Torture the hero, why has the Demon King's castle collapsed again?

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Looking at Shana's bewildered face, Ota, having delivered his verdict, sighed, ultimately softening his heart. He stepped forward and offered a word of comfort:

“Shana, I know you can’t accept it right now, but…”

The red-haired girl suddenly raised her head.

"No, I confess!!!"

"Huh?" Ota stood there stunned, then heard Shana say with great longing:

"However, I demand that my deeds be widely publicized! The more people who know, the better!!!"

Chapter 131 The Truth? The Truth!

“Report…” Ota was taken aback, then quickly realized what was happening, and was so angry that his nose was crooked.

So stubborn, he won't listen to reason!

"Don't worry, Brave Shana!" Ota said through gritted teeth, "Your deeds will be reported nationwide. Now... are you satisfied?"

Even without Shana's reminder, the title of the new hero would be spread throughout the country and announced to the people using the Contract Technique. However, looking at Shana's expression of not being ashamed but rather proud, Ota inexplicably felt a toothache... Is this girl really the hero chosen by the goddess?

Could someone have switched it with another one?

While she was doubting herself, the paladin had already stepped forward and "invited" Shana down the mountain, locking her in the carriage that was being prepared to send her to the knights' confinement room.

Only then did Erwin hesitate before stepping forward and whispering:

"Your Highness, isn't it a bit too much to bestow the title of 'Heroic Evil' upon Shana like this?"

At first, Erwin thought that Prince Ota just wanted to take advantage of the situation and use the achievement of eliminating the Wolf Mercenary Group to give Shana an insignificant title.

But unexpectedly, Prince Ota not only failed to glorify this achievement, but even exaggerated it and excessively smeared Shana's behavior.

With a puzzled look in his eyes, Erwin tried to explain, "Prince Ota, the details of what happened may not be fully reconstructed..."

“I know.” Unexpectedly, Ota quickly interrupted Erwin’s prompt with a calm gaze:

"—You mean to say that it wasn't Shana who destroyed the mountains, right?"

"Huh?" Erwin was completely surprised. He hadn't expected Ota to have thought of this all along.

After considering his doubts again, Erwin nodded in agreement:

"That's right, I can swear to you in the name of the goddess that I witnessed that sword strike with absolute clarity when I was at the foot of the mountain: there is no mistake, that was the legendary sword technique possessed by the most dazzling ancient hero of the Dark Ages, Lady Joan of Arc: Ex Curry Stick!"

“You and I both know perfectly well that although Lady Shana possesses abundant divine power, it is not enough to destroy a mountain range. Moreover, she wields a sword… Therefore, she could never be the one to level a mountain!”

“I believe you, Elwin.” Ota nodded, unsurprised. After dispersing the surrounding paladins, Ota faced Elwin and said:

"So in the description of the title ban just now, did I really explicitly state that there was a direct relationship between Shana the Hero and the destruction of the mountains?"

Erwin's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly understood: "You deliberately disguised it as the achievements of the Hero Shana! To build an even stronger reputation for her?! But isn't the title of 'Hero of Evil' a bit..."

“We can never go back to that peaceful time when Mino was in charge.” Ota shook his head solemnly.

"We must reassure the people, whether they have a good reputation or a bad one. In their eyes, reputation is equivalent to strength. For at least a long time, we can conceal the fact that Shana's strength is only enough to be easily defeated—"

"At the same time, this is also a protection for Shana! Even the Dragon Hidden Mountains can become a trap to lure Shana there. The entire royal capital is no safer than a confinement room that restricts freedom."

Ota's voice sounded somewhat heavy, and Erwin's eyes widened as he understood the unspoken meaning in Ota's words:

"Are you saying that Lady Shana is the demon race's true target?!"

“Don’t be surprised, Erwin. You should understand that since that mole even knows the exact location of the contract…” Ota smiled wisely, “how could it not know the specific contents of the contract?”

"Is a divorce contract that humans would find unappealing worth the 'demon race going to great lengths to break it'?" That's a false premise!

"Therefore, we've misunderstood from the very beginning. The demons' true goal is clearly to assassinate another hero! To this end, they spared no expense, hiring the Wolf Mercenary Group!!!"

"This..." Erwin was shocked, followed by a deep sense of bewilderment: "But, faced with such a meticulously planned and covert assassination scheme, how was the Heroine Shana able to survive...!!!"

Suddenly, Erwin raised his head, his face full of surprise. This time, without Ota's prompting, he blurted out in a flash of inspiration:

"It's Ex Curry Stick!"

"That sword technique wasn't created to destroy the contract, but to save Hero Shana!!!"

A powerful and mysterious figure inexplicably appeared in Erwin's mind, gradually connecting everything... Yes, how could the user of that sword technique that embodies the ultimate light become a minion of the demon race!

The truth is that when Shana was being besieged by the Wolf Mercenary Group, the user of the legendary sword technique suddenly appeared. To save the hero Shana from imminent danger, he was forced to unleash the Ex-Curry Stick—

Shana, the hero, was completely unaware of this and still believed that she had wiped out the Wolf Mercenary Group. It's obvious that this was impossible!

Looking at it this way, that sword of light was not the culprit of the destructive pact at all, but clearly a dazzling light that could save humanity!

Erwin was still shaken. If another hero were to fall, the blow to the morale of the already turbulent nation would be no less devastating than a dragon plague! And that would affect the entire kingdom!

"Who was it? Who came to the rescue so quickly..." he murmured to himself.

“I’d like to know too.” Ota sighed, “Who has the ability to master such pure swordsmanship, and why would they leave without leaving a trace?”

"Could it be... the Mino Warrior?!" Erwin pondered for a moment, his eyes brightening slightly.

"Only he could possibly comprehend such pure swordsmanship, and the one he saved was Mino the Hero's sister, perhaps..."

The sound grew fainter and fainter, and Erwin suddenly lowered his head, realizing it was impossible:

Not to mention that it's impossible for Mino the Hero to survive the Demon King's castle, if Mino the Hero really appeared on the scene, then the mark of the hero would have already been replaced. Mino, who has regained the power of the hero, would be far more troublesome for the demons. Therefore, the demons would have even less reason to go through the trouble of assassinating Shana the Hero.

“I also hoped it was Mino, but obviously, it isn’t…” Ota shook his head as well: “Erwin, do you have other warriors in mind who have this ability or aptitude?”

Startled, Erwin pondered for a long time before shaking his head with a chuckle, and casually mentioned with a somewhat uncertain tone, "If it's not the Mino Hero, then the most likely candidate... is that hero candidate who is second only to him, now the Grand Duke's adopted son, Dane."

"Coincidentally, he also uses a sword..."

“Dane.” Otta was slightly taken aback.

He then lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

Chapter 132 Fim is back!

In a dark, shady house in a working-class neighborhood.

Grand Duke Thanaus lit a small lamp, his grey-red eyes filled with anticipation.

"The plan should be almost successful, right?"

The communication talisman in his hand lit up frequently, a situation that could only occur when the plan made a sensational breakthrough. A smile gradually appeared on his lips as Thanaus received the intelligence and began to read through it one by one.

His movements quickly froze.

"The Dragon Hidden Mountains have been razed to the ground... The West Gate is sealed off... Ota and the Holy Knights have appeared in the Dragon Hidden Mountains... And? The Ice and Fire Dragon King has also appeared in the Dragon Hidden Mountains?"

Thanaus raised his face, a look of astonishment on his face: "What... what's going on?"

In a daze, it was as if a flash of light appeared in his mind, and Thanaus's face twitched violently. He couldn't help but cough heavily, leaning on the table...

Just then, there was a rapid knocking at the door.

Without any of the usual pre-arranged signals or rhythm, and before Thanaus could even respond, a figure reeking of burning flesh burst through the door, collapsed to the ground with a thud, and gasped for breath…

"Haah, haah..."

Thanaus stared at Dane, who had appeared before him, his eyes trembling.

Dane looked as if his two sides didn't belong to him. His left side looked like it had been gnawed at by something, with large patches of his armor and clothes exposed, and his body riddled with countless violent, gaping wounds. His right side looked as if it had been nearly chopped to pieces by incredibly sharp knives, with large wounds revealing gruesome broken bones that had almost cost him his life!

Fortunately, Thanaus recognized that the residual blood energy from the blood crystal he had given him was constantly circulating through his body, which finally suppressed the worsening of the wound and at least allowed Dane to regain his ability to move normally.

"How did you..."

After hesitating for a moment, Thanaus couldn't help but speak up and complain:

"Fighting the Wolf Mercenary Group...and almost crippled yourself?"

In Thanaus's estimation, even the worst-case scenario would be that Dane would be forced to prematurely end his battle with the Wolf Mercenary Group and avoid his true home ground.

These words should have been ignored, but as soon as they were spoken, Dane, who was lying on the floor like a lump of mud, exuding a strong aura of a defeated dog, suddenly raised his head, his eyes looking like they were about to spit fire!

"A vicious wolf? A mercenary legion?!"

The ripped corners of his mouth emitted a muffled, roaring sound that Thanaus could barely make out:

"You call them the Wolf Mercenary Group?! What happened to the rabble you promised? What happened to being able to crush everything with one hand?! Do you know what happened to me as soon as I reached the mountaintop?!"

Dane, whose hair was mostly singed, roared in a dramatic voice:

"An Ex glass rod! A full fifty meters long Ex glass rod!"

"The most terrifying thing is that they have no sportsmanship at all. They stabbed me in the back at the same time! A stab straight at my anus!!!" Dane clenched his fists, trembling uncontrollably, his eyes filled with tears, his expression collapsing:

"I've encountered at least one living ancient hero and one dark apostle who's like a Trisolaran! What's going on?! Tell me what's going on?!"

"What kind of evenly matched system is this?!"

Dane broke down and yelled:

"Even the brave Mino couldn't possibly win such a difficult battle!!!"

As Thanaus listened to Dane's explanation, he couldn't help but awkwardly touch his nose... He had a vague feeling that his plan this time had stepped on the most fatal landmine.

“Those people weren’t brought by me at all…” Thanaus shook his head, then stepped forward to comfort Dane. Thick streams of blood energy gradually flowed into Dane’s wounds, allowing his internal injuries to heal rapidly.

Dane was slightly surprised as he felt the power rapidly nourishing his body. He glanced at Thanaus and gradually calmed down.

Thanaus realized he had performed rather well, coughed twice, withdrew his hand, and sat back down in the recliner: "Describe the characteristics of the person you encountered again."

Dane nodded slightly, his physical condition gradually stabilizing, and he began to focus on describing the "maid of light" he had encountered.

"The royal capital actually harbors such a luminous power..."

After a long while, Thanaus came to his senses and felt even more fortunate for his years of seclusion and behind-the-scenes work.

"This is truly the worst luck imaginable! How could I have encountered so many bizarre things?!"

After exchanging "answers" with Thanaus, Dane couldn't help but shudder, wondering if he had survived because his "Brando" ancestors had pulled every string they could to get him to!

"There's nothing we could have done, none of us expected this..." Looking towards the western city gates, where the scenery was no longer obscured by mountains, Thanaus sighed with melancholy.

"—The Dragon Hidden Mountains actually hold an important contract of the Dragon Clan."

"That maid... must be the guardian."

……