Chapter 114 A series of assassinations, Dixia forces her father to surrender...

Open, fair, and just.

Even in seemingly foolish and barbaric words, there lies a precious core.

However, Mainkuhn had no idea what he had done.

He simply wanted to solidify his intense hatred into bricks and stones, to serve as a stepping stone for salvation.

"Go to hell!!"

Bang!

Maine flung out a black mist that deflected the bullets. He used to dislike his ability and deliberately forgot about it, but now he was becoming more and more proficient at using it.

"So Sumeru has a spear? This is the first time I've seen one."

He kicked away the attacker's angry face, and sighed to Nasita:

"Five assassination attempts in half an hour? Why have your people suddenly become so courageous? Weren't they just letting themselves be beaten and scolded before?"

"Are you really not aware, or are you pretending not to know?!"

Narcida's emotions were a rollercoaster, a mixture of anticipation upon hearing the order, helplessness at seeing the cat, and extreme worry after facing multiple assassination attempts. She frantically clutched Mainkuen's scarf.

"This won't do. Reform is good, but it can't be done so brutally! Even a newborn sun will fall amidst the hatred of the people, and you will die! Quickly, quickly retract the order, even partially..."

"No."

The cat was stubborn; it crushed the trembling gun barrel with its paw.

"...Mad King, the foolish beast that destroyed the roots of the sacred tree."

The nameless assassin lay on the ground, blood soaking his eyes and lungs, and splattering his gun-wielding arm.

"I curse you..."

"Your remaining life... will be forever filled with unhappiness... forever living in fear... and hatred..."

"Thank you for the blessing, this is exactly what I wanted."

Maine paid no attention, but the god in his arms suddenly became angry:

"Stop! You are not allowed to accept such a curse, now or in the future!"

"Hmm? Even gods fear human curses? That's absurd."

"The will of humanity is something even the heavens fear; a powerful desire, when gathered together, can even destroy everything, Vana Smarana Sapna..."

She frantically repeated the name she had given the new king, "Eternal Love," as if it could wash away something.

"My king, my king!"

Only Nasita was worried; her love and hate were equally fervent. Apd crawled forward, tears of gratitude streaming down his face, his voice hoarse yet resonant.

"Are you saying... that desert dwellers like me, as long as we have the ability and wisdom, can also become wise kings?!"

"Logically speaking, that's how it should be."

"!!"

Apd nearly fainted. The desert people finally had a chance to rise up. Father, Mother, and I could finally—

"But you can't."

"!??"

His ecstasy was instantly frozen in time. Apd looked up in disbelief, "Why?! What's wrong with me?!"

He saw the new king avoid his kneeling, and he spoke calmly, his voice tinged with a hint of regret.

"Because criminals can't become officials, and you might even end up in jail."

"……What."

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Mainkun reached out and casually caught the poisoned arrow that had been shot from who-knows-where—the sixth assassination attempt in half an hour.

"This is a generally accepted rule, common sense, isn't it?"

Apud: "..."

Another surge of intense hatred flooded Mainkuhn's body. He heard the human before him bow his head and spew out black filth.

"Clearly, it was a mad beast that came from who-knows-where, savagely turning everything normal upside down..."

"They actually dare to talk about rules with people?"

*

Apd could not understand why he had ended up like this.

Most people don't understand Sumeru.

Seeing only that the one who flattered the king had been imprisoned, they grew even more hateful and fearful, regarding the new king as a bloodless and heartless serpent, and cursed him even more diligently.

"He deserves to die!"

"How generous, Sumeru Man!"

Mainkun is ecstatic.

"..."

Unfortunately, the drug's effects don't last long, and even in his normal state, Mainkun often wakes up startled, bristling as he swattes the cockroaches that scurry out from under the bed.

Waaah! Why are you frail assassins so crazy that you want to fight me hand-to-hand??

The food was even more outrageous. Although Mainkuhn still refused to eat any, people used to only poison pigeons, but now Mainkuhn could find thirty kinds of poison in ten dishes with just a sniff. Even if a maid's fancy fingernail accidentally touched a silver candlestick, it would immediately turn black.

"Your Majesty! Um, um—"

The woman panicked and blurted out incoherent things:

"Although it looks like a poison, it's not actually poisonous, haha, haha, nail polish actually fades a little..."

"...Get out."

The next day, Mainkuen heard someone in the Clergy mocking his low level of knowledge, saying he was easy to fool and probably hadn't even memorized the basic chemistry textbook.

Haha, a bunch of ignorant fools.

Mainkuhn was secretly laughing at them.

You've completely overestimated me.

What is a chemistry textbook?

*

Despite Nasita's strong persuasion, Mainkuhn ultimately did not dismiss all the officials, large and small, in Sumeru.

"Take it one step at a time, take it one step at a time... Insects buried in the soil for too long cannot be exposed to sunlight all at once."

Even the grass in her hair withered. Nasita, for what seemed like the umpteenth time, gently reached out to conceal the minor wounds on the half-demon's body with an illusion.

I don't understand what you're saying.

Mainkun is strong offensively but weak defensively. When shrapnel from cannonballs hits him, it causes him to bleed human-like blood. He suspects this is what makes the gods so sad.

"Humans are not insects; they will die if buried for too long."

"Oh dear, you're both so smart and so stupid..."

In short, a cat must get what it wants.

If you can't get it, you'll bite.

"What about my exam?"

Mainkuhn chose a new sage.

It doesn't matter whether it's the Minglun School or the Zhilun School.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

They all trembled, too afraid to look up:

"Well, the Order of the Fathers doesn't need any more people right now..."

"Yeah."

Mainkuhn was somewhat impressed; the other party was so afraid, yet still dared to be perfunctory with him.

"Die, you tyrant!!"

One of the guards suddenly sprang up and slashed with his knife, but Mainkun snatched the sword and opened the void, scanning the surroundings.

puff.

"Aaaaaah—!"

A white blade flashes in, a red blade flashes out, blood splatters across the hall; those who fall are not assassins, but instructors standing behind the sages.

"Why...why—"

The sage was terrified.

Look.

Mainkuhn dipped his claws in blood and smeared it on his face.

"The Order of the Fathers is short-staffed now."

"...I...I... Waaah!"

He choked up, but kept trying.

"Designing exam questions, defining the scope, setting up exam venues, and formulating invigilation and grading rules all require meticulous planning, and there isn't enough time..."

"is that so."

Unable to determine the exact question, Mainkuhn turned to ask Nasita.

The benevolent deity sighed and summoned the doctor and the disciplinary officer. The madly screaming instructor was sent away for treatment and investigation. The guilty were punished, the sick were treated, and the terrified assassin was also arrested... She had become quite skilled at this.

"Large-scale selections are like this; they require several months of preparation."

Nasita offered honest comfort, during which countless acts of faith arose in the hearts of the terrified scholars.

"So don't be too anxious. Think about it, there are definitely many people in the desert who don't know this information. They don't even have time to take the exam or prepare for it..."

"It's so troublesome."

"Yes, yes!"

Seeing that the god had spoken, the sage gained some courage and tried again to delay:

"Moreover, this is the first time Sumeru has held such a large-scale examination, so we must prepare even more thoroughly. We need a year... no! Two years of preparation time!"

The longer he dragged things out, the more Mainkun would do the opposite, refusing to let him have his way.

"Then we'll just hire one instructor."

"Wh-what—"

"Instructor, didn't we just carry one out? Have you already decided who will replace him?"

"N-no!"

The sage glanced at the bloodstains on the ground in horror, knowing that the king's will was unshakeable, but he still did not want to give up.

"Even for a small test, we still need to design test questions... There's not enough time, Wang!"

"It doesn't matter."

Mainkun suddenly reached out, and his cold, sharp claws gripped his trembling arm like iron clamps.

"king!"

The sage screamed in terror and struggled in vain, but Mainkun ignored him, dragging one of the representatives of the highest academy of Sumeru up the steps as if he were a lifeless object, and then pressing him onto the throne of power.

"Your Majesty! What are you doing?"

"Ha ha."

Mainkun looked at his eyes, which were filled with fear yet unable to conceal desire, with a half-smile.

"Design the exam paper, come on, design it, we're all standing here waiting for you."

"They can go home when you finish designing it."

*

Having rights is a good thing.

The exam room setup was quickly completed amidst the panic, and the rules were also drafted.

There are some minor issues with the exam paper.

"I want you to recruit instructors. Why did you need to be tested on star charts? What is the connection between the two?"

"Yes, I'm sorry—but I don't know anything from other schools of thought either!"

"roll."

Mainkun kicked him away and then picked up the little god.

"Come here."

Me?

"Can't the god of wisdom even set an exam for a lowly official?"

"..."

All that's left is to tell people there's an exam here.

There was only one position, so Mainkun simply relayed the message to Sumeru City and Port Ormos.

*

Port of Ormos.

"Have you heard? What kind of exam is that... the Prince of Li conducting?" A dark-skinned patron lowered his voice, his eyes filled with a mixture of fear and disdain.

"That exam open to 'everyone'? Ha! What a joke!" another scoffed, taking a swig of his drink. "It's probably just some new trick those academic bigwigs are playing. Who knows what kind of trap they've dug for people to fall into!"

"Exactly, I've heard that the new king, that ruthless killer, doesn't even blink an eye when he kills people. What good intentions could he possibly have?"

Panic and suspicion prevailed. The new king's tyrannical image was already deeply ingrained in people's minds, and they didn't believe that such a good thing could be true.

"Father, look here—no background or educational background restrictions, anyone with ability can take the exam!"

Amid the discussions and the crowd, a girl with long black-gold hair and honey-colored skin called out to her family. She waved a simple notice in her hand—it was posted at the port by the group of thirty people, who looked like they had been forced into a corner.

"If you pass, you can become an official. Do you want to apply?"

"Alright, Dixia, stop joking about your father."

The leader of the Akhmar's Mustache, Kuseira, was busy buying supplies and didn't even glance at them.

"Official positions? Those are for men! The exams are all about the stars in the sky and the principles in the water! Your old man here is good at fighting and carrying bags, but exams? Don't embarrass yourself!"

"But they're hiring instructors. I saw the job description, and it's similar to what you usually do."

Desia was still unwilling to give up and quickly caught up with her father.

"Commanding a 30-man squad, supervising, arranging patrols, and allocating resources—that's basically what an official mercenary squad leader does. The exams are probably similar, so you'd definitely be good at it."

"Oh! You overestimate me! I can't do it!"

Kucera kept refusing.

"You manage dozens of brothers in the group, and you often travel between the desert and rainforest to trade goods and mediate disputes. Aren't you a real expert in all of that? Do those old men who only know how to spout pedantry have any of your knowledge?"

Dixia kept urging her on.

"Oh, child."

Kucera looked at Desia with the eyes of someone who didn't understand anything.

"Honey in the desert is usually taken by poisonous scorpions..."

"..."

Little Dixia looked at his weathered face and the knife scars on his arms for a while, and her tone suddenly became resentful.

"Even death is a hundred times better than what you're doing now!"

"I……"

Kucera felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. He hated himself for not being a respectable person, but he couldn't express his grievances and could only harden his heart.

"If you're so eager to take the exam, then go take it yourself, and don't come back...!"

Thump!

The strong mercenary suddenly collapsed, and Little Desia put away the wooden stick in her hand, glaring angrily at the onlookers.

"What are you looking at! Haven't you ever seen a family dispute before?!"

*

"Ouch... what's wrong with me..."

Kusela woke up groggily to find herself stuck in a narrow set of tables and chairs.

"W-What's going on!?"

"Shut up, or I'll kill you."

He looked up at the sound and saw a boy with cat ears sitting cross-legged on the platform. His vertical pupils were dark and terrifying, and a sign hung on his chest that read "Invigilator".

Invigilator? This invigilator looks so much like the legendary King Li!

Kusela looked around in alarm and saw seven or eight desert folks trembling with fear and a few pale rainforest people. He then raised his hand, revealing a pen and draft paper under his arm.

"Thirty minutes until the exam starts~"

A little white-haired girl skipped by happily and handed him a coconut charcoal cracker.

"Your daughter said you studied so hard you fainted? That won't do. You need to eat something to replenish your energy!"

Kucera: "..."

No, Dixia!

Where did you bring me?!