Archfiend

At almost the same time, a great, terrible force attacked Xu Yangyi from behind.

The demon slayer’s body gracefully flipped through the air. All he felt was a billowing burst of qi from the clothes on his back. The power intensity made the blood and qi in his chest somewhat unstable.

“So strong!” His gaze likewise chilled, and he flipped his hand to slash with his sword, but he didn’t cut into anything.

The great hall was morbidly still.

Everyone watched this scene in astonishment. On the ground, Versailles’s still-twitching headless corpse was spilling blood all over the ground. Elisana was dumbstruck… as was the great lycan who was looking face-to-face with Xu Yangyi, his hair standing on edge.

The hare rising and the falcon descending. The little white bunny, which they’d previously thought they would capture, had suddenly transformed into a white tiger. In a span of several seconds, Versailles had been slain.

And although the high and lofty Savidean VII had taken action himself, he still couldn’t block Xu Yangyi!

“Versailles… died?” Dumbstruck, a Marquis stared at the huge corpse, his lips shivering. “He died… just like that?”

“His Highness Versailles… was beheaded?” Out of reflex, a junior behind the Marquis stroked his neck. He shook without reason and went cold from head to toe. “His Highness VII didn’t save him?”

“I can hardly believe this… H-How is this possible?”

“I dare not believe this… His Highness Savidean VII’s retainer was actually… actually killed just like that during the Holy War Feast… B-Beheaded right in front of us?”

“His Highness VII acted himself, but…”

The Marquises in the crowd tightly gritted their teeth and looked at Xu Yangyi.

This Chinese cultivator… was abnormally strong!

As Marquises in the same boundary, they understood all too well that they would be encircled by danger if confronted by Elisana’s Hunting Technique. Regardless, Xu Yangyi had faced a double-sided pincer attack from Versailles and Elisana and the flagrant attack from a quasi Grand Duke at the same time. None of this had stopped him, though!

His killing intent was already determined!

“All of you shut up!!!” An oppressive roar sounded. Savidean VII glared daggers at Xu Yangyi, his teeth grinding audibly. Each remark in the great hall was like a slap to his face.

The Holy War Feast was being overseen by him, but someone had died afterwards. And the one to die was even his personal attendant and retainer!

Even though Versailles was his dog, his death here posed an enormous problem! Especially since this dog had been beheaded by a mongrel cultivator!

Now that Savidean VII reflected on these recent events, how could he still not understand Xu Yangyi’s thoughts?

If one wanted to tear through an encirclement, first a point had to be ripped through. And Versailles was this fatal point.

The Realm Boundary Treasure drew attention, and the Heavenly Opening Great Explosion had caused him to split his attention. Xu Yangyi’s true goal, however, had been Versailles since the beginning.

A classic scheme of killing a chicken to ward off a monkey!

In slaying a man every ten steps, not a single leaf touched one’s body.

But in front of all the Corvinus’ vassal families, he, the grand Savidean VII, actually hadn’t managed to save his attendant! He could only look on as Versailles was beheaded!

“You should be glad.” The great lycan’s golden slitted pupil bore into Xu Yangyi. “Clown, you truly have angered me.”

Xu Yangyi smiled as he looked at Savidean VII. “I’m sorry, but I’m not done talking yet.”

“I’ve prepared two proposals, really. You refused my first one.”

“So, next is the second…” All of his qi madly thundered. This time, the entirety of it was poured into the Fishbowel Sword without leaving a scrap behind. “Next is this move of mine.”

“Let’s see how many people here will survive!”

That terrible qi ascended once more, but this time it was even more berserk than before!

Blood-red runes seemed to come to a boil, faintly discernible in the great hall. This time, the qi swept through everyone. They could feel their skin grow numb!

BOOM! At the same time, another extremely robust spiritual force violently erupted from Savidean VII, and all the people around him were blown over a dozen meters away. It was like a small storm had arrived. Behind him, a crescent moon could be faintly seen.

“Come try…” Savidean VII forced down the rage in his heart, his entire massive frame already creeping on the ground. He gnashed his teeth and said, “Come try… whether or not I can withstand this move…”

“If you cannot defeat everyone here in one move, then I shall slice you apart and have them all eat you!”

Whoosh! All of Xu Yangyi’s clothes rippled in the air, as if they had encountered an invisible wall. He, too, became completely solemn.

“Very strong. Right now… I might not be his opponent.”

“This is the high-end battle power of the West. He’s much, much more powerful than his sibling Elisana… To the extent that even I feel… that not even Enihilus would be his opponent.” Xu Yangyi studied Savidean VII, but didn’t act. Instead, he said in a calm voice, “You can withstand it.”

“It’s good that you know,” Savidean VII coldly laughed, “Bastard, you truly have the audacity to kill a member of the Corvinus during the Holy War Feast. But it is too late to pray.”

“But what about everyone else?” Xu Yangyi said indifferently without paying any attention to the great wolf. He maintained the hair-trigger state of the Heavenly Opening Great Explosion

“As for everyone else, I will naturally heal them.” Savidean VII grinded his teeth as if he was sharpening a blade. “Don’t think about threatening me. Yes, I admit this move is strong, so much that it makes me feel as if I was sitting on pins and needles. No one else can withstand it. But! I can take on 70%! The remaining 30% cannot cause serious injuries!”

Xu Yangyi’s next words, however, caused all the fur on his body to stand on edge!

“Right before the Holy War comes?”

Right before the Holy War comes!

These words caused everyone to clamor!

Fright was revealed in everyone’s gazes. Even Elisana at this time exhaled sharply as well. She couldn’t help but take a step forward.

Yes… this move was the mid Marquis Xu Yangyi against a quasi Grand Duke. Furthermore, this quasi Grand Duke was well-known figure among quasi Grand Dukes. Perhaps the Heavenly Opening Great Explosion wouldn’t instantly kill everyone here. Perhaps no one would even be seriously injured.

But the most important aspect of this was timing!

Ordinarily, none of this was important. Savidean VII held absolute confidence that he could kill Xu Yangyi. This was merely a question of time. But currently… this was a fatal point!

Not to mention the House of Corvinus’s Holy War Feast, if the scandal spread that all the participating Marquises were slightly injured and a majority of the Counts were seriously wounded… Still, this wasn’t even the important part. It was after the Holy War that would become the most critical point.

In the exchange of moves between experts that were merely a hair apart from each other in prowess… could these wounds be healed before the Holy War? If they entered battle with injuries during the Holy War, would they possibly die?

If these wounds couldn’t be healed… If the difference was down to a hundredth of a percent, then the Holy Relic would be easily taken in an instant!

“This mongrel!!!” Elisana’s eyes suddenly turned blood-red. She hadn’t expected whatsoever that Xu Yangyi would actually threaten the entire House of Corvinus by himself!

Furthermore… while this threat appeared to be as soft as silk, a needle was in fact concealed within this silk. No one could imagine the resulting chain reaction!

For a moment, not a sound echoed through the great hall.

“Oh?” Xu Yangyi glanced at the suddenly dead-silent crowd and laughed, “Why aren’t you attacking?”

“It’s not that you all hate me so deeply, but because you’re itching to slap me to death, right?”

No one spoke, but their gazes all looked to Savidean VII. He was the host. All of everything was his decision to make.

Gaze after gaze seemed to solidify. Ordinarily, they were respectful and worshiping, but at this moment they were like fire. They made him feel his skin burning!

Kill him! Kill him!

Savidean VII roared in his heart. This was already considered a humiliation! Through the compulsions of his subjects, a majestic quasi Grand Duke was taken hold of by a mid Marquis! 

Kill?

He certainly couldn’t do that. The Holy War was still a few months away. Under the system of accumulated points, ff it just so happened that some important battle power was injured and they happened to lose their battle, not to mention anyone else, then his strict father would have his hide!

Not to kill?

Did he have to forcibly choke down this vile stench in his stomach? Burning his internal organs like magma? 

Truly… he truly wanted to devour Xu Yangyi. He wanted to chew the demon slayer’s bones to pieces and make the enemy’s blood flow along his snow-white fur… 

“I…” It could be said that in the crowd’s expectations that Savidean VII’s teeth was audibly grinding. As a quasi Grand Duke, it had been too long since he’d suffered such silent humiliation.

After ages, he said with strong killing intent in his eyes, “I allow you to join the House of Corvinus.”

Xu Yangyi wore a smile on his face, and qi lingered over his entire body on alert. “Allow?”

Savidean VII didn’t reply.

Shing… The rumbling over Xu Yangyi’s sword intensified even more!

“Enough!” Elisana was likewise wishing she could kick Xu Yangyi to death. Her eyes were flushed red through and through. “I invite you!”

“I represent the House of Corvinus… to invite you! To become New York’s borough overseer!”

Xu Yangyi merely glanced at her disinterestedly. “Who are you?”

“I am the fourth princess of the Corvinus.” The top of Elisana’s head was flaring smoke. She forced down the fury in her heart and coldly said, “More or less, understand and be tactful… Many have died in the overseer’s position.”

Xu Yangyi nodded, but his next words nearly caused Elisana to vomit blood.

“You are not worthy.”

“YOU!”

“The one to invite me.” Xu Yangyi looked straight at Savidean VII. “Will be the one to make this decision.”

“You are impudent!” BOOM! Before Elisana’s angry shout even cleared the air, a sonorous noise immediately followed!

To the eye’s extreme, an even gap strangely appeared on the ground in front of Savidean VII, just like a giant wolf had fiercely taken a bite out. It was no less than ten-odd meters all around.

Savidean VII didn’t reply, instead looking at Xu Yangyi with a gloomy gaze. His white fur was moving freely of the wind, similar to a silver ripple. A good few seconds passed, and he said without any emotion, his voice like cold ice, “You’re certain you want me to personally invite you.”

“Boy… each year, dozens of the House of Corvinus’ overseers die, but none cry for them in grievance.”

Xu Yangyi only smiled at this naked threat. The Fishbowel Sword in his hand hummed even more!

“Good.” A silent answer. Savidean VII looked at Xu Yangyi like a dead man. He was not raging, but began to laugh, “In that case, I, Savidean VII, formally invite you to join the house of Corvinus. For the position of New York’s overseer.”

His eyes, already flushed red in anger, narrowed. “I hope… you can survive for a little longer on this seat.”

However, Xu Yangyi’s next words caused everyone present to coldly gasp.

“Thank you for your good intentions.”

“But I don’t accept.”