"Priscilla, you're truly shameless, speaking as if all the credit belongs to you. Then what do I count as?"
"Hmm... perhaps a moth drawn to concubine's radiance. After all, you are considerably stronger than these boring flies."
Priscilla pondered for a moment before giving Grin her answer.
In her mind, this was already considered a compliment.
Grin was somewhat exasperated, feeling ants crawling all over him.
If he wasn't afraid of losing to this young widow, he would have made a move long ago.
Besides her heaven-defying Divine Protection, Priscilla also possessed excellent Yang magic talent and swordsmanship.
She could even pull a yang sword directly from the void.
This sword is one of the world's top ten famous swords with preposterous abilities.
Priscilla's overall strength could be said to be among the very best among the Crown Princes.
"I'm baffled. Does Lugnica specialize in sharp-tongued girls?"
Grin muttered to himself, walked over to the fallen Rachins, and took the guy's small knife.
Priscilla observed Grin with interest.
When they first met, he didn't have this kind of strength.
Priscilla was very curious about how Grin had become so strong in such a short time.
"It seems the little moth's wings are much stronger than before, barely reaching a level where they can be used by concubine."
"concubine will grant you, as you once wished, a minor official position of peeling apples."
Grin quickly waved his hand: "No, I can't serve someone like you."
After speaking, he kicked Rachins a few times.
"Hey, you're not dead, are you? Get up quickly, stop faking an injury here."
Rachins frantically stood up, then immediately knelt in front of Grin in a dogeza.
"Big Brother, we know we were wrong! Please, in your great generosity, let us off the hook!"
The other two punks also crawled over, repeatedly kowtowing and fawning.
"Big Brother, we were blind! From now on, the entire Slums will be the territory of your cat-and-dog duo.
"You also get priority for the trash cans in the noble district. The rats in the Royal Capital have become particularly scarce, and you can find many good things in ordinary trash cans."
"What the hell, are you guys doing that badly? I think you should just rename yourselves the 'Truly Stupid Trio'."
Grin felt a little pity for these three guys. He squatted down and patted the face of the strongest punk, Gaston.
"Adon, if I remember correctly, you're married and have a daughter, right?"
Adon's body stiffened in terror, and he kowtowed repeatedly to Grin.
"I'm sorry, Master Grin, we just came here to try our luck, we really didn't mean to hurt anyone!"
"Rachins only brought the knife to scare people, please, please don't hurt my wife and daughter!"
Grin's Adam's apple bobbed, and the words that were about to come out of his mouth were swallowed back, a bitter smile more unsightly than a cry twisting his lips.
"Do I look like that kind of heinous villain? I just wanted to introduce you to some legitimate work!"
"R-really? Then we'll follow you from now on, alright?"
"Big Brother Grin is truly the most righteous person in the Slums; he didn't forget to help us even after getting successful."
Grin gestured for them to stand up; kneeling all the time wasn't good.
"Alright, come with me. At the very least, your family of three will have food and drink guaranteed."
Then, the four of them swaggered through the streets towards the alley entrance.
Rachins reminded: "Big Brother, aren't we going to deal with that woman?"
Grin didn't even turn his head: "We can't provoke that one. If we stay any longer, we'll die a violent death. Let's go quickly."
Priscilla smiled, watching them leave.
She had no intention of clinging, her eyes still filled with confident radiance.
"All treasures in the world belong to concubine. Choosing to slip from concubine's grasp, you are destined to regret it."
..."Green-kun, why aren't you here yet?"
Otto Suwen, wearing ill-fitting leather armor and holding a large stick, was hunkered down in a warehouse filled with hay.
The warehouse was filled with rustling sounds.
If one were to look closely, they would surely be startled.
The floor, the rafters, and even within the hay were all filled with large black rats at work.
The little fellows skillfully disassembled strands of pale green requiem grass from the complex, tightly packed hay and piled them on the other side of the warehouse.
Otto possessed the Divine Protection of Word Soul, allowing him to communicate with all vocalizing creatures or objects.
These rats must be the laborers he enlisted for help.
"It's here! Smash the door open! I'll take responsibility for any trouble!"
"These low-class merchants who don't know their place dare to refuse my lord's demands. It serves them right to have their goods stolen!"
"Yes, Baron Balon!"
Otto watched the scene outside through the crack in the door, trembling with fear.
An arrogant, shriveled old man followed by two lackeys.
The person called Baron Balon, despite looking to be in his mid-fifties, sported flamboyant light purple long hair.
He also had a goatee on his chin and philtrum, making him look even more lewd.
"No, even if it means overusing my Divine Protection, I must protect Green-kun's and my shared property! Little mice, grab your weapons!"
Otto no longer wanted to sit idly by. He used the Divine Protection of Word Soul to notify all the big black rats in the warehouse.
A plump rat, having grown fat in the Royal Capital area, glared fiercely as it retrieved a bundle of sharpened chopsticks from a corner and distributed them to the other rats like weapons.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak." (For cheese, we must launch this war!)
"Squeak, squeak, squeak." (Righteous cheese will cover the entire land!)
"Squeak, squeak, squeak." (Young and female rats retreat first!)
At the same moment, Grin arrived at the General Goods Street with the three punks.
From the arrogant words and actions of this lewd baron, he had already guessed what was happening with almost complete accuracy.
Bringing a few rotten scoundrels to bully my brother?
"Oh hey, oh hey!"
"You guys, don't you know this is my territory?"
Grin, hands in his pockets, looked at people with his nose in the air, swaggering like a penguin in front of Baron Balon.
Rachins and the other two, as his subordinates, naturally followed closely, also looking quite imposing.
"Where did this old goat come from? Your beard is almost poking your nose hairs. Be humble in front of my Big Brother!"
Otto breathed a sigh of relief, the heavy stone in his heart finally dropping. He waved his hand, signaling the rat army to hold their ground.
This Baron Balon was a declining minor noble who often extorted money, or rather, blood, from the lower-class merchants in the Royal Capital.
Ever since he discovered that Otto had a large amount of requiem grass, he had developed ill intentions, wanting to seize it all under the guise of 'management fees'.
Provoked by the punk, Baron Balon's temper immediately flared up.
"You lowly commoners, daring to speak so wildly upon seeing the noble Baron Balon Trias, you shall all be hanged!"
Grin was stunned the moment he saw this lewd old man, finding him increasingly familiar.
He tentatively asked: "Baron Balon? Are you going to attend a grand meeting at the Royal Capital Castle later this afternoon?"