Chapter 348
Chapter 348: One Strike—The Crouching Dragon Emerges!
Auguste froze upon hearing the report.
Some nobles could no longer hold themselves back—their accumulated resentment toward Viktor spilling over as they erupted in furious curses:
"What the hell are the guards even good for? How did Demi-humans manage to invade the Royal City?!"
"Is this what our yearly taxes pay for? To feed a bunch of useless trash?!"
The soldier wheezed out his reply in a barely audible voice, as though hanging by his last thread of life:
"We are…deeply sorry."
"Today, the defenses around the Royal City were simply too thin…we had no way to stop it."
At those words, the mood among the assembled lords shifted.
Why were the Royal City's defenses so thin?
The answer was simple.
Because of the auction today, the overwhelming majority of noble lords and wealthy merchants had converged on the auction venue.
Even the King himself was present.
In order to prioritize the safety of the nobles and the King, nearly the entire city's military force had been concentrated in the auction hall's vicinity.
And that was precisely how the Demi-humans had…
Slipped in through the gap.
Almost simultaneously, above in the sky, several Harpy Bird-folk beat their wings and tore through the dome with their razor-sharp talons.
Glittering glass rained down from the heights; the ceiling was ripped open into an enormous gash, and countless fragments of stone and glass cascaded down together.
The sharp clatter and dull thuds of shards striking the floor wove together into a fractured symphony.
Anguished cries from soldiers erupted in multiple directions beyond the doors; the noble lords could feel the ground trembling beneath their feet.
In the span of a single breath, several hulking Minotaurs burst through the doors and crashed into the hall as if storming forbidden ground.
The walls flanking the golden doors crumbled under their force like chocolate, and a cloud of pulverized rock billowed out like a smoke screen to engulf the surroundings.
They charged through the thick haze of dust, their bronzed and massive muscles gleaming beneath the golden light.
Dozens of armored guards were hurled into the air by the Minotaurs' brute strength, flung about like powerless puppets in every direction.
"Moooo!!"
The Minotaurs' eyes blazed crimson; their muscles bulged like stone slabs, and each step they took gouged a deep furrow into the floor beneath them.
They exhaled in labored, heavy bursts, white mist blasting from their nostrils.
As though a signal had been given, countless Demi-humans at that moment surged in from all 4 directions—flooding the hall like a tide from the ocean.
Like predators, they boxed the nobles in on all sides.
The Demi-humans' frames were no different from those of humans at a glance, but their slender or thick-set tails, and the distinctive beast ears atop their heads, betrayed their true nature.
Demi-humans bearing all manner of animal ears moved on all fours.
Fox-eared. Leopard-marked. Their rare varieties stood out distinctively against the golden backdrop of the auction hall.
The nobles, encircled by Demi-humans whose eyes blazed with fury, were seized by deep-seated terror.
They couldn't begin to imagine what was happening outside.
Why had the Demi-humans suddenly launched an organized, disciplined operation like this?
Why was the target, of all places, this auction?
And why had it happened precisely when Demi-humans were being auctioned off?
Then, something even more alarming than the Demi-humans surrounding the venue appeared.
The 2 Half-beastkin standing inside the great iron cage suddenly moved.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several chains snapped in succession; along with the clash of metal against metal, both Tiger-folk finally shed the shackles binding their arms.
They rolled their wrists and casually let the thick chains drop to the floor.
Then, in full view of everyone present, they extended both hands and seized the bars of the cage.
Their muscles swelled and coiled—and those solid iron bars were wrenched apart to either side.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bar after bar snapped. And at last, the 2 Tiger-folk tore the enormous iron cage completely open by sheer force.
Every lord in the hall witnessed the scene and stood there, utterly dumbstruck.
That enormous iron cage had been constructed from obsidian-forged steel—impossibly hard.
Even under the violent blows of a great beast, it could barely be dented or bent.
Even an ordinary 4th-Tier warrior would not be able to break it open so easily.
And yet these 2 Tiger-folk had done so with nothing but brute force—snapping those bars like they were nothing?
What manner of terrifying strength was this?
And if they were this powerful—how in the world had they ever been captured in the first place?
The 2 Tiger-folk strode out with heads held high, arms folded across their chests, the muscles of their torsos bunching and straining.
In the next instant, both Tiger-folk stepped onto the golden auction platform together and stamped down hard.
In the blink of an eye, the solid iron cage behind them shattered like scraps of paper, scattering into a floor of metal fragments.
And with that simultaneous stamp, the stout golden floor split apart into a terrifying web of fractures.
A tremendous shockwave quake erupted, and the entire ground plunged into trembling.
The towering golden walls shook continuously; chunks of broken rock and powdered dust peeled away and fell from the walls.
Everyone in the hall swayed and staggered, nearly losing their footing.
Even Auréliane and Gwen in the 2nd-floor private box were jostled.
Auréliane dropped back into her seat with a thud, while Gwen barely managed to steady herself.
Auguste gripped his armrests and locked his eyes on the 2 Tiger-folk below, as if he could not fully accept what he was seeing.
Viktor, meanwhile, stood with both hands in his pockets, his Coat dancing in the wind.
In that moment, he was like an unshakeable statue—as though the entire world's upheaval had nothing whatsoever to do with him.
The 2 Tiger-folk both glanced at Viktor at the same time.
The male Tiger-folk showed visible surprise.
But he didn't dwell on it.
Because he still remembered—this man in the black Coat was a powerful figure who had clearly not been on the same side as the people around him.
Almost simultaneously, the remaining iron cages were also shattered completely by the tremor, and the Demi-humans inside scattered and fled from them, taking shelter behind the 2 Tiger-folk.
Of the 2 Tiger-folk, the one who commanded the most attention was the male Tiger-folk with the character for "King" branded on his forehead.
His tiger pupils—full of imposing authority—swept proudly across every human in the hall, and his deep, steady voice rang out like the toll of an ancient bell, every inch of him radiating the bearing of a sovereign:
"Is there anyone here worth fighting?"
His provocation ignited fury in the countless lords present.
"Mere Demi-humans!"
As noble lords, they represented the very pinnacle of warriors in the Kant Kingdom.
And these Demi-humans—in ordinary times—were nothing but the slaves they kept for entertainment and amusement!
Being pushed around by Viktor was one thing.
But since when could these slaves turn the tables and ride over them?!
A Count bearing 3 star-rank medallions on his chest drew the long blade at his waist with an overwhelming surge of presence, cold light flashing from his eyes.
A light tap of his foot—and his figure shot out from the crowd like a shooting star, charging straight for the 2 Tiger-folk on the platform.
Whoosh—!
Within the streak of glittering light, the surrounding space subtly warped, the very air seeming to freeze in place.
The blade beneath that flowing radiance radiated a blinding brilliance in an instant; the surrounding space seemed to be dominated by the keen Sword Aura, and a sensation of being cut apart seemed to pierce straight through the skin of everyone watching.
Even the walls around them were carved with several deep furrows.
Every eye in the hall turned toward that streak of light.
"It's Count Andre!"
"A 4th-Tier warrior has made his move!"
Yet the towering male Tiger-folk simply kept his arms folded and stood where he was, utterly composed.
Within his tiger pupils, a flicker of contempt and mockery seemed to stir.
As the crowd's exclamations swelled, the Count's attack grew more ferocious still.
But almost at the same instant—
Behind the male Tiger-folk, the female Tiger-folk finally moved.
She stamped down; the ground cracked beneath her foot. One leg bent into a bow stance, coiled and ready. The muscles of that leg snapped and surged, launching her entire body skyward in an explosive burst.
Both fists clenched, both elbows drew back.
Her entire body began to spin in midair, a fierce whirlwind circling around her as she collided head-on with the sword light.
The sword light flashed past—caught up by that terrifying whirlwind, its force was deflected off-course.
It plunged precisely into the empty air beside the Tiger-folk's waist.
Count Andre's heart lurched:
How is this possible?
But it was already too late. The Tiger-folk's hooking punch was vicious and fast as lightning.
In an instant, that devastating fist force slammed directly into the Count's face.
After receiving a punch of such force, Count Andre's face was nearly caved in; the man was sent completely airborne by that monstrous blow, flying toward a golden wall.
Almost no one in the hall managed to follow what had happened clearly.
All they sensed was 2 immense forces meeting and colliding.
And then the golden sword light vanished in an instant, the Count was sent flying through the collision and crashed into the floor, plowing a groove several meters long before smashing hard into the golden wall.
The spectacular impact instantly left a deep crater in the wall, cracks spiderwebbing outward in all directions, gravel and dust spraying everywhere.
The nobles stood agape, struck speechless by the shock.
When the dust settled, the Count's appearance was revealed to those present.
His face had been struck beyond recognition; the blood and scattered teeth laid bare the severity of what he had suffered.
The crowd stood frozen for a moment, unable to believe what they were seeing.
A 4th-Tier warrior.
Killed in a single punch……
The female Tiger-folk landed calmly, dusting off her hands as if she had just completed a trivial task.
The male Tiger-folk remained expressionless, standing quietly in place—as if everything that had just occurred had nothing to do with him.
The atmosphere froze in an instant. The assembled lords all grasped that what was unfolding before them was no ordinary matter.
In the silence that fell over the crowd—
The male Tiger-folk opened his massive jaws, baring sharp fangs and gleaming teeth.
A cold and domineering presence wrapped around every person in the hall, sealing them inside.
"Humans who fancy themselves clever—and whose arrogance knows no bounds."
"Your reckoning has come."