I'm a monster in Demon King's Castle

“It's over…” Sharphas leaned back in his chair. “There's no suspense left in this Slaughter Cup. Budibog… seems likely to successfully complete his 'mutation'. Whoever he faces in tomorrow night's final… will have a hard time killing him.”

Viney didn't respond, but there was a hint of melancholy in her eyes—the Library had demonstrated its power, and she knew that the Myriad Flowers wouldn't go to war with it…

Looks like if I want to find that skeleton in the Library, I'll have to sneak in.

The little wolf, however, had stood up at some point, ignoring the shouts of abuse behind him, focusing intently on the self-healing bone shells, throat bobbing as he swallowed.

“How is it?” Li Read asked Shadow in a telepathic message while directing the Slaughter Sea Butterflies to restrict the actions of the Gnoll Chieftain and the Minotaur.

Shadow didn't answer. The shield formed by Lamont's relics was still pressed against the ground, but occasionally blurry shadows would dart out from within, indicating that Budibog was still undergoing his 'mutation'.

Li Read knew from Shadow's reaction that it couldn't spare any attention. He mentally calculated that the first round was about to end, and he probably wouldn't have time to give the knife to Shadow. So, he charged towards the Gnoll Chieftain's location with Egg!

It's time to end this.

At the same time, Reedcoat's ritual had clearly reached a critical stage. The blood from the entire arena gathered on his red robes through the magic circle, like a sudden burst of red clouds.

【Advancement… Red Robe Bishop…】

Reedcoat got his wish, and so did Li Read—with the addition of Egg, most of the Gnoll Chieftain's and Minotaur's attacks were blocked. Garralick wielded his staff like a dragon, quickly knocking them off balance and slowing their movements. Then, they were each tied up on the ground.

“Good… I'll leave the execution to you.” Li Read telepathically praised Garralick.

“This is my glory.” Garralick cackled.

The two massive beasts were bound by layers of binding thread filled with magic wolf fangs. Garralick, supporting his broken body, walked up to the Minotaur with his octagonal staff and smashed his skull, like an executioner.

This strike also hit the hearts of the audience, reminding the demons who had bet on the Gnoll family… their money was gone.

But when executing the Gnoll Chieftain, a small incident occurred—Garralick struck down with his staff, shattering the Gnoll Chieftain's head and wolf-fang club in one blow, but he continued to struggle on the ground.

A corpse?

Li Read felt like he could finally understand the abnormality of the Demon Illustrated Handbook—if it was just a pile of rotten flesh, it was normal not to have the "Analyzing" prompt.

“Dinner time.” Just as Li Read was about to order all the Sea Butterflies to devour the Gnoll Chieftain's body, he suddenly received a request from Garralick.

“Lord Scourge Read… can I… have him?” Garralick walked to the Gnoll Chieftain's spine—the Chieftain was already headless and bloodless, but still struggling fiercely.

“Hurry up.” Li Read didn't know what Garralick was going to do, but the first round was almost over, Reedcoat had already successfully advanced and was walking over leisurely, and the shadows around Budibog were showing signs of awakening.

Then… Li Read saw Garralick climb on top of him.

The moment he climbed on, chunks of flesh spewed out from the crack in the Gnoll Chieftain's neck, and a wisp of magic power dissipated, heading out of the arena.

At the same time as the magic power dissipated, the Gnoll Chieftain seemed to lose his life all at once, no longer moving at all, obediently being ridden by Garralick.

Huh? The Gnoll Chieftain wasn't a corpse… but a puppet?

Sensing the direction, Li Read realized that the wisp of magic power suddenly disappeared when it reached the vicinity of the stands, and suddenly felt that the Gnoll family was not so simple—the Gnoll Chieftain wasn't controlled by Mandena, but by someone else?

Who could it be? In the audience?

Had an understanding with Mandena? Or was he even hiding it from Mandena?

Li Read felt that the former was more likely, but he didn't really care about the truth—no matter what means the guy controlling the Gnoll Chieftain used, it wouldn't be a conspiracy against the Library, probably related to the situation in the Forbidden Forest itself.

But unfortunately, the Library family stumbled upon the plan.

“Happy cooperation.” Rarely, Reedcoat seemed to be in a very good mood, walked up to Li Read, adjusted his sleeves, and said with a bow.

On the other side, the Gnoll Chieftain's burly corpse had become Garralick's mount, transformed into the shape of a wolf-fang club, except that it wasn't inlaid with wolf fangs, but with Gnoll teeth.

“You guys are done fighting.” Shadow also floated over, leaving resentful words on the ground.

“Sorry, I'm in a hurry…” Li Read telepathically replied, while using the Demon Illustrated Handbook to search for Budibog's whereabouts—this guy was completely out of sight, and had already scurried into the exit passage.

Egg, on the other hand, was completely satisfied—not only had he eaten so much delicious petrifying light, but he had also been beaten comfortably by the wolf-fang club and the Minotaur, making this trip complete.

With the dust settled in the arena, Li Read summoned Budibog back and told him to float to the highest point of the battlefield, with the "Slaughter Sea Butterflies" swaying gently beneath him; Oogie Boogie also started dancing, finally making his announcement.

“The fourth match of the Slaughter Cup… the Library wins! Congratulations to Budibog—” Oogie Boogie clapped his hands, and the giant whale gamblers were all happy, squeezing the betting tickets in their hands.

And those who had witnessed the demise of the Gnoll family with their own eyes, of course, started rioting again.

“Son of a demon! The Library hired a son of a demon!” “This is cheating!” “This is a conspiracy!”

Malice swept towards Li Read, and Li Read was very comfortable—the Gnoll family had been emptied of their wealth by him, the Library had shown a new face to Demon King City, and he could even make a lot of money in the arena…

More importantly… not a single Brain Spirit died!

A complete victory!

Even Budibog, who was in the only life-threatening situation, benefited from the disaster and mutated a skill similar to "Stealth"…

Li Read was very satisfied, just like he was when he killed the Brain Spirit Lord; as for the malice in the audience… it would all become the cornerstone for continuing to build the Library and create a new forbidden area.

Seeing the Brain Spirits full of vigor and the audience in constant turmoil, Oogie Boogie was not surprised, and ordered the Fly Demons to disperse and maintain order, while he suddenly left his seat and ran to the Gate of Souls to block Budibog.

“I can't let him run away like this…” Oogie Boogie muttered, “The Gnoll family's relics…”

In the chaos, the Myriad Flowers withdrew, rethinking their relationship with the Library; the little wolf squeezed the wisp of magic power that had just dissipated, bared his teeth slightly at the bones in the arena, and felt a little resentful.

In a fit of anger, the little wolf split the armor guarding him and ran out of the audience seats in resentment—he had finally reached an agreement with the Gnoll family to divide the Forbidden Forest, but now it was all void, and everything had to start all over again…

Li Read summoned Budibog from the air and led a group of Sea Butterflies to withdraw from the arena one after another, carrying a body full of scars—those were the medals of the Brain Spirits' battles, and also the medals of the Library's victory under Li Read's management.

When walking out of the player's tunnel, Li Read finally had time to check the Gnoll family's drops—Staff of Deception, Flying Dagger, the Freak's Skin fused with the Freak Puzzle, plus three Demon Points…

These three Demon Relics were fighting inside the Sea Butterfly. The Staff of Deception seemed to have become a holy sword, and the other two didn't dare to approach it at all; the battle between the Flying Dagger and the Freak's Skin… was won by the skin. They wrapped around the Flying Dagger tightly, as if to suffocate it.

Just as Li Read was about to check the effects of the three Demon Relics, the moonlight in the tunnel was suddenly blocked by a row of heavy shadows.

“Can I… take a look at that staff?” Oogie Boogie led a group of armored guards in front of the Gate of Souls, reached out his burlap bag hand towards the Sea Butterflies, and smiled.