A gentle voice echoed around his ears.
Lance, who had been rampaging through the room, suddenly stood still, and his once chaotic consciousness seed to have regained a bit of reason. His gaze instinctively surveyed his surroundings.
In this ss of a room, already torn apart, there was no other figure but himself.
"Who is it? Who’s speaking?" Lance called out with a deep voice.
Perhaps because he had roared too forcefully before, his voice was hoarse. He was certain it was not his imagination; he truly heard... no, directly felt that voice bouncing in his mind.
Dimly, the room seed to grow more somber.
In the air floated thin traces of black and purple, almost like spider threads, a faint, sweet stench gradually invading his nostrils.
"Do you crave power?"
The weird voice sounded again.
The dark purple filants suddenly began to wriggle rapidly in mid-air; the dense and nurous threads interwoven, forming a strange yet graceful silhouette.
Lance’s scalp tingled. Such a bizarre sight would make anyone realize that sothing was amiss. He began to slowly retreat, preparing to shriek for the aid of the Royal Guard.
He did not know what the silhouette before him truly represented, but he knew the strength of this entity was beyond his imagination.
rely gazing at the outline drawn by the dark purple threads, he felt a beauty that was not of this world, and even had the urge to prostrate himself in worship. The weird silhouette, like a twisted vortex, even made Lance feel like his soul was about to be sucked in.
"I sense your desire..."
"Worship ... and I shall grant you the power to slay a hero!"
Lance, who had been slowly retreating, suddenly stopped at these words... power to slay a hero?
...
The crackling noise stopped, and no one knew what the Prince was doing now, nor did anyone have the courage to burst in and check.
Ti passed; eventually, the door creaked open, and a figure walked out. At the sight of this person, the eyes of nearly every attendant brightened for a mont.
It was still their Prince, dressed in the sa suit as before.
The sa face, the sa eyes, the sa hair, everything was as it had been, but...
Sohow, the Prince seed... to have more presence.
The tattered clothes, the disheveled hair, the unkempt appearance—all ford a different kind of elegance and nobility.
A slight curve played on Lance’s lips as he bowed gracefully: "I apologize for behaving in a manner unbefitting my status. Could you please help tidy up my room?"
Their Prince seed to have fully recovered.
No one noticed the thread of black in his brown eyes squirming like a worm.
...
On the street, Lord Wozworth continued to pour out his grievances to Qin Chu, complaining about his son’s stupidity.
"Tell , what magic potion has Rose Vesper given to Lance? His status is so noble, and the vast empire will be his in the future. What kind of woman hasn’t he seen? Yet he’s head over heels for Rose Vesper."
"If Rose Vesper weren’t the Holy Daughter of the Holy Court, I would suspect her of being an Enchanting Demon."
As he spoke, it seed Wozworth suddenly rembered the relationship between Qin Chu and Rose Vesper, realizing it might not be appropriate to badmouth her in front of him.
"Ah, my apologies, Brother Qin, forget what I just said. I forgot about your relationship with Rose Vesper..." Wozworth’s expression turned a bit ambiguous, shifting from a tired middle-aged man to a sowhat sleazy uncle: "Or perhaps, Brother Qin, you could just handle Rose Vesper sooner, so that my foolish son could give up on her completely."
Qin Chu felt a rush of frustration. Were these words befitting of an Emperor?
As for Rose Vesper, he would deal with her sooner or later.
Qin Chu still had a lot to do today, such as figuring out how to pin the murder of a thousand Holy Knights at the border by Karsas on Augustus. He didn’t have much ti to listen to Wozworth’s complaints.
He took a long breath, "Your Majesty, perhaps we can be more honest with each other."
Wozworth was not offended by Qin Chu’s words. He straightened his slightly bent fra, and his deanor changed in an instant: "Very well, since Brother Qin is so forthright, I won’t beat around the bush anymore... Brother Qin, have you ever considered forming your own Hero Team?"
Forming his own Hero Team!
It was indeed about this.
Qin Chu was not surprised by Wozworth’s suggestion.
In fact, during the first week, Wozworth had approached him with the sa matter.
Although the mbers of the Hero Team had considerable strength and had achieved great honors under the Hero’s leadership in wars, for people like Wozworth, they were forces hard to control. They were more eager to have their own people embedded within the Hero Team.
In the first week, Qin Chu, trusting Asina, Catherine, and Rose Vesper completely, consented in a befuddled state to accept all mbers of the forr Hero Team under the persuasion of several ladies, rejecting Wozworth’s suggestion.
Of course, Qin Chu still had to put on a surprised look. He eyed Wozworth suspiciously across the room, "Forming a Hero Team? But isn’t there already one in place?"
Wozworth apparently had his reasoning prepared. Perhaps, as soon as the news of Benson’s death by Luo ng broke out, he had already been planning, "No, no, no, you’ve misunderstood, Qin. What I an is your own Hero Team. The mbers of the Hero Team are the most important partners for a Hero in confronting demons, and they must first and foremost be completely reliable, worthy of trust."
"Forgive my frankness, but the current mbers of the forr Hero Team are not worthy of your trust, Qin."
Whether Wozworth spoke for so ulterior motive or not, there was no doubt that what he said was true; it was just a pity that in the first week, I didn’t take it seriously at all.
Seeing no response from Qin Chu, Wozworth lowered his voice, "Qin, I’m not picking a fight here!"
"Just ask around a little, and you’ll know everything I’m saying is true."
"You’re the Second Generation Brave Warrior. When they were preparing to summon you, there was unanimous opposition from all mbers of the forr Hero Team. They only recognize Jie Luo, and in their view, no one but Jie Luo is worthy of being called a Hero."
He shook his head, "Such people, I find it very hard to believe they would stay by your side, Qin, and serve you wholeheartedly."
Qin Chu seed contemplative and after a few seconds of pondering, suddenly looked up, "Your Majesty, could you tell what kind of person the First Generation Brave Hero Jie Luo was? For the mbers of the forr Hero Team to rember him so fondly, he must have been a very outstanding and upright individual, right?"
Wozworth fell silent for a mont, appearing to ponder sothing. His expression soon grew complex, "First Generation Brave Hero Jie Luo... how to put it... "
He seed to struggle to recall.
After a brief hesitation, Wozworth’s voice rose again, "Jie Luo was like a person you would regard as ordinary at first glance; you wouldn’t think he had anything to draw your attention, but... unexpectedly, he appeared quite charming. The longer you spent with him, the more he would fascinate you..."
Wozworth thumped his head once, "Even though Jie Luo and I didn’t have many interactions, just so ceremonial pleasantries, yet my impression of him is all favorable, which is quite strange."
Qin Chu seed to understand a bit more now.
The people of the Sky Do Continent held distinctly different attitudes towards the First Generation Brave.
The mbers of the forr Hero Team were almost obsessed, worshipful, fond, and enamored, treating the First Generation Brave as the only one in their lives.
For Wozworth, ordinary nobles, and even those commoners who had seen the First Generation Brave once, the verdict was... quite good, he was a very excellent Hero.
Although the feedback was positive, it clearly wasn’t as exaggerated as the forr Hero Team mbers’.
On the First Generation Brave Hero Jie Luo, there seed to be a special charm that attracted those around him. The longer they stayed by his side, the more they were influenced.
The mbers of the forr Hero Team, who lived and worked closely with Jie Luo for years, naturally were the most deeply affected, and thus placed great importance on the glory belonging to Jie Luo, rejecting the new generation of Heroes taking his place.
This wasn’t magic; there were no signs of ntal domination on these people, and their rationality wasn’t compromised. It’s just that their love for the First Generation Brave was deep, insanely deep...
"No wonder, knowing full well I was the Second Generation Brave, Karsas still launched an attack directly on , nearly killing ," Qin Chu murmured as if to himself.
There were so things he couldn’t bring up on his own.
Wozworth’s eyes brightened, a Hero and the forr Hero Team not getting along was definitely good news for him. He quickly interjected, "Karsas truly is audacious. Having such a person as a teammate, Mr. Brave, you must feel uneasy too, after all, you never know when you might get stabbed in the back."
"Teammates, indeed, should be those one can truly trust."
"If you, Qin, wish to form a Hero Team, I, Wozworth, am willing to assist with all my strength," Wozworth declared, thumping his chest confidently.
Qin Chu seed sowhat tempted, "But, I can’t just replace everyone in the Hero Team all at once, can I?"
Seeing Qin Chu close to being convinced, Wozworth spoke again, "Of course, we can take it step by step."
"Benson is already dead, and Karsas has a history of attacking Mr. Brave, so naturally, he should be expelled from the Hero Team. This way, two spots would be vacant..."
Wozworth’s gaze briefly swept the glass window to Violet, "This lady is naturally going to take one of the spots... and there’s one more spot left..."
"Ah, right," Qin Chu seed to rember sothing just then, "Lord Wozworth, may I ask you for a favor, please? Violet has been practicing hard in the wilderness for years, and as you know, though her strength is considerable, she lacks a legitimate identity..."
Wozworth nodded with a calm smile, "Hmm, did you say this lady’s na is Violet? Suddenly I recall that I have a distant cousin also nad Violet; this really is quite the fateful coincidence..."
"Ah, Mr. Brave, you’ve also seen how unworthy the chosen heir of mine is turning out to be, I’ve completely lost hope in him and am preparing to cultivate a new successor. I have a daughter who is smart and nimble, and I hope she can follow by Mr. Brave’s side to gain experience. What do you think?"
"It would be my honor!"
Both the old and young foxes flashed satisfied grins.
It was a deal that left both parties thoroughly pleased.
Even though Wozworth was thoroughly vexed by the foolishness of his eldest son, the exchange with Qin Chu still yielded satisfying results for him.
After Wozworth’s departure, Qin Chu walked into the cake shop and requested a piece of paper and a pen from the staff.
His fingers swiftly wrote a few words...
After all, he had promised Rose Vesper, that he would never reveal the incident of Karsas slaughtering thousands of Holy Knights!
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