"Swoosh!"
A cold glint suddenly flew towards him.
Su Ming’an didn’t move an inch, only a distorted ripple of light appeared in front of him.
"Boom——!"
The sword wind swung by Lucia shattered before his eyes, and the spatial vibration created a natural defensive zone in front of him. He stood still, not even his clothes were fluttered by the blast.
He could see the astonished looks in the eyes of the Soul Clan mbers as he spoke these words, and he could feel the anger rising within Lucia.
She was looking at him coldly, a chill emanating from the great sword on her back, as if she might draw her sword and strike at any mont.
She was getting impatient.
"Archilev!" Lucia shouted, "Did you co here specifically to bring this guy to replace ?"
She was the vice-captain of the Soul Hunter Departnt in the Eastern District, ranking just below Archilev, a high-level Soul Clan with strength equivalent to an A-grade Soul Hunter.
It was said that the blood of the Soul Clan’s Royal Family flowed through her veins, and it was precisely this lineage that enabled her to beco the vice-captain of the entire Eastern District in her twenties.
She was born ambitious and was a pure Soul Clan supremacist. She didn’t trust any humans and advocated the law of the jungle among the Soul Clan. She believed it was only natural for weaker mbers of the Soul Clan to be devoured by the stronger ones. When pushed to extre hunger, the Soul Clan would even cannibalize each other. Even by consuming the souls of their own kind, they could grow stronger.
Because this is the way of the world—if one wants to lead a race to rise up under total suppression, they must discard sothing worthless.
As a leader in the Eastern District, she had long learned to give up.
...or to put it another way.
She had long learned to "weigh pros and cons."
She was accustod to making speeches at such gatherings; today was the rare gathering of the Soul Clan of the Eastern District. But this Archilev... had actually brazenly brought a foreign Soul Clan mber into their private eting and allowed him to publicly challenge her.
...It was utterly unreasonable.
"Lucia. Although I’ve only just t Xiao Xiao, she is indeed a genuine mber of the Soul Clan," Archilev said with a still smiling face, the old man looking as though nothing could ever make him angry, "You’ve just tried, her strength is not bad, right? As for the words she just said... that was an accident. But I think you could listen too... We haven’t welcod a foreign visitor for too long, perhaps our thinking has also begun to close off."
"An individual of unknown origin, who knows if it might be a spy bought by the Soul Hunters. Race isn’t the sign of loyalty; wealth and power are. You cannot let your guard down just because he’s a mber of the Soul Clan," Lucia abruptly turned around, her long hair flying like a banner behind her: "I’ve said what I wanted to say. Archilev, you are the captain; it’s your freedom to decide who to bring into the group. But bringing back an individual with unknown identity at such a crucial ti when Soul Hunters are expanding, I strongly disapprove."
She turned and walked away.
Her rapid footsteps echoed swiftly on the stairs and, as the door opened with a "creak," Lucia left the hall without looking back.
The hall fell silent.
The Soul Clan mbers who had been sitting and listening to the speech looked at one another in disbelief, not expecting Lucia to explode in such anger.
Normally, Lucia wouldn’t be so drastic, she was soone who could listen to others.
It was unclear which of Su Ming’an’s words had hit a nerve.
Archilev sighed, seeming sowhat embarrassed.
"What were we talking about?" He then took his seat casually.
"Lucia, the vice-captain, just finished her speech and was about to start the al," a Soul Clan mber with a ponytail answered.
"Then let’s begin," Archilev said with a smile.
Su Ming’an watched so Soul Clan mbers rise from their seats to fetch sothing from the back, while the others showed eager expressions.
...What were these Soul Clan mbers planning to do?
As soon as he heard Lucia’s speech, Su Ming’an thought it was absurd. These creatures, like sewer rats, unable to see the light of day, were actually planning to control the humans.
Were they gathering in this underground area to discuss a counterattack plan against the humans?
He scanned the masks of each Soul Clan mber, observing their overly excited eyes.
Suddenly, he heard a muffled sound.
It was the sound made by soone whose mouth was sealed.
"Mmm... Mmm!"
Su Ming’an turned around.
He saw, in the direction of the backstage, a man and a woman tied up with ropes being carried over by the Soul Clan. Their mouths were sealed with tape, their bodies tied up tightly, and they were thrown into an empty space in the hall like objects.
In that instant, the Soul Clan mbers showed a covetous look upon seeing the man and woman.
A man wearing an Evil Ghost Mask stepped forward, grabbed their foreheads by the hair, one in each hand:
"Ladies and gentlen, these are the subjects of our trial at this eting—"
The red-masked man spoke loudly to show the pair of man and woman to the Soul Clan mbers.
Suddenly, Su Ming’an recognized the man and woman as Kassan and Nana, whom he had t in the tavern during the day.
At this mont, they were covered in blood, with despair in their eyes. Nana’s body still emitted the scent characteristic of the Soul Clan.
Su Ming’an realized what this "trial" was going to entail.
"—Karina, a mid-level Soul Clan mber, has actually consorted with a human, forming a partnership..." the red-masked man spoke disdainfully: "This... this is truly an utterly shaful act!"
He removed the seal from Nana’s mouth:
"Karina, do you have anything to say?"
Nana imdiately spoke out:
"I love Kassan—his race has nothing to do with it! I just love his being, what’s wrong with that?"
"Bang!" Xiao Na’s head was violently pressed to the ground.
"Ridiculous," the blonde-haired Soul Clan mber shook his head from the side, "Soone actually has feelings for their food. Karina, you truly are the sorrow of our Soul Clan."
"We are a powerful and beautiful race, with our own dignity," the man in the red mask spoke coldly. "You, as part of our great race, actually harbor feelings for a pig. You have utterly violated the rules of the Eastern District, Karina."
Xiao Na slowly lifted her head, her face covered in blood.
The dry, cold air rushed into her lungs, filling her windpipe as her voice ground out from her mouth, almost like a sigh.
"...but what did I do wrong," she said. "It just happens that Kassan is a human."
"Bang!"
The man in the mask held her head while peeling off Kassan’s seal.
The man in the mask licked his lips, and a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes, as if he had thought of sothing extrely amusing.
His fingers turned into claws, and with a whoosh, he undid Kassan’s ropes, tossing him a dagger.
The dagger hit the ground, making a clear, ringing sound.
"Want to live, human?" the masked man asked with a smile.
Kassan ignored him, leaping toward Xiao Na to check her injuries.
"Xiao Na, Xiao Na..." he choked up, attempting to untie her bonds.
"Bang!"
The man in the mask kicked out, striking Kassan in the face, sending him crashing into the wall near the platform.
"Human, pick up this dagger," the masked man gestured toward the coldly shining dagger on the ground and then at Xiao Na. "Kill her."
With a smiling face and an eager spark in his eyes, he said, "Kill her, and we’ll let you go and will no longer consider you a hunt target in the Eastern District. Just kill this girlfriend who has always deceived you, and you can live out the rest of your days in peace... You can always find another obedient human girl, and live a secure life..."
He continued, his words full of temptation.
"Your peaceful life can be bought with just one stab... What a worthwhile trade."
At this point, the Soul Clan mbers listening beca restless.
"Chad, stop these pointless gas. We are all hungry," an older mber of the Soul Clan spoke up, sounding sowhat aged. "It was hard enough bringing a human here, and now you want to play these gas..."
"Bang!"
To the astonishnt of the other Soul Clan mbers, the head of the old Soul Clan mber who had spoken exploded mid-sentence, his yellow monkey face mask shattering into pieces with a fountain of blood spraying out.
Chad retracted his hand and gave it a slight shake.
"Don’t spoil my mood," he said, glancing with visible disgust at his dead kin.
Then, he turned back, looking at Kassan, who was slowly approaching, with an exceedingly expectant gaze.
Xiao Na remained silent, rely lying on the ground, quietly watching her lover co toward her, as if she was willing to accept whatever choice he made.
In her gaze, Kassan walked up to her, picking up the dagger from the ground.
Amidst Chad’s expectant look, Kassan suddenly let out a shout, like charging into battle, turning his body and gripping the dagger tightly with both hands, he lunged at Chad, the sharp blade aiming directly for his heart.
"Die, you—" Kassan cried out as he wept, his eyes filled with the despair of a final desperate gamble.
"Bang!"
The next mont, Kassan was kicked back the way he ca, his wounds splitting open, and his bright red blood spraying in front of Xiao Na.
Slling the scent of human blood, her eyes suddenly turned blood red.
The desires of the Soul Clan were difficult to suppress.
Having lived with humans for so long, she hadn’t fed in quite so ti.
When the body of a Soul Clan mber is completely dominated by desire, they cannot control their actions.
She slowly stood up, her eyes blood red as she staggered toward Kassan lying on the ground, broken like mud.
Seeing this scene, the Soul Clan spectators beca excited.
"—Kill him!"
"Eat him!"
"Reclaim the dignity of the Soul Clan, Karina, this swine does not deserve your love!"
Their shouts of encouragent and cheers sounded like they were watching an increasingly thrilling theatrical performance.
They joyously watched the scene, as if it dispelled the long-standing frustration they felt under human domination.
Su Ming’an watched the spectacle before glancing at Archilev beside him.
The old man’s expression was rather solemn, seemingly disapproving of such behavior.
As everyone was caught up in excitent, Su Ming’an moved his left hand behind his back.
A trace of pure white light began to flicker in the palm of his hand.
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