Melina's Acting

Not long after, a violent explosion tore through the magnificent palace, its thunderous roar echoing hundreds of kilometers through the subterranean depths. Amidst the blast, many slaves subjugated by the Undead Queen seized the opportunity to break free. Anbaixiu and Melina blended right into their ranks. This was the first lesson Anbaixiu taught Melina: if you want to deceive people, prepare every single detail. It wasn't some meaningless game of make-believe like the Elven Queen played; every facet of a false identity had to be tightly linked and purposefully aimed. If you simply claimed to be runaway slaves, no outsider would believe it. Only when an actual catastrophe struck the Undead Queen's domain and created a genuine tide of fleeing slaves would Anbaixiu and Melina's covers become airtight. There were many slaves escaping together—gnomes, drow, deep dwarves, along with several myconids and rarer races. The explosion was like a stone hurled into an ant nest. The undead were swamped trying to repair the palace and had no time to mind these slaves. An escape like this made complete sense; no one could find a single flaw in it. "Father, how are we supposed to find the mastermind now?" Melina asked Anbaixiu through their soul resonance. Anbaixiu didn't answer directly, asking instead, "What do you think?" Melina pondered for a moment and said, "I remember which tunnels they appeared in before. Maybe we could go try our luck." Anbaixiu shot down the suggestion. "Try your luck like that, and how can you be sure those driders will jump out to invite you in instead of jumping out to eat you? Even if you're a high-status female drow and they don't eat you, they might still devour me. Wouldn't our cover be blown on the spot?" Hearing his explanation, Melina fell into complete bewilderment. If they didn't go looking, how were they supposed to infiltrate them? They couldn't possibly expect those rebels to come looking for them, could they? Yet Anbaixiu's next words gave Melina a vivid demonstration of the vast difference in their intellects. "Nobody values something delivered right to their doorstep. What we must do is make them come find us. Right now, our goal isn't hunting down those rebel drow, but subjugating these scattered, fleeing slaves. Once we command a substantial enough force, the rebels will seek us out to discuss cooperation." "Oh! You can actually do that?!" Melina was thoroughly shocked. Such an approach had never even crossed her mind. So blowing up the palace and sending a massive mob of slaves running wasn't just to establish their covers; it served a second purpose all along! "Understood? Then it's down to your capabilities. Subjugate these slaves and make them follow you," Anbaixiu said. "This... how do I subjugate them? By beating them up?" "Precisely." Anbaixiu's reply was cut-and-dried. The simplest way to subdue slaves was violence, which perfectly matched the persona of a drow. Might makes right; whether it was poisoning, assassination, or torture, nothing was beneath a drow. That was who they were. Having received Anbaixiu's approval, Melina felt a surge of excitement that her turn to shine had finally arrived. Using her brain wasn't her strong suit, but when it came to using her fists, she was a true professional. Even without her mount and lance, Melina easily knocked down a huge swathe of the panicked, fleeing slaves with her bare hands. Yet after beating them senseless, Melina stared at the slaves who were gazing back at her with eyes that practically screamed *Why did you hit us?* Her mind drew a blank, leaving her unsure of what to say. Fortunately, Anbaixiu gave her a timely prompt: "Tell these slaves that if they don't want to die, they'd better stop running around like headless chickens. Banding together is their only chance at survival." Luckily, Melina wasn't entirely hopeless. Instead of parroting him word for word, she phrased it in her own manner: "You foolish trash! This is the Underdark—do you not understand danger? If you scatter, you'll only end up dead in a ditch. Only by sticking together do you stand a chance of surviving!" Hearing this, the slaves fell into deep thought. They were all locals, well aware that the Underdark was rife with peril. But if they clustered together, wouldn't they just be waiting for the undead to hunt them down? A male drow elf spoke up. "Scattering might mean death, but if we gather in a mob, we're finished the moment the undead catch up!" Just as Melina was wondering how to rebut him, Anbaixiu whispered, "Break his legs. You are a female drow. When a male drow dares to talk back, his legs get broken!" Melina didn't hesitate in the slightest at Anbaixiu's order, striding toward the drow elf step by step. The drow elf realized at once that he had spoken out of turn. In his earlier agitation, he had forgotten he was facing a female drow. He hastily prostrated himself on the ground, trembling as he pleaded, "Respected Lady, I was wrong! Please forgive me! I did not mean to offend, please have mercy!" Melina showed no mercy whatsoever. Stepping up to the drow elf, she brought her foot down hard, snapping his shinbone. The drow elf let out a shrill shriek of agony, but this time, without waiting for Anbaixiu's prompt, Melina slapped him into unconsciousness. Anbaixiu's voice sounded in Melina's mind once more: "Tell the slaves that most low-tier undead are braindead morons. As long as we toss out a half-dead bait every so often, we can slow down the pursuers." Melina repeated the sentiment, her tone turning cold and ruthless. Without even realizing it, she had fully slipped into character. The undead were already an evil-aligned faction to begin with, making playing a drow far easier than playing a paladin. Hearing Melina's brutal declaration, the slaves didn't panic; instead, they found it entirely reasonable. This was the Underdark, where the overwhelming majority of races were cruel and self-serving. What was tossing out a decoy to stall pursuers? That didn't even come close to scraping against their moral bottom line. Besides, the majority of the dozens of slaves here were drow, and morality was simply a nonexistent concept to them. Melina's plan was swiftly accepted, and the ragged band of slaves was brought together with effortless ease. Melina hadn't been joking, either. Every few kilometers, she really did break a slave's legs, knock them unconscious, and toss them beside the path. After running for an unknown number of kilometers until the stench of the undead had faded entirely, not a single pursuer flying the Black Rose banner ever appeared. Everyone attributed this to Melina's brilliance. This female drow was simply brimming with leadership. Melina was thrilled as well. They had barely broken out, yet she had already gained a whole cadre of subordinates. Wasn't this a little too easy? At this rate, leading those conspirators into a trap would just be a matter of time. Before Melina could revel in her success for long, a drow elf humbly approached her while everyone was resting, inquiring, "Respected Lady, we have put plenty of distance between ourselves and the City of Quicksilver, but where should we head next? Everyone is reaching their limit. We need rest, but we also desperately need food and water." Melina pondered, asking Anbaixiu in her mind, "Father, what do we do now? We don't have food. We can't just slaughter a drow and roast him, can we?" Anbaixiu nearly rolled his eyes. The girl had just been doing so well getting into character, so how had she let her undead instincts slip out already? As cruel as drow were, they didn't cannibalize their own kind. Male drow were offered as sacrifices to Lolth the Spider Queen or fed to spiders, not butchered and eaten. "Melina, what is our goal? It is to draw those rebels to our side, not to fret over the lives of these drow. What you should be doing right now isn't looking out for these people, but figuring out how to stall for time until the conspirators come knocking. Why should we bother looking for food? Why let yourself be led by the nose by this drow's question?" "Then... shouldn't I answer him?" Melina asked, confused. "Turn the question back on him. Anyone can see this fellow is just trying to make an impression. He wouldn't ask a question he doesn't already have an answer for. Throw it back at him, and you'll see." While Melina was still turning the idea over in her head and lost in thought, the drow elf—unable to hear the telepathic exchange between father and daughter—assumed his words had given the noble lady pause. He seized the opening at once: "My lady, I know of a very weak myconid tribe nearby! We could seize their territory! That would provide us with both food and shelter!" Melina exclaimed in surprise, "Are you serious?" It was just as her father said. This drow elf had come to set up his own punchline. How devious! The drow elf said excitedly, "Of course! I swear by the Spider Queen, it is absolute truth, or may I perish in the fangs of spiders!" The sole reason he had mustered the courage to speak to Melina was his familiarity with the surrounding terrain, hoping to win this drow noble's favor. Male drow always sought to attach themselves to a powerful female drow; it was ingrained in their habits and nature. To his shock, as soon as he finished speaking, Melina struck him with a backhand slap that swelled half his face, roaring, "You knew all along and still dared to ask me? Were you trying to make a fool out of me?!" Clutching half his swollen face, the drow elf dropped to his knees in utter terror, spitting blood as he pleaded, "No, no, no, my lady! I was wrong! I had no such intention! Please forgive me, I would never dare!" Anbaixiu praised her inwardly. Melina had slipped back into character once more; the girl was truly moldable material. Without a doubt, Melina's display cemented her position as leader once again, proving to the slaves that they were following a volatile yet formidable commander. She could single-handedly thrash every slave here, and she despised subordinates who played petty mind games. Keeping those two facts in mind was the only way to survive under this female drow's command. Under such an iron-fisted rule, the bare-handed slaves lost all fear of the battle to come. How could mere myconids ever be as terrifying as this drow lady? The battle that followed was genuinely trivial. Just as the slapped drow elf had claimed, the myconid tribe was laughably weak, numbering fewer than thirty including the young and old. They were completely outmatched by this vicious gang of slaves, and Melina alone could have swept through the entire settlement. The fight concluded in moments without heavy casualties to the myconids. Thanks to the presence of a myconid among the slaves, the tribe surrendered immediately after Melina demonstrated her overwhelming might, willingly offering up all the food in their stores. Once the battle drew to a close, Melina didn't bother asking Anbaixiu what to do next. Through her right eye, she had already spotted driders lurking in the shadows. The rebels had found them.