Smashing the Royal Palace!

Actions were worth a thousand words. As someone trained in flattery to please the aristocracy, Mithras didn't put much weight on words, always suspecting that when put to the test, the sweetest words wouldn't hold up. 

But Cassandra's flaming swords painted a vivid picture of how deep her feelings for Mithras ran—feelings that had nothing to do with the Human Aphrodisiac talent. 

In a flash, House Astalon had turned into a chaotic mess, with elder and senior nobles scrambling to pack up their things and flee Flameheart City. Sadly for them, the 3,000 royal guards dispatched to assist them had now turned into vengeful blades, marching towards the Astalon gates with undisguised killing intent. 

Mithras didn't care for the chaos, using it as a cover to hide the comatose Honoria in a pet boa's stomach, and retreat in the shadows. 

<Due to the combination between end of her vibration supply, abrupt cut Exalted Sense, and Cassandra's assault, Honoria has entered a vegetative state> The system explained, making Mithras rub his nose with an impish smile. 

Honoria's condition was perfectly within the norms of what the Ritual Stone Mirror he'd robbed from Arian could heal. And it only cost about 6,000 ener crystals—or about two months of income for the average Inner Accumulation templar. 

Mithras didn't doubt that he would soon be dripping in cash, so he wasn't worried about the noble hussy's condition. On the contrary, he could exploit it to make the second part of his wicked plan a massive success. 

'But something doesn't add up. System, why is Cassandra's battle prowess not growing?' Watching Cassandra through his Exalted Sense, Mithras asked. Cassandra's Blood Reincarnation Crystal enabled her to temper her body in the life force of her victims, helping her quickly improve her battle prowess. 

But thanks to the Exalted Sense, Mithras could see that despite having soaked in the blood of ten Inner Accumulation templars, Cassandra's physical abilities hadn't improved one bit. 

<Cassandra sold her Blood Reincarnation Crystal to a black-market merchant pay off debt the host. She can no longer get stronger through murder> the system explained, causing Mithras' eyes to widen in disbelief. 

'She…actually sold…a king-class treasure?' The Human Aphrodisiac couldn't believe it. Cassandra's Blood Reincarnation Crystal was a treasure that cost Mithras 12 of his 13 Red Cloud Pythons and caused the 13th to suffer catastrophic injuries. 

But it was still worth it because that crystal was the type of treasure that could help an average warrior turn into a legend. The type of stuff you couldn't get with money. Yet to pay Mithras' fees, she sold it? And not even in a proper auction?

There was no way Cassandra would get the crystal's worth by selling it to a standard black-market merchant, and she knew it. There was also the risk of making those unscrupulous merchants suspect that she hid more treasures in her house. 

But in a hurry to get the money, Cassandra didn't hesitate—looking till she found the guy who'd pay her what she needed. 

<There is nothing surprising about this. Men and women alike will climb mountains swim the seven seas for right one. And in Cassandra's mind, you are one> the system said in its usual robotic tone, and for the first time since his resurrection, Mithras lowered his head, scratching his head with a bitter smile. 

"Am I really?" 

Meanwhile, Cassandra did the unthinkable, beheading all the guards in her way as she rampaged from the palace's gates all the way to Gaiseric's throne room. Usually, Sid Barriers would be meeting any frontal assault on the royal palace. But believing that the death toll would be less expensive than the cost of keeping the barriers up, Gaiseric advised against it, letting his soldiers confront Cassandra so he'd have a better idea of her abilities. 

"Yesterday that woman was only at Inner Accumulation. But today she's already at the eighth level of Great Expansion? In less than 24 hours? Either she was suppressing her aura, or an unprecedented treasure is hiding within the walls of House Astalon.

We will find out soon," sitting on the steps leading to his throne, Gaiseric whispered. Truth be told, as long as he could get rid of Cassandra, the king didn't want to destroy the Astalon.

Too much was as bad as not enough. And without a doubt, the Astalon were initially one of the houses that kept the kingdom balanced. It was Cassandra's meteoric rise that made things unbalanced, leading Gaiseric to use the Astalon as meat shields for his expansionist goals. 

If anything, Gaiseric was annoyed because he now had to annihilate the Astalon yet couldn't use this as an excuse to attack the Elektra—the true house he wanted gone from his kingdom. 

"Oh well…so be it. Call off the minions and let the woman in. I'm curious to see…BASED ON WHAT QUALIFICATIONS THE BITCH DARES TO THREATEN MY MOTHER AND ASSAULT ME IN MY PALACE!" Gaiseric erupted, and with one step, lunged out of the throne room, racing past the scrambling guards as he hurtled at Cassandra. 

At the moment, the matriarch was facing a formation led by the four commanders and Gaiseric's two uncles—all Great Expansion powerhouses. 

These were the strongest warriors of the kingdom. Men who had earned their fame in the blood of countless enemies. Still, Cassandra held her own, effortlessly gliding past the warriors' blows and sending them reeling with her double sword style before cutting off the heads of their subordinates!

But once Gaiseric's aura erupted, Cassandra's swift and elegant moves turned sluggish. 

A scarlet and gold war hammer appeared in the king's right hand, and not daring to stand in their monarch's way, the commanders and royal uncles rolled to the side, letting Gaiseric rush past them and slam his hammer into Cassandra's side.

Moving on instinct, Cassandra threw herself back, crossing her flaming swords at her side to meet Gaiseric's blow. A thunderous blast boomed across the royal palace, and Cassandra flew into the air, whirling like a spinning top under the might of Gaiseric's hammer. 

The King didn't stop, shooting into the air, and swinging his hammer with the ferocity of a barbarian warlord. 

Still reeling from the previous blow, Cassandra hurled one sword forward, sending it piercing at Gaiseric's exposed waist. But to the matriarch's shock, Gaiseric didn't avoid the blow, letting his fleshly body take on Cassandra's flaming sword as his hammer aimed for her skull!

Aware that she couldn't overpower Gaiseric, Cassandra bent her sword at a diagonal angle, using the flat to meet Gaiseric's hammer while readying herself to fly with the momentum. 

Cassandra's blade cracked upon impact, shattered by Gaiseric's might while her sword projectile bounced off his royal robe. 

The matriarch didn't lose her cool, throwing her feet at Gaiseric's knees and using his momentum to propel herself towards the ground. On the way down, Cassandra caught her dropping sword and with the bounce of a snow leopard, captured one of Gaiseric's uncles before the king had stabilized in the air. 

Her only remaining sword now aimed at the royal's neck. But to the audience's shock, Gaiseric couldn't care less, hurling his hammer at his royal uncle! 

The Blood-Smelting Hammer crashed into the man, shattering his skull upon impact. But a second before the blow landed, Cassandra whirled to the side, rushing into the other royal uncle's shadow.

Gaiseric appeared beside his hammer, grabbing it in his herculean hands before lunging at Cassandra and swinging with no care for his only surviving uncle's life! The matriarch's lips curled up, and she kicked the royal uncle forth, causing Gaiseric's hammer to rip the man in two!

But as Gaiseric was about to catch up with Cassandra, the matriarch caught a royal guard commander by the neck, sending him smashing into Gaiseric. This time, however, the king pulled back, stopping his own momentum, and letting the man fly past him. 

[Pyretic Hell] 

Cassandra's lips curved into a wicked grin, and she gashed open her wrist, letting her blood burst in a conflagration of purple flames. In that instant, the matriarch's physical attributes went through the roof, and she blitzed Gaiseric, slashing through his royal robe and slicing open his chest!

Had Gaiseric not moved back fast enough, that blow would have detached his head from his shoulders. But unfazed by the matriarch's purple flames, the king threw his head right back, headbutting Cassandra in the skull. 

With no other choice, she blocked with her shoulder—reeling back from the blow. 

"The Blood-Smelting Hammer lives up to its name.

Too bad that your majesty cannot treat your commanders with the same ruthlessness you showed your uncles," Cassandra sneered. Her right shoulder dislocated the moment next, but the matriarch didn't flinch, standing straight like an arrow and facing the warrior king with unyielding determination.

"Brothers and uncles are a king's worst enemies. They are more useful to me dead than alive." Gaiseric gave a casual reply and stepped forward—determined to finish Cassandra off. But in that instant, the world around him spun, and struggling to remain on his feet, Gaiseric staggered, spurting a large mouthful of blood.