Chapter 178: The Valkyrie Eager for Reward (Part 3)
The stronger and higher-ranking a Demon Beast, the closer its appearance to a human.
Of course, Succubi were an exception.
Even the weakest Succubi closely resembled humans.
As the Demon King, Nagath’s appearance was very close to that of a human. He had a human-like body, head, and thick limbs. His strong body was covered in well-defined muscles that looked like metal, their lines smooth and perfect, exuding a powerful beauty.
Two dark red horns curved slightly backwards from his forehead, and his fingers were sharp claws like knives.
Unlike those monstrous, twisted, and ferocious Demon Beasts, and even compared to his son Lomond’s small, hill-like body, the Demon King’s physique seemed somewhat small.
But no one in the entire Demon Beast race dared to underestimate the Demon King’s power. Anyone who dared to challenge his throne would suffer a cruel punishment. He would use his sharp claws and his vast, ocean-like Mana to prove his strength.
His eyes were blood red, his gaze fixed on the gradually fading crimson tide in the sky, a hint of oppressive hatred in his eyes.
The God of Darkness, Blood, and Slaughter!
He sensed it, the aura of that madman.
Among the deities of the Void, that wasn’t the most twisted or sinister one, but definitely the most insane. Because that guy’s only goal was to plunge the entire world into endless slaughter and war, which brought him supreme pleasure.
Only the strong would receive his attention and favor, and that wasn’t a good thing.
The woman behind him pressed against his back. She was graceful, voluptuous, and enchanting, with a fair face and beautiful features, a slender black tail with a heart-shaped tip extending from behind her.
She was a Succubus.
And the current Queen of the Succubi.
She was one of Demon King Nagath’s wives and had once been his most beloved consort.
Of course, the nature of the Succubi made her not so honest. She had cheated on Nagath before, more than once. Candice was the result of one such infidelity.
In a way, Lomond and Candice were siblings… Although they had different fathers, and in Lomond’s eyes, any association with Candice was a taint on his noble bloodline.
But Demon King Nagath didn’t seem to care. After all, in his harem, there were many who had been snatched from other powerful Demon Beasts.
The only thing that puzzled the Succubus Queen was that Demon King Nagath seemed to have suddenly changed his personality a few years ago. He seemed to have lost interest in conquering human lands and spent most of his time secluded in the deepest part of the Demon King’s Palace. He left almost all the wars against humans to the Four Heavenly Kings, the Seventeen Demon Generals, and his sons.
No one knew what the Demon King was doing. He seemed to be researching something strange.
He was so engrossed in it that he hadn’t even favored any of his consorts.
This strange situation aroused suspicion among some powerful Demon Beasts. Apart from their appearance, there wasn’t much difference between Demon Beasts and humans. It was just that the Demon Beasts’ greed and cruelty were more pronounced.
Some Demon Beasts suspected that the Demon King had suffered severe injuries in his duel with the First Hero, Jie Luo, and his strength had declined.
A weakling wasn’t worthy of sitting on the throne.
Therefore, some powerful Demon Beasts began to challenge the Demon King.
But Nagath proved with his absolute strength that he was still the strongest among the Demon Beasts… His power was even greater than before, unparalleled.
The Demon King’s consorts all tried to seduce him, hoping to regain his favor.
Whoever was favored by Nagath would immediately rise in status among the Demon Beasts, even the Succubus Queen was no exception.
Seducing the opposite sex was what Succubi were best at, let alone the Succubus Queen, the most enchanting and alluring existence. Her soft body wriggled gently against Nagath’s back.
Her hair brushed against his cheek, sending shivers down his spine.
Nagath could clearly smell the alluring fragrance emanating from the Succubus Queen. Although he was wearing armor, he could still feel how soft her body was. Holding her in his arms would be the ultimate pleasure.
Especially the Succubus Queen. Even if she just lay there motionless, she could make a man experience true paradise.
A faint flicker of desire appeared in Nagath’s crimson eyes.
But he quickly controlled himself and pushed the woman behind him away mercilessly. “Sorry, I have research to do tonight.”
After saying these words, Nagath turned and returned to the Demon King’s Palace, leaving the Succubus Queen alone under the moonlight. A hint of resentment flashed in her beautiful eyes. Sometimes, she even wondered if Nagath had suffered some kind of injury in his battle with the Hero that made him lose his…ability.
But from the Demon King’s reactions, she could tell that wasn’t the case.
She looked at the guards around her, searching for a suitable target to relieve her loneliness.
Being the Demon King’s consort brought a high status, but it also came with some troubles… After all, not every Demon Beast had the courage to cuckold the Demon King.
After returning to his laboratory, Nagath closed the door.
Only the Demon King could open the door to this laboratory, and the soundproofing was excellent.
He was alone in the spacious room, a manic glint in his eyes. He clenched his fists, the image of the Succubus Queen’s graceful and alluring figure involuntarily appearing in his mind, making him even more irritated.
“Damn it…”
…
On the other side…
Sylph and Airi ultimately didn’t attack.
The desire to tear Qin Chu apart continued to grow within them, their hands even reaching for their weapons.
But in the end, they gave up.
There was no helping it. Wadsworth, Augustus, and Saint Monique were here. These three wouldn’t let them kill Qin Chu.
If they attacked, their fate would be as tragic as Karsus’s.
Especially Sylph. Because Karsus had been purified by Qin Chu, and before his complete destruction, Qin Chu had even crushed all his dignity and honor, making him die in the most humiliating way, reduced to ashes in front of everyone.
It was practically a public execution.
This made Sylph hate Qin Chu to the core.
And by extension, she also hated Norma. Norma was Karsus’s fiancée! Seeing her fiancé turned to ashes by Holy Light, she didn’t show any sadness at all, and she was even close to Qin Chu, the murderer who killed her fiancé. This was unforgivable in Sylph’s eyes.
This woman was incredibly selfish. She didn’t even consider that Karsus was no longer human, just an ugly monster. It was too much to ask Norma to accept such a creature.
After the nobles dispersed, Wadsworth and the other two also came to say goodbye.
Qin Chu and Norma returned to the residence. Sylph and Airi exchanged glances and silently followed behind. They would also be staying at the residence as the Hero’s archery and thievery teachers. The road wasn’t a good place to kill Qin Chu and Norma, but they would have plenty of opportunities after they arrived at the residence.
The Sykes Hotel was clearly no longer habitable. The owner wanted to cry, but no tears came. His hotel had been severely damaged, but no one came to discuss compensation. He had to bear all the losses himself.
After returning to the residence, Violet briefly asked what had happened. She had also sensed the crimson light in the sky, but it hadn’t affected her much.
The Seed of Storms within her had become exceptionally active at that time, helping her resist the invasion from the Void.
Qin Chu explained briefly, then let Norma choose a comfortable room and rest. Although he had many questions for her, Norma was already very tired. They could talk tomorrow.
He had brought back one girl from his previous outing.
This time, there were three…
This made Angelica puff out her cheeks. Only Anastasia didn’t seem to mind. She was very confident.
Qin Chu also warmly welcomed Sylph and Airi. The two women forced smiles in response. It was difficult for them.
Their gazes occasionally swept over Violet. They could sense that this woman was very, very strong… They had thought that it would be easier to attack Qin Chu after getting close to him, but now it seemed that this woman would be the biggest obstacle.
That night, Ekaterina appeared in Qin Chu’s bedroom.
After Qin Chu set up a soundproof barrier, Ekaterina began to relay the details of the meeting between the five female members of the Hero Squad.
“Airi and Sylph want to investigate the hidden power within you, Master.”
“Loseweisse found a special kind of poison. It’s colorless, odorless, and undetectable. It doesn’t take effect immediately, but accumulates in the body.”
“When the poison takes effect, it will start to corrode the body, making the target extremely weak, and their wounds won’t heal…”
A grim smile appeared on Qin Chu’s lips. He had tasted this poison many times in the first playthrough and still couldn’t forget its terrible taste.
“There’s some infighting within the Hero Squad. Although they eventually blamed everything on Augustus, the cracks have appeared, and they probably won’t be easily mended.”
“Ronald, the Noble Swordsman, is currently trapped in the Demon Beast territory by Lomond and can’t escape for the time being. But he’s hiding well, and Lomond can’t catch him. However, it will definitely become a problem if this continues. I suspect that Airi’s sister, Eileen, has already infiltrated the Demon Beast territory to help Ronald, but this is just my speculation, and its accuracy is uncertain.”
“Also, Loseweisse seems to have found another possible location of Jie Luo’s soul fragment, but she’s not sure. She has already contacted Muse the Mad, who will check it out on her way to the Imperial City.”
“Athena is very suspicious that there’s a traitor in the Hero Squad. Her main suspects are Loseweisse and Sylph.”
“Her relationship with Sylph is especially bad.”
Qin Chu nodded slightly. Keeping Ekaterina around was the right decision. As a spy planted within the Hero Squad, she could provide him with detailed information about their movements.
Ekaterina suddenly seemed to remember something. “By the way, when the five of us were discussing, besides Norma, there were two other guests who visited, Carlos, the president of the Adventurer’s Guild, and Lex, the largest merchant in the Auville Empire… But seeing that Loseweisse had other guests, they left.”
Carlos, Lex!
Two more enemies had appeared.
The Adventurer’s Guild was the Guardian Association that Qin Chu had dealt with after killing Demon King Nagath. They were responsible for cleaning up the remaining scattered Demon Beasts and collecting rewards.
And when he was executed, it was Carlos’s ultimate move, the Sword of Damocles, that hung above his head, said to be able to cut through anything.
Qin Chu touched his neck, still feeling a phantom pain. It was that sword that had taken his head.
As for Lex, he was the most famous merchant in the Auville Empire. His title was Count, not the highest-ranking noble, but his business acumen was extraordinary. He monopolized the food processing, medicine production, and weapon manufacturing industries in the Auville Empire, even the entire Heavenly Continent, accumulating astonishing wealth.
Later, he even monopolized the news media of the Heavenly Continent.
Ruining his reputation was Lex’s doing. His subordinates were very good at spreading rumors.
The poison Loseweisse added to his medicine had also been modified and enhanced by Lex.
And the weapons, including the Hero’s, were all produced by Lex. During Qin Chu’s second attempt to seal the Witch, his weapon had suddenly exploded. Otherwise, his injuries wouldn’t have been so severe.
At that time, Qin Chu hadn’t thought much of it, thinking that the impact of their battle was too strong, and the weapon couldn’t withstand it. Now that he thought about it, Lex had probably tampered with the weapon.
That woman Loseweisse was truly chillingly insidious.
To kill him, she had planned for seven years… No, perhaps even longer. Even before he was summoned to this world, Loseweisse had already been planning how to kill him.
While pretending to be innocent and naive, she was secretly plotting his demise.
A smile played on Qin Chu’s lips. Hearing this news now, he didn’t even feel particularly angry, only amused.
He wouldn’t let any of them go.
He would personally make those who had harmed him experience the most excruciating pain… He would carefully prepare the best way to die for each of them.
Benson and Karsus were already dead, Ekaterina was under his control, and Athena was deceived… Who should be his next target?
Ronald and Eileen seemed to be in the Demon Beast territory… Should he ignore Airi and Sylph for now and start with Eileen and Ronald?
Qin Chu pondered.
After all, he already had a detailed plan for them.
However, a certain elf had delivered herself to his doorstep, which puzzled him.
“Also, Athena has been going to the library a lot recently. I checked the books she borrowed, and they’re almost all related to souls, soul fragments, and soul crystals…” Ekaterina added after thinking for a moment.
Then, she looked up at Qin Chu with an expectant expression, like a pet eager for its master’s reward. Her eyes seemed to be saying, Master, I did a good job, right?
As expected, although Qin Chu’s disguise was quite good, his acting almost perfect, Athena, after calming down, could still sense something unnatural. She would use various channels to confirm her suspicions.
Perhaps he should deal with Athena a bit earlier.
Qin Chu naturally understood Ekaterina’s thoughts. He wasn’t the kind of capitalist who would only exploit his subordinates. He naturally had to reward Ekaterina for her good work.
His fingers traced the lines of Ekaterina’s fair cheek, a gentle smile on his face, “Ekaterina, you did a very good job this time… I’m very satisfied.”
Qin Chu removed the barrier and looked at Ekaterina, who was kneeling on the ground with a bright, joyful smile on her face. But from the corner of his eye, he saw a figure outside the window.
A blonde elf stood silently on a tree branch, the night wind ruffling her hair, her emerald eyes filled with killing intent.
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