Holy Warrior Liu Bei

Chapter 31 The Coming Devil

The basement of the expropriation office was full of traps, but these did not deter the adventurers.

Under Ansel's command, Liu Bei and Will thoroughly searched the boxes and secret rooms in the basement.

In addition to the stored food and drinks, more than 300 gold coins and two enchanted weapons were also found.

A pair of gloves, and a battle axe with a +1 rating.

The glove is attached with the spell "Guardian Hand," which grants Heroism and +1 to Strength saves when casting a channeled oath spell.

Liu Bei didn't understand what the description meant, but he could personally feel that after putting on these gloves, there was an indescribable feeling. His strength seemed to have increased, but it wasn't that obvious.

As for Heroism, he had seen this skill in his skill list before; its specific effect was to increase his "temporary health".

He didn't quite understand what this so-called temporary health value meant, and could only guess from the description that it was a kind of buff effect.

Liu Bei had previously discussed similar information with Ansel, such as weapon enchantment +1 or weapon damage values, but according to Ansel, it was not worth paying attention to.

Generally, only those old scholars who stay in the mage tower like to study these things through "appraisal". They believe that the world is a complex structure composed of mathematical interactions. Mastering these numbers means understanding the fundamental rules of this world, and even using these rules to ascend to godhood.

This is not just wishful thinking on their part.

The "Identification" spell recorded on the magic network confirms this, and this spell is the best tool for studying these rules.

Therefore, from then on, a person's vitality could be fixed using life points, the damage of weapons could be calculated through specific means, and spells that could cause substantial damage to living beings could be accurately assessed.

Through long-term research, the achievements accumulated by these scholars eventually formed a school of thought among the mages, namely the numerology mages.

Ansel disliked the mystical and nonsensical things these old scholars came up with.

He felt that these things rendered everything else worthless, leaving only pure mathematics.

He believed the world shouldn't be like this. Moreover, for adventurers, all they needed to know was how to defeat their enemies and overcome their current predicament.

The world should not be quantified by mages using numbers; they are, after all, human beings, not cold, lifeless machines.

According to the mages, Ansel's favorite fireball spell, based on the mages' quantified data, deals 8D6 damage, meaning the total burst of elemental energy channeled by the caster is between 8 and 48.

But are these quantifiable things meaningful in actual combat?

It makes no sense to Ansel; once a life-or-death battle begins, only one side can fall completely.

No one would be as meticulous as the numerologists about whether there is any unnecessary damage overflow; the two sides in the battle will only do their best to defeat each other from the very beginning.

Ansel keenly sensed that Liu Bei harbored a secret. After all, spells like "Appraisal" were usually only deliberately learned by mages in mage laboratories or those running item shops. Adventurers judged whether an item was a magical item and what kind of functions it had based on experience.

By channeling magic into items and maintaining focus, adventurers can identify magical items that display their unique abilities in a distinctive way. Items lacking magic, on the other hand, are identified through personal knowledge.

Liu Bei seemed to possess a special ability to see through the specific attributes of these weapons and items, as if he had used an "appraisal technique".

But there's nothing strange about that. Everyone has their own secrets. Besides, the gods of Faerûn never hesitate to use their power. Faerûn is often filled with chosen ones of the gods traveling around. For example, Elminster, the chosen one of the goddess of magic, Mystra, is a famous and legendary mage.

Not to mention Gail, Mystra's ex-boyfriend.

So after Ansel guessed that Liu Bei had this special ability, he justifiably used Liu Bei as a tool, a tool for identifying magical items.

He's a warlock; he can't learn the spell "Appraisal"!

Furthermore, the Appraisal spell requires casting materials, and for mages, it is common to encounter the embarrassing situation where the item appraised by the Appraisal spell is not as valuable as the casting materials used by the appraiser.

Why not save money and spend it if you can? Since Liu Bei can provide free authentication, why not take advantage of it?

After thoroughly searching the place inside and out, Liu Bei and his men buried the bodies of Anders and his group on the spot. As for the gnoll corpses lying outside, they were burned to ashes by the flaming Karak before they could even clean them up, which saved them a lot of trouble and gave them time to clean up.

After everything was finished, night fell.

The main hall of the expropriation office had been cleaned up during the day, and cooking could be done indoors. Although the main door was blown up by the fireball spell, the door frame structure was still intact. After removing a wooden plank from the attic, the main door could be resealed.

This is a very safe camp for adventurers.

As long as the doors and windows are locked, there's no need to arrange for anyone to keep watch tonight, which is infinitely better than sleeping in the open.

After dinner, Liu Bei and the others did not rest; instead, they were still nervously preparing countermeasures.

Will confessed that his other eye was a surveillance device placed by his overlord, who was a genuine devil.

The order to hunt down Karak was given by his patriarch, and now that he has disobeyed the order, the devil will naturally come knocking!

"You devil!" Ansel shoved Liu Bei. "Liu Bei, aren't you even a little bit agitated? You're a devil!"

"What's so exciting about seeing the devil?"

After venting his anger in the afternoon, the Hell Engine had temporarily calmed down, but Karak's skin was still burning hot, and his breath still smelled of sulfur.

Karak felt nothing but weariness towards the devil.

"Of course you're not excited. You're in Avernus, living with demons every day, while we're in the material plane, unlike Will who has his soul..."

Before Ansel could finish speaking, Liu Bei silenced him with a kiss.

"Karak, you have more experience dealing with demons. Do you have any good suggestions?"

Liu Bei dared not let Ansel continue; he was just bringing up a sore subject!

"If I had to say, demons are more afraid of silver and holy water. Preparing silver weapons and holy water in advance can save a lot of trouble!"

"Holy water is not a problem; I have prepared the ritual magic to create it. However, which god should we pray to? I currently know very little about the gods of Faerûn."

"Are you a faithless person?"

Will hurriedly said, "Wait a minute, that's my sect leader! Perhaps we should talk to her first. I have a contract with her, and if she unfortunately dies, the power of the contract will turn me into a lesser demon!"

Karak clicked his tongue, a hint of regret flashing across his face.

Liu Bei sighed, clearly not expecting the contract to be so powerful, and asked, "Is there a way to break it?"

"Of course it can be lifted. As long as my little sweetheart is willing to listen to his master's advice and complete the tasks assigned by his master, one day his master will be merciful and let him go!"