2. Do you dare to spar with me?

The Merli United Kingdom is a kingdom located in the far east, and rather than being a true kingdom, it is more like a patchwork of territories pieced together by various lords after reaching certain agreements, a nation formed to unify their voices. It is precisely because of this that the word “United” is included in its name.

Although the environment of the Merli United Kingdom is not particularly extreme, due to its geographical location, it feels somewhat out of place, distanced from the western countries, a bit “out of the loop.” Thus, the ordinary onlookers who learn of the existence of the Merli United Kingdom mostly do so through trade goods marked with “made in XXXX.”

Indeed, this is a land filled with “business.” Items, information, and even servants—anything that can be clearly priced is treated as a commodity. There is no such thing as a “black market” here, because… everything that can be bought and sold is legally traded in the Merli United Kingdom.

Even those things dug up from the earth, buried for who knows how many years, are no exception.

For Lin Ke, the Grand Leader of the Merli United Kingdom, tonight is an important occasion. Because within her family, a group of assholes, while burying the bodies of their companions, failed to dig up the graves but instead unearthed a pile of strange pots, pans, and stone pillars.

These things are commonly referred to as “ruins,” but the Merli United Kingdom has never had a trend of “collecting.” To Lin Ke, they are merely scrap. However—what is scrap to her may not be the same for others; those in the west who constantly rave about magic are indeed eager for such items, and they could definitely fetch a good price that would satisfy both parties.

So, after securing a lavish buyer, Lin Ke immediately brought people to seal off the site, planning to quietly transport this batch of scrap back to the family under the cover of night. After all… such matters could only be handled personally; it wouldn’t do to have anyone discover that the Grand Commander of the Kingdom was leading a trash dig, right?

At this moment.

By the time Lin Ke and her team hurried over, the younger members of the family had already secured the area well.

As her gaze swept across the scene, Lin Ke saw the freshly dug earth and a small portion of the ruins exposed. Being remnants from the mud, the foul odor wafting from them made Lin Ke instinctively cover her nose, revealing a look of disgust.

“I should have worn a gas mask beforehand.”

Muttering to herself, Lin Ke glanced at the balding old man beside her—this was the “archaeologist” she had urgently hired at a high price, one of the few in the Kingdom.

“What exactly is this scrap metal?”

“Hmm, there’s no doubt it’s a relic with a long history, Miss Lin Ke.”

The old man adjusted his monocle. “From the items we’ve retrieved so far, they appear to be offerings dedicated to a ‘Goddess’ type of faith. Based on the shape and style of the ceremonial vessels, it seems the worshippers were likely an elven tribe from many years ago.”

“Those long-eared ones?”

“Indeed. However, the elven tribes should have lived in the western Kingdom of Prulus. Why are there traces of elven habitation here? Could it be that the current elven tribes are a result of migration? Moreover, Prulus doesn’t have any particular faith, so why…”

“Shut up!”

Lin Ke interrupted the incessant chatter of the old man. She had brought him to investigate the relics, not to educate everyone on geography and history.

Now, Lin Ke felt a bit regretful. If the relics were related to elves, it might have been better to switch the seller to someone from Prulus rather than the quick-offering Rodmar Empire. But this was the result of her impatience; she had sought a seller without investigation. There are benefits to being quick; even if it meant taking a small loss to sell early, it would save her from prolonged worries. After all, these were things dug up without spending a dime; no matter how they sold, it would be a profit.

“What should we do now?”

“Uh… the best approach is, of course, to protect each piece and take them back. However… these large ceremonial statues and such will likely need to be cut for transport. Miss Lin Ke, may I take a closer look?”

“Go ahead~”

Lin Ke glanced at a partially unearthed stone pillar in the distance, caked in mud and grime, barely revealing some humanoid outlines that seemed to be holding various weapons in some chaotic ritual. Sigh… elves really are feudal, aren’t they?

Waving her hand, Lin Ke called her subordinates over.

“Bring over the cutting machine, prepare more magic stones, and get ready to start cutting. Just digging them out one by one to take away would be too foolish.”

Having said that, Lin Ke also intended to step closer, somewhat satisfying her curiosity. However…

Accompanied by a sudden palpitation, Lin Ke was astonished to discover: a figure was already sitting on the stone pillar in front of her, then kicked away the archaeological expert who had tried to sneak a peek at the ruins!

“Hey, if it’s not yours, don’t touch it!”

“Wow… Waaahhh!”

The archaeological expert was so frightened by this “haunting” incident that he fell to the ground, but Lin Ke wouldn’t be as cowardly as that old man! A female ghost? How could that be? It was clearly just a person!

“Who are you!?”

Lin Ke’s voice immediately attracted the attention of her subordinates!

The area had long been sealed off, all to ensure she could secretly transport these ruins away in the dead of night, yet how could there still be someone appearing!?

In her line of sight, the figure that had suddenly appeared within the ruins… was actually a young girl with white hair, and those pointed ears… were they elven!? No, that didn’t matter; what was crucial was her attire, wrapped in a cloak clearly meant for ease of movement at night, and in her hand was something resembling a “bounty notice.”

Lin Ke quickly realized: someone dressed like this generally had a name in the Meri United Kingdom that could only be uttered with a sense of reverence—bounty hunter!

Receiving a task from an employer, then going to complete it, returning with proof to claim the reward. Fair and square, mutually agreed upon; in other countries, this profession might be called “assassin,” but in the Meri United Kingdom, it existed legally under the name of “bounty hunter!”

Such individuals could not be judged by their appearance alone!

“Can’t you tell? I’m clearly the type who gets paid to do a job~”

The girl stood up, the night wind blowing her hat off, revealing a cute face typical of a girl with short white hair.

“It’s best if you don’t take what you’ve found here. This thing, my employer wants to take it away~ So for the sake of peace, you see~”

“Please leave here quickly~”

The girl pulled out a knife, casually gesturing with it.