Chapter 72 Chapter 72 Hell is empty, the devil is on earth...
Since the war between gods and demons, three kings have ascended the throne in Kretz.
Lin Miao admitted that the king's original identity could not be determined based on the corpse in the tomb alone. However, the diary found by Martha described the second king's encounter with believers as too coincidental.
When she saw the skin on the king's face, which was barely hanging on his cheekbones, began to tremble violently, she knew that what she said was true.
"Why are you so surprised?" Lin Miao said, slowly wiping away the smile on his lips. "The restrictions have been set. No one will come to your chambers again. If you still wish to live, then tell me—where did you learn these evil arts?"
His chest, with protruding ribs, was heaving violently. The king's skinny hands were curled up, but his lips were still tightly closed.
Seeing this, Reese stepped forward impatiently, wanting to use force directly, but was stopped by Lin Miao's eyes.
"You know I can kill you, yet you still won't let me go. It seems something is more important than your life."
"But Your Majesty, since I can see the evil magic you use, do you think I know of more interesting magic?"
Her face was expressionless, but her voice was cold and gentle, tinged with anticipation. "What's the point of just the backlash of sorcery? I'd first maintain your consciousness, then use the blazing fire of hell to roast your flesh until it's scorched."
"Also, ancient books record the art of acupuncture, where thin steel needles, as thin as ox hair, are driven into the cracks between the fingernails one by one, until ten or eight needles are inserted, piercing the tendons and veins."
"Hmm, there's also the 'water dungeon'. Your Majesty witnessed that war firsthand, so you must have a deep impression of monsters, right? I'll soak you in cold water up to your chest, and then let some monsters bite you..."
Martha was listening to Lin Miao's torture talk show from behind. Seeing the king's face getting worse and worse, almost pale, she was stunned and amazed.
Who is the devil?!
Hell is empty and evil is everywhere on earth!!
She hugged herself quietly, and glanced at the three-headed dog with her eyes widened in disbelief - that's not right, how could the three-headed dog still laugh like this?
It was still that disgusting smile that was completely incompatible with the three-headed dog's handsome and cold face, and it was almost disgusting to the devil!!
When Lin Miao was about to dig out the king's heart, the king, who was under the double attack of human psychological torture and demonic pressure, finally couldn't bear it anymore. He clutched the corner of the quilt tightly, cold sweat dripping, and gulped for fresh air like a dead fish: "...I...I say!"
Lin Miao stopped talking, but the devil increased the threat of his devilish breath, making the king even more nervous.
"Very good. Let's start with the believer you met while patrolling the town."
The king looked at Lin Miao as if he was looking at a monster.
Obviously, he had underestimated Lin Miao's knowledge of what happened that year, and he became visibly panicked.
"Don't play tricks." Reis stood behind Lin Miao, his expression cold, and a ball of fire erupted from his palm. "I know all the lies you told."
“…”
"I...I met Leimu, the powerful believer of light, in a town in the western city-state."
Makuli curled up on the bed, his old, hoarse voice trembling. "At that time, I had just ascended the throne not long ago, and my brothers were still eyeing the throne covetously... Lei Mu said that I was suitable for his eyes. Not only did he pray to the God of Light for me, but he also let me... I awaken the talent of light..."
Lin Miao and Reese looked at each other, and the devil nodded slightly without saying a word.
"I was thinking about repaying him... but Lei Mu said that as a believer, he wanted nothing more than for 'the blessings of the gods to spread throughout the world'... and asked me to build a sacrificial tower in the palace."
The king's expression was as if he was completely lost in memories of eighty years ago.
After spending so many years on the throne, many things had long been forgotten, but the memory of Lei Mu seemed to be completely engraved deep in the metal and stone, as clear as yesterday.
"You rejected him." Lin Miao guided him to continue.
"Yes... I rejected him," the king said slowly, "because the ministers and nobles would not agree, and my brothers would use it to attack me..."
You speak as if you yourself are not afraid of theocracy's dominance. Lin Miao secretly complained and continued, "He didn't force it?"
"Yes... He disappeared, leaving behind only a spiritual spell that can connect him." The king murmured, suddenly holding his head in pain, "But... after awakening my talent, my health... began to deteriorate... I have headaches all day long... and insomnia..."
"So... I found him again."
This was not recorded in Markuri's diary. Lin Miao frowned slightly and listened quietly.
"Remu came... He told me that this was because my body couldn't withstand the power of light. If I wanted to survive, I had to either give up my gift or... absorb it. Draw on the power of my blood relatives to strengthen my body."
Lin Miao's eyes turned cold: "You chose the latter."
"...Are you asking me to give up the talent I worked so hard to obtain?!" Makuri's withered face twisted like a demon, becoming even more terrifying.
He even forgot that his life was still in Lin Miao's hands, and roared at her: "I am the king! A king admired by even the Grand Mage of Light! I am destined to be the ruler of Kretz! I should have the gift of heaven to better govern the kingdom - why not sacrifice a brother for it?!"
Lin Miao didn't want to waste time on talking to someone whose brain wasn't fully developed. She took a deep breath and said, "So, Lei Mu taught you the art of stealing lives? Isn't he a believer in light? How could he know the secret arts of hell?"
"...the secret art of Hell?" The king's eyes briefly cleared, then quickly became cloudy again. "I don't know... but Lei Mu is very powerful. If he tells me to learn... I can learn it."
"I drained my elder brother, who had always opposed me and coveted my throne... Then my younger brothers. Later, when my blood relatives of the same generation were gone, I could only... could only absorb my own descendants... In order to avoid being discovered, I took their place and succeeded to the throne."
Lin Miao: "What about the possession technique? Was it also taught to you by Lei Mu?"
"Yes. Twenty years ago, I could clearly feel my inability to absorb the essence..." Makuli said in a trance. "Plus, the oracle instructed me to build a sacrificial tower in the palace... The influence of the Light Association is expanding, and I am very afraid..."
"Just then, Remu came to see me, and I told him about my concerns... and he taught me this."
"The Second Prince has been weak since childhood and doesn't see outsiders. Is this also your plan?"
"No, it's true that he's weak! The doctor said he wouldn't live past twenty, but his Light Blessing value is very high... So, I simply let him stay in the Prince's Palace and ordered the mages to set up a formation to prevent outsiders from seeing his appearance..."
Lin Miao felt so bad that he had no words to say: "Lei Mu has helped you so much in the past eighty years, has he ever asked for anything in return?"
"Except for that first time... not at all." The king said blankly, his body beginning to tremble again. "...He, he told me absolutely not to tell anyone else, otherwise... otherwise the consequences would be dire..."
But there was no doubt that not telling Lin Miao would only make him worse off. "Perhaps, he just thought I was a good match..."
You mean, because of a good affinity, the dignified Great Wizard of Light not only helped you awaken your talent and taught you the forbidden techniques of hell, but also helped you go against the laws of nature and stay at the pinnacle of power for eighty years?
Which direction can I go to find such a friend?
How could a shrewd person who has lived for hundreds of years not know that there is no free food in the world? He is just deceiving himself and pretending to be deaf and dumb.
Lin Miao was amused: "Lemu asked you to build a tower in the palace eighty years ago, and the oracle came down twenty years ago and asked you to build a tower in the palace. Have you never thought about the connection between the two?!"
The backlash of the evil magic must have really hurt Markuri's IQ. He dully repeated Lin Miao's last two words: "Contact..."
"But Lei Mu, Lei Mu is not the God of Light..."
“…”Hopeless.
Lin Miao simply changed the subject: "What about Borat? What is your relationship with Borat? What is he involved in?"
"Borat..." After a long moment of slow reaction, Markuri spoke in confusion, "It doesn't matter."
“???”
Lin Miao turned her head to look at the devil. When she saw the devil's eyes, which were equally confused but didn't seem to sense that humans were lying, she was also at a loss.
The important clue character that I have been guessing for so long, the "treasure" that I have been betting on for so long, almost every incident can be linked to him and his presence can be seen, but in the end he is actually a passerby... ?
Lin Miao was unconvinced. "In order to conceal the Second Prince's youthful appearance, didn't you claim that Borat cast a spell on you? Do you dare to say that you two weren't colluding with each other?"
"I'm just using the title of President of the Light Association." Concerned about Reese who was eager to try and seemed to tear him to pieces in the next second, Markuri shrank back and answered honestly.
"Actually, ever since Borat became president, he's often been in seclusion. Twenty years ago, after summoning the oracle at my coronation ceremony, he shut himself up in a high-rise building and rarely came out. It was almost always the two vice presidents who acted as deputies and delivered messages for him."
"Maybe..." The king hesitated for a few seconds and said, "Maybe he is..." dead.
Lin Miao felt that his expression must be very interesting.
If I think about it carefully, although the anomalies discovered after arriving in the royal city can be linked to the great wizard, there is no solid evidence to show that there is something wrong with him.
Is it her preconceived notion?
Lin Miao always had a sense of emptiness as if she had missed something, but she couldn't put her finger on why.
Seeing that she had asked enough questions, she said simply, "Tell me where the treasure room is, and I'll spare your life."
Hearing this request, the king's dry and drooping cheeks twitched, and his lips opened and closed, revealing an expression of extreme fear and unwillingness; however, like those innocent people whose lives he had taken, he had no right to refuse at this moment.
Under the watchful eyes of the two demons, he trembled and shrank as he crawled to the end of the bed, and twisted up a seemingly fixed carved bed leg with force.
The wood unexpectedly turned half a circle, as if alive, and the faint sound of gears turning could be heard from beneath the bed. The floorboard, which had once been perfectly sealed, suddenly cracked, then with a deep creaking sound, it slowly folded downward, revealing the dark stone steps below.
The entrance to the treasure room is under the bed, which is not surprising at all.
As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest place.
Lin Miao glanced at Reese, who decisively raised his hand and knocked the king unconscious.
"Miss Miaomiao won't kill him?" Martha, who had listened carefully throughout but was still confused, couldn't help asking. She had heard the whole process of the feud in the hunting ground from Lady Cesia.
"Of course we must kill them. But we must kill them in an organized manner, in a regular pattern, and in a certain order of priority."
Lin Miao said calmly, "Let him go today."
Gabriel's actions certainly made her angry, but they also reminded her that if she rashly killed the Human King, there was no guarantee that the gods would not notice her or have a reason to attack her directly.
For the sake of her still fragile life, she decided to postpone killing the king for a while.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
