The Lord Demon King is Unfathomable!

Chapter 1182 - 353: "Green Teeth" Hecajelin (Part 3)

"Hecajelin," she introduced herself with a smile, her voice as light as a ghost's, "or you can call me 'Green Teeth.'

"We're here to find the child from Pompeii Village!" Barrett roared angrily, gripping his warhammer even tighter.

"A child?" Hecajelin laughed softly and said nonchalantly, "You all look like children to me… Who are you really here to find? Yourselves?"

"You underestimate us," Leo sneered coldly, feigning bravado, "standing before you are not ordinary adventurers, but the mages of the future. You'd better—"

"I see… You're heading to the Academic State for the exams?"

Hecajelin looked at Leo with interest, then at the group beside him. The smile on her face suddenly grew brighter, as if she had found a treasure.

Before Finic and the others could react to what was happening, she let out a fit of "keke" laughter, a manic sound full of mockery and madness.

"Another group of little sparrows heading for the exams at the Academic State… So cute, reminds me of my own younger days, ah… such nostalgia."

Her voice turned low and hoarse without warning, as if another person was speaking through her, filled with deep-seated resentment.

"Let me guess, how many geniuses are among you? One? Two? Or are all six of you? Kekeke… I was the same, only far greater than you, after all you've yet to enter, while I have already come out from there."

Seeing the boys' eyes widen in shock, she recounted her experiences in a tone that was both boastful and accusatory.

"Hecajelin, once a genius, pride and hope of Mint Village! I entered the Academic State full of dreams, believing it to be a holy temple of knowledge, thinking I could achieve anything with hard work!"

Her voice rose again, suddenly becoming sharp and frenzied.

"But I was wrong! So terribly wrong! What they valued was not one's effort, but the 'soul'! That cursed, predetermined soul! To them, we commoner geniuses are merely materials! They drained my value, exhausted my talent, then — when I had spent my youth, my very life — they discarded me like trash without mercy!"

Her voice was filled with venom, and in her clouded eyes burned not just her hatred but also a rage that belonged to others.

"They say knowledge is power? Laughable! Hypocritical! Birth is what truly matters! To surpass the shackles of the soul? The Void Realm? Those resources aren't yours! You're just stepping stones for them to change their fate! Fuel for their fire!"

"If they won't give me power, I'll take it myself!"

"Where is the child?" Luo Yan, uninterested in her nonsense, who had remained silent throughout, simply said.

Hecajelin paused slightly, then smiled neurotically and casually raised her hand to point to a dark cave behind her.

"Oh, that little thing?" she said in a tone like she was discussing an object, "He's alive. His soul is very pure, perfect 'material' for my ascension ritual, perhaps with fewer side effects."

These words were like the coldest wind, shattering the last shred of hope for negotiation in Finic and the others —

She's totally insane!

Finic swallowed hard and glanced secretly at Colin, hoping the latter could once again unleash the ring's power.

He was certain by now that this distinguished gentleman must be a noble out for experience, possibly even the "Prince Crankel" the Mill Master spoke of.

However, Mr. Colin simply stood there calmly, his gaze indifferent, as if the tense scene before him was unrelated to him.

After all, they had only just met, with no tacit understanding between them.

Finic gritted his teeth, refusing to give up, then subtly signaled to Leo behind him, mouthing two words silently —

'Act now.'

Leo understood.

As the team's most composed hunter, he recognized that their strength was no match for this undead mage.

Their only chance for victory was to launch a surprise, deadly attack while she was still pompously gloating!

He pretended to give up the struggle, hopelessly lowering his longbow.

Yet, the second he lowered his longbow, his right hand was lightning-fast, drawing a short flintlock gun from his waist!

"Bang—!"

The deafening gunshot shattered the forest's silence, the bullet wrapped in fire and smoke, flying straight towards Hecajelin's head on the rock.

However, the bullet, which should have blossomed into a spray of blood, hit an invisible barrier inches from Hecajelin's forehead!

With a crisp "ting," the outline of a dark green translucent shield appeared, ripples of energy spreading like waves.

And the warped bullet fell powerlessly into the snow, along with which fell the adventurers' hearts into the abyss.

"Keke…"

Hecajelin suddenly let out a delighted laugh, like a wildcat toying with its prey.

"Too weak, tsk tsk…" she clicked her tongue gently, her eyes full of mockery, speaking slowly, "Has the Academic State really fallen so low that this kind of rabble can apply? This must be… truly a disappointment for your predecessors."