"You... you're not Loxier?"

The host wanted to slap himself as soon as he asked this question - what a foolish thing to say! Of course this wasn't Loxier!

"Loxier? Oh, you mean that merchant. He's dead. As for me... do I need to introduce myself?"

"No, no, no, Mr. Meilan. I must be blind. I was just running my mouth thoughtlessly."

"Is that so? From the looks of things here, you were aiming for more than just running your mouths, weren't you?"

Siegfried spread his arms wide, palms facing upward, letting out an arrogant laugh.

"Hahaha, let me tell you a secret - I'm not even a Hero yet. You're all welcome to try your luck."

As soon as he finished speaking, the two soldiers standing behind him who had been grabbing his shoulders suddenly stiffened.

Their heads rolled off their necks with a thud, landing precisely in Siegfried's outstretched palms - a truly horrifying sight.

Crimson fountains erupted from the headless bodies, spraying a shower of blood across the elegant banquet hall.

The black-haired youth stood there holding two severed heads, bathed in the red rain, his white teeth gleaming in a chilling smile as he shouted defiantly:

"Come on!"

In that moment, everyone remembered a crucial fact:

The Hero of the Meilan family was known as the God of Death.

As the two bodies collapsed limply to the floor, the crowd finally reacted.

"How... how did they die?"

"A Hero! Why is a Hero here?!"

"I didn't... I didn't buy anything! Please have mercy, noble Hero!"

"Me too, I was just here to look around..."

They screamed and wailed, desperately pressing themselves against the walls, trying to get as far from that demon as possible since Siegfried was blocking the exit.

Siegfried ignored their panic - because he himself was so terrified his legs had turned to jelly.

"Yang Jing! Yang Jing! What have you done?!"

"Didn't you ask for a shocking entrance?"

"It's meaningless if I'm shocked too!"

Those two soldiers had been killed by Yang Jing. Though he didn't know what method she'd used, it was definitely her handiwork.

Siegfried had asked her to arrange an impressive entrance, since she was skilled at such things.

Well, "impressive" wasn't quite the word for this outcome. "Terrifying" would be more accurate. This wasn't a hero's entrance - it was more fitting for a Demon King!

However, despite holding two severed heads and shaking legs, Siegfried's greatest strength was his exceptional psychological resilience.

He casually tossed the heads aside, cleared the path, and smoothly recited the names of all participants.

"Viscount Stuart, Baron Morton, Mr. Benetes, Father Prinhole, and all you other pieces of trash - I've noted down every single one of your names. If any of you breathe a word about what you've witnessed tonight to anyone, in any way... I promise your fate will be far worse than these two.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Don't speak. Keep your mouths shut.

You have ten seconds to grab your heads and scramble out of here, pretending to be in panic.

Anyone still here after ten seconds...

Dies!"

The nobles and wealthy merchants rushed toward the exit like drowning men grasping at straws.

Though they were panic-stricken and terrified, none dared to scream - the terrifying Meilan had ordered their silence.

A corpulent figure tried to blend into the crowd, being pushed toward the door.

Siegfried spotted the slave trader Kortman attempting to slip away and let out a cold snort.

"Roland, do it."

From a corner of the hall, a gleaming knight's sword whistled through the air, precisely piercing the collar of Kortman's formal attire.

The man's heavy body was lifted into the air by the flying sword and pinned to the wall.

"Mr. Kortman, where do you think you're going?"

Kortman's fat frame trembled violently, nearly fainting from fear.

He felt deeply wronged. He was just a minor manager handling accounts for the association. The major deals and despicable schemes were all the president's doing.

Even if the Hero wanted to kill someone, it shouldn't be him.

"Hero, Hero, I was wrong! I shouldn't have done this business. Please spare my life - I'll never dare to do it again!"

If he hadn't been pinned to the wall, he would have been kowtowing frantically.

"That formula of mine was quite valuable. One million seems rather low, don't you think?"

"That formula was yours? I didn't know, I truly didn't know! Had I known, how would I dare to lowball your price?"

His crotch was already soaked, emitting a pungent odor.

Siegfried covered his nose in disgust.

"You have the nerve to deal in slaves, but you're not prepared to die?"

"I deserve death, I deserve death!"

Still pinned to the wall, Kortman began slapping himself vigorously. He put such effort into it that his already swollen face became even more bloated.

Siegfried reached out to remove the sword but found he couldn't budge it after several attempts...

He withdrew his hand sheepishly, maintaining a casual expression as he continued:

"Don't worry, I won't kill you. I'm here to do business today."

Just killing you like this? That would be too wasteful.

Siegfried turned away and ascended to the second-floor platform where Kriemhild and the others were waiting.

The host was kneeling on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

Sean felt like he had seen a ghost today.

A perfectly normal auction had first been disrupted by a madman, then by three troublemakers.

He had thought himself patient for holding back until the end, but he had struck an iron plate and shattered his knuckles in the process.

For the first time, he cursed the auction's rule of hidden identities. Had he known from the start this was a Meilan, he would have given away all the goods without a single word of protest if asked.

Now it was too late - he had angered the man, and his life hung by a thread.

"Mr. Host - ah, let me see, Sean, is it? Were you the one who wanted to drag me out earlier?"

Sean pressed his forehead to the ground, too terrified to speak, just trembling non-stop.

"Don't be so quiet. That's no fun."

Siegfried grabbed Sean's hair and yanked his head up.

"Tell Konstantin to enjoy himself while he can. His days are numbered."

Siegfried had two purposes for personally attending this auction. The first was to establish a connection with Kortman.

The second was to send a message to Count Konstantin through the auction organizer - that a Meilan was in his city and knew about his slave trade operations.

Without doubt, Count Konstantin would be so terrified he couldn't sleep, constantly fearing this Meilan might come for his head.

His next moves would be predictable.

He would gather all available troops to guard his mansion, which would inevitably weaken the search for the princess, thus reducing pressure on Siegfried.

The count's mansion would need to be dealt with eventually, but not like this.

For now, the priority was raising funds and gathering talent.

He stood up, no longer looking at Sean cowering on the ground.

"I'll spare your worthless life. Just remember to deliver my message, understood?~"

"Bring Kortman. We're leaving."