Kill Demons, Save the Princess, Raid the Treasury

"That was insanely strong! Isn't that a bit ridiculous?"

Blue Lotus stared at the lifeless corpse of the loam giant, clicking her tongue in astonishment.

Without a doubt, the loam giant had been strong enough to punch Meng Xiu into the ground with two blows and block Wang Quan's second-tier fire magic with one hand.

Yet it had been instantly killed by something summoned from that card!

Even if its weakness had been revealed beforehand, that was still incredible.

"I like this!" Meng Xiu was extremely excited. He loved attacks that were this strong and powerful.

If he could get hit by fists like that every day, Meng Xiu dared not imagine how happy he would be!

"Tsk, tsk." Wang Quan clicked his tongue.

"Old Wang, you guys keep the crystal core. Give me the loam giant's corpse."

Gu Xin tossed the earth-yellow crystal core to Wang Quan.

He did not care much about a second-tier crystal core. He could buy one anytime outside, but the corpse of a loam giant was much rarer.

"What kind of nonsense is that? We're a team now. You took down this monster, so the spoils are naturally yours." Wang Quan was quite displeased.

"Wang Quan is right. Gu Xin, this is your loot. We didn't really help much in that battle."

Blue Lotus strongly agreed.

"Same here." Meng Xiu voiced his opinion.

"Then hold on to it for now, Old Wang. We'll divide everything fairly after the secret realm expedition ends."

Gu Xin stopped Wang Quan from tossing the crystal core back and said with a smile.

It seemed his luck really was good. On his first time entering a secret realm with a team, he had met teammates like these.

No, Old Wang simply had good judgment. The teammates he had assembled were indeed reliable and trustworthy.

Gu Xin glanced at Wang Quan, who gave a dismissive snort, and could not help laughing. Old Wang was truly beyond reproach when it came to being a brother.

Though he was arrogant and overconfident, he was a mage. That was normal.

"Good thing I prepared a specially made spatial scroll."

Gu Xin sealed the loam giant's body inside the spatial scroll. A monster with that much weight could not possibly fit inside an ordinary spatial ring.

But it did not matter. A single-use spatial scroll solved that problem perfectly.

After dealing with the loam giant, the group of four continued toward the royal city. Along the way, Blue Lotus and Meng Xiu were clearly very interested in Akaza, whom Gu Xin had summoned earlier, and had many questions.

Gu Xin answered them one by one.

"Gu Xin, tell me the truth. How did you make that humanoid card?" Finding an opportunity, Wang Quan quietly asked Gu Xin.

He wanted to know whether Gu Xin had really used humans to refine cards.

"What do you think?" Gu Xin smiled.

"Gu Xin, I'm not joking. There are some things you really shouldn't touch. With your ability, there's no need."

Wang Quan frowned slightly and warned Gu Xin in an unusually serious tone.

"If you really used innocent people to refine cards, then your whole life will be ruined. It's not too late to turn back now, Gu Xin!"

Wang Quan was not actually a foolish person. He had his own values and worldview.

But no matter what, he believed that neither his nor Gu Xin's future should involve walking down an evil path. It was a dark road with no future.

With their talents, their futures should have been bright!

They could openly walk the path of the strong and be admired and worshipped by the world. Why become filthy rats in the gutter that everyone wanted to beat to death?

So if Gu Xin had truly used people to refine cards, Wang Quan had decided to scold him awake in the harshest tone possible!

"Don't worry. I don't do anything that extreme."

"Then that card of yours?"

"Cultists."

"..." Wang Quan instantly understood, then let out a disdainful snort.

"Then it's fine."

Wang Quan flexed his nimble fingers. Cultists—being used by his brother to refine cards was an honor for people like them.

"When are you making me a summoning card that can take a beating? You know, your brother here has high damage output, but casting takes time."

"Even brothers need to settle accounts clearly."

"Your bro isn't short on money!"

Wang Quan proudly raised his chin. In all of Yin City, who did not know the name of Young Master Wang?

Did they know who he was? Wang Quan of the Wang family, known far and wide as Wang Aotian!

"Okay."

Gu Xin gave him a thumbs-up.

The group of four chatted as they cleared out the monsters along the road.

It had to be said that Wang Quan and Meng Xiu made a genuinely formidable pair.

Wang Quan's magical prowess was no empty boast, while Meng Xiu truly lived up to his own slogan of being "the toughest knight in the Knight Academy."

Although the Earthen Giant had punched him straight into the ground with two blows back then, the Earthen Giant's strength was absolutely beyond the norm for a second-tier monster.

Ordinary second-tier monsters would find it far from easy to break through Meng Xiu's defenses.

Not to mention that Blue Lotus, as a nun, could heal Meng Xiu from the rear.

As a result, by the time they reached the royal city, Gu Xin had done little besides collect corpses, take pictures, and admire the scenery. He was thoroughly relaxed.

Balen Royal City was the main city of this secret realm's little world.

The entire royal city had the style of a Western fantasy city of swords and magic, with a luxurious and magnificent castle standing at its center.

The moment he entered the city, Gu Xin spotted a missing-person notice on the bulletin board.

No, it should not have been called a missing-person notice. It was a commission, posted by the king.

"Interesting. A demon abducted the princess, so they're commissioning warriors to rescue her?"

Gu Xin walked up to the bulletin board and thoughtfully propped his chin up after reading the commission.

"Hahaha! Damn, isn't this perfect, brothers? We're the strongest hero party!" Meng Xiu laughed heartily.

"A hero defeats the Demon King, rescues the princess, and then the princess offers herself to him? That's the plot of TV dramas from over a decade ago, isn't it?"

Blue Lotus could not help but make a sarcastic remark.

"Hmph, a mere demon dared to abduct a princess? It's practically begging to die!"

Wang Quan snorted as he tore down the commission notice, speaking with righteous indignation and an exceptionally loud voice.

"I'll bet five that this guy has his eye on the reputation of becoming a hero who saves the princess," Blue Lotus said expressionlessly to Gu Xin and Meng Xiu.

"Not just that. He's probably got his eye on the king's treasury too. He may only be the ruler of a small country, but there should still be some treasures in his treasury, right?"

Gu Xin tilted his head. In truth, he had his own designs on the king's treasury as well.

A whole treasury full of treasures—who could resist that?

Even if there were no particularly valuable treasures, bringing back more gold coins would still let them exchange them for currency in the main world.

Blue Lotus gave Gu Xin a strange look. As expected of Wang Quan's classmate.

The four of them immediately headed for the castle. They showed the commission notice to the soldiers guarding it, and the soldiers let them through. It was just that simple.

The king had already begun posting commission notices all over the city, which showed just how seriously he took this matter. He desperately needed warriors to help him bring back the princess.

Within the splendid hall, a bearded king with a bloated belly, dressed in luxurious robes and wearing a crown, sat upon the throne.

"Hm? Something seems off." Gu Xin narrowed his eyes slightly. He felt that there was something not quite right about this king.

Blue Lotus, being a nun, sniffed the air, her eyes filled with confusion.