In fact, although Mekanshut held the title of Queen of the Subus, the subi were more like her subjects, or as the Queen herself would say, "children." The true enforcers of her brutal rule over Shendiravir were her band of professional, ruthless, and highly efficient enforcers, the subi.


    The thirteen subi at the top tier were known as the "Glorious Sisters," publicly acknowledged as the Queen''s royal choir but in reality were the most cold-hearted special agents and assassins under hermand. After all, many tasks were unsuitable for the "yful" subi, while the subi required much more patience when orchestrating various cunning schemes.


    In their true form, the subi no longer possessed the astonishing beauty typical of subi. They still had bodies simr to human females and appeared reasonably attractive at first nce, but a closer look would reveal abnormalities.


    Their faces resembled those of streetwalkers who had been in the business for over fifty years. What was once graceful wings were now no more than charred remains, reced by several thick, slippery, nauseating tentacles protruding from their backs, with scorpion-like stingers at the ends.


    Unlike most subi, the subi were verypetent warriors, and if forced into closebat, their ws and spikes were as sharp as swords.


    But their greatest pleasure still came from using their Quasi-Divine Art abilities to disguise themselves as divine office members, infiltrate a true god''s church, patiently umte reverence and power, and covertly convert real priests into devotees of some Demon Lord, a process that brought them immense fun.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    This disguise could deceive most detection and protective magics, but could not evade direct scrutiny by Divine Sense. As Lance swept his Divine Sense over the elf''s body, mir''s true condition clearly emerged in his mind, confirming that he indeed was an elf, with the only exception being an extraordinary talent in some aspect.


    Lancelot turned and nodded at Klin and Bruto, and the three of them simultaneously removed their Transforming Rings.


    "Wow," mir uttered, not particrly surprised.


    "My name is Lancelot, and I''m a knight. This is Schr Klin and Dwarf Warrior Bruto, son of Barrend," Lancelot introduced, "We can help you get out, but you''ll have to assist us in retrieving something we desire."


    "What are you looking for?" The elf priest looked at Lancelot with skepticism, his gaze shifting to Bruto, "Let me guess, it wouldn''t be that Dwarf Cross Pickaxe, would it?"


    "Where is that pickaxe?" Bruto asked impatiently, leading to a helpless exchange of nces between Lancelot and Klin.


    "Right beneath our feet, in the ves'' resting chamber," sighed mir, "I''m probably the person who''s touched that pickaxe the most, I knew from early on it was no ordinary item."


    Lancelot ced his hand on the cor around mir''s neck, preparing to unleash the Sword Aura of the Qingyun Sword Art to free the elf priest from his shackles.


    "Don''t move, I''ll help you take this cor off."


    "Not yet," unexpectedly, mir turned his head slightly away, declining Lancelot''s offer, "First, tell me your original n. Perhaps keeping this symbol of shame would be more helpful to your scheme."


    "Makes sense," Lancelot nodded, "Our original n was to confirm the pickaxe''s location from a senior ve and then utilize the Subus'' illusion technique to obtain the item. Ourpanions outside would then create some chaos, allowing us to take our leave amidst the confusion."


    "So the next step is to fetch that pickaxe." mir nodded, "Across from this suite in the corridor is a secret door. Opening it reveals a stairway leading down to the ves'' resting room, where the pickaxe you seek is kept. I can pretend to show you that item, but there are always at least four toad-like demons guarding it. How do you n to walk away with the pickaxe?"


    "Ha! Berserk Demons!" Bruto drew his new hammer, "I am an expert at dealing with these stinky brutes!"


    "Fighting there is a very bad idea," mir''s words coincided with Lancelot''s thoughts, "The area below is filled with traps and secret doors. The slightest dy, and you will be surrounded by enemy reinforcements, making escape impossible."


    "What state is the Cross Pickaxe in?" Klin asked, "I mean, is it locked up or tied down?"


    "No, it''s ced in a transparent box made of crystal, right on the pedestal in the center of the rest area. Any ve can pick it up when needed to continue serving the insatiable subi, but taking it away would be quite tricky as several eyes would immediately notice something missing from the box."


    "This might not be soplicated," Klin thought aloud, "I can create an illusion, a simple trick, but it''s hard to detect anything amiss through ayer of transparent crystal. The illusion canst for 1 minute, which should be enough for us to slip out."


    "We can signal Phil to act at that moment," proposed Klin, "That should briefly distract the guards."


    "Then I''ll just stash the Cross Pickaxe in this Dimensional Bag," Lancelot pped the small pouch on his belt.


    "Great," Bruto pped his hands, "this n sounds solid!"


    Lancelot nodded, pondering if there were any slips in the n.


    The worst case would be that they had to fight their way out, but from the auras he had sensed along the way, if he really wanted to leave, he doubted anyone here could stop him.


    However, going out would surely mean facing swarms of guards, and if it dide to that, he could only hope Reap hadn''t exaggerated about the destructive powers of the goblins.


    "Let''s wait for now," said Lancelot, "It might not be reasonable if the time is too short."


    "Indeed, you are my first guests today," the Elf Priest said with a wry face, "Normally, I wouldn''t need the Cross Pickaxe''s help until the third guest arrived. But today, there are three of you, so maybe waiting an hour will be sufficient." Continue your adventure at empire


    "Ha, Elves'' stamina doesn''t seem very good," Bruto said with a mischievous grin, "The third one already needs the help of a magical item?"


    "The doctrine of the Goddess requires I perform an act of love every day, and try to awaken love in someone''s heart with each new day. At least once a day, I must respond to love," mir exined with some embarrassment, "I always do my best to fulfill those subi''s desires. It''s not easy, as it always takes a full three hours to barely satisfy a customer."


    It was then that Bruto realized mir was catering to subi. It was astonishing that he, with his mortal body, could satisfy a subus and, after dealing with one, could continue to satisfy a second, fighting for six consecutive hours.


    "Uh, sorry, I almost forgot where we are," Bruto scratched his head, the Dwarves always quick to acknowledge their mistakes, "So, do you have any tips? Don''t get me wrong, I''m just asking for a friend."