My mom is waiting for treatment, and you're summoning me to be a hero?

The sudden scene startled Lin Mo. Why would someone beg to be killed?

However, the man was quickly dragged away by two guards who were holding his arms.

He kept shouting, "Your Majesty, kill me!"

The sound trailed from the center of the square all the way to the street corner, and only gradually faded into inaudibility as it turned into a small alley.

The people in the square watched him being dragged away, their expressions a mix of emotions.

Some shook their heads and sighed, some whispered among themselves, and a few young people craned their necks to look in Lin Mo's direction, their eyes gleaming with eager anticipation.

Lin Mo jumped off Mianmian's back and walked to the clone.

"What's going on?"

The two Lin Mos stood facing each other, one with a furrowed brow and the other with a wry smile.

The clone's face was exactly the same as the original, but the bitter smile was an expression that Lin Mo never showed.

The main body at most twitched the corner of its mouth, but the clone laughed as if it had been forced to bite into a whole sour lemon.

"Those 50,000 civilians you killed in the arena."

The clone spoke, its tone full of helplessness.

"After you left, I made a decision. I felt that they had little fighting power and posed no threat, so I restored their freedom and let them move freely within the Empire as ghosts."

"and then?"

"Then……"

The clone rubbed its temples.

"I don't know who spread the rumor first, but it was said that the souls of those killed by His Majesty in the arena would not dissipate, but would live on forever as ghosts. This rumor spread from one to ten, from ten to a hundred, and became more and more outrageous. It went from 'the souls would not dissipate' to 'those killed by His Majesty could live forever,' and then from 'living forever' to 'returning to the Lin Emperor is the highest honor.'"

"So that person from earlier..."

"They have come seeking eternal life."

The clone sighed and pointed to the few ghosts in the front row of the crowd at the edge of the square.

The ghost of an old miner was tucked under his arm with his miner's helmet and lamp, pointing at his chest with rough, transparent fingers and gesturing something.

A ghostly young woman holding a ghostly baby was standing on tiptoe, looking this way.

There was no pain or resentment on their faces, only an expectation that made Lin Mo feel uneasy.

"There are quite a few people like this in the capital. Every day, several of them run to the palace gate, kneel down, and shout that His Majesty should kill them with his own hands. You can't stop them."

Before Lin Mo could speak, Yin Xue was already laughing so hard his wings were shaking.

She flew from Lin Mo's shoulder to his clone, circled him once, then flew back, crossed her arms, crossed her legs, and wore a standard gloating expression on her face.

"Those demigods cultivate for decades and endure until death before they have a chance to be guided by the divine realm to achieve that so-called 'eternal life.' Your commoners just kneel at the palace gate and that's it. It's the best value for money."

The clone nodded, clearly agreeing with Yin Xue's words.

"It's not just ordinary people. Several experts above level 90 have also come to the capital to seek refuge, saying that they have reached a bottleneck in their cultivation and that they will only live for a few more decades. They suggested that His Majesty kill them and give them a chance to live forever, so they can check in at the palace gate every few days."

Lin Mo's lips twitched slightly.

He has killed demon kings, demigods, dragons, and angels.

But I never imagined that one day the crime of "killing without blinking an eye" would become a strange advantage.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and asked a question.

"So you killed them?"

"without."

The clone shook its head.

"The empire is short-handed everywhere right now. The army is short of officers, the workshops are short of craftsmen, and the patrols are short of sentries who can sense magic. Those powerful individuals who are seeking death have just run into the line of fire. I sent them to various departments and told them, 'Want to be killed by His Majesty's own hands? Sure, but you'll have to exchange it for military merits.' Now these people are working harder than animals."

Lin Mo's expression became even more complicated.

He stared at the clone's face, which was exactly like his own, and at the gentle smile on that face, and remained silent for a long time.

"I feel like... something's not right."

Yin Xue reached out and patted his shoulder, flapping his wings lightly.

"Throughout history, very few demon kings have been able to make their demon generals willingly die, and almost none have made ordinary people line up to be killed by you. Don't be so ungrateful for what you've gained. Be content."

At that moment, a burly figure squeezed through from behind Hunter Axe.

Laihu, dressed in an imperial military uniform, approached Lin Mo.

He snapped to attention and gave a military salute, his movements so precise it was as if he'd practiced it hundreds of times, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Your Majesty! Your previous order to lead troops to establish a border between the Merfolk Empire and the Human Empire has been fulfilled! From the southern border of the Empire to the new territory of the Merfolk, the wilderness monsters along the way have been cleared away, eight official roads have been built, and sixteen post stations have been set up. The Siren chieftain of the Merfolk even had a boundary marker erected at the border between the two countries, with your name engraved on it."

He paused, his tiger-like eyes gleaming with undisguised anticipation, like a child waiting for praise after finishing their homework.

"This humble general would like to ask, if I may be so bold as to ask... who will we fight next?"

Lin Mo glanced at him.

Laihu's anticipation was practically written all over his face; it seemed this guy was a war fanatic too.

Lin Mo chuckled.

Then he turned around and faced the dense crowd in the square.

The black robe with gold trim shimmered slightly in the sunlight, and the sword and wheat emblem on his chest swayed gently in the wind.

The sunlight cast his shadow long, stretching from the steps all the way to the edge of the fountain.

As the crowd in the square saw him turn around, their chatter gradually quieted down.

"I've decided..."

His voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the square could hear it clearly.

"We will soon attack the Holy Kingdom of the Tower to avenge the children who were experimented on."

The square fell silent for a moment.

Then it exploded.

"I knew it! Our Emperor must have come back for this!"

A dwarf wearing a leather apron held a hammer above his head, the hammerhead still sparkling.

"Those bastards in the church have been deceiving us for years! Holy light, salvation, ascension... it's all a fucking lie! They should pay the price!"

"Make the church pay the price! Make God pay the price!"

A ghostly veteran stood at the front of the crowd, his ghostly uniform still bearing the marks of the battle he had died in.

He didn't shout any slogans; he simply lowered his right hand from his forehead and slowly clenched his fist in Lin Mo's direction.

The crimes committed by the church exposed in Shenglin Village have spread to almost every corner of the mainland.

Those images made this veteran, who had died once before, regret for the first time that he had died too young.

Now he stood on the streets of the empire, giving a silent military salute to His Majesty the Emperor with his soul-form fist.

Lin Mo looked at the excited crowd and remained silent for a moment.

Then he turned around, nodded to his clone, waved to Hunter Axe and Laihu, and strode towards the palace.

Yin Xuefei flew to his shoulder, and Mianmian shrank back to the size of a palm and lay on his shoulder.

The others followed suit.

Everyone knows that this seemingly vast human empire stands on the foundation of Lin Mo alone.