The male tiger king's arrogant and cold voice echoed in everyone's hearts, enveloping all present in a thick blanket of despair.
A question arose in their minds:
If the female tiger was already so formidable,
How powerful would this male tiger be?
Was there anyone present who could defeat him in single combat?
Perhaps there was.
However, when the noble lords looked up at the platform again,
They discovered that Viktor had vanished.
In that instant, the spirits of the many lords crumbled like a collapsing skyscraper, completely destroyed by the suddenly ignited flames of despair, becoming nothing but smoldering ruins.
The male tiger-man seemed to catch the crowd's gaze, following their line of sight to where Viktor had been standing.
Indeed, the mage was nowhere to be found.
A flicker of suspicion crossed the tiger's eyes, but he didn't seem particularly concerned. He simply turned back to face the crowd and said coolly:
"Look at your situation now, humans."
"How are you, trapped here, any different from the demi-human slaves you once kept caged?"
The nobles instinctively looked around at these words.
The entire auction house had been occupied by demi-humans, with most human guards incapacitated, lying motionless in scattered heaps on the ground.
After all, without prior preparation, humans were no match for demi-humans of equal rank.
In the chaos and firelight, the auction city resembled the scene of an apocalypse.
Victorious cheers echoed throughout the royal city, though these cheers sounded more like bestial roars.
More and more demi-humans gathered outside the auction house, wearing dirty clothes with shackles on their feet.
Many nobles and merchants were shocked to recognize them as the demi-human slaves from their own households.
Now, these demi-humans' eyes burned with fierce anger, as if ready to tear their former masters to pieces at any moment.
Suddenly, a female eagle-person soared in the air.
Her voice pierced the night's silence, announcing shrilly:
"Boss Tiger, we've rescued almost everyone."
These sharp words pierced the nobles' hearts like needles, causing waves of pain.
"No need to waste time on these humans. We must all withdraw before Festan Balo arrives."
Hearing these words, the noble lords understood everything.
These demi-humans were clearly organized, disciplined, and even under someone's command.
Why had these demi-humans chosen specifically today to revolt?
Because today, the royal city's defenses were at their weakest.
When visiting the royal city, no lord would bring many troops.
Most importantly,
The kingdom's pillar, Festan Balo, wasn't in the royal city today.
The demi-humans seemed very familiar with Duke Balo's habits.
They clearly knew that Duke Balo disliked attending such noble auctions.
All these factors had given the demi-humans their opportunity.
However, the male tiger king seemed in no hurry to leave.
Boss Tiger stood with his arms crossed, not moving an inch.
"Not yet."
His sharp gaze swept across the auction house's second-floor boxes, passing over the King of Kanter, until it reached Aurelianne.
More precisely, he fixed his gaze on Vanilla standing behind Aurelianne.
"We still have other comrades to rescue."
The male tiger's pupils suddenly contracted, and an overwhelming aura suddenly rose, his leg muscles rapidly tensing.
He crouched slightly, his feet firmly planted into the platform's surface.
Boom!
The already dilapidated platform completely collapsed at that moment, cracks rapidly spreading to the surrounding ground.
Everyone felt the ground shake as if an earthquake was imminent.
The male tiger-man launched himself like a missile, breaking through space itself.
The surrounding air began to emit sharp roars due to the high-speed vibrations.
Whoosh—
In the blink of an eye, that massive orange body was already heading toward the King and Aurelianne.
When countless noble lords saw the tiger-man charging toward the auction house's box seats, their minds went completely blank.
What was this tiger trying to do?
Capture the leader first?
Taking the King would be one thing - after all, he was just the King of Kanter, they could always find another one if he was captured.
But where would they find another Princess of the Calensia Empire?
Forget about diplomacy - war between the two kingdoms would be inevitable!
The noble lords stared at the tiger-man, looking carefully, and found that he was indeed heading straight for Aurelianne!
This was disastrous!
But almost simultaneously, a cold flash suddenly appeared, as both frost and heat rolled toward the charging tiger.
That bone-chilling cold made the tiger's body pause slightly, but he maintained his fierce gaze and put all his strength into motion.
A scorching light was drawn from the scabbard at Gwen's waist.
The brilliant torch-like blade swung down, as if it could incinerate the huge threat before her.
The tiger-man didn't retreat in the face of this attack, but instead stepped on the wind in mid-air, rotating his body and pulling back slightly to dodge that scorching strike.
Boss Tiger stared intently at Gwen, who was emanating waves of cold, his gaze incredibly sharp.
The terrifying gaze seemed to transform into blood-stained spears, carrying endless killing intent.
"A knight?"
Boss Tiger's right foot stepped on a golden pillar, his single leg bending slightly, gathering power.
His body once again exploded with fluid power, transforming into an orange comet ferociously rushing toward Gwen.
Then, he inverted his body, carrying terrifying momentum as he suddenly lashed out with a kick.
During the turn, the horrifying kick that shattered the wind crashed into Gwen.
Gwen quickly raised her sword to block, as the kick collided with her blade.
Under that tremendous force, Gwen could hardly defend.
A violent force rapidly contracted, but quickly exploded outward in all directions.
The bone armor on Gwen's body slightly trembled after suffering this terrifying strike, almost completely absorbing those fearsome forces.
The power thus didn't penetrate Gwen's body, but under the powerful impact, her feet still dug into the ground as she was pushed back several meters.
The flame sword was thrust into the ground by Gwen, and crimson flames ignited along the path of her retreat.
After repelling Gwen, Boss Tiger landed steadily on the platform's second floor.
He twisted his wrist, making cracking sounds, looking at Gwen with a hint of contempt.
"Not bad strength."
"Too bad you're just a third-rank knight."
At this moment, he was standing right in front of Aurelianne and Augustus.
Seeing this huge threat approaching, Hilda was drenched in cold sweat, her hand already gripping her sword hilt, ready for battle.
However, Boss Tiger completely ignored the young female instructor behind Augustus, not even willing to give her a second glance.
"And you're not even as good as that knight from earlier."
Having said this, Boss Tiger turned his attention to Vanilla behind Aurelianne.
"Fellow cat-folk."
"Come leave with us."
Hearing these words, the surrounding lords' gazes quickly converged on Vanilla.
They looked at this cat-person dressed as a maid, their hearts almost stopping.
If this tiger-man knew that the Princess of the Calensia Empire was using Vanilla as a maid...
He would likely fly into a rage at seeing one of his kind suffering such humiliation.
At this moment, the nobles in the venue were all like wild geese hearing a bowstring's vibration - terrified and trembling.
They feared that in the next second, this tiger would deal a deadly blow to Aurelianne.
If Aurelianne were to be injured, or even die here...
At that point, everything would be over.
Even Augustus followed the tiger-man's gaze, his trembling and worried eyes falling on Vanilla.
However, Vanilla just clasped her hands to her chest, looking at Boss Tiger with a hint of determination in her eyes, and gently shook her head:
"No..."
Hearing Vanilla's response, Boss Tiger was slightly stunned, seeming unable to quite understand:
"Why?"
"Have the humans stripped away your wild nature?"
Vanilla didn't speak, which made Boss Tiger very surprised.
Then, his gaze naturally fell on Aurelianne.
But he didn't see the same fear in her that he saw in the other noble lords.
On the contrary, she was very calm.
She seemed to be the calmest human in this auction house.
Even the King showed fear and trepidation when seeing him.
So, Boss Tiger put away his sharp gaze and looked at Aurelianne, asking puzzledly:
"Human, aren't you afraid of me?"
"Why should I be afraid?"
Aurelianne said with a smile:
"On the contrary, I'm more curious about your situation afterward."
"Hmm?"
Boss Tiger was slightly confused, leaning back.
He sensed a hint of danger in Aurelianne's words.
"Human girl, continue."
"What's your opinion?"
Aurelianne calmly placed her hands on her legs, appearing perfectly serene.
"Opinion? I wouldn't say I have one."
She just turned her head, looking at Gwen who had nearly lost her ability to continue fighting due to the tiger's attack.
Then she turned back, looking at Vanilla who had just been invited to leave.
Then, she suddenly laughed.
"What are you laughing at?"
Boss Tiger's gaze tightened, staring hard at Aurelianne before him.
"Nothing, I just suddenly thought of my teacher."
"He's not only protective of his own, but also somewhat vengeful."
Aurelianne said with a smile.
"Actually, I've been curious - why did you so casually forget about a powerful mage?"
Boss Tiger finally came to his senses, straightening up.
"Hmm?"
Was she talking about that mage who had just claimed he would spend 100 million to buy all their demi-humans?
He admitted that mage was indeed formidable.
But every demi-human present was extremely powerful.
Besides, Second Tiger was there too, so he didn't need to worry about that mage causing any trouble...
Drip— Drop—
Splash—
"This is... rain?"
It's raining?
Suddenly, cold, large raindrops began pouring down from the sky.
The rain fell on Boss Tiger's face, running down his fur and whiskers, gathering and dripping down.
The torrential rain instantly filled the entire damaged auction house, causing countless nobles to look up.
The originally clear starry sky had been covered by thick clouds, not a single star visible anymore.
Only large raindrops continuously crashed down on their lead-colored robes.
Boss Tiger looked up, his sharp gaze piercing through the auction house toward the vast royal city.
The downpour extinguished all the fires burning outside, as if forcefully crushing the demi-humans' victory completely.
The demi-humans outside also felt the rain running down their bodies.
This cold sensation seemed to extinguish the flames in their hearts as well.
White mist rose from the ground, beginning to completely engulf everyone present.
As people were wondering what was happening.
The falling speed of the surrounding rain began to slow.
In the next second, something happened that shocked countless people.
Those raindrops, as if unaffected by gravity, all stopped in mid-air!
The dense, crystalline drops hung suspended in the air, like countless transparent crystals.
Some demi-humans were very curious about the raindrops suspended before them, reaching out to try to touch the water in the air.
The moment the demi-humans touched the raindrops, they stuck to their fur, slowly falling down their bodies.
Everyone realized one thing.
At this moment, the rain—
Had "stopped."
Countless people looked up, including Boss Tiger.
Among those torrential raindrops, they saw a figure wearing a black coat.
It was Viktor.
At this moment, he was stepping on the raindrops suspended in the sky.
Those raindrops seemed to support his body, forming a series of steps.
Drip— Drop.
With each step, the raindrops floating in the air would naturally fall, striking the ground again.
In this vast and deathly silent auction house.
The sound of those raindrops seemed to transform into Viktor's footsteps.
Each step seemed to tread on everyone's hearts.
Clear and powerful.
He walked down like this, stepping on the rain-soaked stairs, raising water drops, until he steadily landed on the ground, standing on the already shattered platform.
At this moment, the gazes of countless demi-humans and nobles converged on Viktor.
"Sorry for the brief absence."
In the quiet auction house, only his elegant and slightly polite voice gradually echoed:
"I just went to put out a fire."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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