The gunshot cracked through the hall.
Everyone saw it.
The red-haired man''s head snapped back as blood sprayed the air. His body
dropped before anyone could even scream.
What shocked the crowd even more-Kaltmann was shot too.
Leon Zhao''s bullet tore straight through Kaltmann''s body. A dark hole bloomed in his
chest. Kaltmann staggered, eyes wide, staring at Anton in pure disbelief.
"You... you... how dare_"
Bang.
Leon Zhao fired again. This time, straight through Kaltmann''s head.
The old man copsed lifelessly to the floor.
Leonora stood abruptly, her chair scraping loudly. She stared at Leon Zhao, fury burning in her eyes.
"How dare you open fire in this hall?"
Leon Zhao smiled calmly, as if he had merely corrected a mistake.
"I never let people who try to scam me walk away alive," he said. "And that bastard even dared to use my Master of helping him. What kind of poisonous snake would do that? I had to kill him."
"Wonderful," Alex said. He pped slowly, mockingly. The sound echoed through the stunned silence.
"What a beautiful performance," he added coldly. "Now no one can tell who the real mastermind is."
He stepped forward, bent down, and picked up the metal box from the floor.
Thetch clicked open.
Insidey the book.
Alex opened directly to the third page.
"This third page," he said coldly, "and the fourth page were glued together to look like a single sheet."
He carefully separated them.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"These are two pages," Alex continued. "Not one."
He turned the pages outward so everyone could read.
Most of the collectors specialized in Xia artifacts. They understood the writing instantly.
The words were unmistakable.
“This cultivation method is restricted to those of royal blood. Anyone without royal lineage who attempts to practice it will die a slow, miserable death."
The hall exploded into whispers and shocked cries.
Alex closed the book.
"I think everyone here understands now," he said evenly. "This book is worthless to every single person in this room. Worse-it''s deadly."
His gaze shifted slowly to Anton Dunkel.
"And yet,” Alex continued, voice sharpening, “someone still tried to sell this dangerous trash to Miss Silberkreuz."
Leonora''s face flushed deep red with anger.
“Anton Dunkel,” she snapped, pointing straight at him. “Did you collude with Kaltmann this entire time? Were you the mastermind behind him-scamming me again and again, forcing me to buy your worthless garbage, draining my money without end?"
Antonughed loudly, unfazed.
"Miss Silberkreuz, our country hasws," he said smugly. "Even if you are the granddaughter of Duke Silberkreuz, you can''t use me without proof."
"What proof do you want?" Leonora shouted. "Two people were just killed!" Anton shrugged and stood up.
"The dead can''t talk," he said casually. "And the dead prove nothing. You can''t point a finger at me for anything."
He straightened his coat and added calmly, "The auction is already over. I believe it''s time for me to return home."
He turned as if nothing had happened leaving behind blood, corpses, and a room full of fury.
Anton Dunkel strode toward the exit with Leon Zhao and several bodyguards nking him.
"Stop right there!" Leonora Silberkreuz shouted. "You can''t walk away from this!" Antonughed without even turning his head.
"You can''t stop me without a legal warrant," he said coldly. "Do that, and you''ll spark a war between my Duke and your grandfather. Know your ce, little girl.”
He kept walking.
Outside the hall, Anton leaned close to Leon Zhao and spoke in a low voice. "Have you wiped every connection to Kaltmann clean?"
Leon Zhao nodded. "There''s nothing that can be traced back to us."
"Good," Anton said. "We leave now-before the police start their search."
He headed straight for his aircraft.
Inside the hall, Leonora stood motionless, staring down at the two bodies on the floor. Her eyes were cold, unreadable. Then she turned to Alex.
"Please excuse me, Mr. Saint-ire," she said, regaining herposure. "Thank you for apanying me today. Let''s leave. My family will send people to handle this mess."
Alex nodded once. "Alright. Let''s go."
As they walked out of the hall, Leonora let out a slow breath and shook her head.
"I really must thank you, Mr.
Saint-ire," she said bitterly. "Hiring
that scammer bastard was our
mistake. To think Kaltmann had
been bleeding me dry for so long... it''s humiliating."
Alex nced at her, “As long as there''s light, there will always be darkness. You
don''t need to me yourself, Miss Silberkreuz."
At that moment, Maximilian Nachtburg rushed out from the hall. The moment he
saw Alex, he grabbed his hands tightly and shook them with force.
"Mr. Saint-ire!" he eximed. "Thanks to you, I avoided disaster. If Miss Silberkreuz had been cheated,
people would''ve thought!!-
-the
host was involved. You saved my
neck from the Duke''s wrath."
Alex smiled faintly. "Don''t worry about it. Miss Silberkreuz invited me to appraise the
book. I was just doing my job."
“Oh—right,” Alex added, lifting the book in his hand. “This book.”
Maximilian''s face stiffened the moment he saw it. Sweat broke out on his forehead.
"I''m only the host," he said hurriedly. "The owner is already dead. I don''t dare keep
that thing. It''s more trouble than it''s worth. Please, Miss Silberkreuz-you can take
it."
Leonora let out a sharp, humorlessugh.
“Me? Keeping a book that could kill me?” she said coldly. "I wouldn''t touch that thing even if you paid me."
Alex looked at both of them and let out a quiet sigh.
"I''ll keep the book," he said evenly. "If either of you ever wants it, you know where to find me."
Maximilian nodded at once. "That''s the best solution."
After a brief exchange of polite words, Alex and Leonora got into the car. The engine started, and soon they were gone.
Meanwhile, Anton Dunkel and Leon Zhao were already aboard their aircraft, leaving Winchester airspace.
That was when it happened.
Three drones mmed into the hull without warning.
The impact rocked the ship. rms screamed. The drones detonated, tearing
through the exterior ting.
"What the hell is going on?" Anton shouted.
"We''re under attack!" the pilot yelled. "Sir, the engines are failing. We''re losing control. We have to make an emergencynding forest below. I''m sending a distress signal now!
The aircraft shuddered violently before crashing into the forest. Trees snapped like matchsticks as the ship tore through them.
Two other aircraft descended immediately,nding on either side of the wreck.
When Anton, Leon Zhao, and the five bodyguards stumbled out of the ruined ship, weapons drawn-
They froze.
Around twenty people dressed in ck were already waiting for them. Every one of them had a gun trained directly at their heads.
"Who the hell are you?!" Anton roared. “I am Marquis Anton Dunkel! How dare you provoke me?!"
One man stepped forward. He moved calmly, confidently.
"We''re not here to provoke you,” he said coldly. “But if I remember correctly, you paid assassins to kill our boss."
Anton frowned. "Your boss?" he snapped. “I don''t remember hiring anyone to kill your boss. Who are you talking about?"
His eyes swept over them. Advanced weapons. Advanced ships. These weren''t people you casually offended.
"Didn''t you pay five men today to kill Miss Silberkreuz''s appraiser?” the leader said. "That man is our boss. And you chose the wrong people to mess with."
Alex.
Anton''s blood ran cold. The only man he had wanted dead today was Alex Saint- ire—the man who could destroy his entire arrangement with Kaltmann.
"But... he''s a nobody," Anton muttered.
Gunfire exploded.
His bodyguards dropped one by one before they could even react. Bullets tore them
apart. In seconds, only Anton and Leon Zhao were left standing.
The leader raised his gun again.
“We''re kidnapping you and demanding ransom,” he said tly.
Anton had been shaking now, rage and fear bleeding together. "You want ransom?
Name it!"
The man in ck had answered instantly. "Your territory. All of it.”
Anton had screamed, "That''s robbery!"
The man had nodded. “No. Robbery is what you did with Kaltmann.”
Anton''s voice had cracked. "You can''t just takend!"
The man had leaned in. “We''re not taking it."
He had cocked the gun.
"We''re charging you... for staying alive."
Anton''s shoulders had slumped. "And if I refuse?"
The man had looked past him at the forest.
"Then this ce bes your grave. Unmarked. Unremembered."
''When the de reaches the throat,
titles turn to dust.''