Viktor's words pierced the ears of every noble lord present, sounding particularly harsh.
Yet at this moment, all remained silent.
Viktor's aura surged like a tidal wave, making even the surrounding air become unbearably heavy, carrying a cold and dangerous presence.
This subtle atmosphere churned within the auction hall, lifting the wide red curtains as if heralding the arrival of a storm.
The wind seemed to swirl inside the auction house, causing the broad red curtains to billow.
The sharp blade-like pressure hanging overhead made the noble lords present feel immense pressure.
They swallowed nervously, their hearts pounding as if in their throats.
The vast auction hall instantly fell dead silent, the previous noise and clamor now completely subdued.
Cold sweat broke out on the noble lords' foreheads as they felt the chill permeating the air, one by one falling silent.
It seemed as if the next moment, those invisible blades suspended above would mercilessly slice open their throats.
In this suffocating atmosphere, some lords unconsciously placed their hands on the swords at their waists.
Only this action seemed to give them a sense of security and help maintain some composure.
The atmosphere at this moment was truly fear-inducing.
Aurelianne, sitting behind Viktor, could feel an overwhelming, almost irresistible intimidation emanating from the front.
Looking up, she saw Viktor's black coat whipping wildly in the air, his entire being seemed to be carried by the wind, a terrifying sight.
That cold aura made her feel chills down her spine, with coldness spreading from her chest throughout her back.
What was her teacher planning to do?
Meanwhile, Augustus, sitting not far away, also sensed this unusual atmosphere.
He stood up, with slight nervousness and confusion in his voice:
"Councilor Kravina, you..."
But before he could finish, Viktor had already stepped toward the hall.
Miraculously, his foot didn't step into empty air.
Instead, Viktor seemed to be stepping on a whirlwind, his body supported by the wind.
While the wind continued to sweep through the entire auction hall, Viktor appeared to be walking down invisible spiral stairs made of wind toward the first floor.
Accompanied by footsteps echoing in the air, his coat thrashed wildly in the wind, cracking like whips.
With each step, Viktor drew closer to the iron cage behind the auctioneer.
Until his feet finally touched the ground, landing on the golden platform.
Facing the beautiful auctioneer before him, he spoke coldly:
"It seems they have no other objections."
"What about you?"
At this point, the noble lords and wealthy individuals finally reacted.
Although they indeed feared Viktor, he was truly going too far!
Wasn't this action just like warning everyone?
This was too overbearing!
This was Kanter Kingdom after all!
Most people felt dissatisfied, wanting to demand justice from Viktor.
Some even turned their gazes toward Augustus.
But when they saw Augustus taking no action, they couldn't help but deflate.
However, one noble still stood up.
With great dissatisfaction, he looked down at Viktor and angrily began to speak:
"I haven't said I agr-"
Biu!
Almost the instant he opened his mouth, a dark purple lightning bolt descended from above, transforming into a serpentine streak as it shot toward that noble.
Just before making contact with the noble, the lightning bent its form, striking the ground in the distance instead.
Bang!
The golden walls and floor were blasted open into a large crater, dust flying everywhere, electric arcs crackling within the hole.
This happened almost instantaneously, giving people barely any time to react.
They only felt that in the blink of an eye, a shocking bolt of lightning had struck down.
For a moment, everyone stared silently at the deep crater created by the purple lightning.
Their eyes widened, mouths slightly agape, even their breathing unconsciously suspended.
The noble who had spoken could still feel the scorching heat of the lightning that had passed by him.
His eyes glanced slightly backward, seeing the electric arcs still crackling along the path where the lightning had passed, bringing a numbing sensation that seemed to wash over him.
Finally, he wisely closed his mouth.
Without turning his head, Viktor's cold voice slowly echoed through the surrounding air:
"I also didn't say you could speak."
A threat!
An explicit and harsh threat.
Countless noble lords' hands unconsciously clenched at this moment, but soon, their fingers revealed a slight sense of powerlessness.
Who were they facing?
Viktor Kravina.
He was like a suspended bomb, even the king had to treat him with utmost respect.
But precisely because of this, at this moment, it made more nobles show extreme dissatisfaction.
All because Augustus, this young king, had shown Viktor far too much respect!
Some noble lords turned their heads toward Augustus, their eyes revealing deep resentment.
If the old king were still here, he would never tolerate such arrogance from an Imperial person.
Augustus was still lacking somewhat.
At this time, the beautiful auctioneer from the Casidra Association sat down on the platform in panic.
She clearly felt the pressure emanating from Viktor, her body trembling involuntarily.
"I... I... sir, I need to... notify the association first."
"Your price, the association might... might not be able to accept..."
His coat behind him swayed rapidly with the wind, emerald elemental leaves entwining around his shoulders.
A dark purple lightning halo floated in the air above his head.
The surge of elemental power rushed from the air toward the auctioneer, that tidal wave of pressure directly locking onto her.
At this moment, Viktor was like an embodiment of the elements themselves.
Everyone present was stunned.
"Remember, I'm doing this for your own good."
"Otherwise, there would be no need to continue this auction."
"Eep—"
The moment the auctioneer felt this terrifying magical power, her mind completely froze, and she could only nod repeatedly:
"I... I'll notify the association right away."
She hurriedly got up, passed through the billowing red curtains, and picked up a cool communication crystal, speaking rapidly to the other end.
Viktor remained standing in place.
Countless people sat in their auction hall seats, silent and wordless, watching Viktor with extremely cold gazes.
No one knew what Viktor's purpose was in doing this.
Even Aurelianne was somewhat puzzled.
She knew her teacher liked to be high-profile, but his actions always had reasons.
But today's behavior, acting as if he would blow up the auction hall in front of countless nobles of the kingdom.
Aurelianne couldn't understand.
Could it be that he was just standing up for those demi-humans?
That shouldn't be... that absolutely didn't fit her teacher's style.
Then what was it for?
Then, she suddenly turned her head, looking toward Augustus.
This young king seemed to have completely lost his ability to handle the situation.
Though he was the sovereign of the Kanter Kingdom, he stood there, appearing even more silent than others.
Showing not the slightest dignity of a king.
If compared to her father the Emperor... well.
This young king couldn't compare at all.
If today's incident truly allowed Viktor to walk out of this auction house as he pleased.
Perhaps this King of Kanter would directly become a joke in the kingdom's history, even a laughingstock among countless nations.
Could this be her teacher Viktor's purpose?
Was he trying to deliberately provoke war between the Empire and the Kingdom through this opportunity?
But at this moment, the auctioneer returned to the scene.
The Casidra Association had given their response.
The auctioneer returned to the scene, her voice slightly trembling, carefully speaking to Viktor:
"Mr... Mr. Viktor, the association says they agree to your price."
"But on the condition that they hope to meet with you..."
Viktor slowly closed his eyes, as if in deep thought:
"Is that so."
Everyone was waiting for Viktor's next words, but after a long while, Viktor remained silent.
Just as the noble lords were puzzled, not understanding the meaning of his silence, Viktor suddenly opened his eyes and said calmly:
"It's too late."
"?"
Just as all the noble lords were trying to figure out what was happening.
At this moment, a tremendous roar suddenly echoed throughout the royal city.
Like violent storm and rain, it was deafening.
This terrible muffled roar came like waves of the sea, seeming able to pierce the sky and shatter all fragility.
In the golden splendor and flickering candlelight of the venue, that muffled roar seemed incredibly eerie and terrifying.
Even the load-bearing walls were affected, dust gradually falling from the dome above, making the entire venue building seem to sway.
Fine dust scattered down from the dome, the entire venue trembling slightly.
Everyone stared at everything before them like statues, their hearts panic-stricken.
But the noble lords didn't choose to sit and wait for death, they all stood up, drawing their swords and becoming alert.
"What's that sound? Beasts?"
"What's happening, could it be monster beasts attacking the city?"
But this was almost impossible.
After all, this was the royal city of the Kanter Kingdom.
The surrounding beast forests had been cleared regularly by patrol guards.
Meanwhile, Gwen placed her hand on her sword hilt, standing beside Aurelianne, also becoming alert.
Aurelianne also felt the sudden tense atmosphere in the venue, hearing the continuous muffled roars entering her ears, stood up and began looking around for possible dangers.
At the same time, one of Vanilla's eyes suddenly flashed with an emerald light.
In her eyes, the originally golden glorious venue gradually sank into darkness.
Under this blackness were streams of humanoid life lights.
They passed through the surrounding walls, through the ceiling, clearly visible in Vanilla's eyes.
They were countless life forms similar to humans, yet different from humans.
They gathered outside the auction venue, and there were even countless winged bird-people landing on the dome of the auction venue.
At that moment, Vanilla suddenly cried out in surprise.
"The... the demi-humans have surrounded this place!?"
Aurelianne suddenly turned back, looking at Vanilla in disbelief.
Suddenly, a soldier with incomplete equipment and mutilated flesh, dragging his muscle-deficient leg, stumbled through the door.
With a bang, he finally collapsed on the red carpet.
His appearance drew everyone's attention.
"Your... Your Majesty! And all the lords!"
The soldier gasped for breath, his voice extremely weak.
As if hanging onto his last breath, seemingly at death's door.
Even Augustus sharply turned his gaze toward him.
"A large group of demi-humans has invaded the royal city!"
"They broke into the nobles' homes and those demi-human slaves..."
"Have all been freed!"
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