Chapter 148

The ministers' expressions were livid, and for a moment, they were speechless.

Everything Qi Xing said was correct, but, but…

—However, deep down, they still couldn't help but feel a little bit "aggrieved."

Isn't it you, Master Leipu, who blew up what was initially a relatively calm situation? You're the one who started the fire, right?

They would never dare to say this directly in front of Master Leipu, but many "Muggles" couldn't help but think: Can't you supernatural beings just hide in the inner world and fight among yourselves like you have for the past few decades, instead of dragging us in the surface world into this?

Isn't it better to keep "daily life" and "the extraordinary" clearly separated?

Heh.

Qi Xing had actually already foreseen their inner thoughts.

In fact…

…Alright.

He wasn't entirely unable to understand.

He actually fully supported keeping everyone else away from danger, letting Master Leipu alone take down all the demon kings, or perhaps having a few more willing hero companions step up.

If everyone else in the world really were as cowardly as cowards, hiding like ostriches, trying to stay away from the flames of war, doing nothing, not fighting against evil, and just waiting for Qi Xing to save them, leaving Qi Xing to end up fighting all the evil in the world alone…

Then Qi Xing probably really wouldn't do it. Let this ridiculous, broken world go to hell. He would find a way to collect the silver coin and go home.

But in reality, the situation really wasn't that bad after all.

There was more than one person who still had the courage to fight against evil.

There were even more than ten righteous people.

So, originally, if it were just ordinary civilians, or even just civilian heroes who didn't want to be heroes anymore, Qi Xing wouldn't have thought there was any problem with that.

"But you are officials."

"You should defend the country and die for the sake of the nation."

"These issues—the economy, people's livelihoods—I truly don't understand them. That is why I keep you and tolerate you. After all, you occasionally have some bright spots."

"I will win the battles for you. You just do your own jobs. I accept that you're a makeshift team; after all, killing you all and replacing you would only result in a worse batch."

"But you are not allowed to run away, and you are not allowed to betray your own people."

A deathly silence once again engulfed the entire conference room.

Qi Xing didn't say anything more; he just calmly withdrew his hand, turned around, and walked toward the heavy metal door.

He didn't walk fast, yet he carried an intimidating composure. No one dared to stop him, and no one dared to move.

Until he walked out of the conference room and disappeared at the end of the corridor, the cabinet officials were still trembling slightly.

No one dared to see him off. No one dared to look. No one dared to make a sound.

Escaping would surely lead to a fate worse than death, and they dared not even imagine what would happen if they tried to collude with the Greed Demon.

Master Leipu wanted to convey sheer terror to them.

The rulers of Magic City Tokyo already understood that this was not a stereotypical battle between "good and evil."

…Rather, it was more like one demon king dragging them along to fight another demon king.

Which demon king was more terrifying?

— — — — — — — — — — — —

Walking out of the Cabinet Office, Qi Xing strolled down the streets at night, not in a hurry to transform into lightning and fly back to his hotel room.

Because he was actually thinking about this very question.

Between him and the Greed Demon, who actually made these people feel more afraid?

If it were him, Master Leipu, who made them more afraid, then why did these high-ranking officials still plan to secretly cause him trouble, forcing him to come over late at night to knock some sense into them?

Why didn't they fear his power? Why?

Or perhaps it was because fear alone was simply not enough?

Qi Xing could almost hear Sasa snickering in his ear.

But he didn't need the devil to remind him; he actually knew that he could completely take out the [Dominator] silver coin and turn all these high-ranking cabinet officials into his fanatical followers. A single word from him would make them offer up everything without complaint.

However, leaving aside Qi Xing's own principles and bottom line, if he really did that—first of all, his righteous friends would notice sooner or later.

Why had this ridiculous yellow world not yet fallen into the predicament where all secular rulers were hypnotized, brainwashed, and controlled?

The reason was simple—because most hypnosis techniques were not actually that "trace-free" and were actually quite easy for experts to detect. Hypnotized people would reveal slight oddities in their speech and behavior, and the more exaggerated the brainwashing, the easier it was to detect.

Whether it was Tsuchimikado Hyougen, Master Cilian, or even Artemina, they were willing to fight alongside Qi Xing because they believed he was a "warrior of the righteous path."

Although he was powerful and rough, using fear to intimidate the wicked, they all believed that he would not sink to the level of the evil path.

But if one day they discovered that Qi Xing used divine power to brainwash neutral individuals who had not yet fallen into the evil path, then their friendship would likely be over.

—After all, if you, Master Leipu, were willing to control even "gray" people, and dared to brainwash and hypnotize them, then who could guarantee that you wouldn't go even further?

Who could trust that your bottom line wouldn't slip in the future, to the point where you would hypnotize, brainwash, and control other righteous people as well?

Qi Xing actually understood all these principles. Even if he didn't, Elaine would certainly have told him.

However, just as he sighed, Qi Xing suddenly saw a row of men in suits, yakuza, standing on the side of the street in the distance.

There was a black stretch limousine, and a yakuza young lady wearing a cool-colored kimono and holding a bright red oil-paper umbrella.

Jingo Rin stood there quietly, like a flower blooming in the night, her posture impeccable. Serene, yet fiery; indifferent, yet impossible to ignore.

Seeing Qi Xing, she first tilted her head and said in a calm, matter-of-fact tone: "Qi Xing, do not be anxious."

"…Miss Rin, can you not start with such an inexplicable sentence every time you speak?" Qi Xing said, somewhat speechless, "I am not anxious at all."

"You are," Rin answered calmly, simple and direct, without any hesitation, "Although you have defeated more evil spirits and heretics than I have, you have never had the experience of guarding a single place, truly suppressing and subduing it, and cleaning it up completely, have you?"

…Qi Xing really couldn't refute that.

Gently twirling the red umbrella in her hand, Rin continued, still calm: "I also throw all the management troubles to Ayame, but at least I know that if you really want a piece of land to be peaceful for a long time, relying only on three minutes of enthusiasm and utilitarianism is useless."

"I understand that principle, of course." Qi Xing shook his head, "But every day, good people who voluntarily support me are bleeding and suffering. This makes me… very unhappy."

"That is called anxiety." Rin judged mercilessly, "Protection is inherently more difficult. It requires persistence and faith. Some things are unavoidable."

"Even if millions of people die, even if all of Tokyo is blown into the sky, your original intention must not be shaken by it. You must let their death and suffering become your motivation, not a burden—that is what is most important."

Qi Xing was speechless for a moment. …Isn't this a bit extreme?

"How have you been doing at the Lionheart Society these past few days?" He couldn't help but ask curiously.

Consequently, Rin actually sighed for once: "It's a long story."

It went without saying that she must have learned more secrets about her father.

"Get in the car." She signaled to Qi Xing, "I will tell you a little bit about it."

Volume 4: Evil Magic City Tokyo: 141: Beware of Demonic Obstacles

On the streets of Tokyo at night, a black, high-end stretch limousine drove quietly.

This was the vehicle belonging to the Lionheart Society. The car windows were tinted deep black, and the lights were low-key and clean. Oncoming vehicles instinctively swerved to avoid it, and pedestrians subconsciously averted their gaze.

Normal people would stay away from such an obvious yakuza vehicle.

—Therefore, whoever would take the initiative to intercept this car was certainly not a normal person.

Suddenly, the front of the car jolted, and the driver jerked the steering wheel. A shadow as thin as a spider's thread swept out of the darkness, grazing the hood and flashing past,

Immediately afterward, a dull impact sound came from the back of the car, as if something had slammed into the rear axle.

It was not a traffic accident.

Rin opened her eyes, and Qi Xing also straightened up.

In the street corner ahead, shadows were writhing. It wasn't an issue with the lighting—but rather, amorphous masses of shadows were overflowing from the crevices of the alleys.

Twisted, swaying, human-like yet not human.

A foul odor gradually emerged in the air.

It was an enemy attack.

"Is there really someone stupid enough to dare attack your car?" Qi Xing was somewhat surprised.

Rin, however, shook her head: "It's not a person."

As soon as she finished speaking, the shadow at the street corner suddenly collapsed and then suddenly rose, finally revealing its true form.

It was an amorphous jelly monster made of a large amount of impurities and black gelatin. It had no clear facial features, but it had dozens of chaotic faces that were constantly shifting, entangling, tearing apart, and recombining, as if human pain and madness had been forcibly kneaded into a mass, rolling slowly while attached to its viscous body surface.

Its limbs were constantly deforming, sometimes becoming severed limbs, sometimes turning into blades, and sometimes sprouting obscene tentacles surging with mucus.

Like a pool of industrial waste oil from hell, it crawled slowly out from the street corner, carrying a sticky, foul stench and a hot, bloody aura, dragging its twisted limbs, approaching slowly but resolutely.

Immediately following it, several similar "mud shadows" emerged at the other end of the street.

One, two, five…

This kind of strange, foul-smelling gelatinous monster had recently appeared frequently on the streets of Tokyo at night.

With so many appearing at once, I'm afraid only a top-tier expert could deal with them.

But Rin was in no hurry to get out of the car.

Because the car doors had already automatically popped open, and two Magical Girls and four men in black suits had already stepped out of the car.

The former were the two Magical Girls whom Qi Xing had seen before, assigned as bodyguards for Rin.

The latter were, of course, the knights of the Lionheart Society.

Facing these terrifying and obscenely shaped mud monsters, the two Magical Girls just calmly raised their right hands, revealing the silver rune rings worn on their middle fingers.

"Magical Girl Siegrune."

"Magical Girl Ortlinde."

They announced their names in unison, and after a moment's pause, they recited the concluding phrase:

"Loyalty is our honor."

"Grant us victory!"

In an instant, astonishing magical power surged from them, like two sealed volcanoes suddenly erupting, and brilliant radiance exploded around the two Lionheart Society Valkyries!

The long sword in one girl's hand was coiled with lightning, the blade like the tooth of the Thunder God.

The other Magical Girl raised a knight's lance, her cape fluttering, and the aura of a single person was like a battlefield of sword and fire, incomparably murderous.

Without any extra nonsense, and without a hint of hesitation, they leaped out and charged directly into the monster horde!

The long sword tore through the night like lightning, thunder light crisscrossing, cutting through the gelatinous bodies like a hot knife through butter.