RNP Page 19
Page 19
"Eh?"
Inside the Demon King's castle, Mino lay bewildered on her sickbed.
He felt the burning heat inside his body, ruling out the possibility that he had caught fire. His illness seemed to have worsened without food.
Where's the promised healing? I don't feel anything at all when you pinch me.
Looking at the grayed-out reward, Mino began to question the meaning of life.
Could it be... that he's actually already recovered?
Yes, maybe the feeling I'm experiencing now is just a lingering illusion in my body. With my doubts dissipating a little, Mino perked up and jumped right out of bed!
"My Lord?!"
"Haha, I'm all better now. Watch me walk around like I'm not sick anymore. I'm walking... Ouch."
With a thud, Mino, whose legs were weak and unable to walk, collapsed to the ground.
As the saying goes, practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. Mino pushed himself up from the ground, his face serious, and arrived at a rigorous conclusion.
This illness is never cured, lol!
"Mino, quick, lie down."
Fim helped Mino to the bedside, his eyes filled with pity, as if he thought Mino had really suffered brain damage from the fever.
"Come on, drink up."
A steaming bowl of seafood porridge was served to Mino, emitting a mouthwatering aroma.
Mino looked ashen-faced as she stared at the bowl of white porridge in front of her and Fim's angelic smile.
It can't be this "cure", can it?
To drink or not to drink, that is the question...
……
The kingdom, on the city wall.
Upon seeing Princess Kalia appear before them, a glimmer of light seemed to appear in the gloomy eyes of the people.
A long, silver-white dress, bathed in the soft morning light, shimmered gently and swayed softly with her steps.
Princess Kalia's silky blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders, and a small diamond crown adorned her head, making her exquisite face appear exceptionally noble at this moment.
Kalia walked to the top of the wall, her hands, wrapped in white silk gloves, clasped together in front of her chest, her eyes filled with a serene and peaceful expression, as if she had just been blessed by a goddess.
Seeing this scene, the hearts of the people seemed to be swept by a gentle spring breeze, and they were deeply healed by that dignified and pure figure...
That is the jewel of the kingdom, the second princess, Kalia.
Chapter 25 I thought of some happy things
"My dear citizens, I am delighted to see you all here today." Kalia stood on the city wall, glanced around, and said with an indescribable gentleness.
"You have shown me the contributions, sweat, hardships, and protection that the hero Mino has made, and none of it has been in vain."
"He lives on in your hearts."
As soon as the words were spoken, groups of people, whether family or companions, began to sob sadly, tears welling in their eyes.
“He was the strongest hero in human history,” Kalia whispered.
"He once single-handedly slew the evil dragon of the western desert, and once led the knights to reclaim the border city of Steel, he once..."
Beneath the simple words, every sentence reveals a legendary reputation, but now it evokes an epic tragedy.
"We failed."
Kalia sighed deeply, concluding with a cruel conclusion.
The hero Mino kept creating miracles for them, and it was precisely because of this that the Demon King's army exhausted the power of the nine great demons, all for the sake of capturing Mino, the true hero.
This is not Mino's failure, but the failure of their royal family, the soldiers, and the entire Kingdom of Kur.
After sadness, shame, and humiliation comes anger that originates from within.
"This is no longer a war, but a test of the human spirit!"
"We must persevere, because Mino is still persevering."
"He is not just a hero, but a spirit!"
Kalia looked up, her face gleaming in the sunlight, "a spirit of steel that will never yield, no matter how painful or cruel the interrogation!"
At this moment, the kingdom felt an unprecedented sense of unity.
"The Mino Spirit!"
"The Mino Spirit!!!"
The deafening sound echoed across the sky, spreading to every inch of the kingdom.
In later history, this day was known as "the rise of the human spine," and the term "Minoccan spirit" became synonymous with the most resilient and indomitable spirit.
Meanwhile, at the Demon King's Castle—
A mouthful of warm porridge was swallowed.
"It's delicious."
Mino felt her spine go limp, the thick porridge completely dispelling the chill in her body. The shrimp meat was tender and bouncy, the clams were sweet and fresh, and the seafood flavors were fully infused into the porridge, creating warm currents.
"smell good."
"It smells so good."
"It smells incredibly good."
Altothai: "...Could you expand your vocabulary a bit? Otherwise, your heroic kneeling sliding down seems rather unrefined."
"Ugh, I'm sleepy." A wave of drowsiness washed over her, and Mino yawned.
"Ask me whatever you want to know, I'm in a hurry to confess."
Mino turned around and found that Kletina had left the cell at some point.
"Huh, what about people?"
Fim stood by the bed, tidying up the trolley, then looked at Mino and shook his head: "Just now, I got the news."
"I'm in a bad mood, I'm leaving."
"Oh? Looks like we'll have to wait until next time. What news is so important?" Mino's eyelids grew heavy, and she asked casually.
Before consciousness finally drifted off to sleep, Fim's indistinct voice reached me.
"Hero, awaken, it's about to begin."
……
King's capital.
Following the memorial ceremony, Prince Ota summoned the chief of the Round Tower, Lak, for a private audience.
"Chief Lark, thank you for your hard work these past few days."
Ota looked down at Lak, whose dark circles were not much lighter than his own, and offered a word of comfort.
"I wonder how far along the restoration of the magic circle for selecting the hero is... As you know, in order to stabilize the morale of the people, selecting the next hero as soon as possible has been put on the agenda."
Lark raised his head, his eyes slightly vacant, his receding hairline and thickening white hair revealing his recent state.
"Your Highness, I have basically restored the magic circle. Once the Holy Church has verified that everything is correct, the selection ceremony for the hero can begin."
Lak lowered his head again, speaking weakly.
Because of the destruction of the Round Tower Notes, he could no longer modify the hero's awakening ritual. He even had to search through a large number of magic books and rack his brains to reconstruct the most basic hero selection circle from his fragmented memories. After all, who would remember the details of a circle that is only used once every ten years or so?
Thinking about this, Lark's liver started to ache slightly.
During this period, he was practically a programmer who had been completely exploited, following the basic operation manual to complete the construction of a large magic array.
It can only be said that if it weren't for his profound magical skills as the chief of the Round Tower, a hero might not have appeared again for decades.
As for why he was forced to complete this task... it was because of the self-destruction of the Round Tower Notes.
Although Ota has not yet suspected him, as the keeper of the Round Tower Notes, he undoubtedly bears the greatest responsibility for the notebook's destruction.
Not to mention that this notebook is a compilation of human magic, a sacred object in the hearts of all magicians in the country. If they knew it would be lost in his hands... even Lark might have it torn to pieces.
At this moment, the bitterness on Lark's lips was even harder to suppress than AK's.
He blamed everything on the person who destroyed the Round Tower Notes. If he found out who did it, he would make sure they experienced the same painful torture that Mino had gone through!
"good very good!"
Prince Ota was invigorated; this was the first piece of good news he had heard in so many days.
"I will immediately spread the news throughout the country. In three days, we will hold the Hero Awakening Ceremony at the Hero Candidate Training Camp!!!"
Three days later... Lak's liver started to ache again.
He had spent three whole months perfecting the additional magic array that controlled people's minds.
The plan to directly control the newborn hero during the awakening ceremony has essentially failed. However, as an evil faction, how could Lak so easily watch the hero's successor be selected normally? He would rather not have another hero, Mino, than have his liver slowly crumble.
It seems I'll be working on this research non-stop for the next three days...
Lak looked up, his eyes gradually stinging.
"Chief Lark, what... what's wrong with you?" This startled Prince Ota.
Was it because restoring the awakening array consumed too much energy? But wasn't that all over already?
“No, I was just thinking about something happy.” Lak shook his head and said, “After all, the next hero is finally about to be born, which is a huge boost to the kingdom’s fighting strength.”
Ota echoed, "Yes, it's regrettable what happened to Mino, but only when new heroes awaken will the kingdom's borders not be so turbulent."
"We can also protect our important home..."
His voice trailed off as Ota slumped as he thought of all the female dolls that had melted away in the bookcase. He couldn't protect anything...
"Prince Ota, what's wrong?" Lak looked up, puzzled, at the glistening tears in Ota's eyes.