Torture the hero, why has the Demon King's castle collapsed again?

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"Fuck you! Retreat the source! Retreat the source I painstakingly devoured!!!" Brad was so excited that he completely lost his composure. His old face twisted into a ferocious grimace. In this situation, let alone designing another Holy Artifact Tragedy, even if he devoured all the Holy Artifacts sleeping underground in the Holy Church, it might not be enough!

Who is it? Who on earth is it?!

Brad exuded a terrifying aura, his eyes blazing with fury as he tried to see what was happening in the basement!

What kind of powerful force could possibly... deliver such a devastating blow, capable of striking down a heart of ice and ice, into a basement marked with sacred prohibitions, without a ripple within the thousand miles of the Holy Church that his perception covered?!

Brad, who rose to his current position as the Iron-Blooded Pope, is not only not foolish, but quite intelligent.

This time, he no longer doubted the ethereal goddess.

It also ruled out the naive possibility that the first herbal ritual was due to "the opposite of emotional power" and that this time the artifact repair was "interfered by someone from thousands of miles away".

He was now absolutely certain that both of these failures were the result of someone's scheme!

Since the infusion of the herbal ritual received feedback from Iceheart, it means that the herbs are quite potent and there shouldn't be any problems... But after that, Iceheart suffered a near-death backlash!

The repair effect of the artifact source is visible to the naked eye. He clearly sealed the entire basement with a sacred prohibition after that, so that no one could enter the underground of the Holy Church and cause harm to Saint Lena... But just one night later, the Ice Heart was not only on the verge of death, but it was almost like it was being reborn as raw material!

A sudden inspiration struck Brad, and his mechanical body trembled as an existence suddenly appeared in his mind.

That was something he'd heard from Prince Ota's message—a despicable traitor who had caused the kingdom numerous serious disasters and was like an invisible sabotage agent, impossible to find!

"It was him! So it was him!"

Brad's eyes gradually reddened. He knew that only that legendary, undetected mole had the opportunity to sabotage two flawless awakening rituals right under his nose!

Previously, Brad had found it utterly ridiculous that Otto hated a mere mole so much.

However, after the hero Mino was captured, the human camp seemed to be leaking air, suffering repeated defeats due to a traitor within their ranks.

Does that mean this traitor's harm is equivalent to the contribution Mino, the strongest hero in human history, made to the human race? That's utterly absurd!

Brad now just wants to go back in time and give his naive self a good thrashing!

That boomerang attack has now completely stolen all the source of my weapon that I've been hoarding for years!

"You traitorous mole!!! I will never forgive you!!!"

With a long howl, Brad's body gradually swayed unsteadily. This was the price he paid for overdrawing his energy source last night. Normally, his mood wouldn't have fluctuated much as long as there weren't any major ups and downs.

But now, let alone ups and downs... it's like riding a roller coaster!

"Don't let me find your true form!" Brad lowered his head, one of his prosthetic eyes glowing a terrifying red light, his living eye bloodshot as he growled, "Otherwise, I will throw you into the Demon King's Castle, where the nine great demons dwell, to suffer endless torment of depravity!!!"

The words, carrying the last ounce of his strength, were released. Brad felt an endless soreness spreading through his body, a result of his vital energy leaking out as his emotions surged.

Brad clutched his kidneys, feeling an unprecedented depletion, a faint bitterness creeping onto his lips... He might have to resort to scavenging for food again.

His vision went black, and Brad collapsed stiffly onto the floor.

"Your Holiness the Pope! Your Holiness Pope Brad!"

Hope's panicked voice echoed through the basement...

……

"What?! Pope Brad has fallen!!!"

royal palace.

Prince Ota's study.

Prince Ota slammed his hand on the table, standing abruptly to his feet, his expression one of shock and fury: "Who is it?! Who dares to frame even Pope Brad?!"

Before the desk, Minister Tus and Archbishop Hope bowed their heads, their bodies trembling as they endured Prince Ota's wrath.

“I don’t know either, but the situation occurred when Pope Brad tried twice to awaken Saint Lena…” Archbishop Hope, looking grief-stricken, began to report in detail to Prince Ota. The more he listened, the angrier Prince Ota’s face became.

"It's that traitor again! He actually possesses such despicable power!!!"

Ota's tone was full of hatred, taking both old and new grudges into account. This traitor within the kingdom had now become humanity's number one enemy!

“It’s my fault that Pope Brad is in trouble…” Ota shook his head with some self-reproach and sighed deeply.

He underestimated the mole. He never expected that even the entire holy church under the watchful eye of the goddess could not stop the mole's infiltration... It was as if the mole did not exist at all!

Otta felt a pang of regret; he had been too impulsive, even dragging the elderly Pope Brad down to such a state.

If Pope Brad had not been brought back to the capital, this tragic event... would never have happened!

Chapter 180 Healing or Depressing?

"Archbishop Hope, how is Pope Brad's health now?"

After calming down a bit, Ota immediately inquired about Pope Brad's condition.

"It's nothing serious, but Pope Brad's health has deteriorated significantly in his efforts to awaken Saintess Lena, and he can only recuperate in bed for a while now."

Hope shook his head, then added, somewhat puzzled, "I fed him a lot of nourishing meat and herbs, but for some reason, it didn't seem to be working..."

"Pope Brad only has half flesh and blood, so his efficiency in absorbing nutrients must be greatly affected. We must think of a way to help him."

Otta frowned in thought, but unfortunately, this was also unfamiliar territory for him, far beyond the expertise of scholars and specialists...

"Huh? Right," Ota snapped out of his daze and patted his head.

Why get so hung up on this? Aren't there more knowledgeable people you can consult?

He took out a communication token and quickly connected to the communication link within the capital. A few seconds later, a green light flashed, and a somewhat cowardly voice, trembling with tears, came from the token: "I confess!!!"

“Uh…” Otta was taken aback. Even though he knew Astrid was probably overthinking things again, he couldn’t help but ask instinctively, “What crime have you committed?”

"Huh?" The person on the other end seemed confused, stunned and bewildered. Then, the voice cautiously asked, "Am I... innocent?"

"That's a good option."

“I really don’t have that.” Prince Ota shook his head helplessly and said slowly, “Scholar Astrid, I’m not here to interrogate you. I have something I would like to ask for your knowledge on.”

On the other end of the phone, Astrid realized that she had overreacted.

The moment Prince Ota called, she trembled with fear, thinking she had been exposed. She almost wrote her will on the spot and was sent back to the Demon King's castle, sobbing uncontrollably...

Prince Otta found it somewhat amusing, wondering if the previous water meter incident had left too much of a psychological scar on this scholar, as this Astrid scholar always seemed to have a guilty conscience.

If Ota hadn't known that the other person was just a bit introverted, he would have suspected that the other person had something to hide.

As a renowned scholar with outstanding achievements in the kingdom, there's no need for him to be overly reserved in front of the king... It's not like he's committed any crimes against humanity like treason or espionage.

"Scholar Astrid, it concerns Pope Brad's health..." Otta described Pope Brad's condition in detail over the communicator:

"Do you have any good ways to alleviate this?"

"This, this..." Astrid said weakly, "If it's just a slight decline in bodily functions, would it be better to try herbs that can accelerate the activity of flesh and blood or stimulate the regeneration of flesh and blood?"

With her eyes darting around, Astrid, the corrupting demon, decided to do something wicked in secret.

This approach can indeed enhance bodily functions in the short term, but it also places a tremendous burden on the body. Since the patient is that elderly and frail human pope... he will probably pass away soon.

"That makes sense."

After listening to Astrid's analysis, the three people in the study all lit up. As expected of the most learned scholar in the kingdom, she immediately saw the key to the problem!

Archbishop Hope immediately slapped his thigh excitedly, his expression beaming:

"I happen to know an expert in the field of herbal medicine!"

After the communication ended, Ota immediately made a decision: "The most important thing now is to stabilize Pope Brad's health. Archbishop Hope, this matter cannot be allowed to go wrong again... I'll leave it entirely to you."

“This is the duty of the Holy Church.” Hope nodded quickly.

Watching Hope leave in a hurry, Otta finally sat down in the study, his face full of worry.

"I never imagined that the mole's methods were even more secretive and bizarre than I had thought; even Pope Brad was not spared."

With a long sigh, Ota said to his trusted minister in the corner of the study, "Tus, Tus, I am increasingly losing faith in the war between humans and demons."

“Your Highness, you have done your best.” Minister Tus comforted him repeatedly. “You should know that just over a month ago, the entire kingdom was in dire straits because it had lost its hero. But now, we have reawakened the hero and even gained the support of the dragons, completely stabilizing the sacred border.”

"It's just consuming the remaining blessings of Mino." Ota shook his head, not feeling proud at all, but instead looking pained.

"Have you forgotten what we lost at the same time... my precious people, oh no, I mean the Round Tower Notes, the Saintess, the Dragon Contract, and now even Pope Brad..." Ota looked up, two sincere tears streaming down his face: "I couldn't protect anything—"

“Your Highness…” Minister Tus was moved.

This great prince possessed such genuine emotions! It was as if he were speaking of his most beloved. It turns out that every inch of the kingdom's power held such an important place in his heart!

To destroy a kingdom is like stealing a prince's wife and daughters!

With such a king, how could he not accomplish great things!

With a thud, Tus knelt on one knee with utmost respect, his face filled with conviction, and said, "Your Highness, I think we don't need to be too pessimistic! If that mole really had such powerful infiltration capabilities, then it wouldn't have been possible for us to gain the support of the Dragon Clan and successfully summon Pope Brad back to the capital... This precisely shows that the other side is not so powerful, but has been driven to the brink of desperation by us!"

Ota, having recovered from her grief over her precious figurines and comics, listened to Tus's words and seemed to gain some insight:

"Indeed... from this perspective, the other side may have already paid a huge price to stop Pope Brad!"

"It's highly likely that those great demons far away in the Demon King's Castle racked their brains and worked together to carry out this ambush!"

With this thought in mind, Ota's confidence gradually returned, and his kingly aura once again filled his chest! He felt no fear whatsoever towards that veiled traitor!

No matter how powerful the other party is, they couldn't possibly know... about the ultimate secret weapon hidden beneath the Holy Church.

Prince Ota's lips gradually curled into a smile.

After all, that was a top secret known only to him, Mino, and the bishop of the Holy Church, the Pope!

How could those demons know that his invitation to Pope Brad back to the capital was not merely for maintaining stability, but for a counterattack! A powerful counterattack against the demons, using the last of that Saint of Weapons' strength!

As he sat down, Otta's expression gradually relaxed:

"Now, all we need to do is wait for Pope Brad to fully recover..."

Chapter 181 Blood Cross

Hope hurried to the back street of the church.

After looking around, his eyes lit up and he spotted a familiar herbal stall. It was the same herbal vendor named Turner. Business was as slow as ever, even in broad daylight.

Even passing adventurers and local residents would cast unintentional looks of disgust at it as they passed by.

Hope stood at a distance, her heart burning with anger: the prejudice in people's hearts was truly a mountain! What kind of filthy stuff did Turner sell in their eyes? They actually despised and scorned it to this extent!

Hope's face showed great loyalty, as it concerned the safety of Pope Brad. He had originally wanted to find several more herbal medicine stalls to compare prices.