Vol 4. Chapter 167: A Not-So-Friendly First Meeting

"Hurry up! Compensate this young lady for her candies!"

Yuan'er continued scolding him fiercely in her sweet little voice.

In some people's eyes, being scolded by an adorable loli was an extremely exciting experience.

However, Pipi clearly wasn't one of those people.

As a Demon King-class existence with an extraordinarily strong sense of pride (at least, according to himself...), Pipi absolutely couldn't tolerate some lowly human pointing at his nose and arrogantly shouting orders at him.

Faced with the pink-haired girl's words, Pipi narrowed his dark-purple eyes slightly, his gaze overflowing with displeasure.

Where the hell did this brat come from?!

She bumped into this great lord, and now she actually dares demand that I compensate her for her candies?!

Pipi was thoroughly irritated.

After all, as the Sword Demon, he spent practically every day causing destruction whenever he traveled across the continent.

Yet even those high-and-mighty Church Apostles and venerable figures from the Holy Tower never had the guts to demand compensation from him?!

And now some little girl actually dared speak to him like that?!

She really doesn't know her place!

Although irritated, Pipi didn't immediately slap the little fellow to death.

After all, he was a mighty and terrifying Demon King-class existence. Attacking a little girl who possessed practically no combat ability would seriously damage his reputation.

However, just because he wasn't going to kill this pink-haired brat didn't mean he couldn't teach her a lesson.

Pipi had never been particularly merciful toward arrogant little troublemakers.

He certainly wouldn't go easy on someone simply because they were young.

Rather, it was precisely because they were young that they needed to be taught a damn good lesson!

Back in the Great Winter Forest, whenever some of the children refused to obey their mother's discipline, Pipi had frequently followed Karina's instructions and stepped in to teach them a lesson on their mother's behalf.

Well,

For some reason, even though his mother had supposedly wanted him to discipline those children, whenever she found out what he'd done afterward, she would still give his bottom a thorough spanking.

Whatever. That was beside the point.

In short,

When Pipi met the furious gaze of the pink-haired girl's red-and-blue eyes, he showed absolutely no intention of backing down.

Instead, he revealed a vicious expression and bared his sharp teeth.

His beautiful face gradually twisted into something resembling a terrifying, hateful demon, an expression frightening enough to scare countless ordinary children out of their wits.

Unfortunately, Yuan'er, who had long since started treating Abyss Demons like pets, naturally wasn't going to be frightened by such a face.

Instead, she let out a disdainful snort.

"Why are you making such an ugly face?! Trying to scare this young lady? Don't you think you're overestimating yourself?!"

"Hmm?!"

Hearing this, Pipi froze slightly.

He apparently hadn't expected Yuan'er to be quite so courageous.

Moreover, upon sensing the disdain in the little girl's words, Pipi felt as though his pride had suffered yet another devastating blow.

His sharp teeth unconsciously pierced his own lips.

"You little brat..."

"Who are you calling a brat?! This young lady smells wonderful!"

Yuan'er immediately retorted indignantly.

However, while arguing with him, the little girl's peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of the colorful objects in Pipi's hands.

Being a clever little girl, Yuan'er immediately realized that the purple-haired maid was holding several of her surviving candy "companions"!

A trace of delight immediately appeared on her face.

Huh?!

Wonderful! There are still a few candies left!

Yuan'er muttered inwardly with relief.

Although there weren't many candies remaining, at least they hadn't been completely wiped out.

With the candies in this maid's hands, together with the few pieces that had survived on the ground, Yuan'er believed that her "extraordinary intelligence" might still be enough to trick little Meili into helping her.

After all, that little Meili had practically zero resistance to candy.

With enough sweets, Yuan'er could probably trick her into climbing into bed and becoming her wife whenever she wanted.

Convincing her to help blow up the school shouldn't be particularly difficult either.

As long as...

As long as some of these candies, which little Meili loved more than anything, still remained, there was hope!

With that thought, Yuan'er hurriedly raised her hand and pointed at the purple-haired maid's right hand.

"Those candies belong to this young lady! Hurry up and give them back first!"

Hmm?

She wants me to return the candies?

Pipi lowered his gaze toward the two exquisitely wrapped lollipops resting in his palm, which had survived only because he'd casually caught them earlier.

He frowned.

Then,

An indescribably displeased expression spread across the purple-haired maid's face.

After acting so arrogantly in front of this great lord, she still has the nerve to demand that I return her candies?

Demanding them back is one thing, but what's with that attitude?!

Using that kind of commanding tone?!

Does she seriously think this great lord is some pushover?!

Displeasure flashed through Pipi's dark-purple eyes.

As an unparalleled powerhouse who stood proudly at the pinnacle of the Anqieka Continent, the thing Pipi hated most was being ordered around by others.

Other than his mother, nobody had the right to command him to do anything!

Even Youlan and that wicked woman Lingluo wouldn't "dare" directly order him around.

Whenever they wanted his help, they always discussed things with him first, okay?!

Just who the hell does this little brat think she is?

Actually ordering me to return her candies? Without even saying "please"?

How arrogant can you get?!

What family's spoiled young lady is this?

Don't think I won't teach you a lesson just because you're a child!

And speaking of teaching someone a lesson, an interesting idea immediately occurred to the brilliant and resourceful Pipi.

The corners of his lips curved upward slightly.

Then he raised his hand and waved the two lollipops in front of the pink-haired little girl.

Using the gentle feminine voice he had adopted for his disguise, he spoke with exaggerated politeness.

"My dear little sister, are these the two lollipops you're looking for?"

"Mm! Hurry up and give them back to this young lady!"

Yuan'er eagerly stretched out her little hand, intending to retrieve the candies from the purple-haired maid's palm.

However,

Just as Yuan'er's fingers were about to touch the candies, Pipi gave her a playful smile.

The next instant,

A cold, arrogant voice, brimming with an almost irresistible urge to make someone punch its owner, suddenly reached Yuan'er's ears.

"You want them?! Dream on~ I'm not giving them to you!"

His voice rose dramatically before suddenly dropping again~

As he spoke, the purple-haired maid teasingly stuck out his tongue.

Then, right before Yuan'er's astonished eyes, he abruptly clenched his fist.

Without the slightest hesitation, he crushed both lollipops into fragments.

The shattered pieces of candy spilled from his hand and scattered in the wind.

Witnessing this scene, Yuan'er was completely dumbfounded.

And that stunned expression, filled with a mixture of disbelief and grievance, gave Pipi an immense sense of satisfaction.

However,

Pipi had no intention of stopping there.

Right in front of Yuan'er, he even raised his foot and mercilessly crushed the few remaining intact candies scattered on the ground around him.

He ground them viciously beneath his shoe, reducing every last one to fragments.

?!!

"Y-You! How dare you!"

After standing there in a daze for several seconds, Yuan'er finally snapped back to her senses.

Seeing the last surviving candies completely crushed beneath the feet of this "evil" maid, Yuan'er puffed out her cheeks.

The flames of anger in her heart suddenly erupted.

The next instant, the little girl's eyes filled with hostility as she glared fiercely at Pipi.

"You villain! You actually destroyed all this young lady's candies!"

"So what if I destroyed them? What are you going to do about it?"

Pipi waved his hand dismissively, speaking with an extraordinarily arrogant attitude.

Seeing this, a flash of darkness passed through Yuan'er's eyes.

In order to conceal her identity, the little girl knew that she couldn't casually mobilize the immense Shadow of Silence Power within her body.

Nor could she recklessly attack others.

Otherwise, her mother would be displeased.

But after being bullied so thoroughly by this "evil maid," Yuan'er genuinely couldn't endure it any longer.

—If someone bullies you, bully them right back!—

Recalling Sister Karina's teachings, little Yuan'er's gaze became resolute.

"Bullying a little kid! You must be an evil, wicked maid! This young lady is going to teach you a lesson!"

Although she couldn't use her Shadow of Silence Power, Yuan'er firmly believed that her extraordinary physical strength alone would be enough to teach this wicked maid an unforgettable lesson.

She would make sure this woman never dared bully little children again!

"Take this!"

With a sweet little battle cry,

Yuan'er sprang into the air and lunged toward the purple-haired maid.

The little girl's plan was exceedingly simple and straightforward.

She intended to imitate Sister Karina's educational methods and deliver a powerful knuckle strike directly to the "bad person's" head!

However,

The next instant, just as Yuan'er leaped in front of the purple-haired maid, Pipi was momentarily surprised by her speed.

But he quickly recovered his usual arrogant expression and let out a disdainful sneer.

At the same time, Pipi transformed his right hand into a knife-hand strike and brought it down toward Yuan'er's little head with lightning speed~

He showed absolutely no mercy despite her adorable appearance.

Such a cute little girl...

If I hit her once, she'll probably cry for a really long time, right?

"PIA~~!"

Accompanied by a thunderous crack, Pipi's hand struck Yuan'er's little head at an even greater speed~

The sudden, devastating blow brought the little girl's attack to an immediate halt.

Her entire body crashed to the ground.

Clutching her poor little head tightly with both hands, Yuan'er began rolling back and forth on the rooftop.

Clearly, Pipi's knife-hand strike had caused little Yuan'er a considerable amount of pain.

"Uuuu... It hurts... My head hurts..."

For a moment,

All of Yuan'er's fighting spirit instantly disappeared.

In its place came an overwhelming sense of grievance.

Under the stimulation of the intense pain, tears gradually welled up in the little girl's beautiful heterochromatic eyes.

She couldn't help letting out pitiful sobs, looking utterly miserable.

"Hehehe~"

Listening to Yuan'er's sweet little sobs, Pipi proudly planted both hands on his hips.

There wasn't the slightest trace of pity or tenderness in his eyes.

In fact, seeing the little fellow crying brought him a distinct sense of pleasure.

Hmph~

You think you can mess with me?!

Serves you right!

"Hehehehe~ Now you know how powerful I am, don't you~?"

The purple-haired maid continued watching Yuan'er while letting out one smug chuckle after another.

Well~

For some reason, though...

As Pipi continued laughing...

An inexplicable sense of foreboding gradually crept into his heart.

...

Something... doesn't seem quite right...