Demon King, you just need to conquer, and your husband will come up with the solution.

She came up to Chris with her cane, lifted up Chris's chin with her cane, and looked at his bloodshot eyes that were filled with pain and sleepiness.

"As a spy of the Berman Empire, you are actually begging me, the Queen of the Duolun Empire? Where is your loyalty to the Berman Empire, soldier?"

“Ha…I…”

Facing Katarina's question, Chris's eyes trembled. His loyalty to the Berman Empire...

He wanted to defend himself, but when he recalled that he had chosen to completely abandon his loyalty and honor as a Berman soldier just to get some sleep...

All the words disappeared in his throat, leaving only the silence that made him feel fearful and uneasy...

Catalina watched the subtle changes in the spy's expression, and with a slight smile on her lips, she asked again, "Soldier, when you were being interrogated, did you ask for help from your country, your emperor, or the God you believe in?"

"..."

"When you asked for help, did your country, your emperor, and your gods respond to your call for help?"

"..."

"No, right? So, you chose to abandon them... and began to ask for help from me, the emperor of another country..."

"No! No! I didn't abandon you!!"

"Oh? Really? You really didn't abandon it?"

"no!"

"Haha~ It doesn't matter. Compared to the emperor, country, and gods who won't respond to you or save you... I'm different. I'm a kind person..."

As she spoke, Catalina snapped her fingers lightly, and then, in front of Chris's surprised gaze, several soldiers walked into the tent. They placed a wooden table in front of Chris and then untied him.

Just when Chris was wondering what the queen in front of him was going to do, an extremely strong smell of meat teased his nostrils crazily.

This made him, who had been hungry for several days, look towards the source of the fragrance. Then, a soldier brought a plate of food to the table in front of him.

Facing the plate of delicious food in front of him, which was visually enjoyable, Chris couldn't help swallowing his saliva and muttered, "This is..."

“Pork chop and mashed potatoes.”

Chris felt his saliva begin to flow like crazy, which made him lick his lips instinctively: "Gulp... Can I... Can I eat it..."

This question made Catalina burst out laughing and said, "Hahaha~ As a Berman soldier, you actually showed such an expression when facing the charity of the queen of the enemy country?

Where is your loyalty to the Empire? Where is your pride in your Berman people? Are you going to abandon all the trust that your country, your superiors, and your family have placed in you?

Soldier, look in the mirror and take a look at your hungry dog-like expression now~ Haha, admit it, you have abandoned your empire and your honor..."

"NO, I have not!"

"If not, show me how to do it now! I have already untied you. As a soldier loyal to the Berman Empire, why don't you quickly turn over the food in front of you! Kick the table in front of you away!

Push away all these things that I, the queen of an enemy country, have given you in response! Prove your loyalty to the Berman Empire!"

Listening to Katarina's inflammatory words, Chris's expression gradually became excited, but this excitement did not come from anger towards Katarina, but from his own...

Because, he found that he actually... couldn't mobilize his own actions, his own thoughts, to push away the food in front of him... because it... really... looked so delicious...

"Soldier, make your choice... I have already responded to your request. Do you choose to accept my response, or stick to your honor as a Berman soldier?"

"I...I...I have to..."

Chris was still hesitant in his words, but his body uncontrollably reached out to grab the pork chop and mashed potatoes in front of him, and held the spoon firmly with his hands without shaking...

At this moment, Chris knew that he had completely betrayed his country, his honor as a soldier, and the greatness of the Berman nation...

Just to... be able to eat the food in front of me...

"Ah uh..."

As Chris put a mouthful of mashed potatoes into his mouth, he felt as if he had eaten the most delicious meal in his life! The deliciousness of this pork chop and mashed potatoes even exceeded the limit of what he could describe in words!

This delicious taste made him unable to resist taking a second bite, a third bite, a fourth bite, a fifth bite...

“Wuwuwu…ah…ah…ah! Wuwuwu…”

Chris's movements became faster and faster, and he ate more voraciously. He looked like he wanted to stuff his entire face into the plate like a pig eating feed!

Catalina, who was watching from the side, smiled slightly, took a mirror and placed it in front of Chris: "Soldier, this is your own choice..."

“Ah… ah… ah!…”

Chris, who was eating voraciously, was about to raise his head to continue to argue stubbornly, but when he raised his face, he happened to look into the mirror that Katarina had placed in front of him.

Looking at the face in the mirror, Chris was stunned for a moment. What kind of face was this? Disheveled, dishevelled hair, bloodshot eyes, the entire lower half of the face was covered with gravy and mashed potatoes, and there were even two snots flowing out of the nostrils...

When seeing this face, Chris's first reaction was not to realize that it was himself, but to wonder who this guy was and why he looked like a pig?

Then, he came to his senses and realized that this was himself reflected in the mirror...

This is...himself?

No... this shouldn't be me... this shouldn't be me!

“Wu… hehe… er… wuwu… I… I didn’t… I didn’t… wuwu… wuwuhuhu… ah… wuwuwu… this… this is not me, wuwuwu…”

Chris choked and shook his head, unwilling to acknowledge the image in front of him, but... it was there, real and unmistakable.

"Take a closer look, soldier. This is you. However, there is no need to be ashamed of this. What you did in order to survive is not shameful... So, just like accepting my charity, accept your current appearance~"

After saying that, Catalina laughed and said nothing more. She left the tent with the guards and agents, leaving Chris crying in front of the mirror.

When the reflection of himself in the mirror was in front of him, Chris felt that the last bit of rag he had left, the rag that was used to cover his last bit of shame, was also cruelly torn to pieces by Katarina...

He finally discovered that Queen Catalina was not the beam of light shining into the abyss as he had thought.

But in the abyss, the anglerfish lit the bait, lured me, preyed on me, and brought me the final death...

Chapter 167

I must help the place

"Crack!"

With a crisp friction sound, a cluster of sparks ignited the match, emitting a faint light. Minerva held the match and lit the candlestick in front of her.

Then she picked up the candlestick and handed it to Catalina who was standing in front of the map.

The queen took the candlestick and illuminated the map in front of her with a calm smile.

This map was enlarged and drawn based on the map found on the spy.

Whether in terms of terrain, distribution of monsters, or marking of demonic forces, it is much more detailed than the old version of the map.

Being able to draw such a detailed map of the Demon Realm, the Berman Empire has obviously carried out large-scale infiltration into the Demon Realm over the years.

Among the southern countries, an empire that is more inclined towards the north, the Berman Empire, was able to produce such an extremely detailed map, which shows how much Berman cares about the situation in the Demon Realm.

But why would an empire that does not border the Demon Realm care so much about the Demon Realm?

The answer to this question requires almost no thought.

The map in front of her made Catalina happy, but also gave her a sense of pressure.

The desire and purpose of the Berman Empire's decision to expand are basically known to everyone, but the surrounding countries have no way to conquer the Berman Empire.

After all, the military capabilities and talent pool of the Berman Empire are simply beyond the reach of other southern countries, and other countries can only be conquered by it...

For a moment, Catalina, who had just felt a hint of joy, restrained her smile, and the pressure in her heart became heavier.

One idea became more and more firm. She must bring Ains back from the Demon King's Castle!

Thinking about it, Catalina moved her gaze to the map in front of her. With the updated map of the Demon Realm, Catalina could finally judge where her army was moving at the moment.

After gesturing at the distance on the map, Katarina focused her attention on an area that her army had to pass through if they wanted to reach the Demon King's Castle...

"Troll Ridge..."

She muttered to herself, then stared for a long time at the area specially marked on the map.

Finally, Catalina turned her head to look at Minerva who had been silently guarding her and asked, "Minerva, how is the Berman spy now?"

"My Lady Queen, according to your instructions, the secret agents did not continue to interrogate him. They let him stay in the barracks as a prisoner. He is currently well fed and well-dressed... However, his mental state is a little worrying."

"Your mental state is a bit worrying?" Hearing this, Catalina couldn't help but reveal a playful smile on her face, and muttered with evil taste: "What's going on? It's so weird~"

"..."

Isn't it your own work, Your Majesty... Minerva couldn't help but mutter to Catalina in her heart.

She was well aware of the Queen's evil taste in treating her enemies. For Catalina, killing the enemy physically was the lowest form of punishment for the enemy.

This empress seeks to destroy her enemies' hearts, and she wants to use various methods to guide her enemies to gradually abandon the ideals she has claimed to have upheld in the past and the emperor she was loyal to.

Using an extremely cruel method, they are forced to realize that the things they say they believe in are worthless and meaningless, and that they who believe in these things are even more meaningless!

Those prisoners who were personally interrogated by the Queen basically all had their hearts shattered, their defenses severely broken, and finally became empty shells like the walking dead.

Therefore, in fact, the most terrifying interrogation department in the entire Duolun Empire is not the interrogation room of the National Prison, but the bedroom of Queen Catalina...

After Katarina smiled maliciously, she straightened her expression again and ordered, "Bring the spy to me. I need to know some information about this Troll Ridge..."

"Yes! Your Majesty!"

……

"Hey, Batum, have you heard about the latest buzz?!"

In the crowded and noisy bar, Batum was suddenly patted on the shoulder by a group of his friends, which almost made him spill the wine in his glass.

This made his face look unhappy, but in fact, he was in a very good mood today.

Because just a few days ago, the recruitment of the second batch of apprentices began, and he took his stupid son, who had finally come to his senses and changed his mind, to sign up.

After several days of anxious waiting, the family finally got the good news they had been waiting for: their stupid son was successfully hired.

At that moment, Batum felt that all the hardships he had endured in his life were worth it!

For this reason, Batum confidently and happily said to his wife Dolly for the first time: "Ha! I'm happy today! I'm going out for a drink no matter what!"

This time, Batum decided to be tough. No matter how much Dolly scolded him, he was determined to drink the wine today!

However, this time, Dolly did not curse, but said with a helpless and funny expression: "Drink less, don't get drunk and can't go home."

At that moment, Batum felt that marrying Dolly was the best decision he had ever made in his life!

However, no matter how good the mood is, it will fade away if it is disturbed by others.

He turned his head with a bad look on his face and asked his friend who was slapping him, "What the hell, what news is that? Is it more important than my wine!?"

Sensing Batum's bad face, the friend sneered and stepped back and said, "Um... Brother, aren't you from the Troll tribe? The latest news from the army is about the Troll tribe."

"About the Trolls? What? The Demon King is going to recruit us Trolls as soldiers?"

"No! Brother Batum, I heard... they are preparing to send troops to fight!"

"Ah? Are we going to start attacking the human world?!"

Batum instinctively thought that since the Demon King was preparing to send troops to fight, he would definitely conquer the human world. However...what did conquering the human world have to do with the trolls?

"We're not going to fight humans! We're going to fight Troll Ridge!"

"...What!? Are you sure!? When did it happen? Why did the Demon King want to attack Troll Ridge?!"

Upon hearing the news, Batum's impatient expression instantly turned into surprise and anxiety. He turned his hand and held his friend in front of him tightly, as if he would not let go unless he explained clearly.

The friend whose shoulder was held down by the troll's thug felt the pressure from the red-skinned troll and immediately began to sweat profusely. He smiled bitterly and advised: "That Batum... calm down first...

Actually, I just heard it from hearsay... I heard that the Troll Lord of Troll Ridge did something that made the Demon King angry, so in order to intimidate the Troll Lord, the Demon King decided to lead an army to attack Troll Ridge..."

After hearing his friend's explanation, Batum was stunned for a moment, but then he couldn't help laughing and raised his hands to cheer: "...Woohoo! Great! That bastard asked for his own death and offended the devil. Open the champagne!"

Seeing Batum cheering excitedly, the friend had a subtle expression.

He rubbed his shoulder which was a little painful from being pinched by Batum, and asked, "Um... Batum, the one who got beaten was your fellow Troll Ridge people, aren't you worried..."

"Worried?" Batum immediately shook his head and said solemnly: "I am not worried about my compatriots. For them, even if they die on the battlefield, it is much better than being squeezed to death by that bastard Troll Demon Lord!"

After saying that, Batum stopped drinking. He simply slapped on a few magic crystals and stood up to leave the bar.

Several friends asked in surprise: "Hey! Batum, what are you doing!?"

Batum shouted excitedly: "I want to go to the military camp! I want to see if they are willing to recruit an old farmer like me as a new soldier! No matter who it is, as long as they can kill that damned Troll Lord, I will definitely help them!"