A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

The Duke of Azuregold first sent his wife to visit Ansel because of the Dragon Calmaity in the West.

At that time, it was merely a sign, just an excuse for the Grand Duke to try to establish a connection with Ansel.

But now, that omen has become reality.

Ansel's change in expression just now was because Nine suddenly withdrew nearly 40% of his pure ether. She... had just encountered the invading dragons.

The territories of the Duke of Wyvern and Bloodust were closest to the Celestial Path Mountains, and Nine's "Adventurer Purge Plan" had started in Bloodust's territory.

Even though they had only now appeared near the Celestial Path Mountains, the dragons, driven mad by the Dragon King's hunting desire, could ravage the entire Western Lands in no time. They might even... break through the West and attack various parts of the Empire.

Since all the Grand Dukes of the West had died at Ansel's hands, if the Dragon Calamity were to suddenly occur halfway through Nine's Adventurer Purge Plan, it would obviously cause even greater trouble.

But if it were a normal Dragon Calamity, it would just be troublesome.

Ansel had confidence in letting Nine proceed freely, of course, he had taken the Dragon Calamity into account.

Although they lacked the top 29 fifth-stage supernaturals, when had any Dragon Calamity required a group of top supernaturals to deal with? The Grand Dukes would even prevent extraordinary beings from other forces from entering the Western Lands at will, to prevent outsiders from taking away the opportunities of this disaster.

As long as Ansel allowed it, there would be plenty of supernaturals lacking various materials and seeking to seize benefits flooding into the Wes. Dealing with the Dragon Calamity should be even faster than before.

Moreover... there was Ansel himself. With his God from the Machine, he could easily crush any dragon below the Dragon King. The lack of high-end combat power could be compensated by him alone.

— But the premise was that this was a normal Dragon Calamity, occurring after Ansel had dealt with various issues and stabilized the Empire, not much different from the past.

The recent pressure of fate, no longer subtle but like a raging torrent, was all too familiar to Ansel. A Dragon Calamity erupting at this crucial moment couldn't possibly be normal.

Since it wasn't normal, they needed to quickly extinguish any troubles that might arise from this anomaly.

"Seri," Ansel looked at the worried Sitana beside him, smiling as he asked, "Want to come along with me?"

"...Come along?"

Before Ansel could speak, Ravenna's figure had already materialized on his shoulder. The scholar glanced at the bewildered Seraphina: "Ansel's going to take you on a joy ride."

Ansel lightly flicked Ming Flor's forehead. Under her disgruntled gaze, he smiled at Seraphina:

"How about becoming a dragon slayer once more?"

*

"Dragons..."

Sitting in her wheelchair, Nine tilted her head, looking at the crimson giant dragon standing at the highest point of the territory, roaring with its head held high. She sighed softly, "Born strong, able to obtain abilities and talents surpassing everything without any cost. How enviable."

"Nine, it's time to go!"

Unable to accept that Crow had entrusted such an important task to Nine, Nerilia had voluntarily applied to be Nine's assistant.

She wasn't displeased about being subordinate to this girl who was a mere mortal not long ago. She only wanted to keep this now mentally confused person in check, to prevent her from causing any unnecessary trouble.

Unexpectedly, trouble came not long after the mission started—both the suddenly attacking giant dragon and Nine muttering to herself while watching the dragon were problematic.

This fifth-stage giant dragon was not something they could handle, and the news of the Dragon Calamity outbreak should be reported to Ansel immediately. The impatient Nerilia was about to forcibly take Nine and retreat, her hand already gripping Nine's collar.

However, in the next second, Nerilia's body suddenly froze.

She felt... the surging power that appeared out of nowhere within Nine's body, like a tidal wave!

Endless shadows extended from beneath Nine's wheelchair towards the front, covering the ground and buildings in front at lightning speed, dyeing everything in her sight pitch black.

The shadows swiftly climbed up the building where the giant dragon was spewing intense dragon breath, and countless huge ghost claws surged from within the attacking shadows, viciously grabbing at the dragon emanating killing intent.

"Roar——!!"

The ghost claws, swarming like a pack of hyenas, firmly gripped the dragon's flesh. The materialized shadows tightly bound its enormous body. The sharp, pitch-black shadow claws had even faintly broken through the dragon's scales, directly embedding into its iron-like muscles!

"Now is not the time to retreat, Nerilia."

Nine, having borrowed power from Ansel, slowly stood up. Her seemingly delicate and weak body floated into the air, casting an indifferent gaze down at the stunned Nerilia from above.

"Our mission has just begun... Take the image crystal, find an angle that looks like you're taking shelter, and start recording."

Then, the witch in a pitch-black long dress calmly met the angry dragon's gaze. From those blood-tinged dark gold vertical pupils, she read irritation and... hunger.

The dragons swept through the human world under the influence of the Dragon King's madness. They came to release that eternal, endless hunting hunger. Any powerful opponent was their best prey and food.

"Ako!"

The ancient, mysterious, deep syllable burst from its throat. The power known as dragon language scattered all the shadow claws Nine had wrapped around it in this roar. The pitch-black giant claws that had firmly locked its body had left several bloody marks, but these wounds were visibly healing at a rapid pace.

The dragon's vertical pupils contained both anger from being injured and hunger for hunting a strong opponent. It flapped its wings and flew into the sky, unleashing a terrifying roar that could be heard for tens of kilometers. The sound waves it stirred up were like invisible tidal waves, sweeping across the entire territory.

In the continuous rumbling, streets were uprooted, houses reduced to dust, and poor innocent mortals shattered into bloody mist.

It was declaring to its kin not to interfere with its hunt.

Nine withdrew the shadows that had completely enveloped her, looked at her delicate palm, and muttered thoughtfully, "Just ether alone is indeed not enough."

She hadn't chosen to fully borrow Ansel's power. Learning from previous lessons, Nine was now extremely cautious when using that power of the abyss that only Hydral could perfectly wield. As long as she could get that ring, she didn't mind if her lifespan shortened a bit more, but before that, she had to ensure the abyss's erosion wouldn't worsen further.

So, Nine had only borrowed 40% of Ansel's ether to manipulate shadows, and the result... wasn't great.

Hydral's strength came from their ultimate mastery over elements. For Hydral, invoking the elements they specialized in was almost no different from making that part of the world obey their will. With incomplete borrowing of Ansel's power, Nine was still the mediocre Nine.

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Countless shadow claws once again rose from the ground, rushing towards the sky, wrapping around the dragon's body like demons from hell, firmly binding its broad fleshy wings.

A flash of arrogant disdain crossed the red dragon's dark gold vertical pupils. It opened its mouth again, about to unleash another roar imbued with special power. But as the sound was already forming in its throat, the mysterious dragon language transformed into... a shrill scream.

"Roar!!!"

The shadow claws that had been scattered by its roar before, at most scratching its scales and slightly penetrating its body, now forcefully broke its bones with sheer power. The sharp tips pierced through the giant dragon's body like tearing through thin paper, mangling its wings. Nine's already black eyes seemed to be covered by another layer of shadow at this moment.

If it's not enough, just borrow more.@@novelbin@@

This time, Nine borrowed some cognition and understanding of the shadow element from Ansel. In an instant, coupled with Ansel's 40% ether, she who could only simply restrain the dragon before, immediately caused considerable damage.

Mr. Ansel... is truly remarkable.

Nine marveled at Ansel's talent, wondering if there was anything Ansel couldn't do.

If the battle continued, Nine was confident she could kill this dragon alone. However, after causing such severe damage to the dragon, Nine didn't continue. She almost immediately returned this abyssal knowledge.

The girl unconsciously touched the mask on her face. The moment she accessed that understanding of the shadow element, she felt the pulse of the abyss. The stinging of her skin and the pain in her flesh told Nine that even in these brief seconds, her fragile soul had been further eroded, albeit only a negligible amount.

This formidable dragon was unworthy of her exertion, and Nine had never intended to slay it single-handedly. After all, dragon-slaying was not her primary objective.

Her purpose was to purge the adventurers.

Nine was never an advocate of power supremacy. Rather than such a notion, she adhered to a philosophy of... optimal utilization.

"Hearken, all adventurers within this domain," she proclaimed.

As her borrowed power receded, the shadow claws that had been binding and tearing at the dragon instantly lost their former potency. The dragon's roar once again dispersed them, but with its mangled wings yet to recover, it could only plummet from the sky in a fury.

"I have substantially diminished its strength. Whosoever can sever its head shall claim half the spoils."

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