Some time later, the Seven-Person Squad arrived before the Royal Palace of the Kingdom of Green Eagle and requested an audience with His Majesty the King.
However, the guard at the gate swept his gaze over the group and said, "Who are you? You don't actually think the King sees just anyone who asks, do you?"
Hearing this, the Sorcerer put one hand on his hip and retorted, "Hey, don't be so ungrateful! We're the Seven Heroes everyone's been talking about! I'm sure His Majesty the King desperately needs our help!"
Contrary to the Sorcerer's expectations of the guard being astonished, the man remained expressionless. "Oh, really? But you're already the fifth group of adventurers claiming to be heroes this week."
The Sorcerer fell silent.
This was perfectly reasonable. Since all the kingdoms were hyping up the Demon Lord situation, the topic of the Heroes had naturally become popular. With no one knowing the true identities of the Heroes, imposters were bound to emerge.
In truth, ever since rumors of the Hero first surfaced, the Kingdom of Green Eagle had sent agents to search for him, but they came up empty-handed. It was said that if you shouted "Who is the Hero?" in a tavern, nearly half the patrons would stand up at once.
At this moment, the Wizard stepped forward and said, "Tell them Bruce Bradley has urgent business with His Majesty the King."
As mentioned earlier when recounting Bruce's story, he was a prodigious wizard, renowned throughout the magical community. It was no exaggeration to say that his family, originally a humble Viscount-level nobility, had been forcibly elevated to Marquis status by the King in a bid to secure his loyalty!
However, Bruce wasn't a citizen of the Kingdom of Green Eagle; he hailed from the neighboring Tannak Kingdom, one of the three neighboring realms.
The guard on duty hadn't heard of Bruce's name before, but the presence of a noble title in his name made it clear he was a noble. Not daring to be disrespectful, the guard hastily replied, "One moment, please," before rushing off to report the matter.
Within minutes, the guard returned and respectfully ushered the group inside.
Seeing this, the Sorcerer couldn't help but remark, "Bruce, your name really carries weight! If only people reacted this way when they heard my name."
The Catgirl Ranger retorted, "The problem is, you didn't even introduce yourself earlier, did you?"
As they spoke, the group arrived at a conference hall within the Royal Palace. The Green Eagle King, his nobles, several generals, and representatives from four other kingdoms were all gathered, discussing the Allied Forces' battle plans.
Upon seeing the seven newcomers, the Green Eagle King immediately approached them. "Marquis Bruce, are you truly the legendary Hero?"
Bruce nodded. "More or less."
He neither claimed the title of Hero nor denied it. If the title could bring them practical benefits, he wouldn't refuse it. "Could you elaborate further on the Demon Lord?" Bruce asked.
At this moment, the Ukel Representative, Duke Moustache himself, stepped forward and declared, "I have personally witnessed the Demon Lord, that Demigod! There's no denying her striking beauty—she was more stunning than anyone I've ever seen. Yet her heart is the complete opposite of her appearance—utterly venomous!"
"I myself was tortured by her. She tried to break me with the terror of an endless fall, but thankfully, I withstood it. Otherwise, the Kingdom of Ukel would have suffered even greater losses!"
Pfft— Just as Duke Moustache finished speaking, an extremely faint snicker arose. Most in the hall didn't notice it, but the Warrior Bell and the Catgirl Ranger both heard it and turned simultaneously toward the source: one of the two guards standing at the hall's entrance.
However, neither of them felt inclined to intervene. Why this guard couldn't suppress his laughter was none of their business, was it?
The Wizard pressed on, "To the point, please. Is this Demon Lord merely an ordinary Demigod?"
Duke Moustache, his mustache twitching uncertainly, said, "I believe... so? I only know she has the power to instantly transport someone across thousands of kilometers. Beyond that, I'm not very clear on the details."
The Wizard replied, "If that's all, defeating this Demon Lord shouldn't be too difficult for us."
The White Dragon Sovereign, Zacharias, was no ordinary white dragon. Having lived for five millennia, his power far surpassed that of ordinary dragons.
He possessed and wielded divine power but had yet to consolidate the authority of a god, a stage known as a Demigod. Zacharias occupied this realm. His breath could sweep across several kilometers in the blink of an eye, instantly transforming all living beings within its range into ice sculptures.
Yet even such a formidable foe would be no match for the Seven-Person Squad. A mere Demigod-level Demon Lord would naturally pose no challenge either.
Duke Moustache exclaimed in astonishment, "Is that truly possible?!"
The Wizard countered, "Of course. Could this Demon Lord possibly be stronger than the White Dragon Sovereign Zacharias?"
Duke Moustache immediately pleaded, "Please, Hero, help us! Save this world!"
At that moment, Duke Moustache was still thinking of getting a free ride. He figured, isn't it perfectly reasonable to have the Hero work for free and save the world?If all else fails, we can marry off a useless vase-like princess, which would tie the Hero to our Grand Duchy's interests forever. What a steal!
But then the Wizard said, "Now, let's discuss the matter of compensation."
Duke Moustache looked utterly bewildered. "Ah... ah?"
After hours of grueling negotiations, the overall battle plan was roughly finalized. The Demon Lord would be entrusted to the Seven-Person Squad to eliminate. However, since the Grand Duchy of Augustus was a sovereign nation, adhering to the principle of "soldiers against soldiers and generals against generals," the Allied Forces would also launch a full-scale assault on the nation.
As for the Seven-Person Squad's compensation, the Warrior and Priest demanded vast sums of money. The Wizard requested rare magical materials, while the Sorcerer insisted on nationwide propaganda glorifying their deeds after the conflict.
The Catgirl Ranger and Druid were slightly more outlandish. The former demanded rare works of art and exquisite jewelry, while the latter simply requested a lavish feast.
As for the Bard's final request, she asked for nothing at all. To her, the act of saving the world and helping others, along with the experience and adventure itself, was the greatest reward.
After the negotiations concluded, the Seven-Person Squad left the Royal Palace, planning to find a nearby inn to rest and quietly await the Allied Forces to gather before embarking on their mission.
However, just as they exited the palace gates, the Warrior Bell suddenly said, "Wait for me a moment. I need to relieve myself. I'll be right back."
After such a long negotiation, he'd been needing to use the restroom for ages.
There were no public restrooms in this realm, so anyone needing to relieve themselves had to find a secluded corner, a deserted nook where no one else was around—that's how everyone did it.
Bell wandered around for a while, eventually finding a promising, secluded spot. But just as he was about to settle in, he noticed someone was already there.
Just as he was about to leave, he realized he recognized the person. It was the Guard who had burst out laughing when Duke Moustache made his remark. But the problem was, shouldn't the guards inside the Royal Palace be elite guards or personal attendants? Were these guards allowed to leave the palace at will and wander around outside?
There were no public restrooms in the city, but the Royal Palace certainly had washrooms. Even if the guard needed to relieve himself, he shouldn't have been here.
Bell immediately sensed something was off. He frowned slightly, his hand already resting on the hilt of the sword behind his back. "Hey! What are you doing here?!"
The guard in front of him startled, turning to face Bell with a slightly embarrassed expression. He scratched his head and said, "Uh... come on, man. What else would I be doing in a place like this besides relieving myself? Admiring the scenery?"
But the question remained: the Royal Palace had washrooms. Why would this guard come here to relieve himself? Bell took a swift step forward and reached out to grab the guard's wrist. But just as his right hand touched the guard's wrist, it passed right through it!
The guard's figure twisted violently, suddenly transforming into another person—Jay. He quickly retreated a step, his expression one of exasperated resignation as he spread his hands. "Sigh... looks like my luck really is terrible. Even in this secluded little spot, I get caught."
It was clear that Jay had cast a Phantom spell on himself, infiltrated the Kingdom of Green Eagle, and overheard their entire war plan. When Duke Moustache claimed they could withstand the threat, Jay couldn't contain himself and burst out laughing, inadvertently exposing himself.
Bell demanded sternly, "You're not from the Kingdom of Green Eagle? Who are you?"
Jay replied, "Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that the Green Eagle King and all the nobles are deceiving you. There's no Demon Lord at all—this is all..."
Before he could finish, Bell lunged forward with his sword, slashing at Jay. "A minion of the Demon Lord?"
Seeing this, Jay sighed resignedly, wearing an expression that said, As expected.
Ever since rumors of the Hero emerged, just as the Kingdom of Green Eagle had been searching for him, Tribios had naturally dispatched her own agents to find him. Or rather, the first spies she'd dispatched to locate the Hero had never been recalled. The problem was, they couldn't find him anywhere!
However, these spies had gathered plenty of other useful intelligence. For instance, the Kingdom of Green Eagle was secretly holding pre-war strategy meetings, so Jay infiltrated one. He never expected to witness this scene where the Seven Heroes volunteered to join the conflict.
Shortly after encountering these individuals, Jay realized they weren't true "Heroes" at all—just a group of adventurers. But this made the situation even more complicated.
If they were genuine Heroes, surely they'd be good people, right? A calm discussion might clear up any misunderstandings. But adventurers were different; they were essentially hired guns, their allegiance undoubtedly lying with the Kingdom of Green Eagle.
From Bell's perspective, nearly half the world was denouncing the Demon Lord's evil. He had just accepted a quest from the Green Eagle King when a man infiltrating the Royal Palace to eavesdrop on classified information immediately told him that the Kingdom of Green Eagle and the Demon Lord—whose infamy was known worldwide—were both frauds?
Bell would never believe that.
To draw an analogy, it's like playing an RPG: you grind tirelessly to reach max level, farm a full set of top-tier gear, and just as you accept the final quest to fight the Boss, a lowly minion outside the Boss's lair tells you the Boss is actually a good guy and the quest-giver NPC is the real villain. Would you believe it?
Under normal circumstances, most people would probably skip the dialogue frantically and just slash the minion to death.
Jay sighed softly and crooked his finger. Just as Bell was about to charge forward and strike, another white figure darted out from behind him, wielding a sword to block Bell's attack—it was Olivia.
Clang!
Completely caught off guard by this sudden intervention, Bell wore a look of astonishment. "When did you—?"
He took a small step back, reassumed his stance, and lunged forward with another slash. Olivia, meanwhile, raised her longsword high and shouted, "Divine Smite!"
Blazing flames erupted from her blade, surging toward Bell.
"A Paladin?!" Bell froze for another moment, then hastily shifted his stance. A terrifying surge of magic power—or rather, divine power—erupted from his greatsword. "Hah—!"
The power coalesced into a pure white light, slamming into the flames before him. In an instant, it cleaved the fire in two, bisecting even the "Olivia" behind it!
But... the fallen "Olivia" showed no sign of pain on her face, and not a drop of blood flowed from her wound. Her entire body slowly began to dissipate, vanishing into thin air before Bell's eyes.
"What is this?! A clone?" Bell scanned his surroundings warily, as if anticipating an ambush from the white-haired woman lurking in the shadows. But not only was the white-haired woman gone, even Jay had vanished without a trace.
"Where did everyone go?!"
Meanwhile, in the Grand Duchy of Augustus, Jay emerged from a golden Century Gate. During the chaos of the battle between Olivia and Bell, he had seized the opportunity to slip away unnoticed.
As for the "Olivia" he had left behind, it was of course a fake—merely a Phantom conjured through magic. However, this Phantom was exceptionally realistic, capable of engaging in combat and even unleashing Divine Smite.