“Is that so?” Hippolyta turned to look at her daughter.
“Perhaps… I’m sorry, but I didn’t actually see any of that.” Diana had been about to nod, but in the end she shook her head.
She had indeed seen a man and an airplane crash into the sea together.
As for everything else, she honestly hadn’t noticed.
“Your name?” Hippolyta looked at Duke again.
“Duke.”
“Who exactly are you, and why did you betray your own people?” Hippolyta nodded, then shifted her cold gaze toward Steve, the man who shared Captain America’s first name.
As for Duke’s origins, they could investigate those later.
The more urgent matter was this soldier standing before them.
Although the Amazons had defeated the invaders on the beach, the warships offshore had already retreated.
That meant the enemy could very well return.
Granted, once they left, finding Themyscira again would be extremely difficult.
But better safe than sorry.
Duke smiled inwardly.
Saving Antiope had indeed earned him favorable treatment.
His reputation with Themyscira had risen from “Cold” to “Neutral.”
Then again, these secluded, highly vigilant Amazon warriors were an exception.
Had it been anyone else, their attitude would probably have become “Friendly” or even “Respectful.” Well…
Wonder Woman herself was already “Friendly.”
As for Steve Trevor, his reputation had dropped from “Cold” to “Hostile,” because this invasion had clearly followed him here.
“I’m not with them,” Steve answered quickly while slowly backing away, remaining on guard.
He felt unbelievably unlucky.
He had survived enemy anti-aircraft fire…
Only to have his plane smashed out of the sky by a person falling from the heavens!
A person.
Falling from the sky.
His entire worldview had been overturned.
As if things weren’t bad enough, he’d run into this group of terrifying female warriors.
…He was doomed.
“Then why are you wearing their uniform?”
“…I can’t tell you.”
“Speak!”
“What’s your name?”
“I can’t tell you that either.”
“Kill him now. Better to eliminate future trouble.”
Diana, who was translating for Duke, immediately became anxious.
After all, they’d fought together against the invaders.
She was just about to speak up when someone objected first.
“If he dies, we’ll never learn who they are or why they came.”
The only English word Duke fully understood was “name.” The rest was still vague to him.
Forgive someone who hadn’t even passed Level Two English.
Still, he remembered this scene from the movie well.
Steve kept answering everything with “I can’t tell you,” before eventually being taken to the council chamber and questioned with the Lasso.
The woman who had just insisted Steve be executed…
That should be the legendary Victoria’s Secret supermodel, right?
Venelia!
Duke turned his head for another look.
No matter how he looked, he still couldn’t see how this woman was Doutzen Kroes.
The first time he’d watched the movie, he hadn’t recognized her.
Later, after hearing someone had identified her, he’d watched it again…
Still didn’t recognize her.
Well, everyone wore the same armor, and with makeup on, it was practically impossible to tell.
Still…
Her figure really was incredible.
After all, she’d supposedly been the second highest-paid Victoria’s Secret model.
As for her name…
Venelia…
How the hell were you supposed to translate that?
Back then, Duke had used Baidu Translate, and it had actually translated it as “Venice.”
Come on!
The city Venice is “Venice,” not “Venelia!”
While he was lost in thought, a miserable cry suddenly sounded beside him.
Turning around, he saw that the guy who shared Captain America’s first name had already been restrained.
How tragic.
“Diana, stay here and take care of Antiope,” Hippolyta ordered.
Then she respectfully bowed to Duke.
“Sir, I must trouble you to remain here and look after her. We will arrange accommodations for you afterward.”
Before Duke could answer, Diana protested.
“No, Mother! I want to go too!”
“Well… how about I come along as well?” Duke said.
“To be honest, I’d like to know who he really is too. After all… I did crash into his airplane.”
He knew Diana was worried her mother might secretly execute the man who had fought alongside them, so he decided to help.
“Besides, I don’t know much about medicine. The Technique has already been set. As long as you stitch her wounds in time, that’s enough. Once they’re bandaged, she should only need a day or two before she’s able to get out of bed.”
As soon as Antiope’s life was no longer in danger, the Technique would stop consuming her life force and instead accelerate the healing of her injuries.
Hippolyta hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“Very well. Then please come with us, sir.”
“Thank you.”
Diana nodded gratefully at Duke.
He simply smiled without saying anything.
Sure enough, it was almost exactly the same scene he remembered.
The ancient Greek-style council chamber.
Amazon warriors surrounded the center of the room, where Steve was bound by a glowing golden rope that radiated a warm light.
Duke’s eyes sparkled.
That had to be the Lasso of Truth.
“I… I’m Captain Steve Trevor… pilot… American Expeditionary Force… serial number 8141921…”
“…That’s all I have to say…”
Steve looked completely dumbfounded.
What the hell?
Why did I just tell them all that voluntarily?
What kind of thing is this?!
Duke wasn’t particularly interested in Steve’s confession.
He was far more interested in the Lasso of Truth.
Since this part of the story was rather dull anyway, he decided to chat with the system.
“So you’re saying that after killing enemies, I’ll obtain Talent Points. The number of Talent Points depends on how strong the enemy is. Those Talent Points can then be exchanged in the system for different talents… as well as skills and items?”
“And when I come into contact with targets ranked Elite or above, I can also randomly obtain Talent Points—though fewer than by killing them—and there’s a small chance of acquiring one of their talents. If I kill an Elite or higher target, there’s a low probability of obtaining multiple talents from them?”
This was the basic function of the Strongest Talent System.
“Yes, Host. However, the system’s exchange shop only contains magic-related talents, skills, and items. Talents obtained from external sources are not subject to that restriction.”
“Got it.”
So the exchange system only offered magic-based abilities.
Talents acquired externally were completely random and could include warrior-type abilities as well.
“Take him away.”
A sharp command snapped Duke back to reality.
Seeing them preparing to put away the Lasso of Truth, he immediately became anxious.
“Wait a second! No—I mean… Hold on! This thing really makes people tell the truth? Can I try it?”
Diana blinked in confusion.
Hippolyta was even more bewildered.
Someone actually wanted to volunteer?
Ever since earlier, she’d been considering using the Lasso to test Duke’s identity.
But he was their benefactor.
It would’ve been inappropriate.
If he requested it himself, however…
That was another matter entirely.
Seeing Hippolyta nod, Duke quickly reached over, grabbed the lasso, and wrapped it around his wrist.
“Hmm… I don’t feel anything.”
“Host. A form of Absolute Will has descended upon you. Would you like to activate signal shielding?”
“No need… Let me play around with it first.”
Duke cleared his throat.
Then declared solemnly,
“I am a very handsome man!”
Everyone nearly fell over.
The Amazon warriors rolled their eyes in perfect unison.
They all understood Chinese, naturally.
Who actually declared themselves to be very handsome?
Wait…
He was holding the Lasso of Truth.
Which meant…
That statement counted as the truth?
How narcissistic could someone possibly be?
The Lasso functioned much like a lie detector.
It was like when the host on Go Fighting! asked Yue Yunpeng,
“Who’s more handsome—you or Daniel Wu?”
Yue Yunpeng confidently answered,
“Me.”
And the polygraph judged it as true.
The Lasso worked the same way.
Then…
The twist arrived.
A wisp of smoke suddenly rose from Duke’s hand.
Though faint, it was unmistakable.
His expression changed instantly.
He jumped into the air.
“Holy crap! It’s hot! It’s hot! Ow!”
The Amazon warriors all sighed in relief.
Good.
Good.
So he wasn’t actually that handsome.
Duke refused to accept it.
“I’m ugly.”
This time…
Nothing happened.
His pride…
Had suffered a devastating blow.
“…”
The atmosphere instantly became rather awkward.
Dark lines formed across Duke’s forehead.
He felt as though a crow had just flown over his head, leaving behind several huge black letters.
Idiot.
Idiot.
Idiot.
Caw…
Caw…
Furious, Duke ripped the Lasso of Truth off his wrist, threw it onto the floor, pointed at it, and shouted,
“How dare you! You’re nothing but a lousy rope! And you actually dare question how handsome I am?!”
Even the usually dignified and composed Hippolyta could barely hold herself together.
She felt the muscles in her face trembling as she fought the urge to laugh.
No. I must maintain my royal composure.
I’m the Queen!