Unlike Ophelia’s previous teetering on the edge of self-destruction, this ti, under a clear, moonlit night, Su Li chose to take advantage of a windless, snowless moonlit night to bring the woman—who had been standing alone outside the city since early morning—into the city.
The mont they were in the sa space again, Ophelia’s first words were laced with chilling sarcasm. “To be able to achieve this level, you truly are worthy of the title ‘Prophet’.”
Su Li brushed off the loaded comnt, replying calmly, “I’ll take that as a complint.”
Under almost equal conditions, this second negotiation was less a negotiation and more a mutual acknowledgnt of cooperation. The war against Sadina City, from the mont the true intelligence surfaced, had been indefinitely postponed.
Ophelia’s gaze lingered on Su Li for a full five seconds. Su Li, deciding against giving the princess any more ti to assess the situation, sat down and stated calmly, “I know you are the daughter of the Pope of the Church of Light. I also understand everything the Pope is plotting, including your attempt to seize military power.”
“Ignoring the Pope’s sches, which won’t affect this city in the short term, I only want to know what you, Ophelia, the princess in everyone’s eyes, need. From your perspective, what is your goal in attacking this city?”
“Since you already know the answer, don’t bother with these irritating questions,” Ophelia glared at Su Li. “And I’m not here to listen to your nonsense.”
This ti, it was Su Li who stared intently at Ophelia for three seconds before his calm expression shifted into a lighthearted smile. Without giving Ophelia any ti to prepare, he cut straight to the point. “The rcenary City will not beco cannon fodder in the conflict between you and the Pope. As for Xiao Zuo, whom you fear and envy, even if we have the power to restrain him, I don’t think you can offer a price worthy of that service.”
As Ophelia made another move to flip the table, Su Li extended his left hand in a stopping gesture. Sharper words followed, “As for your supposed threat of using a hundred-thousand-strong army against us, from the mont I learned what you represent, that threat holds no value.”
“With sufficient intelligence, Sadina City is impenetrable to your army, and you won’t be able to conscript the rcenaries within.”
“Moreover, I don’t believe you would risk a pyrrhic victory with a hundred thousand soldiers to conquer this city. Because even if you succeed, you won’t have the strength left to confront the Pope.”
“In the end, you will still be a puppet, continuously manipulated by fate.”
Su Li watched coldly as Ophelia deflated like a punctured balloon, sinking back into her chair.
However, Ophelia, seemingly with stubbornness etched into her very being, didn’t remain completely silent.
“You speak as if you control your own destiny. Rejecting the existence of elents—how is that any different from being rejected by the world?”
“In a world where the strong prey on the weak, soone as fragile as you, who could die from a re scratch, do you really think you possess freedom in your position?” The mockery in Ophelia’s eyes intensified, and Su Li found it increasingly amusing.
Not that he was mocking her, but rather, he found it humorous that soone would willingly enter his domain of expertise and challenge him.
“I’ve never believed I possess absolute freedom, nor do I hold any attachnt to the concept. Ultimately, freedom is only relative within limitations. Humans can never achieve absolute freedom, even if they ascend to godhood.”
Su Li skillfully suppressed the aningless laughter bubbling up within him. He looked at Ophelia calmly once again, his words sharp as blades, piercing her heart.
“From the mont a sentient being gains consciousness, they are confined by their physical form. No matter how unrestrained their thoughts, the body that houses them remains just a body. As for the strength you speak of, even if one possesses earth-shattering power within, they are still subject to limitations.”
“Besides, the freedom you desire is rely the absence of others’ influence. Only then do you feel secure. No one can give you that sense of security except for an unchallengeable position of absolute power. The freedom you crave, in essence, is simply to be unrestrained. But there’s a vast chasm between being unrestrained and being free.”
“You use extres to mask the emptiness of your true desires. You build walls of desire to isolate yourself, all your words and actions driven by a sliver of self-seeking. Yet, constrained by your pride, you refuse to admit that what you want is, in the eyes of others, insignificant.”
“And you’re even less willing to accept that what you strive for with all your might is easily attainable by others.”
The overwhelming sensation, like a giant overlooking a dwarf, caused Ophelia to recoil involuntarily. The scraping of her chair against the floor echoed in the room, and she remained stunned, unable to shake off the penetrating impact of Su Li’s words.
Understanding intelligence and understanding human nature are two different things.
No one would expect soone whose rational deductions bordered on prophecy to also possess the terrifying ability to see through others’ hearts.
At least for Ophelia, it felt like an unforgivable offense. The urge to kill, the uncontrollable desire to destroy sothing, churned within her. But all of it, upon eting those erald green eyes, vanished like cold water dousing a fla, bringing her to complete clarity.
She knew that if she made any rash move, Su Li might, out of courtesy and the lack of actual harm, choose to forgive her and continue their discussion. But the silent, watchful figures around him, like attack dogs poised to strike, would never give her a chance to survive.
Perhaps even her death here would be a re inconvenience to a sage whose wisdom rivals that of a prophet, who could practically see the future. The Pope’s decades-long machinations had been completely exposed by a single child...
“Ha, hahaha, hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!” Ophelia stood up abruptly, throwing her head back in a fit of manic laughter. The rough-hewn ceiling, which the pampered princess would have normally scorned, now lood over her like a stone giant, ready to crush her throat.
Su Li watched Ophelia’s lucid madness with a cold gaze, giving her ample ti to vent before asking, “Are you calm now?”
Ophelia sat back down. For the first ti, she consciously looked at soone who terrified her yet didn’t make her feel threatened.
Undeniably a young man, the kind who, if he were to spend a few more years in the Inner City, would be the target of countless noble ladies.
However, Ophelia could see Su Li’s rejection towards elents, a weakness that would make anyone aware of it see him as nothing more than a plaything.
And yet, this person instilled in her a fear greater than the Pope. The Pope only threatened with death, while Su Li, without any threats, evoked a fear she didn’t want to face...
“What do you think I should do?”
Su Li was taken aback by this unexpected question. “What do you an?”
Ophelia laughed, not a sinister, mocking laugh, but a shallow, aningless one, much like Su Li’s occasional empty smiles.
“You already know what I want and what I’m planning to do against you. So, from my perspective, continuing this pointless conversation won’t benefit in any way. Instead, my deplorable personality will only offend you further.”
“Rather than that, it’s better to hear the best solution, whether I can think of it or not, from your own mouth.”
Su Li: ???
“Do you think what you’re saying is reasonable?” He no longer cared why the princess, at this mont, suddenly possessed self-awareness.
Right now, Su Li only wanted to know the logic behind “Just because I already know, does that an you don’t have to say it?”
Ophelia simply gave up, reverting to her usual mocking expression. “What else do you think I should do?”
At that mont, Su Li unleashed his Abyssal Gaze technique.
But he directed it at his own people.
However, Egbert, standing closest to him, simply returned an innocent look. Raven, with his inky black hair cascading down his back, added, “Her behavior has nothing to do with us.”
Raven then added thoughtfully, “At least, it has nothing to do with .”
Egbert shot him a sharp glare.
Su Li: ……
........
Trash world, just end already.
The conversation ended with Su Li not uttering another word. But everyone knew that the unspoken words had already been “spoken.”
It was as if Ophelia knew her opponent could read minds. Since a confrontation was inevitable and unavoidable, she might as well just give up.
As Ophelia returned under the cover of night, she recalled Su Li’s detached expression at the negotiating table. She couldn’t help but laugh, a genuine laugh, a joy she felt not because of others’ approval, but for reasons she couldn’t articulate.
No matter how terrifying soone might be, they were still human. This single thought significantly improved Ophelia’s mood. So, even when Xiao Zuo asked innocently, “Sister... why are you so happy?”
Ophelia gave him a serious answer for the first ti. “Perhaps because I know that everything from now on will unfold as I foresee.”
Even though her foresight had been completely exposed to another, and she certainly hadn’t been granted absolute freedom.
Ophelia looked at Xiao Zuo with eyes as deep as the abyss.
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