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

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Seeing Ota's still-satisfied expression, Astrid composed herself and discreetly inquired:

"Hey, does our ultimate weapon... have any fatal weaknesses?"

Chapter 200 The Hero of Evil Has No Chance of Escaping the Knights' Confinement Chamber

As soon as the words were spoken, Ota and Tus immediately looked at Astrid.

Astrid's heart skipped a beat. She thought she was about to be pinned to the ground, but then she saw that Ota and Tus's expressions became increasingly approving:

"As expected of the kingdom's great scholar, he was not arrogant at all because of the power of the God of All Weapons. When the Holy Church was successfully developed, I was so happy that I had to stay sober for a whole week."

"Scholar Astrid, with your wisdom of being prepared for danger even in times of peace... how can we humans not resist the infiltration of the demons?!"

Otta's tone became even more encouraging:

"I know you're worried that the God of All Weapons will have a weakness discovered and exploited... but don't worry." Ota's voice grew increasingly melancholic; this high and mighty king's mood had become particularly somber: "That weakness, even the human forces can no longer exploit it!!!"

"Demons are even less likely!"

At this point, the Room of the Round Table gradually grew quiet. From Prince Ota's reaction, Estriel vaguely understood that the God of All Weapons still had weaknesses that could be overcome, but she didn't know where to start... to find out which weakness it was.

“Scholar Astrid, the kingdom’s affairs will not trouble you too much. You can go back now... Leave the rest to me and Tus and the others.”

Astrid nodded gently, her toes already almost off the ground, eager to leave this place as soon as possible.

Not long after Ota finished speaking, she quickly nodded and left the conference room.

The gate slammed shut again with a bang. Watching Astrid's swift figure flee as if she were escaping, Tus's expression softened... The core meeting, symbolizing the highest power in the kingdom and closest to Prince Ota, was an opportunity that many nobles and ministers would covet, yet the great scholar Astrid had no intention of lingering—indeed, her thoughts were the purest.

I almost mistook him for a traitor among the demons; what a huge joke!

“Your Highness, it seems we can only let things take their course and include Duke Moss in the nomination for the Great Noble of the Year,” Tus said.

"This is the only way." Ota rubbed his temples. "To activate the God of All Weapons, we have no choice but to continue to inconvenience the people and keep them in the dark for a while longer. Once things have settled down, I will personally step forward to clarify the facts and apologize to the people of the capital!!!"

Although Tonk's votes were obtained by exploiting loopholes in the rules and were within the bounds of the law, allowing the Duke of Moss to be nominated was ultimately an insult to commoners.

"Anyway, with Grand Duke Thanaus around, Duke Moss can't compete with the position of the greatest nobleman, so we can accept that," Ota murmured softly.

Tus nodded slightly; his thoughts were similar to Prince Ota's, so he said no more.

"Speaking of which," he quickly thought of something else:

"Should we inform Grand Duke Thanaus of our plan to first include Duke Moss in the nominations and then expose him? He seems to be the only one among the nobles who is unaware of this, and given that you just issued a secret order, I doubt anyone will dare to inform him."

“I almost forgot about it if you hadn’t mentioned it.” Ota pondered for a moment, then quickly put on an indifferent smile: “Forget it, there’s no need to go to so much trouble. It’s just a matter of a few days anyway. Grand Duke Thanaus doesn’t even have the energy to participate in the round table meeting, so why would he care about a small noble selection!”

"Didn't you say that Thanaus didn't react to the actions during the selection of Moss at all? What does that mean... He doesn't care about Moss, so there's no need to go through the trouble of telling him the whole story."

“You’re right,” Tus said, suddenly realizing.

Thus, the basic plan has been finalized, and all that's left is for them to announce the nomination first thing tomorrow morning and proceed with the next steps.

"I'll make the preparations right away..." After obtaining Prince Ota's permission, Tus bowed slightly and left.

Although Moss will likely squander his fame soon after being nominated, this time they need to stir up intense emotions among the people of the capital in a short period of time, so some artificial manipulation is necessary.

Inside the meeting room, Grand Master of the Knights, Erwin, stood beside Ota.

Ota asked another question that he couldn't help but care about: "Erwin, after the incident of the title of Evil Hero, has Hero Shana been behaving herself in the confinement room? Has she caused any trouble?"

“Everything is normal, Your Highness,” Erwin said hastily as he stepped forward.

"Although Shana was somewhat resistant when she was first locked up, she became much more cooperative after we explained to her that 'being locked up in the solitary confinement cell is part of every hero of sin's resume. During this time... she only complained about how bad the food in the solitary confinement cell wasn't."

"However, she withdrew the complaint after we suggested that her family deliver meals to her regularly from the suburbs."

Erwin explained in detail that although locking Shana in the solitary confinement room was ostensibly a punishment for her crimes of destroying the Dragon Mountain Range, it was more about protecting this hero whose strength was extremely unstable and preventing the demons from further persecuting her.

Judging from the current situation, it does have a protective effect.

"That's good." Ota breathed a sigh of relief.

"Once the noble selection process has calmed down, the public's attention to Shana should gradually decrease. At that time, we can send her to the Round Tower to receive the goddess's blessing!"

"Hopefully, the newly optimized runes from Chief Lak will solve the problem of Shana only having one hit left..." Ota sighed deeply.

He knew it was selfish to place all his hopes on Lak, the "friend of the hero," but now he had no other choice: he couldn't very well cripple Mino's younger sister and gain the goddess's attention with a hero who was not genuine... that would be a desecration of the goddess and Mino!

"No matter what, we must make sure she doesn't cause any trouble during this time!" Ota emphasized again, a sudden unease creeping into his heart.

"The last time the dragons descended, her escape was already the biggest accident. Erwin, you mustn't let that happen again!!!"

"Don't worry, Your Highness." Erwin nodded quickly and said, "The Knights' confinement cells are designed according to the standards of elite knights, and are inscribed with the sacred prohibitions of the Holy Church! Whether it is an elite knight with pure power or a newly initiated apprentice knight, as long as they possess even a trace of divine power within them, they will be restrained by the sacred prohibitions!"

"Even for a true hero, the more abundant the divine power within him, the stronger the power of the divine prohibition becomes!"

"With the sacred prohibition in place, even without a lock, no one would dare to leave the confinement room without permission." At this point, Erwin, as the Grand Master of the Knights, spoke with absolute certainty:

"If someone tries to force their way out, even if they succeed, the divine power within their body will be completely imprisoned in the confinement room by the divine prohibition!"

"And an ordinary person with no power in their body could not possibly escape alive under the watchful eyes of the paladins!"

Chapter 201 My Lord, you may have overlooked something...

"That's good..." Ota felt a little relieved.

The feeling of having everything under control is finally slowly returning... Ota seems to see a bright future, and a gentle smile appears on his face:

“Mino only has one sister. Although she gives me a bit of a headache, as Mino’s brother, as long as she doesn’t cause any major trouble… she’s a very, very good hero.”

"Irwin, I'll have to trouble you for a while longer."

"Once Pope Brad breaks through the demons' first line of defense, the demons will probably no longer have the energy to cause trouble within our ranks. At that time, activating the Hero's Blessing will be the safest option!"

After giving his instructions, Ota completely let go of his last concern. To him, keeping Mino's sister imprisoned was no big deal.

Now, finally seeing the dawn of peace in the kingdom, Ota murmured to himself with a sense of relief:

"Soon, Shana will be able to walk out of the confinement cell..."

"Your Highness, I'm still a little worried." With a furrowed brow, Erwin voiced his unease.

Erwin, who had always focused on the security of the capital, had some vague concerns about the upcoming plan: "Just like you said to the scholar Astrid before, actually... the weakness of that God of All Weapons is now known only to the Mino Warrior and the Holy Sword Altair. This was a mechanism set up to counterbalance the Holy Church."

“That’s right, and I believe Mino.” Ota said calmly, “Even if he were in the Demon King’s city, he would never give that valuable information to the demons for nothing.”

Erwin sighed, considered his words carefully, and continued:

"In other words, now, neither humans nor demons will be able to know the weakness of the God of All Weapons: when the God of All Weapons is activated, the only one who can control it will be its controller... Pope Brad himself."

“Erwin.” Otta’s brow twitched; he vaguely understood what he meant.

"You mean... Pope Brad, who wields the power of the God of All Weapons, will become an individual force that neither humans nor demons can withstand... right?"

The king's unreadable gaze fell upon him, and Erwin suddenly felt immense pressure, cold sweat pouring down his back. But he couldn't ignore the unstable element before him. Gritting his teeth, he knelt on one knee and said in a deep voice:

“That’s right, Your Highness! That’s exactly what I’m worried about.”

“If Pope Brad’s sword is aimed at the first line of defense of the demons, that would be best, but what I’m worried about is… what if that blade is aimed at us…” Erwin became more and more embarrassed as he spoke, stammering and sweating profusely.

"That would be an unimaginable disaster for the entire capital."

Ota's calm words fell, uttering the unfinished words for Erwin.

Erwin, kneeling on the ground, blinked slightly, looking at Prince Ota with some surprise. It seemed that the other party had thought of this long ago!

"As a king, the most important thing is to maintain a vigilant heart... I've already considered what you said, Erwin." Seated on the noble throne at the round table, Ota's eyes flashed with wisdom:

“However, Erwin, we will not rely solely on so-called ‘trust’ as a bargaining chip to carry out our plan. What I trust is not Pope Brad, but his… Sacred Body of the Vessel!”

"Therefore, we can rest assured that Pope Brad will absolutely not do anything to harm the capital."

Ota's usually composed smile turned into a smile: "Erwin, let me ask you this: if Pope Brad really were to target the capital, humanity, and the royal family and nobility, what would his motives be?"

"This, this..." Erwin tried to speak, but found himself unable to answer.

Even if you imagine Pope Brad as the worst villain, fame, fortune, status, and even bloodshed... these could all be reasons for him to turn against humanity, but just as Prince Ota said: the other party is the Holy Body of the Vessel!

This kind of constitution, which originates from the essence of the soul, treats all humans in the world equally, whether commoners or nobles, and transcends the vulgar desires of humankind. If there is anything else they might pursue... it is only a grand ideal, or perhaps a vague dream like immortality. Pope Brad, who has lived to this day, is clearly striving for the former.

“And if he’s after the capital, or even the palace,” Ota shrugged, “what could possibly attract a Saintly Body of an Artifact?”

"He wouldn't care about the luxury of the palace, and the status of royalty is even less important to him..." Otta gently tapped his palm on the antique table, unable to resist teasing him:

"It's impossible that they would destroy the entire capital just for a sacred round table, right? Hahaha... Hahahaha!"

Erwin wiped away his sweat, finally impressed by Otta's logically sound theory, and thought to himself with admiration, "Your Highness Otta, your vision is indeed far-sighted. I have overstepped my bounds!"

Erwin lowered his head, his heart filled with a mixture of deep respect for Prince Ota and guilt towards Pope Brad.

Yes, the other party is a god within the country, an iron-blooded pope, and the most noble soul among humans—a sacred vessel! How could he be so disrespectful and wary of him? Erwin lowered his head even further in shame.

Pope Brad's life is nearing its end, so what... bad intentions could he possibly have?

With a sigh, Erwin offered his heartfelt blessings.

"May Pope Brad have his wishes fulfilled in the last moments of his life..."

……

King's capital.

The Royal Knights.

In the heart of the strictly ordered Knights Order, the dimly lit building seemed to devour all light, reflecting the knightly code that every paladin kept firmly in their hearts.

This is a confinement chamber representing chaos and sin, a place that every paladin deeply warns themselves never to enter!

Now, in the airtight room, her smooth red hair flowed like flames in a corner of the solitary confinement cell...

"Darkfrey, how's the examination going?"

The girl's cold, deep voice was like a blade, cutting slits in the air as she spoke to herself.

The profound power receded from the girl's body along with the power of the contract, and the luster of the fire attribute returned to the girl's hand... The entire confinement room was suddenly illuminated by the sharp holy sword, which was completely black and engraved with faint flame patterns, bringing with it a slightly scorching aura.

"Hmm, we've pretty much figured it out." A somewhat awe-inspiring voice echoed in his mind:

"After these days of careful scanning of your body, my lord, the source of the dark power within you that day... was definitely not a coincidence."

"No need to hold back." The girl's eyes remained unwavering. Her bandaged arm cast a slanted shadow across her face, separating her two crimson pupils. Her voice was deep and resonant as she commanded:

"Speak out, the secrets of my chaotic power!"