Chapter 646: Dragons: Guardians or Persecutors?

By the time the elders returned, the hall was surrounded by hundreds of cultivators who had rushed to the place after hearing the explosion. Dark clouds had gathered in the sky, and heavy rain was pouring down over the ruined hall.

They were about to leave the moment they saw the dragons inside, but Felix ordered them to stay. He wanted them all to witness how he would defile the goddess of the very beasts they had been unable to defeat for so many years.

He even created a platform of thick vines to give them a clear view of the hall. Even with hundreds of them gathered on the platform, the entire area was completely silent, no cultivator daring to make a sound in the presence of the dragon lords. Only the rain could be heard, drumming against the vines and soaking every one of them to the bone.

As the elders arrived at the hall, a ripple of gasps escaped the gathered spectators. The untouchable Sacred Beast, Riksharaja, who was rumoured to be as powerful as Kharos Solaris, had been reduced to such a state. Not just him, the leader of the Deer Clan, Mriga, had also been defeated.

But what shocked them the most was the pink-haired woman, Gumiho. Some of them had seen her at the Tianhu Stronghold, where she had effortlessly defeated Jae Hyun. She had seemed like an untouchable force, a goddess descended from the heavens. Yet only two dragons had reduced her to this state.

Chills ran down the spectators’ spines. The dragons seemed even more dangerous, more terrifying to them. Now they understood why even the Demi-Gods bowed to them and why they were called the rulers of this world. They were truly monstrous. Even the rain didn’t dare to touch them. Having covered themselves in Soulforce, the dragons let the water turn into vapour before it could reach their bodies, while everyone else stood drenched.

The elders from the Floraisan Clan threw the four beasts at the centre of the hall, where they landed with a splash in the rainwater pooled on the broken floor. Then the elders moved towards Felix, who had been sitting on his chair with his lips curved in satisfaction.

"Why did you bring those lowly beasts as well?" Felix asked, his brows knitting into a frown. "You should have just killed them."

"We thought you would like it more if they also witnessed their goddess being turned into a degraded woman," the First Elder explained matter-of-factly, knowing his Young Master well as he took his position on the right side of Felix’s chair, just behind him.

The corner of Felix’s lips twitched at the mere thought. The reaction those beasts would have when he defiled their goddess right before their eyes was already sending heat through his body.

"Once you have had your fun, we can finish them off...along with the entire Beast Faction," the Second Elder stated, taking his position on Felix’s left side.

"Hahaha, I will ask Mother to reward you two with a drop of Sovereign’s blood," Felix laughed, rising from his chair and tapping their shoulders.

Both of them immediately bowed, clasping their fists. "Thank you for your generosity, Young Master!" they exclaimed, unable to hide the smiles filled with greed on their old, wrinkled faces.

Felix withdrew his hand from their shoulders and turned, pivoting on his feet. As he walked towards the centre, the First Elder swayed his arm.

Numerous vines materialised around the bodies of Mriga, Riksharaja and Vyaghra. The vines moved them to the side and bound them in such a way that they were forced into a sitting position, their heads fixed ahead on Gumiho’s barely conscious figure.

"Y-Your Majesty..." Vyaghra murmured weakly, a drool of blood leaking from his bloodied mouth and falling into the rainwater below. He tried to channel his Soulforce, but nothing came out, not even a flicker of darkness. The vines were draining his Soulforce. He tried to move his body next, but he couldn’t do that either. Most of his joints had been broken and twisted by the dragon elders.

Riksharaja and Mriga also tried to free themselves, resulting in the same frustrating failure. The water around them had already turned a murky red, the blood from their wounds mixing with every drop that fell.

As Felix stopped before Gumiho, he glared at her barely conscious figure, lying on her stomach in the wet dirt.

"Ugly bitch," he muttered, throwing a kick at her sides. Her body rolled twice, splashing through the muddy water, before stopping with her back against the broken floor.

"Your Majesty!" Vyaghra, Mriga and Riksharaja called out simultaneously, the vines stretching as they struggled to free themselves despite the pain in their bodies.

"Cough-cough..." Gumiho coughed weakly, holding her sides where Felix had kicked her. The rain streamed down her face, washing away the blood at the corner of her lips.

"I really can’t look at such a sickening face," Felix muttered, feeling disgusted just by the sight of her scarred face. He lowered himself into a squatting position before Gumiho and continued, "I heard that you were tortured by your Clan’s ancestor for ten years. Did he also take your Primordial Yin Essence?"

The rain kept pouring over Gumiho’s face, while above him, every drop turned to mist before it could touch Felix.

Gumiho didn’t answer, just glaring at him with her pink eyes filled with defiance. Felix would have slapped her face for such disrespect, but he didn’t want his hand to touch such a disgusting thing.

"First Elder," he called.

The First Elder raised his finger, tightening the grip of the vines around the three beasts’ necks.

Their bodies began squirming, their faces turning red as the flow of blood stopped.

"I-I don’t know..." Gumiho’s answer came out sharp. "I don’t know what a Primordial Yin Essence is. Harming them will give you no answer."

Felix’s brow rose in mild surprise. He raised his hand. The elder loosened the grip around the beasts’ necks.

"Your Majesty...you don’t have to tell them anything for our sake," Vyaghra shouted, frustration lacing every syllable.

The First Elder didn’t stop him from speaking, as these cries were exactly what Felix would enjoy. Not just Felix, even Vincent seemed excited now. As the one who had destroyed countless families by having his way with the wives in front of their husbands, he was certainly enjoying the current situation. For a moment, he wished that he could be in Felix’s place, but the thought vanished quickly when he saw Gumiho’s face again.

She was way too ugly to even turn him on.

As for Felix, he only pressed his temples at Gumiho’s answer. "Not only are you ugly, but you are also fucking stupid. I’m asking if that ancestor has already defiled you."

Gumiho only looked at him in confusion, not knowing what he meant.

"Hah...so you are truly clueless about such things," he sighed. He really enjoyed the inexperienced ones, not to mention Gumiho could easily stand at the top when it came to inexperience. If only she weren’t so hideous.

"I will just check myself," he muttered, rising to his feet. He lightly kicked Gumiho as he ordered, "Take off your clothes. And just so you know, my patience is running thin here." He looked back at the tied beasts over his shoulder. "They will pay with their lives for your defiance."

"You don’t need to listen to any of his orders, Your Majesty," Vyaghra shouted, veins bulging across his forehead in frustration and anger. Blood splattered from his broken joints onto the ground, the rain washing it into thin red streams as he desperately tried to either free himself or kill himself. At least he wouldn’t be a burden to her that way.

Mriga and Riksharaja also understood what he was trying to do. They just exchanged knowing glances. All three of them parted their lips, placing their tongues between their teeth.

Just as they were about to bite their tongues, the First Elder immediately waved his hand. The vines thrust into their mouths, stopping them from even killing themselves.

"They sure are quite loyal for mere animals," the First Elder muttered.

Gumiho’s lips shivered as she watched the beasts being tortured because of her. Her fingers dug into the wet dirt as she pushed herself into a sitting position.

’I faced a similar situation twenty years ago...’ Gumiho murmured inwardly, her pink eyes lowered. ’my defiance at that time later cost me the lives of my parents.’

Her hands moved to the cloth belt at her waist. The muffled growls of the beasts, the hundreds of gazes fixed on her from every direction, the Demi-Gods who didn’t seem to enjoy the current situation but were still looking at her because they feared showing dissatisfaction, the cold rain soaking her to the bone. All of this faded into the background.

’If I had obliged back then...would Father and Mother be alive today?’ she wondered as the cloth belt slipped from her waist, falling into the muddy water.

A tear trickled down from the corner of her eye, mixing with the rain on her cheek, as she murmured, "Please forgive me, Master. Your disciple is such a disappointment."

Felix’s patience finally broke as the robe was opening at a frustratingly slow pace.

His vile hands moved forward to grab her robe. Gumiho closed her eyes as the hands were about to seize the hem of her robe.

Everything seemed to slow down. The drops of rain falling to the ground. The greed on Felix’s face as his hands approached Gumiho. The anticipated smile on Vincent’s lips.

The First Elder’s eyes widened as he shouted, "Look out—"

KRAKABOOM!

A bolt of black lightning tore through the dark clouds and descended between Gumiho and Felix, sending the latter flying backward.

He was caught midway by the First and Second Elders. Even then, the two elders skidded a few feet back from the impact.

"AGHHHH!!!" Felix screamed in agony as the hand reaching for Gumiho’s robe was completely burnt, the flesh charring beneath the heat.

"M-Master?" Gumiho murmured, her eyes rising to find Maximilian standing beside her. His face wore a darkened expression, his drenched raven-black hair clinging to his face.

From the tightened fists at his sides, blood was dripping onto the floor along with the water from the rain, such was the force of his grip.