Daily News: Insect Girls' Heavy Dependence

This anger far surpassed any of Leonardo's previous flippant provocations. He felt something tearing inside his chest.

It wasn't because of a sense of justice.

Rather, it is a sense of absurdity, a feeling of witnessing historical tragedies being repeated in the ugliest way.

A noble family that built fortresses, resisted insect beasts, and made sacrifices.

Their bloodline was being treated as livestock to please rich young men on the very land where their ancestors had shed their blood.

This reveals the depravity and cruelty of the privileged class within the walled world more profoundly than any blatant atrocity.

After a brief silence in the hall, louder laughter and more unrestrained discussion erupted:

"Wow! Lancelot? That's the unfortunate family that was wiped out by the king?"

"Leonardo, you're something else! You can even capture and tame a criminal like that?"

"Tsk tsk, a knight's descendant acting as a dog, how interesting! Shall we make him bark like a dog?"

"As expected of young master Sotus, the quality of this 'livestock' is superb!"

Kassan Isaacs also dropped her relaxed expression from watching the show, her brows furrowing, clearly shocked by this excessive display.

She looked at Yekaterin with concern. Through their previous private conversation, Kassan Isa learned about Yekaterin's experiences during this time.

They also naturally learned about the connection between the Lancelot family and the Northern Duke's Mansion.

She whispered to Yekaterin, "Lady Yekaterin, this... is too much."

Leonardo ignored the sudden change in Yekaterin and Richard's expressions.

Although he didn't understand why, this was exactly what he wanted!

He felt a twisted sense of vengeful pleasure. He triumphantly nudged the boy's shoulder with the tip of his boot.

He commanded in a tone that bordered on cruelty:

"Hey, my little Lancelot, lift your head and let Miss Yekaterin see you properly. Tell her, whose dog are you now?"

The blond boy trembled violently, but dared not resist in the slightest.

He slowly raised his head, his face, once perhaps handsome, now etched with numbness and fear.

His blue eyes stared blankly in the direction of Yekaterin and Richard. His lips trembled, and muffled sobs escaped his throat.

The cold metal collar constricted tightly around his neck, like a shackle of shame, utterly locking away the glory of his ancestors and his dignity as a human being.

Amidst this cacophony filled with absurdity, cruelty, and suffocation, Richard stepped forward. His movements were slow, yet they carried an invisible, chilling sense of oppression.

His words instantly silenced the jeering crowd closest to him. His face was expressionless, his dark eyes unfathomable, all his anger compressed into an extreme coldness.

Leonardo Sotus.

Richard's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly drowned out all the noise; every word struck the ground like an icicle.

"Let go of the person at your feet."

Leonardo's smile froze, then turned into a deeper sinister and provocative expression.

Having tasted the strange thrill of revenge, he was now as high as if he were on drugs.

He speaks without thinking at all:

"Oh? Miss Yekaterin's livestock, what right do you have to order me around? You're nothing but a plaything..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yekalin's icy voice cut in like the cold winds of the North.

Bearing the unquestionable majesty of a duke:

"Leonardo, as the heir to the Duke of the North, I order you to release him immediately! He is a descendant of the Lancelot family and is under the protection of my Duke of the North!"

"shelter?"

Leonardo laughed exaggeratedly, as if he had heard the funniest joke.

"Hahahaha! A stray dog ​​stripped of his surname and territory, his family crest tarnished? Yekaterin, why are you sheltering him? Besides, he's my slave now, my livestock! I can do whatever I want with him..."

Richard's chest heaved violently, his gaze fixed on the blond boy lying prostrate on the ground with vacant eyes.

The descendant of Lancelot appeared before me in such a manner. Rage surged forth like molten lava bursting through the earth's crust, instantly engulfing all reason.

"That's enough!"

A low growl, like muffled thunder, resounded in the extravagant and noisy hall.

Richard took a step forward, his aura exploding without reservation. It was merely the life fluctuation of a second-tier growth form in its early stages.

The atmosphere brought a moment of deathly silence, followed by Leonardo's sneer, and then a few of his vassal noble youths joined in the laughter.

"Second tier? Haha... Miss Yekaterin, is your knight here to be a joke?"

Leonardo's lips curled into a sneer; the slight tremor he had felt from the earlier oppressive aura was now washed away by this lowly rank.

His anger and humiliation deepened. How dare a mere second-tier cultivator be so insolent before him?

However, his laughter had not yet subsided.

Richard's seemingly decorative fourteen-winged Killer Knight belt suddenly revealed its power!

Om-!

It wasn't the chirping of insects that arrived first, but rather an invisible yet heavy pressure that spread like a tangible tide, instantly engulfing the entire hall!

That is an absolute ferocity that transcends the level of mere life forms, originating from a higher level of predator; it is the natural sense of dominance over the weak that is engraved in the bloodline of the Silverwing Hunter Insect!

"Crunch... crunch... crunch..."

The chilling, bone-chilling low rumble didn't emanate from the belt, but seemed to rise directly from the depths of each listener's brain.

The air temperature suddenly plummeted, and the flames of the campfire and the jade lantern seemed to be pressed down by an invisible hand, flickering violently and dimming.

"Ugh!"

Several noble girls who had been laughing just moments before were the first to be affected, their faces turning deathly pale, and their wine glasses clattering to the ground.

Her delicate body trembled uncontrollably, her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the ground, her gorgeous skirt stained with wine and frost.

Many others let out a muffled groan, as if struck in the chest by a heavy hammer, staggered backward, and barely managed to stand firm against the cold stone wall, their eyes filled with horror and disbelief.

Even Cassandra's pupils contracted slightly, and she instinctively gripped the hilt of her sword, her body tensing slightly.

The entire place fell silent, save for the soul-chilling creaking sound and the heavy, terrified breathing.

Leonardo was closest to the person and felt it most clearly.

The oppressive aura gripped his heart like a giant, icy hand, making it hard to breathe. The fear, stemming from his very survival instinct, chilled his limbs.

But then, boundless shame and anger burned through my entire body like poisonous fire!

He, the eldest son of the Duke of Donghai, was so frightened by the mere aura of a second-tier being that he almost lost his composure.

"You...you dare!"

Leonardo's handsome face contorted in shock and rage, his voice shrill with fury.

"A second-tier bastard dares to use such tricks to deceive people? Kneel down!"

He roared fiercely, trying to dispel the chill in his heart.

At the same time, he swung his hand sharply backward: "Frost Knight! Take down this madman! Dead or alive!"

He had already determined that Yekaterin and the black-haired boy did not bring a large guard when they entered the castle.

At this moment, the ten late-stage third-tier guards beside him, whose entire bodies were covered in azure ice-patterned armor and whose auras were chilling, were his greatest reliance!

So what if the other party is a member of the royal family?

The castle is located far from the city walls, and unexpected events are always possible. A glint of ruthlessness flashed in Leonardo's eyes.

Ten Frost Knights stepped forward silently, their steps perfectly synchronized. The friction of their armor produced a cold, rustling sound, and a thick mist of frost rose from beneath their feet, quickly covering the hall floor with a layer of ice.

They did not attack immediately, but instead formed a battle formation, blocking all of Richard's escape routes, their cold gazes as if looking at a dead man.

"Leonardo!"

Cassandra shouted sharply, stepping in front of Yekaterin and Richard, her hand already on the hilt of her sword.

"Do you want to start a war between ducal families? Or are you abandoning even the most basic dignity and rules of the nobility?"

Her sharp gaze swept over the ten Frost Knights, then fell upon Leonardo, whose face was ashen, and she said quickly:

"Since we each have our own version of events, let's follow the ancient rules. A duel! One-on-one, only to determine victory or defeat, not life or death!"