"Hey, are we really supposed to be those so-called Four Heavenly Kings, and fight them?" Sanae whispered to Lin Luo, tears streaming down her face.

"Of course. Why else would I deliberately invite their hostility? To ignite their will to fight, I've absorbed all their hatred. If you guys don't fight, wouldn't all my efforts be for nothing?" Lin Luo replied matter-of-factly.

Without waiting for Sanae and the others to process this, Lin Luo continued, "Oh right, later you need to act incredibly arrogant and utterly conceited. The more high-and-mighty and contemptuous you look, the better."

"Why?" Hakuren Saint asked, confused.

"Does that even need asking? We're playing the villains now. If you're villains, you have to look the part. If villains were as kind and approachable as heroes, what would be the point of having champions of justice?" Lin Luo spoke righteously. "Also, when the fight starts, don't all four of you jump in at once. It’s better if you go in batches."

"What new scheme is this?" Even Hachii Eirin was baffled this time.

Lin Luo explained, "It's for the hero's leveling up, naturally. Whether it’s low-ranking minions or the Four Heavenly Kings, they are ultimately just experience points for the hero to grow. We need to let them mature slowly. If you all attacked together, they wouldn't even survive the first encounter. How would they ever be strong enough to defeat the Demon King then?"

The Four Heavenly Kings were instantly speechless.

"In games or novels, the script is always the same in the early stages. The villain side clearly possesses unparalleled, immense power, while the protagonist side, the emissaries of justice, are weak as ants. Yet, the villain never exerts full strength to wipe out this ant. Instead, they keep sending subordinates to feed the protagonist experience and gear, eventually turning the ant into an elephant. Only then does the final Boss regret it, shouting... 'Damn it! If I had known this would happen, I should have eliminated you with all my might back then!'"

"So, we must follow this script too, do you understand?"

At this point, the Four Heavenly Kings didn't know what to say. Although they had seen such a script before, to state it so plainly felt... perhaps a bit inappropriate?

"So, we are destined to be defeated by them?" Sanae asked helplessly.

"Yes, it's required by the plot."

"Then let me go first. I'll just make a token appearance, get beaten, and that’s that. I never liked being one of these so-called Four Heavenly Kings anyway." Sanae turned her head away, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly, wearing a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"That won't do," Lin Luo quickly objected. "Even though you must be taken out by the plot, if you go down in the first exchange, it'll feel too anticlimactic. If your performance is weak, the whole Four Heavenly Kings team becomes weak. And if the Four Heavenly Kings are weak, doesn't that make me, your supreme Demon Lord, look weak too? That severely affects my reputation, so no!"

"Then how should I do it?!" Sanae's anger level instantly spiked by five percent.

"Hmm..." Lin Luo considered for a few seconds, then said, "No matter what, in the first round, you need to achieve overwhelming dominance. I'll give you a cheat for infinite magic power for a bit. Then, you deliberately expose some weaknesses. When you fight them the second time, I'll turn off your cheat, and then you can make your exit... Oh, right, before you die, you absolutely must say, 'Actually, I'm the weakest of the Four Dark Heavenly Kings. Even if you defeat me, you're absolutely doomed next time.' Got it?"

To hell with 'got it!'

Sanae cursed inwardly. To be honest, she really wanted to stab Lin Luo a few times right now, and then declare, Actually, my level of dark transformation can reach LV6. If you push me to darken, you’re dead!

But this, in the end, was just a mental fantasy. Never mind LV6 dark transformation; even if she reached the MAX level, she couldn't flip the script now.

"I’ve given you the broad framework of the script. As for the details, I trust with your intellect, I don't need to elaborate further... Alright, I've activated your cheat. Now, go all out and fight!"

Go all out? We’re still completely shackled by your trashy plot... Sanae and the others couldn't help but grumble internally. But despite their thoughts, the script had to run its course. No matter how reluctant they were, they had to accept it.

Lin Luo’s secret communication with Sanae and the others ended in just a brief moment. During this time, Aozaki Aoko and the others hadn't fully registered the sudden change. Staring at the four figures hovering in the sky, they felt an immense, heavy sense of pressure.

"Hmph!" Just as they were slowly getting used to the pressure, Hachii Eirin suddenly let out a cold snort. Her gaze swept over all of them with an expression of utter disdain. "The Demon Lord said we should test their strength, but how could this rabble qualify to challenge the Demon Lord? Forget the four of us; even I alone could deal with them... Hakuren Saint, you two go chill on the sidelines. These guys are my prey!"

As the words fell, Hachii Eirin drew her bow, her eyes fixed on Aozaki Aoko and the others below, filled with cruel bloodlust.

It had to be said that Hachii Eirin, with her hundreds of millions of years of life experience, was quite adept at role-playing. Although this was her first time portraying such an extreme villain, her grasp of the character's personality was spot on... With just a few glances and words, a self-important, arrogant evil villain who didn't even respect her comrades instantly sprang to life before everyone.

Hearing this, both Aozaki Aoko and Tono Akiha felt their teeth itch with hatred, wishing they could immediately rush up for a fight. However, despite their fury, they hadn't lost their reason.

They didn't know the true strength of the Fourth Heavenly King, but judging by the sheer aura of the current Four Heavenly Kings, none of them could be underestimated. Especially Hachii Eirin and Hakuren Saint... In Aoko's eyes, the auras of these two were almost as powerful as Cirno's.

With their current strength, taking on all Four Heavenly Kings simultaneously was practically impossible. Even if Cirno could handle one, the others were more than capable of utterly crushing them, as they were already heavily depleted.

Therefore, although they clenched their jaws in anger, they didn't act rashly. If the enemy was overconfident and didn't strike them with full force now, they couldn't ask for anything better.

As for Hakuren Saint, after hearing Hachii Eirin's words, she paused slightly, clearly unaccustomed to Eirin's sudden shift. But she was a demigod, after all, and her intelligence was not much inferior to Hachii Eirin's. She quickly entered the role as well.

Hakuren Saint sneered coldly, her tone laced with mockery. "Heh, be careful you don't pull a muscle with that big mouth of yours. Since the Demon Lord chose them as practice tools, they naturally have some ability. Are you looking down on them, or are you questioning the Demon Lord's judgment?"

Hachii Eirin immediately shot her a glare, killing intent flickering in her eyes.

Hakuren Saint ignored it, smiling faintly. "Of course, I never intended to fight alongside you anyway. I'll give you this chance. I'll take over after you're dead... Komachi, let's go." With that, Hakuren Saint pulled the still somewhat bewildered Inubashiri Komachi and left without looking back.

See? This is the professional caliber of method actors. Both Hachii Eirin and Hakuren Saint perfectly embodied the villain roles they were playing. Not only did they display the necessary villainous temperament, but within just a few sentences, they revealed the infighting so common among villains. The thick atmosphere of gunpowder immediately led Aoko and the others to judge that there were indeed disharmonies within the Four Heavenly Kings. Even Lin Luo, watching from behind his screen, repeatedly clapped and praised their acting to Komeiji Satori.

"If we get the chance in the future, we could film this as a TV series," Lin Luo remarked.

Hakuren Saint and Inubashiri Komachi had left, but Sanae remained in place. Hachii Eirin said nothing more, instead looking down at Aoko and the others, proclaiming haughtily, "All of you, come at me together!"

"Hmph! Don't be so arrogant—Ow!" Aoko was already furious at Hachii Eirin's dismissiveness. Now that the enemy numbers were halved and it was confirmed the other two wouldn't interfere, she could finally stop holding back. But before she could move, a figure flashed past her side like lightning, charging toward Hachii Eirin.

Cirno!

"You don't need us all together; I'm enough to deal with you... I'll give that exact phrase right back to you!" Cirno roared, the aura she unleashed momentarily seeming to suppress Hachii Eirin. As her voice faded, her fist slammed out viciously.

BOOM!!!

The whistling wind of the punch was like a nuclear explosion, deafeningly loud. In an instant, the entire sky seemed to shake, and even those standing on the ground struggled to stay steady.

What terrifying power!

At this moment, Hachii Eirin, who hadn't taken anyone seriously before, finally showed a trace of gravity in her expression. This wasn't acting; this was her genuine feeling.

Prior to this, she only thought Cirno's momentum was on par with hers. But after witnessing this punch, she finally believed Lin Luo's words... Cirno, having completed her three-stage transformation, possessed truly earth-shattering strength!

"Very well, then let me see just what capabilities you possess!"

Hachii Eirin said in a deep voice. With a wave of her hand, before Cirno's attack could reach her, she deployed her Noble Phantasm—Galaxy in a Jar—instantly sucking Cirno in. Both vanished from their original spot simultaneously.

PS: I had insomnia last night. I'm going to sleep now to gather some energy, and then I'll start bursting out content tomorrow. (To be continued) RQ