Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Demise of the Seven Dwarfs

"Help!"
"Help!"
"Is there anyone to save us!"

On the side of the road, several figures were hanging upside down from a tree, letting out weak cries for help.

"Oh, why are we so unlucky? We didn't get the money, we didn't get the girl, and although we saved our lives, we ended up tied to this tree!" one dwarf complained.

"What's there to complain about? Isn't this our own choice? Did you forget we are men who aim to become great Pirate Kings like Whitebeard? How can such a minor setback defeat us!" another dwarf scolded him with dissatisfaction.

As he spoke, he struggled violently. Strangely, the vines holding them were nothing more than ordinary creepers. Yet, no matter how hard they struggled, they could not break free from the simple bindings. Despite their small stature, these were no ordinary men; as Hill Dwarves, they possessed immense strength. The fact that they couldn't break free from common vines was clearly extraordinary. However, at this moment, they were not concerned with such details—merely being able to escape would be a stroke of luck.

"Boss, the Queen has sent an order for us to go steal some magic lamp!" suddenly, the seventh dwarf at the edge spoke up. As the liaison, he was responsible for all communications.

"Order? To hell with her orders!" the second dwarf shouted irritably. "Look at the state we're in, and you're still thinking about orders?"

After being soundly beaten by Ye Qing, they hadn't been killed, but they had been left hanging from the tree for an entire day. Without food or water, and in an upside-down position, even their sturdy constitutions were reaching their limit. Most importantly, Ye Qing had done something to the vines—no matter how they thrashed, the seemingly delicate plants remained motionless and incredibly tough.

"Are we just going to watch them?" On the other side of the road, Ye Qing and Snow White were not in a hurry to leave. Instead, they had stopped to observe the seven dwarves.

"I'm waiting to see if the person behind them will intervene," Ye Qing frowned.

He had waited for a day, but the puppet master had made no move, leaving him unsure of the person's temperament. There was no doubt that these seven dwarves had been trained; it was evident from the way they spoke. The greater the influence of this individual, the more the world would change, and the entire fairy tale world was already on the verge of collapse. This was not a good sign. He had to find the person as soon as possible. Setting a trap was the simplest method.

Yet, his heart remained clouded with worry. Since the person could kill an Executioner, it proved they were formidable. Furthermore, having killed an Executioner meant the culprit was no longer ignorant of his existence; this was the most troublesome part.

"It's been so long, I don't think they're coming," Snow White said, bored. The main issue was that the mosquitoes in the forest were too fond of her, which made her very uncomfortable, though she didn't want to show it in front of Ye Qing.

"He is also in contact with Queen Snow," Ye Qing's expression darkened.

He was certain that Queen Snow was not the transmigrator. He had previously wondered why there was the aura of a transmigrator in the Snow Kingdom, which had led him to track it there and incidentally abduct Snow White. Now it was clear: the person was in contact with the Queen and had been in the palace, but Ye Qing had arrived too late, leaving only a lingering scent.

His expression flickered. He subconsciously looked at Snow White. He finally realized that his movements had been under the other party's nose all along. Queen Snow possessed the Magic Mirror, which knew almost everything in the fairy tale world. While the mirror could not track him as an outsider, it could monitor Snow White, effectively keeping tabs on his location. No wonder he had always returned empty-handed; the core of the problem lay here.

His dilemma was that he couldn't just abandon Snow White in this wilderness. Not only because of potential villains, but she couldn't even handle simple wild beasts on her own. He wasn't cold-hearted enough for that.

"Oh, someone is coming!" Snow White whispered.

Ye Qing had already noticed, but he kept silent. They hid themselves, and he even retracted the Green Dragon energy he had imbued into the vines. Without that reinforcement, the seven dwarves finally managed to break free.

"Hey, Boss, Boss! It seems like someone is coming!" As soon as he was free, the fifth dwarf immediately returned to his obsession with business. They were, after all, professionals aiming to be the greatest robbers—following in the footsteps of legends like the Whitebeard Pirate King or the Forty Thieves.

"Good. Fifth, you've improved. Let's finish this job first, then go do the task the Queen assigned. That way, we'll have repaid our master's debt, and we won't have to listen to that woman anymore!" The head dwarf didn't want to work for that vicious Queen, but their master had taught them everything they knew. "A master for a day is a father for life," as the saying went. He felt it was only right to repay the master's kindness before pursuing their own goals. Even if they were robbers, they would be robbers with principles.

"Oh, why is it only two people? And they're walking, no luggage, no profit to be made here!" the sixth dwarf looked at the two approaching youths and was deeply disappointed.

"A thief never leaves empty-handed. Regardless of whether they have money, we'll just rob them of something!" The leader was a man of principle; if he said they were going to rob, they were going to rob. The others nodded in agreement; it was their creed.

"Halt! Stop right there! This road was opened by me, and these trees were planted by me. If you want to pass, leave your toll money!" The fifth dwarf brandished two short battle-axes, standing heroically in the middle of the road to block their path.

"Boss, that seems to be the target the Queen told us to hit!" the seventh dwarf whispered to the leader. The information the Queen had sent included images, so they wouldn't mistake their target.

"Even better!" The leader smiled happily. "Two birds with one stone!"

Seeing the small man blocking his path, Murong Xun frowned. He was in a hurry, having already taken a detour due to the markers on the map. He was already irritable, and now someone had the audacity to block his path to rob him? It was the perfect outlet for his frustration!

*Clang!*

A flash of bright steel reflected in the forest. A head flew into the air, the small eyes still filled with confusion and disbelief. Murong Xun didn't hesitate; since he had started, he would finish it thoroughly. He had no mercy for a group of bandits.

"Fifth!" The other dwarves were devastated to see the fifth one decapitated in a single stroke. They grabbed their weapons and charged. This man seemed even more difficult than the one they had met before, but they didn't care. Having grown up together, their only thought was revenge.

Unfortunately, the gap in raw strength was simply too vast. Before Aladdin could even say a word, Murong Xun had mowed down the dwarves like vegetables. It was over in an instant.

Once Aladdin processed what had happened, he was overcome with both fear and relief. He wondered if he had refused earlier, would he have been beheaded just the same? He completely extinguished any rebellious thoughts; it was better to be obedient.

On the other side, Snow White covered her mouth tightly, not daring to breathe. Her body trembled. Ye Qing, thinking she was terrified, turned to look at her. He was speechless to find that she wasn't trembling from fear, but from excitement. Her face was flushed an unnatural red, and as someone who had seen it all, he understood exactly what this meant. Watching such a scene lead to a "peak life" moment made his expression turn strange. He was certain that the world of fairy tales could not be viewed through the lens of a normal world, or his worldview would surely collapse.

He looked at the two men walking away with a complex expression. He knew the man who had just acted was a Player. His strength wasn't immense, but he was decisive and ruthless—the type who thrived in the cutthroat world of the Magic Tower. If he were to join the Executioner's department, he would likely be even more in his element. He didn't look down on the man. In the world of the Magic Tower, each world could cause one's strength to undergo a metamorphosis; perhaps by the next time they met, the man would be stronger than him. He simply saw his former self in the man.

If he had been that decisive back then, perhaps he wouldn't have needed to join the Executioner's unit and linger on, paying with his freedom. In this world, one truly needed to be ruthless to gain a foothold. It was a pity he couldn't do it, and now, there was no need. He only needed to deal with rule-breakers; others had nothing to do with him.

That was the reason he had managed to retain his kindness despite becoming an Executioner. Since it didn't matter anymore, why not keep his original intentions? That was just who he was. Otherwise, the accident during his promotion mission would never have happened.

He only felt sorry for those who had been on that mission with him. He had survived, but he would never have the chance to say sorry to them.