Viktor's words reached the ears of every noble lord present, sounding unbearably harsh.
Yet at this moment, everyone fell silent.
Viktor's aura surged like a rising tide, making even the surrounding air heavy, carrying a cold and dangerous presence.
This subtle atmosphere churned inside the auction hall, lifting the wide red curtains as if foreshadowing the arrival of a storm.
The wind seemed to swirl within the hall, raising the large red drapes along with it.
The sharp, blade-like pressure hanging above their heads made all the noble lords feel immense strain.
They swallowed mouthfuls of nervous saliva, their hearts pounding loudly, as if about to leap into their throats.
The vast auction hall instantly became dead silent. The earlier noise and shouting had completely died down.
Cold sweat seeped from the foreheads of the noble lords. Feeling the chill spreading through the air, they all quietly shut their mouths.
It was as if in the next moment, the invisible blade hanging above would mercilessly slice open their throats.
Under this suffocating atmosphere that made it almost impossible to breathe, some lords even unconsciously placed their hands on the longswords hanging at their waists.
Only by doing so could they find a sense of security and maintain a trace of calm.
The atmosphere at this moment was truly terrifying.
Aurelian, sitting behind Viktor, could even feel an overwhelming pressure coming from the front, almost impossible to resist.
She looked up and saw Viktor's black coat whipping wildly in the air, his whole figure seeming to be carried by the wind, a shocking sight.
That icy presence sent a chill down her spine, the cold spreading from her chest to her back.
'What exactly is Teacher trying to do?'
August, sitting not far away, also sensed this unusual atmosphere.
He stood up, slightly tense and confused, and spoke, "Councilor Clavenna, you…"
But before he could finish, Viktor had already stepped forward into the hall.
Strangely, his foot did not step into empty air.
Instead, it was as if Viktor stepped onto a whirlwind, his body lifted by the wind.
The wind currents continued to sweep across the auction hall, while Viktor appeared to walk down an invisible spiral of wind, slowly descending toward the first floor.
With each step echoing in the air, his coat flapped wildly in the wind, making sharp snapping sounds.
Step by step, Viktor approached the iron cage behind the auctioneer.
Until finally, both his feet touched the ground, landing on the golden platform.
Facing the beautiful auctioneer before him, he spoke indifferently, "It seems they have no other objections."
"And what about you?"
At this moment, the noble lords and wealthy individuals present finally snapped back to their senses.
Although they were indeed afraid of Viktor, he had gone too far.
Wasn't this act essentially a warning to everyone?
This was outright bullying.
This was the Kingdom of Cant!
Most people felt a surge of dissatisfaction, wanting to demand an explanation from Viktor.
Some even turned their gaze toward August.
But when they saw that August did nothing, their resolve faltered.
Still, a noble stepped forward.
Clearly displeased, he looked at Viktor below and angrily spoke, "I never said I ag..."
Biu!
Almost the instant he opened his mouth, a dark purple bolt of lightning descended from the sky, transforming into a winding serpent that shot toward the noble.
Just before it made contact, the lightning suddenly twisted its body and struck the ground in the distance.
BOOM!
The golden wall and floor were blasted open into a huge crater. Dust rose into the air, and arcs of electricity flickered within the pit.
A massive crater appeared, the golden walls shattered, sand and dust flying as electric arcs continued to flash within it.
It all happened in an instant, leaving everyone unable to react.
They only felt that in the blink of an eye, a terrifying bolt of lightning had fallen.
For a moment, everyone stared at the deep pit created by the purple lightning in silence.
Their eyes widened, mouths slightly open, even their breathing unconsciously halted.
As for the noble who had spoken, he could still feel the scorching heat of the lightning that had passed by him.
His eyes glanced slightly backward, seeing the arcs still flickering along its path, a tingling sensation washing over him.
In the end, he wisely shut his mouth.
Without even turning his head, Viktor's cold voice slowly echoed through the air, "I didn't say you could speak either."
A threat.
A clear and unyielding threat.
Countless noble lords clenched their fists unconsciously, but soon, a trace of weakness leaked through their fingers.
Who were they facing?
Viktor Clavenna.
Like a suspended bomb, even the king had to treat him with utmost respect.
And precisely because of this, even more nobles showed deep dissatisfaction at this moment.
All because August, this young king, had shown Viktor far too much respect.
Some noble lords turned to look at August, resentment flashing in their eyes.
If the old king were still alive, he would never have tolerated such arrogance from someone of the Empire.
August… was still lacking.
At this moment, the beautiful auctioneer from the Cassidra Chamber of Commerce sat down on the platform in panic.
She clearly felt the pressure emanating from Viktor, her body trembling uncontrollably.
"I… I… sir, I need… to notify the chamber first."
"The price you offered, the chamber might… not be able to accept…"
"Then make them accept it."
As his words fell, several clusters of differently colored elemental magic suddenly appeared behind Viktor, materializing and flowing along an invisible formation.
Flames wrapped around Viktor's arms, while streams of water coiled around his legs.
His coat behind him fluttered rapidly with the wind, and shimmering green elemental leaves entwined around his shoulders.
Above his head, a dark purple lightning halo floated in midair.
The surging elemental aura rushed toward the auctioneer, that overwhelming pressure locking directly onto her.
At this moment, Viktor was like the embodiment of the elements themselves.
Everyone present was utterly shaken.
"Remember, I'm doing this for your own good."
"Otherwise, there's no need for this auction to continue."
"Eek!"
The host's mind completely shut down the moment she felt that terrifying magic. She could only nod repeatedly, "I… I'll notify the chamber right away."
She hurriedly got up, passed through the lifted red curtains, picked up a cool communication crystal, and quickly spoke into it.
Viktor remained standing in place.
Countless people sat in the auction hall, silent, staring at Viktor with cold eyes.
No one knew what Viktor's purpose was in doing this.
Even Aurelian couldn't quite understand.
She knew her teacher liked to be high-profile, but he always had reasons for his actions.
Yet today, in front of countless nobles of the kingdom, he looked as if he was about to blow up the entire auction hall.
Aurelian couldn't understand it.
'Could it be… he is just standing up for those demi-humans?'
'That shouldn't be… that absolutely doesn't match Teacher's usual style.'
'Then what's the reason?'
Suddenly, she turned her head and looked at August.
This young king now seemed to have completely lost his ability to handle the situation.
Though he was the ruler of the Kingdom of Cant, he stood there more silent than anyone else.
'He showed none of the bearing of a king.'
'If compared to Father… well.'
This young king couldn't compare at all.
If today's incident really allowed Teacher Viktor to walk out of this auction hall as he pleased, then this King of Cant would become a laughingstock in the history of the kingdom, even among many nations.
Could this be Teacher Viktor's goal?
Was he trying to deliberately provoke a war between the Empire and the Kingdom?
But just then, the auctioneer returned.
The Cassidra Chamber of Commerce had given their response.
The auctioneer came back, her voice trembling slightly, and carefully spoke to Viktor, "M-Mr. Viktor, the chamber said they agree to your price."
"But on the condition that… they hope to meet you…"
Viktor slowly closed his eyes, as if deep in thought, "Is that so."
Everyone waited for his next words, but after a long time, Viktor remained silent.
Just as the noble lords grew puzzled, unable to understand his silence, Viktor suddenly opened his eyes and said calmly, "It's already too late."
"?"
Just as everyone was completely confused...
At that moment, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted throughout the entire royal city.
Like a violent storm, deafening to the ears.
This terrifying, heavy roar surged like ocean waves, as if it could pierce the sky and shatter everything fragile.
Within the golden, candlelit hall, that deep roar sounded incomparably horrifying.
Even the walls were affected, dust beginning to fall from the ceiling, making the entire structure seem on the verge of collapse.
Fine dust drifted down from above, and the entire hall trembled slightly.
Everyone stared at the scene like statues, panic filling their hearts.
But the noble lords did not choose to sit and wait for death. One after another, they stood up, drawing the longswords at their waists, becoming alert.
"What is that sound? A beast?"
"What's happening? Could it be magical beasts attacking the city?"
But that was almost impossible.
After all, this was the royal capital of the Kingdom of Cant.
The surrounding forests had long been thoroughly cleared by regularly patrolling guards.
At the same time, Gwen placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, standing beside Aurelian, also on guard.
Aurelian sensed the sudden tension in the hall, listening to the continuous deep roars, stood up and began searching around for possible danger.
At the same time, one of Vanilla's eyes suddenly flashed with a green glow.
In her vision, the originally golden, radiant hall gradually sank into darkness.
Within that darkness, faint humanoid glows of life appeared one after another.
They passed through the surrounding walls, through the ceiling, clearly visible in her eyes.
They were countless beings similar to humans, yet different.
They gathered outside the auction hall. There were even numerous winged bird-like people landing on the dome above.
At that moment, Vanilla suddenly cried out, "D-Demi-humans… they've surrounded this place!?"
Aurelian abruptly turned her head, looking at Vanilla in disbelief.
Suddenly, a soldier with broken armor and mangled flesh staggered in, dragging his mutilated leg, crashing through the doors.
With a bang, he finally collapsed onto the red carpet.
His appearance immediately drew everyone's attention.
"Y-Your Majesty! And all the lords!"
The soldier gasped heavily, his voice extremely weak.
As if hanging onto his last breath, on the brink of death.
Even August sharply turned his gaze toward him.
"A large group of demi-humans has invaded the royal city!"
"They broke into the nobles' homes and released all the demi-human slaves…"
"Every single one of them!"