The villain's way to tame the protagonist

The old emperor stood up, the flames of feasting that symbolized the power of the sixth rank burning in her eyes, but it also seemed to be burning and stimulating the ambition and dignity of the eldest princess below:

"I am still the supreme ruler of this land and the entire empire—"

Effisand, who had not felt so refreshed for a long time, looked down at her daughter who tried to fight against her but was so weak that she laughed at her. She declared with great joy and ferocity:

"The only master!"

At this time, Ivora stopped talking.

The eldest princess just looked at her mother expressionlessly, and at the same time, she took a little time to glare at Anser fiercely.

She still had no fear of the emperor who looked down upon her, but she could not refute the facts stated by Anser.

No matter how old, no matter how weak, no matter how close to chaos and madness.

Ephisandre Feast of Flames still holds the power to burn the entire empire to ashes. From the moment she puts on the crown until she throws herself into the source flame and completely perishes, she is a god walking on earth, the empire... itself.

"Little Susilen is right."

Efesand sat back on the throne and looked at Anser with great satisfaction: "Your arrival is indeed the most interesting thing in this boring time."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Anser responded with a smile, and his eyes caught a glimpse of the little princess. She smiled at Anser, pinched the hem of her skirt with both hands and lifted it a little bit, as a small lady's greeting.

"Of course..." The emperor held up his face, his eyes still fixed on his daughter, "This doesn't mean there's nothing else interesting."

She was just asking if anything interesting happened, but suddenly she said something that clearly showed she knew what had happened recently.

This made the hearts of many sensitive and experienced nobles below jump, and by the time they reacted it was already a little late.

"Ivora."

Efesand said in an old and hoarse voice: "I heard that you have been tinkering with something recently?"

Without waiting for Ivora to answer, she shifted her gaze to the front line of the nobles.

"Nasema, you speak."

"……His Majesty."

The person who spoke was a middle-aged man with luxurious clothes and an upright figure.

Nassima Shenghui, Grand Duke Shenghui among the thirteen Grand Dukes of the Empire, one of the nine highest seats in the Aether Court, one of the current powerful holders of the Aether Court, and one of the few Grand Dukes who came to the Imperial Capital as soon as he knew that Efesand had restarted the court meeting.

He bowed his head deeply and said to the emperor with great respect: "His Highness Ivora is preparing to assist the Ether Academy in developing a powerful alchemical creation called 'Mechanical Equipment'."

"Um……"

The emperor's fingers tapped the armrest carelessly, rising and falling in the blood flames: "Since it is a powerful alchemical creation, why didn't you report it to me, but cooperate with Ivora?"

The surging murderous intent was clearly revealed in these light and casual words.

Being questioned in this way, Grand Duke Shenghui did not show any panic. He just lowered his head and said in a very respectful and humble tone:

"Because any so-called 'powerful' alchemical creation is nothing more than a piece of scrap metal to you. And Her Highness the Crown Princess still needs to grow, so this will also add strength to Her Highness and the Empire. Moreover, when the research and development of the equipment is completed, no matter who invested the resources, it will be yours after all, isn't it?"

His answer, apart from somewhat irritating Ivora, was flawless.

Obviously, this answer satisfied the emperor, but she seemed not to be satisfied with just that.

"Since it is mine after all, then... there is no need to wait until the end."

Ivora suddenly raised his head and looked at Efesand with a bit of anger in his eyes. The emperor, who had not appeared in front of the public for a long time, declared in an irresistible tone:

"This so-called mechanical equipment is mine now." She waved her hand and said casually, "Nasema, you can use the manpower and resources as you like. I want to see the finished product within seven days."

The Grand Duke Shenghui did not show any surprise, but bowed gracefully: "Your will, Your Majesty."

At this point, the true intention of this court meeting is self-evident.

Her Majesty the Emperor still cared nothing about the affairs of the empire, but she was very "concerned" about her rebellious daughter, the increasingly arrogant heir.

The emperor did not care about the Tower of Babel, not only because that organization was not even a reptile in her eyes, but also because the Tower of Babel was an organization cultivated by Ivora.

But the Ether Courtyard... is different.

The default mainstream of the Ether Court is to lean towards the emperor. When Ivora reaches out there, this kind of thing is bound to happen. To a certain extent... this itself is equivalent to Ivora's provocation to the emperor.

But the problem is that the emperor's reaction was... too quick.

She stayed in the palace Antichege all day, using source flame to fight against the chaos that corroded her soul. She only thought about how to prolong her life. She didn't even care about her appearance, so she had no mood to pay attention to what happened recently in the imperial capital.

Apart from Ivora, no one in the world dared to disturb the emperor who spent most of his time sleeping in Antichego.

Otherwise, our Crown Princess wouldn't be able to expand her power so easily.

Therefore, no matter how big the movement of Ivora was, it was impossible for the emperor to know the situation in such a short time.

How many secrets were hidden in this court meeting? What made the emperor discover Ivora's actions so quickly and suddenly and react immediately... No one knows.

Only one thing is clear, that is, the Ether Institute... is on the cusp of the trend again.

Although this was just a small thing the emperor did to pressure his successor, no matter what the emperor thought, there was only one fact in the eyes of countless people - that is, the emperor gave the Ether Academy unlimited resources to let them do things.

This is favor, and it has nothing to do with why the emperor did this, because the sporadic kindness she showed to anyone or anything was enough to make them receive terrifying support and pursuit.

"Then, today—"

"His Majesty."

Anser, who was standing next to the emperor and had hardly said a word since entering the hall, suddenly spoke at this moment.

"I think that if you invest resources to create mechanical equipment but don't use it in actual combat and just watch it, it would be meaningless."

"It is a weapon after all, isn't it?"

The old king raised his eyebrows with interest. "That's right, Anser. Do you have any opinion?"

"As we all know, His Highness Ivora has paid special attention to an organization called Babel Tower in recent years. This organization... is famous for producing advanced, powerful, and mass-produced alchemical weapons."

With just a few words, the evil Hydra defined an academic organization as an arsenal for producing violence, and none of the nobles and ministers thought there was anything wrong with it.

Under Ivora's increasingly furious gaze, Anser said calmly: "Since Babel Tower is good at producing weapons, and the weapons themselves are alchemical weapons, why not let the Ether Academy and Babel Tower compete to see which side's work is more... powerful?"

He turned to look at the emperor and bowed slightly: "Ordinary weapons testing is still boring. I think... you can select some death row prisoners, equip them with weapons from the Tower of Babel and the Ether Courtyard, and then let these people fight each other... Isn't this quite interesting?"

The emperor's eyes became brighter as she listened. After hearing Ansel's words, she laughed with great joy. That old laughter that made people's scalps tingle echoed in the hall, making people feel more uneasy.

"Very good...very good! You are indeed the most surprising person, Anser. I like your idea very much, but...it's still a little short of it."

Her dark blood-red eyes flickered with chaotic brutality that distorted her own thoughts, and her voice was filled with cruelty that made many nobles shudder:

"It's just like this, just a death row inmate, still boring."

"Since it is a weapon, it certainly needs more people and a bigger scene to have value and significance in displaying it. What is needed is not a fight between death row prisoners, but..."

The bloody flames on the throne burned fiercely, swallowing up the king's brutality and madness:

"A war!"

She spoke bloody and cruel words in a tone of great joy: "A war is the best way to show the power of weapons, and it is also interesting enough! Anser... I want to see a war, a masterpiece!"

"Go, Anser." The emperor raised his hand, touched Anser's snake-head ring with his fingertips, and said with a very satisfied smile, "You will present this long-lost drama for me. Find two rich and prosperous territories and tell their lords that the emperor ordered you to start a grand war. The winner will plunder everything the loser has and will receive my medal!"

The order of the empire is now broken and in chaos. The friction and struggle between territories are endless, but there is almost no such completely direct situation where two armies fight against each other.

What's more, these are two territories that are already very rich and prosperous and do not need to be plundered.

The emperor's idea was undoubtedly foolish, tyrannical, crazy and unjust, but what could the nobles and ministers here say? What would they say?

They only thought that the territory chosen by Anser should not be their own territory.

Of course, not everyone has opinions.

"An-Se!"

Ivora's voice was filled with uncontrollable rage: "What on earth are you...doing!"

"Just doing what you should do." Anser chuckled, "Hydra always stands on the side of the emperor, doesn't it, Your Highness Ivora?"

Ivora stared at Ansher for three or four seconds, then without saying a word, he turned into blood flames and disappeared in the hall.

Is this so-called competition really just a simple weapons test, or... is it a contest between the Ether Court and the Tower of Babel?

Of course not. This was clearly the first direct collision between the Emperor and the Princess.

The power gap in this collision was a bit too great.

One is the emperor who controls all the resources of the empire and a group of top sorcerers that has been passed down for hundreds of years; the other is the eldest princess, who, although her power is growing, will eventually be suppressed by the emperor, and a weak academic organization that has been established for less than ten years.

It’s clear who wins and who loses.

Ansher and Ivora are both sixth-level cultivators of the next generation. Logically, he should have been on the same front with her. No one knew why he wanted to provoke this fight that would surely be a loss for Ivora.

But everyone has already felt the bloody storm that is coming.

Chapter 12: The Madman Who Has Not Yet Become a Hero

Ming Fuluo walked out of the public cemetery and looked up at the sky full of dark clouds.

It will rain in three minutes and sixteen seconds, so I have to go back quickly, she thought.

Although part of Soran's ban was burned, Ming Fuluo's soul was still trapped in this puppet, so it was still Ms. Ronggel who accompanied her on this trip.

For Ming Fuluo, this pure waste of manpower was extremely shameful, but she still did it, which meant that this matter was as important to her as research and learning.

"Let's go, Ms. Ronger."

Ming Fuluo said calmly: "It's time to go back to the Tower of Babel."

The graceful and noble female scholar nodded slightly and walked back to the Tower of Babel side by side with Ming Furo.

"Ming Fuluo." Rong Geer suddenly said, "You... still haven't told us why you went to the Alchemy Association that day, and what happened."

"Because there is no need. You can't solve this problem. Telling you will only cause you more trouble and reduce your efficiency."

The woman answered with such expressionless face that it was hard to tell whether to call her rational or cold-hearted.

Hearing Ming Fuluo's words, Rong Geer smiled helplessly: "Actually, you are also annoying us."

"...I have always been like this." Ming Fuluo glanced at Rong Geer, "I thought you were used to it."

Rong Geer wanted to say that you are not always like this, but when he opened his mouth, only silence remained.

She sighed softly and said no more, just walked side by side with Ming Furo.

Rong Geer would sometimes look at Ming Furo's indifferent face, and occasionally see her staring at the streets of the imperial capital, the surrounding buildings, and the crowds of people hurrying by.

She could see such obvious boredom and unwillingness in those gorgeous purple eyes.

Ming Fuluo rarely showed her emotions like this, but every time she left the public cemetery, she always found it difficult to control her emotions.

Even if more people marvel at the amazing talent of this young sorcerer, the outside world, and even within the Tower of Babel, will not change their view of Ming Furo because of her talent.

Rational, cold, and inhuman.

In the eyes of most scholars inside the Tower of Babel, she was just a cold machine that never stopped running, a machine that was both respectable and feared.

But now, this machine was walking on the road silently. She wasted precious study and research time, and even let a powerful fifth-level warlock accompany her to waste time, just thinking and recalling something on the road.

"Ms. Rong Geer." Ming Fuluo suddenly said, "Have you ever regretted it?"

"……what?"

"I mean, when Babel started to push forward with the production of guns."

The woman turned to look at the elder and said calmly, "Have you ever regretted it?"

Jungel was silent.

Regret? She didn't know how to describe her thoughts.

The Tower of Babel was already in danger at that time and had no choice. Ming Furo's stunning success saved the organization. At that time, no one thought there was anything wrong and everyone was immersed in the joy of being reborn.

But as time went by, with the constant pressure from Ivola, with the mass production of firearms, and the research requirements for various new ether firearms...more and more people in the Tower of Babel began to feel anxious about the future.

It’s just that up to now, Ivola’s demand for alchemical weapons has not yet reached a point that is close to oppressing the Tower of Babel, which has limited this worry and anxiety to a certain range, allowing the Tower of Babel to still be considered an "academic organization."

But as the top executives of Babel, neither Hendrick nor Jungel...actually, they did not have positive expectations for the future of Babel.

That violent change was both the door to salvation at the Tower of Babel and the road to purgatory that ran counter to ideals.

By the time we realize it, it's already too late.