Chapter 9: Intruders
"What are you grin—" Even though Lukas wasn’t looking at him, his grin made Raymond uncomfortable, and he opened his mouth to scold him.
However, the sound of hurried footsteps followed by a panicked voice interrupted him.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
"Lord Viscount, some masked people have intruded into the mansion and have killed the guards who tried to—ahhhhhh!"
The knight was still speaking when he suddenly let out a heart-wrenching scream. Lukas and the others, who had looked over, frowned in confusion, not understanding why he was suddenly screaming like a madman—but a moment later, they understood when...
Swoosh! Sizzle!
Blood-red flames suddenly erupted from his body and started burning him.
A grim look flashed in Raymond’s eyes when he saw the blood-red flames.
"Go to your mother." Raymond put Layla down and stood to his feet.
Swoosh! Fwoosh!
Suddenly, his clothes and shoulder-length black hair started flapping even in the absence of fast winds, and he raised his hand, pointing it toward the burning knight.
Lukas watched in fascination as an ocean-blue glow covered his hand and concentrated at the point of his finger.
Lukas narrowed his eyes. He had thought Raymond was going to put out the fire and save the knight—but it didn’t seem like it.
Chi! Thud!
Just as he expected, a ray of ocean-blue light shot out of Raymond’s finger like a missile and pierced the knight’s forehead.
Immediately, the knight’s struggles ceased, and he fell to the ground, the blood-red fire still burning his body.
"Haha, Lord Raymond really lives up to his reputation. Decisive and ruthless. No wonder, among all the people, the Rivervale family’s ancestor passed down his Viscount title to you." A loud laughter echoed. Then several masked men stepped inside the dining hall.
Raymond stared at the masked figures—the one in the middle, to be exact—for a while. Then, he said, his voice indifferent, "You have become bolder, Bloodflame. Now, you even dare to barge into my house."
The masked figure in the middle took off their mask and revealed their appearance. This was a middle-aged man, similar in age to Raymond. He was significantly taller than him and more handsome.
His brows, and well-trimmed mustache and beard, were scarlet red, which made him even more handsome.
"Viscount Bloodflame..." Lukas heard Isaac mutter his name. He went through his memories, wanting to see if the original Lukas had any information about him—but unfortunately, he found nothing.
"Haha, I have always been bold, Lord Raymond. It’s just that I never had the chance to show you how bold I can be." Bloodflame chuckled and then swept his gaze across Simone, Lukas, and the others.
"It seems I have interrupted your dinner. My apologies for that," he said, but there was no hint of remorse in his voice.
’Hm?’ Lukas’ pupils constricted, his heart racing. A moment before, when Bloodflame’s gaze swept over him, he had noticed a murderous gleam flashing in his eyes.
He didn’t know why he was able to notice murderous intent, but he was sure it was murderous intent, and he came to the conclusion: ’He wants to kill me.’
’Why does someone like him want my life?’ he thought, confused. At the same time, he felt like cursing someone.
"Let’s cut the bullshit and tell me why you are here," Raymond said, his eyes gleaming with a cold light, his figure glowing with a light-blue energy—Water Elemental Mana.
"Heh, I’m here to test your strength and see if you are still qualified to hold your Viscount position. I also want to test your Rivervale Water Magic spells and see how they fare against my Bloodflame Magic." Bloodflame said, red energy—Fire Elemental Mana—swirling around him.
The founder of the Rivervale family had a strong Water Elemental Affinity, something most of his descendants inherited. This was why the Rivervale family specialized in Water Magic.
Similarly, the founder of the Bloodflame family had Fire Elemental Affinity, which naturally made the family well-versed in Fire Magic.
Unlike the Rivervale family, which had a history of over 300 years, the Bloodflame family was a newly established family and only rose to prominence in Charan Prefecture over a hundred years ago.
Despite this, however, the Bloodflame family was almost as strong as the Rivervale family—both had three Peak Three-Star mages at the helm.
Raymond’s lips curled up into a mocking smile. "What testing of my strength or my family’s magic spells? Aren’t you just here to take revenge for the brutal beating I gave you five years ago at Count Esmeralda’s banquet and redeem yourself?"
Arlo Bloodflame’s smile vanished, and his face darkened when he heard his words.
"Tsk! Tsk! How pitiful." Raymond tsked in sheer mockery and shook his head. "Unfortunately, you won’t be able to do it. History will repeat itself."
Shua!
As soon as his words fell, Arlo rushed toward him, his fist clenched tight.
Shua!
Raymond also moved the moment he did, and they met in the middle of the hall, where they punched at each other.
Boom!
Right before their fists collided, Lukas noticed small, patterned circles had appeared in front of their fists. When they both met, an explosion sounded and a shockwave spread out, flipping the chairs and sending the dishes on the dining table flying.
Right before the shockwave hit the chairs—and Lukas, standing beside the table, was worrying that it would hit and injure him—a figure appeared in front of him and a red barrier covered them, saving him from the shockwave.
Lukas couldn’t help but become surprised because the figure who saved him was none other than the First Lady, Simone.
"Thank—" He was about to thank her when she grabbed his hand and pulled him to the back of the hall, away from where Raymond and Arlo were fighting.
Lukas noticed other ladies had saved Isaac, little Layla, and Amara and had moved back.
"Shouldn’t he have gone out if he wanted to fight?" Amara complained, her hopeful gaze fixed on the ongoing fight.
Everyone—including Lukas, who had heard the conversation between her and Raymond before he entered, but excluding little Layla, who was too young to understand things—knew what she was hoping for.
Lukas also watched the fight. He needed time to digest the first bubble’s information and then began his cultivation and grow stronger.
However, with Raymond trying to kill him, what he lacked the most right now was also time. So, he also hoped the same thing.
’Since you barge in so arrogantly, I hope you are strong enough.’ He thought, his gaze flickering.