A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

The all-consuming blood flames showed no sign of abating.

Ansel, suspended in midair, furrowed his brow slightly and turned his gaze rearward.

Nothing remained upon the earth save for theFlamefeasts that seemed intent on obliterating all.

This location was nearly hundreds of kilometers distant from the portal, yet in the span of a single night, the endless blood flames had spread to this extent.

Moreover, they advanced not in a single direction, but… in all directions simultaneously.

“This magnitude… Evora couldn’t possibly achieve this, nor should any relic exist capable of amplifying her power to such a degree,” Ansel murmured.

“Her pitiful state upon that throne hardly suggested any autonomy.”

Theoretically, these should be blood flames under Evora’s control… Though incomparable to the Source Flame, they had already surpassed the bounds of reason.

Was this the work of that unknown force? Had Evora already encountered them?

“Lord Hydral!”

A distant call interrupted Ansel’s contemplation. He turned to see the Duke of Azuregold, resplendent in noble attire and wielding a staff, flying towards him.

Further away, two indistinct figures could be discerned. It seemed the Duke of Azuregold had taken the lead in paying respects.

Ansel, hands clasped behind his back, inquired calmly, “Have you reached a conclusion in your discussions?”

“…Regrettably, we remain in the dark,” the Duke of Azuregold shook his head, visibly uncomfortable. “Hence, we hoped you might share your insights…”

The young Hydra nodded slightly. “Very well, let us proceed.”

In a flash, he vanished from before the Duke of Azuregold. The latter, momentarily stunned, adjusted his ceremonial hat and sighed wistfully:

“A prodigy of unparalleled talents… The gifts of Hydral are truly enviable.”

The man waved his staff, causing the surrounding space to ripple. His form gradually faded, disappearing into thin air.

Traversing hundreds of miles in an instant, Ansel materialized at the site of the portal’s opening, effectively appearing before the… assembled Dukes.

“Lord Hydral.”

The Dukes, hovering in the air, bowed to Ansel, their gazes varied.

The resurgence of theFlamefeasts’ power was sufficient to alarm the Dukes, compelling them to abandon all matters at hand and hasten to the scene to ascertain the situation firsthand.

When the portal opened, the swiftest, the Duke of Wyvern, arrived within an hour, while the slowest, the Duke of Triumph, reached the location within three hours. This disparity in arrival times was solely due to the speed of information transmission.

The portal had closed before the Duke of Wyvern’s arrival, having remained open for approximately half an hour. Ansel had simply altered his appearance, presenting himself as Hydral, and had already conversed with the Dukes prior to this moment.

Above the sea of flames, the mightiest beings capable of effortlessly overthrowing empires remained silent in the face of this advancing devastation. The Dukes had arrived one after another, yet until now, none had gathered any useful information.

Or rather, none dared to probe too deeply.

Centuries of accumulated family heritage, countless resources plundered from their respective territories, and the supernatural powers built upon these foundations… all became mere kindling before the flames that seemed intent on annihilating the world.

These were the same individuals who, when Ephesande and Evora were theoretically supposed to have perished, only dared to anxiously select two most suitable candidates for regency. How could they possibly challenge this great power that had dominated humanity for millennia?

Thus, they all fixed their unwavering gaze upon Ansel of Hydral, for the Dukes were more certain than anyone that this young Hydral… must be the one least desirous of Flamefeast’s’ return.

Although on the surface, it was said that Hydral always stood with the Flamefeasts, and his battle against the Empress was not a betrayal of past promises but rather because Ephesande was no longer worthy of the flames and thus not a qualified empress—the Source Flame’s active reclamation of Ephesande’s power after tens of thousands of years of quiet burning was the best proof of this.

But no matter how well Ansel crafted his persona, one thing was clear: if Ephesande hadn’t died… then Ansel certainly would have.

The tyrannical Empress—or rather, the former Empress—would not have cared about qualifications or reasons. If she had truly preserved her life under the Source Flame’s burning and returned, the first to face the divine wrath would be the disloyal serpent who had rebelled against the monarch.

Ansel, of course, knew what they were thinking. He stared at the space where the portal had closed for a long while, then suddenly said with a smile:

“I believe the esteemed Dukes are overly anxious.”

He spoke casually, “This flame, in no aspect, can be compared to the Source Flame.”

Manipulating the transcendental elements at will, a peculiar deep blue flame ignited at Hydral’s fingertips. He gently flicked it, and the fireball fell into the sea of blood flames below. That streak of deep blue struggled for two or three seconds before dissipating without a trace.

“It cannot instantly devour even a flame of slightly higher quality. In essence, it is merely a powerful fire, at most bearing some characteristics of the Source Flame.” Read the latest on My Virtual Library Empire

“Even if you fear it might truly come from that failed one.”

With hands clasped behind his back and a genial smile, Ansel uttered words that made the Dukes’ hearts skip a beat: “Merely possessing such flames, she who has been stripped of power by the Source Flame is nothing to be feared, is she?”

The words “failed one” silenced any Duke from daring to respond, but as their shock subsided, they relaxed considerably due to Ansel’s nonchalant words.

Indeed… if the power Ephesande wielded was only of this magnitude, she was no longer the Empress who could transcend all.

The Dukes wouldn’t easily reveal their emotions, but they couldn’t escape Ansel’s perception. The young Hydral’s expression became even more composed and confident, his presence exuding a magic that subconsciously inspired trust at the most opportune moment.

“Beyond the enigma portal must lie an extraordinary dynastic relic,” he said softly.

“How far the Sky Conquering Dynasty ventured into the Enigma Realm over tens of thousands of years, no one knows. It’s not surprising if remnants of the Flamefeast’s power persist in the ruins.”

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