Who made him a paladin?

Chapter 5 Kill This Mind Flayer

Xia Nan squinted and looked in the direction of the sound.

In a corner unlit by the fluorescent stone streetlights, a tall, thin figure slowly emerged, carrying an oil lamp and wearing a wide, dark red robe.

Only after getting closer could Xia Nan see the other person's appearance clearly.

Below the purple head, there is no nose or lips, and four tentacles covered with suckers are growing from the chin.

Two yellowish-brown eyes without pupils were staring intently at Xia Nan.

Is this a mind-stealing demon?

It's worth mentioning that Xia Nan had only ever seen this race, which survives by sucking human brains, in games and movies.

When it actually stands in front of you, the physical aversion you feel is indescribable.

Xia Nan's stomach refluxed instantly, and she almost vomited up the food that hadn't been digested yet.

"I didn't want to disturb your enjoyable meal with your friends, so I waited a little longer." The Mind Flayer's voice didn't come from his vocal cords, but vibrated directly in Xia Nan's mind, accompanied by a dizzying buzzing sound.

"Now that you have a stable income, shouldn't you also start addressing your debts?"

After saying this, it stretched out its withered arm and snapped its fingers.

A flash of purple psionic light appeared, and a parchment scroll floated out of thin air, unfurling in mid-air.

"Including the interest from these past few days, it's exactly thirty gold coins," the Mind Flayer announced calmly.

"Thirty gold coins?" Xia Nan's slight intoxication vanished instantly.

You little squid!

In just a few days, the ten gold coins tripled in value with interest.

It seems the winds of capitalism have blown into another world.

"I don't remember the interest rate being this high?" Xia Nan asked, frowning.

"Mr. Xia Nan, please look carefully at the small print in the lower right corner of the scroll."

By the light of the oil lamp, Xia Nan stared intently at the lines of otherworldly text, which were as small as fly legs.

Interestingly, it was only at this moment that Xia Nan realized an extremely serious problem.

The original owner of this body was completely illiterate!

Putting aside the tricks of using small characters, being illiterate is a serious disadvantage.

"Mr. Xia Nan, I feel it's necessary to remind you that although paladins can have their human status revoked to avoid becoming factory slaves due to prolonged periods of inactivity..."

"But this does not mean that your existing debts can be forgiven."

Xia Nan curiously examined the uninvited guest before him.

To be honest, although the Mind Flayer race has a terrible reputation among the common people, they have legal residency rights within the legal framework of the Pasar Empire.

They were said to be able to manage royal assets well, so they received a special royal decree allowing them to reside within the empire and engage in banking-related business.

So even though he knew he had just been knighted, he still dared to come knocking on his door to collect the debt.

Are they really so fearless now that they have the backing of the royal family?

But Xia Nan immediately thought, since his registration had already been taken back, why should he care?

That being said, at least tonight, the Mind Devil will not hear Xia Nan verbally stating the message of "not paying interest".

A grayish-brown burlap sack suddenly descended from behind the Mind Flayer, covering half of his body.

"Ugh—!"

The Mind Flayer let out a muffled groan, its four tentacles writhing wildly, making a sticky "slap-slap" sound on the linen.

Immediately afterwards, the rope at the bottom of the sack was tightened securely.

"You dare to extort my brother?"

Bruce bared his sharp teeth and tightened the rope even further.

Xia Nan was momentarily stunned.

Strictly speaking, his relationship with Bruce was at best that of a "familiar stranger".

But this guy didn't even hesitate when his opponent was a dimensional being; he simply put the sack over his head and elbowed the opponent, making him roll on the ground.

This loyalty...

But then again, since his brothers have stood up for him, wouldn't it be disingenuous if he didn't do something in return?

"Hold it down!"

Xia Nan swung his right fist and smashed it directly into the Mind Flayer's abdomen. But that still wasn't enough to vent his anger.

So Xia Nan turned around and walked to the roadside stall, applied the [Sloth] spell to the half-person-high wooden barrel, and then raised the barrel above his head with both hands.

"Bang--!"

The wooden bucket smashed into the Mind Flayer, its bottom cracking instantly, scattering leftover fruit peels and rotten vegetable leaves all over the ground.

"What happened?!"

Xia Nan turned her head and saw Karl rushing out of the shop, his two braided beards swinging like propellers.

"Mr. Carl!" Bruce yelled, pulling on the rope. "That damned Mind Flayer is trying to blackmail my brother!"

"grass!"

Carl's beady eyes widened instantly, his bulbous nose turned bright red, and then he turned and rushed back into the shop.

When he came out, he had an iron hammer in his hand, which was used for hammering iron billets.

"You sewer bug! I'll show you Moradin's wrath!"

Karl, with his short stature, suddenly leaped up, smashing his hammer down on the Mind Flayer's shoulder.

"Thump!"

A muffled thud was heard, and the Mind Flayer's entire body tilted to one side.

However, just as the three were in the midst of their fierce fight—

"Buzz—!!"

A purple psychic energy surge suddenly rippled outwards from the Mind Flayer, sending tattered cloth and dust flying everywhere.

The shockwave sent Xia Nan, Bruce, and Karl staggering backward.

"Huff huff..."

The Mind Flayer's four tentacles trembled violently, and its purple face was covered with furious, wrinkled lines.

But just as it opened its tentacles, seemingly about to unleash magic, Xia Nan noticed that the tips of the mind flayer's tentacles curled slightly, as if some invisible force had paused it.

Insulting or attacking a registered paladin is a serious crime, violating Article 3 of Chapter 7 of the Pasar Empire Law.

It dares to press for debts, but it doesn't dare to show even the slightest hostility towards Xia Nan.

Thinking of this, the Mind Flayer forcibly suppressed the anger that surged up and turned his gaze to Karl not far away.

You can't touch the tough nuts, and you can't pick on the soft ones either?

"You little dwarf! Were you the one who hit me with that metal object just now?"

Karl, on the other hand, nonchalantly hoisted the hammer onto his shoulder and declared confidently:

"My dear sir, blacksmithing is my profession." He pointed to the five large characters "Karl's Equipment Shop" on the sign behind him, "So isn't it reasonable for me to carry a hammer with me?"

The Mind Flayer narrowed its eyes, and its entire body immediately floated into the air. Its withered arm was raised forward, and psychic energy, like arcs of electricity, gathered at its fingertips.

"Since you won't admit it, then don't blame me..."

Before the words were even finished, the Mind Flayer's fingertip energy transformed into a ferocious giant python, hurtling straight toward Karl with a piercing shriek that tore through the air!

Karl instinctively closed his eyes, his mind already prepared to answer the call of Moradin, the god of forging.

However, the expected excruciating pain did not occur.

He opened his eyes in confusion, and the first thing he saw was a back that wasn't particularly wide, but at that moment it felt incredibly reliable.

Xia Nan held up the broken sword, which emitted a white light, horizontally with one hand, blocking in front of him. That white light was the prelude to unleashing the Supreme Slash.

"I was here, and you still dared to lay a hand on me?" Xia Nan's tone was authoritative and unquestionable. "Don't you respect the law?"

Upon seeing this, Karl was both surprised and respectful, and for a moment he was at a loss for what to do.

This...this is even more like a knight than the legendary knights!

The Mind Flayer, on the other hand, did not refute, but simply clenched his fist, his withered knuckles making a soft "crackling" sound.

He really wanted to get rid of Xia Nan right now.

But the thought that if things escalated and completely alarmed the Vatican, the "plan" behind it would be all for naught.

Thinking of this, the Mind Devil dispelled its magic and stared at Xia Nan with resentful eyes.

"Mr. Xia Nan, your courage has indeed impressed me. I will visit again in three days. I hope you will have my gold coins ready by then..."

As soon as it finished speaking, it turned and drifted into the shadows of the night.

Carl finally breathed a sigh of relief and plopped down on the ground.

"That was a really satisfying fight, my friend!" He wiped the sweat from his brow. "I've been wanting to get my hands on those disgusting mind flayers for ages! They dare to run a loan shark operation all over the capital just because they have His Majesty the King's protection!"

"But you'd better watch out after tonight," Karl sighed, getting up from the ground with a serious expression. "This race is even more vengeful than we dwarves. You made him suffer such a great loss today, he'll definitely find a way to get revenge."

Xia Nan didn't take it seriously, only raising an eyebrow as he looked in the direction where the Mind-Stealing Demon had disappeared.