Hate me, Miss Witch!

Shiayar slowly rose to his feet, overlooking the dense crowd around him.

In those Red Gold pupils, solemn sovereignty was manifest.

Although Shiayar seemed frail in his windbreaker at the moment, in the eyes of the evil followers, he appeared as if seated on a high throne, with a vast army trailing behind him.

From his feet emanated ring after ring of pale golden ripples.

Invisible and intangible, their edges hinted at pure Red Gold, silently spreading outward from Shiayar as the center in all directions.

Be it Elements Fluctuation, energy, or Slashes—all attacks, upon touching that circle of Red Gold domain, disintegrated silently, without stirring the slightest wave.

The leading Twilight cultist's pupils reflected an incredulous light.

He suddenly looked up, his lips quivering, about to say something to Shiayar. But in the next instant—BOOM—the body of the cultist leader collapsed abruptly, prostrating on the ground.

The leader's withered hands spasmodically pressed against the floor, his entire body trembling, bones emitting CRACKING sounds.

It wasn't that the owner of those golden eyes truly possessed such majesty as to compel reverence through his aura alone.

As their leader, his faith in the Twilight was much stronger than that of the average evil follower. It wasn't so easily shaken.

But he had to prostrate.

The hard ground beneath him cried out with cracks, continually splitting apart.

It was as if some tremendous force was applied to the leader's body, forcing him to bow in worship.

If he did not bow down, the cultist leader's spine would be crushed immediately.

And his condition was still the best among those around him.

Among his followers of lesser strength, many had already been crushed to unconsciousness against the ground. Their bodies burst into mists of blood. Under an unimaginable gravity, many times greater than ordinary, the bones supporting their torsos snapped, and all the capillaries in their bodies deformed along with them.

Whether Beastmasters or summoned Pet Beasts, within that Red Gold Sovereignty Domain, there were no exceptions.

A domain skill, huh...

However, to maintain such a wide range while simultaneously suppressing so many High Order beings, the consumption of his spiritual power must be tremendous. It's even possible that activating this domain has already exhausted all his mental focus, leaving no strength for a powerful offensive. Yet we are many. Even if he kills some of us now, we just need to wait for this domain to collapse. Then our opportunity for retaliation will come.

For the resurrection of our master, any sacrifice is worth it.

Such thoughts had just flashed across the cultist leader's mind when, the next moment, a voice, metallic and resounding, yet seemingly from ancient primitive times, echoed in his ears.

The meaning of that word was— "Death."

A fraction of an instant later, the command was given to all life forms covered by the Sovereignty Domain, except for Shiayar himself and Silvia in his arms.

THUMP—

THUMP—

One after another, sounds of heavy objects falling to the ground rang out in succession.

The entire district fell back into deathly silence, only the crackling of the flames consuming houses still sizzling.

The Red Gold in Shiayar's golden eyes slowly faded, returning to their original indifferent black.

He didn't speak but walked forward in silence.

Shiayar's figure moved past one lifeless, still body after another, then paused before the prostrated leader of the evil followers.

He crouched down, rummaging through the corpse.

Then, he retrieved a dull yellow crystal.

So this is the thing that caused those wild, masterless Pet Beasts to lose their wisdom and rationality, degenerating them into bloodthirsty and violent Calamity Beasts?

Shiayar examined the hexagonal crystal. Under the reflection of the town's flames, it cast a dull yellow sheen, appearing eerie and mysterious.

Just one look, and one could tell it was very valuable.

If I sell it to the Dawn Church or the Dark Shadow Council, I bet it would fetch at least thirty or forty thousand Rhine gold coins to start.

Shiayar chuckled lightly, his fingers applying slight force.

CRACK.

The dull yellow crystal emitted a crisp sound as cracks appeared on it, then shattered completely.

With the shattering of this dull yellow crystal, the giant Calamity Beasts in the ruins of the distant town abruptly halted their steps.

The twilight glow that once enveloped their eyes vanished, their gaze returning to its original clarity, albeit with a touch of bewilderment.

But at this moment, Shiayar, after casually destroying the source of the beasts' rampage, did not bother with anything else in the town.

He had more important matters to attend to.

Shiayar's pace didn't seem fast, but the scenery beside him changed rapidly.

Soon, the low surrounding houses were out of sight.

In their place stood a silent, dark, and vast manor.

The Duke's Manor occupied the very center of the Azure Garden Royal Capital, standing alone. A small river circled it, disconnecting it from the residential areas outside.

Therefore, at this moment, the searing fire of the outer city district had yet to reach into the Duke's Manor.

And those giant Twilight Calamity Beasts seemed to have detected some crisis or received some command, as they deliberately avoided this place.