After Maggie and Xiu left, the black substance from the dissected mermaid was taken away and quickly turned into seawater, dissolving into the ocean before it died.

Maggie was in such a hurry that she didn't see this scene.

By then, Maggie had arrived before the chieftain. The old merman had a serious expression on his face, indicating that he had received news from the outside world and was aware of Maggie's actions.

"Chief, I have the answer to what you've always wanted to verify: whether the Ice Merfolk are living beings or puppets."

Maggie wasn't just talking; since she had obtained their consent, she was bound to produce results.

"I know."

The chieftain nodded, but showed no intention of asking any further questions. Instead, he continued to look at Maggie with a solemn gaze.

“I saw everything you did today. You may be efficient, but you are a human being.”

His words startled Maggie, who didn't quite understand what the chieftain was trying to say for a moment.

"Humans are a race with emotions, and they should not do things like demons."

The clan chief continued speaking, his expression growing increasingly complicated.

He could tell that Xiu seemed to have an unusual fondness for this girl, and after learning that she was the Holy Maiden of Light, the clan leader actually had no objection to the matter.

But after what happened today, everything is completely different.

Regardless of whether Maggie subjectively believes the Ice Mermaid is a living being or a puppet, even if there is only a one percent chance that the Ice Mermaid is a living being, Maggie should not act so bloodily and cruelly against the Ice Mermaid based on her subjective assumptions.

This means that Maggie's rationality far outweighs her emotions, and that she is inherently cold-blooded.

She didn't care what the ice mermaid actually was; she only cared about verifying her guess.

But if the ice mermaid is truly a living being, then what difference is there between Maggie and the devil in doing this? This is not the kind of thinking a seventeen-year-old human girl should have.

And there was no fear in her eyes, only excitement and the joy of obtaining new information.

This is very abnormal.

Humans, once they lose their emotions, will be even more terrifying than demons. Even though what Maggie did was actually beneficial to the merfolk, he still didn't want a good girl to become a cold-blooded and ruthless machine.

Maggie didn't understand what the chieftain was thinking. She was completely baffled after hearing it, and her brows furrowed slightly. What she had done was a good deed; at the very least, it was helping the merfolk, and at worst, it was thwarting Tartros's conspiracy.

She didn't feel anything was wrong, and she couldn't possibly be associated with demons.

"They don't even qualify as living beings."

As expected, Maggie's words confirmed the chieftain's guess; Maggie's thoughts indeed coincided with his prediction.

How terrifying that a mere guess could drive her to take action against a race whose very existence is uncertain.

"Oh well, never mind."

The old fish's back seemed to collapse in an instant; no one could understand his worries.

In fact, something even Maggie herself didn't realize was that her motives were becoming increasingly purposeful. After learning about something, she would first study the clues and quickly get the results and the ultimate goal.

Her true emotions are becoming fewer and fewer, and she is becoming more and more like... what a true god should be like.

Treat all things equally, showing the same indifference, and only caring about the results.

Maggie pursed her lips. Her intuition told her that the chieftain was probably not in a good mood, but she still needed to resolve the ice mermaid problem as soon as possible and needed to cooperate with the mermaid tribe.

Although this matter shouldn't have been her responsibility, just thinking about the original owner's unfortunate father, regardless of whether the original owner's father truly loved her, the demon was still her father's killer.

Maggie didn't want to have any moral blemishes on the original owner, so since she had discovered it, she figured it wouldn't hurt to deal with it as soon as possible.

not to mention.....

Maggie still wanted to deal with the current Duke herself. Since the angels' inefficiency was driving her crazy, she might as well find a solution herself.

The Ice Mermaids might be a breakthrough point. If she could obtain a way to completely annihilate the Duke from them, she wouldn't need to care about the angels, nor would she need to worry about the Zefneria family and her mother.

Enemies should be dealt with personally.

Even if it's difficult.

Even angels have been struggling to find a solution, so for an ordinary human like her to think this way is indeed a bit far-fetched, but...

What happened?

If she only knew how to wait and sit idly by, then she wouldn't be herself.

With that in mind, Maggie continued to say what she wanted to say without hesitation.

"This is what I got from the Ice Mermaid. It's black and looks like an unknown substance with life."

Maggie opened her hand, and the black liquid inside was contained within her hand, probably because of the natural defensive shield that prevented the Ash Core from affecting her before.

The black, viscous liquid couldn't penetrate her; it could only be held firmly in Maggie's hand.

"This thing should be the core that drives the actions of those ice mermaids. Although the ice mermaids look like intelligent beings and can speak and communicate normally, they will appear repeatedly."

"Then they must not have been born naturally, but rather created, simply by using seawater and this black liquid."

"After they die, they will turn into ice sculptures, which is also to prevent this black liquid from being discovered. When the time is right, the person behind it will take it back and continue to make ice mermaids."

Almost everything Maggie said matched the patriarch's conjectures.

However, Maggie is a woman of action, and she successfully verified it using unconventional methods.

"However, the guy who created the ice mermaid probably doesn't know much about mermaids. He just simply pieced together a human and a fish tail. If you take it apart, you can see how clumsy his work is."

"Moreover... their attempt to get close to the merfolk and reproduce with them is probably even more terrifying. This black liquid will invade the merfolk's bodies, and who knows what you will become in the future."

"It's good that you didn't agree to the Ice Mermaid Clan associating with the Mermaid Clan."

Upon hearing Maggie's words, the chieftain fell silent, seemingly able to envision the future Maggie had envisioned.

What do you want to do now?

The chieftain had already seen Maggie's determination to win, and having no reason to stop her, he asked directly.

"I think... when the Ice Mermaids attack next time, I'll separate out the black liquid inside them and wait and see if the mastermind behind it will appear."

"If it doesn't appear, then I'll have to trouble you to let me lead a group of mermaids in a counterattack. The truth should be in the Ice Merfolk's lair."

That's what Maggie said.