The Devil Does Not Need to Be Defeated

Chapter 600: “Well, I Profited.”

While Shien Buztout was lost in thought, Capeline looked at him with a complicated expression.

She had indeed strongly opposed Harvis seeking help from the Kingdom, letting people from the Kingdom save their own country.

Although the Kingdom had strength, it was ultimately the Empire’s rival. Revealing their country’s internal affairs to their rival and then asking for their help, who knew if it would invite the wolf into the house and lead to the Kingdom invading the Empire?

Moreover, as a citizen of the Empire, she naturally had a sense of hostility towards the Kingdom.

Therefore, this matter, to put it nicely, was asking for help, but to put it bluntly, it was treason. If things went wrong, it might be met with resistance from the entire Empire.

The fact that Harvis was in this predicament now was also closely related to his trip to the Kingdom.

This showed how absurd it was for a citizen of the Empire to seek help from the Kingdom.

But Harvis seemed to value the absurdity of this matter.

“After all, this way, that venomous Consort would never expect us to make such a move.”

Harvis valued this point, wanting to catch Mara off guard.

But Capeline still didn’t agree.

The reason was simple.

She simply didn’t want to ask for help from the country where that woman was from.

Asking for help from one’s lifelong rival, with Capeline’s stubbornness and pride, how could she possibly agree to such a thing?

Therefore, Capeline and her brother, Harvis, never reached a consensus on this matter.

Now, while she was imprisoned, her brother had already found a partner and successfully had them come to the Empire’s aid, even appearing before her. How could Capeline not feel complicated emotions?

Capeline almost subconsciously asked a question in a hurried tone.

“Did Roselucia Mitra come too?”

This was what Capeline cared about the most.

If even that woman came, then her unsightly state would truly be seen by the person she least wanted to see it.

If that happened, Capeline might not even want to leave this place, preferring to continue being tortured by Mara.

Shien seemed to see through the thoughts behind Capeline’s changing expression.

Therefore…

“You’re overthinking it. Lucy wouldn’t come to the Empire.” Shien said bluntly, “Who knows what kind of traps she might encounter here?”

The implication was that even if the Kingdom took some action in response to the Empire’s request for help, they definitely wouldn’t fully trust them.

Who knew if this was a plot to lure Lucy to the Empire and kill her?

Therefore, not to mention Lucy not knowing about this matter, even if she did, she wouldn’t come easily.

In fact, Shien had invited Lucy to come to the Empire with him, but she refused.

That princess knew that her identity was extremely sensitive in the Empire. Once she appeared, it would definitely cause an uproar.

At that time, it would be true chaos.

Therefore, Lucy wouldn’t come, both emotionally and rationally.

“Is that so?”

Capeline couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, yet for some reason, she seemed a little disappointed.

“Do you want her to come or not?”

Shien was speechless.

As expected, a woman’s heart was like a needle in the sea. You thought it was just difficult to retrieve, but in reality, it didn’t intend to come out at all.

What if that needle was the Ruyi Jingu Bang, capable of controlling the sea?

Then, you could only dive into the sea to understand women.

Otherwise, why would there be so many men who wanted to be sea kings?

“Let’s get back to the main topic.” Shien said, “You suddenly mentioned the treasure beneath the Empire’s land. Are you trying to say that the purpose of the people here is to find it?”

Shien thought of the slave workers who were constantly digging something here.

Capeline also thought of this.

“You said it yourself, they seem to be digging something, right?” Capeline said, “Then the only thing I can think of is this legend.”

This was clearly a baseless guess.

But Shien felt that this baseless guess might not be entirely useless.

After all, why did Mara appear in the Empire and cause so much trouble?

Because she hated Heroes and everything related to them, so she wanted to throw this country founded by a Hero into chaos?

Then why didn’t she go to the Kingdom, but instead came to the Empire?

The Kingdom was also a country founded by a Hero, and the royal family were also direct descendants of the Hero. There was even Lucy, known as the successor of Mitra. Logically, if Mara simply hated Heroes, then compared to the Empire, she would definitely want to overthrow the Kingdom more.

But she chose to come to the Empire, seizing its political power, and only secretly sabotaging the Kingdom, such as the large-scale assassination incident in the Royal Capital ten years ago, which was planned by this venomous Consort.

What did this mean?

It meant that there was indeed something in the Empire that attracted her.

“The Branch of Rejuvenation… huh?” Shien looked at Capeline and asked, “Do you know what kind of treasure that is?”

“I don’t know.” Capeline frowned, thought for a moment, then shook her head, “I only know that it seems to be a treasure that even the Three Goddesses and the Six Demon Lords have only heard of. It’s very likely related to either the Supreme God or the Demon King.”

Hearing this, Shien was basically certain.

That Branch of Rejuvenation, even if it wasn’t Mara’s goal, was definitely something very important and precious.

Could a treasure related to either the Supreme God or the Demon King be unimportant or not precious?

It was no wonder that even the founding Hero of the Ragna Empire wanted to find this treasure. It was definitely something extraordinary.

“How did that verse go again?”

Shien asked Capeline.

Capeline turned her gaze to Shien, then opened her lips.

“—When the sky is shrouded in darkness, and the earth becomes a crimson hell, the Branch of Rejuvenation will awaken from its slumber and descend upon this universe—”

Capeline recited the verse.

Shien silently memorized it.

“What are you going to do next?”

Shien asked.

If it were before, Capeline would have said without hesitation that she wanted to leave this place.

But now, thinking that she had to rely on Shien’s power to leave, Capeline felt unwilling.

But no matter how unwilling she was, in her current situation, it was just unnecessary sentimentality.

“Take me out of here.” Capeline took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, “As I said before, if you save me, I can give you anything you want.”

Capeline had said this with confidence and momentum before.

She believed that with her status, anyone normal would be tempted by her offer.

But Shien’s appearance shattered Capeline’s confidence.

Even if she was slow, Capeline realized that Shien didn’t care about the conditions she offered.

Even if the price was herself, Shien looked disgusted.

This made Capeline both angry and speechless.

Shien, on the other hand, readily agreed this time.

“Alright.” Shien snapped his fingers, “For your brother’s sake, I’ll take you out.”

Saying that, Shien reached out and grabbed Capeline’s shoulder before she could react.

“Swoosh!”

In the next second, they both disappeared from the cell and reappeared outside.

“Groan…”

“Groan…”

The surrounding ghouls seemed to sense some movement and stirred slightly.

Capeline only felt a blur before her eyes, and when she reappeared, she was already outside the cell.

“This is…?”

Capeline’s expression changed slightly.

“Teleportation…”

When… when did he gain this ability?

No, he did display teleportation-like abilities back in Cosmos.

But at that time, wasn’t it only activated when he was attacked?

Could it be that he was hiding his true abilities back then?

This thought immediately flashed through Capeline’s mind.

Just then, Shien spoke.

“Don’t leave my side.” Shien warned Capeline, “My skill can conceal both myself and anyone I touch, even making us invisible to the undead legion here. If you leave the area I’m touching, you’ll immediately be attacked by the undead.”

“I understand…” Capeline lowered her eyes, as if she had no choice.

“Then let’s go.” Shien was about to take Capeline away.

At the critical moment, Capeline suddenly spoke.

“Wait!” Capeline stopped Shien, looked around at the naked female knights in the cells, hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn’t help but say to Shien, “Save them too.”

Shien raised an eyebrow.

“They are my subordinates and personal guards, the most loyal to me. I can’t leave them behind.”

Capeline hurriedly explained.

Shien stared at Capeline for a long time, until she felt uncomfortable, then curled his lip.

“You owe me big time for this.”

Leaving these words, Shien, taking the delighted Capeline with him, teleported to each cell and rescued the female knights.

When the female knights first saw Shien appear, they almost screamed in panic, covering their bodies in fear, until they saw the cloaked Capeline, their faces filled with surprise and joy, even weeping with relief.

Shien teleported all the female knights out of the cells, making them touch him and not run around, lest the effect of [Inner Awareness of Heaven’s Decree] not cover them and they be discovered by the undead.

The female knights were hesitant at first, but in the end, they could only blush and huddle close to Shien one after another.

Now, Shien was happy.

“Well, I profited.”

Chapter 601: “Don’t…”

“Rumble…!”

Outside the unknown secret base, the waterfall continued to roar as it fell, creating huge splashes of water, as if nothing had happened. Even the headless corpse of the knight decapitated by Limgir was gone, the bloodstains cleaned up, clearly indicating that someone had specifically done this.

Until, at a certain moment, with a faint whooshing sound, numerous naked figures appeared outside the waterfall.

These naked figures were naturally the female knights brought out of the dungeon by Shien.

“Ah!”

“Aah!”

The beautiful female knights only felt a blur before their eyes, and then they saw the light of day again, arriving outside, and screaming one after another.

“P… Princess Capeline…!”

“We…!”

“Waa… waaaaaah…!”

Some of them squatted down, covering their bodies, while others huddled together, trembling, their shame overwhelming them.

There was no helping it.

Just now, in the dark basement, these female knights could still comfort themselves, using the darkness to hide their nakedness, and coupled with their eagerness to escape, they could barely suppress their shame.

But now, suddenly seeing the light of day, under the bright sunlight, the female knights’ shame exploded.

“Ahem…”

Shien coughed, turning his head and looking towards the sky, acting as if he hadn’t seen anything, as if nothing was here, like a gentleman, a righteous man.

Capeline, wearing her cloak, glared at Shien, then quickly led her female knights into the nearby bushes.

A group of naked women hid in the bushes, sobbing and chattering.

“Princess Capeline, what should we do?”

“Wuwuwu… we were seen… and by a man from the Kingdom… waaaah!”

“There are no clothes here. Are we supposed to stay like this?”

“I… I don’t want to!”

“How can we return to the Imperial Capital like this?”

“Princess Capeline, save us…”

Such whimpering and crying came from the bushes, making Shien’s heart itch.

Capeline was also helpless.

“Don’t worry, just hide here for now, don’t move. I’ll think of something later.”

“First, count yourselves and see if anyone is missing, if anyone didn’t make it out.”

“Calm down, we finally escaped. We can’t be captured again.”

“Keep quiet, we might not be completely safe yet, understand?”

Under Capeline’s serious and even stern warning, the female knights finally calmed down and stopped making a fuss.

Of course, many of them still peeked through the bushes, looking at Shien, who seemed to be appreciating the scenery, his face completely red.

Heavens, they were all pure and innocent maidens, when had they ever experienced such a thing?

If this happened under normal circumstances, they would probably either kill the culprit or commit suicide, how could they endure such shame?

However, this time, none of them could dwell on this matter.

Because someone was saving them, and their clothes weren’t taken off by him. They had no reason to blame him.

In short, Shien had truly profited this time.

“As expected of a princess, her personal guards are all so busty and fair-skinned.”

A certain someone, feeling poetic, thought so.

Capeline and the others didn’t know what Shien was thinking, otherwise, they would definitely die of shame.

After some commotion, the area finally calmed down somewhat.

Capeline then emerged from the bushes, came to Shien, and stared at him intently, as if considering whether to kill him to silence him.

Seeing this, Shien wasn’t flustered at all.

“Don’t be silly, child, you can’t beat me.”

Shien’s honest words made Capeline truly want to kill him for a moment.

Fortunately, Shien’s words were somewhat deterrent.

At least, he was right. Capeline couldn’t beat him.

She said so herself.

“It was just one loss. Don’t think that proves you’re stronger than me.”

The Valkyrie was just that competitive.

Shien just wanted to scoff.

“Sorry, I’m just stronger than you.”

She couldn’t even defeat him back then, and couldn’t even force him to unseal his Holy Sword. If it were now, the result wouldn’t even need to be said. He didn’t know where this princess got her confidence to say such things.

Unfortunately, Capeline didn’t know all of this yet.

She didn’t know that Shien was a Hero, possessing an incredibly powerful Holy Sword, nor did she know that Shien had undergone a transformation, becoming even stronger than before. Therefore, in this princess’s view, although Shien was strong, he wasn’t so strong that she felt completely powerless against him, right?

But in any case, now wasn’t the time to settle these scores.

“I need to take these girls back to the Imperial Capital first.”

Capeline took a deep breath and expressed her intention.

Without thinking, Shien blurted out,

“Don’t. Going back to the Imperial Capital naked like this would be too much of a feast for the eyes of passersby.”

Shien’s words almost made Capeline’s killing intent explode.

“Who said we’re going back naked…!?” Capeline shouted through gritted teeth, “We’ll be careful of the crowds and go back after finding something to cover ourselves!”

This wasn’t a difficult problem to solve.

There were many ways to improvise.

For example, there were quite a few monsters here. Killing them and using their fur as clothing was entirely feasible.

It was just a little dangerous.

“This place is still too close to the enemy’s location. It’s best if you don’t rush to cover yourselves, leave this area first, find a place to hide, and then follow your plan.”

Shien thought for a moment and said.

“Otherwise, before you even get far, you might all be captured again.”

Having already feasted his eyes, Shien didn’t mind giving these girls some advice.

Although with his help, it would be easy to solve the problem of covering themselves, Capeline, the stubborn and proud Valkyrie, clearly didn’t intend to rely on Shien anymore, so Shien naturally wouldn’t say anything more.

As expected…

“I’ll take your advice.”

Capeline didn’t ask for Shien’s help at all, instead acting as if she would handle it herself.

However, the princess’s gaze towards Shien was still somewhat complicated.

“What about you?” Capeline said softly, “Are you going back?”

She knew that Shien’s investigation here wasn’t over yet.

Shien hadn’t fully confirmed what this place was used for.

When they left the dungeon, Shien had also said that he would take them out first.

Since it was “first,” he must have other plans.

It was indeed the case.

“Since I’m already here, wouldn’t it be a waste not to meet with some old and new friends?”

Shien grinned.

That smile was filled with malicious intent.

And this malicious intent wasn’t just directed at the enemies hiding behind the waterfall.

“Also, I don’t want to reveal my identity too soon, lest those guys immediately think of the two big shots by my side and run away without even showing their faces.”

Shien turned to Capeline.

“What… what are you going to do?”

Capeline subconsciously took a step back, clutching her cloak tightly.

“What do you think?”

Shien’s smile became even more malicious.

So, Capeline didn’t hesitate any longer and turned to run.

However, how could she outrun a certain beast with teleportation?

Soon, the princess was caught.

“Wait… wait! Don’t…! Don’t take it away…! Aaaaaah…!”

With a scream, Capeline’s cloak disappeared, returning to its owner.

Shien put it back on, pulled up his hood, completely concealing his face, and nodded in satisfaction.

Capeline, mortified, rushed into the bushes and joined the other female knights.

“You bastard…! Shameless…! Beast…!”

In the next moment, the princess’s curses came from the bushes one after another.

“Still cursing?” Shien looked towards the bushes, narrowed his eyes, and said with a smile, “If you keep cursing, I’ll burn down those bushes with magic.”

As soon as he said this, the princess’s voice immediately disappeared.

Even the female knights blushed, not daring to make a sound.

They had already been embarrassed enough, and they really didn’t want to show their shame any further.

“Alright, let’s go quickly.” Shien said impatiently, “Those guys should be noticing the anomaly soon. If we don’t leave, it might be too late.”

Shien didn’t forget that the High Priest had magic like [Corridor of Death] to detect the aura of living beings.

Under such circumstances, the fact that Capeline and the others had left the dungeon and escaped couldn’t be hidden from her.

If they didn’t leave now, when would they?

“…I know.”

Capeline’s voice, slightly subdued, came from the bushes.

After a while, under Capeline’s instructions, the female knights hiding in the bushes gradually moved away, making soft sounds.

Capeline did the same.

Shien smiled, turned around, and looked towards the waterfall.

Capeline was the last to leave.

Glancing at Shien’s cloaked figure, looking at his back, after a few seconds, Capeline quietly left.

No farewells.

No unnecessary words.

Because this wasn’t the end, but just the beginning.