The villain's way to tame the protagonist

Number Nine stared at the little girl for a long moment before bending down and placing his hand on top of her head.

"It's not me who should be thanked, but Lord Hydra. Remember that, kid."

She tried to make her voice as gentle and pleasant as it used to be, but no matter how hard she tried, her voice was always as hoarse and dry as a black crow announcing a death, which made people instinctively feel disgusted and even fearful.

But the little girl did not show any disgusted expression. Instead, she smiled sweetly and nodded vigorously: "I remember, it was Master Hydra who saved me!"

"Good boy."

Number Nine gently pulled back the hand that was on top of her head, preventing her sharp, black nails that looked as if coated with poison from touching the girl's head. She took one last look at the refugees in the shelter, feeling their gazes.

Gratitude, numbness, awe, fear, panic... They are waiting for me to speak, waiting for me to drive them like cattle and horses, otherwise they will not feel at ease at all.

After a brief silence, the hoarse voice of Number Nine came from under the mask:

"In four minutes, another follower of Master Hydra will come to look after you. You can rest here, and he will take you to the next shelter when the fire spreads to this place."

After saying this, No. 9, who was not willing to listen to the expected farewell messages, seemed to turn into liquid and became a shadow sticking to the ground, and left quickly.

Because of Anther's direct order, both Shadow Marsh and Rhine responded very quickly - the Garden directly contacted many city lords in the name of Hydra, asking them to open temporary shelters to receive refugees; Shadow Marsh, because it was not appropriate to reveal their identities, only contributed manpower and was responsible for sending people to guide the refugees rescued by Shitana and Ming Furo, and to protect them from being treated unfairly in the shelter.

However, was this order given by Anser out of his genuine desire to rescue the poor civilians who had suffered this unprovoked disaster, or was he simply trying to satisfy the desires of the two Lords of the Contract? Most people in Shadow Marsh and the garden had no idea, or most people had never thought about this matter.

But Number Nine considered it, and had no hesitation in thinking that Anser was simply satisfying the capricious demands of the two girls.

What we should do at this time is to concentrate our strength to fight against the source of the blood flame... No, not just the source of the blood flame, this is also a great opportunity to reap other extraordinary people.

If they could concentrate the power of Mingfuluo and Xitana and let the Shadow Swamp come out in full force, No. 9 believed that they could take this opportunity to destroy many extraordinary forces.

Number Nine didn't know or care what others thought, but in her eyes, even though the current situation was very favorable to Anser under his calculations, she still had to guard against the possibility that other extraordinary people would suddenly react... and Anser was bluffing.

Yes, when the incident in Castle of Strife ended and the selection of the Regent was about to begin, Number Nine, who returned to Hydra Territory to carefully review the situation, realized one thing - that is, Anser was bluffing and buying time for the growth of Shitana and Ming Furo.

Just realizing this did not help Anther at all. Whether before or after becoming Number Nine, she could only watch Anther indulge those two...the two who were supposed to be completely obedient to Hydra, doing whatever they wanted that was of no benefit to Hydra and only satisfied their own needs.

Even now...even with the power.

Number Nine turned into a shadow and quickly rushed to where Sitana and Ming Furo were, smiling at himself in his heart.

All I can do is still just help those two ladies deal with their troubles.

Number Nine didn't have much resentment towards them, nor did he feel wronged. He just felt a little... pathetic.

Only she herself knew what price she had to pay to go from Marina to Number Nine, from an ordinary village girl with no extraordinary qualifications to a transcendent who could transform into a shadow.

From paying the price to accepting the results now, No. 9 feels pitiful for himself.

However, No. 9 had no intention of feeling sorry for herself. She had already gotten what she needed most and paid an irreparable price for her whole life. So no matter the goal or the cost, she had to do her best. Even if there was no hope at all, she had to climb to that position... where she could truly influence Anser's thoughts.

Just as Number Nine was about to approach Hitana and the others to carry out the second mission, Crow's voice suddenly sounded in her mind.

[Number Nine, in three seconds, the Master will communicate with you. Three, two——]

【……What? 】

When No. 9 was too shocked to react, the voice of the person whom she had been longing for and who helped her get through that period of despair had already sounded in her mind.

[It's been a while since we last met, Marina]

[…Yes, yes, Mr. Anser. My name is now Number Nine.]

[Number Nine...Okay, I get it. I'll call you Number Nine for now. I have a mission for you, it's very important.]

The shadow running close to the ground suddenly left the ground and turned into a girl dressed in black. Her body trembled slightly, as if the person who issued the order was right in front of her, and she knelt down to salute the air in front of her.

[Please let me serve you, Mr. Anser.]

Her hoarse and even distorted voice, with its trembling ecstasy, was like welcoming a fanatic to welcome his own divine revelation.

Chapter 1.1: Xitana is not stupid (w)

Grand Duke Blooddust's plan was not implemented as one-third of the extraordinary people present opposed it.

Bracher Xuechen, who was studying biological alchemy, was one of the most extreme ones among the extraordinary people who despised ordinary people. Many fifth-level extraordinary people could not accept the idea of ​​casually treating the lives of nine million people as materials.

However, one-third of the people certainly cannot determine the direction of the plan. There is naturally only one reason that can actually cause this cruel plan to fail.

Anser rejected the plan.

The moment he heard that nine million people would be melted into firewood, Ansel felt a great resistance in his heart.

Almost instinctively, he rejected the proposal at the first opportunity. Even without any moral sentiment involved, Grand Duke Xuechen's proposal was indeed very effective.

The more energy you can retain, the more chances you have of killing Ivora. However, if you want to avoid wasting ether in the process of catching Ivora, you must have an external object to block the burning of the Flame of Feasting. Although there are no less than five alchemy masters present, it is not realistic for them to create effective props in a very short time. Both the materials and the techniques... are not supported.

However, this extremely brutal method of Grand Duke Blood Dust can save a lot of time - because of the large number of civilians who fled the fire, it is not difficult to obtain materials; judging from his performance, this conversion method is not complicated, so with the support of other fifth-level extraordinary people, if the efficiency is high enough, maybe nine million people can be refined into sufficient blood crystals in half a day, and then immediately rush to the rift of the maze, without giving Ivora any chance to react.

This was in line with Anser's plan: to use the extremely urgent situation to leave other extraordinary people no time to think, and force them to step into the battlefield to face Ivora.

Even so, Anser rejected the plan.

Looking down at the black-haired girl half-kneeling on the ground, Anser said softly: "If it were you, you would be able to understand me, Number Nine."

"You want to use this disaster to eliminate all threats in one fell swoop."

There was such a distinct excitement and joy in No. 9's hoarse voice. She once again guessed what Ansel was thinking, and as always, she had never been wrong.

"That's right." Anser nodded. "We can't let them face Ivora intact. In the process of breaking through the space maze, I need to reduce their number by one third."

In order to avoid alerting others, Anser did not completely deny his proposal outright. Instead, he changed the angle of the other extraordinary people who opposed the proposal - if no one could come up with a better method within a day, then he would adopt the plan proposed by the Duke of Blood Dust.

Having an extra day to think is actually a considerable risk for Anser. Once a transcendent figure out that something is wrong, or directly discovers Anser's murderous intent under the influence of fate, the situation will immediately develop in the worst direction.

But he had to do this. Killing Ivora and killing other extraordinary people were both essential.

…That’s all.

"One day..."

Number Nine lowered his head and thought for a moment, then his body suddenly stiffened.

A very risky and dangerous idea came into her mind.

"You plan to..." The girl couldn't help but look up at Anser, her tone somewhat unbelievable, "Kill Duke Blood Dust within this day?"

There are only two ways to veto Grand Duke Blooddust's proposal. One is to find a plan that is more "economical" for these fifth-level transcendents than melting nine million people into firewood; the other way... is naturally to kill the proposer of the plan.

Although the method of Grand Duke Xuechen was an evil one, if there was a more effective solution than his evil one, the Alchemy Association headed by Pala would have proposed it long ago. One day would definitely not be enough, so the only way was...

Anser was slightly surprised by No. 9's quick reaction, but when he thought of her extremely special talent that was only valuable to him, it was not surprising. The young Hydra smiled, and even though his words were horrifying, his tone was very calm:

"Yes, I will kill Bracher Blooddust, today."

After hearing Anser's affirmation, No. 9 didn't care about what role she could play in killing Grand Duke Blooddust. Her first reaction was that this was too dangerous for Anser.

"Mr. Anser." A hoarse voice with a hint of worry came from under the mask, "Almost all of the empire's top fifth-level extraordinary people are in the Western Country. There must be many fifth-level extraordinary people around Grand Duke Xuechen now... If you act rashly, the risk is too great!"

The reason why Yingzhao can travel freely in the Western Country and build a huge network is not because they are truly omnipotent, but because the situation in the Western Country is already chaotic, which provides them with an opportunity to take advantage of.

But now... almost all of the twenty-nine fifth-level transcendents who gathered in the Western Country because of Ivora's catastrophe fire were on edge. Not to mention the difficulty of assassinating Grand Duke Blooddust, after killing him, could Anser really be 100% sure that no trace would be left?

Compared with this risk, it would be better for Grand Duke Blooddust to burn the lives of nine million people... Mr. Anser should be able to weigh the pros and cons better than me.

and many more……

Is that possibly insignificant shield really worth going to such lengths, Mr. Anser?

When this thought flashed through No. 9's mind, Ansher had already put his hand on her head and gently stroked it.

"Number Nine, when you decided to leave the Garden and join Shadow Marsh, I was surprised, but I also respected your choice."

"You are amazing for being able to survive the changes with determination."

"..."

Number Nine opened her mouth. Anser's praise should have made her feel extremely happy, but her heart was filled with only bitterness.

"But I...wasted this opportunity."

The girl's left arm, covered by the shawl, trembled slightly. "I am too mediocre, Mr. Anser. That was clearly the last Shadow Crow you left in Shadow Swamp, but I could only reach the third level, and..."

And there is no possibility of moving forward.

It's not like the Water of Redemption forcibly blocks the upper limit, but the talent of No. 9 itself stops here.

Even though she used an extremely precious ritual that cost two grand dukes a lot of resources to create, and consumed extremely precious materials, her mediocre body that had no talent at all still locked her possibilities at this... insignificant level to Anser.

When her sister declared that she looked down on everything with her absolute talent and ability, she, who was so eager for power and determined, still succumbed to the cold and cruel reality.

Although the desire to go further in Number Nine's heart was growing more and more crazy, her growing ambition could not suppress the pain and... hatred for her own mediocrity in her heart.

If it were me who took over everything, if I were Mr. Anser's contracted leader, I would never... let him face everything alone in order to save those ignorant civilians.

As Number Nine was thinking this, a hand gently covered her masked face.

"I never doubt Crow's judgment, and I will never doubt my vision, Nine."

Anser squatted down and looked at No. 9, who was kneeling on one knee. Through the holes in the mask, he stared into the eyes that were filled with darkness, as if completely covered by shadows.

"You are worthy of this gift, and I think you know better than anyone where this value lies."

Number Nine's hands were trembling slightly. She subconsciously wanted to raise her hand to touch Ansher's hand covering her mask, but she just raised it into the air and put it down again.

She thought of her sister's cold eyes and her arrogant, cruel, yet true words.

Right now, I am not qualified to respond to Mr. Anser.

"I believe you won't live in the shadows forever."

Anser smiled, stood up, and stretched out his hand to her: "So I look forward to the day when you get your name back."

Number Nine slowly handed her hand to Anther. When she touched Anther's palm, her fingers instinctively curled slightly, but in the end she still firmly grasped the warmth and trust that was equivalent to hope and life to her.

"I will, Mr. Anser."

The girl, unaware of Anser's true intention at the moment, murmured in her sleep.

"I will do everything for you..."

*

Click!

Without changing her expression, Hitana tore off her burned arm and threw the severed limb into the blood flames that were slowly advancing like a wave, then turned to look at the sky.

"...Where is she?" the girl asked Ming Fuluo in the air with some confusion.

"It seems that we have received orders from Anser."

Ming Furo was sitting on an aerial vehicle that was converted from a floating cannon - a very simple airship with only guardrails, on which were the last batch of fugitives they had rescued.

Shitana's intuition and perception played a big role. This time, they found a large number of old, weak and sick people who were abandoned during the escape and could not keep up with the main force. If Shitana and Ming Furo had not arrived in time, they would all have died in the sea of ​​fire.

When Xitana heard Ming Furo's answer, she didn't even have time to be surprised, and her expression instantly became surprised and suspicious.

"Anser's...order?" She looked up at Ming Fuluo in disbelief. "Are you sure? If Anser had something to do, why didn't she come to us instead of her?"

"Stay away from the fire before discussing this matter."

Ming Fuluo jumped off the small airship and steered it away from here. She floated to Xitana's side and urged her to leave quickly while saying:

"Anser always has his plans, don't think too much."

"No matter how well you plan, you should use us!"

Visible irritation and anxiety appeared on the girl's face: "Why do we have to go find her? We can't help Anser, how can she help Anser? What if she--"

Xitana's voice suddenly rose at the word "what if", and then suddenly fell silent.

"What if she does that again because..."

After a somewhat abrupt turn, her voice gradually tapered off, and she seemed to have no idea how to continue.

The burning blood flame gradually approached Hitana's heels. She suddenly took a step forward, and the burst of air even blocked the spread of the blood flame for a moment.

"Damn it!"

She walked forward with her head down in annoyance, and Ming Fuluo followed her helplessly.

"What do you think about Marina?" Miss Scholar couldn't help asking, "Anser gave her an order, but it's not necessarily a big deal. You look anxious, but it doesn't seem like you don't care about her at all."

"I'm not worried about her! I'm worried about Anser——"

Xitana turned around and glared at Ming Furo almost reflexively, but within a few seconds of their eyes meeting, she retracted her head guiltily.

After hesitating for a moment, Xitana, who would not hide her problem in her heart, sighed and replied in a low voice: "Don't you think that Lina's condition is too bad?"