The Shield Hero froze, stunned by the blatant middle finger. This wasn't a gesture any native could possibly know, which meant Firefly was a Transmigrator.
"You're a Transmigrator too?!" he exclaimed in surprise.
Before Firefly could answer, he continued, "But that doesn't make sense. How could there be a silver-haired girl in the real world?"
His words only deepened Firefly's confusion. Silver hair might be rare, but it wasn't exactly unheard of. A simple explanation like "Evolver" would suffice, right? Or perhaps, given the existence of Evolvers and Transformers, any kind of person could plausibly exist.
Suddenly, another possibility struck Firefly. Her brow furrowed as she asked in somewhat awkward anime-style Japanese, "What year did you transmigrate? Back then... what was the name of White Eagle's leader?"
"Huh?" The Shield Hero looked bewildered but thought for a moment. "It was 2015. White Eagle... what's that? You mean America? Wasn't America's leader an old black guy? What was his name again...?"
For simplicity's sake, let's call the main world where Firefly currently lives the "real world." The Shield Hero's words undoubtedly proved that he hadn't transmigrated from this "real world," but from another "Earth."
Of course, not the Earth from Firefly's previous life, but a third "Earth."
Or, to put it simply, an Earth from a parallel world.
If there's one, then two, then three, it must mean that there are countless "Earths" with subtle differences.
However... the number of parallel worlds or Earths seemed irrelevant to Firefly. After all, the parallel world hypothesis was already well-known, just unproven. Now, she had concrete evidence right before her eyes.
In truth, whether parallel worlds existed or not, as long as they remained disconnected, the whole concept was meaningless. Then, a sudden thought struck Firefly: if she could pull the Shield Hero into Shu Cat's Chat Group, and once he defeated the Demon Lord and returned to his own world, could she then use that connection to travel to his world herself?
Unfortunately, this was just a fleeting thought. The Shu Cat Chat Group had a member limit, currently capped at five. Shu Cat had mentioned needing to upgrade the group to increase the capacity, but even he didn't know how to do that.
Her thoughts vanished as quickly as they'd appeared. Looking at the Shield Hero before her, Firefly prepared to dismiss him with a few casual words. While she personally disliked the man, he was still a Hero fighting to eradicate Demonic Beasts, which, by her standards, qualified him as decent. She wasn't some psycho who killed anyone she didn't like, so there was no reason to eliminate him.
But then, she suddenly felt a piercing gaze upon her. Perhaps Firefly's senses were naturally sharp, or maybe Robin, having grown accustomed to being watched constantly, had subconsciously trained her to detect such stares. Either way, Firefly immediately noticed the unnerving sensation.
The problem was, while it was normal for Robin to attract stares from passersby on the street, this was the wilderness!
A moment later, a figure began to materialize before her, as if a chameleon blending into its surroundings had suddenly abandoned its camouflage, revealing its true form. The person's appearance was strikingly similar to this transformation.
A masked figure clad entirely in black appeared a short distance from the Shield Hero. Kneeling on one knee, he declared, "Shield Hero! I am a Shadow Guard directly serving His Majesty the King. His Majesty recently discovered the precise location of one of the Four Heavenly Kings and dispatched me specifically to inform you."
"The original plan has been altered. The four Heroes must convene immediately and eliminate this first Heavenly King as swiftly as possible!"
No, something's not right. Firefly had never met this world's King and didn't know if such a position as Shadow Guard even existed. Yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that this man was likely not a native of this world.
There was no logical reason for her intuition. If pressed, she might call it a girl's sixth sense.
Firefly was almost certain this man was from the Sakura Nation in the real world.
The Shield Hero, however, showed no signs of suspicion. Instead, he exclaimed in genuine surprise, "His Majesty the King has such a cool-looking guard..."
After a pause, he continued, "Well, I guess that's alright, but... is it really necessary for all four Heroes to go? Doesn't it seem like one of us could handle this?"
"The situation is rather complicated," the Shadow Guard said. "Besides one of the Four Heavenly Kings, there's another formidable enemy involved. I'll explain the details shortly."
He then produced a leather map that looked like an antique and pointed to a specific location.
"The other Shadow Guards have been tracking the Four Heavenly King's movements. According to our latest intelligence, it should be in this area."
"Normally, we would simply dispatch the nearest Hero. However, the Shadow Guards discovered that someone else is also hunting this Heavenly King."
"After preliminary investigation, we were shocked to learn that this individual is actually one of the four Heroes summoned a century ago! But theoretically, how could an ordinary human possibly live for a hundred years? Especially when she still appears remarkably young."
"So, you're saying..." The Shield Hero propped his chin on his hand, adopting a thoughtful expression. Instantly, all eyes turned to him, eager to hear his conclusion.
But despite his contemplative posture, he remained silent for a full five minutes, utterly stumped. Not a single word escaped his lips.
Firefly could clearly see the corner of the Shadow Guard's eye twitching intermittently, as if desperately wanting to reveal the answer but forced to restrain himself.
Finally, unable to bear the silence any longer, Firefly blurted out, "So, you're suggesting the Former Hero used some method to survive until now? And that this is likely a dark and forbidden art?"
After all, when it comes to extending one's lifespan, the first thing that comes to mind is inevitably dark magic.
Firefly continued, "As for their motive, they've clung to life for a century, only resurfacing now with the emergence of the Four Heavenly Kings. Their goal is obvious."
"It's common knowledge that the Four Heavenly Kings can grow stronger by slaughtering each other, ultimately becoming the Demon Lord. Could her purpose be connected to this?"
"Precisely because she's a Former Hero, precisely because she's witnessed the Demon Lord's power, she might be tempted by it. Is it possible that the dark magic allowing her to extend her life involves shedding her human identity and transforming into a Demonic Beast? If so, by eliminating the other Four Heavenly Kings, she could ascend to the position of fifth Heavenly King and become the Most Powerful Demon Lord!"
Five Heavenly Kings instead of four? That's perfectly reasonable!
Firefly saw the Shadow Guard's eyes widen in astonishment, as if struck by the undeniable logic of her words. A moment later, he nodded solemnly. "The young lady speaks truly. His Majesty the King now harbors the same suspicions."
Firefly: "..."
This was utterly absurd. Every word she'd spoken had been improvised on the spot. Yet, apparently, her hastily concocted explanation was more plausible than the Shadow Guard's original excuse. And now... they were adopting her fabrication wholesale.
Regardless, Firefly now understood Sakura Nation's true objective: to gather the four Heroes under false pretenses, seemingly to orchestrate a targeted assassination.
So, the question is: who exactly was this person?
Could it be a high-ranking official from the Dragon Nation who came to the conference?
"In any case, that's the situation. Shield Hero, we urge you to depart immediately for your destination. You must stop the Former Hero at all costs and prevent the birth of the Most Powerful Demon Lord!" The Shadow Guard bowed deeply. "I have other missions to attend to. Please excuse me."
As he spoke, his figure gradually turned transparent, blending seamlessly into his surroundings until he vanished into thin air before their eyes, just as he had appeared.
Once the Shadow Guard had departed, the Shield Hero suddenly clenched his fist and slammed it into his open palm. "Oh! So that's what's going on?!"
Seriously? You're just figuring that out now?
Immediately afterward, the Shield Hero turned to Firefly with an adoring gaze. "Miss, I still don't even know your name!"
"We're both Transmigrators in this foreign land. Wouldn't it be better for us to stick together? Besides, my party desperately needs someone with your intellect!"
"Join us! Let's defeat the Demon Lord and save this world together!"
Firefly: "..."
No, actually, I don't think your party needs a strategist—you're just being incredibly dense.
Just moments ago, the Shadow Guard had clearly mistaken Firefly for a member of the Hero Party, openly discussing vital information in her presence. What baffled her was the Shield Hero's audacity—knowing a stranger was nearby, he hadn't even suggested she excuse herself before divulging such secrets.
Firefly shook her head, bewildered by his logic. Could he really judge someone's trustworthiness based solely on their looks?
"I apologize, but I have other matters to attend to," she said firmly, offering no further explanation as she turned and walked away. Her destination was naturally the rendezvous point for the four Heroes marked on the map by the Shadow Guard.
Firefly was genuinely curious about this plot. Moreover, even if there was no ambush, that location also happened to be the territory of one of the Four Heavenly Kings. At the very least, she could eliminate one of them when she arrived.
Meanwhile, in three other locations, the Sword Hero, Spear Hero, and Bow Hero had also been successfully persuaded and were converging toward the same target. Notably, the information they received matched the version Firefly had been given.
Clearly, the Shadow Guards possessed some form of long-range communication device to synchronize their cover stories. Otherwise, the four Heroes would soon realize their intelligence didn't align, leading to an absurd situation.
Two days later, Firefly hovered a thousand meters above the ground, disguised as SAM, using ultra-high-resolution surveillance equipment to monitor the situation below.
In truth, she had reached her destination shortly after parting ways with the Shield Hero and successfully spotted the first of the Four Heavenly Kings.
The creature's sheer size was staggering. It resembled a mobile mountain, standing at least fifty meters tall and nearly a hundred meters long, its appearance like that of a colossal, rock-like turtle.
However, after discovering this earth turtle, Firefly refrained from attacking. Her primary concern was its conspicuousness. Eliminating such a massive target would create too much commotion, potentially alerting the Sakura Nation to their presence and ruining their encirclement plan before it even began.
Shifting her gaze from the Rock Turtle, Firefly glanced to the side. About two or three kilometers away, a man and a woman were slowly approaching the massive creature.
"They're finally here?" she murmured.
The woman's figure was striking. She wore a revealing V-neck top paired with a short skirt that left her long legs bare, somehow managing to walk in high-heeled boots across the uneven, rocky terrain.
Firefly couldn't help but acknowledge the sheer audacity of it. "That's seriously impressive," she thought.
The man followed half a step behind, dressed in a black uniform. He occasionally nodded and bowed, muttering something Firefly couldn't hear from the distance. Still, she could guess what was happening.
This guy's probably one of those Shadow Guards from before, she thought. So, the Sakura Nation's target is this woman?
Later, Robin, who was watching from outside, looked up the woman's identity online and discovered, "The Hunter, one of the White Eagle Eight?! Why is the Sakura Nation targeting White Eagle?"
Firefly was stunned by this revelation. She couldn't comprehend it.
Wait, why would the Sakura Nation attack White Eagle out of nowhere? Aren't they supposed to be allies?
Initially, she had assumed the Dragon Nation would be the target of the ambush. If that were the case, she would have intervened during the fight to "mediate." But now, she had no desire to get involved.
After all, neither side had anything to do with her. Wouldn't it be more enjoyable to sit back and watch the drama unfold from the sky?