That bard is such a charmer!

Chapter 69 The Actions of the Church

Seeing that the teacher didn't intend to hold him accountable, Bill breathed a sigh of relief and then joined the discussion with a serious expression.

At the same time, the whole story flashed through his mind...

Everything stemmed from a judgment made by the church leadership two years ago.

They believe the impact of stomach worm disease will expand, leading to severe outbreaks in more cities in the Gulf region.

For other churches of benevolent gods, this was the worst possible news, but for the Church of the Goddess of Wealth in Phoenix…

This is an undeniable business opportunity!

So they acted quickly, even bringing in the local Phoenix family, and made advance arrangements by acquiring materials and pharmacies. Before anyone else could react, they seized control of most of the Gulf region's system for producing effective drugs for stomach worms.

However, just as they were waiting to count their money, the apothecary named Camus appeared.

He invented a cheaper and easier-to-make medicine using purple leaves as the main ingredient.

It sounds good, but in the eyes of the church and the Phoenix family, it is an absolute disaster!

Because if this drug becomes widely available, all their previous investments will be wasted! Future profits will also disappear!

This loss is enormous, involving hundreds of thousands or even millions of gold coins, far exceeding the value of a single stolen gold tooth!

In conclusion, the church made a swift decision.

They bought Camus's prescription, but instead of producing it, they sealed it away completely.

However, this approach could only delay the inevitable. Gradually, Camus himself realized something was wrong and wanted to produce the potion himself.

This is something the church can never allow.

Ultimately, they decided to eliminate the threat completely.

Bill himself was in charge of this matter. He sent assassins to hunt down the apothecary and hired several adventurer teams to clear out the surrounding purple leaves, intending to nip the risk in the bud from both the prescription and the raw materials.

Unexpectedly, both of these angles are now problematic...

"Everyone."

At that moment, Oliver Phoenix spoke in a deep voice:

"In terms of power, those people are just a small group of adventurers, not worth mentioning compared to you and me. They themselves must know this."

"Therefore, they will definitely want to escape to other cities now, such as Turbulent City south of Old Elm Forest, or Red Mountain City, which is also very close."

"We absolutely cannot let them escape. We must immediately block off all the roads in that area!"

"Does the church have enough manpower? If not, I can send my own warriors!"

Elijah nodded slightly, agreeing with Oliver's words.

He then asked for the opinions of others, and finally said:

"Bill, take note, I'm going to make the following arrangements..."

Bill respectfully wrote down each of his teacher's instructions and then repeated them.

But just as he was about to get up and leave the room to pass on the order, he suddenly felt that something was amiss, and whispered to Elijah, "Teacher, I want to lead a small team myself..."

Elijah squinted and thought for a moment, then smiled and replied, "Hmm, not bad, it's settled then!"

Soon after.

People from the church and the Phoenix family poured out, forming an impenetrable spider web that gradually enveloped the southeast of Phoenix...

And at this moment, beneath this spider web.

Richard and his group had just reached the edge of the forest.

"We're starting to look more and more like The Lord of the Rings."

On the way, Richard looked at Amy beside him, then at the dwarf duo ahead, and couldn't help but sigh.

Miss Copper Dragon looked at him curiously: "What does 'The Lord of the Rings' mean?"

Richard replied in a low voice, "It comes from a long poem written by one of my colleagues, which tells the erotic story of a lich who made a casket into the shape of a ring, which was then passed around by different people and finally thrown into the hottest hole in the world."

"?" Grace paused, then a smile played on her lips. "Interesting, tell me more~"

Richard rolled his eyes: "I refuse~"

Just then, the scout hound Meow ran back, rubbing against Levin's leg. Levin turned to the group and said, "The path to Shell Village isn't far ahead..."

Shell Village is a small fishing village south of Phoenix City.

Since their destination, Thumb Island, is at sea, Richard and his crew's current plan is to leave the forest and head to the fishing village as soon as possible to find a small boat to go out to sea.

Therefore, everyone's spirits lifted when they heard that the target was closer.

However, Meow then gently bit Levin's hand again.

Levin frowned as he translated, "There's a squad of soldiers behind the hill. They also have dogs, and their clothes have silver cups on them. They should be the Silver Cup Mercenary Group under the Phoenix family..."

Richard blinked.

Is this hound's tooth some kind of USB port? How can it transmit so much information just by poking you?

Never mind, that's not important.

He sighed and speculated:

"I've heard of this mercenary group. They're quite strong, and their fees are even higher. Unless it's something important, the Phoenix family wouldn't send such a force out of the city to wander around."

"Considering the relationship between the Phoenix family and the Church of the Goddess of Wealth... well, I have a feeling that they were very likely sent to help the church find us."

The halfling Amy grabbed her hair and cried out, "Why, why does the Phoenix family have to get involved?!"

Richard shrugged: "I don't know either. We'll have to ask those guys later... Right now, we should think about how to avoid being discovered by these mercenaries."

Levin pulled out his binoculars again, observing as he said, "They're blocking our way. If it were just people, it would be manageable, but with hunting dogs... Oh no, they're coming this way!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was momentarily at a loss for words.

What should I do?

If they engage in a direct confrontation, it would be easy to expose their position to the church.

If they retreat into the depths of the forest without fighting, it will waste too much time and they will be surrounded by a continuous stream of enemies.

Just as everyone was racking their brains, Richard noticed a hornet's nest on a treetop not far away.

He suddenly remembered that he also knew a spell called Summoning Horde.

This spell can summon different animals, such as wolves or birds, depending on the specified terrain.

Those animals are essentially spirits rather than living beings. Their bodies are semi-transparent, and to a discerning eye, it's clearly a magical effect. If used to attack mercenaries who are about to approach, it's no different from actively exposing themselves.

But then again...

Since he can change the types of animals he summons, is there a way to make them less easily detectable?

A few seconds later, Richard clapped his hands in delight:

"I'm pregnant!"