A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

Chapter 720 The Best Tool - I

So, a Evora who was reduced to a useless husk...

Amidst the sea of flames, Ansel's gaze narrowed as he observed the golden chains sprouting from the throne's backrest.

Upon realizing that Evora was not the recipient of some fortuitous encounter, but rather a prisoner whose power was being drained, Ansel understood that the plan must change.

— Evora could not perish here.@@@@

While others might prefer Evora dead, for Ansel, she was the sole individual privy to intelligence about that enigmatic force. This knowledge would prove invaluable in his future machinations against fate.

The cost, however...

Hydral fell into contemplation as he watched the extraordinary beings being guided towards the throne.

How could he persuade his allies not to slay Evora?

Should he simply inform them that the once-proud Elder Princess no longer posed a threat? If so, how could he substantiate such a claim? Would these battle-hardened individuals trust Ansel's ambiguous "conjectures"?

Evora's earlier plea for help hadn't swayed them because Ansel's resolve had seemed genuine. He had magnanimously offered them a chance, provided they could slay Evora, even after warning them of potential betrayal.

It was this determination to end the old order that had rallied these extraordinary beings to Ansel's side, eager for a new regime.

Sparing Evora would render Ansel's stance meaningless, aligning him with the desperate cry of the foolish Elder Princess.

He would transform into the... malevolent Hydral, intent on leaving no survivors.

Ansel cared little for his own position. Eliminating the remaining half, should they truly desire Evora's death, would not prove challenging.

They remained oblivious to Faust's terrifying mastery over the Abyss, just as they were unaware of Hydral's limits in manipulating it, especially given his monstrous Abyssal preaching.

Ansel could easily employ the same tactic again. Though they might be more cautious now, it would suffice to render most of them uncontrollable. Subsequently, slaughtering the corrupted, berserk extraordinary beings would pose no difficulty for him.

Ansel refrained from directly mentioning a mysterious force, temporarily attributing the issue to the throne itself.

"Is far more dangerous, and potentially more valuable... than the half-dead Evora."

He turned to the wary extraordinary beings, asking earnestly, "Are you not curious about what Evora has endured, about the nature of this relic and the throne that imprisoned her? What if, after slaying Evora... it becomes another problem entirely?"

"So, Lord Hydral's suggestion is," one extraordinary being said impassively, "that we not only refrain from killing her, but also rescue her?"

"Indeed, to extract information from her," Ansel nodded frankly. "After obtaining answers, her execution can be arranged at our leisure."

"I believe now is as good a time as any to end her," another extraordinary being declared.

"If the danger lies in this relic and throne, we should destroy them along with Evora. Lord Hydral's previous strike already caused visible damage. Surely, with our combined might, we can utterly annihilate both Evora and this construct."

At this juncture, should Ansel persist in sparing Evora's life, his true motives would become transparent, regardless of his rhetoric.

Nevertheless, Ansel drew a deep breath, preparing for one last attempt.

"In that case, allow me to speak plainly—I believe that the force imprisoning and draining Evora's power is neither this throne nor this relic, but rather some entity or faction concealed within the endless Realm Enigma."

He had never intended to conceal anything; his initial reticence stemmed from the knowledge that such an outlandish claim would only breed further suspicion among the extraordinary beings.

A hidden force or powerful individual within the Realm Enigma?

One capable of subduing Evora, impervious to the all-consuming feasting fire, forcibly extracting her power?

After a brief silence, a jarring chuckle echoed through the sea of flames.

"Lord Hydral, why not simply state that... there might be a fifth divine species lurking in the Realm Enigma?"

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