The villain's way to tame the protagonist

But now? Whether it is right or not, he is trying his best to do what he should do; whether it is right or not, it will no longer be a reason to stop him from moving forward.

They will not be your heroes, fate.

They... are destined to accompany me to the end of the abyss and never separate.

Chapter 5: Sudden Sparks (K)

Xin did not handle the secret of Ellalo properly. He kept saying that "Bishop Mu would not refuse to answer questions", but in the end he still failed to get any information out of him.

The white cardinal, who was known for his kindness, was very surprised by this incident. He said that he had never deliberately arranged for Elalo to hide his identity as a believer. In his opinion, this was a very bad and desecrating act that affected the believers' reverence for God.

But eight years ago, there was only one bishop left in the empire, Mu. Who else could have instructed Elalo to hide his identity? With an unknown mysterious purpose, he kept it secret for eight years?

There was no result from Mu, and there was no answer from Ella Luo either. According to Xin, Ella Luo's mind could no longer be read by her.

This woman whom she despised and who imitated Ansher so poorly, had been purified and redeemed, and would become a pure righteous person before she was stained with sin again.

"The righteous..."

Ming Fuluo didn't know much about religious vocabulary, but she could hear the weight of this title and became more and more wary of Xin's power.

This woman...is a complete monster, for making it sound so easy to change other people's souls.

She knew very well that neither she nor Xitana could resist Xin's power. If Xin had not been restrained by Anser, he would not have spent so much effort. If this woman went crazy for some inexplicable reason and wanted to use that power on her and Xitana...

When this thought emerged in Ming Furo's mind, what she thought was not "Ansher must have been on guard against this kind of thing", but "I must find a way to counter it."

This is also why she is here now, where Anser is about to meet Elalo.

You deserve this arrogance

Ming Fuluo held her bracelet in silence, holding tightly in her palm the proof that her fate was tied to that of Anser.

After a while, Anser walked into the elegantly decorated reception room. When he saw Ming Fuluo, he was slightly surprised: "Have you been here for a long time, Luo?"

"...sort of."

Ming Fuluo nodded gently: "Where is she?"

Anser turned his head and looked behind him, then shook his head and smiled, "Just follow Xin obediently."

Xin's ability to appear and disappear at will means she doesn't have to worry about who to save. Although Xin focuses his attention on her most of the time now, he still goes to see Anser every day. During the time that Ming Furo was waiting, no one knew what the crazy saint did to Anser.

Anser sat down next to Ming Fuluo very straightforwardly. He saw the scholar trying her best to suppress some complicated emotions. He didn't say anything, but just touched Ming Fuluo's soft blue-gray hair...

Then he placed his hand on her thigh wrapped in semi-transparent white silk.

Ms. Ming Fuluo immediately grabbed Ansher's wrist. Her expressionless face showed that she was obviously not thinking about anything else.

She is a relatively conservative person. Although she would call Anther a name that even Shitana despises when she gets excited, she is still very strict with herself on weekdays. She often uses this to criticize Shitana, who is more inclined to indulge herself. Naturally, she is quite resistant to outdoor play.

However, if Anser forced her to do so, she would not endure it if there were no men around. Compared to Miss Wolf, who was skilled enough to cooperate with Anser calmly despite the same requirements, she was cute in a different way.

Since Ming Furo had her own purpose this time, Ansel stopped touching her after teasing her for a while, and Xin and Ella Luo walked into the room soon after.

Anser was pouring himself the top-quality wine prepared by Lian De. As the introducer, she was tactful enough not to show up here, which was good news for Anser.

The less Liand knew about the changes that had taken place in Elalo before this conversation began, the better.

"Your Highness the Prince Regent, and... Miss Zeger."

Elalo, who seemed to have not changed at all, bowed respectfully to Anser and the other man and said, "It is my supreme honor to be qualified to meet with you two."

Ming Fuluo hated this kind of meaningless and time-wasting social etiquette, but Anser would always respond appropriately to anyone. Ming Fuluo knew that this was the difference between her and Anser, but she didn't want to change it. After all, she had no interest or obligation to take care of other people's feelings. Facts would always shut the other person up.

"Since you can sit across from me like this, it proves that I have recognized you. There is no need to be so humble, Ms. Orson."

Ansel looked at the woman opposite him with great interest. It was the first time that he truly faced the person who was "saved" by Xin. It was impossible not to be curious.

Although there was nothing unusual in her appearance or expression, Anser could clearly feel that the second young lady of the Triumph Family had an incomparably pure sense of compassion. Thanks to the time traveler and fate, Anser was quite sensitive to this kind of "good person aura".

Ming Furo didn't know the principle behind Xin's redemption, and neither did Ansel. But based on the known information, he had a rough guess about it. Only the most critical and small parts were difficult to guess.

Leaving aside judgment, the core of redemption is not annihilation but transfer—transferring the sins of the redeemed to herself.

The essence is to directly change the soul, but it appears as a power of salvation because of the thinking boundaries set by the church. That kind of transfer and responsibility... based on the original underlying logic, how it is done is a little hard for Anser to imagine.

What part did Xin cut off from the soul of the redeemed, and in what form did he add it to his own soul?

Our Saint Lady didn't know that she was being disassembled by Ansher. She just stared at Ansher, ignoring Elalo beside her and Ming Furo's vague warning look.

Mr. Devil, an iron wall.

When her attempt to conquer lust was completely fruitless, Xin actually tried to redeem Anther for other sins, but she was not successful at all. She didn't even get any meaningful information.

But Xin did not feel discouraged at all. Instead, her desire to redeem Anser from endless sins became stronger and stronger, so strong that she herself did not even realize it.

Ming Furo focused all her attention on the conversation between Ella and Anser, and at the same time was carefully exploring Ella's soul - in order to research the mechanical deity, she studied countless soul spells in the underground library of Hydra Manor. Although she could not be compared with Xin, her attainments were naturally good.

"I think, with your wisdom, you must know the purpose of Lian De and me."

Elalo sat upright with her hands flat on her knees. When facing Anser, she seemed even calmer than when facing Ming Furo.

Ansher did not respond, but just looked at her with a smile without saying a word. Most people would have started sweating profusely at this stage, and "The Regent's Gaze" was widely circulated in the aristocratic circles.

That kind of almost naked fear was hard to bear even for a sufficiently experienced noble.

But Elalo just said softly after a brief silence: "Therefore, I would like to apologize to you first, Your Highness the Regent."

"Apologize? Why?"

Anser's gaze fell on Elalo's eyes. The absolutely pure and unadulterated belief made her look like a martyr who was ready to die for the vision in her heart at any time.

It's really... so exaggerated that I don't know what to say.

Anser and Ming Fuluo whispered in their hearts at the same time.

"Because I used the lives and happiness of countless civilians in Kaixuan Port City as tools to seek power."

"This is an extremely despicable and shameful act. If it weren't for Your Excellency the Saint, I would have fallen into an irreversible sin."

Elalo bowed deeply to Anser. Her frankness left Ming Furo speechless and made Anser's mouth curl up.

The former found the extremely bizarre change unbelievable, while the latter saw from this change the possibility that he had already taken advantage of the Saint to send her into hell.

It turns out that groping in memory and seeing it with one's own eyes are two different things.

Ansher held up the side of his face and took in Ellalo's absolutely genuine remorse. He had not seen how Ellalo faced Ming Furo before, but he knew the character of most of the nobles in the empire, and he knew even more clearly what the true nature of even the so-called "upright" among them was.

No one understands better than Anser the consequences of using extraordinary power to forcibly distort the soul. The side effects of the Abyss Preaching may not be escaped by even the Gods, and Xin's power only in the aspect of the soul is obviously more comprehensive, and more... terrifying.

But if he can hold it firmly in his hands and defeat fate, it will be within reach for Anser.

The young Hydra responded with a smile, showing no dissatisfaction at all with Elalo's "despicable behavior":

"In other words... you have repented, have you, Ms. Orson?"

"Whether you repent or not, I don't think you will listen to a word I say." Elalo shook his head. "I tell you this not to prove that I have changed, but to ask you to promise me one thing."

She stared at Anser's bottomless blue eyes and spoke word by word:

"If I show any signs of being tempted by power again, please execute me."

...This level of personality modification can already be considered pathological.

Ming Furo's face was gloomy. She disdained Elalo's attempt to imitate Ansher and seek power, but she thought the so-called "salvation" was a little too twisted.

People who have changed usually express their awareness of change by saying they would rather die than accept their past selves, but this is ultimately just an exaggeration. But Ming Furo can see that the righteous person who has been redeemed in front of her...she is serious.

If I continue to bear sins, I will die... It is equivalent to not acknowledging that the person I used to be was myself. To a certain extent, isn't it the same as becoming another person?

The Holy Xie Church and Xin actually called this morbid distortion salvation?

Ming Furo didn't have much good feelings towards these two people, and her feelings towards them fell to the freezing point. If the incompatibility between her and Xitana was just a small conflict in personality, then for Xin... it was simply a double discomfort of physical and psychological nature.

Facing Elalo's sonorous and powerful words, Anser was not as serious as Ming Fuluo. Instead, he asked with great interest: "Have you already put yourself in the position of the Triumphant Duke when you said this? Are you so confident that you can get my support? You should know the consequences of trying to stir up some strange news to increase the weight."

"It's not support, it's recognition." Elalo emphasized without any hesitation, "Your Highness, the benevolent Regent, I believe you will never recognize those lunatics who fight each other like hyenas for power and do not even spare their blood relatives. You will never hand over this land full of infinite possibilities and vitality to the hands of such crazy villains."

She stood up, walked to the side of the table, knelt on one knee, took off the emblem of the Triumph family on her long skirt, held it in both hands and handed it to Anser: "I once thought that the fight for power was just to bring a better life to my people, but I lost myself in the pursuit of it. Now, I still believe that only by mastering greater power can I realize my vision, but I will never be so incompetent as to be entangled by greed again."

Elalo raised her head. Even the most extreme revolutionary army could not find any hypocrisy in her eyes. "If I fall into weakness and embarrassment again, please execute me directly as I requested."

With this kind of brainwashing ability, ruling another continent is indeed as easy as playing.

Anser and Elalo looked at each other. This kind of awe-inspiring righteousness made him feel emotional, but also a little... ridiculous.

He didn't think that Ella Luo was ridiculous at the moment, but that the world was ridiculous.

The integrity of an upright person does not come entirely from her heart, but from the distortion of her soul by a monster who does not care whether she is upright or not. So ridiculous, so... wonderful.

"Then you will get what you want, Ms. Orson... Ah, now I should call you the Duke of Triumph, although it will take some time before you officially take over the power, probably one to two days."

Anser took the family emblem handed to him by Elalo and accepted her oath.

"But...before that."

His Royal Highness the Regent played with the emblem of the Triumph family and said casually, "There are two requests that you must accept."

Elalo lowered his head calmly: "Please give your orders, Your Highness the Regent."

"First, until this war is over, you cannot have any contact or communication with your best friends, our Lady Lian De and Grand Duke Shen Lan. Not even eye contact is allowed."

"..."

This request made everyone except Anser stunned. Ming Fuluo had already smelled the scent of conspiracy. Xin felt that the smile on Mr. Devil's face was even more evil. As for Elalo, she immediately replied after she realized it: "I understand, Your Highness the Regent, everything is as you wish."

"Very good." Anser nodded with satisfaction. "As for the second request, I want you to--"

His words stopped abruptly, and then he turned to look northwest. Xin also looked that way thoughtfully almost at the same time.

Although Ming Fuluo only vaguely sensed something, combined with Ansel's expression, she had already guessed something impossible.

"Anser, could it be——"

"Yeah, this is really... unexpected."

Hydra raised an eyebrow slightly, feeling surprised. "Coming so quickly, the target is Kaixuan Port City, is this considered... a tentative surprise attack?"

At this time when Ming Furo's defense system did not even include a city, a vanguard composed of three fourth-order extraordinary people directly launched a surprise attack on Triumph Port City.

"This is impossible!" Ming Fuluo stood up suddenly, "How could they bypass the Forest of Death so quickly... This shouldn't be possible!"

"Hmm..." Anser touched his chin, "Maybe Ms. Liande knows something, but that's all for the future."

He turned his gaze towards Ming Fuluo and chuckled, "Do you need any help, Luo?"

"...That's too embarrassing." Ming Fuluo quickly calmed down, "I don't need it. I should leave, Anser."

Her figure quickly turned into particles and disappeared without a trace, and Xin raised his hand to Anser like a good child: "I will follow Miss Doll, Mr. Devil, goodbye."

So in a blink of an eye, Ansel and Ellalo were the only ones left in the reception room.

"You should be anxious too. Let's talk about the second request next time." Anser waved his hand. "Go protect your people. Don't forget your promise, Ms. Orson."

Elalo was filled with gratitude for this kindness and trust. She responded firmly, "I will never let my people down, Your Highness the Regent."

The reception room was silent with Ansel alone, with only the slight swaying sound of wine in the wine glass.

Hydra half-closed his eyes, raised the wine glass in front of him, then pointed it towards the window, staring at the brilliant and messy colors through the glass and the wine.

"This is an appetizer for a feast... I don't know if it's up to standard."

In his eyes, a bizarre world is reflected:

"Don't let me down, dear Xin, the artificial...Miss Saint."

Chapter 48: Good Timing

There is no war in the empire under the emperor's rule, but it is impossible for such a vast land to be completely free from disasters.

Natural disasters caused by supernatural factors, ferocious beasts and monsters roaming in dangerous areas, and all kinds of strange supernatural phenomena... Most emperors are not interested in taking care of these things, and those emperors who are interested in taking care of them will not think of eradicating them.

With all outward teleportation arrays in the North being cut off, the Revolutionary Army has only two ways to get to East Port from the North. One is to sail from the extreme north of the continent to East Port, and the other is to pass through the Harel Fortress that Lian De had shown to Anser.

Considering that the former has to withstand the endless cold current from the far north and pass through an almost completely unknown sea area that has only been explored by a dozen level 5 adventurers in the past thousand years, it is naturally not within the scope of consideration. As for the latter...it is impossible for it to be so efficient.

The Forest of Death is considered a high-risk forbidden area within the empire's territory. There are three known fifth-level monsters lurking in it. Marquis Leonardo, who guards the Harel Fortress, is also a powerful fifth-level warrior with considerable combat power.

Since only Level 4 can participate in this war, it is absolutely impossible for the Revolutionary Army to sneak through Harel Fortress in such a short time, and passing through the Forest of Death is even more unrealistic. So there is only one possibility.

"ambush."

Ming Fuluo, who appeared in Triumph Port City, immediately launched reconnaissance. The surprise attackers did not cause much damage, which was good news for her.