I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 432 - 242: Demon King (crossed out)... Reincarnator Alliance!

Chapter 432: Chapter 242: Demon King (crossed out)... Reincarnator Alliance!

Chu Zhen was cautious. He had just been summoned as a hero and had been blessed by the self-proclaimed King of the Holy Kingdom with a divine boon that granted him a game-like system, complete with experience points, levels, and the ability to level up by fighting monsters.

However, he had sharply noticed something off about the King’s attitude toward him.

At first glance, there seemed to be nothing amiss, but upon closer inspection, one could see the King’s impatience, although it was well-hidden.

"Why is he impatient with me?" Chu Zhen puzzled internally. Logically speaking, as the hero summoned to save the world, the other party’s attitude should be somewhat agreeable.

"All right, Hero, I think you should embark on your journey to defeat the Demon King now," the King seemed to have picked up on something and quickly put away his false smile, then spoke seriously.

Hearing this, Chu Zhen furrowed his brow and said, "Your Majesty, you’re sending me off just like this?"

He had only just been reincarnated, dressed in nothing but plain clothes and shoes, without any equipment, and without any training. Going off to confront the Demon King was hardly different from courting death.

Upon hearing this, the King replied, "All previous heroes have gone forth in this manner, and we cannot provide assistance, I’m sorry."

"???" Chu Zhen was utterly confused. You treat heroes like this and aren’t afraid something will go wrong? Just as he was about to voice something, he felt his mind grow hazy, and somehow, he found himself walking out of the Royal Palace and onto the bustling streets.

By the time he came to his senses, his expression became even more puzzled; he felt as though he had forgotten something.

"Oh, right, I need to leave the city to fight monsters and level up, and I need to save up Gold Coins to buy equipment. Only then can I defeat the Demon King," said Chu Zhen instinctively.

Yet, something about this felt oddly off to him, though he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

Not far away, a Mage clothed in a golden Magic Robe was standing with the King of the Holy Kingdom.

"It seems we really need the help of the Guardian. Every generation of heroes thinks only of power and takes on no responsibility," the King said with disdain in his voice as he watched Chu Zhen walk away.

The Spiritual Holy Land Mage standing by the King agreed. A mere level 1 hero was entirely at their mercy; a simple mental suggestion was all it took to make him obediently comply.

Observing this scene, Gu Shanhai couldn’t help but click his tongue in astonishment; this Holy Kingdom of the Hero Continent was even more ruthless than the Holy Kingdom Gu Shanhai had previously destroyed.

Every Hero Continent had its Holy Kingdom. Gu Shanhai was not sure about the others, but the Holy Kingdom of this Hero Continent was indeed harsh. There was only one Guardian here, and as a spiritual Mage, manipulating a person’s mind was a breeze.

Chu Zhen, the newly arrived hero, had his spirit manipulated by them, though he hadn’t been turned into a mindless puppet but was under a mental suggestion.

It wasn’t because they had left him with some leeway, but direct mind control would cause problems.

After leveling up, a hero would improve all their attributes, including the mental ones. So, as long as they kept fighting and leveling up, they would eventually break free from their mental control.

As for the idea of sequestering the hero away and preventing him from leveling up? They weren’t insane. They had summoned a hero to resolve the Demon King issue. What would they gain by summoning one and then imprisoning him? Did they want to be destroyed by the Demon King?

Thus, they resorted to employing mental suggestions.

So, Chu Zhen left the Royal Capital empty-handed, heading towards the wilderness and its monsters.

Gu Shanhai followed and promptly stopped him with a raised hand.

"Do you... need something?!!" Chu Zhen politely inquired, then suddenly saw Gu Shanhai with a nickname "Demon King LV???" above his head and an endless health bar, at which moment his heart sank.

This was his awakened ability, though only C-rank, called ’Seeker’s Instinct,’ allowing him to see others’ levels and health bars, though the larger the level difference, the less he could see.

"A little bit, I’m the part-time Demon King from the neighboring Hero Continent. I was passing by and noticed that you had been subjected to a mental suggestion. I couldn’t bear to see it, so I came over to relieve you of it," said Gu Shanhai.

Upon hearing Gu Shanhai claim to be the Demon King, Chu Zhen’s expression shifted, he had only just been summoned, and now he was confronted by the big boss? Quickly, he picked up on the oddity in Gu Shanhai’s words, ’neighboring’ and ’part-time’ seemed strangely out of place.

Just as he was about to speak, his mind suddenly cleared, and his expression became very ugly. He remembered everything. No wonder he felt something was wrong; going off to fight unprepared was no different from seeking death.

He was supposed to be there to save their world, but why would they set him up?

"Don’t worry, you had it rather easy. When I was a hero, after defeating the Demon King, the Holy Kingdom tried to poison and stab me in the back. Seeing that I didn’t fall for it, they even formed an allied army with other races to hunt me down, framing me for defecting to the Demon King," Gu Shanhai also noticed Chu Zhen’s displeased face and spoke up to comfort him.

"..." Chu Zhen was speechless. So you’re a hero turned part-time Demon King? But then again, he thought, if he really did save the world only to be treated this way, he’d likely turn to the dark side too.