Everyone Wants Me Dead: The Villain Lord's Survival Diary

Chapter 32 – Low-level villains die from talking too much

Baideng Bloodfang was filled with regret. He had been too eager for quick success, underestimating the strength of those peculiar humans and the human army, especially that foreign lord.

Why did humans have so many mages?

Why were those peculiar humans so hard to kill?

Why did those special and powerful Minotaurs follow a human lord?

Baideng Bloodfang had too many questions and doubts, but it was too late for that now. There was no point in asking more.

He looked at the surrounding human army, his expression bleak, as if resigned to whatever fate awaited him.

Talamb glanced at the half-dead Orc Warchief on the ground, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. He trotted over to Sylvie's horse, smiling obsequiously:

"Earl, my Blackriver Territory is really small, and I can't gather ten thousand gold coins and five hundred pieces of equipment right now. But I've already prepared an IOU. I'll pay five thousand gold coins, two hundred sets of standard armor, and food for now. The rest will be delivered within a year. What do you think..."

As Talamb spoke, he pulled out an IOU stamped with the imperial seal from inside his clothes and offered it to Sylvie with both hands.

Sylvie glanced at the IOU in his hand, saw no issues, and handed it to Claremont, signaling him to keep it safe.

Seeing Sylvie accept the IOU, Talamb immediately struck while the iron was hot:

"Earl, I have an impertinent request. Could you hand over this Orc Warchief to me? He's committed too many atrocities in Blackriver Territory. I want to gather the people and execute him publicly."

Sylvie roughly understood Talamb's intentions. He simply wanted to use the Orc Warchief's head to gain some military merit to make up for this loss, and it was also an opportunity to establish his grand image in front of the people.

Sylvie didn't mind. He was already an Earl, and the military merits of a hundred Orc Warchiefs wouldn't be enough for him to rise further. He might as well appease Talamb.

If pushed too hard, a cornered dog could be troublesome.

The ones who suffered the most casualties in this battle were Talamb's knights and militia. The players could resurrect, so they didn't count.

Sylvie only lost eight knights and over forty sword and shield soldiers, with only one Minotaur Warrior lightly injured. The extorted ten thousand gold coins were enough to cover the losses.

This was undoubtedly a great victory.

After cleaning up the battlefield, Sylvie and his group returned to Blackriver Town at Talamb's invitation.

"Earl, our victory feast is ready. Are you really not going to join?"

"No need," Sylvie glanced at the smiling Baron Talamb, waved his hand impatiently, and urged, "Just bring out the five thousand gold coins, equipment, and food. I'm in a hurry."

Honestly, after three days out, he was starting to miss his charming maid.

Seeing Sylvie's determined look, Talamb didn't press further and pretended to be regretful:

"Alright, in that case, please wait outside Blackriver Keep. I'll go and have the knights bring out the goods."

After speaking, seeing Sylvie ignore him, Talamb signaled to his royal guard, escorting the barely alive, expressionless Baideng Bloodfang into the castle's front hall.

However, Talamb didn't call the knights to move the supplies. Instead, he took the Orc Warchief to the castle's terrace, where he could overlook Sylvie and his group.

"Old man, do you recognize this?"

Talamb sneered, pulling out a scroll from his pocket and waving it in front of Baideng Bloodfang's ashen face.

Baideng Bloodfang lifted his eyelids to glance at it, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"You recognize it, don't you?"

Of course, Baideng Bloodfang recognized it. The human held an Orc Earthquake Scroll.

The Earthquake Scroll was a strategic spell scroll made by the Orc High Priest, and only the Orc Warchief could activate it.

The High Priest made these scrolls specifically to destroy city walls, but they were also quite effective against small armies.

"Where did you get this? Were you so sure I would lose?"

Baideng Bloodfang instantly understood what this cunning human lord intended. He was quite amused by these humans killing each other, especially since there was a powerful lord among them.

Every internal conflict among humans only strengthened the Orcs.

"This was a trophy my father got after killing an Orc Warchief. If Doug hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have known about it, let alone thought it would come in handy today."

As he spoke, Talamb gave Doug an appreciative look, then continued:

"I wasn't sure you would be defeated, but without this scroll, if you were defeated, I'd have to pay that bastard ten thousand gold coins! If you won, both he and I would die, but with the scroll, you failed, and now I live, and he dies!"

"You truly are a bold lord!"

Baideng Bloodfang said with a smile.

It was unclear if this was a compliment or a taunt.

"So, you're willing to help me use this scroll?"

Talamb was a bit surprised to hear this. He had thought it would take more effort.

"If you're willing to cooperate with me, I can spare your life."

"No need, I'm happy to serve you, to help you use the Earthquake Spell to kill the lord and his army below. Afterward, I just hope you can bury me on the battlefield. That's where I belong," Baideng Bloodfang said calmly.

"Deal, then come with me."

"Actually, it's not that complicated. To activate the Earthquake Spell, I just need my blood and a phrase in Orcish."

...

Sylvie and his soldiers waited outside the castle for half a day, but instead of gold and equipment, they were met with the suddenly closed castle gates and Talamb, who was laughing arrogantly from the castle terrace.

At this moment, Talamb stood on the castle terrace, protected by his royal guard, revealing only his upper body, looking down at Sylvie and the others.

"Good evening, esteemed Earl of Eaglehold. I must now inform you of some bad news."

Talamb looked at Sylvie and the others with venom, his expression gradually becoming twisted.

In a voice akin to a chant, he declared, "Star of the Empire, second son of the Goldlion Family, you are about to die~"

"Die by the Earthquake Spell!"

Talamb waved the Earthquake Scroll in his short, plump hands, "This is an already activated Earthquake Spell. I just need to utter that Orcish phrase..."

His short arms stretched out as if to embrace the moon, excitedly saying, "Boom! You'll be buried in the earth, all because of your greed, Earl of Eaglehold, Sylvie Goldlion!"

"Do you have any last words, esteemed Earl of Eaglehold, Sylvie Goldlion?"

Sylvie looked up at Talamb, who was dancing around on the castle terrace like a madman, and gave a smile that seemed to pity the fool.

"My last words? What last words could I have? You, who haven't even figured out how to live, think you can kill me?"

"What?"

Talamb thought he had misheard, angrily waving the scroll in his hand, gritting his teeth and shouting, "Do you know what you're saying? I have the Earthquake Spell in my hand!"

"Very well, I wanted to see you beg for mercy..."

"But since you won't cry until you see the coffin..."

As Talamb spoke, he was about to tear the scroll in his hand.

"All of you go... uh..."

At that moment, with a "shh" sound, a sharp sword pierced Talamb's heart from behind, the intense pain nearly causing him to faint.

Talamb struggled to look back, seeing that the assassin was his most trusted royal guard, the one he had given the map of Blackriver Territory to, the one he had discussed all his plans with, including this one...

Unexpected...

His fingers twitched involuntarily, and the Earthquake Scroll slipped lightly from his hand to the ground.

"Sorry, Baron Talamb, you talk too much."

"I've run out of patience!"

"If it weren't for wanting to keep this usable Earthquake Scroll intact, I would have killed you yesterday."

"How... how... you..."

"Are you trying to ask how it could be me?"

The royal guard standing behind Talamb blinked and said, "I can understand your feelings, after all, you're just a small baron. You'd never suspect your most trusted royal guard to be from the Goldlion Family."

"You, you... treason..."

"Baron Talamb, don't say such things. If you hadn't insisted on a life-and-death struggle with Master Sylvie today, I might never have killed you in my lifetime."

The royal guard smiled slightly, then dropped Talamb to the ground, and in Talamb's gradually hollowing gaze, picked up the scroll.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread.com".