Arnold

Chapter 48 · Arnold

In the original work, the Western Nations were merely a collective term. In reality, however, they were an alliance formed by dozens of kingdoms of various races. The Kingdom of Blumert, where Lu Minghao currently was, was one such kingdom ruled by humans, while there were also kingdoms composed of monsters.

On the surface, the Western Nations appeared to have formed an alliance, but in reality, they remained hostile toward one another. Local wars broke out constantly, just as the future king of the Kingdom of Blumert would seek Rimuru's help because his kingdom had been invaded by another kingdom.

The one who had assigned Lester's Squad to capture Sally was a powerful noble named Arnold from one of the kingdoms within the Western Nations. Since a large part of his kingdom's territory bordered the Monster Kingdom, years of warfare had caused countless humans in the kingdom to die.

Throughout this process, Arnold gradually came to realize how weak humans were. Compared with monsters, who possessed considerable combat ability from the moment they were born and grew in a short period of time, humans were the complete opposite. Ordinary humans could only possess decent combat ability after reaching adulthood, undergoing extensive training, and obtaining excellent weapons.

Of course, Arnold did not think humans were weak for that reason alone. After all, there were still many powerful individuals among humans. Human-specific heroes and sages, for example, were all powers no weaker than Demon Lords. Moreover, humanity's innate intelligence gave them stronger learning abilities.

Because of this, a bold idea appeared in Arnold's mind. If he perfectly combined humans and monsters, could he not create a "perfect" species?

When this idea was born, it completely filled Arnold's mind like a blazing fire. Relying on his authority, Arnold began secretly capturing all kinds of monsters and humans for experimentation.

During this period, Arnold did achieve some successes. However, he discovered that with only his existing magic and knowledge, all the beings he created had innate defects. They were either unintelligent and completely irrational, or they had short lifespans and died shortly after being born.

Because of this, Arnold's plan once ground to a halt. That was until he learned from an adventurer about Sally, a half-human, half-oni living in the Kingdom of Blumert. A completely new idea then appeared in Arnold's mind.

If he tried to have monsters and humans reproduce normally and produce a new generation, could he obtain a perfect, flawless being that way? With that thought, Arnold began a new experiment.

This time, the experiment was a success. However, since the strongest monster in his possession was only a C-rank monster, the beings born from it did not have any major defects, but they also fell far short of the results he had expected.

Thus, Arnold once again thought of Sally, whom he had learned about from adventurers and who possessed half the bloodline of the Upper Demon Oni Clan. He planned to capture her and raise her until she grew up and possessed sufficient strength. That way, he would have the perfect mother.

And so, a mission centered around Sally appeared in the Adventurer's Guild. Based on the information he had gathered, Arnold assigned the mission to Linus's Squad, which had previously crossed paths with Sally. To ensure that his own plans would not be exposed, he also demanded that Linus's Squad eliminate everyone unrelated to the matter.

"Should I say he's a clever little schemer, or that he's truly a genius?"

After hearing the information Lu Minghao had learned from Linus, he could not help muttering to himself. After all, the information made it clear that the powerful noble named Arnold was not a reincarnator from the New World, yet he had still undertaken something like this. He could truly be called a genius.

As for why Linus knew all this, of course, it was because he had gathered the information through his unique channels among adventurers. Given his hyena-like personality, he would definitely investigate a low-risk, high-reward mission assigned specifically to Lester's Squad.

Although the Ister Kingdom, where Arnold was located in the original work, was merely referred to as one of the members of the Western Nations, it was actually considered relatively powerful among the many small kingdoms within the Western Nations. Arnold's experiments had also caused quite a stir in the nearby kingdoms at the time, and Linus had his own unique channels among adventurers.

Lester soon investigated the reason Arnold was capturing Sally in complete detail. After all, most of the monsters Arnold needed for his experiments were captured by adventurers he commissioned. For most adventurers, as long as the money was sufficient, many problems could be solved with ease.

One had to understand that information was also one of an adventurer's sources of income.

"So, Sally, do you want to go to the Ister Kingdom and meet the powerful noble named Arnold?"

The next second, Lu Minghao looked at Sally and asked her. A kingdom embroiled in war perfectly suited Lu Minghao's needs. War meant countless deaths, and the corpses left behind would become nourishment for Lu Minghao—and it would be free nourishment that required no effort.

There was only one thing Lu Minghao needed to do: quietly follow those adventurers as he had back in the sewer where he was born and clean up the "trash" for them. The only difference was that this time, the setting would be a battlefield.

"Sally wants to go!"

Sally nodded as she looked at Lu Minghao. She had also heard everything Lester had just said. Although she was still young, she understood that Arnold would definitely not let her go easily, because in his eyes, she was the perfect mother.

So, after learning that Lester's Squad's mission had failed, Arnold would certainly issue another mission through the Adventurer's Guild—and this time, he would increase the reward. When that happened, powerful adventurer squads would surely come looking for them.

"Mm. Then it's decided. We're going to the Ister Kingdom."

Lu Minghao rubbed Sally's little head. The main purpose of going to the Ister Kingdom this time was to obtain enough nourishment for himself. During the journey, he would also grant Sally the Power of Gluttony, making her his kin and using the war to obtain a large amount of nourishment.

As for Arnold, Lu Minghao would first observe him from the shadows. If Arnold was strong enough, Lu Minghao would not mind letting him rest inside his body. Didn't he want Sally?

Then he could stay inside Lu Minghao's body, where he could be with Sally every day.

Of course, if Arnold's strength exceeded what Lu Minghao could handle, then he would take Sally and hide quietly near the battlefield. They would rely on the abundant nourishment brought by the war to develop first.

After all, the current Lu Minghao was merely a newly advanced Middle Demon. Although his innate talents and abilities made him considerably stronger than an ordinary Middle Demon, that was about it.

One had to understand that there were many powerful beings in this world. Setting aside top-level existences like the rare Demon Lords, heroes, and sages, even a single Upper Demon could now easily defeat Lu Minghao and send him fleeing in disarray.

"Ultimately, I'm still not strong enough!"

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