Irus blinked in surprise.
"Why do you say that?"
"Because all the other Heroes are already so strong. I heard the Bow Hero’s power is now on par with yours, Aunt Irus—but I’m still so far behind."
As she spoke, she hung her head dejectedly.
"We’re all supposed to be Heroes... Am I really just not good enough?"
"Oh, you."
Irus reached out and ruffled the top of her hair, smiling warmly.
"Haven’t you already felt the peak power of a Hero before?"
"But that was only when I first got the Holy Staff," Prarlulu looked up, her eyes locking onto Irus’s. "It feels like so long ago now. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to wield that kind of power again on my own."
"Don’t sell yourself short. Every Hero has their own unique traits. You just need to be yourself, Prarlulu—and I’ll be right here to teach you everything I know."
"I’m sure it won’t be long before you can unleash the Holy Staff’s full power whenever you want, all by yourself."
"......Can I really do that?"
"Absolutely~."
"Then......"
Prarlulu hesitated for a mont,
then her expression hardened with resolve.
"Aunt Irus, I want to go north with you."
Irus froze for a second, then asked,
"May I ask why?"
"Because I don’t want to be left behind anymore. If the other Heroes are out there fighting on the battlefield, then I need to be there too."
"......"
A brief silence hung in the air.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Yes."
Prarlulu nodded firmly.
"Very well then—you’re coming with us to the north."
......
In the Lidoyar Kingdom.
Hidden north of Forgehold Fortress stood a military camp.
Inside the largest tent,
"Hmph! Those damned dwarves!"
Inasil was shouting furiously, venting his frustration at his failure to breach the fortress walls.
"They’re as thick-headed as rocks—but they sure know how to build these impenetrable fortresses!"
"And you—you useless piece of trash!"
CRASH!
He grabbed the iron chain beside him and yanked it hard.
The young White Wolf Tribe girl, a heavy collar locked around her neck, was pulled forward abruptly. She lost her balance and crashed heavily to the ground.
"It hurts......"
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"Hmm? What’s that look on your face?"
THUD!
He delivered a brutal kick straight to the girl’s stomach.
"Ugh!"
The girl doubled over instantly, clutching her abdon, her face contorted in agony.
"You—"
THUD!
He kicked her again, even harder than before.
"You worthless failure!"
THUD!
"I slaved away to raise you up, and this is how you repay ?!"
THUD! THUD! THUD......
Kicks rained down on her relentlessly.
Bruises blood across her skin, purple and blue, within seconds.
Yet the girl did not dare to resist in the slightest.
She rely curled up on the ground, covering her head with her hands, her body trembling uncontrollably.
The tornt finally stopped only when Inasil grew tired of kicking her.
"Pah! Pathetic!"
Inasil spat on the ground beside her.
Still seething with anger, he grabbed a handful of the girl’s hair and hauled her roughly to her feet.
"Ugh——"
The girl’s face twisted in pain as she struggled to lift her hands, trying to pry his fingers from her hair.
Inasil stared at her tornted expression, satisfied to see that it was not faked.
But he still snarled at her,
"A useless wretch like you deserves nothing more than to be fed to the monsters. It’s only because you beca a Hero that I deigned to show you rcy and give you a chance. And what do you do with it?"
He yanked her hair upward even harder.
"Ugh......"
The girl let out another whimper of pain.
"You’re supposed to be a Hero——"
"And yet you can’t even take down a single lousy fortress? What’s the matter with you? Or......"
Inasil’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Are you deliberately holding back on ?"
Terror flooded the girl’s eyes. She shook her head violently, her voice trembling,
"N-No! I’m not holding back......"
"I’m sorry, Master! Next ti—next ti I swear I’ll take that fortress! Please, give another chance!"
"......"
Inasil stared at her pleading face for a long mont.
"Hmph," he snorted coldly. "You’d better keep that promise. Otherwise......"
THUD!
He shoved her away with all his strength.
BANG!
Her forehead slamd straight into a wooden pillar, splitting the skin open and drawing blood at once.
She collapsed to the floor, trembling violently, as the blood slowly spread across the ground beneath her. She did not dare to lift her head.
Just then, a figure stepped into the tent.
"Lord Inasil."
"Fagu?" Inasil glanced at the newcor, then turned and strode toward his seat. As he passed the girl, he lifted his right foot and kicked her hard, sending her flying across the tent.
"Get out of my sight! Crawl over there and don’t get in the way!"
The girl tumbled several tis before slamming into the tent wall and coming to a stop. She struggled to her feet, trembling, then huddled in the corner of the tent, her body curled into a tight ball, her eyes still filled with terror.
"Hmph."
Inasil shot her a cold glare, then sat down heavily on his chair.
Fagu, standing nearby, seed completely unfazed by the scene—he had clearly grown accustod to such sights. His expression remained impassive.
"Well? Speak. What do you want?"
"Forgive the interruption, Lord Inasil, but our spy embedded within the dwarven ranks has sent us word," Fagu reported quickly, bowing his head respectfully.
"Aralond the Shield Hero gave a letter to a ssenger a few days ago and sent him south. It’s almost certainly a plea for help."
"Is that true?"
"It’s highly likely, my lord. With the dwarves trapped in such dire straits, seeking aid from the outside is only logical."
"......"
Inasil’s brow furrowed deeply.
"This complicates things. If that’s the case, there’s no doubt S-Rank Champions will be coming to their aid."
"Shall we retreat for the ti being, my lord?"
Inasil fell silent, deep in thought.
"No. We won’t retreat—not yet."
"Now that Lord Darius is dead, Gulos’s faction is little more than a hollow shell. The ager forces we have left have no strong ties to the demons, let alone any leverage to negotiate with them."
"If we want to survive, we have to offer the new Demon Lord a token of our allegiance—a demonstration of our value. Only then will we have a chance to be accepted into his ranks."
"That’s why we must defeat this dwarven army first. We need tangible results to prove our worth."
"But Lord Inasil......"
Fagu flicked a glance toward the girl huddled in the corner, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"Wouldn’t it be better to just hand her over to the demons directly?"
"What do you know?"
Inasil snapped at him sharply.
"This girl is our most valuable trump card. Wasting her as a re bargaining chip for acceptance would be foolish beyond belief."
"The demons respect nothing but strength. If we go crawling to them empty-handed, we’ll be nothing but cannon fodder at the very bottom of their hierarchy."
"That’s why we need to keep the power we can control firmly in our grasp."
"Let remind you—she is a Hero. Once she’s fully grown, her power will surpass even that of the Celestial-rank Demons. In the demon army, that would make her second only to the Demon Lord himself."
"With a trump card like this in our hands, not only will we avoid becoming cannon fodder—we’ll even be able to climb to the top ranks once the demons conquer this world. Think about it. As businessn, we can’t afford to be short-sighted."
"You’re absolutely right, my lord! I apologize for my narrow-mindedness." Fagu looked suddenly enlightened, breaking into a quick, ingratiating smile.
Inasil smiled back, clearly pleased with his subordinate’s understanding.
"Heh. Good to see you’ve co to your senses."
"However......"
His smile faded, and his tone turned serious again.
"Your concern isn’t entirely unfounded. To be on the safe side, we need to prepare so contingencies."
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