believe many of you have already heard about it."
"Monsters infiltrated Durlag. Intellect Devourers and Mind Flayers. They feed exclusively on brains. They are very intelligent and can possess or parasitize humans or animals, making them extremely difficult to detect."
The crowd grew restless. Many people showed expressions of terror, their eyes full of suspicion as they looked around.
Anser deliberately paused for a moment before continuing: "I worked together with the Durlag Union to crush their scheme, so they will certainly seek revenge against me. You do not know the truth, and it is very likely that you have been used by them."
"The ones spreading the rumors could very well be Intellect Devourers!"
The crowd erupted into chaos. As if facing a plague, they hurriedly distanced themselves from the rumor-spreaders, and quite a few people were left isolated.
Anser watched with focused attention, distinguishing carefully. Most of them were idiots who believed whatever they heard, but there were also a few people leaping about, fanning the flames.
One of them was clearly an Iron Throne intelligence operative.
He had been in the front row just now, but at this moment he had already retreated into the crowd. If Anser had spoken a little later, the man might have already slipped away in secret.
To incite the emotions of so many people, someone had to take the lead—one person calling, another responding. Either you bribed people, or you went in yourself; relying on a bunch of ordinary folk alone, nothing could be accomplished.
"Those few people are—" Anser pointed at the few who were preparing to run and shouted, "Catch them. I'll pay one hundred gold coins. Ordinary people, stand back."
The surrounding professionals and adventurers who had been watching the excitement immediately perked up, their eyes bright to a frightening degree. Many of them didn't think at all—drawing their weapons, they rushed forward.
This was a Paladin's high bounty—an opportunity hard to come by.
The ordinary people scattered and fled. They dared to grab wanted criminals, but when it came to unknown monsters, they simply didn't have the nerve.
Anser raised the Rod of Security and tapped four people in succession—whoever he pointed at suffered. The professionals swarmed in, leaving no space to escape at all.
"મેજિકમિસાઇલ"
A sonorous draconic phrase rang out. Three shining darts swept over the crowd and knocked the Level 4 Rogue—the one running fastest—over onto the ground.
Giant Tail charged in at a sprint and with a single blow forced him back.
"It's a misunderstanding, I'm—"
Bang—
Giant Tail struck with pent-up fury. His shield smashed aside the block and slapped directly into the man's face.
Along with a dull cracking of bone, the rogue was sent flying, and by the time he hit the ground he was already unconscious—features blurred, his face covered in blood.
Giant Tail put away the man's weapon, hauled him to Anser's front, and threw him onto the ground like tossing away trash.
"Refreshing."
That feeling from just now—having strength with nowhere to use it, having words with no way to say them—had left him extremely stifled. For the first time, he experienced the complexity of the human world.
Anser sat upright on horseback, wearing an untroubled, airy expression, but in truth he was a bit embarrassed. Just now his mouth had been too fast, and he had forgotten that he was already out of money.
Bratt seemed to see through his awkwardness. He silently stepped forward, took the rogue's coin pouch, gave it a quick glance, and discreetly nodded to Anser.
The other three were also captured one after another, tied up securely, and thrown down in front of Anser.
A group of professionals stood properly at a distance, looking at Anser with eager, pleading eyes. No one fought for credit; it actually looked rather harmonious.
Bratt beckoned. "All of you, come over here. Split into three groups."
The professionals grinned from ear to ear and quickly gathered around.
At this moment, messy footsteps came from the street corner. He followed the sound and looked over to see squad after squad of guards running up at a quick pace.
Wind howled in the sky. A flying carpet swept in at high speed and hovered to a stop beside Anser.
"Looks like I came one step too late." Iris's face was cold. Moonlight fell over her, as if she were rimed with frost.
Everyone knew Anser lived at Fort Jacqueline. Looking for trouble with him was like slapping her in the face—it was completely disregarding Fort Jacqueline.
"Not late. Your information network is quite well-informed," Anser said with a smile.
Fort Jacqueline was not close to here. He even suspected that Iris had come out looking for him after seeing that he had not returned so late, and had happened to run into the situation.
"Who are they?"
"The Iron Throne."
Iris's brows moved slightly, and a trace of understanding appeared on her face. "They might be targeting me. How did you recognize them?"
"Guessing…" Anser briefly described the process from earlier.
"Doesn't look like it, but you're actually quite clever." Iris raised the corners of her brows, her face full of smiles.
"Hm?" Anser turned his head and glared at her, dissatisfied. "We've only known each other for a few days, and you already have such a big prejudice against me?"
"Do I?" Iris giggled and guided the flying carpet away.
She called the guards to clean up the scene, disperse the crowd, and ordered them to escort the four prisoners to the Union's garrison prison.
Anser simply watched quietly. Only today did he realize how important an official identity that could intimidate people was.
If those people had targeted Fort Jacqueline or the Durlag Union from the start, ordinary people would at most spread a few rumors. Even if you gave them ten times the courage, they would not dare gather and cause trouble.
A moment later, Iris finished handling the matter and flew back to his side.
"Leave these people to me. I'll definitely pry their mouths open."
"Fine. If you get any intelligence, remember to let me know." Anser was not someone who would swallow a loss in silence.
"Why are you buying so many things?" Iris stared into Anser's eyes. "If you need anything, just tell the steward. The Jacqueline Trading Company has everything—why go so far instead of using what's close at hand?"
When Giant Tail had suddenly appeared earlier, she had already been suspicious. Now there were several more people as well, and this made her inexplicably uneasy.
"The Great Reader of Candlekeep gave me an extradimensional territory. I can't just leave it unused." Anser did not hide it.
Iris was right. If he wanted to change anything, he had to rely on his own habits. Having resources but not using them would simply be wasteful.
"Oh~" Iris did not ask further. Her eyes shifted, glancing toward the longsword planted in the ground. "Are you really a Paladin?"
"Yes." Anser's gaze was open and honest; lying was not something an elegant noble would do.
"Which one's?"
The power of a Paladin indeed came from an oath, but most Paladins were devout believers; non-denominational believers were extremely rare.
Anser had originally intended to say the God of Justice, but it felt somewhat strange. After pondering for a moment, he said, "The Platinum Dragon God."
The Platinum Dragon God Bahamut was a deity of the lawful good alignment and the ruler of the metallic dragons. Revered as the God of Justice and Nobility, his domains were Life, Order, and War. Lawful and good Paladins regarded him as a beacon.
He and the evil Queen of the Chromatic Dragons, Tiamat, were twin siblings, both born from the creative power of the dragon god Io.
In a world called Krynn (Dragonlance), Bahamut was also known as Paladine, called the Father of the Good Gods and the Lord of Order, commanding the good deities. He often appeared in the form of a muddle-headed old human wizard wearing a faded robe, named Fizban.
He possessed pure metallic dragon blood, so worshiping the Platinum Dragon God could not have been more reasonable. Moreover, Bahamut did not care much about faith.
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