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

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"No matter what, hero, if you dare to sneak into my bedroom again, I'll have to interrogate you."

"Okay, now that we've covered the rewards, what about the punishment?"

Unable to cope, Lord Shadow Demon transformed into a shadow and returned to the corridor entrance, looking at Svir before him:

"What's wrong, Swell? Your magic seems a little unstable?"

"I was just about to report to you, Lady Kletina," Sverre said gravely.

"A new pope has emerged in the human camp..."

"Oh?" Kleinna's eyes narrowed slightly. "You mean, in just ten days, the Sacred Body of a Weapon, which is said to be born only once every thousand years, has reappeared?"

Kleidina didn't question the falsity of Svir's "knowledge," but her expression was equally grave: "In that case, we must act quickly to nip that Sacred Artifact in the bud. Fortunately, the journey from Sacred Artifact to Pope is still a long one..."

“No, you misunderstood.” Swell interrupted somewhat helplessly, “It’s not the Holy Body of the Artifact, but the Pope.”

"That holy body of the artifact has passed all the tests for the succession to the pope at an incredible speed and has been chosen by the human kingdom as the next pope!"

"What?!" Kleidina swayed slightly, seemingly wondering if she had been pulled into a dream by the Nightmare Mirror, but seeing Svir's serious expression, her eyes grew solemn: "Is the news true, Svir?"

"Humans wouldn't fabricate such a huge lie. It's said that the new Pope Tonk was greatly influenced by the Mino Warrior and was almost a successor to his spirit."

Swell blamed everything on Mino: "Now that I think about it, Pope Brad and the others probably had this trump card all along, and we were completely unaware..."

The new pope, the awakened saintess, and the hero who was already capable of severely injuring Svir... Kletina stood there like a statue for a long time.

Finally, she sighed deeply:

"That hero really knows how to cause trouble for the demons..."

Swell nodded in deep agreement, knowing full well that the hero Klettina was referring to was not the one from the human faction, but the seemingly perverted yet righteous hero in the prison cell.

The major sources that threaten the demon race from the human camp are all related to Mino: his sister, his childhood friend, and... a Mino fanboy?

“Since that’s the case, then we have no choice but to give up.” The next moment, Kletina’s tone was as if she had made up her mind:

"The first line of defense."

"Order all Demon King troops to withdraw from the first line of defense and retreat to the vicinity of the second line of defense!"

"Lady Kletina?!" Svir exclaimed in shock. "That territory rightfully belongs to us!!!"

“That’s how war is, Svir.” Kleinna lowered her eyes and said calmly, “When humanity is strong, it is we who have to make concessions… In your current situation, humanity still has dragon riders and Saintess Lena or the new Pope who are about to go to the battlefield. Do you still have the confidence to hold the first line of defense?”

"One careless move could easily lead to heavy losses for the Demon King's army! Even the second line of defense is under pressure."

Swell fell silent, knowing that Kletina was right. With the Pope and the Saintess having regained their fighting strength, their previous advantage was no longer significant. The Demon King's army, scattered along the first line of defense, was now concentrated on the second line—a true impregnable fortress! Humanity, even with its utmost effort, could not advance any further!

Kleidina's decision was not wrong. What truly unsettled Swell was the biggest hidden danger left behind after retreating from the first line of defense:

"However, Lady Kletina, once the first line of defense is relinquished—the 'Path of the Hero' will be completely opened to humanity!"

Looking at Kleidina, Swell anxiously tried to dissuade her:

The Path of the Warrior!

That was a treacherous route leading from outside the second line of defense all the way to the Demon King's castle! All magic and holy power were forbidden inside, and humans could only rely on their physical abilities to overcome the obstacles. But once they made it through, they could go directly to the Demon King's castle and face the Demon King head-on!

A thousand years ago, it was said that the swordsman broke through the first line of defense at a speed that the demons never expected, tearing a gap in the defenses and following the path of the hero all the way to the Demon King's castle, where he finally slew the former Demon King with his sword!

Abandoning the first line of defense is tantamount to having our throats directly choked by humans!

Svir didn't finish its sentence, knowing that if it did, Kletina would likely go berserk: if that scene from a thousand years ago were to repeat itself, then Lady Mia…

"No need to remind me, Swell."

Kleidina's tone turned icy, and the shadow beneath her feet instantly expanded, enveloping the entire Demon King's castle.

"That path is not one that ordinary humans can traverse; it was originally a dead end. Only a hero blessed by the goddess has any hope of passing through that path of the hero amidst a near-death experience."

Turning her head to look out the window, towards the direction of the human capital, Kletina's tone was more resolute than ever before:

"In that case, all we need to do is completely destroy the protection of that hero of sin... that will solve the problem."

……

The royal capital, the Magician's Round Tower.

“Done!!!”

A slightly manic laugh emanated from the top of the round tower.

With thick black eye sockets, Lark was admiring the dark runes on the table with great interest. These were far more perfect than the crudely made half-finished product from ten years ago!

For the past ten days or so, he channeled his grief over the deaths of his black mage squad into motivation, working tirelessly through the night to complete the final processing step.

Finally, this inscription, which was enough to tarnish the goddess's blessing, is now complete!

"With this fresh, hot necromantic essence infused, the inscription can no longer afford any mishaps... My dark magic squad, your deaths will not have been in vain."

In the dark room, Lak's sinister eyes gleamed with a confident, cold light:

"No one can disrupt my meticulously planned blessing ritual!!!"

Chapter 244 On the other side of the line, there are no more enemies.

Lak took out the magical communication token leading to the palace and connected to Erwin's communication link.

“Chief Lark,” Erwin’s respectful voice quickly came from inside, “What can I do for you?”

"The goddess's blessing is complete. You can bring the hero here to receive the blessing now." Lak said impatiently, "I guarantee that the power of this blessing will be stronger than ever before!"

As for whether the protection would be so powerful that it would overwhelm a hero of sin during the process, that was not something he needed to consider.

Lak sneered inwardly, then heard a delighted voice from Erwin's side: "Really? That's great, but..."

"Chief Lark, due to the newly added sins, Heroine Shana will have to stay in solitary confinement for another month before she can be released. It is said that she and the Holy Sword are also somewhat affected and need some time to stabilize." Erwin sighed.

"A month?" Lak was taken aback, his high spirits abruptly halted, as if a long-awaited game had been delayed on its release day, and his tone suddenly became somber:

"Then there's nothing we can do. Let's shut it down, and the longer it stays shut, the better..."

Erwin felt that Chief Lak's words at this moment were as lonely as those of the elderly left behind in the slums. He secretly sighed, realizing that the relationship between Chief Lak and the hero was truly beyond their imagination.

The communication was cut off silently, but Erwin didn't care. He stood in front of Prince Ota's study and gently knocked on the door, knowing that what was about to happen was truly of great importance.

"Come in."

Otta's voice was not as warm as usual, and Erwin subconsciously straightened his chest and nervously pushed the door open.

On the desk lay a battle report from the front lines. After repeatedly reading it, Ota looked at Erwin, who already knew the truth: "The demons have actually withdrawn from the first line of defense... Erwin, could there be some kind of trap behind this?"

"Your Highness, the border garrison has sent scouts to investigate multiple times, and their findings confirm the truth!" Erwin knelt on one knee.

"Judging from the current situation, the demons seem to have withdrawn all their forces to the second line of defense in order to resist the pressure from the dragon riders and the human army."

Raising his head, Erwin's tone sounded somewhat excited:

"Your Highness, this is a great opportunity!"

"We can seize this opportunity of high morale to launch a full-scale war. Once we break through the second line of defense, we can mobilize the entire nation to destroy the Demon King's Castle!!!"

"At worst, we can occupy all the territory within the first line of defense and expand the kingdom's territory."

Erwin was filled with excitement. This was the first time humanity had launched a counterattack in a war against the demons. He believed that Prince Ota could be recorded in human history for this achievement!

"No, absolutely not!" Otta, sitting at the desk, suddenly rejected the idea in a deep voice.

"Erwin, you've been blinded by the joy of victory. Don't forget, our opponents are the Shadow Fiend who can see into people's hearts and the cunning Demon Strategist!"

"Are the goals of those demons really as simple as you think?"

Caught off guard, Erwin shuddered and met the prince's imposing eyes with some bewilderment: "Your Highness...you mean?"

"This is a trap, a trap that's almost an open conspiracy!"

Ota put down the battle report, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes: "Erwin, you may not know, but while the addition of the dragon riders is a huge boost to the border's fighting strength, at the same time, ensuring that those dragons have enough to eat is also a huge expense!"

"After the disaster in the capital, the kingdom's finances are under unprecedented pressure. And at this critical juncture, the demons have offered up such a tempting piece of cake. Do you think... it's really just a coincidence?"

Erwin was horrified: "You mean, those demons are using a feint to advance, trying to deplete the kingdom's finances! To plunge the kingdom into chaos!!!"

Once the entire front is advanced, it will inevitably be a huge military expenditure. However, the demons have not suffered any losses in their forces. On the contrary, they are able to drag humanity down on the second line of defense!

"As expected of the Demon Strategist, he actually schemed to this extent."

Thinking of this, Erwin felt a chill run down his spine, and his gaze toward Ota became even more reverent: "But all of this cannot escape the wise eyes of Your Highness Ota!"

"It's just a matter of learning from one's mistakes." Ota's heart twitched slightly, and he waved his hand: "In any case, now we must not let our guard down. We must restrain our forces and make sure they do not cross the sacred border!"

"If the enemy doesn't move, I won't move!"

"Yes," Erwin replied immediately, gradually relaxing as he looked at Ota's calm and composed face.

As long as the humans don't launch a military operation, then it's the demons who will be panicking...

As for the vast unclaimed lands that have now formed between the first and second lines of defense of the demon race, they are not of much use to humans. No one would want to live in such a place, as the demonic energy has been nourishing them for many years and there are more demons than on the border.

But on the other hand... thoughtfully, Erwin looked at Prince Ota.

In the deep, noble eyes of the king, a raging fire flickered, as if he were facing the murderer of his wife:

"When the kingdom has accumulated enough wealth and power, that will be the day we destroy the Demon King's castle and rescue Mino!!!"

……

The tension along the border gradually subsided.

The stillness of the dead night, originating from the demon realm, brought a sense of peace for the first time.

The soldiers were overjoyed, finally free from constant tension, and could use their extra time to interact closely with the dragon, imagine the princess's reward upon returning to the capital, discuss the T0 rankings between humans and demons, and play a few more rounds of Lunt cards when they had a spare moment.

After all, there were no more enemies on the other side of the line...

Beyond the sacred Minoan border, the first line of defense where the demonic energy gradually fades, at the very edge.

The demonic energy of the border demons was so weak that it was almost unnoticed.

In the center of the territory, a pitch-black tent stood silently. Lifting the simple curtain, straw paper was scattered on the ground, and behind it, a pile of waste paper balls almost formed a small mountain of chairs, where a disheveled man with a somewhat gloomy demeanor leaned.

Adjusting the black-rimmed glasses on his nose, the former rebellious prince repeatedly pondered the information gathered by the demons on the border:

"The death of the Pope... the God of All Weapons... border unrest..."

The black knight, Sir, who was listening to his prince's self-talk, was already used to it and rolled his eyes.