Hearing Andrew’s taunt, Orf’s beard and hair bristled with rage.
He almost wanted to hurl the countless magic runes right into that old man’s face.
Since breaking into the Superclass, he hadn’t encountered anyone who dared talk to him like this in years!
“Calm down, Dean! Please, Dean!” Bronte quickly stepped forward to stop him. If Orf really went through with it, the entire Outer District, not to mention the meat factory below, would be obliterated.
“The high-level skills can’t break it, and Superclass skills are unusable…” Orf grumbled, glancing at Bronte. “You’d better think of something. At this rate, everyone down there will be dead soon.”
Bronte’s mouth twitched slightly. The Mora family had obviously calculated that they wouldn’t dare use force within the city, which was why they acted so recklessly. If he had a solution, they wouldn’t be standing around wasting time here.
“Isn’t there a Superclass mage in Southwind City? If all else fails, bring them here to try,” Medel suggested.
Bronte shook his head. “Even if Southwind City had one, it wouldn’t help. The royal secret techniques are far stronger than any ordinary Superclass magic. Even a Superclass mage would struggle to break through in a short time.”
At these words, everyone felt a bit of frustration.
Were they, a group of Superclass powerhouses, supposed to just stand by and watch the Mora family sacrifice so many people in a blood ritual?
“How about I give it a try?” A voice suddenly echoed through the air around them.
Orf and the others were stunned, turning to see Luca stepping down from a carriage.
“What did you just say?” Bronte looked at him in disbelief, thinking he must have misheard.
Medel’s face grew serious, and he frowned.
“What are you doing here? This isn’t the time for jokes—get back to the academy!” he commanded in a low voice.
Luca remained unfazed. “Teacher, I have some expertise in secret techniques. Perhaps I can break the array.”
Harvis, standing near the meat factory, burst out laughing. “Hahaha! With your half-baked secret techniques, you think you can break the royal Dark River Array? You’ve got to be dreaming!”
The onlookers couldn’t believe their ears, looking at Luca as if he had lost his mind.
Luca’s rank was only Gold Grade. Even if he were a once-in-a-century genius, he would, at most, know a few advanced techniques. Where did he get the confidence to say something like that?
“We’ll know if it works when I try,” Luca replied with a slight chuckle. Ignoring everyone’s skeptical looks, he tied his carriage to a post in front of a nearby shop and started walking towards the entrance of the meat factory. He had bought this carriage at three times the price from a coachman on the road and would have to find Bronte to reimburse him once all this was over.
Up in the sky, Medel shook his head. “This kid usually seems pretty sharp; what’s gotten into him?”
This “Dark River Array” looked unassuming, but it was an advanced royal secret technique, one that only the imperial family could cultivate. Even these Superclass masters couldn’t break it—what chance did a young man like Luca have?
“Let him try; it’s not like we’ll lose anything,” Orf said with a shrug. Though he didn’t believe Luca could break the formation, it would be good experience for the student to get close to Superclass magic and learn something.
Bronte sighed at Orf’s words, saying nothing further. He couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy for the kid.
After a brief discussion, the group resumed their attacks on the Dark River Array, taking care to avoid the area near Luca so as not to accidentally blast him into pieces.
Luca, meanwhile, had reached the edge of the array.
The array was covered with densely packed black runes, radiating waves of chilling, foul energy. He shivered involuntarily.
Suddenly, the Heavenly Star Crystal Tree embedded in his body reacted to the aura, lighting up with a vibrant green glow. A rich wave of life energy flowed through him, bringing him some relief.
“Superclass secret techniques are truly in a different league,” Luca muttered. His own level was too low; even the aura of the Dark River Array affected him. Fortunately, he had a decent number of Superclass magic runes protecting him; an ordinary practitioner would have likely had their mind corrupted on the spot by the array’s energy.
Time was of the essence, so Luca didn’t hesitate. He raised his hand, summoning a surge of purple mana.
Drawing in the air, he began to inscribe runes, each one integrating with the Dark River Array.
Setting up a secret technique depended on one’s level, but breaking it required a deep understanding of the technique itself. Although the royal family’s Dark River Array was intricate, Luca’s knowledge of secret techniques made it manageable.
In his previous life, Luca’s talent for combat had been limited, keeping him from rising to great heights. So, he’d turned to secret techniques and secondary professions to push his limits, eventually reaching Transcendent status through sheer effort.
Living another life, Luca realized his greatest advantage wasn’t the SSS-level talent he now possessed, “The Person Favored,” but the memories and experiences from his past. These memories enabled him to play a crucial role even in battles far above his current level.
“Reckless fool,” Harvis sneered as he watched.
Ever since Riverfall City, Harvis had disliked this country bumpkin Luca. That feeling had only grown stronger here in Southwind City.
Harvis had missed the chance to teach Luca a lesson before, but now the boy was practically setting himself up to fail.
Andrew, leaning on his staff, looked on with a calm expression, his voice low and steady. “Ignore him and complete the Blood Sacrifice Array as soon as possible. As long as we can release Starsea…”
“Not only will he die, but so will Orf and the rest!”
They hadn’t gone to such lengths to gather all these slaves just to fuel Pandora’s desire powers. They intended to summon the massive Kraken of the Star Sea.
Under normal circumstances, the summoning would have gone smoothly.
But their plans had been discovered by Bronte and his allies, forcing them to move ahead sooner than planned.
Even so, if they succeeded, the power of a King-level monster would be enough to pull the Mora family out of their current predicament.
Harvis nodded, realizing now wasn’t the time to waste on a boy.
He was about to look away when something odd caught his eye, making him pause and glance back toward Luca’s direction.
Then Harvis’s eyes went wide in utter disbelief, his face contorting as if he’d just seen a ghost.
“This… this is impossible!”
As Luca’s runes merged one by one with the Dark River Array, the once-impenetrable barrier began to tremble, its shimmering rune patterns flickering wildly, as though they were destabilizing.
“What… what is this!” Andrew, initially puzzled, turned back to witness the scene. His aged face went pale with shock, unable to believe what was unfolding before his eyes.
The boy was actually destabilizing the Dark River Array?!
But the real shock was yet to come.
With each rune Luca sketched into the air, the entire array shook violently, its faint glow pulsing as though it had a heartbeat that was quickening.
The members of the Mora family held their breaths.
Meanwhile, Orf, Bronte, and the others who were still attacking the array noticed what was happening. Their actions slowed to a halt as they, too, gasped in shock.
“This kid… he’s actually breaking a Superclass secret technique?!” Bronte murmured, barely believing what he was seeing.
“If I’m not mistaken, Luca is only eighteen, right?” Medel said, stunned as he stared at the young man standing before the meat factory’s entrance.
Even if he had started training in secret techniques from birth, that would still be only eighteen years of practice.
In that moment, Medel suddenly felt as if he had wasted most of his life.
“Hahaha, good boy, good boy! You haven’t disappointed me!” Orf broke into hearty laughter once he processed the scene.
Luca really knew how to surprise him!
Many of Southwind City’s most powerful fighters had noticed the sudden commotion, casting shocked gazes toward the young man in front of the meat factory.
The sight was shattering their understanding of the world.
A teenager barely out of his youth, mastering the ability to dismantle a Superclass secret technique?
If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes.
They would never have believed it.
Luna stood frozen, watching in silence, a bitter smile creeping onto her delicate face.
For the past twenty years, she’d been called Southwind City’s greatest prodigy.
But now she saw just how laughable that title truly was.
“Luca is amazing!” Fratis’s bright eyes sparkled like starlight, full of awe and admiration.
To her, the young man’s brilliance at that moment was shining brighter than the sun in the sky.
At the entrance of the meat factory, Luca was entirely focused, completely unaware of the gazes fixed on him.
The countless runes gathered densely, weaving together in a radiant pattern. The Dark River Array flickered faster and faster.
Then, at a certain critical moment…
A sharp crack, like ice breaking, echoed in everyone’s ears.
All the Mora family members felt a chill run down their spines, and their faces turned deathly pale.
Then, under everyone’s stunned gaze, the royal Superclass secret technique…
Shattered into pieces!
“The Dark River Array was broken?!” Harvis’s mouth dropped open. He could hardly believe that their treasured Superclass array had been destroyed by this boy he had always looked down on!
“Go!” Andrew reacted instantly, grabbing Harvis to make a quick escape.
“Did I say you could leave?!” Bronte’s suppressed fury finally erupted.
His figure transformed into a dazzling sword light, ready to teach these fiends a lesson.
But just then, an unexpected change occurred.
Everyone’s faces paled as they looked up in shock.
A massive, blood-red hand—several hundred meters in size—was descending from the sky, with terrifying force toward the horrified Harvis and his companions.
Crashing down.