Heir to the Kingdom of 1.4 billion people

Chapter 171 The 1.4 Billion Blessing Exposed: A Weight That Even the Devil Must Kneel
Evening, in the courtyard behind the mountain.

As night fell, a huge bonfire below emitted a blazing and dazzling light.

Around the bonfire, a group of deformed people, arm in arm, sang, danced, and laughed loudly.

After joining the bonfire party with the magician, Xia Mingyu also followed the local custom and danced with the other members, his face always bearing a faint, gentle smile.

"Big brother Sage, hug me~"

Seemingly sensing that Xia Mingyu, like Anlia, felt no aversion towards them, Mia ran up to him and opened her arms.

Her Mickey Mouse-like face was filled with anticipation.

Xia Mingyu bent down and gently hugged the petite mouse girl.

This action seemed to trigger a chain reaction, and all the deformed children in the circus excitedly gathered around.

"Big brother Sage, I want a hug too~"

“Brother Sage, I will retract my tentacles when you hug me.”

Xia Mingyu naturally wouldn't refuse the requests of these adorable children. He bent down even lower and hugged them one by one.

"I'm so happy! This is the first time I've ever been hugged by someone outside the circus!"

"I'm so happy!"

"Big brother Sage, can I tell other people that you hugged me? That way, no one will laugh at me for not having a mom and dad."

After being hugged by Xia Mingyu, the children were so happy that they seemed to want to jump up and fly to the sky. They huddled around Xia Mingyu and were reluctant to leave for a long time.

The other adult members of the Monster Circus, such as the two-headed giant, the snake-scaled boy, and Helena, softened their gazes towards the black-haired youth after witnessing this scene.

"Lord Mingyu, I'm sorry I couldn't go to the library to take care of you today."

After the children left Xia Mingyu and started chasing each other again, Anlia came over and said apologetically.

“It is indeed excessive that you haven’t visited me for a single day. I have decided to punish you,” Xia Mingyu said calmly.

Upon hearing this, although Anlia's expression remained unchanged, many of the circus members who heard it cast worried glances at her, and some even tried to plead for the girl.

"As punishment, I'll make you dance with me."

Xia Mingyu's previously expressionless face suddenly broke into a smile. He bowed slightly and extended his hand to the girl like an elegant gentleman.

"Honored."

Anlia took his hand with a calm expression, a slight smile playing on her lips, her deep blue eyes filled with love for the person before her.

The two walked hand in hand into the center of the dance floor, illuminated by the campfire.

Tapping.

They began to dance to the rhythm of the music, their steps light and steady, as if walking on clouds.

The girl's skirt fluttered with her dance steps, her eyes always following the young man's figure. In the firelight, their figures intertwined, like a beautiful painting.

The bright moonlight shines on the dancing couple, and at this moment it seems as if the whole world has stopped.

The circus performers stopped what they were doing and stared in disbelief at the sight, for the two dancers were simply too beautiful!
clap clap.

When the dance ended, everyone couldn't help but applaud excitedly.

The black-haired youth and the blonde girl gazed intently at each other, and finally shared a deep kiss under the blazing campfire.

"Now!" Magician Rune put his hands behind his back and secretly snapped his fingers.

The next moment, the spark on Xia Mingyu's ring finger was pulled off by an invisible force and fell to the ground.

A line of deep purple text appeared above his head—Heir to the Kingdom of the People, 1409670292.

The magician and the circus performers: "???"

clap clap clap!
As a pile of glasses shattered on the floor, everyone's facial muscles twitched as if they were possessed.

Rune, who has always presented himself as elegant and is a devil from hell, rubbed his eyes in disbelief. He suspected that he was under an illusion, but could there really be an illusion in this world that could affect him?

Moreover, the fact that the Sage's blessing makes him the heir to the kingdom of 1.4 billion people proves the truth of that glorious future!
The big Toby on the left of the two-headed giant was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out, while the little Toby on the right was blankly counting the numbers on the blessing, and after counting, he innocently said, "Wow, big brother has 1.4 billion citizens!"

Mia the mouse girl collapsed to the ground, clutching her heart as if struck by lightning. Even the little white mice she had summoned, all wearing silver top hats, collapsed to the ground, clutching their hearts as well.

Hiss. The scales on the snake-scaled boy Siffer's body seemed to burst open and bulge. His vertical pupils suddenly contracted, and his forked tongue kept flicking in and out, so fast that it left afterimages in the air.

The only one who could barely maintain her composure was the six-armed dancer Helena. The woman stared blankly at the line of dark purple text, with only one thought in her mind—from now on, should I call little Anlia Queen?

When Xia Mingyu released his hands from the girl's face, he was surprised to find that he was surrounded by all the members of the Monster Circus.

Their gazes were incredibly complex, filled with shock, awe, curiosity, and fear.
Ultimately, all these emotions culminated in a single, unanimous action—these deformed members bent over and knelt on one knee before Xia Mingyu.

Even Rune, the magician who was the ringmaster of the circus, hesitated for a moment before taking off his hat, bowing deeply to him.

Although he was the strongest being at the top of the Radiant Moon rank, although he was powerful enough to easily kill his opponent, although he possessed an entire hell, and although he was a bishop of a true god, when faced with the weight of 1.4 billion people, even the devil would have to kneel before him.

"Your Highness, the top of your head..."

Xia Mingyu was still wondering why they were doing this when he saw the blonde girl opposite him point to the top of his head with a wry smile.

The black-haired youth looked down at his bare ring finger and the ruby ​​ring on the grass, and instantly understood everything.

He immediately picked up the spark from the ground and put it back on his finger, and only then did the awe-inspiring words gradually disappear.

Strange, the ring never fell off during the previous battles, so why did it fall off during the dance?
No, this isn't the time to think about that. The important thing is what to do next. What if word gets out and the King of Gluttony hears about it?
Thinking of this, Xia Mingyu's expression gradually turned bitter, and he said rather helplessly:

"Gentlemen, can you please keep my identity protection a secret?"

"I will obey Your Highness's orders!"

The circus members looked at each other, and finally said in unison.

"I swear to the great Creator." Immediately afterwards, even though Xia Mingyu did not ask them to, the members still began to swear an oath one by one, including the young deformed children.

Afterwards, the bonfire party continued.

Initially, out of awe, Xia Mingyu's surroundings seemed to be a vacuum, and no one dared to approach except for An Liya.

However, because he always had a bright smile on his face and waved to the children, some of the bolder children soon gathered around him again, carefully offering him their most treasured candies.

"Your Highness, with so many citizens in your kingdom, are there strange people like us among them?"

Mia, the mouse girl, hugged his leg and asked curiously.

"Yes." Xia Mingyu nodded.

"Then how will your kingdom treat those people?" Mia asked anxiously.

"They will be provided with more welfare benefits than normal people. For example, they will be given money and food every now and then, and if their defects can be improved through treatment, the kingdom will provide the necessary expenses for treatment free of charge."

Xia Mingyu recalled the memories in his mind and then answered.

Upon hearing this, the courtyard fell silent, and even the blazing bonfire seemed to be stilled by the bright moonlight in the sky.

The eyes of all the circus members who heard this lit up; they couldn't believe that such a paradise existed in the world!

You have to understand that before the leader found them, most of them, who were deformed, had suffered all kinds of scorn and harm from the world. It was already a blessing to find a place that did not discriminate against them, let alone the dream kingdom that treated them even better than normal people!
"Your Highness, will your kingdom accept us?" Mia immediately asked the question that everyone was most concerned about.

“Every kind and hardworking person will be accepted, including a lovely child like Mia.”

Xia Mingyu chuckled and patted the girl's head.

"Your Highness, where exactly is your kingdom?" Mia asked shyly, her face flushed.

"Um, a very, very far place."

"Where is that? How do I get there? Oh dear!"

Mia wanted to ask more questions, but she received a light tap on the forehead, which startled her so much that she cried out and her tail almost stood on end.

"Alright, how can you keep asking His Highness questions?" Helena said irritably, putting away her fist.

"His Highness treats you well because he is a good person, not because you are allowed to be so presumptuous!" Helena scolded.

"Yes, Your Highness," Mia said, looking aggrieved. Only after Xia Mingyu bent down and gave her another hug did she happily run off to show off to the other children.

“Your Highness, you seem to be a little too kind to her,” Helena said helplessly.

"After all, her path is much more difficult than others," Xia Mingyu said gently, watching the girl cheer and jump for joy.

Can you tell me about that child's past?

"Her parents were both nobles, and she was considered a disgrace to her family from birth. She was kept like a rat in a dark basement for more than ten years. In the end, it was the captain who rescued her, but because of this, her mental age has remained that of a child."

"Perhaps I should have been kinder to that child."

After a long silence, Xia Mingyu finally managed to utter these words. His expression was complicated, and there was a hint of heartache in his gaze as he looked at the girl.

He used to think he was pitiful, having no parents, but after coming into this world he realized that having parents doesn't necessarily make one happier than someone without them.

late at night.

After the bonfire party ended, the magician stood alone under the old oak tree, holding the trunk and lost in thought for a long time.

"Commander, you're the one who caused that prince's ring to fall off, aren't you?"

Helena walked over slowly and said softly.

"I knew I couldn't hide it from you." Rune turned around and looked at the blue-haired woman who had been with him for decades and whom he regarded as his daughter, and said with emotion.

"After all, your technique is far too rudimentary. Given the size of that ring on His Highness's finger, it would be impossible for it to fall off with just the intensity of the dance, let alone after the dance was over."

Hearing Helena's words, Rune couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

As a father, it's incredibly embarrassing to be caught performing magic tricks by your own daughter!

"Why would you do this? Although His Highness is of a gentle temperament and would not be annihilated even if he discovered the circus, he would still feel some resentment. Besides, His Highness had done you a favor first. How could you do such a rude thing!"

Helena questioned him, her stern tone causing the magician to unconsciously shrink back.

"Because there's something I absolutely need to confirm."

After hesitating for a moment, Rune slowly told the other party about the future that Cyril had glimpsed from Xia Mingyu.

The radiant monarch who brings salvation to all. Even the woman, who is usually calm and composed and who did not lose her composure after seeing the blessing of 1.4 billion, was still speechless with astonishment when she heard about such an unbelievable future.

"Commander, what are your plans after confirming this?"

After a long while, Helena, recovering from her shock, continued to ask, knowing that the other party must have already made up their mind.

"A king who can bring salvation to everyone will surely treat us outsiders with kindness, just like in his kingdom," the magician murmured to himself.

"I want to go and see that future." His expression was calm, but his heterochromatic purple-gold eyes radiated an unprecedented majesty that sent chills down one's spine.

"The assassins who previously tried to kill that prince and my sister Raa were all from the Faceless Ones' secret meeting of the Gluttonous King."

"Based on my understanding of that Gluttonous King, he is a man who will never let things go and acts decisively. It is very likely that next time he will send his most capable henchman."

"You mean..." Helena realized something, and her expression gradually became serious.

"Notify all members who are capable of fighting to rest and recuperate these few days," Rune said calmly.

"I'm going to the capital to have a proper talk with that Gluttonous King," the magician said coldly, as a torrent of purple-gold magic power, like a surging river, erupted from his body, and for a moment the flood of magic power even broke through the sky.

“Okay.” Helena nodded emphatically; she knew a major battle was inevitable.
However, it remains to be seen whether the "monster" they form together can rival the kingdom's highest military force—the molten gold fire capable of easily destroying a giant city-state.

(End of this chapter)