The arrogant and cold voice of the male tiger king echoed in everyone's hearts, making every person present feel as if they were wrapped in a thick layer of despair.
A question couldn't help but surface in their minds, 'If that female tiger was already so powerful, then just how strong would this male tiger be?'
Among those present, was there really anyone who could defeat him in a one-on-one fight?
Maybe there was.
However, when the noble lords lifted their heads to look toward the high platform again, they discovered that Viktor had already disappeared.
In that instant, the emotions of the many lords turned into a skyscraper on the verge of collapse, completely crushed by the sudden ignition of despair, reduced to smoke-filled ruins.
The male tiger-man seemed to catch their gazes. Following those looks, he turned toward the place where Viktor had originally been standing.
That mage was indeed nowhere to be seen.
A trace of doubt appeared in the tiger-man's eyes, but he didn't seem to care much. He simply faced everyone again and said calmly, "Look at your situation now, humans."
"Surrounded here, what's the difference between you and the demi-human slaves you once kept?"
Hearing this, the nobles instinctively looked around.
The entire auction hall had been taken over by demi-humans. Most of the human guards had lost their ability to fight, lying scattered across the ground, motionless.
After all, without prior preparation, humans were no match for demi-humans of the same rank.
Under the chaos and the glow of flames, the auction city looked like the end of the world had arrived.
Cheers of Viktory echoed throughout the royal city, but those cheers sounded more like the roars of beasts.
More and more demi-humans gathered outside the auction hall. They wore dirty clothes, shackles still locked around their feet.
Many nobles and wealthy merchants recognized them in shock. Weren't these the demi-human slaves from their own homes?
At this moment, burning fury filled the eyes of these demi-humans, as if they were ready to tear apart the masters who had once imprisoned them.
Suddenly, a female eagle-man soared through the air.
Her voice pierced the silence of the night, sharply announcing, "Boss Tiger, we've rescued almost all of them."
These sharp words stabbed into the hearts of the nobles like needles, bringing waves of pain.
"There's no need to waste time on these humans. Before Festian Barlow arrives, we must withdraw completely."
Hearing this, the noble lords understood.
These demi-humans were clearly organized and disciplined, even commanded by someone.
Why had they chosen today to act?
Because today, the royal city's defenses were at their weakest.
When coming to the royal city, no lord would bring much of their military force.
Most importantly, the pillar of the kingdom, Festian Barlow, was not in the royal city today.
The demi-humans seemed to understand Duke Barrow's habits very well.
They knew clearly that he didn't like attending this kind of noble auction.
Because of all this, the demi-humans had found their opportunity.
However, the male tiger king didn't seem in a hurry to leave.
Boss Tiger crossed his arms, his feet not moving even a step.
"Not yet."
His sharp gaze swept across the second-floor private rooms of the auction hall, passing over the king of the Kante Kingdom, and landing on Aurelian.
More precisely, it locked onto Vanilla standing behind Aurelian.
"We still have other kin who haven't been rescued."
The male tiger-man's pupils suddenly contracted. A powerful aura surged upward, the muscles in his legs tightening instantly.
His body bent slightly, both feet pressing firmly into the platform beneath him.
BOOM!
The already ruined platform completely collapsed at that moment, cracks rapidly spreading across the surrounding ground.
Everyone felt the ground tremble, as if an earthquake was about to strike.
The male tiger-man shot forward like a missile, tearing through space.
The surrounding air began to emit sharp roaring sounds from the high-speed vibration.
Buzz!
In the blink of an eye, that massive orange body was already rushing toward the king and Aurelian.
Countless noble lords, seeing the tiger-man charge toward the private rooms of the auction hall, had their minds go blank.
What exactly was this tiger trying to do?
Capture the leader first?
Capturing the king might be one thing, after all he was just the king of the Kante Kingdom. If he got taken, so be it, they could just replace him.
But the princess of the Calenica Empire, where were they supposed to find a replacement?
Forget diplomacy, a war between the two kingdoms would be inevitable.
The noble lords stared at the tiger-man, looking closely, only to realize that he was truly heading straight for Aurelian.
'It's over, completely over!'
But almost at the same moment, a flash of cold light suddenly appeared, and both chilling cold and blazing heat swept toward the incoming tiger-man.
That bone-piercing cold made the tiger-man's body pause slightly, but his gaze remained fierce as he exerted force throughout his body.
Blazing fire was drawn from the sheath at Gwen's waist.
The bright flame slashed downward, as if it could burn away the massive threat before it.
The tiger-man did not retreat. Instead, he stepped on the wind in midair, twisting his body, pulling back slightly to dodge the scorching strike.
Boss Tiger stared intently at Gwen, whose entire body was releasing cold energy, his eyes extremely sharp.
That terrifying gaze seemed to turn into a blood-soaked spear, filled with endless killing intent.
"A knight?"
Boss Tiger stepped on a golden pillar with his right foot, bending one leg slightly and exerting force.
His body burst forward again with flowing power, turning into an orange comet that fiercely charged at Gwen.
Then, he flipped his body, carrying terrifying momentum, and suddenly swung out a kick.
In that instant of turning, the devastating wind-shattering kick slammed hard into Gwen.
Gwen quickly raised her sword to block. The kick collided with the longsword in her hands.
Under that immense force, Gwen struggled to withstand it.
A violent power rapidly compressed, then suddenly exploded outward in all directions.
The bone armor on Gwen's body trembled slightly after receiving that terrifying blow, absorbing almost all of the force.
The power didn't penetrate her body, but under the strong impact, her feet still sank into the ground and she was pushed backward several meters.
The flaming sword was stabbed into the ground by Gwen, and along the path she was dragged, red flames ignited.
After knocking Gwen back, Boss Tiger landed steadily on the second-floor platform.
He twisted his wrist, producing cracking sounds, and looked at Gwen with a hint of disdain.
"Not bad strength."
"Unfortunately, you're only a third-tier knight."
At this moment, he stood right in front of Aurelian and August.
Seeing the massive threat approaching, Hilda was drenched in sweat. Her hand had already gripped the hilt of her sword, ready for battle.
However, Boss Tiger completely ignored the young female instructor behind August, not even sparing her a glance.
"And you, you're not even as good as that knight just now."
After saying this, Boss Tiger shifted his gaze to Vanilla behind Aurelian.
"A catfolk kin."
"Come with us."
Hearing this, the surrounding lords' gazes instantly gathered on Vanilla.
Looking at this catfolk dressed in a maid outfit, their hearts nearly stopped.
If this tiger-man found out that the princess of the Calenica Empire treated Vanilla as a maid, he would likely fly into a rage over such humiliation inflicted on his own kind.
At this moment, all the nobles felt like a flock of geese startled by the twang of a bowstring, trembling in fear.
Afraid that in the next second, this tiger-man would strike Aurelian down.
If Aurelian were truly injured, or even killed here, then everything would be over.
Even August followed the tiger-man's gaze, his trembling, worried eyes falling on Vanilla.
However, Vanilla simply clasped her hands to her chest. There was a hint of resolve in her eyes as she looked at Boss Tiger, and she gently shook her head, "No…"
Hearing Vanilla's response, Boss Tiger was slightly stunned, seemingly unable to understand.
"Why?"
"Have humans erased your wildness?"
Vanilla didn't speak, which made Boss Tiger feel very surprised.
Then, his gaze naturally fell on Aurelian.
But on Aurelian's face, he didn't see the fear that the other noble lords had.
On the contrary, she was very calm.
As if she were the calmest human in the entire auction hall.
Even the king had shown fear and dread when he saw him.
So, Boss Tiger withdrew his sharp gaze and looked at Aurelian, asking in confusion, "Human, you're not afraid of me?"
"Why should I be afraid?"
Aurelian said with a smile, "On the contrary, I'm more curious about what will happen to you next."
"Hm?"
Boss Tiger looked slightly puzzled, leaning his body back.
From Aurelian's words, he sensed a faint trace of danger.
"Human girl, continue."
"What do you mean?"
Aurelian calmly placed her hands on her lap, looking serene and composed.
"As for meaning? Not really."
She turned her head, glancing at Gwen, who had almost lost the ability to continue fighting after Boss Tiger's attack.
Then she turned back, looking at Vanilla, who had just been invited to leave.
And suddenly, she let out a laugh.
"What are you laughing at?"
Boss Tiger's gaze tightened, staring fixedly at Aurelian.
"Nothing, I just suddenly thought of my teacher."
"He's very protective, and a bit vengeful.", Aurelian said with a smile.
"I've always been curious, actually. Why did you so naturally forget about a powerful mage?"
Only then did Boss Tiger come back to his senses, straightening his body.
"Hm?"
Was she talking about that mage who had just declared he would spend a hundred million to buy all their demi-humans?
He admitted that mage was indeed powerful.
But every demi-human present was very strong.
And Tiger Two was also there, so there was no need for him to worry about that mage causing any trouble...
Drip! Tap!
Splash!
"This is… rain?"
'It started raining?'
Suddenly, cold, heavy raindrops began pouring down from the sky.
The rain landed on Boss Tiger's face, gathering along his fur and whiskers before dripping down.
The torrential rain instantly filled the entire ruined auction hall, and countless nobles couldn't help but look up.
The once clear, star-filled sky had been covered by thick dark clouds, not a single trace of starlight visible anymore.
Only heavy raindrops kept striking their lead-colored robes.
Boss Tiger raised his head. His sharp gaze passed through the auction hall and looked out toward the vast royal city.
The pouring rain extinguished all the flames outside, as if forcibly crushing the demi-humans' Viktory.
The demi-humans outside also felt the rain sliding across their bodies.
That cold sensation seemed to extinguish the flames in their hearts as well.
A layer of white mist rose from the ground, beginning to swallow everyone present.
Just as everyone was confused, the falling speed of the rain began to slow.
In the next second, something that shocked countless people happened.
Every single raindrop, as if unaffected by gravity, stopped in midair.
Dense, crystal-clear droplets hung suspended, like countless translucent crystals.
Some demi-humans were curious about the raindrops frozen in front of them. They reached out, tentatively touching the water in the air.
The moment the rain was touched, it stuck to their fur and then slowly slid down their bodies.
Everyone realized something.
At this moment, the rain... had "stopped."
Countless people looked up, including Boss Tiger.
Among the suspended raindrops, they saw a figure wearing a black windbreaker.
It was Viktor.
At this moment, he was stepping on the raindrops suspended in the sky.
Those raindrops seemed to support his body, forming step after step.
Drip! Tap!
With each step he took, the floating raindrops would naturally fall, striking the ground again.
In this vast and deathly silent auction hall, the sound of the raindrops seemed to become Viktor's footsteps.
Each step landed like it was pressing on everyone's hearts.
Clear and firm.
Just like that, he walked down along the rain-soaked steps, splashing droplets as he descended.
Until he landed steadily on the ground, standing on the already shattered platform.
At this moment, the gazes of countless demi-humans and nobles gathered onto Viktor at the same time.
"Sorry, I stepped away for a bit."
In the quiet auction hall, only his elegant, slightly polite voice echoed softly, "Just now, I went to put out a fire."