The Collapsed Earl of Lyon

Just now, Ye Chuan had not even stood up; he merely sat leisurely on the wooden chair at the edge of the high platform.

An invisible, terrifying aura spread from his body, enveloping the entire manor like something tangible. The air instantly became stagnant and heavy, and even the wind seemed to freeze.

The roaring monster that wanted to kill had barely waved its tentacles and charged forward two steps before it was firmly pinned in place by this aura.

The slime on its body churned madly, and countless compound eyes contracted in fear, letting out a painful and desperate whimper.

The next second, with a soft sound, this seemingly ferocious disguised monster's entire body instantly disintegrated, turning into a puddle of foul-smelling green slime without even the slightest room to struggle.

The commotion in the manor had just started when it abruptly came to a halt.

But soon, among the other mages who were illuminated with a red light by the detection spell, some experienced a drastic change in expression and tried to flee in the chaos, only to be crushed on the spot.

Others forced themselves to stay calm, stiffened their necks, and roared, "What red light! This is dark magic! You turned everyone into monsters! I am not a monster!"

After saying that, that mage even grabbed the companion next to him and roared,

"We know each other so well! I even visit your mother often, right?!"

The grabbed mage was stunned for a moment. "I... aren't I an orphan?"

"You... you son of a bitch, you're actually an orphan?! Then who was the old lady I was visiting?" That mage immediately turned into a monster, looking like it was going to eat the other mage.

"That was my sworn sister!"

"You!"

...

Seeing this scene, Ye Chuan did not even bat an eyelid; he just slightly intensified his aura.

Those stubborn guys instantly turned pale, and the bones all over their bodies let out crisp cracking sounds, as if they were about to be crushed.

The human skin on their bodies began to rapidly twist and peel off. Their original figures continuously expanded, as dark slime, writhing compound eyes, and thick tentacles surfaced one after another—

Ultimately, their true monstrous forms were exposed.

"No... impossible! How could my disguise..."

A newly revealed monster looked horrified. Before it could finish speaking, it was crushed to pieces by the invisible aura, turning into a puddle of lifeless slime just like its companions before it.

In just a few breaths, any existence illuminated in red by the detection spell, regardless of whether they resisted or remained stubborn, was completely crushed by Ye Chuan's invisible aura, without even a chance to struggle.

The manor was terrifyingly quiet, leaving only the suppressed panting and wildly beating hearts of the mages.

They looked up at Ye Chuan on the high platform, their eyes devoid of any suspicion, replaced only by a deep-seated awe and fear.

Was the strength of a seventh-tier mage really this terrifying? Just with an aura, he could crush these bizarre disguised monsters?

Leah's hand holding the short sword trembled slightly, and cold sweat seeped from her forehead.

She finally completely understood that in her previous clash with Ye Chuan, the other party had not used his true strength at all.

If such an existence truly wanted to harm Valoran, no one could stop him.

As for Count Leon, he had long collapsed on the steps of the high platform. His plump body trembled uncontrollably, and the grease on his face shone as it was washed by cold sweat.

He watched with his own eyes as those familiar mages turned into terrifying monsters one by one, only to be effortlessly crushed by Ye Chuan. All his previous doubts vanished into thin air, leaving only undeniable fear.

"So... so there really are this many monsters..."

Count Leon's voice carried a hint of a sob, his small eyes filled with horror.

He had previously thought Ye Chuan and Kaiaolen were just being alarmist, but the scene before him was like a heavy hammer, ruthlessly smashing his wishful thinking.

He subconsciously looked at the busy maids and guards in the manor, his eyes instantly turning panicked.

If so many monsters had infiltrated the mages, what about the commoners in the city? What about the maids and guards who served him in his manor every day? Could there be monsters disguised among them too?

The more he thought about it, the heavier Count Leon's heart became, and the fat all over his body trembled.

He seemed to see countless monsters lurking in every corner of Valoran, hiding among his people, ready to bare their fangs at any moment and drag the entire Valoran into hell.

"No... it can't be like this..." Count Leon suddenly grabbed Leah's arm next to him, his nails almost digging into her flesh, his tone urgent and desperate.

"Leah, quick! Have the mages screen everyone in the manor! And the city, immediately have the mages conduct a city-wide screening! We must find all the hidden monsters!"

Leah winced from his grip but did not break free, merely nodding solemnly.

She looked at Ye Chuan, who was still sitting leisurely on the high platform, her eyes filled with complexity.

Only now did she truly understand that Ye Chuan asking them to send troops to the royal capital was no conspiracy at all; he was saving Valoran, saving the entire Hill Empire.

Ye Chuan slowly withdrew his aura, and the stagnant air in the manor finally began to flow again.

He looked at the panic-stricken Count Leon and spoke in a flat tone:

"Now you know I wasn't lying to you? These monsters are just the tip of the iceberg; the situation in the royal capital is only worse. If we don't join forces to eradicate them as soon as possible, Valoran will sooner or later be completely swallowed by these things."

Count Leon staggered to his feet. Gone was his previous hesitation and wishful thinking. He bowed deeply to Ye Chuan, his tone incredibly solemn.

"I will issue the order right now to fully cooperate with you!"

"First, have the mages and guards screen the entire city of Valoran to eliminate the lurking monsters, and then immediately assemble all our forces, ready to follow Miral to the royal capital at any time!"

Soon, the purging operation in Valoran began.

What made Count Leon sick to his stomach was that there were actually a huge number of disguised monsters in his own manor. Truly, several of his maids were disguised monsters!

"Ugh, I'm going to break down!" Count Leon was about to throw up.

Because those maids had all served him, which meant he had been doing those things with monsters covered in tentacles and slime all this time?!

No wonder he recently felt like he didn't need to do any prep work and could just slide right in so easily!

Count Leon had even thought he had just gotten more handsome lately, and that those maids were waiting for him anytime, anywhere.

But this was the truth!

Standing in the distance, Ye Chuan watched the bloated man jumping up and down in a meltdown and merely shook his head.

However, the fact that Leon had not turned into a monster himself was likely because Leah had been closely protecting him all along.

But with things having developed to this point, there was not much left for Ye Chuan to do.

Valoran just needed a major purge like Miral's.

"Time to wrap up. It's great that we found so many monsters; I can let Elara practice on them." Ye Chuan released his divine sense, only to let out a surprised "Oh."

Because he could sense that Elara seemed to be fighting monsters over on her end.