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

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At this moment, Duke Clyde's eyes darted around, a mischievous idea forming in his mind, and he quickly revealed a sinister smile:

“Prince Ota, Pope Brad.” He looked at the two people around the round table.

"If the positive emotional impact of including the 'infamous' Duke Moss in the nomination for the 'Great Noble' of the year is not enough."

"So, is the negative emotional impact of turning the 'Duke of Moss,' who was nominated as a 'great nobleman,' back into a 'foul nobleman who fools the people' enough?"

Chapter 195 I brought up that hero, are you not going to send it?

"You should know that when it comes to stirring up 'hatred,' Duke Moss is a master!"

Clyde, with his own agenda, revealed his brilliant plan.

Everyone was taken aback, then their eyes quickly lit up with thought: It seems...it really works!!!

If Duke Moss were to do something outrageous on the day he is nominated as the Greatest Noble of the Year, the entire nation of the capital would be united in their hatred—that scoundrel Moss had actually deceived their feelings!

Even if Duke Moss didn't want to provoke the masses and become an enemy of the common people... he still had their help!

You see, sometimes when nobles accidentally do something bad, their first thought is whether to pin the blame on Duke Moss: only a powerful noble family like Duke Clyde, who is at odds with Duke Moss, could come up with such a brilliant idea.

"Duke Moss, you should just be a bad guy."

Turning to Duke Moss, Clyde spoke earnestly.

"Wait... what do you mean by this?" Duke Moss's eyes widened, still somewhat bewildered.

"The meaning is, of course, to first nominate you with the title of Great Noble, and then on that very day, to smear you severely! To infuriate the entire nation! To portray you as a 'public enemy'... and incidentally, to fulfill the activation conditions of the ultimate weapon."

Clyde said naturally.

"Hey!" Duke Moss exclaimed in shock:

"The things that happened before were just incidental, weren't they?! -- Where's your conscience? Did I eat it all?!"

"In short, I think that if that's the case... the emotional turmoil that would stir up the entire capital would definitely be able to activate all the holy artifacts and form that ultimate weapon, Your Holiness?" Ignoring Duke Moss, Clyde turned back and asked.

"Hmm." Brad nodded with satisfaction; this was exactly what he wanted.

If it weren't for Hope's reminder that day, he wouldn't have thought that besides that hero, there was such a talent who possessed the extraordinary ability to easily stir up the emotions of the common people in the capital... He would call him the innately cursed saintly body.

"Don't worry, Duke Moss, this time we're doing this for you...it's all on your head, no need to thank us!!!"

"Yes, yes, yes, there's no need to trouble Duke Moss. We'll do it for him! We'll make him a complete scumbag!"

"Great! My misdeeds can finally be cleared up!!! Praise be to Duke Moss!!!"

"Heh, balancing accounts is just your limit, not Moss's bottom line, but it's time... to let these commoners remember Duke Moss's stench!"

Around the round table, everyone nodded in approval of the ingenious plan, except for the person in charge—Duke Moss—who was completely bewildered.

This script... isn't it a bit off? Shouldn't he become the greatest nobleman of the year and then gradually amaze everyone around him?

How come listening to Clyde now isn't just a formality, but his nomination for the Greatest Noble of the Year will become a complete joke on the day it's announced?! And he'll be subjected to even more insults?!

Isn't he a good person again?!

"Akito sack!"

Just as the plan was about to be finalized, Moss's eyes widened, and he suddenly blurted out in his foreign language in his anxiety: "What are you saying? What are you talking about? You want me, this newly emerging great nobleman who has spent ten years honing my skills, to become a lazy, good-for-nothing scumbag?!"

"—Could I be that kind of person?!?"

“Uh… Duke Moss.” Minister Tus, who had been somewhat puzzled by the situation, finally stepped forward and spoke up fairly: “Weren’t you always like this before that?”

“That was before!” Duke Moss waved his hand somewhat excitedly: “Before, I had no choice…”

"Alright, alright."

At the round table, Ota finally couldn't help but interrupt, looking at Duke Moss with some sympathy: "Duke Moss, Duke Clyde is right. Just announcing a nomination is not enough to stir up enough emotions among the people of the capital, right? So, we have to do something a little more surprising, a little more surprising, you understand?"

"So you mean I have to be the clown?"

"Ahem, it seems you do understand..."

"I protest!" Duke Moss roared. "I strongly protest! This is prejudice! It's a mountain! My reputation, which I have built up over the past day, is about to be ruined by you!!!"

“Duke of Mess,” Duke Clyde said leisurely, “didn’t you just say… that as a great duke, it is your duty to contribute to the kingdom! You have an inescapable responsibility?”

"Now, the kingdom needs you just the right time, and you don't have to do anything. We just need to arrange everything for you. After it's all over, your reputation in the capital won't change at all, will it?"

"But...but..." Moss's words suddenly stopped. No matter how much he went back on his word, he couldn't possibly deny what he had just said.

His reputation won't change! It's already at rock bottom!

But damn it, he finally had a chance to look handsome, and these people were so jealous of him doing well! It's infuriating!

Duke Moss suddenly became unyielding: "Anyway, I just don't agree, what can you do about it!"

"Duke of Moss," Minister Tuss at the round table suddenly sighed and spoke.

"According to our investigation, your second son, who is also the spokesperson for this Duke selection, used various unethical behaviors during the selection process, including but not limited to malicious vote-buying, stealing props from colleagues, inciting trolls to cause trouble, and maliciously editing to obtain Pope Brad's portrait rights."

"If you insist on your opinion, we will have no choice but to disqualify you from the nomination in accordance with the selection rules..."

"Thinking about it carefully, how can I, as the Duke, defy the Kingdom's decision?"

Duke Moss suddenly sat back down in his seat with a sensible expression.

He could tell whether he had everything or nothing... Cooperating now would at least get him nominated for the Great Noble of the Year; if he didn't cooperate, he would have nothing.

A one-day trial card is quite a show-off!

Tus secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He was somewhat relieved that Moss and his son Tonks hadn't cooperated at all. Otherwise, if Moss had found out that Tonks' actions were simply exploiting loopholes in the rules and that they weren't qualified to veto the votes, it would have been troublesome.

"That……"

Seeing that the guests and hosts were having a good time, Duke Moss's eyes darted around, and he was about to play the trick again: "Wait, I have a problem!"

As others watched, some nobles couldn't help but advise, "Duke Moss, Garlic Bird, Garlic Bird, it's already quite good that you've been nominated."

"Hmph! A bunch of idiots!" With his arms crossed, Moss said disdainfully, "The reason you're ruining my nomination for the Greatest Noble of the Year is that you think that only that ultimate weapon can break through the demon race's first line of defense. But who says that's the only option we have?!"

"We should have more—besides Saintess Lena and Pope Brad, there should be even more reliable human combat forces!"

"Oh?"

Suddenly, even Ota and Tus couldn't help but turn their heads, their attention drawn to the scene.

Duke Moss, whose mind is never quick to grasp new ideas, has actually come up with even more ways to break the deadlock?

"Moss, who are you talking about, Chief Lak? Forgive my bluntness, but no matter how radical our plan is, we still need to reserve sufficient forces to protect the capital. Chief Lak cannot be mobilized lightly," Tuss asked curiously.

“No.” Moss shook his head, and seeing that he had finally attracted their attention, a smug smile spread across his face.

"Have you forgotten? We still have one of humanity's top combatants..."

"That was the evil hero who single-handedly destroyed the Dragon's Lair Mountains—"

"Shana Lake!"

Chapter 196 At your age, why are you still anxious?

"Heroine Shana?"

Upon hearing this name, everyone present snapped out of their reverie, their eyes lighting up... They had almost completely forgotten about it!

Although Shana's title as a hero is the extremely rare "evil," doesn't that mean that even before she received the goddess's blessing, she already possessed power close to that of Mino back then?

Not to mention, she's the strongest hero in human history, Mino's sister! She can't be weak, can she?

As long as her "evil" is unleashed on the demon race, it would be a win-win situation for humanity.

“Shana…”

Ota's face froze instantly. The overstated title he bestowed upon Shana was merely meant to intimidate the demons.

But only he and Erwin knew that Shana's strength... could be described as the weakest hero in human history! Not to mention that she only had the strength for one strike!

If they were actually deployed to the front lines, it would be disastrous! In less than a day, they could easily gather the national mourning for "the brave who died in battle."

"No, Shana, the heroine, is still..." Ota was about to say the words of his stopper when he suddenly shuddered.

Before finding the traitor, even before this round table, we absolutely cannot expose the hero Shana's weakness... Pope Brad is a prime example; didn't you see how miserably that traitor made him?!

Even more terrifying... A chill ran through Ota. He glanced past the small head buried at the end of the round table and looked at the familiar faces. He felt a sense of disorientation: What if the mole was right there at this round table?

The truth must not be revealed to everyone! Ota was wary, but also somewhat troubled, because relying on the hero's power was indeed safer, and the difficulty and variables would be greatly reduced.

I heard that Chief Lak is almost finished refining the inscriptions on the Round Tower. When that happens, Shana will receive the goddess's blessing and truly become a hero. Perhaps then, she could actually fight against the demons. But is it worth taking that risk...?

Just as Otta was still wavering, Brad frowned at the round table and spoke up: "This is not a good idea."

A determined gleam flashed in Brad's eyes. With the gates to immortality finally about to open for him, how could he possibly let such a golden opportunity slip away to an unknown hero? His vast experience immediately gave him a reason:

"If the hero is ambushed by the demons on the battlefield again, or even captured and taken to the Demon King's castle again, it will be an unprecedented blow to the morale of the people!"

"That's hard to say," a sarcastic voice immediately followed, not to be outdone.

Duke Moss's eyes flashed with a deep, dark will. Seeing his great noble nomination, which he could boast about for a lifetime and even have engraved on his tombstone, about to be persecuted, how could he possibly miss this only opportunity to divert attention? After racking his brains, he immediately became sarcastic and mocking:

"If you, the newly returned Pope of the Holy Church, were to suddenly die on the battlefield, the blow to the people... would probably be even greater than the death of a hero, wouldn't it?"

Good heavens... those words are practically begging to kill the Pope.

The nobles exchanged glances, their eyes wide with astonishment.

To retain his title as "Greatest Nobleman of the Year," Duke Moss is practically smearing his mouth with excrement! He's far more sarcastic and mean than ever before!

sizzle.

The invisible gazes collided in the air, sparking fierce reactions. Moss and Brad exchanged a glance, suddenly feeling as if they had encountered a formidable foe, an unprecedented sense of crisis growing in their hearts:

—Bu Hao, my nomination (lifespan)!

The people in the conference room subconsciously held their breath, watching this roundtable showdown between the oldest pope and the worst duke with utmost seriousness, vaguely sensing that this was the ultimate duel between "relying on seniority" and "shamelessness"!

“Sigh.” Sitting in his seat, Brad, looking haggard, sighed deeply: “Although the Holy Church’s ultimate weapon is powerful, it can only be controlled by the Holy Body of the Weapon. Now that we’ve reached such a dangerous moment, there’s no need to hide it any longer… After all, my life is already as fragile as a candle in the wind.”

"Before returning to the goddess's embrace, I'd like to contribute my last bit of energy, even if it's all burned out—"

These words of resignation and relief resonated with everyone present, causing the kingdom's high-ranking officials to shudder as they discerned Brad's idealistic belief in facing death with a will to live.