Chapter 84: The Hand of Death (Part 2)
The Hand of Death (Part 3)
At that moment—
Damien’s expression turned cold.
His black eyes narrowed slightly.
"Enough."
His voice wasn’t loud.
Yet it instantly silenced the entire hall.
He slowly walked toward Nellie.
Each step echoed clearly across the stone floor.
Tap...
Tap...
Tap...
Every footstep made Nellie’s heart tremble.
She wanted to retreat.
Her legs refused to obey.
Before she could react—
Smack!!
A crisp slap echoed throughout the hall.
Damien showed no mercy whatsoever.
His palm landed squarely across Nellie’s face.
The force sent her spinning through the air before crashing heavily against the floor several meters away.
Blood sprayed from the corner of her lips.
Half her delicate face immediately swelled bright red.
Several teeth rolled across the floor.
More importantly...
Every trace of spiritual power inside her body vanished.
Numerous invisible seals instantly locked down every one of her meridians.
Her cultivation...
Had been completely sealed.
She was no different from an ordinary mortal.
Nellie touched her swollen face in disbelief.
Pain.
Real pain.
She had never been struck in her entire life.
Her beautiful appearance...
The face she valued above everything...
Had been ruined by a single slap.
Her eyes immediately filled with poisonous hatred.
"You..."
"You actually dared..."
Before she could finish—
One of her servant women screamed furiously.
"Insolent brat!"
"How dare you strike our Young Mistress?!"
"Do you have any idea she’s the Crimson Abyss Sect Master’s—"
A flash of sword light suddenly crossed the hall.
It was impossibly fast.
Nobody clearly saw Damien draw his sword.
They only saw a thin silver line flash before the servant’s neck.
Silence.
The servant blinked once.
Her expression froze.
A thin line of crimson slowly appeared across her throat.
Then—
Whoosh!
Blood erupted like a crimson fountain.
Her head separated cleanly from her shoulders.
It rolled several times before coming to a stop beside Elder Wang’s dried corpse.
Her lifeless eyes remained wide open.
Even in death...
She couldn’t understand what had happened.
Her body collapsed moments later.
Thud.
Fresh blood slowly spread across the stone floor.
The metallic scent filled the entire hall.
Damien calmly flicked the blood from the Sovereign Star Blade before returning it to its sheath.
His expression never changed.
He didn’t even spare the corpse a glance.
Instead...
He looked directly toward Austin.
"Brother Austin."
"The Clan Patriarch has personally ordered that this woman..."
He glanced briefly toward the pale-faced Nellie.
"...be left for you to judge."
Austin remained silent.
His gaze rested upon Nellie Whitecliff.
The woman who had once looked down on him as though he were nothing more than dirt beneath her feet...
Now knelt before him in utter terror.
Fate truly had a cruel sense of humor.
Only a few moments ago, she had arrived with overwhelming confidence, believing the Salvatore Family was doomed beyond salvation.
Now...
The strongest person she had relied upon had become nothing more than a dried corpse lying on the cold floor.
Damien quietly stepped aside.
He neither urged Austin nor interrupted him.
This was Austin’s matter.
The Clan Patriarch had made his intentions perfectly clear.
Austin would decide Nellie’s fate.
Austin slowly exhaled.
His emotions gradually settled.
The anger.
The humiliation.
The bitterness.
None of it vanished.
But all of it became calm.
Seeing that silence, Austin finally spoke.
"Little Brother Damien..."
His voice was still somewhat hoarse.
"...Nellie Whitecliff is the legitimate daughter of the Whitecliff Family."
"She is also a personal disciple of the Crimson Abyss Sect."
"If anything happens to her..."
He hesitated briefly.
"...I’m afraid it may bring unnecessary trouble to the main family."
The moment those words left his mouth—
Nellie’s eyes immediately lit up.
Hope.
She still had hope.
She hurriedly crawled forward several steps.
"That’s right!"
"I... I am a personal disciple of the Crimson Abyss Sect!"
"You have no right to judge me!"
"Our Sect Master is a Great Perfection Heavenly Genesis Realm cultivator!"
"If he discovers you’ve treated me like this..."
"He’ll exterminate your entire Salvatore Family!"
"Nine generations!"
"He’ll make every one of you wish you had never been born!"
Her face was swollen beyond recognition.
Yet the hatred in her eyes only deepened.
"Release me now..."
"And perhaps..."
"My master will spare your miserable lives!"
Damien stared at her.
Then...
He suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahaha..."
"Hahahaha!"
His clear laughter echoed throughout the hall.
It wasn’t mocking.
It was genuine amusement.
Nellie frowned.
"W-Why are you laughing?"
Austin looked equally puzzled.
Even the surrounding clansmen exchanged confused glances.
Damien slowly stopped laughing.
A smile still lingered on his youthful face.
"You truly..."
"...don’t know when you’re already dead."
The answer...
Didn’t come from Damien.
A cold, indifferent voice suddenly echoed from outside the entrance.
At almost the same moment—
Bang!
Something flew through the open doorway.
It bounced across the polished floor before finally stopping in the middle of the hall.
Everyone instinctively looked down.
The instant they recognized it...
Their expressions froze.
It was...
A severed human head.
Its eyes remained wide open.
Its face was frozen in horror.
"N-No..."
Nellie’s body began trembling uncontrollably.
She recognized that face immediately.
"F-Father..."
For a heartbeat...
The world seemed to stop.
Then—
"NO!!!"
Her shrill scream echoed throughout the estate.
"YOU..."
"HOW DARE YOU!!"
Tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes.
She crawled desperately toward the severed head, only for her trembling hands to stop halfway.
She didn’t even dare touch it.
At that moment...
A young man slowly walked into the hall.
His black hair fluttered lightly.
His crimson eyes radiated an icy killing intent.
Fresh blood stained his robes.
Behind him followed dozens of Salvatore Family disciples.
Every one of them carried weapons still dripping with blood.
Their expressions were cold.
Their murderous aura filled the hall.
It was obvious.
They had only just finished killing.
Nux Salvatore.
Walking beside him...
Was Magnus Salvatore.
The moment the branch family’s clansmen saw their Patriarch return safely, excitement erupted throughout the hall.
"Patriarch!"
"What happened?"
"Please tell us!"