The Yellow-Haired Villain in Soaring Phoenix's Novels Also Desires Happiness Chapter 692: Decision

"Every ti I finish fighting a monster, soone jumps out and says this kind of thing. I’ve already gotten used to it."

Ariel gazed up at the sky with lancholy, recalling the past.

Maybe it was because her appearance was too harmless, or because her “performance” was “a bit ager.” Every single ti in situations like this, there would always be soone who doubted her strength.

So what if it was fighting across tiers?

So what if it was chopping down a Demon General across an entire major stage?

So what if it was chopping down a powerful Demon General—one tempered in a hellhole like the Abyss—across an entire major stage?

Is that really that outrageous?

Is that really worth doubting?

Is that really sothing to be surprised by?

That’s why these adventurers these days—on the surface they look experienced, but in reality they have zero insight.

And besides, just because they haven’t seen sothing before doesn’t an it doesn’t exist.

She was only a tiny bit stronger than ordinary people, that was all. What was she supposed to do about it?

"Co to think of it, up until now, the only one who has never doubted my strength seems to be..."

The more she thought, the stiffer Ariel’s expression beca.

As if she had gotten sothing filthy on her, she imdiately started shaking her head while spitting out a few rapid ptoo-ptoo-ptoo sounds.

Damn it, why did she think of that hateful guy again?

Bad luck. Bad luck.

"Alright. Believe it or not, either way, just tell what’s going on first."

After driving that annoying shadow out of her head, Ariel didn’t want to get tangled up with these two guys at all, arguing about whether she had really beaten a Demon General—such a aningless matter.

So things didn’t need to be proven.

"On the way here I also ran into demonfolk chasing down adventurers on a large scale several tis. The demonfolk’s movents right now are extrely strange. Why would they spend effort like this, where the gains and costs don’t match at all, running all the way to a remote place like the Abyss and capturing adventurers everywhere? Adventurers at most just gather herbs, dig a little ore, or occasionally deal with a couple of strong demonn to grind levels. Demonfolk shouldn’t be making such a huge fuss over that. And based on what I’m seeing right now..."

Ariel glanced at Roya beside her.

"They seem to only be trying to capture won?"

Demonfolk were an extrely disunited race. It was common for tribes to slaughter each other, and Ariel had fully experienced that during this stretch of travel.

There had even been situations where a demonfolk tribe, in order to wipe out an enemy tribe, set aside its hatred with humans and invited her to help them act.

But the demonfolk’s current movents clearly didn’t look like it was just one single tribe hunting adventurers.

That was what confused her the most. The °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° entire loose, scattered demonfolk seed to have been suddenly united by so kind of force overnight.

From useless rabble that had been a pile of loose sand, they had beco a powerful force that any country on the continent now had to face with full vigilance.

What was more, the ones being hunted down were male adventurers. They instead captured all the won. It was obviously not just for revenge, but for so other purpose.

"Since you have the strength to defeat a Demon General, why didn’t you ask the Demon General directly?" Dolan was clearly still not convinced about Ariel. With a provocative look, he said, "Do you really need to ask us?"

"Sir, aren’t you being too rude—"

"Oh?"

Ariel once again stopped Roya, who was unhappy with the other man’s attitude. She raised an eyebrow.

"Saying that—are you trying to fight ? To test whether I really have that ability?"

"Heh, I’d love to—"

"Enough."

The Python, Burt, was clearly more authoritative. He barked at Dolan.

"Now is not the ti to fight among ourselves!"

"Hmph, she started it—"

"No matter what this young lady said, that still isn’t a reason for you to fight your own people. The danger hasn’t been resolved yet."

Burt scolded him harshly.

"Oh~"

Ariel’s mouth curled into a cold smile.

So Mr. Burt sounded fair, but in the end, he also hadn’t believed it at all.

Good.

That way, later on... it would be less trouble.

"Let’s talk business. What happened here, we don’t really know either. We only know that demonfolk are currently searching in the Abyss on a large scale for female adventurers, and that the matter is personally overseen by that Enchantress Grand Duke. That alone shows how seriously demonfolk are taking it."

"The Enchantress Grand Duke?"

Ariel blinked, curious.

"You an that several-hundred-year-old female succubus who likes won, from the rumors?"

During this ti, Ariel had more or less figured out demonfolk’s general situation. The thing she was most interested in, naturally, was the race that basically only existed in demonfolk rumors and was extrely rare in reality—succubi.

It definitely wasn’t because this race was said to be nothing but cute girls with big chests, long legs, perky hips, and little tails that swayed around!

"Yes. There are rumors that this capture operation is also related to the Enchantress Grand Duke’s preferences. She seems to have put out word, telling human won aged eighteen to twenty-five to throw themselves into her arms. Otherwise, she will slaughter every human within the Abyss."

Burt’s reaction was the complete opposite of Ariel’s.

When Ariel heard “Enchantress Grand Duke,” what she pictured was a shivery, exciting female succubus. But when he thought of that succubus monarch, all he could feel was the pressure of a demonfolk Grand Duke.

"The Enchantress Grand Duke’s brutality is famous even among demonfolk. She’s not only cruel to enemies—her thods toward demonfolk are vicious to the extre as well. Her seductive appearance is only poison. To this day, no one knows how many demonfolk who offended her had their skins personally stripped off by her, stuffed, and turned into collectibles."

Burt shuddered. Even though he was tall and burly, he was still afraid of it, as if he had once faced that terror in person.

"But even so, would demonfolk really make such a huge move just for their own preferences? Are demonfolk that free right now?"

Ariel was even more puzzled.

Even though during this period she had been focusing wholeheartedly on striving for the true love she still hadn’t found, she could still learn about the situation between demonfolk and the Empire from various hints and rumors.

She had originally planned to gather a bit more information in the Abyss and then go help the Empire’s frontline.

Even though she hated Muen Campbell, she still couldn’t just sit back and watch the war between the Empire and demonfolk without doing sothing.

"We have no way of knowing that."

Burt shook his head, then looked at the group.

"So what are your plans next? Dolan and I are planning to leave the Abyss first and not get involved in this muddy water. And if we keep staying here, and a Demon General cos back again, that’ll be trouble."

"Of course we’re leaving together with you seniors."

Termir imdiately let out a sigh of relief and looked to the side with a bit of excitent.

"Big sis Roya, you agree, right?"

But Roya didn’t answer. She didn’t even notice Termir’s gaze. Her worried eyes fell instead on Ariel, who stood on her other side.

"Plans next?"

Ariel rubbed her smooth chin and thought for a mont.

"By the way, how many won have been captured so far?"

"I don’t know the exact number. But based on what we know right now from the gathered information, at least dozens of female adventurers have already fallen into demonfolk hands."

"Dozens..."

Ariel’s eyes flickered.

That number didn’t seem like much, but the number of adventurers who even had the courage and confidence to explore the Abyss was already extrely small—let alone won. And demonfolk had captured dozens of them in a short period of ti...

You could tell demonfolk’s actions weren’t just for fun.

"Teacher, do you have any leads?" Ariel asked inwardly.

"Right now I can think of seventeen thods of blood sacrifice, fifteen thods of strengthening oneself by extracting won’s essence-blood, and nine thods of forcing won to beco pregnant and using tender human infants to create curses."

Ariel’s teacher said.

"But as for the ‘leads’ you ntioned... I really don’t. Because I don’t believe any of the thods above would actually help demonfolk as they are now. With fewer than a hundred won, even evil cultists would sneer at a sacrifice of that level."

"That’s true..."

If it were so newbie evil cultist, maybe it would make sense. But this was demonfolk—an enormous demonfolk that dared to challenge the Empire—yet when it ca to doing sothing evil, they were just capturing a few dozen won? If word got out, so extremist organizations would probably kick them out of the evil registry on the spot.

Too embarrassing.

"Then is it really just that succubus monarch’s personal desire?"

"Rather than personal desire... it’s more like they’re hiding sothing."

Ariel’s teacher analyzed.

"Capturing won might be a smokescreen. The real purpose is hidden among those won training in the Abyss. They might be searching for sothing among them."

"I see. Yes, that makes sense."

Demonfolk’s purpose... the secret hidden among the won training in the Abyss... and demonfolk’s strange movents as a whole...

It was getting more and more interesting.

Looks like there was a need to go and see it personally. Whether from her own perspective or from the Empire’s perspective, it was impossible to let demonfolk act so recklessly.

But...

Ariel let out a soft sigh, then coolly brushed back her bangs again.

"Sigh. This kind of irrational behavior doesn’t really fit my steady, absolutely-never-take-risks style of doing things."