“Miss Lia!? Are you alright!”
“Look, who is that guy!?”
“Enemy attack! Where is security!?”
The sudden change on stage threw the entire venue into chaos. Cries of surprise and questioning rang out one after another.
Starlight turned a deaf ear to it all, his gaze fixed firmly on the iron cage before him.
In the next second, he raised his hand. The white Power of Destruction condensed in his palm, forming a blade of light that he pointed directly at the cage.
This sturdy cage, originally capable of trapping large beasts or even sub-dragons, was sliced open like paper.
“Stop!” Below the stage, Lia saw this and hurriedly shouted, “This is an auction of the House of Red! How dare you—”
But before she could finish, Starlight had already stepped into the cage. The white light blade in his hand swung again, and the chains binding Lian snapped instantly.
Lian's body trembled slightly as if she had lost all her strength, and she collapsed.
Just as Starlight was about to step forward and support her, a suffocating pressure suddenly descended upon the stage.
The air in the entire hall seemed to freeze, and everyone's movements came to a momentary standstill.
“Young man, you certainly have some nerve.” A low, majestic voice drifted down from the heights of the hall.
Starlight looked up to see a middle-aged man in luxurious formal wear standing on the second-floor balcony, looking down at him. It was Philip Red, the man who had given the opening speech earlier.
Judging by the aura emanating from him, this seemingly refined noble was actually a Saint Rank expert.
Starlight did not back down, his gaze meeting the man's with the sharpness of a blade. “You... you actually dare to treat her as a commodity!”
Philip gave a slight smile, but it was a cold one that sent shivers down the spine. “A commodity? No, she is a ‘collector's item’ of our House of Red. And you, for trespassing in the auction and breaking the rules, shall pay the price.”
Before he had even finished speaking, dozens of dark shadows appeared like ghosts around the venue, quickly surrounding the stage so tightly that not even water could leak through.
The aura these people emitted was cold and dangerous, identical to the assassins Starlight had seen before. They were clearly experts meticulously trained by the House of Red.
“You didn't think our protection measures for our collections were limited to just this, did you? Activate the Beast-Suppressing Mechanism!”
At Philip's command, the stage beneath Starlight and Lian's feet suddenly vibrated. Several square black boxes rose from the ground, surrounding them in the center.
A blinding light flashed, and all the black boxes were instantly linked together, forming a powerful barrier.
Starlight felt a massive surge of gravity bear down on him, pressing so hard he could barely breathe.
Under the combined pressure of several times normal gravity and spatial power, his knees buckled slightly, and a trace of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. Yet, he remained steadfastly in front of Lian, refusing to retreat even half a step.
“Our auction items often include beasts that are difficult for ordinary people to control... but without exception, they have all been made perfectly submissive by the Beast-Suppressing Mechanism!”
Philip spoke slowly as he stepped off the second floor, walking through the air and landing steadily in front of the stage. His gaze was cold and mocking, as if he were enjoying a show whose outcome was already decided.
Starlight clenched his teeth and slowly turned his head, glancing at the mechanisms that were releasing mana.
A sharp light flashed in his eyes as he instantly saw through the mechanism's operating principle—earth, wind, and spatial mana were arranged in a unique way to form this powerful suppression.
For an ordinary person, such suppression would indeed be difficult to handle, but for Starlight, it wouldn't be hard to break given a little time.
The problem was that Lian, who was with him, was also enduring this immense pressure.
Although Lian's body had been greatly strengthened under the protection of that wisp of divine power, she was currently heavily injured and could by no means withstand this level of pressure.
“Must I use the Power of Destruction to break through?” Starlight thought to himself, his fists tightening as the elemental power within him began to surge once more.
If he overused the Power of Destruction, his body would certainly be unable to handle the strain, but he couldn't afford to care about that now.
Just as he was about to risk everything, several sharp arrows cut through the air, precisely shattering two of the mechanisms releasing spatial elements.
“What?” Philip glanced sideways and saw a slender figure holding an emerald longbow appearing at the broken window of Private Box No. 3.
“Xia Duo...” Starlight murmured, his body instantly feeling much lighter.
At the same time, Po Kong's figure descended from above, crashing heavily onto the stage like a meteorite. The ground beneath his feet shattered instantly, and a third mechanism was reduced to powder under his strength.
“Even though Big Brother told us not to be impulsive, how can I hold back in a situation like this?”
Po Kong grinned and said dominantly, “It's not like we haven't fought Saint Ranks before. This old geezer doesn't look that tough, does he, Little Star?”
With that, Po Kong threw a fierce punch. Golden battle qi swept out like a mad dragon, completely pulverizing the entire stage. The Beast-Suppressing Mechanism failed entirely under this force, and the barrier collapsed.
Philip's expression turned grim. His gaze shifted between the people on the stage before finally settling on Po Kong. His pupils constricted slightly, and his voice was low and cold. “War God Battle Qi... as expected, has the House of Mars also involved itself? It seems you are determined to make an enemy of my House of Red?”
“An enemy?” Po Kong sneered, the War God Battle Qi beginning to flow around his body like a cloak of burning flames. “Old man, don't get it twisted. From the moment you treated Lian as a commodity, we were already enemies.”
“Little brother! Mr. Philip! Stop!” Sui Yun's voice came from above. His figure followed closely, leaping down from the window and landing at the edge of the stage, attempting to de-escalate the impending conflict.
But Philip's gaze only briefly swept over Sui Yun, a flash of contempt in his eyes. “Does a piece of trash like you think you're worthy of lecturing me? In this situation today, even if I kill you all, that old man Cang Lan wouldn't have the right to say a single word! Seal the venue! Take them all down!”
He raised his hand and gave a light wave. The dark shadows surrounding the stage moved instantly, surging toward Starlight and the others like a tide.
Another group of shadows rushed toward the second-floor boxes, clearly intending to capture the entire group in one fell swoop.
“Little Star, don't use that self-destructive ability again. Leave this old guy to me! You handle the small fry!” Po Kong's voice entered Starlight's mind via the soul link, his tone carrying an unquestionable firmness.
This immediately gave Starlight, who had intended to use the Power of Destruction again, a sense of resolve.
“Alright, be careful! Take this!”
Starlight nodded and quickly opened his storage space, sending out the Sacred Wood Phantom.
The giant scythe, shining with an eerie green light, landed steadily in Po Kong's hand. The energy flowing along the blade resonated with Po Kong's War God Battle Qi, emitting a heart-palpitating pressure.
Starlight himself clapped his hands together. The mana within him shifted rapidly, and surging water elements, carrying fragments of the stage, quickly rose into the air. In an instant, they transformed into thick walls of ice.
The high-strength ice blocks locked several shadows in place, and the remaining assassins were momentarily blinded as their vision was cut off by the magic.
“An Archmage this young?” A flash of surprise crossed Philip's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by cold killing intent.
He swiftly drew a dark grey soft sword from his waist. The blade was originally as flexible as a belt, but under the infusion of Saint Rank battle qi, it instantly became as hard as iron, its edge shimmering with a deadly cold light.
This was also a Saint weapon that had accompanied Philip for many years.
“Old man! Your opponent is me!”
Just as Philip slashed at Starlight, Po Kong let out a great shout and transformed into a golden meteor, intercepting him.
Under the augmentation of the War God Battle Qi, the blade of the Sacred Wood Phantom erupted with an incredibly dazzling light, meeting the dark grey sword beam head-on.
[Image below]
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