Over a thousand [Fire Wall] and [Earth Rock Wall] spells were stacked and constructed in less than a single breath, sealing the entire Ten Holy Temples from outside to inside, blockading it completely.
The intensity and scale of the magical fluctuations made every mage present—including Tina on the judgment seat—feel their scalps tingle, finding it hard to believe.
Yize’s cold voice, like the bell of judgment, clearly reached everyone’s ears:
“I allowed you to leave?”
His footsteps finally stopped beneath the central platform. He slightly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic crowd.
“The trial isn’t over yet, is it?”
As his voice fell, he paid no further attention to anyone and stepped onto the platform in one stride.
Yize walked straight to the enormous cross, his eyes falling on Riya’s pierced wrists and ankles.
The four emerald-green nails shimmered faintly under the dim light, clearly no ordinary objects.
Without gathering strength, without any preparation, Yize simply raised his right hand, made a fist, and casually swung it at the middle section of the cross.
BOOM–!!!
A deafening explosion rang out!
The demon-sealing cross, strong enough to withstand high-level magic attacks and specially used to imprison powerful heretics, began to crack from the point of impact.
Spiderweb-like fissures instantly spread throughout, and then, in the next moment, it completely shattered!
The cross collapsed. Losing support, Riya’s body went limp and fell downward.
A pair of solid arms steadily caught her, his movements gentle, a stark contrast to the violent destruction of the cross just moments ago.
Yize held Riya horizontally in his arms, looking down at the four emerald nails still deeply embedded in the bones of her limbs. His pupils contracted slightly. The surging anger beneath the calm surface churned once more.
But when he spoke, his tone was deliberately gentle, as if afraid to disturb the person in his arms:
“Bear with it. It might hurt a little. I’ll get these things out for you.”
Riya leaned against his chest, the familiar scent lingering at the tip of her nose, feeling an unprecedented sense of security.
She lightly nodded and let out an almost inaudible “Mm,” burying her face slightly into his chest, completely abandoning all guard and strength.
Yize’s movements were faster than imagination. Left wrist, right wrist, left ankle, right ankle. Four wounds, four penetrations.
In less than the time of a single blink, Yize had removed all four nails and performed preliminary hemostasis and pain relief.
Riya didn’t even have time to feel the anticipated sharp pain.
She only felt a lightness in her limbs, the persistent erosion sensation rapidly fading, replaced by a warm current flowing through the wounds.
Then, with his free hand, Yize brushed over his storage ring, and a magic potion emitting a soft emerald glow appeared in his hand. He uncorked the bottle and carefully brought the potion to Riya’s lips. Riya obediently drank.
As the potion went down her throat, it immediately transformed into a vast and gentle life energy, quickly flowing through her entire body.
Her pale complexion visibly regained rosiness, her weak breathing stabilized, and a tingling sensation came from the wounds—flesh and blood were regenerating and healing at an extraordinary speed.
Yize finally breathed a slight sigh of relief. He raised his hand and gently ruffled Riya’s slightly messy silver short hair.
This movement was natural and intimate, carrying undisguised tenderness.
“Leave the matters here to me.”
He looked at her still slightly reddened eyes, his voice low and firm:
“You just watch from the side. Watch how I ‘reason’ with them.”
Riya’s cheeks flushed with two barely noticeable red patches.
She was a bit shy from his intimate gesture, but more so felt warmth and sweetness from being cherished.
She let out another soft “Mm,” docilely nodding.
At this moment, she completely lacked the usual calm and decisive appearance of the Heir of Arseid, instead resembling an ordinary girl who had finally found someone to rely on.
Beside them, Angelica took all this in. The expression on her face gradually shifted from initial venom and madness to extreme shock and confusion.
She knew Yize, this commoner student she had once regarded as an ant and wished to eliminate.
In her original understanding, he was just a talentless fool who occasionally caught her sister’s attention through petty cleverness and luck—a stumbling block ruining her perfect plan.
However, everything happening before her eyes completely shattered her perception.
Waving his hand to seal the great hall with a thousandfold magic seal, casually shattering the demon-sealing cross with one punch, instantly healing Riya’s severe injuries… How was this a “waste with 5% elemental affinity”?
This was simply a monster in human form! A terrifying existence with unfathomable strength and unbelievable means!
Angelica was crazy but not stupid. When it came to the family’s survival and her sister’s safety, she had an extraordinary clarity and decisiveness.
The madness on her face quickly faded, replaced by a complex look of scrutiny and weighing.
If Yize had come to save Riya and possessed such terrifying strength… then perhaps the Arseid family still had a glimmer of hope.
As long as Riya could leave here alive, the family still had hope.
As for herself? From the moment she stepped onto this platform, she had already accepted her fate.
What surprised her even more was that Yize didn’t seem satisfied with just saving Riya and leaving.
Yize, still holding Riya, turned and walked toward the area of seats nearest to the judgment seat, reserved exclusively for royal family members and the highest-ranking nobles.
Several royal representatives and top-ranking nobles had originally been sitting there but had long since fled to the distance in the chaos, with tables and chairs knocked askew.
Yize casually kicked a wide, luxurious chair into place, then carefully set Riya down on it.
“Sit here. The view is good,” he said softly.
Riya obediently sat down, her gaze following him closely. Then Yize raised his head and scanned the entire hall.
He found that the scene had already been controlled—or rather, it had been “assisted” into control.
Led by Bart and Chise, the other Blood Pillars also took action.
They did not engage in mass slaughter, but with absolute strength suppression, they subdued all the Ten Holy Temples’ priests, holy knights, and nobles who tried to resist, escape, or cause trouble—either pinning them to the ground or driving them into corners.
Those who resisted fiercely were knocked unconscious. Those who tried to cast spells had their limbs broken. Those who shouted the loudest had their mouths torn.
The entire process was efficient and swift, as if they were not the “captives” or “evidence” brought by Yize, but his well-coordinated subordinates. This made even Yize himself a little dazed.
Was this… a bit off?
At this very moment, the one most impacted was none other than High Priestess Tina on the judgment seat.
She looked down at the eight figures emitting powerful blood qi below, feeling the power level of each one.
For the first time, her beautiful face lost its composure, revealing an expression of disbelief and shock.
As the High Priestess of the Ten Holy Temples, her perception of power was extremely keen.
She could clearly discern that at least six of the eight blood clan members below had their auras firmly at the threshold of A+ rank—a level comparable to the Empire’s Sword Saint or an Archmage!
And that No.3, who had directly taken her judgment magic and was still alive and kicking despite being charred black, had strength brushing the edge of S-rank!
As for the blood clan No.1, who had not acted and had an obscure aura, she could not see through his depth at all, but instinct told her he was the most dangerous.
Such a force, if they attacked the Ten Holy Temples head-on, might pay a price but would absolutely be capable of turning the place upside down!
And the Empire’s border… had they been fighting enemies like this all along?
Finally, her gaze locked onto Yize. This young black-haired youth was the true core, the greatest mystery and variable.
His aura… she could sense no magical or aura fluctuations at all, yet instinctively felt a sense of oppression and danger.
And that group of powerful blood clan members actually seemed to regard him as their leader and follow his commands? Who exactly was he? The leader of the blood clan?
After settling Riya, Yize turned around. His gaze fell back on Riya, and his voice was calm as he asked:
“Who put those nails in your hands and feet?”
Riya pressed her lips together, her gaze involuntarily drifting toward the pure white figure on the judgment seat—Tina.
Yize followed her gaze, and his eyes instantly became sharp as a knife.
The next moment, he raised his right hand, fingers slightly spread, toward the open space in front of the judgment seat.
BOOM! BOOM!
Fierce fire elements and heavy earth elements converged wildly from beneath the hall and from the air, instantly constructing a new, even larger cross in front of the judgment seat.
This cross was entirely made of flame and rock.
Flame flowed and burned on the outer layer, rock provided support on the inner layer, and the interweaving of red and yellow emitted a heart-stopping magical fluctuation and high temperature.
Then, Yize’s figure vanished from where he stood. One moment he was beside Riya, the next moment he appeared on the judgment seat, right in front of Tina.
Tina didn’t even have time to react. She only saw a palm rapidly enlarging before her eyes.
Then, she felt an irresistible force hit her.
The world spun, and her body uncontrollably flew off the judgment seat, slamming heavily into the newly formed flame-rock cross!
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Four dull sounds rang out almost simultaneously.
The four emerald nails, still stained with Riya’s blood that Yize had just removed, were driven through Tina’s wrists and ankles at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, firmly pinning her to the flame-rock cross!
“Ahh–!!!”
A piercing scream burst from Tina’s mouth. Those nails had a special suppressive and painful effect on non-human races and powerful life forms.
Now driven into her body, although the effect might differ due to racial differences, the physical penetrating damage and the pain from mana erosion were real.
Not to mention the burning flame cross behind her, the high temperature scorching her back and hair, quickly turning her pure white high priestess robe black and curling.
The entire process was as fast as an illusion. From Yize’s question, to constructing the cross, to nailing Tina—it took only about three seconds.
Inside the Ten Holy Temples, there was dead silence.
All those who could still move stared wide-eyed at the shocking scene on the judgment seat— the revered and holy High Priestess Tina, now like a sinner nailed to a flame cross, screaming in agony, how similar yet even more brutal than Riya’s predicament moments earlier.
Yize stood in front of the judgment seat, slowly turning to face the silent crowd below.
His face showed no expression, his eyes terrifyingly calm, as if he had just done a trivial matter.
He patted the nonexistent dust off his hands, and his voice echoed clearly in the hall where a pin drop could be heard:
“Alright.”
“Now, the trial can begin again.”
“But this time,”
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the pale-faced nobles, priests, and the subdued holy knights:
“The positions of judge and defendant should be swapped.”
“Let’s interrogate how rotten this Ten Holy Temples and this empire have become.”
“And how you will pay for everything you’ve done to Riya.”
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