Chapter 73: Kidnapping Plan

“Of course!”

WPK

Lily agreed cheerfully.

In fact, Pupu was best suited for assembling small ship vessels.

On one hand, once Pupu entered the water, there was no need to worry about thirst, solving the greatest problem of “Fusion Pupu” durability.

On the other hand, as a water-type beast, Pupu was extremely agile in water—more flexible than fish—though due to its small size and weak strength, it swam a bit slower.

But this could be solved by adding a Pudong Propeller.

The modification was simple: a Pudong motor, a rock Pupu molded into a propeller blade, connected by a drive shaft and attached to the back of the boat—just poke it and go, tututututu ~~~

“That’s wonderful.”

Jonathan smiled with relief.

With this…

Even these Dustfolk could help the Hero.

Nobles always mocked the Dustfolk as stupid, selfish, and stingy.

But really, who lacks that tragic kindness?

They were simply powerless, barely getting by, their courage ground away by repeated setbacks until they became like old oxen who had their balls hammered.

They’d rather numb themselves than swallow their own sympathy.

“Lily, by tomorrow morning at the latest, how many ships can the Pupu transform into? Do you need any support from my side?”

“Um… “

Liya began to calculate inwardly.

As an evil Demon King, how could she work for the Hero for free?

Jonathan’s words were the payment she expected for her “strategic suggestions” this time.

Currently, her command chain hadn’t expanded much—only a few Pink Pupu were linked.

Now, with the Hero’s magic abundant, she urgently needed a large number of “Pupu Queen” to expand her chain.

But Pink Pupu wouldn’t respond to the pheromone summons of other Pink Pupu.

So, if she wanted more, she had to catch each one herself.

What a hassle!

Better to encourage these townfolk to help.

With this justification, the Pupu swarm could step onto the stage of the Qianhe Territory legitimately, and the Hero wouldn’t grow wary or suspicious of her.

“Grandpa Mayor! Lily needs a lot of Pupu! The more the better!”

“The more Pupu, the more ships!”

Liya bounced up and down, her slender arms waving like pink “little wings.”

“Alright~”

Jonathan nodded immediately, his tone affectionate and doting.

“Grandpa will take people to help you catch them right away. Then, Lily, is there any specific color you need? Or is any color fine?”

“Any is fine! But pink and yellow first!”

Liya answered innocently.

“Okay.”

Jonathan turned to leave.

Suddenly, Liya remembered something, her vision darkened, and she hurriedly called to the old figure.

“Wait!”

“Hmm?”

Jonathan turned back, puzzled.

“Grandpa Mayor! Wait! Only wild Pink Pupu! Newly born ones! Not the raised or adult ones!”

Liya urged anxiously.

Because the matter was so serious, she forgot to act cute for a moment.

— Gwah! This king refuses to link with someone else’s (beep~) used Pupu cup!

Fortunately, Jonathan didn’t notice the subtle shift in Liya’s tone.

He simply nodded, like an old man solemnly promising his children after repeated reminders.

“Alright, listen to Lily. Only wild, newly born Pink Pupu. No exceptions.”

“Mm! Mm! Mm! Mm!”

Liya nodded vigorously.

“That’s great! Thank you, Grandpa Mayor!”

ロ-

After sending all the townfolk out to catch Pupu,

Liya racked her brains, improving her prototype “Pupu-powered Hovercraft.”

The design principle was a cluster of hollow Rock Pupu connected together, using buoyancy to lift the boat.

Since Rock Pupu could “harden” at any time and adjust the boat’s center of gravity, there was no fear of being overturned by waves.

Power came from the Pupu Propeller.

Each boat held a single “Queen,” saving even manual operation.

Fully automatic, foolproof, with cruise mode—

Pudu AI, check it out, brother!

Sigh…

What AI of the Pupu swarm?

Behind it all was Liya’s sweat and dying brain cells.

“So exhausting. After this, I must ask the Dog Hero for some premium protein to replenish.”

8

Liya grumbled.

But after muttering, she realized that sentence was ambiguous, and her face reddened in embarrassment.

She had meant for the Hero to capture two succubi for her to squeeze out some concentrated magic fluid.

But the meaning had twisted…

Liya glanced furtively around—fortunately, no one was nearby.

No one heard her embarrassing words.

Otherwise, the 《Demon King’s Jokes》 would have a new classic entry.

In the second half of the night, seven or eight hundred people in Hope Town moved at Liya’s single word, searching in the dark rain for newly born, water-sparkling Pink Pupu.

And the three who had accepted Jonathan’s mission arrived at their target location in turn.

First was Roye.

As the third son of the Jonathan family, Roye was dull and timid, but had some cleverness.

On the way, he gradually sensed the meaning of the “kidnapping plan”—to provide Commander Kobiryo a legitimate excuse to help the Hero without any blame.

He didn’t make a fuss, but simply held a forged “Hero’s Command,” claimed urgent military matters, and alerted only three people in total:

One was the outer sentry, another was Commander Kobiryo’s adjutant, and the last was, of course, Commander Kobiryo himself.

Learning that the visitor was a minion of Hero Jon, Kobiryo sighed as he dressed, unable to help feeling a little resentful toward Jon, cursing the brat for forcing his teacher into error.

+

Was it that he didn’t want to help?

That he had no heart?

ロ-

Helping wasn’t a big deal.

But when gods fight, mortals suffer.

The princess was now bullied and withdrawn by the Hero, so she certainly didn’t have the guts for revenge.

But in such times, one had to be even more cautious.

Because while the princess didn’t have the courage to retaliate against the Hero, her courage to vent on others was large indeed.

Why did he hide away playing cards?

Never go out for fun, never ride dragons, hunt, or chase romance?

— Wasn’t it just to avoid being picked as a punching bag by the princess?

He put on the moon-silk robe he brought from the imperial capital, one he’d worn since childhood, and casually pulled on a pair of Ermine Boots.

Kobiryo had already prepared his polite refusal for Jon’s envoy.

But as soon as they met, the other’s first words made Kobiryo freeze.

***

“Uncle Kobiryo,”

Roye gathered his courage, his voice trembling,”I…I’m here on behalf of the Hero to kidnap you.”

ロ-

“Ah?”

For a second, Kobiryo’s brows furrowed in confusion and disbelief.

But gradually, his eyebrows relaxed, the corners of his mouth lifted, and finally, “hahahaha,” he burst out laughing.

***

“Lord Kobiryo…”

Roye tensed with fear, thinking he’d used the “uncle” title inappropriately, and his attempt to be clever and friendly had backfired.

ロ-

“Sit, sit, child, no need to be nervous.”

Kobiryo pointed to the seat across from him, pulled over a field chair, and sat casually, his face unexpectedly satisfied.

“I thought Jon would never get it his whole life,”

Kobiryo teased with a relaxed tone.

TRPK

“Turns out he’s better at this than I thought?”