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"Instructions for use: This canned knowledge can only be opened by a virgin male swordsman who is emotionally insensitive, has a chuunibyou personality, writes 'gentle' but reads 'useless,' is lazy, gluttonous, incompetent, has no bottom line, enjoys lewdness, and has a secret panty-stealing fetish...?"
Mino blankly read out the activation conditions.
For some reason, he felt humiliated.
"This can of food is a total rip-off!" Mino angrily slammed the can on the ground, gritting her teeth. "How could I possibly open such a monstrous can of food! This is making things difficult for the Hero of Light!!!"
"Hmm, my lord... I feel that with your abilities, you are more than capable of opening this can, it's almost as if it was tailor-made for you!"
"It's a very insightful observation," Altoté said.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Mino, with her neck stiffened, declared righteously:
"Altotai, have you forgotten who I am? I am the strongest hero in human history, a warrior renowned for my perseverance and invincibility, a man who paved the way for humanity, bringing miracles unseen in a thousand years! The most radiant and noble hero of light!!!"
"My light, resilience, courage, and fearlessness... which of the aforementioned sordid terms can possibly be associated with me?!"
Mino clenched her fists, looking ashamed to be associated with them and drawing a line:
"Only the most useless of the useless, the most incompetent of the incompetent, the most lustful glutton who has been suppressing his desires for several lifetimes, and the most eccentric people in the world can open this kind of can!"
"But I am not!"
A human glow enveloped Mino's face, his strong spine stood proudly like a dragon, and a resolute and confident smile graced his bright and handsome face.
At this moment, Artotai raised his sword hilt and said curiously:
"In that case, my lord, why don't you try opening this can and see?"
Mino's body stiffened.
"Ah, Altotec, isn't it obvious that we don't need to try?" Mino coughed awkwardly, her voice slightly unsteady. "I am..."
"Or perhaps, my lord, you dare not?" Artotai's words punctured Mino's attempt to feign composure, and he immediately became furious:
"Who dares to say they wouldn't dare?! I'll prove it to you right now!"
Mino's hands trembled slightly as he picked up the can. He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and gently twisted it.
As soon as I encounter any resistance, I immediately let go... and then find a corner to secretly open—no, I mean, try to smash the can open!
Yes, that's right! Let's do it that way!!!
Having already mentally rehearsed the process, Mino twisted the toy with what appeared to be force but was actually incredibly light!
Bang!
Under Mino's blank stare, the can opened as if it had been coated with lubricant, without any resistance!
"This is outrageous!!!"
Starlight-like mist poured out of the jar, and knowledge flowed into Mino's body like breath, transforming into memories as if etched into his body's habits.
After the light and mist dissipated, standing in the arena was Super Mino, who had already mastered a mythical level sword technique.
But at this moment, Mino's face showed no joy whatsoever; she looked completely blank.
"So..." Altottai began to summarize leisurely:
"Only the most useless of the useless, the most incompetent of the incompetent, the lustful glutton who has been suppressing his desires for several lifetimes, and the most eccentric people could open this can! — My Lord, that's what you just said, right?"
"Impossible!" Mino gritted her teeth and protested excitedly.
"—This canned food must be expired!"
……
The eerie will-o'-the-wisps cast a pale light in the ground floor hall.
It was already late at night.
The two demon liaison meetings held in one day made the atmosphere at the long table extremely solemn.
"As expected of Lady Kletina, she has once again extracted crucial information from the hero Mino." Svir's pages shimmered as he analyzed the information Kletina had input, praising her as he did so.
“This is nothing to be thankful for. The key lies in the authenticity of the intelligence and whether our plan can be successfully executed…” Kletina shook her head slightly, her rose dress turning pure crimson at some point, her tone filled with complex emotions.
Soon, Swell completed the assessment of the intelligence:
"Based on comparisons with some ancient mage tower texts, the information provided by the hero Mino is likely true, but that's not surprising... The real arrangements are often planned by the human kingdom, or even by the kingdom's archmage."
“However, we are not without a chance of winning,” Swell chuckled.
Its decision to use torture was made after careful consideration of the threats posed by those humans: "By using that thing containing Lady Mia's power that we have never shown to humans before, humans are likely asking for trouble this time."
"The plan has been drawn up, Lady Kleinna."
The obsidian's light dimmed on Svir's pages. If it weren't for the lingering effects of his injuries from being severely wounded by that "hero," it could have completed the calculations in a mere instant. Svir then consulted Kletina:
"Which demon should be chosen to carry out this mission this time?"
“All of them,” Kleinina’s voice came from the head of the long table.
"Huh?" Swell's book paused slightly, then curled up slightly under the dense, almost tangible magic beside him—
Did I not make myself clear?
Blood-red roses took root in the air like a sea of flowers, bringing with them an unprecedentedly rich fragrance, as if to bury everything. Klettina's tone was both calm and mad:
"This time, all the great demons will be mobilized—"
"To prevent... the birth of another hero."
Chapter 269 [A Thousand Years] (Seeking monthly votes~)
"All personnel... mobilized?" Swell's book pages trembled.
This was a plan it had never envisioned.
In fact, it asked Kleidina because it felt that with her demonic talents, she was the most suitable person to carry out the mission.
If a powerful demon were to be ambushed outside the capital on the day of the operation, the risk could be minimized... But now, let alone risk, this is a desperate gamble no less than a full-scale war!
"Lady Kletina... your goal isn't just to cripple that hero of sin?!" Countless pieces of knowledge trembled on the pages of the book, and Svir instantly understood:
"You're planning to assassinate the kingdom's morning star from within that magician's tower?!"
For the mission to infiltrate the Mage's Tower using that item, one Greater Demon would have sufficed. There's only one reason why Kletina would deploy all the demons:
That is to hold back all the fighting forces of the capital of Kur, so that the holy archmage, who should have been under heavy protection, would be left isolated and helpless at the moment of protection!
"This is dangerous, Lady Kletina!" Swell's first reaction was to stop her, but when he met Kletina's eyes, which were filled with demonic energy, the pages of the book stopped abruptly.
"But isn't it worth a try, Swell?"
Kleidina's voice was soft, but it clearly reached the ears of all the demons present: "Those humans think that by gaining the assistance of the dragons and selecting new heroes and popes, they can become enemies with us who have protected the Demon King for thousands of years... It's time to make them face reality."
"Once both plans succeed, humanity will be unable to threaten the Demon King for a century."
“Swell, don’t always limit yourself to the analysis of knowledge and theories. The human heart is the part we need to control the most.”
Once those words, brimming with conviction, were spoken, no demon could raise any further questions.
Swell nodded and said, "I will revise the battle plan."
It was well aware of its own position. As a book demon, all it could do was assist, allowing the Demon King's castle to be shrouded in human fear for thousands of years... But the one before it was the first demon official who had accompanied the Demon King since birth.
Kleidina stood up from her seat: "Without further ado, I will channel the magic for Lady Mia again tonight and extract a wisp of the power of time."
"Remember, this mission is a do-or-die situation."
Before anyone could respond, the rose-colored dress transformed into countless intertwined shadows of butterflies, scattering and disappearing into the hall.
“This time, our scribe is more serious than ever before, Svir,” said the Demon Sword Apophis, who lightly jumped down from his seat and came to Svir’s side.
“Whenever it involves the Demon Lord, Lady Kleidina becomes like this. The retreat of the first line of defense and the opening of the Path of the Hero have crossed the Demon Lord's bottom line.” Swell sighed, looking in the direction where Kleidina had disappeared.
"Apophis, you should know something about this, right? A thousand years ago, the entire Demon King's Castle experienced a period of discontinuity."
"In the beginning, the Demon King's castle only had two demons: the newly born Lady Kletina and the Demon King who was still an infant."
"For Lady Kleinna, the Demon King is everything."
“Of course.” As if remembering something, Svir quickly added, “We are also great demons who are loyal to the greatest and most powerful Lady Mia, but Kletina is the most special one.”
“I understand, Swell.”
Apophis remarked, "Demons are the embodiment of desire. I can sense that the power of desire within her is no less than that of the demon kings I have fought before."
"But Lady Kleidina can never become the Demon King."
Swell turned the pages of his book gently, whether in regret or in stating a fact, the sound fading into the hall with the lingering fragrance of flowers:
"After all, her desire is the desire to 'protect the Demon Lord'..."
……
This was already the umpteenth time that Kleinna had gently carried the sleeping Mia from her arms to the throne.
The tiny magic horns were hidden among her slightly tousled, soft white hair, and her sleeping face came into view, a hint of tenderness flashing in Kletina's eyes.
She woke up to the sound of babies crying.
As the rose on the ground withered, the shadow that had been buried in the ground for a long time gradually rippled with demonic energy, intertwining, brewing, and blooming... The girl, who was naked except for a delicate rosebud stuck in her hair, looked around in bewilderment.
The castle before her was so dark, so tall, so huge… Her inherited knowledge told her that this was the Demon King's Castle, the residence of the greatest Demon King and the nine great demon officials.
The baby's cries were coming from inside the castle.
The girl subconsciously began to move her fair legs, still splattered with mud, as if she were emerging from the earth, and staggered step by step toward the source of the sound.
The empty hall contained only a long table with no seats, and a stark white throne stood atop the central steps, upon which a tiny swaddled baby immediately caught the girl's attention.
Wet footprints were left step by step on the red carpet. Before the throne, the girl carefully picked up the swaddled baby and saw the tiny, crying baby inside.
"Demon King...sir?"
The inherited knowledge naturally surfaced in the girl's mind, and after some hesitation, she recognized the presence before her.
Incredibly, the baby stopped crying the moment it saw the girl, and stared at her with its big, bright eyes without blinking.
Soon, the baby's eyelids closed little by little, and it fell into a peaceful sleep in the girl's arms, curled up in its swaddling clothes like a kitten.
"Mia... I'm entrusting her protection to you—"