The moment Luca finished speaking, over ten thousand followers of The Nightmare Cult behind him simultaneously drew their weapons. The bright blades gleamed with a silver sheen under the sunlight, and everyone coldly stared at the dumbfounded lackeys of the Dukes.
Whether they were soldiers of the Dukes or guards from the Phillips family, all of them couldn’t help but swallow nervously. The other side was clearly not here for friendly purposes.
“Luca the Count, the Phillips family’s collusion with the Dawn God Sect should be handled by His Majesty. What exactly are you planning to do?” One of the commanders from Duke Mond·Stein’s faction stepped forward.
Wiping cold sweat from his forehead, he cautiously spoke, “The situation in Dawn City is chaotic. You’d better not do anything rash.”
The power the young man had previously demonstrated was something everyone feared. No one wanted to provoke this madman.
Luca had no interest in wasting words with them. He waved his hand behind him and ordered, “Throw all of them out. Anyone who resists, kill them on the spot.”
Tia and the others immediately took their orders, storming towards the two groups in front of them. Everyone’s expression changed in an instant.
“Insane!” the leading commander cursed under his breath, then quickly issued orders to his soldiers: “Retreat, now!”
The commander had no intention of directly confronting Luca. After all, a month’s worth of coin was hardly worth throwing away their lives over.
Seeing the Dukes’ men quickly retreat, the members of the Phillips family were left in a daze. The others could escape, but what about them?
“Lord Genos, should we…?” The Phillips family’s butler hesitantly approached a middle-aged man, dressed in luxurious attire and wearing a grim expression, as if suggesting something.
Before he could finish speaking, an overwhelming Superclass aura suddenly erupted from the middle-aged man! He slapped the butler across the face with such force that the butler’s head exploded like a watermelon, with blood and brain matter splattering everywhere.
“You useless bastard! The Phillips family has raised you all this time, and this is how you repay us—by running away at the critical moment?! Hold them off for me!” The middle-aged man, named Genos, glared furiously at the terrified servants behind him.
Now that Lyon and Finn were both dead, the Phillips family had only one person left with the greatest authority: Genos. He was essentially the head of the Phillips family now.
As long as he could delay until the palace and the other Dukes noticed something unusual about the island, Luca would have no choice but to retreat—unless he was willing to go to war with the entire Kingdom of Clinton. At that point, it would be impossible for Luca to take him down.
What made Genos even angrier, however, was that, instead of moving to stop The Nightmare Cult’s forces after hearing his command, his so-called “elite” guards were retreating in the opposite direction.
“You idiots!” Genos was seething with rage. He wanted nothing more than to slaughter every last one of these dogs, but before he could act, a sound that resembled fabric being pierced suddenly rang in his ears. His expression froze in disbelief.
Genos looked down in utter disbelief at his chest. A bloodstained blade had pierced right through him. Blood poured out from the wound, dripping down the blade like a stream, staining the white cravat around his neck, which visibly turned red at an alarming rate.
Thud! Tia calmly withdrew the long sword from his body, letting Genos collapse to the ground, lifeless.
She flicked the blood off her blade, casting a cold glance at the remaining guards, her expression unreadable. “Roadblockers, dead.”
At that, all the Phillips family guards lost their composure. They began frantically running towards the floating island’s edge. With Lyon dead, Finn dead, and now Genos killed on the spot, the leadership of the Phillips family had been decimated. The remaining guards had no will to resist.
Luca wasn’t surprised by this turn of events. He walked towards the grand estate of the Phillips family. The fleeing guards saw him and recoiled as though seeing a plague. No one dared to come within ten meters of him, and he stood out in the chaotic crowd, a beacon of cold authority.
With the guards no longer offering resistance, the next steps were much easier. After capturing a few of the older members of the Phillips family and prying some information out of them, Luca quickly made his way to Lyon’s residence.
“Can we find the treasury?” Luca asked inwardly. His primary goal for coming here was to claim Lyon’s inheritance and answer some lingering questions. Everything else was secondary.
Soon, Jormungandr’s voice echoed in his mind, filled with excitement. “There’s a hidden chamber in the study, protected by a barrier. It’s got to be filled with valuable things!”
“What’s got you so excited?” Luca muttered under his breath.
Before long, he arrived at Lyon’s study.
“Can you find a way in?” Luca surveyed the room. The study looked plain, with nothing out of the ordinary.
Jormungandr responded with a hint of annoyance. “Why don’t you just use your psychic abilities to scan the place?”
Luca picked up a book and flipped through it, then calmly replied, “Then what do I need you for?”
Jormungandr fell silent.
A flash of silver gleamed from the bracelet on his wrist, and in the next instant, Jormungandr appeared in mid-air. Her youthful face was filled with displeasure, and she muttered under her breath, “What a bastard… taking advantage of a little girl like me…”
“Stop wasting time,” Luca shot her a glare. “How old are you, anyway? Still calling yourself a little girl?”
However, Luca was surprised to discover that Jormungandr’s strength had increased significantly since their last encounter. She had now reached the peak of the high-tier power level.
Upon reflecting on it, he realized that when the Lord of the Sun used divine power to forge his divine body, Jormungandr must have also benefited from that process. She had absorbed some of the divine essence, likely using it to restore some of her own strength.
“I understand, master~” Jormungandr pouted, secretly wishing she could chop this bastard—who saw her as nothing more than a tool—into pieces. But, in the end, she lacked the courage to do so.
With a hum, she closed her eyes, and a vast wave of psychic energy surged outward like the ocean. It instantly enveloped the entire study in a powerful aura.
Luca placed the book he was holding back onto the shelf, his gaze shifting toward Lyon’s desk. The warm sunlight streamed through the window, casting a gentle glow over the neatly arranged pile of official documents. Among them, a red envelope that hadn’t been opened yet caught his attention.
Or rather, it was the golden wax seal on the envelope.
The seal depicted a golden eye surrounded by thorns, its pupil a blood-red hue, resembling a ruby. The eye looked disturbingly lifelike.
Luca felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen this before in his previous life.
It seemed like a seal belonging to one of the major families of the All-Beings Empire.
There weren’t many Transcendent families on the Eternal Continent, so having connections and dealings between them was not unusual.
He didn’t pay it much mind at first, but upon opening the envelope and flipping through the letter, his eyes narrowed in surprise. He had unexpectedly found some intriguing information.
The letter was from one of the Four Kings of the All-Beings Empire, the Crimson King, Ogg Stuart. Ogg was a vampire and the most powerful being in the All-Beings Empire. It was rumored that he was a descendant of the Night Goddess Nyx, though no one knew for certain. What was undeniable, however, was his immense strength.
In his past life, Ogg had led a large faction in betraying the Eternal Continent, aligning himself with the Abyssal Demon Realm. He became the notorious Eighth King, and his army of vampires caused massive casualties in both realms.
What caught Luca’s attention most, however, were the contents of the letter. Ogg was inquiring about Lyon’s involvement with Pandora, and it mentioned a trade related to the Crimson Mage’s ascension.
“So that’s what happened…” Luca muttered to himself, a look of realization crossing his face. He had been curious about how Finn and Lyon had made contact with the King-level monster, Pandora. It seemed there was someone pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Ogg, being a vampire with a long lifespan and immense power, certainly knew many secrets. He had also aligned himself with the Abyssal Demon Realm in his previous life, so it wasn’t surprising that he had connections to Pandora.
“I hope it’s not too late.” Luca silently took note of this development. The reason Ogg had been able to act with impunity in his past life wasn’t because there were no stronger beings in either world—it was because he was incredibly cautious. By the time his schemes were uncovered, Ogg had already escaped to the Abyssal Demon Realm, leaving no way for anyone to touch him.
But this life would be different. If there was a chance, Luca swore that he would personally take Ogg’s head and deliver a reckoning for the deaths in Southwind City.
He carefully stored the red envelope in his storage space, ensuring it was well protected. After all, this object might prove useful in the future.
“Master, I’ve found the entrance!” Jormungandr’s voice came through, accompanied by the sound of mechanical gears turning.
Luca turned around just in time to see two bookshelves against the wall slowly opening, revealing a dark stone staircase and a passageway beneath. Stay connected via
“Well done, that was good work,” he said without any real sincerity, then took a step toward the passage.
“Hmph!” Jormungandr made a face at his back and then, like a ghost, floated along to follow him.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—! After they entered the passage, torches flared to life on both sides, illuminating the dark stone staircase with a bright, flickering light.
Luca glanced at the seemingly endless passage ahead of him, his golden eyes gleaming briefly.
Buzz! A terrifying wave of psychic energy instantly expanded, carefully sweeping over every inch of the stone bricks and walls, ensuring there were no hidden mechanisms or traps.
He had initially expected to reach the end of the passage soon, but to his surprise, the stone staircase seemed far longer than he anticipated. From what he could tell, they had already walked several hundred meters, yet there was still no end in sight. It almost felt like they were descending into the abyss.
As time passed, the only sounds in the quiet passage were Luca’s footsteps and the crackling of the oil lamps. The atmosphere slowly grew oppressive and stifling. Anyone with claustrophobia would have probably gone mad by now.
Fortunately, both Luca and Jormungandr were no ordinary individuals. After turning a corner, the narrow passage suddenly opened up.
What greeted their eyes was a towering silver-white stone door, several meters high.
The stone door, resembling jade, was engraved with intricate and gorgeous patterns, with swirling runes flowing across its surface. It was immediately apparent that this was sealed with a Transcendent-level spell!