The villain's way to tame the protagonist

The thin adventurer wearing a beret walked through the crowd in the tavern, pushed the door open, and stood on the oily and dirty ground in the lower city.

Walking to the edge of the street, Marina held the railing and looked at the projection on the hollow passage in the center of the downtown area with a complicated expression.

She was not annoyed or angry at Sitana's overly rigid sense of justice, but was glad that her sister was a rare outlier among the extraordinary people. Because Marina knew very well that Sitana's "justice" was not just exaggeration or propaganda, she would really put it into practice for what she wanted in her heart - if there were oppressors, she would deal with them, and now she has learned to work hard to make the people she rescued have the ability to be independent after she leaves.

But this only proves that Xitana has a pure enough will and incredible ability to act. It can never prove that what she did is right.

——It may be absolutely correct in a moral sense, but the role that morality can play in this world is really limited.

If this goes on, Xier will get deeper and deeper into trouble here.

On the day she took over the affairs of the downtown area, Marina had basically figured out the situation there.

Crime is rampant, order is in chaos, and it is a den of filth... Strife Castle has no intention of managing this area. For the extraordinary people, this place is a dark paradise. It is a fantasy to change this place while being controlled by others.

But... there is still a chance.

Marina held onto the railing and exhaled slowly.

"Mibai Tower is no longer Mibai Tower. If we handle it properly... we should be able to let Xier leave with satisfaction before Mr. Anser leaves Strife Castle."

After Ansor casually took away Mibaita's head, an idea suddenly emerged in Marina's mind.

Since she can use Faust's name to control the Queen Bee...

Why not try to use Faust's name to directly control the Howling Legion?

When Bayepop leads a large number of elite Howling Legion soldiers to transform into war hyenas, isn't this the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the situation?

So in the presence of Ansel, Marina gave some earnest advice to the secretary who knew Mibata very well - to put it simply, if you do it, you may die at any time; but if you don't do it, you will die immediately once Indra finds out.

Of course, the temptations are still there. The secretary disguised as Mibaita should be able to enjoy all that Mibaita enjoys... but this secretary obviously cares more about his own life.

As for Indra, things were even simpler.

Marina's idea was not something she came up with on the spur of the moment. She would never come up with the idea of ​​"it seems like this might work" out of nowhere. That's Sitana's style.

Because it was mentioned in the information provided by the Queen Bee that Indra... was also an uneasy and ruthless character.

She joined the Howling Legion and became Bayepop's woman. She was promoted step by step to become the deputy of the Howling Legion, and she longed for higher authority and power. She was a transcendent in the most traditional sense, pursuing a leap forward.

So Marina was confident that she could convince Indra. As for the process... it was actually similar to the process of controlling the Queen Bee. However, compared to the Queen Bee who surrendered immediately, Indra obviously had some doubts about Ansher and the strength of this "Faust". Although she temporarily agreed to cooperate, she still wanted to find an opportunity to test Ansher's strength.

The only big problem is Grand Duke Qingjin. This old fox is likely to discover the problem with Mibaita. Once it is exposed, how to cover it up... Although Marina is prepared, she is not stable.

And Indra... Indra is also an unstable factor. Although Mibaita is in charge of government affairs, adventurers don't care about these, and the people of the Howling Legion still obey Indra.

We need to find a way to make her convinced of Mr. Anser so that we can completely control the Castle of Strife. So what should we do...

Marina, who was lying on the railing, thought so while looking at the huge light screen casually.

Residents of the lower town also have the right to watch the trials. Bars and other places where people gather, as well as the huge empty cylinder in the center of the lower town of this "mine", will all broadcast images of the game to deepen the civilians' awe and...worship of the extraordinary people.

Mibaita does have some tricks up his sleeve in this regard. No matter how miserable the people in the lower city are, they have never thought of leaving Strife Castle... They clearly don't want to live in the lower city at all, but they are unwilling to leave. He can allow civilians to live with such a contradictory mentality. If this person is used well, actually... huh?

Just as Marina was thinking about the Mibai Tower, the scene on the huge light screen in front of her suddenly changed.

The expression on the girl's face gradually changed from thought to shock, and then from shock to dullness.

Faust who suddenly beheaded someone in public, Faust who casually threw the head to two people, Faust who cut Indra into pieces without lifting a finger, and... Faust who dared to provoke the Duke of Lapis Lazuli and escaped unscathed.

Because Marina was helping Hitana according to Anther's orders, although she had been thinking about how to continue working for Anther during this period, she had not contacted Anther and did not know his next schedule. Naturally, she had no idea that he would cause such a big mess at the beginning of the Dispute Trials.

Why did Mr. Anser suddenly kill people? What happened to the two people killed by Indra? Why did the Grand Duke of Lapis Lazuli remain indifferent to Mr. Anser's provocation? Provocation... Mr. Anser... Faust...

At this moment, all the problems and doubts that had been bothering Marina were turned into dust by a bolt of thunder.

"Indra should not be dead, but she must be convinced this time."

"Even if he discovered the problem with the Mibai Tower, as long as he knew that it was Mr. Anser who controlled the Mibai Tower, he might not take action. He is a businessman, and Faust has no grudge against him. His first reaction must be to do business with Faust."

"So Mr. Anser's provocation is a test... no, it's a hint! It's sending a signal. This way, Grand Duke Qingjin will not interfere in the affairs of the Strife Castle, and Mr. Anser will be able to easily take full control of this place."

Although there was still some information missing from the truth, Marina's guess was actually pretty close. Her pretty face, which was a little dull due to fatigue, now had an unnatural blush. The girl covered her chest, calmed herself down, and breathed softly.

"Mr. Anser can...can..."

Her voice gradually became lower.

"No... No, not Mr. Anser."

Maganlei was murmuring, and her hands gripping the railing were brimming with veins from exerting too much force, and began to tremble. However, this inability to control herself was not due to fear or panic, but out of... uncontrollable excitement.

Her red eyes, which were very similar to those of Hitana but lacked any wildness, flickered with a heart-pounding light like a will-o'-the-wisp.

"it's me."

Marina uttered these two words with a trembling voice, somewhat weakly.

"Adventurer Faust has no interest in managing this territory, so the one who truly controls the Castle of Strife is his servant, me... it's me, Marina, it's me... Maganlei!"

Marina's hands and feet felt a little weak. What made her heart waver was not the power, but... Ansel's dedication and Ansel's trust.

Is Mr. Anser doing these things for me?

The girl held on to the railing to prevent herself from collapsing on the ground due to her weak legs and feet. She kept gasping for breath, looking at the departing figure on the screen. After a few seconds of blurry eyes, they gradually became clear and calm as usual.

...No, don't think too much, Marina. Mr. Anser may not do all these things just for you. Think about it... Think about it, if you are not here, will Mr. Anser still do this? If he does, then the purpose is -

In a short while, the girl, who was immersed in sweet love and fantasy, broke free by herself.

She felt the coldness of the railing on the palm of her hand, and a chill emerged between her beautiful eyebrows that she herself was not aware of.

"Shadow Marsh."

Marina whispered softly, "If I wasn't there, Mr. Anser would have his reasons for doing this. Maybe not in this way, but Mr. Anser would definitely use some means to create opportunities for Shadow Marsh to completely dominate Strife Castle in secret."

The girl, who was becoming more and more enlightened, looked up. At this moment, the picture on the screen had changed back to the adventurers rushing to the three gates to the maze world, but there was a completely different scene in her eyes.

"Mr. Anser has been planning to control Strife Castle from the beginning. On his way to find Ivora, he also planned to change the West Country. This is Mr. Anser... It is Faust's base."

"If I wasn't there, Mr. Anser would let Shadow Marsh secretly control this place, but because of my existence... Mr. Anser decided to use a different approach."

Although it was not entirely because of her, Ansel was willing to make changes to the plan because of her existence, which made Marina very moved.

In Mr. Anser's heart... maybe, maybe I still have some weight?

As Marina was thinking this, a cold breath coming from behind her interrupted her thoughts. The girl immediately turned around and saw the tall and thin figure standing in the middle of the street.

"...Ma'am." Marina exhaled slowly, "You actually have time to come to see me."

She didn't call Naylan's name directly on the busy street, but the latter didn't seem to care, because those passers-by seemed not to see her at all, nor did they hear what Marina said.

"Lord Anser told me to leave you alone."

Naylan moved forward slowly. Her body was like a ghost, and passers-by could pass through it directly. Her quiet and indifferent voice reached Marina's ears without attracting anyone's attention.

"But based on Lord Anser's actions today, I feel it is necessary to give you some warnings to prevent you from having any inappropriate thoughts."

Marina tilted her head slightly: "You mean... Mr. Anser did this all for me - this idea, right?"

Under Naylan's slightly stagnant gaze, the girl smiled calmly: "I'm not so self-righteous, Ms. Naylan."

After confirming that Nalan must have used some magic, she also became direct.

After a brief silence, Nailan nodded slightly: "That's right, you are not such an ignorant person."

"So, what did Ms. Nayland want to tell me?"

This ghost-like woman, who seemed to live forever in the shadows, stared at Marina for a long time, and then said indifferently: "Do you think you can control the Castle of Strife?"

“So that’s the problem.”

The smile on the girl's face became brighter: "Don't bother with it, Ms. Naylan, I am confident in this little thing."

"A small matter? I see you're exhausted just dealing with the downtown area."

"Oh? So you are confident that you can complete his mission without going against Miss Sitana's will?"

"..."

After another silence, Nalan said coldly: "You should also know that this work should have been done by Shadow Marsh."

"So?" Marina responded softly, "Are you going to take control of Strife Castle from me? And how are you going to do it?"

"Kill Mibata and Indra directly? Do you want to resolve the conflict between Shadow Marsh and me at the cost of destroying Mr. Anser's plan? You won't do that... Ah, I made a mistake. In your and Shadow Marsh's eyes, I am not qualified to have a conflict with you."

With her hands folded in front of her belly, Marina, wearing ordinary adventurer's cloth clothes, still looked demure and elegant. She narrowed her eyes slightly:

"You are just doing things for Mr. Anser according to your own will, right?"

Before Nalan could speak, Marina continued, "So, just like I threatened Mibaita and Indra, you should win them over to Shadow Marsh? But as Maganlei, I can use Faust's name, but as Shadow Marsh, who can you rely on?"

She tilted her head slightly and chuckled, "An organization that walks in the dark and shouldn't be known to anyone is going to use Mr. Anser's name to win them over?"

"Ah... power. Demonstrating power is one possibility, but Indra has experienced a more terrible power himself, hasn't he?"

With a dark light flashing in her eyes, Marina took a step forward, and her tone and voice unconsciously took on a bit of natural...cold oppression:

"Or do you think that everyone in Shadow Swamp... has the confidence to match Mr. Anser's killing power?"

"you……"

Normally, she was gentle and quiet, and never showed any coldness in the records. She was like a docile lamb, but her current attitude made Naylan speechless for a moment.

"...Heh." After a brief pause, she actually laughed, her lips painted with light black lip gloss slightly raised, "You have grown, Marina."

"People always have to grow."

Marina smiled and said, "Do you have anything else to say?"

The next moment, her body was suddenly pulled into the air.

Nalan's ghostly figure suddenly appeared in front of Marina, grasped her throat with his slender five fingers, and lifted her off the ground.

However, Naylan did not show any malicious intent when he did this. He just pinched Marina for a moment, without even causing her any pain, and then let her go.

When the girl came to her senses, she was already on the ground.

Marina subconsciously touched her neck and said in a slightly cold tone: "What do you mean, Ms. Naylan."

"I'm showing you what you need."

"..."

This time, it was Marina's turn to remain silent.

"You're right, Marina." Naylan said directly, "For now, Shadowmarsh has no way and no intention to directly seize control of Strife Castle from you, but I still need you to hand it over."

"You seem very persistent about this." Marina asked, "Is Fort Strife important?"

As a result, Naylan said something that was completely unexpected to Marina.

"It's not Strife Castle, it's you."

The tall and thin woman glanced at Marina and said, "Sir Anser has never given any mortal such preferential treatment as you. I cannot tell the level of your ability, but based on the trust Mr. Anser has placed in you, I can tell that you have incredible limits."

"I am somewhat flattered by your evaluation."

“Just being realistic.”

Naylan said calmly, "You have the support of Lord Anser, and with Fort Strife as your foundation, you are constantly radiating outwards... and judging by Mr. Anser's trust in you, you are indeed capable of operating a huge network here."

“But having the ability doesn’t mean you can do the right thing.”

Marina twitched the corner of her mouth. She didn't expect that her evaluation of Sitana would be applied to herself.

"So, after all that, you still stick to your theory?"

The girl looked up at Naylan, who had a cold expression on his face. "I can't help Mr. Anser, right? Even if I have the ability, it's still the same."

"……Do not."

Naylan's answer once again made Marina confused: "That was true before, but now, I have other ideas."

She held out her hand to Marina and said:

"Join Shadow Marsh, and we will lead you to a path that can truly help Lord Anser."

Marina was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing: "Since you can't take control of the Strife Castle, are you planning to take me down directly?"

"Control of Fort Strife doesn't matter. All I want is you."

Naylan's serious look made Marina slightly suppress the smile on her face. She stared at Naylan for a long time, then asked in confusion: "Is this... a spur-of-the-moment idea?"

"On a spur of the moment basis."

"Yeah……"