The villain's way to tame the protagonist

"That's different, they-"

Ming Fuluo's words were suddenly stuck. She instinctively felt that there was an essential difference between the civilians of the Red Frost Territory and the civilians of the Strife Castle, but she couldn't tell what the difference was for a moment.

So, she could only change her words helplessly: "Don't you think there are many things in her explanation that are too coincidental? Why was she captured as soon as you came back? Why did a force suddenly appear to test Anser? Was the chaos in the lower city an opportunity for the revolutionary army to escape, or did she just happen to use the revolutionary army to make up such an excuse?"

"I know you can't accept Marina doing this. That's why you should get to the bottom of it and find out why she did this. You can't let her continue to make mistakes—"

"enough."

Xitana looked at Ming Fuluo coldly: "You are just doubting Lina. Because you doubt her, no matter what Lina says, you will think she is lying... There is nothing more to say."

Ming Fuluo frowned slightly: "If you think so, then I have nothing to say. I think you have indeed grown significantly during this period of time, so I want to discuss the truth of this riot with you, but since you think there is nothing to say... then you should take care of yourself."

Her figure turned into particles and disappeared without a trace, and after Ming Fuluo finished speaking, Xitana slowly clenched her fists and whispered her sister's name.

"Lina..."

"Do not lie to me."

*

In Marina's office, Ansher was sitting in the position where she used to sit for more than ten hours a day, looking through the documents on the table.

"Have you contacted Indra and asked her to push the details of this riot onto the Revolutionary Army?"

Anser asked without looking up.

"Yes." Marina, who was standing beside Ansel, lowered her head slightly. "Miss Ming Fuluo... doesn't really believe what I said."

The young Hydra smiled and said, "Although she can't be compared with Xi'er in terms of intuition, but speaking objectively, she is much more perceptive than Xi'er in this regard... I have taught her some things, and she has also experienced it herself. It's normal that she won't let go easily."

"The Revolutionary Army's excuses... It's not easy to complete all the details and doubts - how long did it take?"

"About half a day."

"Not bad." Anser showed an approving expression. "It's a good move to use the revolutionary who escaped from the dungeon to tie up Xi'er who absolutely trusts you."

He clearly said this in a tone of praise, but Marina's body trembled slightly.

"Anser...Mr." The girl said with some difficulty, "I'm sorry, I...deceived Miss Xitana like this."

Anser's eyes narrowed slightly: "Why apologize to me, Marina."

“Ah—” Marina realized her mistake and immediately corrected herself, lowering her head even lower. “If there is an opportunity in the future… I will confess everything to Miss Sitana.”

After hearing this, Anser retracted his meaningful gaze and chuckled, saying, "I mean, this is actually... I mean, you didn't do anything wrong, you just didn't do it well enough - in fact, it can't be considered as not doing well enough, that kind of coincidence is not something you can control."

If everything was under Marina's control, there wouldn't be such a tragic ending, and there wouldn't be any casualties. It's a pity that she escaped from the cell at this time and was not caught. She successfully escaped from the Castle of Strife, and happened to encounter Athena's revolutionary army, which made her plan fail.

This is indeed... helpless.

Anser's words made Marina's eyes brighten a little, and her voice became as soft as cotton: "But before Mr. Anser and Miss Ming Fuluo left, he wanted me to control the downtown area."

The blond boy held his chin with one hand and glanced at Marina with a smile: "How dare you do such a thing?"

"Please forgive my self-righteousness."

Marina did not feel any fear at this moment, but felt extremely relieved. She quietly looked into those sea-blue eyes, then immediately looked away, and said shyly and softly:

"It's me...I stubbornly believe that Mr. Anser needs me to do this."

"Even if I failed, I was confident that Miss Ming Fuluo and Miss Xitana would not contact you, so I did it."

"Stop talking about giving up on yourself." Anser raised his hand and patted Marina's shoulder. "You are Xier's most important sister. She doesn't want to accept that answer."

The gentle smile on Marina's face froze for a moment.

"I...I will, Anser—"

"Ah, there is more."

Ansher raised his head and pinched Marina's chin with his fingers, making her look at him.

"To me, you are already a mature and talented assistant. There is no need for you to make such a sacrifice. I don't mind you relying on me for problems that you cannot handle."

"Ah I……"

Even though she had been alone with Ansel countless times and had even served him in various ways, when faced with this situation, Marina would still be at a loss like a girl in love.

She bit her lips lightly, trying hard to suppress the blood on her hot cheeks. The subtle and pleasant sound was like the humming of a deer.

"I will, Mr. Anser."

The intoxicated girl murmured in a dreamy voice: "If I could, I would rely on you."

Anser looked at Marina's eyes that were covered with mist and suddenly said:

"Marina, do you know why I slowly handed these things over to you?"

Marina would not let her personal emotions influence her thinking too much. She quickly broke away from her sweet mood and thought about Anser's problem.

Why did Mr. Anser make me understand the morbidity of this world, let me know the absurd distortion between mortals and supernatural beings, and even let me try to correct it myself?

Is it because I can feel Mr. Anser's pursuit... No, that's not right. Mr. Anser couldn't have let me do this just because he valued this. He might not even care about this.

"In the ancient Zhengtian Dynasty, mortals were slaves, playthings, and even... livestock of the extraordinary."

Anser closed Marina's notebook and whispered, "The empire established by the first emperor changed this situation and made mortals citizens of the empire. Even though in the end... they were just tools to please the emperor, compared to the undisguised cruel domination of the Zhengtian Dynasty, the empire at least allowed most mortals to have the dignity of being human and the possibility of realizing the value of life."

“The empire is now on the verge of collapse. How can we build a system that goes a step further? I have been thinking about this.”

Ansor started thinking about this matter three years ago. Yes, it was after Ming Furo's unintentional suggestion that he realized that the purpose of destiny was to overthrow the empire and rebuild a new world, that he began to think about this matter.

This was the source of his breakup with Ming Fuluo - he fought against the devil of fate, denied everything that fate expected, and naturally rejected the changes that Ming Fuluo wanted to promote.

He wanted to create a better empire, one that was definitely not what fate wanted, one that would stand for thousands of years, as a tribute to this supreme being.

The "better" here is not necessary, but it is to avoid the emergence of new heroes.

That is to say, in essence, this is still a battle between Ansel and fate, and has nothing to do with the structure of the world and society.

“But it’s tough.”

Even if Ansel didn't say it, Marina understood what he meant and knew what he was going to say next.

But she actually didn't know what Anser was really fighting against. But even so, this grand cause that was equivalent to fighting against the world was subtly and perfectly synchronized with fighting against fate.

The girl clenched her fists slightly, trying to make her voice less emotional.

"You are alone. You have no experience to absorb, and no one to help you in this matter... Miss Ming Fuluo and Miss Xitana, they--"

"They have their own principles and persistence."

Anser smiled gently. Not only was he not bothered by it, but he gladly accepted the fact.

"If they obey me in everything, they will no longer be Xi'er and A'Luo."

Even though Ansel had many opportunities to make them obey him, he ultimately chose not to do so.

"Principles and...persistence." Marina repeated in a low voice.

"Hehe, I'm not saying that you don't have these things, Marina, it's just that your starting point is different."

Anser's teasing made Marina blush slightly: "I, I don't think you said I have no principles. I understand what you mean, Mr. Anser."

My principles and persistence are you——

"He is a mortal like you."

……Eh?

Anser looked out the window of his office at the residents of the downtown area who were busy rebuilding on the streets, and sighed, "Aluo and Xier's perspective is completely different from yours. As extraordinary people, they cannot see, cannot go deep into, and cannot understand what the entire group of [mortals] need when facing extraordinary people."

"Helping mortals...what exactly is considered helping?"

The young Hydra seemed to be asking Marina, but also seemed to be talking to himself.

"Whether it is the arrogance of the upper class to try to enhance the meaning, dignity and value of their existence while ignoring the reality of life itself, or the arrogance of taking care of them like a pet and protecting them in the palm of your hand, who can tell?"

“If we want to combine the two into one, how can we achieve a balance between them?”

Anser looked at Marina who was stunned: "You are right, Marina, it is very difficult. To this day, I still find it difficult to find a way out. So I need someone who stands from another perspective, someone who is smart enough and has the vision to keep up with me, to come up with new ideas."

A mortal, an intelligent one, who has read the knowledge that Anser brought from that world, and who deeply understands the struggles and pain of mortals and can empathize with them.

In these three years, the best candidate Ansel could confirm was Marina.

"Because I can... empathize with the civilians, so I am the right person for this?"

Marina whispered softly.

"That's right. Now it seems that my idea... is barely on a path that's not too bad."

Anser shook his head: "It's very difficult just to keep going."

At this point, he laughed again: "But it will be much better with you here, Marina. Your answers always coincide with the choices I want to make. I hope this is not just your talent, but that you and I are on the right path."

"...Yes, I will, Mr. Anser."

Marina bowed her head deeply: "I will definitely not let you down...your expectations."

She had never thought that her disguise could be so perfect.

Because looking back on the past, Marina discovered one thing.

She had never had any empathy with the civilians at all, and she simply... didn't care what kind of life the civilians would live in the future.

She only cared whether this was what Ansher needed, that's all.

She always makes the right choice, not because she and Ansel are on the right path.

But she knew better than anyone what Ansel really needed in his heart.

Mr. Anser, you gave me false expectations.

Realizing this, Marina wanted to tell Ansel her true nature immediately.

However, when she thought of Ming Furo, Xitana, their pursuits, their expectations of Ansir, and... what Ansir himself wanted, Marina couldn't say this out loud.

But am I really... wrong?

*

The star contestants of the trials all stayed in the most luxurious hotel in Uptown, with all expenses paid by the Howling Legion.

While the adventurers were living a life of drunkenness and debauchery day and night, a very mysterious contestant who refused to participate in all extra activities was staying in his room, planning something big.

On the list, his name is Huangwu, but in fact, he is Huangshan, a revolutionary army aid who is highly expected by Gudao and Fiery Red Eagle, a direct subordinate of Odumbra, the top fourth-level extraordinary person, and he is expected to reach the fifth level within twenty years.

"Tomorrow, Faust will have a battle with Fenrir."

Huang Shan seemed to be concentrating with his eyes closed, but he was actually using secret techniques to communicate with other revolutionary forces: "This is our best chance."

"...But Huangshan, now that Xuechen and Tianrang have both reached a truce, do we really need to continue...doing this?"

The original intention of the revolutionary army to sneak into the Castle of Strife and stir up unrest was to force back the mercenary corps that were wreaking havoc on the battlefield. However, now that the war has stopped due to the regent incident, there is no need for them to continue to cause trouble and they could have run away long ago.

"Odumbra is currently being hunted down by Tianrang and Xuechen's men."

Huang Shan's voice was very cold and hard: "She has actually fled to the territory of Grand Duke Long Yu, so we have to occupy Strife Castle in her name to attract attention and buy time for her."

"...I see. Okay, I understand. What should we do tomorrow?"

"I will use forbidden spells and secret medicine to try to defeat Faust. Now the eyes of the West are focused here. As long as I can create a big enough reputation, I can attract attention. No one will think that a fourth-level extraordinary person can defeat Faust. They will definitely think that the lawless madman Odumbra has run wild in the territory of Grand Duke Qingjin again."

"As for you, just do your best to sabotage the trials, as long as you can...Anyone!"

Huangshan suddenly opened his eyes, raised his hand and grasped the window. The entire window exploded instantly, but he didn't catch anything.

"Desolate mountain...Desolate mountain? What happened?"

Huangshan didn't say anything. His strong body bulged with muscles like iron, exuding an aura as heavy as a mountain.

"Don't mess around, do you want to be discovered?"

Just as he was about to make a test move, a pleasant female voice with a hint of wildness was heard in the room.

The uninvited visitor showed up openly: "You must have investigated me many times, you must know who I am, right?"

"you……"

After appearing, Huang Shan was even more confused: "Why are you here? How could you——"

How is it possible to hide from my perception?

The visitor was too lazy to waste time talking to him and went straight to the point:

"I just wanted to discuss this with you guys, but I didn't expect... you guys wanted to make something big."