The villain's way to tame the protagonist

The raging blood flames that almost enveloped the entire hall forced Lei Lun to shut up immediately. The moody and cruel princess seemed to be a little too ferocious at the moment, and no wise person would touch her.

I'm not your house cat, Anser...don't even think of keeping me here!

More vast land, more abundant resources, and a population that could bring more surprises. What Ivora wanted to control was a powerful empire that could make her heart beat fast - rather than being forced to stay in the north, struggling to survive under the threat of that venomous snake all day long, in a state of anxiety, and even having to give up her pride, dignity, and everything she had as a princess and a noble descendant of the Flame.

She shouldn't have gotten just this.

As the blood flames gradually died down, after a long silence, Ivora's bored and low voice rang out in the hall:

"Do whatever you want to do, don't waste my time."

"...Yes, Your Highness."

Grand Duke Iron Blade quickly retreated, and Ivora was the only one left in the hall.

She leaned against the throne, her fingers tapping lightly on the dark gold armrests, her face expressionless.

This was not the texture of the throne in her mind. Even though she had never touched the throne that only the emperor could touch since she was a child, Ivora firmly believed that as long as she sat on it, she would be able to appreciate the majestic spirit of her ancestors who had ruled over all living beings for thousands of years.

However, Ivola did not have any ancestor worship. She wanted to feel the majesty of the successive Flame Emperors just to put herself at the pinnacle above them.

The Heaven-Swallowing Dynasty, which had lasted for tens of thousands of years or even longer, was destroyed. Even the descendants of the Flame-Feasting did not know the reason for the fall of that great dynasty. Was it Hydra's out-of-control riot? The extinction hunt initiated by the Dragon King? Or the cessation of all things brought about by the Abyss-Caller? Perhaps the only one who knew the truth was the great empire founder, His Majesty Noel Lanard Caesar.

Ivora wants to become the supreme overlord who surpasses even him and stands at the finish line. She not only wants to rule the entire continent, but also let the glory of the empire shine on the entire Zero Point Maze. No matter whether it is the chaotic and empty world of death, or the realm of hope that is full of vitality and may even give birth to life, there must be traces left by the Feast Flame!

With that scene in mind, Ivora calmed down a little - in fact, she had never thought about the distant future before, nor had she had such vague imaginations, because in the past, she did hold great power and was authority herself.

But now she has nothing. She is just a domestic cat who needs to be fed regularly by her owner to maintain her pride. She is placed in a large cage full of toys, jumping up and down according to her owner's wishes, always showing postures and emotions that satisfy him.

So sad... that I even have to use this kind of fantasy to comfort myself.

But compared to fantasy, there are actually more sad things.

"You performed perfectly, Your Highness Ivora."

An old voice suddenly sounded in the hall where Ivora was supposed to be the only one.

An old man in a black robe appeared from nowhere, leaning on his cane, and came to the center of the hall. He saluted Ivora, "As if he was really angry about Mr. Dormer's 'collusion' with us."

Bishop Ji, who had been lurking in the empire for who knows how many years as the leader of the revolutionary army [Leng Lu], said this with a smile.

Ivora glanced at the old man in the dark robe below him, and the disgust in his eyes became even stronger than before:

"Don't use the word 'collusion' on me again."

Of course she didn't want to hear these two words, because it seemed that she was also weak and incompetent, and was in collusion with the church.

——Although this is indeed the case.

"Ah, I made a mistake. We should cooperate, cooperate."

In fact, it was not necessarily a matter of words. Ivola simply hated, very much hated this old guy with a strange name. The aura he exuded, as if he had everything under control, offended Miss Catvola's extremely sensitive heart.

She had always hated Anser's tone. If she had to listen to it, Anser was the only one in the world who could speak to her in that tone. And this barbarian, who had been running around the empire for so long without being discovered, was worthy of speaking to her like that just because her idiot mother wanted to have fun?

When Ji appeared in front of her, Ivora almost couldn't help but burn the old man to ashes, but Ji's words directly froze the fire of tyranny in her heart.

"Your Highness Ivora, you are actually no match for His Royal Highness the Regent, right?"

At that time, Ji said these words to Ivora with a hint of smile in his voice.

"Everything that happened in Eastport made me realize that your appearance in the Northland was also part of the plan of His Royal Highness the Regent. Maybe you yourself are not clear about it, but I am more inclined to believe that... you were forced to play this drama with him."

"After all, if you are really the mortal enemy of His Royal Highness the Regent, how can he still have the leisure to spend so much energy and time on sharpening the blade?"

Being kept in captivity and played with by Anser was the greatest shame of Ivora's life. She could not tolerate the fact that anyone else in the world knew about this except Anser and his woman, but Ji gave her a reason to endure it.

——A chance to defeat Anser, a possibility of a Jedi counterattack.

"If you have anything to say, say it quickly."

Although she was forced to cooperate, whether it was due to her personality or her disgust for Ji, Ivora would never show any kindness. She looked down at Ji coldly and said, "If you are discovered by that omnipresent crow, you will die."

"Hehe... I told you the moment we started working together that although Ms. Lance's abilities are terrifying, we are not without ways to deal with them. She has been the Devourer Leader for too short a time. Even though her mind is almost as terrifying as that of the Regent, she is still immature in terms of controlling power."

Ji said slowly: "The Church and the Skyfrost Tower are fundamentally different from the Revolutionary Army. Her power cannot penetrate us, and her crows are even more so."

Ivora knew that it was a power called divine magic... but she didn't know the essence of this power. The emperors of all dynasties seemed to know something about it, but unfortunately many secrets could only be known after the handover of the Feast of Flames. Ivora was unable to obtain the secrets hidden in Effisand's mind.

However, she didn't care about the power which was meaningless to her.

"What did Anser do in the Skyfrost Tower?"

After a brief silence, Ivora changed his posture, lowered his eyes and asked.

Ji Wen responded, "As we thought, in order to prevent Mr. Dormer from having an unnecessary influence on the other Miss Lance, he even used the power of Ms. Crow. As for him..."

The black-robed bishop paused for a moment, and the smile on his face grew even wider.

"He didn't do anything that was meaningful to him, but according to Mr Dormer's statement - it's not that he didn't do it, but he didn't realize it."

"……What's the meaning?"

"What I mean is that your speculation is correct, Your Highness Ivora."

Ji raised his head, as if congratulating Ivora for having a better chance of getting what he wanted, and raised his voice slightly:

"Our Regent is indeed somewhat... terminally ill."

"He showed excessive emotion in front of Mr. Dormer, which is not right for him. Everyone knows that His Royal Highness the Regent cares about human relations far more than any other extraordinary person, but according to Mr. Dormer's description, His Royal Highness the Regent's concern is obviously a bit too much."

Ivora did not show any joy on his face when he heard the news. Instead, he showed strong vigilance: "Idiot... Haven't you ever thought that this might be fake?"

"Then why did he pretend to be in front of Mr. Dormer?" Ji asked, "Even you in the North didn't expect that we would reach a cooperation with Mr. Dormer. So how could His Royal Highness the Regent, who has a long-term vision and is gazing at a distant future, see the 'impossibility' of the present?"

"Have you forgotten your saint girl? Are you still hanging on to him?"

Ivora retorted, still not believing Ji's description—not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't dare.

She hoped more than anyone else that the abyss erosion that Anser suffered would become extremely serious, but the young man whom she always wanted to conquer completely had already left an indelible and powerful mark in her heart.

Whenever she heard that Anser had failed, she felt that it was his trap. Whenever she thought of Anser, she felt that he was invincible... It was as if the thought "I can't beat him" was engraved in her mind. That was the instinctive submission of a power supremacist to the strong when he was weak, not to mention that this strong man was her only hope to escape from her weakness.

"Do you think that His Royal Highness the Regent... deliberately disguised himself like this for the Saint?"

Ji asked this question, and in the end he actually laughed: "Your Highness Ivora, you really think too much. Although it is not as complete as our understanding of the Saint, His Highness the Regent has already had enough understanding of the Saint... He knows very well that this kind of disguise is meaningless to the Saint."

"The Saint will not care about his weakness, or rather - he will never show weakness in front of the Saint."

The black-robed bishop's expression became somewhat complicated as he spoke.

"After all... he intends to replace the assistant and become the god in the Saint's heart."

Marina was just an excuse, a bait, just to lure the most perfect masterpiece since the birth of the church. The bishops realized Anser's ill intentions in Donggang, but it was too late.

Judging from Xin's behavior, Anser's purpose is not difficult to guess. He most likely wants to take Xin as his chief disciple. And the best way to gain the loyalty of a believer is to make the god she believes in become herself.

Ansir Hydra wants to be the god in the saint's heart, and a god cannot be weak, so he will never show weakness in front of Xin - even a fake one is impossible, let alone a real one?

It is really impossible, but Anser still behaved like this, which means that his abyss erosion has indeed become more and more serious, and even his thoughts and emotions have begun to be out of control.

Realizing that Anser might really fall into this situation, Ivora's breathing began to quicken, and the slender fingers pressing on the throne trembled slightly.

In her impression, Anser cherished his life very much - not the kind of cherishing life that is afraid of death, but because he had some extremely important mission, so he would never allow his life to be wasted in the slightest.

For the Old Gods, the erosion of the Abyss is an inevitable end, but Anser welcomed this end too early, and according to his character... the kind of character that must ensure that everything is under control, even if it means calculating his own actions, he will never allow his thoughts and emotions to be out of control.

Once the limit he set was exceeded, he would definitely find a way to alleviate the erosion problem, and by then...

The only one Anser can turn to is Ivora, the only qualified descendant of the Flame Feast in the world!

The key point for her to regain the initiative, the elements obtained by burning the abyss erosion, are not at the same level as the abyss fragments fed to her by Anther. Although Ivora did not expect to return to the peak by helping Anther alleviate the erosion, as long as she can recover to 80%... no, 70%, as long as she can recover to 70%, plus the trump card provided by the church, the situation can really become a fight where the outcome is hard to determine.

Ivora can accept letting this fight overturn everything, but Anser absolutely cannot, which is equivalent to... victory!

The only problem is...

"Ah, it looks like that Lady Lance is coming. I have to leave first, Your Highness Ivora."

After delivering this extremely crucial information to Ivora, Ji bowed again, chuckled and said, "Please make sure to seize this opportunity. As you said, if the Regent finds out, everything in the church will be destroyed by Hydra's wrath, but you... can't be any better?"

"For you, some endings are more difficult to accept than death and destruction."

"..."

Veins popped up on Ivola's forehead. This condescending tone made it difficult for her to control her anger. More importantly, she still didn't know what the church was going to do.

[Why do you need to know our purpose? We are your only choice now, right? We are just like you, betting on that possibility, the possibility of winning.]

Her deal with the church was not equal. The church knew exactly what she was going to do, but she had no idea what these guys from the other side of the continent were planning to do.

However, it doesn't matter. Just as Ji said, in this cooperation, Ivora bet that he could win, bet that he could defeat Anser, and then crush these reptiles in the shadows.

"Before worrying about me, you should worry about your Saint."

Ivora sneered and shot back: "Don't you even know that she was turned into a star wrath by Anser? You don't know how lethal that guy is to women."

"We are fully aware of the danger posed by His Royal Highness the Regent. And as you have reminded me..."

There was no sadness or joy in the black-robed bishop's gray eyes:

"We are going to issue a final ultimatum to the Saint."

Chapter 5: Incomplete Dream (K)

Beneath the thundering rainy night is an endless swamp.

Anser stood in the middle of the swamp, the sticky black liquid reaching above his knees. Every trek was a difficult struggle for him.

Hydra looked up at the sky flashing with lightning. Whenever the dazzling white light of destruction descended, he could see the shadowy ruins of the city in the distance.

“It’s this nightmare…”

He murmured thoughtfully and lowered his head to look at his body. Sure enough, he was taller and stronger than he actually was, achieving a perfect balance of strength and vitality.

In this world, dreams are not simply illusions constructed by the brain. For extraordinary people, they are sometimes equivalent to the intricate connections between the soul and the world.

The erosion of the abyss affected his soul, and this dream was born during this short rest: one of the dreams that Ansir Hydra was most reluctant to face.

Of course, rather than the consequences of the erosion of the abyss and sinking into a nightmare at this time, Anser was more inclined to believe that his opponent was becoming increasingly unable to afford the game.

As long as He still adheres to the principle of not forcibly interfering with this world, it will be more difficult for Him to prevent his own defeat.

"Thus……"

Anser wiped his wet golden hair behind his head, and a dangerous smile that was truly attractive to women appeared on his more mature and handsome face.

"Miss Saint, I told you, peeping is not good."

The first time Xin tried to understand Anser was through entering his dream. Although the influence that the Saint could exert on Anser was indeed very limited, it was still possible if it was just a bystander to this extent.

"Is this what Mr. Devil thinks you will be in the future?"

A doubtful voice sounded behind Anser, and Xin's figure fell from mid-air. The swamp covered half of her thighs. The black thorns on her pure white robe fit in with the environment at this moment, blending seamlessly with the dark and sticky swamp.

She looked at the young Anser, her eyes full of curiosity.

"It's very rude to casually break into other people's dreams, Miss Xin." Anser sighed softly, "Because it's been so long, have you forgotten the teachings I gave you in the beginning?"

"But Mr. Devil needs help." Xin tilted his head.

"I don't need to. It's just a dream. If I want to wake up, I can do it anytime."

"Then why didn't Mr. Devil do that?"

"..."

Yes, since he realized that this was a nightmare he didn't want to face, why didn't Anser choose to wake up? As long as his self-awareness was awakened, it would be easy for him to end the dream or control it.

Hydra remained silent, and as the thunder flashed, he cast his gaze towards the ruined city in the distance.

The answer is simple, because it is one of the ways he stays sane.

The erosion of the Abyss has caused the characters and thoughts of the Old Gods to tend towards chaos, but each Old God has his own way to maintain himself as much as possible. Hydra needs the burning of the Flame of Feasting, but Anther will not give Ivora this opportunity, and he does not need to use such a simple and crude method to stop the spread of the Abyss in his soul.

For Anser, as long as he can maintain most of his sanity and stability in most situations, he can consider other things after Xin becomes the head of soul.

In this case, all we need to do is find a way to ensure that we don’t undergo temporary, irreversible psychological changes after reaching the critical point.

The erosion is irresistible, but there is still room for control over one's mind and self. Even if one is at the end of his rope like Flamel, no matter how emotionally unstable he is, he can still leave the last bit of normality and tenderness to Ansel and Enelisa, to his son and wife.

Anser didn't know how his father did it, but he had his own way, simple and efficient.

He turned and looked at the calm Xin for a moment, realizing that this might be an opportunity - of course, the same was true for fate.

But he was not afraid, because it was not him who was forced to face this situation, but fate that had to challenge him.