A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

Chapter 167: Unleashing the Storm Surge - III

Conrad took a deep breath. With the Elder Princess as her backing, not to mention him, even the top relics of the Etheric Academy wouldn't dare to expel her unless they could defeat her head-on and rob her of the so-called "contest" excuse.

He really couldn't do anything to Ravenna.

Would he just let Ravenna speak freely around them? Let her introduce the Etheric Academy in her own words? Let the enemy run rampant in their own base... Even if the Etheric Academy took this opportunity to borrow Ansel's influence, if this news got out, where would the Etheric Academy's face be? What would Ansel, who was now listening to Ravenna's wild words, think?

Perhaps Conrad should be grateful that there would be no students on Ansel's tour route, otherwise handling public opinion would be even more troublesome.

"Mr. Ansel, this is the transformation room of the Elemental Layer. The high-energy elemental crystals inside can train students to control the four basic elements and their derived elements—"

"Inefficient, outdated, and extremely wasteful of energy," Ravenna interrupted Conrad's words. "Processing high-energy elemental crystals and embedding them in etheric gold using magi-gold transformation technology, the elemental crystals of the same volume can exert three times the effect of yours, and the cost is only two-thirds of your foolish transformation room."

She glanced at Conrad, "It's because you monopolized the output of most elemental crystals that we came up with this technology. This is a success thanks to you."

Conrad squinted, "I'm sorry that the Tower of Babel didn't get enough elemental crystal resources, Miss Ziegler."

He sighed somewhat helplessly, "After all, the Etheric Academy is too large. Well, to say something that might make Mr. Ansel laugh... Despite being an academic organization, the internal forces are intertwined."

"From the western foot of the Heavenly Path Mountains to the eastern port that can safely sail to the Lost Sea; from the vast cold north to the prosperous and wealthy south, our members are spread across the empire, and so are the resources we can harvest. When the members become complex, this situation is always inevitable, isn't it?"

Conrad did not directly respond to the technical issues, but instead began to promote the Etheric Academy's huge influence that radiates the entire empire and the entire sorcerer field. And the Tower of Babel, which even has to be restricted by the Etheric Academy in terms of resources, does seem insignificant.

Conrad of Luminaris did not panic because of the attack launched by Ravenna from another level. On the contrary, as the eldest son of the Duke of Luminaris, who is destined to inherit the position of the duke, he demonstrated the strength that a nobleman who received the top education should have at this moment.

The person sent by the Etheric Academy was not a clown who could only be furious and unable to counterattack when Ravenna stepped on his face; just like Ravenna could immediately find the key entry point and launch an attack on the Etheric Academy again after being excluded.

This is the confrontation between elites and elites, from force to wisdom to words... Neither of them gives each other a bit.

Ansel, the starting point of this struggle, smiled without saying a word, while Seraphina listened with great interest. Who wins is not clear now, but she is definitely the biggest beneficiary.

"So there's so much to it..." Seraphina nodded thoughtfully, "So how to distinguish, that fire, and that..uh, water? What contains what essence?"

"This involves—"

"Sorcerers have a certain perception of the spell itself, the simplest and most brutal method is to broaden the learning surface of the spell, have a certain understanding of the spells of various essences..."

"Oh no."

During the two people's verbal battle, Seraphina suddenly reacted, scratching her head, "I don't seem to need to consider this, I can feel it."

"..."×2

After a brief silence, Conrad smiled, "Miss Marlowe certainly has unparalleled talent, otherwise how could she become Mr. Ansel's pact head?"

Ravenna remained silent, not wanting to acknowledge Seraphina.

As the only presence on the scene that could easily affect her mood, in order to fully concentrate on the matter of "humiliating the Etheric Academy," Ravenna chose to ignore her as much as possible.

The only thing that mattered now was her confrontation with Conrad.

As representatives of the Etheric Academy and the Tower of Babel respectively, Conrad and Ravenna had crossed swords numerous times, with Ravenna often having the upper hand. Although in the realm of traditional magic, Ravenna's win rate was lower, Conrad also needed to find a suitable, more assured time to strike.

While they were "touring" Ansel's side, they were also exchanging blows. Ravenna spared no effort in attacking the Etheric Academy's antiquity, backwardness, and extravagance, while Conrad casually countered with the Babel Tower's instability, over-aggressiveness, and shallow foundation.

What was supposed to be a tour had turned into a debate between the two. Seraphina, who was growing increasingly annoyed by the noise, rubbed her ears and yawned, while Ansel's eyes reflected the swaying corners of his white coat and a hint of light-hearted pleasure.

Compared to Seraphina's approach of either avoiding or recklessly charging when faced with a predicament, Ravenna could always control her emotions in the shortest time and immediately find a better solution.

To be honest, Ansel quite liked Ravenna's character, and to some extent, their compatibility was indeed very good.

But as much as he liked it, such a character was extremely unfavorable for Ansel's taming.

All the driving forces of fate must be attributed to a "reasonable" origin.

That is, even if it changes reality by influencing people's thinking, the "influence" it creates also conforms to that person's logic.

For example, when Seraphina was first tamed by Ansel, she would only intensify her hatred for Ansel under the influence of fate, constantly standing against Ansel, rather than suddenly realizing that Ansel was doing it on purpose.

— Because our Miss Seraphina could never think of that.

When this kind of "reasonableness" is applied to Ravenna... its effect is much greater than when applied to Seraphina.

Under the influence of fate... Ravenna could use her own thinking to see through Ansel's malice, or find a breakthrough in other aspects.

According to the normal script, Ravenna would become emotionally unstable under the first wave of attacks that Ansel used Seraphina for; then, Conrad, without needing Ansel's reminder, would put pressure on Ravenna himself, expanding the results. After that, this tour would plant the seed of self-doubt in Ravenna's heart.

— Of course, it's not like that.

This is just the most superficial appearance of what Ansel has done.

If it's another plan to destroy confidence and deny self-training, then what's the essential difference between this taming and the taming for Seraphina?

Ansel couldn't apply the same type of taming to a person whose character and thinking were almost at the other extreme from Seraphina.

His trap, his blade, was hidden beneath the appearance of this seemingly repetitive plan aimed only at Ravenna's will.

Looking at the time, oh — it's already here.

Ansel, stroking his scepter, smiled even more brightly, and Conrad and Ravenna, who were still engaged in a war of words, stopped almost at the same time.

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