Anime: Fight Sukuna at the beginning?.

Chapter 240: Two People Who Want to Take Control

"My name is Esdeath, the general who has no soldiers or officers under his command.

"You are now the leader of the Hunters and the one who is in charge of interrogating you. I am very happy to meet you, Fang Yi."

After saying these words that she had racked her brains to come up with, as if squeezing out the last drop of oil from the residue, Esdeath looked at Fang Yi in front of her with a kind smile, expecting the other party to give her the response she wanted.

While changing her clothes, the female general 'hibernated' and thought for a few minutes, and then realized that she needed to find an opportunity to take back the initiative in their relationship.

From the moment the man held an umbrella for her, she had been led by the nose by him without realizing it. She felt shorter than this man, and her communication and actions were completely at his pace.

This was extremely difficult for the female general to adapt to and accept.

"I've always been in control, I hunt, I give, and cooperation should also be centered around me. How could I allow this man to control me in turn?"

The female general, who had completed the draft of the plan to "regain sovereignty" in her mind, decided to treat Fang Yi as her "prey" after she walked out of the room, and use her superb "hunting" skills to subdue him.
As the female general walked towards Fang Yi, she was still thinking about how to catch the opponent's "flaw". As a result, under Fang Yi's conscious "performance", she "happened" to witness the whole process of Fang Yi "dismembering" the wardrobe.

She took the opportunity to correct Fang Yi's mistake through the fireplace incident, slightly suppressed and denied Fang Yi, and slightly regained the "initiative" of the conversation.

At the same time, he chose to 'pursue victory' and showed off his [Imperial Weapon] ability by 'drying' the wood, demonstrating his strength.

The female general felt that it was time to reveal her identity and start to "dominate" the other party.

The 'prey' has experienced 'suppression' and felt its own 'power'. Now is the best time to complete the 'hunting' task by 'killing it with one blow'.

The female general had never smiled so kindly, nor had she ever worked so hard to think, and began to make full use of the 'cards' she had in her hand.

While revealing his identity as the other party's 'interrogator' and leader of the 'hunters', he also indirectly showed his predicament of being a lone commander with no one under his command.

At the same time, she put on a kind smile, matched her somewhat revealing clothes with her very attractive figure, and said such sincere words.

With this kind of tactics, it is natural to make the other party yearn to become one's subordinate.

The female general who had performed such a wave of "operations" looked at Fang Yi who was a little stunned, and was very satisfied with her performance.

[The next second, he should have excitedly shaken my hand, expressing his admiration for me with a look of shock on his face.]

[After that, I just need to talk to him like I would to the soldiers, eat the same food as him, and talk to him in a friendly manner. This should quickly improve his favorability.]

However, the female general heard words that she could not believe in the next second.

There was also something unexpected in her outstretched hand.
-
Looking at Esdeath who was bending down very close to him, revealing some whiteness, extending her hand towards him who was half-squatting, with a smile on her face.

Fang Yi couldn't help but laugh inwardly, "He's taken the bait. It looks like he's going to follow the 'rules'. That'll make it easier to control him."

He wiped his hands, and the 'excitement' he had pretended on his face disappeared without a trace. He then replied with a dull and uninterested look.

“Nice to meet you too, General Esdeath.

“Well, then?

"General Esdeath, do I need to stand and salute you now? General Budd told me that there is no such custom in the Imperial Army.

"Also, General, if you want to recruit me, I'm afraid you'll have to go through a few more steps.

"Or are you planning to start questioning now that you've revealed your identity? Since we're alone right now, that wouldn't be in line with [Minister] rules, right?"

With the support of [Minister] and Bud, Fang Yi, who was not afraid of the female general's displeasure, used his words to suppress the female general in a calm manner.

After completing the task of "suppressing" the female general, he did not take the initiative to shake the female general's hand, but handed over a few wet pieces of wood and stuffed them into the female general's hand.

In the face of the female general's puzzled and somewhat unfriendly look, he added something.

"Since you're Esdeath, and you just displayed that ability, you can probably do even better with drying the firewood.

"The strongest person in the empire in my mind wouldn't be so 'weak'; he should be much stronger.

"I think the general Liva I met earlier who could manipulate liquids could do something like this easily, and even better."

He once again "suppressed" the other party with words, secretly praised Esdeath's righteousness, and showed the firewood that was broken into pieces and almost turned into debris after the female general "showed off" just now, and said with some regret.

"General, your method just now dried the firewood, but it also destroyed the integrity of the firewood. This kind of debris cannot withstand burning.

"If it's still at this level, I'm afraid I can't leave the job of drying the firewood to you.

"I have a friend who is out buying food and fuel. Why don't we wait for him to come over?"

*
Before Fang Yi could finish, Esdeath grabbed the firewood in her hand and spoke in an even more unfriendly tone.

"Of course I can do better, I wasn't trying my best just now.

“I’m very good at this kind of work that requires precise manipulation using the [spiritual] power.

"Just watch carefully."

After saying that, the female general squatted beside Fang Yi, closed her eyes, and began to struggle with the wet firewood in her hand.

Obviously, the female general's competitive character made it impossible for her to refuse Fang Yi's implicit provocation, and she absolutely did not want to lose to Liva, her former subordinate whom Fang Yi mentioned in his words.

After Fang Yi's words, the "fat sheep" female general willingly jumped into the "soup pot" where Fang Yi cooked meat. She also took the initiative to sprinkle a handful of salt, threw in a few spices for stewing meat, and turned up the fire a lot.

Fang Yi was naturally happy to watch the female general compete with the firewood, and at the same time admired the female general's somewhat revealing "rare outfit".

At the same time, the "intelligent crow" also conveyed the instruction for Disma to stay outside for a while.

[No rush, let's simmer Esdeath for a bit. She's not a good partner right now, she'll need some polishing before she can become a good partner.]

Fang Yi glanced at the rain outside the house which was getting smaller and smaller, and felt that he should be able to complete the "transformation" of Esdeath tonight.
-
A few minutes later, Fang Yi looked at the female general who had closed her eyes and was still forcing herself to fight with the firewood, and laughed in his heart.

"It's useless, General Esdeath. No means no. Anyone can say harsh words, but harsh words alone are not enough to accomplish something like this.

“You might have been able to do it when you were ‘strong’ before, but you can’t do it now that you are ‘weak’.

"Why change clothes and come out with wet hair if you can do that."

Fang Yi, having grasped the opponent's limits and the level of his Imperial Equipment through conversation, had already laid a trap for the female general the moment she revealed her identity and prepared to begin the "Crooked Mouth Dragon King" segment. Fang Yi had seen enough of the show-off trope, from the Emperor's incognito visits to the Dragon King revealing his identity.

He naturally knows the other party's purpose and the reaction he wants, but he will not do as the other party wishes.

When Esdeath played the identity card and revealed her identity as a general, she was preparing to use her identity to gain the initiative and put herself in a dominant position.

As long as Fang Yi takes over, his relationship with the female general will gradually be in a subordinate position in the other party's perspective.

Once this status is established, it will become twice as difficult for him to become the master in the future and make the female general obey his orders better and complete his plans.

Moreover, if she chose to lick the boots, the female general, who believed in the idea of ​​"the strong dominating the weak", would look down on her.

Only by bumping into the opponent and showing her "strength" can the female general move herself out of the groups of "weaklings" and subordinates she dominates and put herself in the group of collaborators or even masters.

Fang Yi reorganized his plan again and looked at the female general who was gradually blushing and secretly glanced at him a few times. He knew it was time.

People who care about face like this need to give themselves a way out.

Fang Yi took some steps and walked towards the female general.
-
Esdeath was feeling a bit embarrassed now.

After trying for a few minutes, the female general suddenly realized that what she had promised was beyond her current ability.

If it were my old self, it would only take a wave of my hand to transform the damp firewood in my hand into the wood that meets Fang Yi's 'drying' standards for use as fuel.

You don't even need that much. As long as you can complete [Rise of the Empire I] and retrieve the trait [Touch of Frost], completing such trivial tasks will naturally be a piece of cake.

Unfortunately, the female general only discovered a cruel fact after trying for several minutes.

I really can’t do it now.

However, the female general's usual arrogance and unwillingness to admit defeat made it difficult for her to take the initiative to tell Fang Yi, "I really can't do this kind of thing."

This kind of self-deprecation and self-humiliation made her feel even more uncomfortable than killing the female general.

She had to use her brain and start thinking about solving the problem from other angles.

"Now, relying solely on the [characteristics] and abilities of the [Imperial Gear] is definitely not enough to accomplish the goals I promised Fang Yi. I have to find other ways.

"After the last world, increasing the [Spirit] attribute to 31 points might be able to make up for the weakening of the [Imperial Equipment] and the resulting deduction of [Traits]."

The female general, who had an idea, began to mobilize her mental power, began to break away from the rigid thinking of the original world, and explored ways to solve the problem from the perspective of a reincarnation.

She had already vaguely sensed that if she could complete this delicate operation of extracting moisture from the wood without damaging its structure in this 'weak' state, it would be of great benefit to her own growth in strength.

The fact that the abilities and characteristics brought by the [Imperial Equipment] were temporarily deducted by the main god space may not be entirely a bad thing for him.

*
Two minutes later, the female general, who had made two failed attempts, had a stronger fighting spirit in her eyes.

She already felt that she was only one step away from success.

"I haven't yet fully tapped the potential of the [Spirit] attribute. Once I do, I'll definitely be able to achieve my goal.

"After achieving this, the skills I acquired and integrated into my own understanding in the world I visited earlier should also be able to make some breakthroughs."

The female general, who touched the wet firewood again, had never looked so focused, and she had never wanted to complete a task so much.

As her almost overdrawn mental strength flowed through the firewood, pushing moisture into the wood, although her vision became a little dark, the female general already sensed that she would succeed.

Sensing victory was within reach, the female general now had only one conviction in her heart: [Even if it means exhausting my mental strength, I will not give up. I must accomplish this.]

Fortunately, reality also responded to the female general's firm belief.

After a while, the female general touched the dry firewood that was intact in her hand and listened to the prompt sound coming from the main god space in her ear, and a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

"Due to your exploration and improvement of skills, your mastery of the self-created combination skill [Ice Soul Concentration Visualization Method] has greatly improved, and has also produced additional enhanced branches."

"You have acquired the trait [Frost Reflection], and your [Ice Soul Concentration Method] has received an additional bonus. You can quickly teach [Ice Soul Concentration Method] to other characters and reincarnationists."

"Because you have mastered the skill [Mind Control] related to the [Mind] attribute, your [Mind] attribute increases by 1 point."
-
[I am Esdeath, a powerful being who undoubtedly has the qualifications to survive. I can naturally do such a small thing!]

After doing all this, the female general was about to turn her head and open her mouth to show Fang Yi the "dried" firewood in her hand, but she had never realized that her head was so dizzy and her eyelids were so heavy.

She looked at Fang Yi's face full of concern in the darkened vision, and the last words she uttered with a hint of stubbornness were, "You see, I did it."

Before the female general could finish her words, she closed her eyes, lost consciousness, and fell straight down.

It was obvious that his mental strength was overdrawn in a short period of time.

Fang Yi hugged the female general to prevent her from touching the ground. Then he sensed the female general's condition and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

"I just wanted to put down your arrogance a little, but I didn't mean to harm you. Your current state is even scarier than that of Myne."

"Well, since this incident was caused by me, I owe you one. I will restore you to your original state."

He walked forward and with some difficulty took out the firewood that the female general was holding tightly in her hand.

After placing the female general on the wide sofa, he covered her with his coat.

For the first time, he began to use the power of the [Legendary Branch] he received from Sukuna, and took the initiative to pay the price of activating [Bind] for others.

Given the other party's current state, it is obviously impossible to wake him up by pouring cold water on him like he did with Marin, forcing him to agree to use some of his things and establish a [binding] to speed up the recovery of his mental strength.

Even if he paid the price to activate the opponent's [Binding] to enhance the opponent, it might not be able to produce a good effect on the female general whose strength gap is relatively large.

In addition to activating [Binding], he should use some additional means.

　I have a minor illness, my brain is not working properly, it's a mess.

　　Sitting in front of the computer, I am not satisfied with the 4k of the next chapter, but I can’t do it anymore after rewriting and revising it for several hours.

　　After the revision is completed tomorrow, I will post both chapters of 8k together.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)