My stats are higher than yours!

The king sat on the highest throne, a symbol of royalty, and casually waved his hand, saying, "It's alright. When a hero dies, a new hero will be born. The new hero will deal with the demons for us. During this time, be careful not to be discovered like before."

"I will obey the king's command."

"Yes."

The ministers bowed their heads in response.

The previous generation's hero was Hecas, known as the Sword of Benevolence and Righteousness. He possessed unparalleled strength and once single-handedly routed the entire demon race, but ultimately died tragically in the battle against the demons.

His cause of death was being killed by demons, but it wasn't solely because of demons.

The core reason was that Hecas discovered that the kingdom's nobles were engaged in large-scale human trafficking and various illicit industries. He repeatedly advised the king against this and took action against the nobles' businesses.

Ultimately, the nobles all felt insecure.

So they sent someone to poison Hecas's food, and at the same time, they joined forces with the demons, causing him to be defeated in the battle against the demons and killed by several demon generals. Hecas died with his eyes wide open in anger.

...

the other side

Bai Shuodong is still cultivating.

After a month of being engulfed in flames, his fire resistance increased significantly, his understanding of fire deepened, and his overall strength improved considerably.

Inside the cave, sitting in the fire, he could no longer feel the pain. He frowned and muttered to himself, "No, there's too little fire element here. Continuing to cultivate like this will still lead to improvement, but the speed of improvement is too slow. I must find a more valuable path."

So he went to find a volcano.

Bai Shuodong stood at the crater, looking down at the bubbling lava, his eyes filled with joy and excitement. The concentration of fire element here was extremely high, and it was all-natural, so even chopping firewood could be saved.

This is amazing!

He laughed loudly, took off his clothes, tossed them aside, and then made an incredibly elegant diving motion, jumping directly into the crater.

"thump!"

[Warning: High intensity of fire element detected nearby, triggering short-term adaptation]

[Hint: Fire resistance increased]

"Hiss... Ah... Hiss..."

"This! This is awesome! This lava is so amazing! Ah! Holy crap! Ah..."

"What a powerful fire element!"

"It's so comfortable!"

...

Another month later

Bai Shuodong returned to the village with his clothes torn and worn, but his eyes were incredibly bright. After a month of soaking in lava, his understanding of fire element had improved further, and his elemental conversion efficiency had increased rapidly.

The old village chief sat quietly at the village entrance, and when he saw Bai Shuodong, he finally showed a relieved smile.

He began, "Child, where have you been this month? Did you run into trouble?"

"It's nothing, I went to comprehend the fire element, and I burned my clothes while I was doing so," Bai Shuodong replied with a grin.

"I see."

The old village chief nodded slightly and said, "Then use elemental transformation and let me see how much you've improved in the past two months."

"okay!"

Bai Shuodong stretched out his hand, and a blazing spiritual flame instantly ignited. The flame was extremely intense, the temperature was terrifying, and it also possessed a strong explosive power, making it clearly extraordinary.

"Hmm? What powerful flames! To comprehend this level in just two months? What a genius!"

The old village chief exclaimed in shock and emotion.

"Hey hey hey."

Bai Shuodong smiled. Actually, he wasn't that talented. It was just that he spent every day immersed in lava, so his speed of comprehending the fire element was naturally fast. This was much more exciting than watching flames burn from a distance.

“Joey, you are a true genius. Although the kingdom’s front is under pressure, I do not recommend that you go to the battlefield. If you fall now, your talent will not be able to be brought into play.”

The old village chief, with a serious expression, grasped his hand with utmost earnestness and continued, "Therefore, I suggest you continue learning magic from me until I believe you are ready to graduate. Until then, do not go to the front lines to die. This is my request."

"Of course!"

Bai Shuodong smiled and said, "Actually, my strength is still very weak right now. I need enough time to develop and master more powerful spells. When I have enough power, it will be the right time to save the kingdom."

"Oh right, I still have some questions about magic. Could you please answer them for me?"

"Good~"

Chapter 44 The Hero is Dead?!

On the Court

"bump!"

The king slammed his fist on the armrest, roaring furiously, "Two months have passed, where is the hero? Where is the new hero? Half of the territory Hecas conquered has been taken away! Do you know how great this loss is?"

The ministers looked at each other, heads bowed, and remained silent.

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"

"Do you know how much money I'm losing every day? Those useless bunch at the front can't hold off the demons at all, a bunch of good-for-nothings! If the demons keep fighting like this, they'll be driving into the capital in a few months!"

The king grew angrier with each word, his eyes fixed on one of them. He slammed his hand on the armrest and roared, "Leo, it was because of you that Hecas discovered those secrets, and it was you who plotted to kill Hecas! If he were still alive, would I have suffered such a great loss?"

"My lord, but if we don't get rid of him, our business will be..."

"Get rid of him, then you go to the front lines! You want to fight the demons? Do you even have the ability?"

"..."

The ministers lowered their heads and remained silent.

Many people cursed him in their hearts. When Hecas was designed, this old man did not object. He even felt that if a hero died, he died and a new hero could take his place.

And now?

With no new hero appearing in sight, the battle lines of the Kingdom of Heckler are becoming increasingly strained. He's getting anxious and is now trying to shift the blame, making it seem like he's completely blameless.

"Your Majesty, I must report Leo!"

"It was the minister wearing gold-rimmed glasses who spoke."

"Say!"

"Because Hecas discovered what he had done before, he sent people to control the Holy Mountain, preventing those with a strong sense of justice from successfully entering. The potential heroes might be among those people, but these guys are blocking them from the outside!"

"You still dare to do this? I'll beat you to death!"

The king instantly flew into a rage. He grabbed his scepter, stepped down from his throne, went to Leo's side, and, right in front of everyone, swung the scepter down at Leo.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

In an instant, wails and screams echoed throughout the palace.

...

the other side

Bai Shuodong is still cultivating.

“Joey, mastering the skills of psionic energy and elemental transformation is only the starting point of magic. If you want to truly become a powerful mage, you need to understand the internal structure of magic, that is, the true composition of magic.”

"But spell formation is extremely difficult and cannot be learned in a short time. Therefore, I hope you can learn the written knowledge while improving your elemental perception. This process may take a long time, but I hope you can have the patience."

The old village chief spoke first.

"it is good!"

Bai Shuodong nodded seriously.

"Ah."

The old village chief slowly twirled the walnuts, still thinking about how to stall this kid a little longer.

Bai Shuodong is very talented and a true genius, but having such talent is not a good thing in the capital. If he offends any nobleman, he might be crippled the next day.

There are many geniuses in the Kingdom of Heckler, but the human race is not strong. The core reason is that geniuses are often suppressed by nobles, and rising geniuses will be hostile to nobles, which makes the old nobles even more hateful of geniuses, and they will even actively kill geniuses.

Anyway, there are brave warriors in foreign wars, and the kingdom doesn't need so many high-end combat forces. If a genius dies, so be it.

'We can't let this kid go to the capital; it's too dangerous for him.'

The old village chief thought to himself.

Soon, he thought of a brilliant plan and looked at Bai Shuodong with a smile, saying, "Joey, although you are very talented in fire element, it may not be your best type. You can try to comprehend the elemental transformation of other attributes. A mage who masters multiple different elements is very powerful."

"really."

Bai Shuodong wholeheartedly agreed.

Later, he went to the seaside with the old village chief, dived into the deep sea to hone his water resistance, and at the same time further mastered knowledge related to magic.

.....

Two months later, Wang Tingshang.