A Thank-You Gift for Athena (2)

Faced with the enthusiasm of the group, Qin Chu simply shook his head. "I'm alright, but... I'm exhausted and a bit tired now."

That's true; Qin Chu is really exhausted right now.

His body would occasionally convulse and tremble.

"Your Hero, is truly an eye-opener! How could you have achieved such power in such a short time? This is wonderful! The Skyvault Continent is saved! I believe it won't be long before we can completely cleanse our land of those filthy Magic Creature." Wadsworth exclaimed excitedly, though whether this was truly his heartfelt sentiment or just empty talk, only he knew.

Qin Chu gave an awkward, wry smile, "Everyone, you overestimate me. My strength just now was only temporarily boosted, and it was immediately reduced to its original level..."

"Well, even so, it's still amazing."

Everyone was praising Qin Chu's formidable strength, far surpassing that of the First-Generation Hero.

Hearing these words, Rosweisse and Athena's faces darkened, and they felt a great displeasure. In their hearts, Jello was irreplaceable, let alone surpassed.

Just wait and see. Once Lord Jello is resurrected, you'll realize how short-sighted you've been.

No one mentioned the goddess behind Qin Chu, as if that goddess had never appeared... These old foxes were deliberately downplaying the impression of the goddess's appearance, trying to keep the matter within a very small circle and absolutely prevent it from spreading.

Otherwise, the Hero's reputation and influence would grow stronger and stronger, which is something they cannot accept.

"By the way, Hero Excellency, before you were summoned to the Skyvault Continent, did you also learn martial arts or something similar? During your duel with the First Prince, I sensed an extremely refined combat awareness," Saint Monica asked, voicing her question.

Tsk...

A mistake was made.

Qin Chu was quite good at concealing his abilities in all aspects, but he was careless in his combat awareness, and unexpectedly, he was immediately seen through.

He shrugged helplessly. "The world I originally came from wasn't so peaceful either... war was a frequent occurrence..."

He tilted his head and thought for a moment, "Well, the intensity of the war is much greater than the war between the Skyvault Continent and the Magic Creature. In our world, people aren't good at using magic, but they are very good at creating all kinds of magical artifacts. People drive all sorts of... well, magical artifacts, speeding across the ground, flying in the sky, and dropping all sorts of powerful magical bombs..."

"These magical artifacts can unleash thousands upon thousands of magical bombs, turning a city into ruins in a very short time."

Augustus and the others exchanged glances, all able to see the shock in each other's eyes.

A race that's not good at using magic, but skilled at creating and piloting magical artifacts? And what kind of magical artifacts are they that can support a human's weight, allowing a human to pilot them? They can even run on the ground and fly in the sky?

Involuntarily, images of thousands upon thousands of Mana Bombs raining down from the sky flashed through their minds.

"There are also powerful weapons called Truth and Justice, capable of destroying an entire city with a single shot..."

"If Magic Creature had broken out in my original world, Magic Creature would probably be endangered animals now, enjoying the same treatment as pandas in zoos..."

"Oh, a zoo, you know, right? It's a place where animals are kept in cages for people to watch..."

Qin Chu continued explaining in a rambling manner.

He was also downplaying the impact of his own strength, while trying to justify his fighting spirit. Living in such a war-torn world, wasn't it normal to have a good fighting spirit?

"By the way, shouldn't we also consider other issues, such as the extent of the damage suffered by the Imperial City this time?"

"The Evil God summoned by the First Prince seems to have caused severe damage to the city. By the way, where is the First Prince...?"

Qin Chu's reminder made everyone realize that they had forgotten about the other main character in the arena.

"Your Majesty, His Highness the First Prince is here..." Morton's weak voice came from the side.

When the Crown Prince summoned the phantom of the Evil God, Morton was one of the closest people and also suffered a very serious shock and injury. Although he suppressed the chaos in his body with his strong strength and willpower, he was still in great pain.

Following Morton's finger, they saw the First Prince's figure in a large pit.

The eldest prince still resembled a pile of rotting flesh, only the signs of decay on his body were noticeably more severe.

He could feel his power vanish, and a lump of flesh was slowly writhing, emitting desperate cries, pleading that the will of the Evil God should not leave him.

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Chapter 157 A Gift of Gratitude to Athena (2)

That unprecedented power allowed the eldest prince to experience what it felt like to be a true strongman, but that feeling came quickly and disappeared just as quickly.

The emptiness of suddenly losing his power made the eldest prince tremble with fear.

Perhaps due to the corrupting influence of the Evil God's aura, the eldest prince displayed astonishing vitality. Even though he no longer had a human form, but was merely a rotting mass of flesh with a distorted face on it, he was still alive.

But for the eldest prince, living was worse than dying.

At least if he died cleanly and simply, no one would have to see him looking like a clown now.

Disheveled, filthy, filthy... It's truly a tragedy that the Crown Prince of the mighty Orwell Empire has fallen to such a state.

He kept pleading, hoping that being wouldn't leave him, wouldn't abandon him...

That sight made Wadsworth frown deeply, seemingly finding his son utterly shameful. He couldn't hold back any longer. "Shut up, you unfilial son..."

The father's irritable voice instinctively made the eldest prince stop pleading. He looked around blankly, then suddenly a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

He saw Rosweisse.

The rotting flesh suddenly became agitated, wriggling like a giant lump of jelly.

That sight instinctively frightened Rosweisse, who instinctively hid behind Qin Chu, grabbing Qin Chu sleeve with her small hands. Rosweisse's actions disgusted Qin Chu, but he didn't shake her off.

"What a vicious woman! The eldest prince is already in such a state, and you still provoke him?" Qin Chu thought to himself.

The eldest prince's ashen eyes clearly revealed a deep sorrow.

In the end, Rosweisse still refused to even look at her directly.

"You unfilial son, look at yourself now! You've disgraced the Abshien Family!" Wadsworth scolded sternly.

Although he only wanted to reuse waste, the way his son turned out still made Wadsworth feel extremely ashamed.

The duel between the eldest prince and the Hero attracted a large number of nobles to watch, but who could have imagined that a perfectly good duel would turn into a hellish spectacle with countless deaths and injuries?

The thought of the troubles ahead gave Wadsworth a headache.

In particular, many of these nobles were high-ranking nobles with considerable influence.

The eldest prince didn't quite understand what his father meant. He had lost, but it shouldn't be this bad... Suddenly, his eyes darted around, and he realized there seemed to be something wrong with his vision. Why did everyone in front of him look so tall?

He rolled his eyes and saw his current appearance in a shard of glass: a pool of dark red, rotten flesh covered with lumps of flesh. His body seemed to be melting, and puddles of viscous liquid were rolling off his body.

The rotting flesh trembled violently for a moment, then suddenly fell silent.

"So, this is what I've become?"

A lonely, sorrowful voice.

No wonder she was so scared when he rushed towards Rosweisse.

She didn't hate herself; she was just terrified of her current appearance.

I really did something really outrageous.

His eyes suddenly fell on Qin Chu, the man he hated so much. For some reason, much of the hatred in his heart vanished. This man stood high above him, while he himself was utterly pathetic.

"Hero, from now on, I entrust Rosweisse to your care. Protect her well..."

Is this man still thinking about Rosweisse?

Qin Chu's lips curled into a smile, "Don't worry, I will take good care of her from now on... to the best of my ability."

The eldest prince seemed relieved. He sighed leisurely, "I have one last favor to ask of you: kill me, and let me die in a duel as a Knight."

This was the last vestige of pitiful dignity the eldest prince sought.

However, Qin Chu shook his head and refused the request, as the current Crown Prince did not require his personal intervention.

The eldest prince's gaze and voice seemed to turn somewhat forlorn. "Does killing me even feel like dirtying your hands?"

Wadsworth, growing impatient, interrupted the eldest prince's mutterings, "Tell me, what was that just now?"

If that eerie being were to appear in its true form, not only would Wadsworth be helpless, but even the four of them combined would likely be easily defeated. Recalling the monster from before, Wadsworth felt a chill run down his spine; he needed to understand that thing thoroughly...

"I... I don't know..." The eldest prince's eyes were filled with confusion.

That mysterious being suddenly appeared before him, and now, looking back, he knew almost nothing about that being.

"Useless trash..."

Wadsworth muttered a curse in a low voice.

This became the last sound the eldest prince heard in this world.

His father casually waved his hand, and a powerful force instantly struck the lump of rotten flesh. With a bang, the rotten flesh was blasted into pieces. Even if he existed in this world for a second longer, it would be a disgrace to the Abshien Family. Wadsworth even ordered the third prince Bernard, to burn the pieces of flesh on the ground.

The last trace of the eldest prince in this world has completely vanished.

This man, who laughed the most heartily when Qin Chu was executed in the first playthrough, ended his life in despair and sorrow.

The duel ended in a brutal manner.

Augustus Saint Monica and Wadsworth both had a lot of things to deal with.

A loss for the Church, a loss for the Empire, a loss for the Nobility.

Although they still harbored countless doubts, now was not the time to discuss them, especially not in front of Qin Chu.

Qin Chu was happy to have some peace and quiet. If anyone asked why his strength had suddenly increased so much, or about the goddess, he would have to make up lies.

Moreover, Qin Chu was also very worried about Karin inside the palace.

After they parted ways, Qin Chu immediately returned.

Fortunately, the palace was relatively unaffected because it was located near the civilian area. Antasia's four guards had been staying inside the palace, and when the commotion suddenly broke out outside, they immediately took Karin and hid in the palace's basement without hesitation, thus escaping the disaster outside.

After confirming that Karin was not injured, Qin Chu finally felt relieved.

After calming down, Qin Chu began to think. When he risked his consciousness to connect with the goddess's consciousness, the goddess gave him a hint: Witch.

What does this mean?

Does this mean he's going to collect all the Witch himself? That's a lot; Qin Chu is worried his kidneys might not be able to handle it.

Just kidding, a goddess wouldn't be that ridiculous.

When Qin Chu saw Violet beside him, a thought flashed through his mind... Could the goddess's true intention be to have him collect the Divine Authority possessed by the Witch?

However, according to Violet, most Witch are actually insane, and it is not an easy task to collect Divine Authority from those insane Witch.

Moreover, he didn't even know where those Witch were, so how could he find them? Because of the Holy See's hostility, most of the Witch were hidden very well.

"I know a little about the Witch's location..." Saya always appeared at the perfect time, lazily leaning against Qin Chu's back, her chin resting on the top of Qin Chu's head, speaking in a charming yet languid voice.

A pair of snow-white arms rested on Qin Chu's chest, swaying gently. "The one closest to us should be the Flame Witch!"

For the next week, Qin Chu stayed obediently in the palace to recuperate, a fact that Wadsworth and Augustus had no doubt about. After all, it would be hard to believe that Qin Chu hadn't suffered any aftereffects from using special methods to forcibly enhance his strength.

Wadsworth is busy dealing with the large number of noble deaths and trying to quell the resentment of the nobility.

Saint Monica and Augustus were dealing with the damage to the temple and the deaths of the clergy. Both temples had also suffered heavy casualties when the Evil God descended earlier.

Zimmerman then returned to Sage Mountain and brought out all the ancient texts he had collected, hoping to find out the true identity of that Evil God.

As for the arena owners, they simply filed for bankruptcy.

The entire arena was destroyed. It would be faster to rebuild it than to repair it. Most importantly, a large number of nobles died in the arena. Although it was caused by the eldest prince, he had already been executed by Wadsworth himself. Few dared to cause trouble for the emperor. Most of the nobles could only vent their resentment on the arena owner, and the compensation alone was a considerable sum.

As for Qin Chu's bet of 100 million Mana, it was naturally impossible to pay him back at a 1:30 odds ratio. The boss simply didn't have that much money. But the boss didn't dare to default on the money owed to the Hero. He sold everything he owned and squeezed out every last drop of water from his sponge to raise 700 million for Qin Chu. Qin Chu's wealth had now reached 1 billion Mana, making him a minor tycoon in the Skyvault Continent.

Of course, money is just a number to Qin Chu; he doesn't care about money, really.

Angelica and Antasia have taken over the training grounds in the palace. Ever since Qin Chu's duel with the Crown Prince, both Angelica and Antasia have truly felt their own weakness, and they also want to have greater power.

They wanted to stay by Qin Chu's side as a reliable support for Qin Chu, rather than simply surviving under Qin Chu protection.

Angelica is learning magic from Violet. Antasia also wanted to learn magic from the Storm Witch, but Antia forcibly dragged her over to learn martial arts and Battle Qi. In Antia's words, the women of the Macefield Family all have quite good talent in both magic and Battle Qi.

As for Qin Chu, he was lying on the sofa, studying information about the Flame Witch.

There is relatively more information available about the Flame Witch.

It is said that the Flame Witch resides in a place where human territory and Demonic Beast Territory meet, where there is a continuous mountain range, almost entirely the Flame Witch's territory.

Like other Witch, she almost never appears before humans or other Magic Creature.

However, that mountain is a very famous mine on the Skyvault Continent, rich in high-quality copper ore, which is very important to the Orwell Empire. Once, the Orwell Empire's army, together with the Holy Church and the Earth Mother Church, formed an army of more than 30,000 men, led by a War God, a Grand Sage, and a Thief Saint, to jointly fight against the Flame Witch.

However, the final result was almost total annihilation.

The three strongest who returned claimed that the place had been completely transformed into a purgatory, with raging fire burning everything. When the Flame Witch appeared, a second sun even appeared in the sky, its intense heat turning everything to ashes.