pertwk Page 59
Page 59
Chapter 80 Thanaus's Lifelong Rival
"But... how can we confirm whether the Mino Warrior and the Holy Sword have betrayed us?"
Soon, everyone in the conference room was stumped again.
They couldn't very well go to the border and question the demons directly about whether Mino had betrayed them, could they? The demons' answer would be an unanimous nod: "It's him! It's him! It's definitely him!"
Or perhaps we could sneak into the heart of the demon realm, reach the Demon King's castle, and infiltrate the Mino Hero's cell to see if he would rather die than submit.
If humans had this ability, they could have rescued Mino from the Demon King's castle!
"Cough-cough-"
Prince Ota's cough drew everyone's attention back to the simple, unadorned round table in front of his seat.
"Grand Duke Thanaus is right. Since today's purpose is to find the traitor, we must first rule out the hypothesis that Mino was tortured into revealing information... The Holy Round Table has recovered much of its power over time and is now able to show me certain images."
The powers of the Sacred Round Table are divided into "foreshadowing" and "revelation," but only Otto, the royal family member who wields the artifact, knows the specific scope of these powers.
Right now, it's clear that the other side wants to use the round table to "show" the encounter between Mino the Hero and the Holy Sword Altair.
"The round table can't show real-time footage, but we can go back to the most unforgettable moments for Mino and Altotai over the past few days—whether they betrayed us or not, let's witness it with our own eyes!"
With a formal expression, Prince Ota placed his hands on the round table.
"Round Table, activate!!!"
Grayish-white mist rose from the round table, weaving an illusory scene in the sky.
The first scene appeared before everyone's eyes, and in an instant, the audience was filled with gasps of shock.
"That's... the betrayed holy sword, the demonic sword, Apophis?!?!"
Dense demonic energy emanated from the terrifying demonic sword, enveloping the dim and lifeless holy sword Altotai. Even through the barrier of light, one could feel Altotai's helplessness.
Even more terrifying, in the next instant, Altottai was already above the steaming lava barrel.
"Could that be... the hottest lava volcano magma?!" Some scholars stared wide-eyed at the magma's reddish-white color, which was completely pure.
"They...they actually used such cruel methods to treat Altotai...and it was just a sword!!!"
The clergy on the side of the Holy Church could no longer bear to watch, their eyes filled with grief and indignation.
In a flash, the holy sword Artotai traced a desperate downward trajectory through the air before being cruelly thrown into the lava with a splash!
"Ah—!!!!" Finally, a soul-stirring scream came from the screen.
Everyone's bodies trembled violently, as if they were experiencing the same thing, feeling Artotai's mournful cry from the depths of his soul!
"This is no longer torture...this is utterly inhumane! This is fratricide! This is bullying from the Old Demon Sword!!!"
Someone cried out in grief and indignation.
A small group of people present lowered their heads, feeling immense shame for the thought that the Holy Sword Altotath might betray humanity under torture, which had just arisen in that instant.
"It's Apophis!" The priest of the Holy Church breathed heavily, his voice filled with anger.
"Only it can understand what kind of torture is most unbearable for the sacred objects of the Holy Church."
“It is the greatest disgrace to the Holy Church!!!” He looked up and tears of shame streamed down his face.
The round table gleamed slightly, and in the next instant, the scene changed.
One after another, terrifyingly fiery roses appeared in everyone's sight, followed by the malevolent voice of the Rose Shadow Demon, Kletina:
"This is a rose nourished by the fiery poison, cultivated by my abilities for a long time, and every petal retains nerve pollen capable of causing unbearable pain..."
Everyone looked worried. Just as they were asking themselves if they could resist such a rose being used on them.
The next scene shows glass bottles filled with roses covering Mino's back!
"Hiss—!!! How cruel!!!"
Everyone was shocked, but what shocked them even more was that the camera gradually focused on the expression of the Mino Warrior.
His face, sometimes red and sometimes white, was tightly closed. His hands and feet, bound by the demon, stretched uncontrollably to their limits. His lips were bitten hard, refusing to utter a sound.
"Even during the torture, he refused to utter a single scream or show any sign of submission to the Rose Shadow Demon?!"
Seeing Mino's desperate efforts to endure the pain, the attendees were deeply moved!
In the corner, a veteran paladin suddenly raised his head, his voice trembling:
"I remember now! The hero Mino once said that he carried a curse left behind after his battle with the desert dragon!"
"When the demonic torture and the curse behind the Mino Warrior collide, the intense pain will undoubtedly undergo an unprecedented qualitative change!!!"
""What?!""
The people present were deeply shaken and could no longer sit still. They all stood up and stared at the indomitable hero in the picture with respect and shame.
Mino, great!
They're bad!
How can anyone doubt the great heroes who, even while trapped in the Demon King's castle, continue to extend the glory of humanity for the sake of their country and people... are they even human?!
Even Prince Ota was stunned by this scene at the round table.
Compared to the last meeting, where only audio was captured at the roundtable, the impact and shock of these epic scenes are incomparable!
"Mino, my dearest friend—!"
Ota murmured, "You really went to this extent to protect the kingdom and its people?"
"I can feel it... Your will to protect humanity is no less than my determination to protect the clay figurines and comics!"
"I acknowledge your will!"
The undulations of the round table gradually became disordered, the power gradually weakened, and the scene immediately plunged into darkness with a click... as if unwilling to display this tragic scene for even a second longer.
"Grand Duke Thanaus, I wonder if this evidence... is substantial enough."
Taking a deep breath, Ota's voice was heavy and forlorn.
All eyes turned to Thanaus, who was caught off guard and hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
Although he had long anticipated that it wouldn't be easy to smear the hero Mino, the scenes shown at the round table made him doubt himself... Was Mino really that determined?
No one knew that Grand Duke Thanaus had spent his youth navigating the most filthy and chaotic underworld, and possessed a deep understanding of the truth behind people's facades...
You can see through a person's true nature just by looking at their spirit and energy.
This is also why he steadfastly followed King Kur I, always pretending to be a minister without ambition, and gradually built his career to this day.
This is also why he was able to see through the dark ambitions hidden in the seemingly righteous hero, Du En, and almost helped him seize the title of hero.
This ability had been with him for so many years, and the number of times he had made a mistake was extremely small... What he feared most was that unfathomable Archmage of the Round Tower, who seemed to be shrouded in a thick layer of darkness, impossible to see through—but today, what truly caused him to misjudge was that Hero of Light:
He had met Mino a few times, but they hadn't had any close contact.
In his eyes, the so-called strongest warrior was clearly a spineless coward who "had principles, but not many"... Once someone showed him a little favor, he would probably reveal all his secrets.
But today, that hero's performance overturned his understanding... It was he who underestimated the bottom line of the strongest hero in human history.
With a sigh, Thanaus, his self-reproach evident both outwardly and inwardly, said:
"I misjudged him..."
Chapter 81 The Suspicious Kingdom Librarian
"I think that's enough."
Before the round table, Prince Otto delivered the final verdict:
"The possibility that Mino might betray humanity shall be forever forbidden from being mentioned at roundtable meetings."
His authoritative gaze swept over the crowd: "Don't forget, the Round Table Conference now has a new name: the Mino Freebie Conference! As long as this name hangs over our heads, we will never forget the suffering Mino once endured in the Demon King's Castle."
"From this day forward, I have decided to bestow an additional title upon Mino. Although he is still alive, at this moment, I truly wish he were dead..."
Ota sighed.
Judging from the images shown at the round table, Mino is living a life worse than death in the Demon King's castle... In the past, the additional titles bestowed upon heroes were only awarded to heroes who had made great contributions to the human camp and had already passed away.
But he believes that no one in the meeting room now will question the value of Mino.
"The term 'Hero of Light' is no longer sufficient to capture Mino's perseverance and nobility. Let me think..." Ota pondered for a moment, then quickly realized something:
"Both times we learned of Mino's situation, he was undergoing the most painful and cruel torture - we cannot forget this shameful fact, and with this title, we must firmly engrave it and the 'Mino spirit' in our souls."
"I've decided, Mino's new title is: Torture!"
"From this day forward, he is the 'Torture Hero,' Mino Lake!"
Otta's words were resounding, and his eyes lit up:
"Every ordeal he endures will be like a whip lashing the spine of all humanity, bringing unprecedented light and power to humankind!"
"Never forget to interrogate the brave, and rebuild the glory of humanity!"
"Never forget to interrogate the brave, and rebuild humanity's glory!!!"
Inside the meeting room, everyone was filled with excitement and shouted in unison:
“Very good.” Prince Ota nodded with satisfaction as he watched this scene.
"I hereby declare the Minotaur Conference a complete success!"
As the crowd began to praise the hero Mino, they gradually left their seats. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Grand Duke Thanaus and Prince Ota left with their adopted son, Dane, satisfied. The others simply greeted Tus, a high-ranking official of the prince, and then departed in batches...
Standing guard by the gate, watching this positive and uplifting scene, Commander Erwin's eyes revealed a hint of confusion.
Have they... forgotten something?
……
Minister Tus knew that Prince Ota would have a secret meeting with several of his close associates after the conference.
After confirming that all the attendees had left and there were no other people in the meeting room, Tus paused slightly when his gaze fell on a figure sitting in the corner.
A sophisticated woman, dressed in an elegant light white court dress, with short light green hair and thick-rimmed glasses, sat upright in her seat, her gaze fixed on Prince Ota, who was chatting and laughing at a round table not far away.
After a moment's hesitation, Tuss stepped forward and called out, "Ms. Astrid?"