As the voice of the imperial army's commander resounded across the Valian family manor, the family guards tensed upon recognizing that it ca from the strongest imperial troop commander, Clarin Lenavis. She was the commander of the most powerful battalion of the imperial family and a cultivator at the middle pseudo-immortal stage.
She had arrived with her entire battalion of more than six hundred troops, surrounding the manor, while other powers stood behind them to offer support or to show allegiance.
"Get out, you traitor!"
"Drag him out! Kill that traitor!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Shouts and screams from the angry mob echoed outside, reaching into the manor.
Inside, everyone had already fallen into despair and panic. They all knew that today might mark the end of the Valian family. None of them knew what would happen next or what they should do as they waited for the grand duke's order for their next course of action.
Brein also panicked as he looked at his father when his mother ca to et him with an angry expression.
"Where is your father? How could I not see him since earlier when the situation is already out of control?" she asked with twisted anger. Her beautiful face at this mont had turned ugly with rage.
"I don't know, Mother. I also could not find him since earlier," Brein replied as he opened a door to a room, hoping to find his father. Strangely, they had not seen any sign of him, even though this was the most important ti for him to show himself.
"Did he escape by himself? I knew it! That coward would leave us the mont things go south!" his mother said fiercely, making Brein's heart tremble. If that was the case, then there was nothing they could do except surrender. It was already futile to do anything anyway. Their reputation and status had already crumbled, and the people outside had already branded their family as traitors.
Unbeknown to the many mbers of the Valian family still searching for the grand duke, the man himself was in another place—a place they would never have expected.
He was actually on the Barisan continent. His body stood before Aldrian in the dungeon of Aldrian's palace, completely unable to move. Sweat drenched his face and body, and his blank expression looked exhausted, as if he had just gone through sothing horrifying. A pool of blood had ford beneath him, and several severed arms could be seen nearby.
This scene was just like when Aldrian tortured Prince Wilmar, Cardinal Carsius, and Carlson, the leader of the Golden Swan Comrce. He cut off their limbs before healing them again and again using his golden energy.
Even though he had announced earlier that he believed the Silvarin imperial family would give people like Grand Duke Freindor the punishnt they deserved, he still needed to release so steam after what this man had tried to do to Sylphia.
"Please… have… rcy. Please… kill ," Grand Duke Freindor said weakly.
But there was no response from Aldrian, and his expression barely changed as he continued the torture.
Aldrian, who had been paying attention to what was happening on the continent of elves, decided to give a little help to resolve the problem there. The matter on the elven continent had already crossed his red line, with soone actually attempting to kill Sylphia. There was no way he could simply sit back and watch.
Fortunately, his avatar had always been protecting her, so she was still safe. He could not imagine what would have happened if his avatar had not been there as her guardian. The poison plot would certainly have succeeded, and his Sylphia would have died during her first visit outside the continent.
That was why his hand itched for action against Grand Duke Freindor, the man who had thought of killing her. Aldrian was the one who had saved Baron Stargis's wife and daughter after his avatar reported everything that had happened, including his plan to solve the problem. The avatar knew that only his true body could save the baron's family with ease.
Aldrian just needed to teleport them to the baron's side and it was done. Grand Duke Freindor would no longer have anything to bind Baron Stargis, and the baron could give his testimony freely. No one from the Valian family would know that the baron's wife and daughter had already vanished before sunrise today.
An hour ago, before the imperial troops arrived at the Valian family's manor, Grand Duke Freindor had actually tried to escape on his own. It seed he already knew that any resistance was futile, especially after Aldrian's announcent.
However, before he could even leave his manor, Aldrian had already teleported his body directly in front of him in the dungeon. Grand Duke Freindor was completely shocked by the sudden change in his surroundings, and when he saw Aldrian, he could not help but show an expression of horror.
He instantly tried to escape from wherever he was, but Aldrian did not allow it, trapping him with a spatial lock. From that mont, Aldrian began to deliver punishnt to the man who had beco the mastermind behind Sylphia's assassination attempt.
He had used his illusion laws, lightning laws, and several torture thods on him during the past hour. He knew his ti was limited, and it seed it was already up when he sensed that the grand duke's manor had been surrounded by the troops of the Silvarin imperial family. They were on the verge of storming the manor and apprehending the Valian family.
Aldrian sighed as he looked at the grand duke and tapped his cheek a few tis.
"You are lucky that you still need to be humiliated in front of countless people and punished by the Silvarin imperial family. If not for that, I would have liked to torture you until the fury inside my heart disappeared," he said, making the grand duke tremble.
"Please… have… rcy," the grand duke replied weakly, but Aldrian did not respond. Instead, he looked into the grand duke's mories, wanting to make sure there was no one behind him or another mastermind.
After confirming there was nothing suspicious and nothing worth his attention, he healed Grand Duke Freindor's body to the bare minimum and teleported him back to his manor. By this ti, the imperial troops had already stord into the manor, sweeping through every corner and arresting anyone who tried to resist.
They did not offer much resistance. Even when the troops found Brein and the grand duke's wife, they did not resist and simply allowed the imperial soldiers to apprehend them. The troops continued searching for Grand Duke Freindor as they swept through every room and corridor. They thought he might have already escaped, until they finally found him in one of the rooms.
However, the imperial troops who discovered him were stunned by his condition. Clarin, who led the battalion, narrowed her eyes as she looked at the grand duke.
His state was dreadful. His blank eyes showed no awareness, saliva dripped from his lips, and bruises and bloodstains covered his face. His attire was in disarray, and clear signs of torture marked his body.
She did not understand how he had ended up like this, but she did not care. She stepped forward and spoke firmly.
"Grand Duke Freindor, you are under arrest by the order of Her Majesty for working with the devils and endangering the stability of the empire. I hope you do not do anything foolish, for your own good."
She gestured to two soldiers, who stepped forward and approached the grand duke.
Grand Duke Freindor did not say anything and simply allowed himself to be dragged outside. Clarin looked at the grand duke for a mont, then inspected the room. She wanted to make sure there was nothing strange there.
After she found nothing unusual, she left the manor. The mont many people saw Grand Duke Freindor being dragged by the imperial troops, they began to shout at him.
"You traitor! We put our trust in you, but all this ti you worked with the devils! Die!"
"Because of you my daughter is still missing! Die a horrible death, you traitor!"
"Kill him right now!"
Curses and humiliating words rained down on him. Many also began to throw objects, like pebbles. The imperial troops tasked with crowd control were quite overwheld by the angry mob, which seed intent on breaching the lines to kill Grand Duke Freindor themselves.
However, Grand Duke Freindor did not react at all. His expression did not change along the way as if he were already broken inside. He simply surrendered himself.
Not long after Grand Duke Freindor was captured and dragged to the capital, news spread that the imperial family had successfully apprehended most of the main mbers of the opposition faction.
So of them had managed to escape, and the imperial family was still pursuing them.
The imperial family had also blocked all cruisers and interstellar vessels from leaving the continent, preventing anyone from escaping the continent. As long as those fugitives remained within the continent, it was only a matter of ti before all of them were caught.
Before sunset, the imperial family had already arrested more than three hundred people from the opposition faction. Most of them were awaiting trial, except for a few whose nas had already spread and were proven to have direct connections with the devils and to have actively worked with them.
They were scheduled to be executed tomorrow in front of the masses.
As those who would be executed tomorrow were gathered inside special cells, Empress Vilena, Princess Vaelir, and Sylphia ca to one of the cells and looked inside. Grand Duke Freindor was there, but he looked more like a corpse than a living man. He said nothing, his head lowered as he sat leaning against the cell wall.
Empress Vilena frowned as she looked at his condition.
"I heard the report that when the troops arrived, he was already in that state. It's as if soone had just tortured him," she said.
Sylphia narrowed her eyes as she observed the grand duke for a mont. After a few seconds, she suddenly smiled, finally understanding what had happened.
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