Chapter 41: Hedi's Trouble

Favors, promises... these things may seem important, but in Ron's eyes, they are no different from horse manure.

Of course, Ron has always been one to keep his word. If he says he owes someone a favor, he owes them a favor, and when the time comes, he will absolutely step in to save Edward’s life. It’s just that who exactly will be trying to take Edward’s life when that time comes is a matter worth discussing.

Ron had already done similar things many times over the past decade. He wasn't truly malicious; it all depended on Edward's character. If Edward was as noble as a knight, then Ron would indeed keep his promise.

["We should head back now," Sophia said, glancing at the sky. "Otherwise, the teacher will start to worry."]
[Sophia’s teacher is the Dean of the Imperial Magic Academy.]
[Vivian, suspecting nothing, saw Sophia and her companion off before continuing her journey to deliver grain.]

The Dean of the Imperial Magic Academy... Ron sensed something peculiar in that. Palavi City was considered a remote, minor town within the Empire. This was exactly why Trevor was so desperate to be transferred out of it. Although it sat on the southern frontier, far from the Abyss Demons of the North, the southern barbarians were still a significant nuisance. With the flames of war reigniting in the north, the southern tribes had already begun to stir. Why would three individuals of such high status appear here at a time like this?

Unfortunately, the Eye of the Demon King only displayed real-time thoughts; as long as Vivian didn't ask about the purpose of Sophia’s group, Ron had no way of knowing what they were after. However, Ron felt that Trevor likely knew something. As Sophia was leaving, he noticed Trevor was already preparing a welcoming ceremony. He seemed extremely excited, clearly overjoyed by the arrival of Sophia and her group.

Neither Sophia nor Edward seemed like the type to be behind Trevor. Could it be the Dean of the Magic Academy? That was certainly possible. His own soul fragments were remarkably effective at boosting one's strength, and the more powerful the individual, the more intense their craving for those fragments.

At this thought, Ron rubbed his temples. Ever since he activated the "Big Brother" skill, the text before him hadn't stopped for a single moment. He didn't know what kind of magic Vivian possessed that allowed her to be talked about by so many people every single day. After easing his strained mind, Ron temporarily pushed the matters of the Spirit Realm aside.

Vivian was just delivering grain; nothing bad could happen. Ron took out his drawing board and began a new piece. President Pei had commissioned an entire game's worth of art from him. Although there was no deadline, given how promptly President Pei paid, he felt compelled to finish as soon as possible. The "Creepy Hospital" dungeon had taught Ron the importance of having a balance on his transit card. When necessary, money really could let you do whatever you wanted.

Over the next few days, Ron spent his time either drawing or writing. As his word count increased, his novel's readership gradually grew.

[Big Boss, are there any character designs?]
[The book is good, but the word count is too low.]
[Is there a "Shennong" here to test the poison?]
...

Watching the comment section become more active, even someone as calm as Ron couldn't help but let a smile touch his lips.

[This cat is so annoying, can you delete it? It takes advantage of the heroine every single day. Wouldn't it be better to change it to a system?]

Uh...

[A trainee defeating a Level 4 mage... Author, aren't you making the protagonist too overpowered?]

Fine. As the number of readers grew, such comments seemed to increase as well. Too overpowered... If this counted as "cheating," then he wondered what they would say when they saw Vivian discover a ring belonging to the Mad Demon King while hunting bandits.

After uploading the latest chapter and submitting the new art, Ron turned his attention back to the Spirit Realm. Vivian had stayed in the village for a long time, mostly to fulfill various requests from the villagers. As the Empire gradually declined, the southern barbarians began to harass the border incessantly. The Imperial knights shifted their focus to defending against these southern enemies, no longer clearing out the magical beasts in the various regions. This led to many villages being frequently plagued by beasts. In the Empire's heyday, even without the help of knights, a village would have had at least one or two low-level mages. Unfortunately, today, villagers of Vivian’s background rarely had the chance to embark on the path of magical cultivation unless they encountered someone like Wigfall.

After Vivian finished clearing the surrounding beasts for the villagers, the day she had agreed to meet Hedi arrived. Ron had never forgotten this; Hedi’s tribe possessed several more of the Demon King’s soul fragments. Having absorbed three fragments, the current "Demon King Meow" was approaching the status of a Level 6 Great Mage. Don't think it was leveling up too quickly; since it lacked a physical body, Demon King Meow could only fight using the skills provided by the soul fragments. Most importantly, the power it approached was only that of a very ordinary Level 6 mage. In this world, whether or not one had fused with a soul fragment represented two completely different levels of strength.

Take Wigfall, for example. Although her status was that of a Level 6 Great Mage, if it came to a real fight, she could go toe-to-toe with a Level 8 Archmage, all thanks to the Demon King’s soul fragment she carried. However, for the [Punishment of Tyranny], the actual combat strength didn't really matter. As long as your rank was lower than his, you would be infinitely crushed by the weight of tyranny. With the control of "Punishment," Vivian finally had the ability to face an ordinary Level 4 mage.

[Vivian arrived near Lamo Lake as agreed.]
[Seeing the massive fire raging around the lake in the distance, Vivian immediately felt that something was wrong.]

Her intuition was correct. Hedi was in trouble. She was currently being besieged by several mages. These were all subordinates of Trevor. Although the Sora Town incident had been resolved due to Vivian’s intervention, it didn't mean Trevor had given up on the fusion ritual. However, Hedi hadn't actually been targeted by Trevor because of the sacrificial ritual. What Trevor was truly after were the few Demon King soul fragments held by Hedi’s tribe.

Demon King soul fragments were incredibly tempting to the transcendent beings of the magical world. Thus, even though our Lord Mad Demon King’s soul had been sliced into pieces finer than minced meat, the fragments remained extremely precious in this world. With two fragments already taken by Vivian, Trevor truly had no more original fragments left. He had fused with one himself, but he certainly couldn't sacrifice himself. And so, he set his sights on the Druid tribe where Hedi resided.

Ron didn't know how Trevor had obtained this information, but they clearly intended to capture Hedi to act as a guide.

["Your friend must be inside. Do you want to go save her?" you ask Vivian, who is frowning at your side.]
["Of course I'm going!" Vivian replies firmly, showing no sign of fear despite the enemy's superior numbers.]
["They look like people from the Magic Association," you say casually, even though none of these mages are wearing the association's uniform.]
[While you are speaking, Vivian has already rushed in without a second thought.]
[The mages guarding the perimeter are easily dealt with by you.]

"Punishment" was just that kind of unreasonable ability. Enemies with a rank far lower than Ron's, no matter what powerful trump cards they held, would be instantly killed by the "Punishment of Tyranny."

[Vivian rushes to Hedi’s side with almost no effort.]
["Hedi! I’m here to save you!" Vivian shouts, looking at the tortured Hedi.]