God-level Hero

Midnight had passed, and Da Fei, full of Spirit, was inspecting the progress of all the construction projects in the Central Village. Actually, you couldn’t really call it "inspecting"—Da Fei just had to sit quietly to the side and watch, and that alone was a huge pleasure.

At this moment, the Evil Demons were still shuttling back and forth with barrels, transporting the Blood Pool; the buzzing of the swarming insects going to and fro filled the entire Central Village. Then the disturbance on the surface of the central lake subsided, and Tamilia immediately ordered a batch of Evil Demons to carry out more Obsidian from the cargo hold and throw it in. The lake started boiling again, and amid curling black smoke, the thirty Evil Demon Camps in the middle of the lake once more shone with a red glow. A new batch of Evil Demons was about to appear.

Seeing this, Da Fei suddenly remembered he seemed to have forgotten something: using the Lamp God Space for delivery. That was an operation only he and Sain knew how to do; Vice Heroes couldn’t do it in his place. But right now, the Central Village was in the middle of a grand development and urgently needed energy, so Da Fei didn’t plan to ship anything out—he’d keep it all for himself.

Amid the sound of the boiling water, the ring of black mud around the lakeshore expanded outward a little bit again, and new arable land appeared! Then of course Elena made another circuit around the lake, sowing seeds on the newly formed farmland, and not long after she turned away, clusters of little mushrooms broke through the soil behind her one after another.

Faced with such a prosperous scene, Da Fei was grinning so hard his jaw wouldn’t close.

Just then, Selvia hurried over. Hopefully it was good news; Da Fei craned his neck in anticipation.

Selvia stepped forward and said, "Captain, intelligence from Deirdre. She’s learned that in the tavern of Fire Cave City there is an enemy hero Azazel Cromwell who was defeated by our army. There’s a very high chance Cromwell will be suspended. She and her newly recruited follower Glaure are trying to recruit him under her banner."

Da Fei was so shocked he immediately held his jaw: "No way? Another Chief Hero getting kicked out of class?"

Selvia continued, "Next is Lamia’s intel. With the help of the Warriors, Lamia’s village has progressed at high speed. The city walls and Arrow Towers have already been completed, and they’re fully confident they can rely on the advantageous terrain to repel the Attacks of regular troops. The next step is to go all out building facilities like warehouses and docks. Once the warehouse is finished, Captain can head over to pick up the goods."

Da Fei couldn’t help but chuckle. The Japan Team was really doing their part; he’d better make good use of this sucker footing the bill! Da Fei said with satisfaction, "Very good. Things are hectic on our side and we can’t get away, so tell Lamia not to rush arranging goods for us yet—continue developing the village first, that’s the priority. The rest of the supplies can wait, but they still need to make time to purchase and stockpile alcohol. That part can’t stop."

Selvia took out the "notebook tablet" again and busied herself replying, then asked, "Then what instructions does Captain have for Deirdre?"

Da Fei frowned: "Since this Cromwell is a Chief Hero, he’s definitely harder to recruit than that Hellhound Master. You think she can pull it off?"

Selvia shook her head: "Even with that Hellhound Master, Deirdre can’t really be said to have recruited him—she just maintains a follower relationship at best. If it’s this Chief Hero, I’m afraid she might not even be able to establish a follower relationship."

Da Fei nodded. "Then let’s do it this way: have her stabilize him first. Drinking with him and building up friendliness is the most important. If she needs anything, tell her to ask without holding back."

Selvia nodded. "Understood. Any other orders, Captain?"

Orders? Da Fei thought for a moment. "This is a critical period. Have Lamia and Deirdre strengthen their cooperation." That’s right, unity was key; no catfights. Especially now that Deirdre was no longer his Vice Hero, and Lamia’s loyalty was also hard to gauge.

"Understood."

Watching Selvia’s busy figure as she replied, Da Fei fell into deep thought again. This Chief Hero’s strength was anything but ordinary—if he hadn’t stepped in shit and fallen into that trap, Da Fei really wouldn’t have been able to do anything to him. No, just the fact that he knew to Attack the balloons was already a fatal threat. Even though Da Fei could rely on the Holy Vine’s Dark Energy to crush his schemes, if he were to be recruited by Japanese players, they’d harass him with guerrilla tactics nonstop, constantly draining the Holy Vine’s energy. The consequences then would be unimaginable.

In short, there’s no way I can let Japanese players recruit him. So the best solution is to have Deirdre recruit him first. How to recruit? Obviously, gather intel and cater to his tastes!

Da Fei immediately thought of Prince Hillsea. He should know plenty about the hobbies of Chief Heroes, right? All right, go ask him.

So Da Fei left the ship, followed the passage where Evil Demon Beetles were shuttling back and forth, and found Hillsea, who was overseeing the demolition of the barracks.

When he saw Da Fei appear, Hillsea hurried forward to salute. "Master, I am currently putting my full effort into overseeing the demolition. Please review my work!"

Bro isn’t here for an inspection, and even if I did inspect, I wouldn’t know what I’m looking at. Still, with this humble, deferential attitude, I’m liking him more and more. This must be the mindset of a Royal Family bastard child.

Da Fei smiled and said, "Not bad, you’ve worked hard. I have high hopes for you."

Hillsea said joyfully, "Thank you for your praise, Master. I will work even harder."

Heh, bumping into a superior coming to "inspect" while you’re working hard—any employee would feel the leadership’s care. Loyalty +1! Wahahahaha!

Da Fei got down to business. "Right, I heard that the Chief Hero of Fire Cave City, Cromwell, might get suspended. How much do you know about him? For example, his hobbies and such."

Hillsea couldn’t help but chuckle. "Suspended? Serves him right. If it were someone else, they might’ve been thrown straight into prison instead, wahahahaha!"

Damn it! Can you not make it so obvious?

Hillsea continued, "Cromwell’s hobbies aren’t much different from ordinary Demons; nothing special there. May I ask if Master is trying to get information on him in order to win him over?"

Da Fei’s eyebrows twitched: "Yeah. Talking to smart people is so much less tiring!"

Hillsea hurriedly said, "Master flatters me. It’s impossible to win Cromwell over with hobbies and friendship. As the offspring of a High-level Demon Family, Cromwell looks down on everything and acknowledges only himself. Trying to recruit him by proving you’re stronger than him is also impossible. He’s extremely jealous and will just hate those stronger than him even more. The only possible method is a bet—force him to yield through gambling!"

Damn it, what kind of setup is this? Da Fei laughed bitterly: "Would a Demon with such a rotten character really honor a bet so nobly? Shouldn’t we sign a contract with him instead?"

Hillsea shook his head repeatedly: "A contract is absolutely impossible, of course. Master, Cromwell once bragged that he was invincible in the 8 Underground Cities, that nothing in the sky or on the ground was a match for him. Then a Demon King offered a huge bounty for him to kill the Swamp Prison Demon Dragon and obtain the Divine Artifact Heart of Dark Swamp. But Cromwell failed, because the Swamp Prison Demon Dragon can not only fly, it can also dive. That is his greatest psychological knot—"

Swamp Prison Demon Dragon? Da Fei suddenly remembered that on Lea’s map there really was such a wild monster gathering ground in the distance!

Hillsea continued, "Master can bet with him: if Master can obtain the Divine Artifact Heart of Dark Swamp, you can use it to make a deal with him. He won’t be able to refuse!"

Da Fei asked in shock, "How good is this Divine Artifact? How strong is this Swamp Prison Demon Dragon? Just by trading him the Heart of Dark Swamp, he’ll wholeheartedly follow my army and never betray us?"

Hillsea shook his head: "At most, this Divine Artifact can only be used to hire him for a period of time. Strictly speaking, the Swamp Prison Demon Dragon isn’t a pure-blood Dragon; it’s a hybrid species born from a Black Dragon mating with a Water Monster. Yet this very hybrid somehow possesses a Divine level; the Heart of Magic Swamp is its Divine level. Its use is unknown, which is why a Demon King wants to obtain it for research."

Damn! The wild monsters on the map really are all Divine Beasts. Da Fei said irritably, "I challenge a God-level monster just to use its Divine level to hire him for a bit? I can’t even get a follower relationship out of this?"

Hillsea nodded: "Cromwell is not someone who submits under others to begin with, so personally I don’t recommend Master spend too much effort recruiting him. In my opinion, for Master, Cromwell is no longer important. What’s important is that that Swamp Prison contains a massive amount of Dark Energy, which is exactly what Master needs right now. And I believe only a master as advanced and high-end as you can defeat that monster!"

Da Fei suddenly came to: "You mean, the environment of that Swamp Prison is similar to here?"

Hillsea shook his head: "A hundred times worse than here. The moment you enter the Swamp Prison region, the entire army will be poisoned. Even Undead Creatures will have their bones corroded. As for the deepest part of the Swamp Prison, I have no way of knowing."

Da Fei confirmed again: "Is this Demon Dragon still considered a Water Monster?"

Hillsea nodded: "But Master is the Sea Monster Slayer!"

Da Fei burst out laughing, his heroic spirit surging: "Good, I just happen to be short one Water Monster soul! I’m definitely going there! Right, what else do you know about this Demon Dragon?"

Hillsea shook his head: "Master, what I know, I’ve just said already."

Damn it! You don’t even know the detailed info on this Demon Dragon and you still dare egg me on. You sure you’re not screwing me over?

Da Fei had no choice but to dig for surrounding intel: "Right, you just said a hybrid actually has a Divine level. You mean, under normal circumstances, hybrids can’t have a Divine level?"

Hillsea couldn’t help being stunned for a moment, then slowly spoke: "According to Demon Bloodline Supremacy Theory, only pure-blood species have the qualification to become gods; hybrids do not. So the existence of this Demon Dragon makes some Demon Kings very interested."

Da Fei’s eyebrows jumped. His reaction just now was a little off, wasn’t it? Crap, did my question about hybrids poke at this half-blood’s sore spot? Fine, my bad!

Da Fei could only encourage him: "Good, the information you provided is very important. Keep it up!"

Hillsea hurriedly bowed: "I also hope I can recover as soon as possible and truly share Master’s burdens!"

Da Fei returned to the ship and checked the map again. The Swamp Prison Demon Dragon’s location was extremely far away—almost half a world away—with two wild monster zones and three Mushroom Tree forests in between.

At this, Da Fei started to struggle with the choice: should he directly teleport to the Demon Dragon Nest, or stick to the original plan and clear the way step by step? It always feels like there isn’t enough time. Of course, the key thing is that his own rhythm and deployment have been disrupted, and that feels extremely awkward. Is a white‑eyed‑wolf hero who can’t be domesticated worth messing up my rhythm for?

Anyway, finish what’s at hand first and stop overthinking it. When you can’t decide, just watch the situation and respond to all changes with no change. Maybe some elite Japan players can help me make progress? (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)