Chapter 53: Lord Varanus’ Punishment [2]
High within the soaring white sandstone minarets of the Palace of the Twin Serpents, the evening breeze whistled sharply through the open-air chambers of Governor Sorsha.
The Hawk-Kin Governor stood at the edge of her precipice, her magnificent, steel-tipped wings folded neatly against her back as her golden-ringed eyes scanned the glittering, multi-tiered lights of the city below.
A soft, rhythmic rustling of feathers broke the silence behind her.
Her elderly avian butler, a refined Owl-kin dressed in a crisp, dark-purple tunic, stepped into the moonlight, holding a fresh intelligence ledger.
"Madam Governor," the butler spoke, his voice low and precise. "Our high watchmen have intercepted a severe disturbance in the subterranean communication alleys."
"The Voka Tribe—the southern crimson skinned Lizard-kin clan led by Chieftain Ignis—has mobilized its entire faction."
Sorsha did not turn around, her sharp profile illuminated by the twin desert moons. "Ignis is a brute, but he is not suicidal. Why is a local Martial Master risking a conflict inside our fiefdom?"
"It appears to be a personal vendetta, Governor," the butler explained, adjusting his spectacles.
"The Enforcer informants confirmed that Ignis’s men crossed paths with the Tempest City delegates in the lower rings earlier tonight." he paused,
"Furthermore, our deep records indicate that the Rabbit-kin accompanying the Apostle—Director Alisa of Mandraxx—was originally captured by the old Tempest City and sold to the Voka Tribe last season."
"Ignis has tracked their carriage coordinates to the Oasis Grand Hotel. They intend to reclaim their ’property’ and execute the wolf-man stranger."
Sorsha’s golden eyes flashed with cold amusement.
A sharp, mocking trill escaped her throat.
"Ignis is a fool to think that he is hunting a stray rabbit, yet he is marching his entire bloodline straight into the arms of death." she exhaled deeply.
"Do not deploy the Hawk-kin Enforcers to intervene. Let the Voka tribe test the depth of that Apostle’s wrath." she instructed.
***
The serene, luxury courtyard of the Oasis Grand Hotel was violently shattered.
The heavy mahogany entrance gates splintered into a thousand flying shards as a wave of massive, crimson-and-black scaled Lizard-kin stormed the perimeter.
Leading the force was Chieftain Ignis himself.
The seven-foot Martial Master radiated a white-hot, volatile heat aura that caused the ambient moisture in the air to hiss and evaporate.
Two elite Leopard-kin sentries, assigned by Governor Corin to monitor the hotel, drew their scimitars and lunged forward to block the intrusion.
"Halt! Unauthorized entry into the diplomatic—"
FLASH.
"Get out of my way, insects!" Ignis roared, his massive, jagged iron greatsword swinging in a brutal, horizontal arc.
The heavy blade, caked in white-hot martial intent, sheared cleanly through the sentries’ weapons and their iron-plated leather armor.
With a sickening, wet crunch, the two guards were violently cut down, their bodies crashing against the marble pillars of the lobby.
They were mere mortals and he is a cultivator.
The difference between them was as vast as the ocean.
Ignis didn’t even pause to wipe the dark blood from his crimson scales.
He stormed up the sweeping limestone staircase, his heavy, clawed boots cracking the stone steps as dozens of his heavily armed thugs flooded the corridors behind him.
"Search every room!" Ignis hissed, his long forked tongue darting out. "Find the wolf-man and drag that damned rabbit to me!"
He kicked the heavy double doors of the top-tier private suite completely off their hinges, the massive timber crashing loudly into the room.
The suite was dead silent.
There was no panic, no frantic packing, and no desperate attempts to escape through the balcony.
The entire luxury apartment was entirely empty, save for three figures sitting at the far end of the room.
Roy sat casually on a plush leather divan, his tailored black coat completely unbuttoned, his legs crossed.
Opposite him, a small crystal cup of chilled mint tea sat on the low wooden table.
Standing directly behind his left shoulder was Eurenia, her crimson tail flicking with a completely tranquil, unbothered poise.
On his right stood Alisa, her expression entirely detached, her long Rabbit-kin ears pressed flat against her spine.
He gently reached down, picked up the crystal cup, and took a slow, deliberate sip of the tea, entirely ignoring the massive, blood-dripping greatsword Ignis was resting on his shoulder.
Ignis’s yellow, slitted eyes locked onto Alisa, a wicked, predatory grin baring his rows of yellowed teeth.
"So... the runaway slave really did find herself a wealthy little master." he chuckled, "You think because you sit in a luxury hotel, the Voka tribe cannot reclaim what belongs to them?"
Roy lowered the crystal cup back onto the saucer with a soft, delicate clink.
"You’re disrupting my evening, Chieftain," he murmured smoothly, his golden-crimson eyes flaring with a faint, systemic luminescence in the dim candlelight.
"And your mana signature is incredibly loud."
"Arrogant wolf-man trash!" Ignis snarled, pointing his blood-stained claw toward the couch. "Kill the bastard! Take the rabbit alive!"
The dozen mighty Lizard-kin thugs standing directly behind Ignis let out a synchronized, guttural hiss, pulling their heavy iron scimitars and lunging forward across the silk carpets.
They never took a second step.
Before their heavy boots could even press into the rug, Alisa vanished from behind Roy’s shoulder.
She didn’t leave a silver afterimage like Eurenia; she simply ceased to exist in the physical space.
Thwip. Thwip. Thwip.
The ambient candlelight in the suite suddenly stretched and warped.
A series of microscopic, black-glass distortions cut through the air like a local shadow storm.
The first six Lizard-kin thugs froze mid-stride, their yellow eyes widening in mute, paralyzed horror.
Clean, bloodless slits materialized across their thick, scaly throats as the Phantom-Veil Dagger bypassed their natural armor laws entirely, violently unraveling their internal mana cores before they could even register the pain.
Before the remaining six could even turn their heavy reptilian heads, Alisa reappeared directly in the center of their formation like a rising mist.
Her slender hand swept upward, driving six silver-plated throwing needles straight through the soft tissue beneath their jaws, piercing their brain cavities.
The three massive behemoths stiffened instantly, their nervous systems completely locked by the localized Mandraxx toxins.
With a synchronized, muffled thud, all twelve mighty thugs collapsed face-first onto the silk carpets, dead before their weapons could even hit the floor.
Alisa stood lightly among the corpses, her sleek dark-grey leather armor completely unstained by blood.
She casually spun the obsidian-glass blade around her fingers, her gaze locking onto the stunned Chieftain.
Ignis’s breath caught in his throat, his white-hot martial aura violently sputtering as a drop of cold sweat rolled down his crimson scales.
His entire warrior force had just been deleted in less than two seconds by the very "fragile slave" he had come to hunt.
"I-I-Im-Impossible..." he stuttered.
"I guess that’s all" Roy exhaled a deep sigh, "Kill him Alisa" Roy commanded.
"With pleasure" Alisa bowed her head before Roy, the next second....she was gone.
Her presence completely erased and she stabbed Chief Ignis in the heart, not wasting time.
She pulled out her dagger, slitting his throat in the process. Chief Ignis collapsed on his knees, gasping for air as he bled.
In a direct battle, Alisa could not defeat a Middle-enlightened stage Martial Master as she was still an Initial-enlightened stage Martial Warrior.
But as an S-class Void-Stalking Rabbit-kin.
Assasination and stealth is her forte, killing a Martial Master like Ignis didn’t sound so plausible anymore.
Roy glanced at the bleeding Chief Ignis for a moment before finishing his tea, "What a suprise to see no Enforcer coming to our rescue" he exhaled deeply.
"Was this another test to gauge our strength?" Roy questioned, his eyes slightly narrowed as he slowly got up from his seat, "His mana cores are yours Alisa"
"It should be enough to boost your enlightenment....you need to grow stronger and faster as well"
He turned his back, Eurenia followed without uttering a single word, "And one more thing..." Roy paused.
"Don’t forget to wipe them all out!"
**
That very night....
The Voka Tribe ceased to exist!