"—Did you raise a soft mud monster?"

"What?"

"No, nothing."

Hatis put down the scalpel and turned away, trying to figure out the inner meaning of this sudden question. But the questioner had quickly lost interest, and with a perfunctory answer, he leaned forward, approaching a sealed glassware on the shelf, and surveyed the solution-soaked digestive system.

Hatis waited a little longer, realizing that the topic was over. He thought for a moment, then asked cautiously, "Are you interested in these?" ”

The gladiator did not look back: "I have only seen chopped." He tapped the glass with his knuckles, "And these are complete." ”

That would explain why he kept staring at the walls of human organs, rather than avoiding them as much as possible like some invited non-researchers. But Hatis did not feel the curiosity he should have in him, only a cold displeasure.

"But you don't seem to like seeing them much."

"It's really uncomfortable." "So, they can be used to distract me." ”

"For what?"

Wolfgang turned his head sharply, his eyes gloomy and piercing. Hatis raised his hand to indicate that he was not offended. He thought he wouldn't get another answer, but the gladiator hesitated slightly, but he still spoke, "For that old immortal Uther. ”

Seeing that he was in the mood to chat, Hades seized the opportunity to continue the conversation: "What's wrong with him? "You told me that his guess about the orc's movements was completely wrong. ”

Wolfgang nodded.

"Great Chief......" he subconsciously grinded his teeth, as if to crush the word, "I won't go north until I catch Blackmore." Only by clearing his shame will he be able to lead the Horde in a larger-scale military campaign. ”

"That's good for you, isn't it?" The necromancer spread his hands, "The silver hand gathers here, and for a meaningless preparation, the orcs can take the opportunity to capture Dunhold." ”

The gladiator sneered at him.

"But it's not good for you." "Tell me," he said bluntly, "how long will it take you to decide how far it will take you to hand me and the orcs into the hands of Silver, so that they can roll as far as they can?" ”

The sudden killing intent made Hades's throat tighten. The plague dog, lying on the side, jerked to his feet and let out a low warning roar. Wolfgang's fingers were already on the hilt of the sword at his waist, and the smile on his face was a little more distorted in anticipation. He stared at the dead beast, and Hatis couldn't tell which eyes had more bloodthirsty hunger.

"Nope." He said, gesturing to the plague dog to lie down, "I'm not going to do that, at least not yet." ”

It wasn't until he said the second half of the sentence that Wolfgang removed his finger. He stared at the plague dogs back in place, a palpable look of disappointment on his face. Hades had thought it was just a threat to force him to take a stand, but now it looked like the man might be more interested in a fight.

"Okay." The gladiator said with little interest, "When is that?" ”

Hades thought cautiously.

Ever since Wolfgang had told him that the Silver Hand was targeting the orc, they had known that the partnership would not last long. The orcs would be a great decoy to lure the paladins away before the Cursed Sect acts. Even if Hatis doesn't, his colleagues will never let go of this opportunity. The difference is just in when and how to do it.

He speculated on the other party's psychological expectations, and slowly spoke: "I will not directly hand you over to the silver hand. That's not good for anyone. On the contrary, the farther you flee, the longer the Silver Hand will be gone. So I'll do my best to help you escape. ”

The gladiator did not say anything. Hatis understood that this was a form of approval.

"Before we carry out the plan, in three to five days, I will find a way to help you get out of the city." He made his own conditions, "and then the Silver Hand will be informed of the news to induce them to leave." You'd better run as far as you can. ”

Whether they will be caught or managed to escape in the end does not matter to Hades. He just wanted to get enough time. If all goes well, by the time the paladins return, they will only face a dead city.

Wolfgang covered the lower half of his face with his hand, his thumb rubbing thoughtfully against one canine. Many of the man's habits had something in common with the beast, and that furious wildness could not be cultivated by one or two orchestrated murders or a few evenly matched gladiatorial fights. But Hades was relieved when he remembered the forces behind him. Perhaps that's one of the reasons he's been able to get along with the green-skinned beasts.

"Yes." Wolfgang said, putting his hand down, "Then we'll get even." ”

Hatis paused and cautiously retorted, "I don't think so. ”

The gladiator gave him a playful smile in return, but there was a deep unhappiness hidden underneath: "So you still want to give me a little compensation?" ”

"I have met all your needs, sir."

"And I brought back the information you wanted, Your Excellency." Wolfgang said deliberately mimicking his tone.

"I have another source of information." Hatis tried to look him directly to strengthen his persuasiveness, but soon had to look away. Those eyes were as dark and oppressed as an abyss in the reflection of the candlelight, as if they would swallow him alive at any moment, "This was originally just a way for me to cement the relationship, not to mention that your participation in the baron's banquet also has its own purpose, doesn't it?" ”

Wolfgang tilted his head slightly, looking at him with a terrible curiosity, as if a lion was considering whether or not to play unilaterally with the gerbil for a while. Hades was almost annoyed by the gaze - he was the one with the knowledge and magic, the one who had the initiative in the city, and it was the outsider who could only use violence to be looked down upon.

The gladiator raised the corners of his mouth.

"Well," he said in a deliberately reluctant tone, "let's hear it." ”

***

Albert held his sword horizontally in front of him, blocking a standard over-the-top slash. He carefully controlled his power, but the attacker still grinned at the force of the shock. Seeing this, he took a step back, leaving room for the others to catch up.

The other two pounced on the other two from both sides. The paladins lowered their center of gravity and calmly faced their attack. He swung a sword, striking one of them in the wrist, crooking the weapon in his hand, and then quickly turned to deal with the other, who scrambled to try to defend, but he seized the opportunity, and a thrust almost pierced the tip of the nose.

At that moment, he suddenly received a kick in the leg. Albert stumbled, trying to regain his center of gravity, but an arm grabbed his shoulder from behind and dropped him straight to the ground. The paladin lay down on the dusty floor with a scream, and the perpetrator appeared between him and the ceiling.

"Dinein?" Albert blinked. He didn't fall hard, one hand pulled him down and the other held his waist, cushioning the force, apparently it was just a prank. But that face was not only upside down, but also had a rare bright smile. This made it a little difficult for him to make out the other party for a while.

"Sorry to interrupt your teaching." Dineen held out his hand to him, still with a smile on his face. When Albert stood up, the rough wooden sword was handed over, "Where did this come from?" ”

"Itreg did it for us, I guess he wanted us to keep him on our own." Albert took the wooden sword, then turned to his practice subjects, "Alright, boys, let's rest for a while before continuing." ”

Renaud dropped his wooden sword, rubbed his wrists, and limped to the chair by the wall and sat down. Darien picked up his brother's sword, held it in his arms with his own, and trotted after him. Tyran stayed at the end and politely thanked him before leaving.

"So, is there any good news?" Albert asked.

The smile on Dineen's lips disappeared, but his expression was not overly heavy: "Look what you think." ”

He then tells Albert how he warned Gianna, how he overheard Uther's conversation with Rivinedell, and the outcome of his negotiations with Hades. The paladin listened intently, then took a deep breath to calm himself.

"So we're going to try to escape the Silver Hand soon." Turning his attention away from the familiar names, he calmly grasped the point, while quickly recalling what he had seen, "But it won't be easy, they have horses, they are well armed, and they will never refuse the help of a team of experienced hunters." If they are sure that someone will come to meet them, they will also bring a second echelon to deal with the ambush. ”

He paused, restraining himself from looking around the corner, lest the overly curious boys pick up any clues: "We're not going to take Tyran's with them, are we?" ”

"Nope." Dinen didn't look over there either, "They're going to stay here, and so are you." ”

Albert was about to nod, but stopped for the second half of the sentence: "Me? Why? ”

Dineen didn't answer, just raised an eyebrow at him. Albert suddenly became a little embarrassed: "You have to know, it's not like I'm completely incapable of meeting with the Knights. ”

"I thought you knew me well enough, brother." There was a hint of regret in Dineen's voice.

He folded his arms and stared at the paladin calmly and confidently: "This has nothing to do with the Silver Hand, if you don't want to meet them, then I will never let them find you." ”

"I want you to stay so that I can stop the Cursed Sect's plans in time. When we leave, they're bound to do something. ”

Albert blinked, "I'm sorry, huh...... How are you going to explain to the mage that only the two of you are leaving? ”

Out of embarrassment, he hastily changed the subject. But a strange look suddenly flashed across Dining's face: "I said you didn't intend to get involved in my cooperation with the orcs. ”

"Did he ask you why you took me?" Albert blurted out, "Aren't you worried I'm going to leak my secrets?" ”

After a brief hesitation, Dineen replied slowly, "I said we are blood relatives. ”

Albert's eyes widened. But Dineen looked away from him. The confidence of the previous moment was gone, and he stared at the wall and continued at a slightly faster pace: "When I returned home after my retirement, I found that my father had taught you to be a priest's apprentice—his apprentice. After he died, I brought you to Stratholme so that you could join the church here and continue your studies. You don't and don't want to have anything to do with the green-skinned beasts, so keep it as secretive as possible. That's it. ”

“…… Wow. Albert took a slow beat to straighten out his thoughts, and then sighed heartily, "So I now have a brother who can fight better than an orc?" Sounds pretty good, and it would be nice if he could spare the bridge of my nose while he was practicing swordsmanship. ”

Dineh relaxed a little when he heard this, and a bright smile flashed across his face: "Obviously you bumped into it yourself." ”

"Come on, you did it on purpose. I don't believe you can't get away. Albert accused. Dineen tilted her head to the side again, and whistled very weakly to try to avoid the problem.

The paladin almost laughed at him. He touched the bridge of his poor nose and sighed softly, his expression slowly becoming firm again.

"I think I have a better way, brother." He met Dinein's gaze, with a calm and determined calmness, "Let me go out of the city with Itreig, and you stay." You know the Cursed Sect better than I do, and their clues can't escape your sight. And I'm more familiar with the Silver Hand than you are, and I can convince them to keep Itreig's life, and turn back sooner, catching the cultists off guard. ”

Seeing the disapproving look on Dineen's face, Albert raised his hand and stopped him from speaking, "Don't indulge me too much, brother. I believe in your promise, really, but we also have to do what we have to do. I'm sure this is the time. It's a whole city! If anyone could save her single-handedly, it wouldn't be me. It's too much of a responsibility for me, let me do the easier things, I promise I won't mess up. ”

Dineen thought silently for a moment, and judging by his expression, he spent more time convincing his pride than he thought. Finally he nodded, "If you're sure." ”

"One hundred percent." Albert assured him.

In fact, it is by no means 100 percent. The young paladin felt his heart beat at the thought of facing his mentor and colleagues. It must have been a very embarrassing scene, and if he was standing with an orc, it would have been ten times worse. But man is always responsible for his own choices, and sooner or later he will have to clean up the mess for his original impulse. And the city and its innocent people are more important than that, and Albert trusts Dinen to better protect them.

"So be it." Dinen sighed, "However, I have one more thing to do before this, and I'm afraid you won't be able to replace me this time." ”

He didn't explain right away, but turned his head to look at the wall: "Come here, you three, I need your help with something." ”