Damn Peasants!

Strange, did I just catch the scent of a monster?

Blue Lotus was a little dazed. As a nun, she was highly sensitive to the aura of monsters, and her nose was especially sharp.

But it had only been the faintest trace and vanished in an instant. Blue Lotus sniffed carefully for a while longer and decided she might have imagined it.

"Oh~ brave heroes, welcome to my castle."

The king was exceptionally delighted at that moment.

"I heard you intend to help me rescue my beloved Princess Lisaka from the demon's clutches, is that correct?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wang Quan's luxurious gold-threaded mage robe did not bear a single wrinkle, making him look splendid and elegant.

"Wonderful! Heavens, my Lisaka—she is so adorable and pure. She's only fifteen, yet that damned demon refused to spare her."

As he spoke, tears welled up in the king's eyes. His furious, grief-stricken tone and expression were enough to break the hearts of all who heard and saw him.

"Heroes, if you can rescue Princess Lisaka, I will reward you handsomely."

"Your Majesty, may I ask how long ago the demon abducted the princess?" Gu Xin asked the king.

"It has been a full five days."

"Then does Your Majesty know where the princess is being held?"

"Well... according to the princess's maid, the demon flew north with the princess at the time."

The king hesitated for a moment before answering uncertainly.

"Perhaps the demon dwells in the Dark Forest to the north. That forest never sees sunlight, and dark monsters live and lurk there."

A minister at the side offered his speculation.

"After the king issued the commission, several heroes ventured into the Dark Forest to search for traces of the princess, but not a single one returned."

"Perhaps they have all been slain by the demon."

The minister spoke heavily. Quite a few warriors had already been sacrificed in the effort to rescue the princess.

"Then may I ask whether any of you saw what that demon looked like?" After pondering for a moment, Gu Xin asked again.

"It is said to be a silver demon with a pair of fleshy wings."

Gu Xin instantly knew what it was. There were not many monsters in the demon category, and he remembered the demons recorded in the monster compendium very clearly.

"I'm tired. Minister Fry, continue receiving the heroes in my place. Heroes, please, you must help me rescue the princess."

"My poor child, Lisaka... it is truly heartbreaking."

Supported by his servants, the king left the hall wearily.

"Sigh, I never expected His Majesty to love Princess Lisaka so deeply."

The minister watched the king disappear from sight, then could not help sighing.

"Oh? Were the king and princess not on good terms before?" Hearing that, Gu Xin asked another question.

The minister nodded.

"The king had always been cold toward the princess in the past. But ever since she was abducted, he has been unable to eat or sleep day and night. He has not even handled any state affairs."

"I'm truly worried about the king's health."

He sounded quite troubled as he said this.

But after all, the king's daughter had been abducted by a demon. It was only natural that he would be too overwhelmed by grief to care about state affairs.

"Heroes, demons are evil and cunning. Please be extremely careful."

"Rest assured. It's only one demon. We'll soon bring back its corpse and the princess." Wang Quan remained as confident and proud as ever.

The minister forced a smile. The previous heroes had said the same thing before setting out.

Yet now, there had been no word from any of them.

Next, the minister said he would provide them with some fine equipment. But upon learning that it was merely ordinary iron armor and weapons, they declined.

"So what now, brothers? Are we heading to that Dark Forest to rescue the princess?" After leaving the castle, Meng Xiu was unusually excited.

He loved the whole knight-rescues-princess routine! It perfectly matched his fantasy of being a knight.

"This king doesn't know what's what. Normally, after a hero rescues the princess, shouldn't the king marry the princess off to him?"

Wang Quan felt that the beer-bellied king really did not understand the rules.

"Heh." Blue Lotus rolled her eyes at that, unable to stop herself from mocking him again.

"But there are three of you heroes. What, are all three of you going to play with the princess together?"

"Gasp, Blue Lotus, you really are a filthy nun!" Wang Quan sucked in a breath. He had not expected such outrageous words to come from a nun.

"???" Blue Lotus stared at Wang Quan with a face full of question marks.

"Gu Xin, isn't this castle pretty nice?"

Meng Xiu ignored the other two and looked at Gu Xin curiously.

"Yeah, I'm even thinking of building a castle for myself." Gu Xin withdrew his gaze and said with a smile.

"Can't card makers create field magic cards? You could just make yourself a castle-type field magic card."

Meng Xiu's smile remained as sunny, bright, and friendly as ever.

"Meng Xiu, field magic cards are among the hardest magic cards to make." Blue Lotus looked at Meng Xiu speechlessly.

Not even third-rank card makers could make field magic cards, let alone second-rank ones, right? She had never heard of it.

If Meng Xiu did not seem like that kind of person, she might even have suspected he was mocking Gu Xin.

"Is that so?"

Meng Xiu's eyes were filled with clear confusion, as though he truly did not understand why field magic cards were difficult to create.

"Let's get something to eat, then set out. We'll head to the Dark Forest this afternoon and take down that demon as soon as possible." Gu Xin found it a little amusing.

Afterward, they found a restaurant, though Gu Xin's personal dining experience was not particularly pleasant.

After chewing through a piece of bread, Gu Xin still asked for hot water, took out a cup of instant noodles from his spatial ring, and happily ate it.

Once they had filled their stomachs, the four left the royal capital and headed north toward the Dark Forest.

"There's something wrong with that king."

Along the way, Gu Xin finally shared his thoughts with Wang Quan and the others.

"Why do you say that?"

Wang Quan did not doubt Gu Xin. Instead, he recalled the king's behavior in the castle and asked in confusion.

"He was trying too hard. His acting was good, but I was watching him carefully the whole time. Besides, he had the aura of a magical creature on him."

Gu Xin said it bluntly.

"A magical creature? Seriously?" Wang Quan froze.

Although he had noticed some suspicious points and details when he thought back on it, there was no concrete evidence proving that the king had a problem.

"Yeah, there's no way I'm wrong. My perception is excellent."

Gu Xin shrugged, took a card from his card pack, and showed it to Wang Quan and the others.

[Spirituality]

[Category: Item Card]

[Quality: One-Star Purple Card]

[Attribute: None]

[Effect: Greatly enhances the user's mental power and perception.]

[(Note: I could tell at a glance that you weren't human!)]

Yes, [Spirituality] was a ring that Gu Xin had been wearing on his finger all along.

"That fucking commoner actually dared to deceive this mighty mage. He has brought death upon himself!"

Wang Quan flew into a rage and sentenced that king to death.