"And to think that the heroes made a lot of promises about how they would demolish the heroes. What happened to all of their promises? From my perspective, it looks like the heroes are all bark but no bite."
The interviewer mocked Rewind and the Heroes for a long while. Subtly, of course. The mockery was nothing obvious. But it was obvious that it was getting to Rewind because he was frowning.
Kelvin and Wrath enjoyed seeing his discomfort. She said, "Poor boy. He doesn't know that he was called here to be chewed out in front of everyone."
Kelvin nodded. "Someone probably sent him here to become the scapegoat."
The two of them laughed when they heard the next question directed to Rewind.
"Why do you think the heroes performed so poorly despite all the assistance they had? Do you think the heroes are weak? Do you think the villains are right to call heroes in over their heads?"
While they were laughing, Rewind flared up and raised his voice. "The villains used slaves in the war. They are all criminals. Their words don't count for anything."
Both of them laughed again. Kelvin was actually enjoying himself.
Wrath shook her head and said, "We've come a long way. Now people are realizing that heroes are running a scam. They are not needed to keep the society safe."
Kelvin nodded in agreement and chuckled when the interviewer tried and failed to calm Rewind down. Apparently, the boy had reached his limit after a few minutes of heckling.
Actually, the interview was purely for entertainment. It was also an attempt by the owners of the city to put the heroes in their place.
Despite the immense fear that the people of the city are feeling now that the villains seem to have the upper hand, not much will change for them.
Not much would have changed for the common people even if the villains had won. It is because the villains don't have that much incentive to attack the common people. It is also because the heroes are not the true protectors of the city.
The true protectors are the owners of the city and the police force. The owners have it in their best interest to keep their source of wealth intact. They won't let the villains butcher their livestock just because of the money they will lose.
If the villains had won, they wouldn't dare to go to the main city and start massacring people. What the war has changed is that the heroes will stop bothering them for a while.
Besides, even if all hell is let loose and both the heroes and the police fail to protect the city, there is still the demigod beneath the city.
That demigod is the true foundation and protector of the city. Without he or she, the city won't exist at all. As long as the demigod continues to exist, the city will continue to stand.
It is not that the heroes are useless. Far from it. They actually do good work and keep the city safe. It is just that they sometimes do too much good work and antagonize corrupt CEOs in the city.
The heroes have offended a lot of people in the city, not just the villains. Now that they have such a poor outcome in the war, their enemies are using this opportunity to put them in their place with a painful public lashing.
Rewind was not the only one who was embarrassed on public television. Many heroes were invited on talk shows every day. Wrath and Kelvin were there in front of the TV to enjoy their embarrassment.
Even the guy from the Justice League who could manipulate metal and survived his ambush was also publicly flogged for the poor performance of the heroes.
It was through the interview that Kelvin learned his name.
He exclaimed, "So his name is Havoc. That's a good name. I am sure I could wreak a lot of havoc if I combine his ability with a weapon class ability."
Wrath chuckled and said, "I hope he can survive until you have game points because at this rate, he might not even live to see tomorrow."
Wrath is concerned for his life because Havoc was much smarter than Rewind. The hero knew why he had been invited and had a plan to turn this around.
He came prepared with a lot of documents and videos exposing the corruption of prominent officials in the city. This corruption included dealings with villains and the purchase of slaves.
He had succeeded in changing the topic, and he had even gained public support, but Wrath was sure that an attempt on his life would be made soon.
Kelvin said, "Maybe we will have a corpo vs. heroes war."
They were having a nice time when he received a message from Pauli. He glanced at it and put his phone away.
Wrath asked him, "What was that about?"
"It is Pauli again. He wants me to join him for an expedition in the foreign battlefield. He is even offering a down payment of a hundred energy stones if I agree."
Wrath said, "It is unfortunate that you can't help him."
He nodded. "It is truly unfortunate. I don't have game points, and I also have my expedition to worry about. Besides, I don't like him. Who knows if it is a trap to avenge the death of their partner? I should stay away from them as far as possible unless I want to kill them."
Then he said, "I wonder which expedition he will be going to, though."
Wrath answered, "It is probably a different one from yours. The Yggdrasil civilization is always invading numerous worlds at the same time."
He put the matter of Paul's message aside and focused on the TV.
The public bashing of heroes has gone on for almost two weeks now. Things had become stale. But Havoc managed to bring in new content and breathe fresh life into the program.