Chapter 170: I Am Ada (Part 2)

“Well, are you going to hit me?” Sensing Rod’s move, the princess looked at him without worry and asked jokingly.
“Speak up—or don’t!” Rod asked coldly, staring at her. Ada was one of the few friends he had in this world. Knowing she was in trouble, Rod naturally couldn’t stay calm.
“What, my name is Ada. Do you think that can be faked too?” Excitement flashed in her eyes, and a smile appeared on her face—things Rod couldn’t see at that moment. All he could think of was Ada’s figure.
“Then you won’t speak?” His voice turned cold. He stepped forward, his hand turning into a claw as he grabbed the princess’s throat. Rod stared at her coldly, waiting for an answer.
“Cough, cough… You… let go of me! Damn you, you even forgot about me? Bastard…” She struggled desperately, her face turning red from lack of air, glaring fiercely at Rod as she cried out loudly.
“It’s me! It’s me!” Realizing what was happening, she quickly changed her tone after encountering Rod’s icy gaze.
The familiar voice and tone made Rod pause slightly, loosening his grip a bit.
Seizing this opportunity, the princess broke free from Rod’s control and stood across from him, gasping for breath. “Damn you, you really forgot about me! I told you I’m Ada—what more do you want? Can’t you even tell that I’m wearing men’s clothes? Are you truly stupid or just pretending?”
This time, Ada was truly angry. She pushed Rod hard and shouted, furious that he had almost killed her just now.
“Ada?” Rod looked at the stunning, beloved princess across from him, struggling to believe what he saw.
A similar appearance could be ignored—there were many people with similar looks in this world. A similar voice could also be ignored, and even a similar tone wasn’t a big deal. But combined with what she had said earlier, along with her knowledge of him and his past, Rod had no choice but to believe her.
“Damn you, you want to kill me?” Coughing and gasping, she patted her chest as she cursed loudly.
“Are… are you really Ada?”

“Nonsense! If not me, then who? Have you forgotten who let you share a room with him when you first joined the Stormwind Mercenaries? Who, when our group was in danger, led you and Lucia to break through the siege and head to the capital? Have you forgotten who told you he needed to leave for a while? Bastard…” She cursed angrily. At this moment, Ada was no longer the graceful princess from before—she was a fierce tiger.

“Impossible… You… how…?” Already somewhat convinced, Rod widened his eyes in disbelief, struggling to accept that this woman was Ada. Although the Ada he had known before was indeed a bit soft, and he had been a bit strange himself, he had never thought in that direction. The truth before him was hard to digest. Was she the one who had shared a room with him for so long? Was she the one who had fought alongside him through life and death? Was she the one who told him to come back after a while?

“Nothing impossible. It’s me. Believe it or not, I don’t want to argue further. I’m leaving!” With a wave of her hand, she showed more femininity, glared at Rod discontentedly, then turned and headed for the door.

“Hey… wait… Heh, wait, I… I…” Rod hurriedly grabbed Ada, looking at a loss for words.

“Weren’t you just going away for a while? How did you end up here? And become a demon princess? Were you part of the Source of Darkness all along? A princess at that?” Doubts surged in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more unbelievable it seemed. Too many things didn’t add up.

“Nonsense! I’m the princess of the opposition, okay? Years ago, we predicted that the pro-war faction might take action, so with my family’s help, I sealed part of my energy and used two space scrolls to reach the outer continents to find someone. Three years ago, I completed my mission and decided to leave. I planned to come back briefly before leaving again, but something happened in my family, and I couldn’t leave right away. I thought I’d come back to find you after dealing with these matters here, but who knew you’d come to the Source of Darkness so quickly? And your strength has improved so fast—truly a freak. Enough about this. It’s good you came in now; I wouldn’t have had to go look for you!” With a wave of her hand, Ada said helplessly.

It sounds simple when spoken, but Rod knew there must be many unknown things going on here. Aida’s experiences here might not be any easier or simpler than his own outside.

“It seems you’ve gone through a lot outside. Otherwise, even with great talent, you wouldn’t have reached this level in such a short time. Am I right?”

“You’ve guessed everything. I guess there’s no need for me to explain.”

“As you wish. But now you’re a prominent figure in our Dark Source. I’m sure by tomorrow, the news that you’re still alive will spread to every corner of Dark Source. By then, your fame will be even greater. How does that sound? Feels good, right?” Aida said teasingly as she got closer to Rod.

With a bitter smile, Rod replied, “If I could, I really wouldn’t want any fame. That damned Purple-Winged Thunder Eagle clan and the Nash family definitely won’t let me off. Just wait—the troubles have only just begun!”

“What? You’re afraid too?”

“Everyone has moments of fear. Can’t I be afraid?” Rod said gloomily, rolling his eyes. Was what this guy said even human speech?

“Since you’re here, I won’t say much more. I can guess what happened outside Dark Source. Your identity must have been exposed. And the demons? Heh, I wonder how those so-called heroes dealt with you?” Aida asked curiously, as if thinking of something interesting.

“You already knew my identity. Why didn’t you tell me?” Rod’s mood instantly darkened. He was dissatisfied with Aida. As a demon, she must have seen his true identity long ago. So why didn’t she tell him? Could there be some ulterior motive?

“If I had told you, would you have achieved what you have now? Hey, some things can’t be done just by wanting to. I know you’ve suffered a lot outside and are upset, but many things have to be experienced. And outside, nothing would happen to you—someone would protect you. You must have seen that. Otherwise, if your identity were exposed, not to mention the pursuit by those on the continent, even the Dark Ones would hunt you relentlessly. Do you think you could have survived to this day without anyone’s help? With that organization around, nothing will happen to you outside. At least the Dark Ones can’t touch you. It’s only through trials of life and death that you can make the greatest progress!”

“You think those dark forces won’t trouble you once your identity is exposed? It was others who dealt with them for you. Without their threats, your chances of survival increase greatly!” At Rod’s question, Aida’s expression darkened noticeably, and after a sigh, she spoke softly.
“Do you know those mysterious guys, Brother Hori?” Rod’s heart skipped a beat. The first person who had helped him came to mind—Brother Hori and their organization. He quickly asked, since Aida knew about these things, she must know those people as well.
“Hori? I don’t know him. But it’s true that they’re protecting you. That organization is quite mysterious. I can’t tell you which organization he belongs to. To be honest, I’m not even very sure myself. But I can tell you that it’s part of the forces within our Dark Source, including the Dark Ones! The Dark Ones want to kill you, while that organization aims to protect you. That’s all you need to know. As for the true identities of those two organizations, I believe you’ll find out soon! You don’t need to worry about that.” When talking about those two organizations, Aida clearly showed signs of avoiding the topic, as if deliberately ignoring something.
Since Aida didn’t want to talk, Rod didn’t press further. Anyway, he would find out soon, so there was no need to rush.
Now that Aida’s identity was confirmed, the two of them talked more, laughing and chatting. Yet it was clear that a slight distance had emerged between them, and they could no longer return to their previous closeness.
“You didn’t come here just to tell me these things, did you? There must be more—tell me everything!” Seeing that it was getting late and Aida showed no sign of leaving, Rod simply asked. Aida’s visit late at night might have been to reveal his identity as one purpose, but it was definitely not the only one. Rod understood this well.
“Nothing can be hidden from you! Fine, I won’t hide it from you anymore. There’s actually one thing that really needs your help!” After pondering for a moment, Aida agreed readily.
“You already know that our family allied with the Black Phoenix clan and the Dragon clan out of necessity. The Purple-Winged Thunder Eagles and the Mi Jiao clan have both been drawn over by the pro-war faction. If we don’t take action, our opposition faction might be the first to be wiped out. The pro-war faction has always seen us as a serious thorn in their side, eager to get rid of us. That’s why we had no choice but to form an alliance with the Black Phoenix clan and the Dragon clan!”

But we all know that the Black Phoenix clan and the Dragon clan will never truly form a strong alliance with our opposition families, yet you can help advance our relationship—this is one of the reasons I came to you! With a sigh, Aida finally revealed her difficulties and intentions.