Why must the devil be Defeated?
Chapter 428: The Challenge in the Spotlight of 42.1 Million People

Chapter 428: The Challenge in the Spotlight of 42.1 Million People

"The First Prince of the Ragna Empire is about to challenge the First Priority Candidate of the suitor selection."

Such news spread rapidly, invigorating everyone in the Royal Capital and, as if by an unspoken agreement, they all hurried toward the direction of the Royal Palace.

Including those from other countries who had originally wanted to challenge Shane to elevate their own reputation, upon learning of this news, they immediately rushed to the Royal Palace without a second thought.

"Someone has finally succeeded in challenging Shane Beizut."

"This is a good opportunity."

"Hurry over."

These nobles would not let such a perfect chance slip by.

For this was an ideal opportunity to observe the strength of this so-called First Priority Candidate.

Many were eager to see the abilities of the First Priority Candidate, valued by the Kingdom Treasure, and to assess whether they themselves had the capacity to challenge and unseat them.

Thus, whether it was the young scions of noble families or the heads of these noble families, even including the common folk, everyone flocked toward the Royal Palace, crowding the bridge leading to Lake Heart Island, where the palace was situated.

Originally, the bridge to Lake Heart Island was only open at noon, normally only accessible to nobles, with commoners completely barred from entry.

However, due to the suitor selection, the bridge would be unrestrictedly open during the daytime, only to be closed again at night, allowing many commoners to witness the display and competition of dignitaries from around the world gathered for the suitor selection, which was organized on the performance stage.

It could be said that, at this moment, the liveliest place in the Royal Capital was undoubtedly the huge performance stage in front of the Royal Palace.

Now was no different, as a constant stream of people gathered and watched in an orderly fashion under the guidance of the Knight Order, as festive as a grand celebration.

Naturally, the news reached everyone in the Royal Palace as well.

"He accepted the challenge?"

Liya was a bit stunned, but quickly took Shanai without hesitation and left the sleeping quarters to head toward the performance stage.

"The First Prince of the Ragna Empire? That Harvis?"

Anxi, too, received the news, raised an eyebrow, then also led Aridia out of the sleeping chambers.

As for Luoqi, who had been idly waiting for Shane, her first reaction was silence following the news brought by the Holy Sword Knights. Soon after, she muttered,

"Isn’t living a good thing?"

Leaving that bewildering comment behind for the Female Knight who came to report, Luoqi got up and rushed to the performance stage.

"Ha~~~"

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Shane, with everyone’s gaze upon him, arrived at one side of the performance stage, yet could not help but let out a huge yawn.

Witnessing this scene, many of the young nobles watched with a cold eye.

"So that’s Shane Beizut?"

"He doesn’t seem all that impressive."

"I really don’t know what the Princess sees in him."

"Perhaps she’s interested in the power behind him."

"After all, he is a noble with a likely connection to the Demon people of the Demon Clan, who has also tamed a real dragon and possesses a high-level ’Tame’ skill."

These young nobles whispered among themselves, their words deliberately laced with scorn and contempt, as if to suppress their own unease about Shane through the act of belittling him.

Obviously, talking about wanting to challenge Shane to prove themselves did not mean these young nobles were not wary of him.

After all, Shane’s ennoblement banquet was still hot gossip in noble circles, informing everyone that this Viscount was not only valued by the Royal Family and the Great Nobles of the Kingdom but had also had dealings with the Demon people.

In addition to the feat of taming a dragon and annihilating the Slaughterer Faction, Shane had already become someone many were unwilling to offend in noble society.

Now, the reason there were so many willing to challenge him was more out of necessity than desire.

They couldn’t just give up, could they?

This was their only chance to secure the Kingdom Treasure!

In other words, most of these young nobles were just reluctant to concede and forced themselves to step forward, gritting their teeth and taking up the challenge with Shane.

It’s the same logic—everyone has a bit of wishful thinking.

What if Shane’s own strength isn’t all that strong?

What if one of us actually wins?

What if the Princess suddenly takes a fancy to one of us for putting in a spirited performance?

Especially since many believe that Shane’s capability to subdue the Slaughterer Faction is due to his Unique Skill, which allows for level and skill progression if certain conditions are met, those thoughts start to wander restlessly.

What if Shane is unable to meet the conditions required to activate his Unique Skill?

What if Shane underperforms?

What if he has any weaknesses?

Each ’what if’ is rooted in hope against hope.

That’s why they are here now, all for that sliver of hope in their hearts.

They wanted to see if Viscount Beizut, who was rumored to be formidable, was really that powerful and whether they could challenge him themselves.

Just in case...

One by one, the young Nobles continued to entertain such thoughts.

In this situation, the fact that Prince Harvis of the Ragna Empire was willing to step forward to challenge Shane was undoubtedly great news to them.

As a result, princes and princes from other countries, unbeknownst to others, appeared in various corners, looking over here.

"Do you think Harvis can win?"

"I think the odds are in his favor."

"So what if that Viscount, with his Adventurer background, has the strength to subdue the Slaughterer Faction?"

"After all, the Ragnar Royal Family, just like the Mitra Royal Family, descends from Heroes. Although Harvis hasn’t inherited the Empire’s imitation Holy Sword, and his talents are not as great as those of his missing sister, he’s already twenty-four years old. On the basis of Level alone, he shouldn’t be inferior to his seventeen-year-old Valkyrie sister."

"I remember, at last year’s Empire Hunting Contest, his Level was already at seventy-five, wasn’t it?"

"No, it’s said that his Level had already reached Seventy-seven at that time."

"He was only twenty-three at the time, right?"

"He truly lives up to being a direct Descendant of the Brave."

"Yeah, he’s certainly lacking compared to the Kingdom Treasure and the Empire’s Valkyrie, but he’s still much stronger than some Noble of unknown Adventurer origin, right?"

"Let’s watch and see. Let Harvis test the Viscount’s true strength."

"That’s right."

The princes and princes began to discuss with one another, expressing their interest in the duel.

Meanwhile, on Harvis’s side, he had not removed his formal attire yet wore a very conspicuous Wide-blade Greatsword that made quite a statement.

William was there beside him, egging him on.

"Teach him a lesson, Your Highness," William clamored as if he couldn’t wait to step into the arena himself: "Let him know that there are some people in this world he just can’t compare with, that compared to a legitimate Descendant of the Brave like yourself, his own strength is not worth mentioning."

William seemed very supportive of Harvis.

However, Harvis just glanced at William.

"You don’t have to egg me on here," Harvis said with a smirk: "I know you want me to overshadow the Viscount so that you can use the influence of the Leferut Family to press him into handing over the prodigy your family has set their sights on, right?"

The smile on William’s face froze momentarily, but he quickly recovered.

"You can’t hide anything from you, Your Highness," William said, shrugging nonchalantly: "Those old fogeys in the Empire keep saying His Highness Harvis can’t measure up to Lady Cappelen, but in my opinion, just in terms of brains and psychological quality, His Highness Harvis is much stronger than Lady Cappelen, who has her mind set solely on defeating the Kingdom Treasure."

This was the truth.

In fact, unlike Luoqi, who was always believed to inherit the throne and become Queen, Cappelen did not have as many supporters in the Empire as people imagined.

First, Cappelen’s style was too strong and righteous, which, to many Nobles, was not something to be promoted or likely to bring about a favorable impression. As a result, in the Empire, many people simply regarded Cappelen as a strong warrior, not as the future Empress of the Empire.

Secondly, Cappelen did not spend time on networking, valuing only her own strength and having only the goal of defeating Luoqi in her eyes, which made many believe that this Empire’s Valkyrie was hard to approach.

Compared to Cappelen, Harvis was not only intelligent but also had a modest style that made him feel approachable. He was friendly with many of the Empire’s powerful figures, and his own strength was not to be underestimated. Even if he could not match Cappelen, he was much stronger than the average prestigious family’s offspring.

In light of this, almost everyone in the Imperial Family regarded Harvis as the next Emperor of the Empire, and he himself was indeed the First Priority Candidate for succession, with more support and influence within the Empire than Cappelen.

This time, coming to participate in the Kingdom’s Suitor Selection, was also Harvis’s own decision.

His purpose was not necessarily to marry Luoqi.

Rather, he was well aware that, given the gap between the Kingdom and the Empire, the likelihood that Luoqi would choose him was virtually zero.

So, this time, Harvis was simply taking the opportunity to come to the Kingdom.

No one knew his purpose, except for himself.

However, one thing was certain.

That was, he came for Shane.

"First, let me try Shane Beizitu’s strength," Harvis said, ignoring William’s flattery and stating squarely: "We’ll talk about the rest after I’ve assessed the rumored Viscount’s true capability."

As soon as he said this, before William could share his own thoughts, the always silent Rocque spoke up.

"Be careful," Rocque suddenly said: "He might be more complicated than we imagine."

Rocque’s words startled both Harvis and William.

However, Harvis was surprised with contemplation, while William was dismissive.

"What’s so complicated? Isn’t he just a Viscount with an Adventurer background?"

William seemed to really look down on Shane.

On the contrary, Harvis became more cautious and nodded.

"I will be careful."

Hearing this, Rocque’s expression eased, and he nodded in turn.

Only then did Harvis suddenly smile, turn around, and step onto the stage.