Chapter 226: The True Heroine

Li En faced a dead end.

Lex's karmic ties were destined to entangle him; more precisely, this reincarnation of his was, in a sense, forced to clean up Lex's mess.

But the Many-Faced Dragon did not care about the outcome of the cleanup.

The reincarnated "Li Ensu" dying a few times, the kingdom perishing and being reborn anew—this was entirely acceptable.

After all, it wasn't the first time; it was merely another generational turnover, and to the Many-Faced Dragon, the kingdom's collapse was the very model of deserved ruin.

"My reincarnation returning to this kingdom—all of this began because Laina, that junior, was incredibly powerful, incredibly powerful—she found the sleeping true body of the Great Red Dragon."

No one knew how she did it—perhaps through a pact with the "Whisperer," perhaps because her "Single-Mindedness" (a soul ability that locks onto one target and pursues it relentlessly) had shattered all limits—but she did it.

She crossed the barriers of mountains and seas and found the legendary "Great Volcano."

She awakened the Great Red Dragon.

The Many-Faced Dragon was formless, but its traces, avatars, and remnants were not necessarily the same as the Great Red Dragon, the one that once unleashed the Dragon Cataclysm, buried deep within a volcano in slumber—on some level, it could be seen as a node connecting the Many-Faced Dragon to the mortal world, or as a tool for forced interference when necessary.

It was stupid. Utterly stupid. Even as just one avatar of the Many-Faced Dragon, the Great Red Dragon remained a planetary-destroying weapon, a complete ultimate killing machine.

Every time it awoke, it brought only destruction—of kingdoms, planes, even entire worlds.

Yet as a Heroine, she not only awakened the evil dragon, but chose to reason with an utterly unreasonable monster.

"The kingdom was destroyed by you. Our people should not suffer such misfortune."

【No, you deserve this. The true cause of all this calamity is the king and people of the kingdom. The ignorance and arrogance of you all summoned destruction.】

The malicious dragon mocked the Heroine's ignorance, laughed at the kingdom's boundless sins and its criminals playing the victim, and prepared to sink back into eternal slumber.

But could it truly be ignored? The Heroine's arrival had dumped Li En's mess right at its feet, demanding: How could you do this so poorly? How could you be so foolish?

"You owe us. I am willing to offer everything I have, just for a chance at change."

【No, you have misjudged cause and effect. It is you who owe Lex Sorn. But Lex indeed owes karmic debt—not to you. We shall make amends ourselves, but not for the sake of arrogant, fallen creatures like you.】

Yet in the end, the reincarnation of Lex Sorn—Li En Sudar—appeared within the kingdom's borders.

He was given the "main quest." As he followed the guidance and entangled himself with beasts and the kingdom, Lex's karmic ties were destined to find him.

Once the key nodes and starting point of fate were fixed, what was meant to happen would happen—process mattered little.

As for whether it was handled well? No one cared. The Many-Faced Dragon moved ever forward. Dying a few times to repay karmic debt, even serving as a sacrifice—none of it mattered.

Even if oceans turned to fields, even if the kingdom fell, even if the ruling race changed, as long as the world endured and humanity endured, the Many-Faced Dragon would march eternally forward.

"Luckily I drew the Snake. Otherwise, 'Li En' would be dead."

The trouble Lex caused was beyond Li En's ability to resolve.

In fact, without the "One-Day Pact" tricked out by the Snake, he and the kingdom would already be dead.

The One-Day Pact meant surrendering body and soul entirely to Lex Sorn for that day—equivalent to an ancient spirit using a young body.

The power and limits involved were a completely different concept from normal spirit possession.

In normal spirit possession, the spirit could occupy at most thirty percent of the host, functioning like a "navigation system"—offering suggestions, guidance, even planning routes—but whether the host followed was still up to the driver.

No matter how good others' advice was, actual execution was bound to be a mess. Some things were beyond the limits of "navigation" from the start.

Even the most advanced navigation system couldn't expect a tricycle driver to suddenly fly a supersonic fighter jet, performing aerial loops with sidewinder missiles.

But now, with the "One-Day" body, Li En's vessel was fully controlled by the spirit Lex. How much power he could unleash depended entirely on the spirit's own level.

The hardware is a bit rusty, but fine—I still have some power reserves in my sword. Good.

Solar weapon? Nice. Senior Snake really is a kind soul.

Not enough. Burn my soul. It's useless anyway. The duration of the Spirit Card has already burned away half its time without me noticing.

Weak hardware, compensate with software. In the end, when the "Invincible Heroine" reappeared, all problems would naturally vanish.

Even if this power was destined to be fleeting—perhaps lasting only minutes or tens of minutes—it was still the continent-shaking Heroine of legend.

In truth, Rosalind's choice was correct. Upon seeing "Lex," she immediately abandoned part of herself—and the tribe she was attacking.

It meant discarding over half her accumulated war gains, abandoning a decisive plan to annihilate the kingdom. She knew: before an invincible Heroine, direct combat held zero chance of victory.

"Relax. She won't cause trouble for a while. When she was blasted by the Great Red Dragon back then, she nearly died. I just finished her off again—she's badly wounded. Lex's power was mostly unleashed on Rosalind; even if she has clones, they'll be severely damaged by proxy."

From the beginning, the Heroine system involved "anti-undead" and "karmic fate." Once struck, even distant targets would be affected.

As for why she wasn't killed on the spot? Hard to say.

"Lex" sighed, lying flat on his back, utterly unwilling to move.

He had pushed too hard just now. Clearly, this body would need major repairs after the spirit possession ended. He still wore the massive Red Dragon Armor, but had removed his helmet, revealing his face.

Yet he still remembered to consider his "junior"—the Red Dragon Armor he summoned borrowed Red Dragon bloodline (in a sense, turning Li En into part of the armor itself), and he wore the mask from the portrait. Now he looked even more like the portrait of Lex.

"Father… are you really my father?"

"Yes, I am Lex. But I am already dead. Now, I am like a spirit. After one day, I must return."

To the crying girl, "Lex" sighed, speaking cruel words while gently stroking the familiar golden hair.

He noticed the serpent tattoo ring on her chest, and something clicked.

"I truly owe thanks to Senior Snake."

In truth, without the Snake's interference and planning, Huicheng would already be nearly lifeless, followed by the kingdom's total collapse.

Then, slowly, he stood up.

Though only one day, it was enough for him.

"We'll talk later. I must clean up first." Without waiting for his "family" to react, he vanished again.

And so, the people of Huicheng that day truly saw the sun.

The Red Dragon Knight spread his Dragon Wings and hunted across the entire city.

Whether Xiao beasts or demons, whether mighty monsters or tiny ratmen, none stood a single blow against the Red Dragon Knight's swinging sword.

That masked, invincible visage, that weapon radiating solar light, that flaming hair, that Heroine's sword illuminating the heavens like a lighthouse—how could anyone not think of the legendary Heroine?

"Heroine! Lord Lex, wait!"

And the city governor chasing after him everywhere confirmed the suspicion.

The ancient spirit warrior walked once more into the world, rescuing a collapsing city—legend became reality. Only this spirit warrior seemed not quite ancient enough.

"Lex" moved tirelessly, slaying beasts and invaders, and casually eliminating cultists as well.

He even lifted collapsed buildings to rescue injured children, and smashed through the ground to free captives dragged underground by ratmen.

"Is this the Heroine? The legendary Heroine?"

"You… you've returned. Can you save our nation? Can you guide us again?"

"Wahhh… we finally waited. The kingdom is saved."

Those middle-aged and elderly people finally understood the weight of "Heroine Lex"—a symbol of an era, the kingdom's most glorious age.

Could everything truly return?

"I will soon return to the Spirit Hall. My era has passed." But the answer they received was this disappointing one.

He was busy saving lives—he had no time to check on the Queen or the Princess.

"You're avoiding her, aren't you? You'd rather waste time out here than face your wife and daughter?"

The sudden question made Lex slow down.

No one understood himself better than himself. A question from within could not be avoided.

"See it, don't say it. Have some mercy on your old senior, kid."

Yes, Li En remained fully aware at this moment.

Now, it was his turn to be the "navigation system"—he could only watch and speak, unable to interfere at all.

When lips met, the most embarrassing part was himself.

"But your senior must deserve respect. I'm cleaning up your mess. At least say thank you."

"Thank you. And then?"

The scene of self-confrontation played out just as strongly for Li En. This shameless Heroine gave up entirely—and Li En truly didn't know what to say.

After thinking, Li En found Lex's weakness—as Rosalind had said:

"Consider Dainya. Her condition is terrible. You must let us know what really happened back then."

"If I knew everything, why would I need you to investigate the truth?"

Lex remained unmoved. Some things he intended to take to the grave.

He was already dead enough in the abstract. Let him keep a little dignity in death.

"Rosalind will come again, won't she? You can't let her kill Dainya a second time. I've seen your memories—you loved Rosalind, didn't you?"

Lex fell completely silent. For a long while, he said nothing.

"You've seen my memories. You know I watched her for a long time before I came to love her. Do you think a night owl—a creature with the strongest night vision—wouldn't notice a fool silently staring at her through countless nights?"

Lex sighed, recalling his past—his entire life was a black history.

What Heroine? His hands were stained with blood, sin, and folly that even a Demon King couldn't match.

"Perhaps there never was a Second Princess. From the beginning, she was an evil demon sealed in human form."

(End of Chapter)