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

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The entire civilian district was reduced to ruins filled with screams and wails!

—The origin of "rotten artifacts"!!!

Brad's maniacal laughter echoed through the night sky, like the mockery of a god, or the harbinger of doom: he was the god, he was disaster itself!

"Next, we'll get to the most important thing... Once we get it, the Ice Heart will be nothing but a useless block of ice!"

Losing interest in the masterpiece before him, the God of All Weapons' chest hummed with vibration. Brad slowly turned around, looking towards the palace, a greedy glint in his eyes:

"The Sacred Round Table! A true divine artifact!!!"

"The God of All Weapons' numerous sacred artifacts provide the most powerful divine resistance. With the God of All Weapons' blessing, even the entire kingdom's holy coalition is no match for me!"

"No one can stop me tonight!"

"By devouring that round table, which is at the level of a divine artifact, the essence of my mortal weapon will be completely perfected—making me a supreme god!!!"

The body of the God of All Weapons began to move, and the tall mechanical giant walked step by step toward the royal palace in the center of the capital.

Slumped on the ruins, Erwin trembled uncontrollably. He finally realized one thing:

"Pope Brad has truly gone mad!!!"

Trembling hands swiftly relayed the message back to Prince Ota in the palace. Erwin roared, raising the Knights' alert level to its highest: "The entire Knights, mobilize! At all costs, stop the God of Weapons from approaching the palace!!!"

His body moved instinctively, chasing after the silhouette of the God of All Weapons, but Erwin's clear eyes were filled with despair.

His combat instincts had already told him one thing:

No human being can stop the God of All Weapons, the ultimate weapon that is almost immune to all divine power!

Chapter 222 The Incompetent King, The Book Leap Technique

"Pope Brad went mad before even taking his medication?!?"

royal palace.

Ota Study.

Upon seeing Erwin's urgent message, Ota's expression changed drastically.

Just like Mino's betrayal, this was something he thought was absolutely impossible, but the news that "Archbishop Hope was seriously injured" and "the West End was razed to the ground" undoubtedly heralded the arrival of a disaster!

"The God of All Weapons is heading towards the palace..." Otta paced back and forth in his study, his expression revealing unease.

"What is he after? Me? My sister and father? Or all these girl figurines on my wall?!"

These were the only precious things he could think of in the palace. Ota clenched his fists. Losing any one of them would be the cruelest blow to him!

"Activate the protective magic circle immediately! Knights below the elite level, proceed immediately to rescue and evacuate civilians! Send requests for assistance to the border and Chief Lak! Have the Adventurers' Guild issue assistance missions to all adventurers stationed in the capital! Deploy all human combat forces in the capital!!! This is the most critical moment for the capital; we must use every possible means!!!"

Ota immediately issued a series of urgent decrees, but his mood remained heavy. He knew that all these struggles were futile in the face of that terrifying weapon.

"But the key to controlling the God of All Weapons has been completely lost! Mino! It's Mino again!!!"

Ota slammed his fist on the table in anger, his voice filled with deep self-hatred: "Ota, without Mino, you, the king, can't protect anything?!"

"You've been comfortably blaming the kingdom's turmoil on Mino's capture! Why?! Why don't you consider your own problems?! The root of the problem isn't Mino, it's me! It's the entire kingdom!!!"

Ota's eyes were filled with pain; he couldn't understand why such an accident had happened.

The structure of the God of All Weapons was meticulously designed by numerous scholars and the direct lineage of the Holy Church, and it had been thoroughly verified by him and Mino; there shouldn't have been any problems.

But surely it's not Pope Brad himself, the driver, who's unlikely to be the one causing the problem, right?

Otta's heart skipped a beat, and she looked up, suddenly remembering Astrid's advice from a few days ago...

boom!

The desk was overturned on the floor, countless pieces of paper flying and sliding down. Otta stood dejectedly in the study, muttering to himself, "I was wrong... Astrid was right!"

Thinking of this, Ota closed his eyes in anguish:

"I have actually become a foolish king who ignores the advice of loyal ministers!"

……

Adjacent to the palace.

Kingdom Library.

The dead of night casts a thick darkness over the countless wooden shelves piled high with books. Knowledge and words are firmly locked within their respective volumes in the empty hall. When the pages are turned, knowledge is unlocked; when no one cares, it is just waste paper decaying.

At this moment, a barely perceptible airflow gradually stirred within the space that should have been sealed off and windless…

On a prominently displayed bookshelf, a frequently read book was enveloped in a deep, dark light, silently sliding out of the shelf in the dimly lit hall.

Page after page is stained with patterns formed by magic, the cover is corroded inch by inch by an obsidian-like luster, and a rich aura of knowledge is strangely yet tangibly manifested on the book.

—The Book Demon Swell descended upon the scene.

"Phew, Book Leap Technique, as expected of the Book Demon's core talent, allowing consciousness and power to descend upon books almost unimpeded, regardless of distance."

The pages turned gently, and after looking around to confirm that he had accurately landed in the Royal Library, Swell breathed a sigh of relief.

Unlike the previous phantom resonance, this time it was almost as if his true form had descended, and he could return to the Demon King's castle at any time.

However, the cost is enormous; it requires sacrificing five percent of one's own knowledge to activate it... It may seem like a small amount, but for the Book Demon, the collapse of its knowledge framework is more terrifying than death.

"For me right now, it's acceptable, since there's no such thing as a summoning spell that can be activated without any cost..."

Svir had already done thorough calculations. Sending it to probe the God of All Weapons was the least costly and risky option. Moreover, it had specifically chosen the Kingdom Library as its landing location, which would allow it to advance another extremely important plan: to re-establish a connection with the Corrupted Demon Astrid and understand the current situation.

The pressure on the demons is growing, and even though they know that Astrid is suspected by Ota and others, they have no choice but to take the risk.

A traitor who already holds a certain position within the kingdom has too much room to maneuver, enough to keep humanity preoccupied with its own internal affairs and give the demons some breathing room.

"So much time has passed, Prince Ota's doubts should have dissipated considerably... Now is the best time to contact Lady Astrid."

Having confirmed that he was indeed inside the Kingdom Library, Swell's tone became much more relaxed, but his senses still spread incredibly slowly and stealthily throughout the library and its surroundings.

"Hmm, we've found Lady Astrid. At this hour, you're still writing at your desk. Are you organizing materials...?"

Swell was eager to make contact with Astrid, and just as he was about to act, his senses continued to spread, and the pages of his book suddenly trembled:

"No, that's not right?!?"

The book came to an abrupt halt mid-air. Swell, shocked, flipped through the pages and discovered that—around the perceptive Astrid—a large number of paladins were lurking?!

Those paladins with immense divine power were hiding in the room next to Astrid's, huddled in the library ceiling, and even just outside Astrid's window, there were three paladins wielding greatswords crouching in the grass!

"Prince Ota actually sent so many paladins to monitor Lady Astrid?!" Svir was shocked.

This number is five times the normal number of surveillance personnel! It never expected that Prince Ota would harbor such deep suspicions about Astrid, and it never expected that after so much time, the king's surveillance of Astrid would not only not slow down in the slightest, but would even be guarded with the same heavy troops as the protection of royalty!

What meticulous and airtight vigilance this is!

"Lady Astrid, you still managed to send us such valuable intelligence under such circumstances..." In an instant, the pages of Swell's book became a little wet.

Without even needing to imagine it, it could calculate the terrifying power struggle that had taken place between Lady Astrid and the cold-blooded and astute Prince Otto!

"Lady Astrid's contributions to the demon race... are no less than Mino's contributions to humanity!"

"Swell sighed."

This also completely extinguished his desire to contact Astrid, and at the same time made a decision in his heart: from now on, no matter how great the crisis the Demon King's castle faces, he will absolutely... never contact Astrid!

—Those who infiltrate the demon race must not be allowed to suffer greatly!

Chapter 223, a triple strike! The world is astonished!!

"We can't contact Lady Astrid. Humans are probably just waiting for her to slip up... Phew, this is a very dangerous situation, like walking a tightrope. I didn't expect Lady Astrid to have such a good mentality."

Even though they were only a few walls apart, Swell, the demon strategist, knew that contact with Astrid was absolutely forbidden.

Although the paladins around him did not use any spying or monitoring magic arrays, and those unaware of the situation might even have assumed that these paladins were a protective force sent by the kingdom to Astrid, this was naturally not something that could be hidden from Svir.

If there were fewer paladins, it might have made a mistake... but now there are far too many "guardian" paladins.

If Astrid's status in the kingdom truly warrants the protection of so many paladins, then why would they go to such lengths to capture a hero like Mino alive? With Astrid's position in the kingdom and the combined efforts of Svir and others, they could easily tear the Kingdom of Kur apart!

"Your Excellency Astrid, you've had a hard time." Having gained a deeper understanding of Astrid's situation, Swell showed some sympathy.

These great demons only needed to confront humans head-on or carry out some destructive plans for them. As the traitor, Astrid had to rack her brains for much more... The plan to re-establish two-way communication with Astrid was thus thwarted. Svir didn't feel much regret, but rather a surge of fighting spirit and more confidence in confronting the God of All Weapons.

It saw in Astrid an indomitable spirit and fighting will. She was still such a sensitive and timid great demon. With such a great demon as its role model, it felt that it was not alone in its efforts! When demons are united, their strength can break metal!

"Next... let's give the God of All Weapons a little bit of demonic shock."

Swail's whispers faded into silence in the darkness.

……

"The God of All Weapons has gone to the palace! Everyone follow him, we must stop the insane Pope Brad!!!"

Erwin rushed anxiously toward the palace. Looking back at the elite knight squad whose morale had been somewhat dampened by the terrifying aura of the God of Weapons, he raised his voice again to encourage them: "His Highness Ota's safety is at stake. We must protect our wise and mighty prince!"

The Knights responded only sparsely, some seemed distracted, and their pace slowed down.

Erwin's eyes widened, and after thinking for a moment, he raised his voice eight octaves again: "The holy and pure Princess Kalia is inside the palace. We must protect the princess blessed by the goddess!"

"Oh!!!" The knight squad was greatly encouraged and roared in unison:

"Protect Her Highness the Princess!!!"

"..."

Erwin felt an urge to draw his sword, but the steel longsword in his hand had just been melted, so he could only head towards the palace with his head down.

They encountered many descendants of nobles from the capital. The commotion in the commoners' district had not yet spread to the entire capital. Most of these nobles had received Ota's decree, but they were still unsure of the situation, so they sent their own descendants to investigate.

Dane was an exception.

Thanaus mysteriously disappeared during the day, and while he was still fast asleep in the middle of the night, he was suddenly awakened by a deafening noise from the West District, and thought something had happened to him.

"Commander Erwin? What happened over there? And that giant made of holy artifacts... what exactly is going on?!"

Looking at Erwin approaching, covered in dust and even without his armor and sword, Dane asked with some doubt.

"The Holy Church's ultimate weapon has gone berserk! The Royal Palace is in danger!" Erwin stated succinctly; since it concerned Pope Brad, he couldn't announce it publicly in the crowd: "All the Holy Knights of the capital have been mobilized; this is a terrifying crisis comparable to the Night of the Rebellion!!!"

"Lord Dane, you've come at the perfect time. Prince Ota has ordered that all warriors of the capital must immediately join the battle..."

Just as Erwin was about to ask Dane to go and help, he suddenly stopped himself from speaking.