Hero? Are You Worthy?

The demon was clever—it did not immediately resist when Qin Chu attacked.

The crime of attacking nobles was very serious. Once it defended itself, the knights around Qin Chu could have killed it on the spot, scattering its ashes without leaving any room for explanations.

In this world, the power of the nobles was that exaggerated.

However, it knew that there were increasing tensions between civilians and nobles. Although the royal family and nobles had ceded some benefits to mitigate the conflict, they could not fully mask the clash between the two classes.

It wanted to use this to stir the dissatisfaction of the other civilians, thus making Qin Chu hesitate and spare it.

What it had not anticipated was that Qin Chu was not a noble and certainly did not act in the way nobles did.

Listening to the cries of the melon stand owner, Qin Chu smiled lightly, unaffected, his tone even and voice deep, yet polite—a demeanor not at all like one devouring a demon but more like a noble engaging in elegant conversation.

"Sir, you are mistaken."

"I am not a noble. I am... a hero who was just summoned."

Qin Chu revealed his identity.

Upon hearing this, the face of the melon stand owner changed drastically.

Although it had only been one night, the news of the banquet had spread everywhere through various channels. He knew that the newly summoned hero possessed a mysterious and powerful ability to see through a demon's disguise.

That meant the hero before him had already known his true identity.

Realizing this, driven by desperation, he grabbed a melon knife from the stand and stabbed at Qin Chu's stomach.

Cling clang...

The knife had not even touched Qin Chu's skin when it was repelled.

A sweep of his dual-handed greatsword, a splutch, and he bisected the melon stand owner at the waist.

A thick, white fluid splattered out, and a pungent stench quickly filled the air.

Once bisected, the melon stand owner finally showed his true form—a hideous, milky-white worm, an illusion demon.

Indeed, it was a demon—worthy of a hero.

Around them, a crowd of guards admired Qin Chu even more.

Meanwhile, the civilians gathering around, witnessing these knights slaughtering the melon stand owner, began to feel their anger rise due to the new laws of the empire that frowned upon such brutality. How dare this brutal noble still engage in such acts?

But before their anger could escalate, they saw the two wriggling halves of the bisected worm and went pale, unsure of what was actually happening.

Tsk...

It was a bit of a pity that the melon stand owner's strength had not been completely devoured before Maritiss killed him—wasting at least a third.

After a brief silence, Qin Chu turned to face the surrounding civilians, slightly bowing, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am the newly summoned hero of the Sky Dome Continent... please do not panic, I am simply eliminating the demons hiding within the city."

A hero entering the civilian district to eradicate demons to protect the civilians?

Wasn't the hero only serving the Royal Family, the Church, and the Nobles? Since when did they also protect civilians?

For a moment, the expressions on the faces of those around were varied, as they found it hard to accept this reality.

Qin Chu said no more and soon turned to leave, searching for the next target.

Maritiss hurriedly followed behind, "Mr. Brave..."

She felt somewhat melancholic—the situation had been far too dangerous.

If she had not acted in time, the hero would have been disemboweled.

"When you find a new target, could you notify me first and not rashly make contact? It's very dangerous..."

"Sorry, I can't do that. I can only be sure whether the other party is a demon or not after I have made contact myself. After all, accidentally killing a civilian would be terrible... Of course, if you could restrain my chosen target before letting me check, that might be safer."

Maritiss's eyes shone; this method was good, worthy of a hero, indeed very clever.

...

Elsewhere, Candice had already left the Imperial City.

She darted through a desolate jungle, following Lord Horus's orders to personally inform the Seventh Prince about the movements of Shield Guard Benson, a member of the Hero Team.

She did not want to interact with those hideous creatures, but she did not have the courage to refuse an order from Lord Horus.

She did not know what Lord Horus ultimately aimed to do, but she knew that herself, the Seventh Prince, and even the hero, were merely pawns in his plan.

As a pawn, she needed to demonstrate her value.

The situation in the Sky Dome Continent was likely about to change.

Traveling relentlessly through the night until late into the next day, Candice finally halted in front of a tall mountain.

She glanced around; the forest was lush, the air filled with a dark mist carrying an oppressive and unsettling aura.

It was night, silent, with neither the sound of nightingales nor insects, nor even a breeze.

This place was undoubtedly a realm of death, and even Candice, who had the blood of demons flowing in her veins, could feel a deep oppression.

A gray-white mist shrouded the base of the mountain, eerie and weird.

Taking a deep breath, Candice pressed down the restlessness in her chest, knelt on one knee in front of this mountain peak, "Oville Empire Imperial City, agent number thirty-four, Candice, requests an urgent audience with Seventh Prince."

There was not a hint of movement around her.

She knew that because of her identity, those demons would not easily allow her an audience with the Seventh Prince, perhaps at this very moment, behind that fog, a group of demons was watching her and sneering triumphantly.

"This is a very important piece of intelligence, if it is delayed, it might have severe consequences," Candice added.

After a while, a light gray figure flickered in and out of visibility within the thick fog, and through the blur, one could glimpse a distorted, human shape.

"Candice, what important intelligence could you have?"

"Tell me, and I will relay it to Seventh Prince."

The voice was sharp and piercing, making one extremely uncomfortable. Along with the voice, the weird limbs in the fog twitched more frequently, its body like a shapeless mass of flesh, constantly writhing.

"Sorry, this intelligence is crucial; I must personally meet with the Seventh Prince."

Candice's response clearly angered the demon in the thick fog; the surrounding gray-white fog rolled violently, transforming into a giant skull.

There was an insidious horror about it.

With a swoosh, the skull flew toward Candice, its gaping mouth seeming to want to swallow her whole.

"Filthy mongrel, a hybrid with human blood flowing in your veins, how dare you talk to me like this, what right do you have to meet with Seventh Prince?"

A flash of cold light appeared in Candice's eyes, she nearly lost control, but she held back, her fingers clenching, her chest filling with more and more resentment toward the demon.

Even though she was on a mission for them, they did not even pretend to show any basic courtesy.

In an instant, the huge skull formed by the fog had appeared in front of Candice, its massive gaping mouth about to swallow her in the next moment!

All the while, Candice didn't move a muscle.

"Stop..."

Just as Candice was about to be devoured, a dull voice, like that of a drum, came from deep within the mountain.

The huge skull suddenly halted, then swiftly shrank back and disappeared, as if it had never existed.

"Let her come in."

The fog parted to both sides, revealing a narrow path.

The mountain before her was only a shell; its interior had long been hollowed out by demons and used as a temporary camp for Seventh Prince.

From the thick fog on both sides, one could still feel large patches of distorted limbs. At a glance, it only served to make one's scalp tingle; inside, countless pairs of black or blood-red eyes penetrated the fog, staring fixedly at Candice.

Even with Candice's strong will, at this moment she felt goosebumps, with not a hint of goodwill detectable in those gazes.

Whether raspy, whimpering, or the sounds of sorrow and roaring, all sorts of noises also permeated her ears from all directions.

Demons' territories are places normal humans simply cannot approach; sounds, sights, smells, all sorts of tortures are enough to shatter the soul.

With a sigh...

Candice took a slight breath, reopened her eyes, and headed deeper through the parted fog.

As the horrifying pressure persisted, Candice finally stopped walking.

Inside the mountain belly, a small palace had been constructed, and within the palace, there was a throne made of bones, with two pale skulls at the arms of the throne.

On the throne, a massive figure.

A terrifying pressure faced her, the tens of meters high body majestic and imposing.

He had dark red skin as tough as steel, with large, fluid-carrying vessels visible beneath the skin.

His limbs bore thick, hard scales that glistened with a metallic sheen, his physique more like an oversized human, except the tips of his fingers and toes were sharp and curved like knives.

On the massive head were two twisted goat horns.

One huge arm supported his chin, with eyes as large as basins, crimson, staring down at Candice's tiny figure.

With a gulp...

Uncontrollably, Candice swallowed.

Eternal Monarch's seventh son, Luo Meng!

Candice was under Luo Meng's command; this was not her first time meeting Luo Meng, yet every time she met him, Candice could feel that suffocating omnipresence.

In a daze, it felt like facing landslides, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis gushing forth.

The invisible pressure made Candice's body tremble, and deep inside, she felt an urge to prostrate herself on the ground.

Suddenly, a very curious thought emerged in Candice's mind—between Luo Meng and Lord Horus, who was stronger?