CHAPTER 38: NEW ABILITY

"I believe I am no longer needed here. So I will take my leave. Do excuse me."

Without waiting for a reply, Kaki clasped his hands behind his back and walked away.

Ashclaw watched him go, then turned to Nisha.

"May I have the honour of inviting your grace to my house?"

"Sure."

She accepted his invitation readily, for some reason.

A while later, within Ashclaw’s mansion, the two sat face to face in a grand hall.

The night was cold. The faint crackle of the hearth filled the air.

Ashclaw asked the question that had been bothering him for a while.

"How will the Town Master react to tonight’s situation?"

Hearing his words, Nisha smiled at him, not warmly, but with the sharp delight of a predator toying with its prey.

Ashclaw shifted uncomfortably under Nisha’s gaze, his back prickling with cold sweat.

"Old man, I will be honest with you. I’ll be honest with you. My brother is simple-minded in some things. He rewards loyalty with generosity, but he punishes betrayal with cruelty. Because of your foolishness, he has lost a number of capable men. When he learns of this..."

Her eyes glittered, and her smile widened.

"He will eat you alive."

’Would that really happen?’ Ashclaw couldn’t help but doubt her words.

And who made such a monstrous scheme possible without arousing suspicion or drawing the wrath of the crown? It was Ashclaw. With a mind as sharp as a butcher’s blade and schemes layered deeper than a serpent’s nest, he had trafficked countless men and women into the siblings’ secret laboratories where they turned them into healing pills.

Ashclaw was the one who made their operation run at a large scale smoothly.

Without him, their disgusting secret would have been exposed long ago!

"If you think your place in his heart is so precious that he won’t kill you for betraying his trust, then you are gravely mistaken. My brother kills without hesitation when his trust is broken. He even killed our parents for the same reason and turned them into high quality healing pills."

The Town Master had slain his own parents when they discovered the truth behind the pills and attempted to turn him over to the crown.

After killing them, he turned them into healing pills and happily sold them in an auction to the highest bidder.

Nisha had seen it happen with her own eyes.

The death of her parents was reliving as she involved in her brother’s sick business, but what happened afterwards, send chills down her spine and made her fear her brother more than demons and gods.

Nisha was cruel, but her cruelty could not rival her brother’s.

The method of refining humans into pills had been his idea; it was a technique he brother had acquired from the birthplace of Beast Tamers. Unlike a sane human, he didn’t set it ablaze. Like a madman, he made use of it to grow his wealth and influence.

She simply followed his lead, for without him she would not be able to live the indulgent, twisted life she so adored.

Her brother’s cruelty was boundless, his greed insatiable. He had no ceiling, no limit.

Sometimes, when she looked at him, she felt as though she was staring into the face of a devil wearing human skin. She herself was no saint, yet compared to him, she almost seemed innocent!

Her words struck Ashclaw like a whip, and his expression froze.

Finally realized the kind of devil he had involved himself with, Ashclaw feared for his life.

"My lady, please... show me a way to survive this disaster."

Nisha’s eyes narrowed as a sly glint, mixed with anticipation, danced within them.

"When begging for help, one should be on their knees."

Ashclaw shot up from the sofa and dropped to his knees before her, pressing his forehead close to the marble floor.

"Please, Lady Nisha, I beg you. Grant me a way to live."

Watching him prostate before her, Nisha’s hidden desire seemed to have been fulfilled and she felt satisfied.

My brother is not at home," Nisha began, her tone calm but carrying a weight that made Ashclaw’s stomach twist. "The last caravan we sent to the Northern Frontier was ambushed by the Ironfang Mountain Clan, and we suffered a devastating loss. Believing those mountain scum will try again, my brother decided to personally accompany the caravan this time—disguised among the escorts. If they dare to strike, he will slaughter every last one of them."

Her lips curved slightly, though her eyes stayed cold. "He will return in two months. Until then, I can conceal the fact that the guards he so carefully cultivated have perished because of your incompetence. But once he comes back, you must confess your crimes and offer compensation—double the value of what he has lost. Only then will you have a chance at survival."

Ashclaw’s body stiffened. He sat up abruptly, his face drained of color.

Nisha leaned back against her chair, watching him with amusement. "I know what you are thinking," she said, her voice silky, "but you have no other choice. When he returns, you will hand over ownership of the mine to my brother."

The words hit Ashclaw like a blade. His chest tightened, and his hands balled into fists. The mine... That was the one thing he could not give up. Buried deep within it lay a secret—one he had protected with blood and ruthless cruelty. Every unfortunate soul who had stumbled upon it was silenced forever. With that secret, he could rise higher than any provincial lord. In time, it could buy him influence in the capital, the last true bastion of humanity, where he dreamed of retiring in splendor.

"Also, you will pay a price for my silence." Nisha said, "Do you think I would hide such a matter from my brother without reward?"

In a trembling voice, Ashclaw asked, "What... what do you have in mind?"

Nisha leaned forward and whispered some words in his ears.

Ashclaw’s eyes went wide in shock. "What?!

"Why? You can’t do it?" Nisha’s gaze sharpened. "Then I will have no choice but to inform my brother of your crimes immediately. If I do, you can prepare for your funeral tomorrow. And don’t think about doing anything stupid. Who knows who is under my control? Trying to threaten us or doing anything to reveal the cruelty our business runs on will only doom you."

Ashclaw’s lips trembled. He felt cornered, caged, trapped in her grasp. Finally, he croaked out like a dying toad.

"I... I will do my best to act as matchmaker. But the final decision rests with my son, Torvin."

Nisha had asked for his son. She liked handsome men, but she was crazy for the strong and the talented ones.

Marrying someone like Torvin, who had been accepted in the beast hall, would surely bring her another level of joy.

She didn’t know that the person she was aiming for was already dead.

No one besides Ray knew that!

Ray, who had flipped Ashclaw’s comfortable life upside down, was already far away from the town.

Deep in the wilderness, he had just finished feeding Tristan’s seal to his Eclipse Devouring Seal.

♦️ Your Eclipse Devouring Seal has successfully consumed the Nine Lives Seal.

♦️ You have acquired the skill — Destiny Swap.

♦️ Destiny Swap: This skill lets you sacrifice a being bound to your soul to restore yourself to peak condition. For this skill to work, the sacrifice must be of the same rank as you.

Ray’s face lit up with exhilaration.

The ultimate cheat skill was his!

He couldn’t help but grin from ear to ea, feeling absolutely giddy.