LRAB Page 182
Page 182
Thanaus was pale and somewhat weak and listless, but he still stubbornly waved his hand, though his eyes were filled with frustration.
What else could he do...? Those damned paladins have been taking too much control of the orphanage lately, and he no longer has the chance to drink the blood of those sunny, vibrant people... In addition, the entire capital is on guard against the appearance of the "mysterious vampire" that night, and his actions are restricted everywhere. He hasn't had a full meal in far too long.
"It's all that damned Duke Moss's fault!!!" Thanaus gritted his teeth in hatred.
Now, his resentment towards Duke Moss far surpasses that towards Pope Brad, who once dealt him a heavy blow! After all, the latter is at least completely dead, while Moss... is still flaunting his rightful title of "Greatest Noble of the Year."
I heard he's been giving lavish speeches and donations in the working-class district, comforting the common people, and even visiting them and a bunch of nobles every day to try and persuade them, acting all like a great philanthropist... Pshaw! What's he pretending for?! He's obviously just here to disgust himself!!!
The reputation of the "Blood Cross" is now completely ruined, and it lacks sufficient influence to expand beyond the capital.
"We must seize control of the kingdom as soon as possible."
Thanaus raised his head, his eyes no longer concealing a fierce ambition. He turned to look at Dane:
"I heard the Knights invited you to participate in the defense on the day of the blessing ceremony?"
“That’s right.” Dane hesitated and nodded. “But I haven’t decided whether I want to go or not.”
A dull ache ran down his back, and Dane's face twitched slightly. The fall from the height of the palace that night had left his back aching every time it rained. His injuries hadn't healed yet, and it felt like a severe backlash from his exhaustion.
“You must go; this is the best opportunity for us.”
Thanaus said, "On the day of the blessing ceremony, those demons will definitely not miss such a good opportunity to cause destruction. If they operate properly... perhaps that hero of sin will perish directly during the blessing ceremony."
"If that's the case, shouldn't we just slack off even more?" Dane wondered. "That way, we can give those demons an opportunity to take advantage."
"Do you think Prince Ota and those ministers are just bots?" Thanaus shook his head.
“I have heard that the Kingdom’s great scholar Astrid has given Prince Ota some very forward-thinking advice, and the demons may not be able to find an opportunity.”
"So, it's our turn to step in."
"As long as you show some strength when dealing with the demons that day, and disrupt the rhythm at a crucial moment, causing the knights to suffer a complete defeat... this will not only increase your reputation, but also give the demons an opportunity to invade the capital!"
"At that time, when the hero falls, you will directly possess the qualifications of a hero and the achievements of a hero's title."
"If not you, then who?"
Chapter 261 The Most Evil Plan, the Greatest Weakness of the Blessing Ritual
"This……"
Dane's eyes gleamed with anticipation; on this one target, he and Thanaus would not scheme against each other.
After thinking it over for a long time, he nodded emphatically: "Okay!"
“However,” Dane changed the subject, looking at Thanaus:
"I need that kind of 'bloodstone' from last time. You know, with my current strength, I'm still a little short of being able to stand out in the elite squads of the Knights."
Thanaus remained silent for a long time. Just before the furnace burned out, he finally took out a bloodstone from his pocket, rubbed it for a long time with some reluctance, and then tossed it to Dane.
"Use it sparingly, this is the last one." Thanaus looked reluctant to part with it.
This was the last drop of blood he had extracted from those children that night. He himself was reluctant to consume it, but he also knew that you can't catch a wolf without risking your cubs.
"As long as you're not facing those great demons alone, this bloodstone will last you a long time."
"Don't worry." Dane chuckled. "Who would be so stupid as to go into battle alone? I have an entire knight order to cover me."
Thanaus nodded, finally relieved, and looked into the depths of the night:
"Now, it all depends on the methods of those great demons..."
……
Demon City.
In the lower hall, the pressure shifted to the Demon Council.
"I don't think I need to go into any more detail about the threat posed by that hero of sin, everyone."
From his seat, the demon strategist Swell said softly, "Without a doubt, the opponent has potential no less than Mino's! Therefore, we must destroy this Goddess's blessing... and even find a way to make that hero die in the round tower!"
“This is not an easy task, Svir.” The voice came from the seat of the Eighth Demon.
The Demon Sword Apophis looked at Svir and said, "After those two incidents, the Dragon Hidden Mountains and the internal strife in the capital, humans will surely be very wary of us."
"Furthermore, with the involvement of that 'Kingdom's Morning Star' this time, the difficulty is greater than any previous operation."
Apophis wasn't trying to dampen spirits; every problem it pointed out as the Demon Sword was the biggest obstacle to the success of this sabotage operation, and the demons present immediately understood the crux of the matter.
"Therefore, we must also make use of our biggest trump card."
A hint of confidence crept into Swell's voice:
"From the Mino Warrior, we extracted... the most crucial information!"
"Oh?"
Without further explanation, this time, Svir directly stated his plan: "This time, the weakness we need to target is precisely that holy archmage atop the round tower, the friend of the hero, the one who single-handedly gave birth to that terrifying monster, the Mino Hero... the kingdom's strategist!!!"
"Archmage Lak?" Apophis was somewhat surprised. "He will be the biggest weakness. Are you sure? Svir, his troublesome nature far surpasses that immature saintess and the pope, and he even possesses more cunning and wisdom than Prince Ota!"
"That's precisely why we can take advantage of this aspect of human psychology."
Swell said, "While that chief of the Round Tower is certainly confident in his abilities, can he really manage the entire blessing ritual? The steps of the Goddess's blessing ritual are no longer a secret. As long as we find the right moment, we can sabotage it right under that chief of the Round Tower's nose!"
The group of demons sat quietly in their seats, ready to listen to Swell's analysis.
This operation involves the human kingdom's military strength, the distribution of various combat forces, the variables in the round tower blessing ceremony, and the actions and arrangements of the kingdom's nobles... Only Svir can incorporate everything into the overall knowledge and deduce the most suitable solution.
"The biggest weakness of the blessing ritual lies in the magic stone warehouse that provides the energy!"
"Chief Lak will be presiding over the blessing of the hero at the center of the round tower that day. During this process, he certainly won't have any more concerns about the magic stones that have been inspected beforehand... But as long as we infiltrate those warehouses during the blessing process and contaminate the magic stones filled with divine power... everything will be different."
Swell's voice was full of darkness as he said:
"Once that chief discovers that the power extracted from those magic stones has transformed into the purest and most violent magic, and this magic falls into the body of Shana, the fire-attribute hero... I don't need to say more about what awaits her, do I?"
Swell was very pleased with himself at that moment.
Only a wicked and cruel demon like it could conceive of such a plan...
"Heh, a good plan, Swell." Even the Demon Sword Apophis, seated at the table, uttered a word of praise:
This is almost the most insidious and feasible plan, using a chain reaction to gradually bring the hero to his death. Even Swell must have lost many pages before he came up with it.
“However,” he asked, knowing the answer already, leading to the final question:
"How can we find out the location of the magic stone warehouse inside the round tower? That's one of humanity's secrets."
"I've lost count of how many times I've been grateful for the success of our initial operation."
The pages of Swell swayed slightly: "The hero Mino, whom we imprisoned, became the premise for this operation to succeed."
"Next, all we need to do is extract information from him."
As Swell spoke, he suddenly sighed regretfully:
"If the Nightmare Mirror were here, everything would be much easier. We could obtain the most crucial information without lifting a finger."
The Nightmare Mirror has a natural advantage in eliciting information that is not easily taken to heart, but is deadly enough.
The words fell.
Across the long table, Migo, sitting in the third demon's seat, twitched his horns and lowered his head somewhat guiltily...
"So, who will conduct the interrogation?"
At the long table, Apophis fell silent first. The resilience that Mino had shown when it tortured him last time had left it without the confidence to succeed a second time.
Swell was in a dilemma. Theoretically, he should have used his talent to extract the most accurate information, but the sword strike a month ago had deprived him of the opportunity to use his talent.
Lady Migo's eyes darted around, and it was clear that she was the one with the least confidence in interrogating Mino.
As for Lord Fim, he seems to be in a daze? No, it's just that it's not obvious. Lord Fim is probably also struggling with what dish to use to torture Mino.
“This is not a matter of choice, Swell.”
At the head of the long table, a calm and resolute voice rang out in the hall.
Svir felt a jolt in its heart. Being the closest to her, it felt an overwhelming sense of oppressive magic emanating from Kletina. It couldn't help but turn its head to look at Kletina, who was dressed in a jet-black rose gown. Her fair skin was exposed through the dress, but she was like the deepest shadow, draped in a gown of dark night with dim stars.
It knows why.
Heroes have always been the greatest threat to the Demon King, and this is even more true now that the Path of Heroes has been opened...
Lady Kretina will not allow any existence capable of threatening Lady Mia.
The fragrance of roses filled the room, mingled with a numbing poison that seemed capable of devouring everything, and deep within Kletina's cherry-pink eyes:
"Leave the torture to me."
Chapter 262 The Demon King Who Drinks Milk, The Torture of the Soul
Demon King's Castle, Prison.
"It's so quiet."
After finishing dinner and milk tea, Mino listlessly opened the cell door and began to stroll down the corridor.
Since the Demon Alliance meetings take an unknown amount of time each time, they are usually held after Fim has finished preparing dinner in order to ensure Mino's diet.
"Everyone's in a meeting, there's not even anyone to chat with... Let's just skip this meeting."
After a long, lazy stretch, Mino, who had a good afternoon nap, was now clearly in a state of "having nothing to do after eating".
After all, for the past month, all I've done is eat, drink, and sleep; there's nothing else.
Mino yawned, surprised that the demons were so patient, not interrogating him for a whole month.
"Sigh, even the only joy of being a prisoner is gone... What's the difference between me, a hero, and a salted fish?" Mino shook his head with a sigh, muttering to himself:
"Aren't there any other guys as idle as me right now?"
Pah, pah, pah, pah.
Soft, gentle footsteps echoed up the stairs.
As Mino reached the bottom of the stairs and was about to take a walk down, she lowered her head and her eyes met a pair of bright, sparkling eyes.
"Uh-huh?"