"You know, compared to most of the people I do business with, you're pretty polite."
As Ossenfurt spoke, he reached into his pocket with his right hand and took out his deck of cards, then pulled out the top card:
"Just in case you think I'm playing a trick on you - which I'm not, let me prove that I have this card."
The cards were placed on the table, and the dim flames illuminated the card surfaces.
The front of the card only has white, black and cool tones close to these two colors. A slender woman wearing a hooded robe and with unclear facial details stands in the center of the card with her arms outstretched. The Holy Grail floating between her arms is the most delicate part of the entire card.
There is no other clothing under the robe, and the Holy Grail cleverly covers the sensitive parts. Interestingly, the naked body gives this image a strange sense of maternal sacredness. There are no shoes on her feet, she stands barefoot on the ground, and the background of the card is an endless field and a very vague village in the distance.
The number 12 is marked in the upper right corner of the front, and the small "flower" logo is in the upper left corner. Between the two, that is, in the center of the upper edge of the front of the card, there is a black vertical line in a white circle, which is the logo of the "Founding" series.
There was a little blank space at the bottom of the card, with four lines of small words written there:
During the suspension phase for both players, this card can activate an effect only once: remove any card of the sun suit to adjust the total point to 1 point; remove any card of the moon suit to invalidate the opponent's first special effect; remove any card of the star suit to increase the total points of both players by 3; remove any card of the flower suit except this card, and all flower suit cards of both players except this card will be removed; remove three cards of different suits except this card to win directly regardless of conditions.
Looking at this rule, Shade thought of his own Founding Darkness. The latter also had a rule of direct victory, but the requirement was that the first card must be Founding Darkness. Therefore, when these two cards met, Founding Darkness won because it won with the first card, leaving no chance for the opponent to draw at least four cards.
"Very good, very interesting rules."
He commented, thinking whether he should kill Osenfurt now and snatch the card. But after thinking carefully, it seemed a bit unworthy to disrupt all the preparations for this card after planning for so long.
Therefore, Xia De decided to first listen to what conditions the other party wanted to propose, and then consider whether to kill and rob now... ...whether to get rid of this demon now for the sake of justice.
"What do I need to do to get this card?"
Shad asked.
“You don’t need to look for anything. Today is Tuesday. All you need to do is come to my manor on Friday night. I will give you this card then. I will keep my word... I swear in the name of Hela.”
Osenfurt also stared into Shade's eyes, and Shade looked at him suspiciously:
"I believe that you will indeed give me this card, but I also believe that I went to your manor on Friday night for more than just to pick up something. What would happen there at that time?"
Ossenfurt smiled.
"You'll know once you go. Besides, even if I want to do something, you can just run away, right? Even though I'm stronger than an ordinary person, I can't beat you."
So saying he stood up;
"Then I'll see you on Friday. I'll be waiting for you at the manor."
The fingers of Xia De's hand on the table trembled, but he didn't make a move in the end. After preparing for so long, there was no need to disrupt the plan for a card... ... There was really no need to disrupt the plan for a card, and by then, the card would also belong to Xia De.
"So, call the doctor in on Friday."
He thought in his heart and said:
"Wait a moment."
"Anything else?"
Ossenfurt, who had already taken two steps, turned around and Shade twirled his fingers:
"Have you paid?"
The former grabbed the small bag of money tied around his waist and threw it on the table:
"Help me tie it."
With that, he walked out through the bustling tavern. Shade untied the rope on the bag and saw more than 20 crowns in coins. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows:
“That’s a lot of money.”
Shade checked the small bag and stuffed it into his pocket after making sure it was fine. He then picked up the glass of rye beer beside him, but decided not to try it after thinking about it.
Holding the table with one hand, he tried to get up and leave, but heard a voice behind him:
"No need to leave in such a hurry, how about we talk about it?"
It was Osenfurt's voice, but it sounded more greasy. Shade turned around in surprise and saw "Osenfurt" with slightly darker skin, walking through the crowd of people standing and laughing loudly in the tavern, and then sitting down in the seat Osenfurt had just taken.
It's the devil.
It sat down while smiling, holding a wilted black rose in its hand. Seeing Shade looking at the rose, the demon said:
"Last time you and Oxenfurt agreed to meet at the door of the church in the city, you held this kind of rose. So I thought you would only meet me if you had this kind of rose."
As it said this, it threw the flower onto the table. It said this to remind Shad that it knew about Shad's private meeting with Stone Oxenfurt.
"Did you just meet Ossenfurt walking out?"
Shad asked.
"I saw him, but he didn't see me."
It pointed its finger at the glass that Stone Oxenfurt had just drained, and the beer filled the glass again:
"It was very interesting to meet you today. I didn't expect that you would actually find those three items before spring."
"What do you want to say?"
"I was just saying that it's a good idea to meet up on Friday night. So, are you ready to complete my commission?"
It picked up the wine glass.
"Of course, on Friday night, when I get that card, I'll do what I promised to do and teach him a lesson."
As he spoke, Shade reached to his waist, took out the hilt of the sword, and placed it under the kerosene lamp:
"The weapons have been made."
Two finger bones were inlaid in a cross pattern in the metal hilt. Although it was only a hilt, it was actually a telescopic sword that could be split into four sections and pop out the blade.
“Very good, very good.”
The demon just observed it, without touching it:
"It seems that you are quite well prepared. This can indeed work against the undead. However, to ensure your safety, perhaps you can also keep an extra weapon as a backup."
It took out a black dagger and placed it under the gas lamp. It was not a demonic weapon, but a relic dagger. Considering the price of weapon-type relics, no matter what function this dagger has, the price will not be less than 1,000 pounds.
"Oxenfurt revealed the contract between you and him. As I recall, the contract seemed to prohibit the use of your power to break his immortality."
Shade reminded, but the demon asked:
"Is this dagger my power?"
Shade nodded suspiciously and took the dagger to examine it. Demonic runes were engraved on the short blade, and the shaking kerosene lamp formed a sentence:
I am waiting for your soul.
Although the origin of this relic is most likely related to the devil, it is definitely not the power of the Stone Mirror Demon - Goethe.
So Shade put the dagger away, but he did not plan to use it in this incident. Instead, he asked the doctor to help check it and then put it away. He would sell it or use it for himself after the incident in Randall Valley was over.
"Are you worried about me? Even if Oxenfurt is immortal, he can never be my opponent."
"I am indeed worried about you, but I am not worried that you can't beat Oxenfurt. I am worried that..."
Those scary dark eyes stared at Shade:
"Recently, I heard about a very interesting person—the thirteenth ring warlock, the Godcaller. I wonder if you know him."
"Of course I know. This person's reputation has been spreading since last summer."
On the other side of the tavern, someone was playing the lute. Shad said to the sound of the lute:
"The summer night of Tobesk, the giant murloc corpse of Coldwater Harbor, the darkness of early autumn, the death chaos of Midhill Castle. Oh, and in winter, deep in the deserted swamp, the God Summoner summoned a beautiful witch from the Fifth Epoch. Although not all of these things have been spread, those who are interested can still find out."
"A heroic epic."
The demon exclaimed, but still squinted his eyes at Shade on the other side of the table:
"You, don't play any tricks on me."
"You don't think I have any relationship with the God Summoner, do you? Don't worry, I will go to the manor alone on Friday."
"I will not break my promise to pay you, but you also need to know what will happen if you try to play tricks on me."
"Are you threatening me?"
Xia De asked in surprise:
"Although I will never break my promise, I am still curious, what are the consequences?"
The devil raised his right hand, with his index finger raised and his middle finger and thumb put together, then snapped his fingers in front of Shad.
At that moment, the world became completely quiet. Even the flame of the oil lamp that was still flickering in front of me was frozen.
Shade looked around, and everyone kept the same expression and movements as in the previous moment. The men sitting at the next table clapped together, and three apples were thrown above the table by the man sitting between them, and then floated in the air. People in the distance were laughing with their mouths open, and the owner behind the counter turned around and held the bottle of wine without moving. The door of the tavern was pushed open, but only one raised boot entered the door. The swaying store flag was blown by the opening of the door and stopped there at a 30-degree angle, and the thin rope was pulled into an arc.
The sound stopped, the wind stopped, the flames stopped. Time was once again stopped by the devil.