Chapter 77: Were You Peeping Just Now? (23)

Herbert immediately declined the invitation.

No matter how softly and seductively the voice whispered in his ear, he chose to completely ignore it.

He understood.

Whoever comes to you willingly is never anything good!

The one who dared invite him was almost certainly no good person—and there were no good people in this level to begin with.

Without exaggeration, the two prisoners held in the Lava Hell were the very embodiment of the word “evil.”

One was a demon who secretly incited and provoked slaves into rebelling before they were ready, ending in their bloody slaughter.

The other was a devil who orchestrated several royal massacres, ultimately bringing about the downfall of multiple kingdoms.

The former caused at least one hundred thousand slaves to die directly in the bloody suppression, with countless innocent civilians also perishing in the chaos.

The latter plunged several kingdoms into turmoil, indirectly causing tens of thousands of civilians to become homeless over more than a decade, with another hundred thousand dying in the process.

Neither of them were good people.

And the one who had just invited him was clearly that infamous devil.

【Blood of Nobility】、【The Corruptor】、【Profane Whisper】—Kreti

This devil delighted in corrupting persecuted nobles, urging them to raise their swords against their own kin.

Events like “The Night Without Light,” “The Bloody Wedding,” “The Decapitation Festival”—all were orchestrated by her behind the scenes.

She was an extremely dangerous creature!

After realizing his strength was not yet sufficient for self-preservation, Herbert chose to first strengthen himself before meddling in other matters.

His sole purpose in coming here was to use the flames to enhance his own power.

As for how to reform or indoctrinate these creatures, he would consider it later.

Though he was now very tempted by the monster materials of the two, he still held to the same principle: you must live to spend your earnings.

When cornered, don’t fantasize—survival comes first.

But now there was another problem.

“How do I burn my entire body?”

Herbert looked at his own boots, long since burned to ash by the heat, and wiggled his bare toes, unharmed in the lava.

Warm, and quite comfortable.

“Yes, I’m fireproof—but my clothes aren’t… so I have to strip naked and step right in?”

He wasn’t shy—he’d stripped bare in bathhouses before, standing naked with old men.

But this wasn’t a bathhouse!

There were other witnesses here!

Herbert frowned in distress, finally gathering the courage to remove his shirt, hand on his belt, about to unfasten his pants…

He suddenly realized something.

The voice that had been incessantly whispering and corrupting him in his ear had vanished.

Huh?

He turned his head thoughtfully toward the Bronze Fortress, murmuring:

“You were watching me just now, weren’t you?”

No answer came.

Kreti refused to answer such an offensive question.

Yet it was precisely this silence that proved far too much.

Herbert stiffened, clutching his chest, and shouted: “That reaction—you were definitely watching me!”

After being questioned a second time, Kreti, after a long silence, finally responded.

A furious, exasperated scream echoed from within the Bronze Fortress.

Aaaaaaah!!!

“Shut up! You’re so loud! I wasn’t watching you!”

The devil who reveled in ending noble blood was now furious, seriously doubting this man’s sanity…

Who the hell strips naked upon arriving here?!

Wait, why would I even look at you?

“What possible reason could I have to watch you?!”

“You’re the one who stripped in front of me!”

“Damn it! You… what?!”

“You filthy creature! You! Put your pants on right now!!!”

“Stop taking them off!”

Herbert eventually made his way to the Bronze Fortress.

He came here not for any other reason—he simply wanted to explain to Kreti that he was not a pervert.

Herbert nodded politely to the devil, elegantly lounging on the lava throne, and said softly: “Lady Kreti, long time no see. I’m truly humbled that you’re so concerned with my physique.”

In response, Kreti rolled her eyes, pressed her palm to her forehead, and sighed: “...Just go away. Why did you actually come here?”

This blood-stained devil possessed a stunningly beautiful face.

Her pale skin, utterly out of place amid the surroundings, made her jet-black hair appear even darker, from which protruded a pair of sharp goat horns.

Her figure burned like flame—her waist impossibly slender, contrasting sharply with her full bust and rounded hips, forming an extreme curve.

Her violet eyes, like bottomless mystical whirlpools, once gleamed with cunning and allure—now only exuded exasperation.

Especially after hearing Herbert’s next sentence.

“But please don’t misunderstand—I’m not seducing you.”

“...Sigh!”

Kreti now regretted it.

Why had she ever initiated conversation with this man and drawn him here?

Wait a minute!

When he first followed that old man, he’d seemed so easy to corrupt!

How had he turned into such an unshakable, impervious lump?

How many days had passed?

“You may not know, but I am in fact a holy knight of the ascetic order.”

Herbert, enjoying Kreti’s stunned expression, spoke solemnly:

“What I just did was to use the lava terrain to train my will and body.”

He had prepared this explanation in advance.

In this world, training methods were wildly varied—each sect, each profession, even each family had its own unique ways.

Some immersed themselves for long periods in icy water to suppress violent negative effects; others repeatedly poisoned themselves to build resistance; still others endured constant beatings to toughen their bodies…

In short, everything was a chaotic bloom—no matter how insane the method, as long as it worked, it was acceptable.

Among them, ascetic holy knights were among the most extreme; the Mist Knights’ elder brothers were classic examples.

Whether he truly was one of them… who cared?

Who would dare expose him?

Out in the world, your identity is what you say it is.

“Therefore, regarding your spying, I hope you will restrain yourself in the future and cease such behavior…”

???

Kreti’s mind was full of question marks; she finally couldn’t hold back and shouted:

“I’ll say it one last time—I didn’t watch!”

“I DIDN’T!”

Eight o’clock has another update—I’ll go eat first and think.

Please vote for monthly tickets—once we hit a thousand, I’ll add two more chapters!

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(End of Chapter)