Chapter 197 : A Tiny Joke Played by Fate

“Have you heard? The chosen hero is going to gather members today to crusade against the Demon King.”

“No way, the hero only appeared yesterday, and she’s already preparing to set off today?”

“Exactly, the candidates selected by the Saintess last night have basically all arrived, though I don’t know why the Saintess and the hero still haven’t…”

After just a single night, the news that the hero was about to gather her squad members to head into demon territory and crusade against the Demon King had spread to almost every corner of the cathedral.

Quite a few believers who hadn’t caught a glimpse of the hero yesterday had spontaneously gathered in the sanctuary, eager to admire the grace of this hero chosen by the Goddess.

The entire sanctuary was practically packed to the brim, and before the hero, who was the star of the show, arrived, the sound of chatter and debate inside the sanctuary was endless.

“Should we expect anything less from a hero chosen by the Goddess, possessing a blessing personally bestowed by her, to be this resolute?”

“May the Lord Hero annihilate the Demon King in one fell swoop this time and save the world.”

The prolonged pressure exerted by the demons at the border had already cast quite a psychological shadow over the people of Starlight City.

No one knew exactly how much longer the border defense could hold back the steps of the Demon King’s army.

Once the border fell, the Demon King’s army would march straight in, penetrating deep into the heartland of Starlight City.

When that time came, not a single one of them would be able to escape; they would all be torn to shreds by the invading demons.

Once the revived Demon King personally set foot on the battlefield, the border defense line would likely collapse in an instant, and what awaited them would be a bloody slaughter.

The arrival of the hero now was undoubtedly a reassuring pill for the believers present, like a glimmer of dawn appearing in the darkness, making everyone certain that the darkness would eventually pass and dawn was just around the corner.

The ancient prophecy declared that the hero chosen by the Goddess would ultimately defeat the Demon King and save the world.

Now, not only had the hero appeared, but she was also preparing to organize an incursion deep into demon territory and lead a squad to defeat the Demon King.

Could there be any news more exhilarating than this?

However, among the crowd of fanatical believers, there were also some completely contrasting voices.

“Can this hero really defeat the Demon King? She looks like she’s just going to her death.”

“Another hero? There were others before who claimed to be chosen by the Goddess, only to disappear completely once they pocketed the money.”

However, their voices didn’t cause much of a ripple in the fanatical crowd, quickly drowning within the sea of people, and no similar skeptical voices were heard again.

As time slipped by, the crowd gradually grew restless.

The usually punctual Saintess had still failed to appear.

An uneasy emotion gradually welled up in the hearts of the people.

With neither the hero nor the Saintess showing up, could some sort of accident have occurred?

Suddenly, a sharp gasp sliced through the noisy chatter.

“Her Holiness the Saintess has come down!”

Hearing those gasps, although the crowd of believers didn’t know if it was true, they still stepped back to both sides, clearing a path leading to the high platform of the sanctuary.

In the presence of countless fanatical gazes, the Saintess, dressed in her pure white holy robes, walked gracefully forward.

Behind her followed Milly, clad in a black dress.

After all, the number of believers who had seen the hero yesterday was limited, and those who hadn’t could only rely on their companions’ descriptions.

The moment the whisper of “that’s the hero” spread through the crowd, everyone’s attention shifted from Stacy to Milly.

Feeling those fanatical gazes cast upon her, Milly’s expression remained unchanged, and her eyes bore not a single ripple of emotion.

She was entirely unaffected by the looks of these believers.

After all, the space in the sanctuary was limited, and the number of believers it could accommodate was also restricted.

Compared to the scene back when she was escorted to the execution stand, this could only be considered a minor occasion.

As Milly walked past those believers, some of the citizens’ voices drifted into her ears.

“Look, that’s the Lord Hero! I saw her yesterday!”

“So this is the chosen hero… She’s so small. I actually thought it would be a robust man.”

“Rather than a hero, she looks more like a scapegoat pushed forward to die.”

A few questioning voices gradually multiplied within the crowd, even showing a faint tendency to drown out the initial praise.

Compared to the image of what a hero should look like in people’s minds, the current Milly indeed didn’t show a single trace of a hero’s presence.

Anyone would mistake her for a young lady from some noble household.

If it weren’t for the believers witnessing the entire process of the hero’s descent yesterday, everyone present would probably have assumed she was merely the Saintess’s attendant.

After all, her companion’s back was far too dazzling.

From the moment she was chosen as the Saintess, she had become an irreplaceable existence in the hearts of the people.

Meanwhile, she herself had only because of a coincidence fallen from the sky, landing right in front of Stacy, and obtaining the identity of the hero by a freak twist of fate.

To leave this place, Milly had no choice but to accept this identity and fulfill the mission corresponding to it.

Ignoring the gazes cast upon her, what she cared about right now was what kind of suitable candidates Stacy had actually picked out for her.

For Milly, she didn’t need a large number of people; she only needed a few elites who could help her clear out mob enemies.

Including her and Stacy, about four or five people would be perfect, and any more than that would be entirely unnecessary.

Lost in thought about what kind of composition the squad should have, Milly completely ignored Stacy’s speech.

By the time she snapped out of it, Stacy had already finished her opening remarks, and more than a dozen figures stood in the cleared space below.

The chosen individuals would follow the hero to crusade against the Demon King.

Although they knew that this would likely be a journey of no return, as long as they could defeat the Demon King and save this world, their sacrifices would be well worth it.

When the nuns commissioned by the Saintess found them last night, not a single person had chosen to refuse this opportunity.

It was just that most of the candidates today hadn’t expected the chosen hero to look like such a young girl.

Compared to crusading against the Demon King, they even felt that the lowest-tier demon could easily tear this fragile-looking girl into shreds.

Was she truly the chosen hero?

The same doubt simultaneously popped into the hearts of all the candidates.

Rather than a hero, she looked more like a fake pushed forward, and a fake chosen because the Church had gone blind.

However, for the sake of the Saintess, they couldn’t voice their doubts right now.

Once they entered the hero’s squad, there would naturally be opportunities to spar with the hero.

If she refused then, it would only prove she was an imposter.

“I found some suitable candidates last night. Mil… No, Lord Hero, let me introduce them to you.”

As her voice fell, the sound of Stacy introducing their details echoed in her ears.

However, for Milly, who had already activated her Appraisal skill, there was absolutely no need to listen to Stacy’s introductions.

What could be more convenient than directly checking their detailed information herself?

As her gaze swept over the crowd below and landed on several familiar faces, Milly’s lips twitched slightly, and she almost burst out laughing.

Did this… count as fate playing a tiny, bizarre joke on her?

Never mind Candice, who stood at the very front and looked exactly like Tifna—practically a recycled model—Milly was actually quite surprised to see Candice among the candidates.

But as for those other familiar faces behind her—could someone please tell her what on earth was going on?

One glance, and weren’t they literally the exact same familiar faces from Tifna’s squad?

The models were practically identical.

Did the system think the time she spent with them last time was too short, and thus planned to let her interact with them again under a different identity?

Or was the incident of her identity being exposed bound to play out in front of everyone all over again?

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