Hero? Are You Worthy?
Chapter 413 - 267: The Next Victim (4)

Chapter 413: Chapter 267: The Next Victim (4)

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This was intelligence carefully extracted by the Royal Family after a detailed interrogation. Wozworth judged that sharing this information with Qin Chu would help bridge the gap between him and the Hero.

Warren had thought that Qin Chu would be extremely shocked, but to his surprise, Qin Chu’s expression remained very calm.

It seemed as if he was contemplating something, and after a while, Qin Chu spoke, "Have you found out who leads the Blissful Witch Association?"

That was his question?

Warren’s brow furrowed slightly before he shook his head, "We’ve made no progress on that!"

"The Imperial interrogators are very professional. No matter how strong-willed someone is, they have a way to pry their mouth open. Duchess Wyatt was about to confess, but..."

Before Warren could finish, Qin Chu interrupted him, "But then, her body suddenly began to rot and eventually turned into a pool of thick liquid?"

Warren was shocked and blurted out, "How did you know?"

This was an incident that occurred in a secret interrogation chamber of the Empire. It felt as though the Hero had witnessed it with his own eyes. He immediately realized, "Could it be that you already knew about the existence of the Blissful Witch Association, Mr. Brave?"

Qin Chu nodded, "I have been the target of an assassination attempt by the Blissful Witch Association before."

"I learned some information from that assassin, certainly not as detailed as what you have, but when I tried to find out who leads the Blissful Witch Association, that assassin’s body rotted and turned into a pool of thick liquid and died."

Warren gave a bitter smile, thinking he had a way to win over the Hero, but it turned out the Hero had known about it all along.

"Why did you not inform the Royal Family about this matter?" Warren asked helplessly, "The Royal Family could have arranged for security to protect you in time."

Qin Chu smiled, "There are countless people who want me dead. If I were to be so cautious about each one, could I even live a normal life?"

After a pause, Qin Chu continued, "Of course, I am grateful that Prince Warren has shared this news with me. I will remember this kindness."

Warren felt a bit reassured.

"By the way, what was Duchess Wyatt’s position within the Blissful Witch Association?"

Warren narrowed his eyes slightly, "She should be considered a mid-level leader. Her strength isn’t great, but she has considerable influence within the Imperial City. The hierarchy of the Blissful Witch Association members is determined by a combination of personal strength and status."

"Judging by Duchess Wyatt’s situation, there might be key figures from the church, or even from the Royal Family among the higher ranks." Warren’s voice was somewhat suppressed.

Regardless, this was by no means good news.

The thought that the Imperial Palace had been infiltrated by the Blissful Witch Association to such an extent made Wozworth restless.

After all, what kind of place is the Blissful Witch Association?

A place filled with corruption and indulgence.

Wozworth had almost dispatched all of his informants to scrutinize whether any members of his harem belonged to the Blissful Witch Association.

He didn’t have deep feelings for his princesses, but Wozworth, after all, was an Emperor and absolutely could not tolerate the humiliation of being cuckolded.

"When are they planning their assassination?" Qin Chu inquired.

"It should be soon after you return to the Imperial City, they will find an opportunity to strike."

Warren hastily replied, "Although Mr. Brave is mighty, the Blissful Witch Association is treacherous and weird. I think it would be better for Mr. Brave to be more cautious."

"Of course, my father has a suggestion. He hopes to collaborate with you to draw out all the members of the Blissful Witch Association, especially their leader..."

"If we can eradicate this cancer in one fell swoop, it would be good for both the Hero and the Empire."

Warren discussed with Qin Chu for a long time before leaving.

After the arrival of the Empire’s reinforcement troops, Qin Chu, the Royal Guard Knights, the Holy Court, and the Holy Men from the Earth Mother Goddess Sect could finally evacuate.

These Holy Men had long since been unable to endure the dire living conditions here and preferred to stay in the peaceful Imperial City, lying on soft beds, rather than putting up with the hardships of this place.

The carriage swayed on the road, making squeaky noises.

There wasn’t a single girl by Qin Chu’s side; he needed some time to be alone.

While much of the news brought by Warren was already known to him, it still expanded Qin Chu’s train of thought.

Status and strength determine one’s position within the hierarchy of the Blissful Witch Association.

Even a Duchess is only a mid-level member.

So how extravagant could the high-ranking and top-ranking members be?

Actually, delineating a rough range isn’t difficult.

Only women can join the Blissful Witch Association, so the top-most member must be a woman with both power and status...

For instance, Nadia... The Great Sage of Wise Mountain, highly esteemed with unquestionable strength... But that girl... Qin Chu shook his head.

Nadia’s innocence couldn’t be faked.

At times, her naivety was so pronounced that it made her seem silly, the type who severely lacks common sense.

If you’re talking about the most powerful and prestigious woman on the Sky Dome Continent, that would have to be her.

The current Church Venerable of the Earth Mother Goddess Sect, Saint Monica.

But think of Saint Monica’s image: dignified and elegant.

It was hard to associate Saint Monica with the Blissful Witch Association.

Qin Chu couldn’t help but recall the warning Florence gave him before she left.

Be wary of Saint Monica.

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Strength surged inexplicably within Saint Monica, barriers that would normally take a decade or two to break through were shattered in a mere two years.

Although Saint Monica was the Church Venerable of the Earth Mother Goddess Sect, in reality, she worshipped other divine entities, and they were certainly not benevolent gods.

Qin Chu did not fully believe Florence’s words... but if what Florence had said was true... the likelihood of Saint Monica being the leader of the Blissful Witch Association increased significantly.

The Blissful Witch Association was an extremely dangerous enemy. Of course, Qin Chu was not worried about being assassinated with his current strength, what worried him was that, should the Blissful Witch Association fail to assassinate him, they would turn their attention to the girls around him, threatening him through them.

This was something Qin Chu could not stand to witness, and since he did not want Angelica and the others to be harmed, he decided to deal with those witches first.

...

Elsewhere!

The border between the Empire and the Ice Duchy.

Snow Mountain.

In the gloomy depths of the mountain, a figure leaned against the rock wall, holding two giant axes, utterly still. If not for the slight rise and fall of the chest due to breathing and the fog exhaled from the nostrils, one might mistake him for a corpse.

This place was located on the side of Snow Mountain near the Ice Duchy.

Even within the belly of the mountain, spared from the raging blizzard outside, the temperature was extremely low.

Yet, this man seemed utterly unaffected by the bone-chilling cold, the kind that could freeze boiling water in a minute, as he remained bare-chested with one arm exposed.

His body was very muscular.

Under the dark skin were muscles knotty and seeming to shimmer with a metallic luster.

Just by the sight of his muscular physique, one could sense an infinite strength dwelling within him.

The dense crisscross of scars on his skin writhed like centipedes, some left by demon claws, others by human blades...

At a glance, the sight of them was somewhat hair-raising.

And these scars, more like medals of honor, were proof that he was a valiant warrior who had survived countless battlefields.

Of course, those who knew his identity would never utter the word ’valiant’, because once this man went berserk, he would slaughter even his own compatriots.

He was a pure fighting machine... no, a killing machine.

This man was the Mad Demon Frenzy Battle Muse.

The most insane member of the Hero Team, even more so than Karsas and Catherine.

When his rage was provoked, no one but Jie Luo could subdue him.

Slaughter was imprinted in his bones, in his soul, as if it were an instinct.

Jie Luo was to his liking, in terms of killing.

So, he considered Jie Luo his best brother.

Benson and Karsas weren’t bad either.

As for the rest, Muse didn’t care in the slightest.

Especially for Rose Vesper, who considered herself the core of the former Hero Team. Muse always sneered at Rose Vesper’s orders. What right did a little girl have to command him?

However, when Rose Vesper informed him that there was still a possibility for Jie Luo’s resurrection, and hinted that Snow Mountain might have fragments of Jie Luo’s soul, Muse begrudgingly accepted her orders for the sake of reviving Jie Luo.

Finding this place wasn’t difficult.

But, obtaining Jie Luo’s Soul Fragment was much harder.

He had been trapped here for many days, intending to rely on his own strength to obtain Jie Luo’s Soul Fragment without seeking help from that detestable woman... but there was no way.

A torch was thrust into the nearby rock wall, driving away the darkness of the cave.

Ahead, a vast cavity had been hewn out of the rock wall.

Sealing the entrance was a door of dark purple, except the door was semi-transparent like jelly.

The light from the torch cast a reflection on the dark stone wall inside.

In the center of the cave lay a huge Stone Plate, covered in dense text that Muse couldn’t recognize, and atop it was a skeleton blackened with decay, surrounded by rotting garments.

The skeleton was pitted and pocked, clearly having endured immense pain before death.

Around it were arrayed numerous bizarre items, including dark red blood of some creature contained in glass bottles.

Strange skulls...

Metallic implements etched with twisted runes.

Odd urns...

Despite the unknown amount of time that had passed, it seemed as if tiny black worms were still wriggling inside those urns.

In the back stood a colossal statue with the likeness of an engorged, rotting toad.

The air was permeated with a strange scent, filled with decay and foulness.

Suddenly, Muse felt a tickle in his throat.

He couldn’t help but cough.

He raised his hand to his throat. Was this a cold?

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