The Return Of The Exiled Villain

The explosion tore through the far side of the ballroom, shattering stone, flipping tables, bursting plates and glasses apart, and sending a violent shockwave through the hall that threw nobles across the floor.

”AAAAAH!!”

”WHAT’S HAPPENING?!”

”RUN!!!”

Smoke and dust flooded the room.

Before it could settle, a couple of dark figures dropped down from above.

Boots struck marble with dull thuds, one after another. Fifteen figures in total, wrapped in dark robes, faces hidden behind smooth masks carved with faint crimson lines.

THRUUM!

The moment they appeared, a crushing killing intent slammed down in the ballroom.

Nobles screamed and collapsed. Some fell to their knees, gasping for air, while others fainted on the spot, eyes rolling back as their bodies gave up.

The music stopped.

Guards froze.

One of the masked figures lifted his hand.

Buzzz...

Dim lines of light flashed across the floor as a massive formation spread through the hall, sealing doors, walls, and ceiling alike.

The array was activated, and just like that, the ballroom was separated into four different parts, in which three of them were Evelyn, Gloria, and Alina.

”Target confirmed,” one of them said coldly.

”Proceed.”

Fwoop!

Without the slightest hesitation, the fifteen figures burst forward, their bodies turning into dark streaks as they rushed straight toward the king.

The king’s eyes widened in complete surprise.

”Elder Wu!” he instinctively called out.

BAAM!

Before the assassins could reach him, an elderly man appeared in front of the throne in a blink, his robes snapping violently as a terrifying pressure erupted from his body.

Early Emperor Realm.

The air itself seemed to grow heavy around him.

For a brief moment, it looked like more than enough.

Or so everyone thought.

”Blood Sword Formation!”

The apparent leader barked the command, and instantly the fifteen shifted positions with flawless coordination, forming a perfect pentadecagon around Elder Wu.

”Gather!”

Fwip!

A crushing pressure flooded the hall as streams of red energy shot out from each assassin, merging together into a massive construct.

A glowing crimson barrier formed at its core, pulsing like a living thing.

Elder Wu’s pupils shrank.

”Your Highness, retreat!” he roared. ”This formation is extremely dangerous! I may not be able to protect you from it!”

The king’s eyes widened in disbelief at his words. He staggered back for a split second before turning and fleeing as fast as his legs could carry him.

”Hah.”

Seeing this, the leader scoffed, his voice filled with disdain.

He formed a hand seal and raised his index and middle fingers, pointing directly at the king’s retreating back.

”Go!”

Fwip!

A massive red sword shot forward, tearing through the air in the blink of an eye.

Elder Wu stepped in front of the king without hesitation, his hands coming forward, filled with mana, as he created a hand seal.

”Mountain Protecting Seal!”

A giant sigil appeared before him. He slammed his palm forward, and a barrier shaped as a solid mountain rose instantly.

Crash!

The huge red sword hardly went through it, but before Elder Wu could relax, the leader sneered as he waved his fingers, and the red sword started to move.

”Fuck! Your Highness, run away quickly!”

He forced more mana into his body, forming another seal, stronger and more complex, though it only took a few seconds.

”Yes, yes!” the king shouted, pushing himself harder as he ran.

Dozens of mana circles appeared in front of Elder Wu. He tapped them rapidly with his index finger, forcing them to fuse into a single, massive formation.

Then he bit his finger sharply and drew a bloody cross across the circle.

”Blaze Horse, emerge!”

Fwooom!

A blinding red light erupted as a massive black horse burst forth, its body wreathed in roaring flames, its hooves scorching the marble beneath it.

”Attack the sword!”

Elder Wu pointed at the red sword, and in an instant, the flaming horse vanished in a flash and reappeared beside the red blade, delivering a brutal kick.

CRACK!

The enormous sword shattered almost entirely from the impact.

”Kaugh!”

”Ugh!”

All fifteen assassins spat blood at once, their formation trembling violently.

The leader clenched his teeth and forced another hand seal, forming a smaller, weaker version of the blade.

”Go!”

He waved his fingers again, and then, the second sword shot out while the shattered remnants of the first still struggled against the flaming horse.

Fwip!

Seeing this, Elder Wu gritted his teeth as he tried to condense another mountain-protecting seal, just to see the sword fly past him.

”Oh, no! YOUR HIGHNESS, BE CAREFUL!” he roared madly.

He directly broke space, and in the next instant, Elder Wu appeared beside the king, slamming his palm forward once more.

”Mountain Protecting Seal!”

CRASH!

The small red sword crashed against the mountain just in time to defend the king, who had been running away for the past fifteen minutes.

Shrieek!

”W-what?!”

Although the sword was smaller, it surprisingly appeared to be slightly more powerful than the larger sword, mainly because more force was concentrated at its tip.

In contrast, the bigger sword required a lot of mana just to support its large frame.

Fwip!

With a piercing screech, the red sword pierced straight through the Mountain Protecting Seal.

”Y-your Highness!”

Elder Wu called out anxiously.

But unfortunately... for the assassins, exactly thirty minutes had passed.

”These filthy bastards...”

Fwoom!

CRACK!

Both the large and small red swords shattered into countless fragments at the same time.

The pressure binding the formation collapsed instantly as a figure appeared among them without warning.

”Gloria!” The king cheerfully called out her name and stopped running.

”Thank you for the help!”

”The honor is mine, your Highness,” she smiled lightly to him, but as she turned to the assassins, her expression dropped colder.

”It seems that your little organization forgot about my existence...”

A suffocating killing intent poured out of her body, flooding the ballroom like a rising tide. The assassins stiffened, their breathing faltering under the crushing pressure.

”The plan has failed!” The leader shouted.

”Retreat!”

Fwoop!

Without hesitation, all fifteen assassins scattered in different directions, their figures blurring as they attempted to flee.

”Hmph!” Gloria sneered coldly at this.

With a casual wave of her hand, a massive chessboard materialized in midair before her. The board was already nearing checkmate, with the white pieces standing dominant over black.

She reached out and picked up a pawn.

Then she moved it forward.

SPLURT!

Far in the distance, one of the fleeing assassins was crushed instantly, his body exploding into a mist of blood and broken flesh.

Gloria did not stop.

She lifted the knight.

Step.

CRACK!

Another assassin was struck from the side, his body twisted unnaturally before slamming into the ground, lifeless.

Next came the bishop.

Slice!

A clean diagonal strike cleaved an assassin in two, blood spraying across shattered pillars.

Then another pawn.

Then another.

One by one, the assassins fell, their escape routes sealed as if the board itself dictated their deaths.

The hall echoed with screams, impacts, and wet, brutal sounds as bodies were erased from existence.

Only one piece remained on the black side.

The king... the assassin’s group leader.

Gloria’s fingers closed around the white queen.

She paused for a brief moment, her eyes locking onto the trembling figure of the assassin leader in the distance.

”Checkmate.”

She placed the queen down.

BOOOOM!

The leader’s body was obliterated in a single instant, reduced to nothing but scattered blood and human meat.

The chessboard vanished.

”Hahaha... truly, heaven still favors this king.”

He straightened his robes, brushing away dust and shattered debris, before turning toward Gloria. His gaze held no trace of panic anymore, only admiration towards her.

”Headmistress Gloria,” he called out, bowing his head lighly towards her, ”had it not been for you tonight, this hall would have become my grave. I owe you my life.”

Gloria inclined her head slightly.

”Your Highness speaks too heavily,” she replied calmly. ”Protecting the stability of the kingdom is within my duty.”

The king chuckled, clearly pleased by her words.

”Duty or not, it’s hard for a genius like you to appear,” he said, eyes lingering on her a moment longer than necessary.

”With your teaching at the academy, the future pillars of the nation will surely grow straight.”

”Your praise flatters me,” Gloria answered politely.

Not far from them, near the edge of the shattered floor, Evelyn stood quietly, her pale blue eyes reflecting the broken chandeliers and scattered bloodstains.

Despite the chaos, her posture was elegant, her expression cold and detached, as if she were merely observing an inconvenient rainstorm.

Alina stood beside her, one hand covering her mouth as she let out a soft laugh.

”Tsk... what a lively night,” Alina sighed lightly. ”I only came to dance, yet blood ended up staining the floor.”

Evelyn’s gaze did not move from the king and Gloria.

”Don’t act like you didn’t know that the Shadow Order was going to attack the king,” she replied calmly.

Alina glanced at her, her eyes narrowing slightly in interest.

”So the Northern Duchess already sensed the storm coming ahead?”

Evelyn finally turned her head.

”The Shadow Order does not act without reason,” she said coldly, looking straight at Alina’s eyes.

”For them to strike here means they believed the board was already sealed.”

Alina’s lips curved upward.

”...Tsk, tsk, tsk, as expected from the last true mermaid on this continent. At least, your senses didn’t go dull,” Alina chuckled lightly.

Evelyn rolled her eyes at her and then added:

”I could say the same to your brother.”

She turned her gaze, and Alina followed, just to see Gray casually taking a sip from his glass of wine.

His sleeves were rolled up, his nicely combed hair was now quite messy, and his black suit had a few marks of blood.

Around him, a few corpses could be seen, albeit not a higher-realm like the opponents Elder Wu was fighting, for someone like him who was merely at the Master realm...

For him, to kill alone a dozen Grandmasters... it would be considered a genius feat.

”...”

Alina’s lips curled up at her words.

”Whose brother do you think he is?”